– Earl Caddock defeated Ed “Strangler” Lewis by decision to unify his claim to the World Heavyweight Title (no falls in a 2 out of 3 falls match that lasted 2 hours and 30-minutes. Referee Ed Smith awarded the match to Caddock on points)
1934
Mexico City, Mexico: – Francisco Aguayo defeated Martinez Larrea for the Mexico National Heavyweight Title
1942
– Ciclon Veloz defeated Jack O’Brien to win the Mexico National Welterweight Title
1946
St. Joseph, Missouri: – Ray Villmer & Bobby Bruns beat Bill Lee & Orville Brown 2 falls to 1 to win the St. Joseph tag team titles
1955
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Leo Nomellini & Bronko Nagurski beat Kinji Shibuya & Ike Eakins in 2 out of 3 falls – Red Bastien beat Pedro Escobar – Dick the Bruiser (as Bruiser Afflis) beat Ovila Asselin (as Guy LaRose) – Ilio DiPaolo beat Jack Pesek
1957
Houston, Texas: – Pepper Gomez & El Medico defeated Duke Keomuka & Tokyo Joe for the NWA Texas Tag Team Titles
1961
Duluth, Minnesota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne no contest Wilbur Snyder – AWA US Champion Gene Kiniski beat Jack Pesek – Bob Geigel beat Tony Bailargeon – George Scott beat Marquie DeParee
1963
Houston, Texas: – Pepper Gomez defeated Bill Watts to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1965
Portland, Oregon: – Stan Stasiak & Haru Sasaki defeated Pepper Martin & Shag Thomas for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1966
Birmingham, Alabama: – Tojo Yamamoto & Great Higami defeated Len Rossi & Mario Milano to win the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1967
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Bill Watts beat Harley Race – Larry Hennig beat Rene Goulet – Dr. X beat Dutch Savage – George Gordienko beat Bobby Jones
1969
Atlanta, Georgia: – Paul DeMarco defeated The Professional (Doug Gilbert) for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Johnny Walker & Bearcat Brown defeated The Great Mephisto & Dante to win the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles
1971
Memphis, Tennessee: – Don & Al Greene win the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Titles by defeating Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry Jarrett
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – Tarzan Zorra defeated Jos LeDuc to win the International Wrestling Association International Heavyweight Title
1973
Kansas City, Kansas: – Roger Kirby defeated Mike George – World Tag Team Champions; Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe beat Bobo Brazil & Omar Atlas – Harley Race & Bob Brown wrestled Dory Funk, Jr. & Terry Funk to a double DQ
1975
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch beat Baron Von Raschke & Kurt Von Brawner (sub Horst Hoffman) – Billy Robinson beat Ray Stevens dq – Chris Taylor beat Buddy Wolff – Khosrow Vaziri drew Jim Brunzell
1978
Knoxville, Tennessee: – Mongolian Stomper won an elimination match to win the vacant NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title
1980
Kansas City, Kansas: – Takachiho (The Great Kabuki) & Killer Karl Kox defeated Bob Brown & Pat O’Connor to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Titles
1981
Atlanta, Georgia: – Dusty Rhodes defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title
1982
New Orleans, Louisiana: – Junkyard Dog defeated Bob Roop for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title
1984
Kansas City, Kansas: – The Uptown Boys (Marty Janetty & Tommy Rogers) defeated The Grapplers (Len Denton & Tony Anthony) for the NWA Central States Tag Team Titles – Ted Oates defeated Luke Graham to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
Malvern, England: – Steve Grey defeated Danny Collins for the British Welterweight Title
Salt Lake City, Utah: – Fabulous Ones beat King Kong Brody & Larry Zbyszko – Abdullah The Butcher ddq The Crusher – Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson – Curt Hennig drew Steve Regal – Steve O beat Chris Markoff
1985
Chicago, Illinois: – Sgt. Slaughter defeated Larry Zbyszko to win the AWA America’s Heavyweight Title – Michael Hayes beat AWA Champion Rick Martel in a non title match – Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts & Butch Reed beat Dick The Bruiser & The Crusher & Baron Von Raschke – Greg Gagne drew Nick Bockwinkel – Ray Stevens beat Steve O – Brad Rheingans drew Billy Robinson
Mexico City, Mexico: – Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. defeated MS-1 to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title
St. Louis, Missouri: – Kerry Von Erich beat NWA Champion Ric Flair dq – Harley Race beat Bobby Duncum – Blackjack Lanza (sub Dick the Bruiser) & Bulldog Bob Brown & Iceman Parsons beat Mr Pogo & Starship Coyote & Gary Royal – Larry Hennig & Curt Hennig beat Super Destroyer & Sheik Abdullah
1986
Tokyo, Japan: – Mika Komatsu and Kanako Nagatomo defeated The Red Typhoons (Kazue Nagahori and Yumi Ogura) for the AJW Tag Team Titles
1987
Puerto Rico: – Al Perez defeats The Dingo (Ultimate) Warrior for the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title
Rockford, Illinois: – Curt Hennig & Larry Zbyszko beat Nick Bockwinkel & Greg Gagne dq – Wahoo McDaniel beat Boris Zhukov – Sherri Martel beat Candi Divine dq – Kevin Kelly drew DJ Peterson – Mitch Snow & Ray Stevens beat Nasty Boys
1992
Tokyo, Japan: – Punish (Keiti Takayami) and Crush (Shoji Akiyoshi) defeated Scorpio, Jr. and Shu El Guerrero to win Michinoku Pro Wrestling’s UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Titles
Naucalpan, Mexico: – Villano III defeated The Killer for the UWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
1993
Memphis, Tennessee: – Owen Hart defeated Papa Shango for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title – New Jack & Homeboy defeated Rex King & Steve Doll for the USWA Tag Team Titles
1994
Cuernavaca, Mexico: – El Pantera defeated Felino to win the CMLL World Welterweight Title
2000
Memphis, Tennessee: – Steven Regal defeated Jerry Lawler for the MCW Southern Heavyweight Title – The Fabulous Rocker defeated Spanky to win the MCW Light Heavyweight Championship
Tokyo, Japan: – The Samoans (Eddie Fatu and Matty Samu) defeated Hideki Hosaka and Yoshinori Sasaki to win the FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Titles
2001
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada: – Michael Modest defeated Bruce Hart for the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
2003
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Terry Funk defeated The Sandman and “Pitbull” Gary Wolfe (subbing for then-champion Sabu) to win the vacant 3PW Heavyweight Title
2009
TNA Slammiversary | Auburn Hills, Michigan: – Beer Money, Inc defeated Team 3-D for the TNA Tag Team Titles – Kurt Angle won the TNA Heavyweight Title in a King of the Mountain match over Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles – Suicide defeated Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley in a King of the Mountain match to retain the TNA X Division Championship – Daniels defeated Shane Douglas – Angelina Love (with Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne) defeated Tara to retain the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship – Abyss and Taylor Wilde defeated Raven and Daffney (with Dr. Stevie) in a Monster’s Ball mixed tag team match – Sting defeated Matt Morgan
2014
NJPW Dominion | Osaka, Japan: – The Time Splitters, (Alex Shelley & Kushida) beat The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Tam Titles – Tetsuya Naito defeated Tama Tonga – Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) defeated Tomoaki Honma and Yuji Nagata – Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) defeated K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) (with Taka Michinoku) to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship – Kota Ibushi (with El Desperado) defeated Ricochet (with Masaaki Mochizuki) to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka) (with Taka Michinoku) defeated Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano – Bullet Club (A.J. Styles and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) (with Gedo) – Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) defeated Ace to King (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship – Bad Luck Fale (with Tama Tonga) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
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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.
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
Jerry Lawler and fiance Lauryn McBride appeared earlier today in front of Judge William Turner who ordered no contact, no communication, no texts and no phone calls between the two. Both were charged with domestic assault because police officers couldn’t determine a primary aggressor. Both were released on Friday. They have another court date on 7/1.
Alberto Del Rio suffered a bruised bone in taking that ladder bump late in last night’s match and got precautionary X-rays taken today.
The 32 competitors in the cruiserweight tournament as well as some alternates are in Orlando right now. They are shooting personality profiles and undergoing complete physicals. The first round will be shot on Thursday and air over a number of weeks in July, with it being a weekly one hour show on the WWE Network, airing on Wednesday nights after NXT.
The Steve Austin podcast with A.J. Styles starts immediately after Raw tonight in Phoenix.
WWE legal has approved the John Cena T-shirt with the Pabst Blue Ribbon design.
WWE looks to be pushing Seth Rollins two minutes as champion as the shortest WWE title reign in history.
WWE will be doing TVs in Southern California with an 8/8 show in Anaheim at the Honda Center and 8/9 show in Bakersfield. Presales start on Friday.
New NXT dates have been announced for 8/4 in Birmingham, 8/5 in Pensacola and 8/6 in New Orleans.
MISCELLANEOUS
Former WCW & WWE star Marc Mero underwent heart surgery last week in Cleveland to have his aorta replaced and install a heart valve. Best of luck to him in his recovery.
Bellator announced that Friday’s show will stream live in Japan at AbemaTV, which is a streaming company partially owned by TV Asahi. The Japanese interest is because of Satoshi Ishii, who won a gold medal in judo in the 2008 Olympics, in the main event against Rampage Jackson. The show goes head-to-head with the ROH PPV.
Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Drew Galloway, Gunner, Chase Stevens and Terri Runnels appear this coming weekend at the Fanboy Expo Comic Con in Knoxville. For more info go to www.fanboyexpo.com. They will be appearing at different times between 6/24 and 6/26 and 10 a.m and 5 p.m.
ONE has announced a 7/2 show in Hefei China at the Olympic Sports Center with Narantungalag Jadambaa of Mongolia vs. Eric Kelly of The Philippines as the main event. ONE is the one major MMA and pro wrestling group that has made inroads into China with regular shows.
TCW on Saturday night in Rozzano, Italy: Claudio Campari & Martini b Death Mask & Paziente Zero, Violent Joe b Oxlade Black, Backslash b Sami Grayson, Carlo Birra b Rocco Gioiello, Scandalo b Turbo, II Marchese b Pain, Darkness II b Fenice Rossa (thanks to Alessio Garbini)
Friday night at the Auditorio in Tijuana: Dinastia Silver b Black Machine, Angel Vengador b Furia Salvaje, Enigma b Dinamico, Fantastik & Nino Hamburguesa & Fabi Apache NC Super Fly & Mari Apache & Polvo de Estrellas, Damian 666 & Bestia 666 & Rey Hours b Averno & Chessman & Pagano, Dr. Wagner Jr. & Chris Masters & La Parka b The Psycho Circus
GMLW on 7/23 in Pacoma, CA at the San Fernando Valley Boys & Girls Club features Caristico, La Mascara, Misterioso and Misterioso Jr.
Caristico (original Sin Cara) also appears on Sunday in Westminster, CO at the Imperium Events Center.
Solar vs. Negro Navarro for the Maestros championships takes place Saturday in Andersen, MN at the Anderson School and Sunday in Chicago at Chi-Town Futbol.
Laredo Kid vs. Brian Cage on 7/23 in Benbrook TX and the Camp Bowie Bingo Hall.
Jim Ross and Jimmy Garvin along with Ingles Markets and Eblen Charities are promoting the Second Annual Headlock on Hunger Food drive in Asheville, NC, to benefit the Ingles/Eblen Food for Thought program. Ross and Garvin will be collecting food and donations on 6/29 at the Ingles on Tunnel Rd. in Asheville, with ross from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. an Garvin from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that Sonjay Dutt will be featured on a track called Moguls by ripper Vice with plenty of wrestling lines listed.
James Gallagher (3-0) vs. Mike Cutting (6-5) has been added to the 7/16 Bellator show at the O2 Arena in London that is headlined by Paul Daley vs. Douglas Lima.
CWE on 7/8 in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar featuring a Lethal Lottery show.
Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Buff Bagwell on Friday night in Elizabethton, TN at the Evolution Sports Gym.
Three men, Scott Knight, 23, Adam Knight, 20 and Joshua Knight, 19, have been charged with murder of a Ramsgate, UK woman 54-year-old Delyth Andrews with it claimed they used WWE and UFC moves including rainbow flips, T-bones, FUs and cliff hangers on her. In November, emergency services were called when Andrews was found lying on her bad saying they jumped all over her, and X-rays showed multiple rib fractures as well as a fractured sternum and pelvis. She said the brothers had taken her TV and jewelry and performed body slams on her. The woman died from the injuries in December. Joshua is alleged to have told police they did WWE moves on her.
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.
– 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.
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.
WWE MONEY IN THE BANK PPV AT 7 P.M. EASTERN TIME FROM THE T MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
*Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for WWE title – On paper, this looks like a great match given that for all the negativity on Reigns, he delivers most of the time on the big shows and Rollins is one of the best in the business and it’s his first major match back from knee surgery. Reports on him from the house shows have been strong. Whatever they do here, most likely it’ll build for a rematch because I can’t see this program being one match. The odds have made a major shift this afternoon to where Reigns went from a 15-to-1 favorite to Rollins now being a 4-to-1 favorite. It’s the only match with a big shift today..
*John Cena vs. A.J. Styles – Another expected strong match and again it’s the first match of what is expected to be a multi-match series. For that reason, with no title at stake, Styles is expected to win, particularly since he’s lost on his last three PPV matches. This is Cena’s first singles match back since shoulder surgery (he did do one tag team match in New Orleans off TV last week. Styles is listed at -1500 and Cena at +700.
*Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro in the Money in the Bank ladder match – Given the talent and that these matches almost always deliver, this also looks strong. Given the way the angle went on Monday, the odds have moved to Ambrose’s favor. WWE clearly wants you thinking Ambrose wins with the teased cash in tonight. A three-way Shield match was more than teased and should be happening in the next few months. The odds are Ambrose -1500, Kevin Owens +925, Chris Jericho +5000, Cesaro +10000 Sami Zayn +12500 and Alberto Del Rio +12500.
*New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass for tag team titles. This depends on what kind of time they are given, and with the main show going from six matches to eight, this probably won’t be going as long as it would have previously. New Day is listed as -1200, with Gallows & Anderson +750, Enzo & Cass +2500 and The Vaudevillains +15000.
*Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil for U.S. title – You could always do a one night title change and go back on Raw the next night as a surprise. But they’ve done short house show matches with Rusev over clean and nobody has said much about it. Rusev was -750 and O’Neil +650 in the odds.
*Natalya & Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte & Dana Brooke – When you have the champion in a tag match, the rule of thumb is to beat the champion and create a contender. But Natalya and Lynch have both gotten numerous title shots and lost. The Charlotte duo is favored at -620 and the Natalya duo is +410. Once again, this match is greatly dependent upon how much time they get, and with the additional matches, it’s probably less than it would have been.
*Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus – Crews should win since it’s his first big match, but right now it also doesn’t seem like they have much in the way of plans for either guy but Sheamus is a guy they bring back when they need a heel. And they could book to keep this one going. Crews is listed at -780 and Sheamus at +460. I expect this to be relatively short and solid work but not getting time to challenge for one of the best matches.
*Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin – Third show in a row for this. The first two matches were average and this probably will be in that range again. Corbin is a -510 favorite and Ziggler is at +340. Corbin has been winning their house show matches and usual house show protocol is for the face to go up.
*R-Truth & Goldust vs. Fandango & Tyler Breeze – This is a preshow match. The stuff thus far has been just there, with Fandango & Breeze getting wins and R-Truth & Goldust having a losing streak. The Goldust duo is listed at -490 and Breezango at +330.
*Dudleys vs. Lucha Dragons – A late add preshow match with nothing building it at all. So they just needed something to fill time and be decent. Dudleys are listed at -420 and Dragons at +300. Really depends on what is next for both, as Dudleys haven’t been pushed at all, and there are five teams (with the Usos and the teams in the title match) ranked above both teams right now, six if you include the Shining Stars.
The way it looks on paper, there’s no reason to tune into the preshow. This show will be carried by the top three matches. But on paper because of those matches it looks really strong. Live viewership will be lower than most due to the NBA championship seventh game, but with the network business model it’s not the negative it very much would have been a few years ago.
We’re looking for your thoughts on today’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 will be live on Monday night from Phoenix.
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 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 y’all in about three weeks!
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40-issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues.
I want to wish everyone a Happy Father’s Day today. This has been a literal nonstop weekend but thus far the two big shows are a major two-for-two.
It was a very strong Dominion show earlier today, with the ladder match with Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega and the IWGP title match with Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada worth going out of your way to see.
Central Intelligence, starring Dwayne Johnson, opened on Friday and is estimated at doing $34.5 million in its opening weekend which is considered good. It was a distant No. 2 to Finding Dory at $136.2 million, the biggest opening weekend for an animated movie in history. Central Intelligence got very strong audience reviews.
For tonight’s Money in the Bank, WWE send a notice that the “Watch from the Beginning” feature on Xbox is not working. They said you can watch Money in the Bank live on Xbox but if you want to watch on a delay, they ask you look for an alternative device.
There has been a Go Fund Me to help pay for funeral expenses for Gypsy Joe.
WWE
Jerry Lawler appeared on Cerrito live, a sports talk show in Memphis, and said that because of who he was, he was actually never placed in a jail cell. He said he hung around with the jail staff during his mandatory cooling off period. He said he hung around with the police and it felt like he was watching a live 12 hour police movie. He said he considers what happened late Thursday night/Friday morning a private matter but his fiance called 911 and then hung up, so the police came. He said nobody had any physical marks and reiterated that she was trying to leave and he thought she had too much to drunk and shouldn’t be driving. She said it was a shouting match and a lot of what was claimed to have been said actually wasn’t said such as him telling her to shoot herself. He claimed she said things that were never said to the police. He hasn’t spoken with McBride and can’t until tomorrow and said everything will be resolvedt omorrow and he feels it’ll be like it never happened and he’ll be back at his job soon enough. He said he was sorry about the bad press this is generating for the company.
This has come out before, about how Donald Trump donates very little to his charity but the McMahons donate millions to it. Key wrestling-related portion: By comparison, the WWE donated $4,000,000 after Trump promoted WrestleMania. Over the years, the biggest donors to Trump’s foundation are in fact Vince and Linda McMahon, who’ve given millions.
Donald Cerrone at the press conference last night said, “According to my pay, I don’t mean shit to the UFC. But we’ll see. Maybe I’ll talk to Dana after this and see if we can figure that out.”
Gegard Mousasi vs Thiago Santos has been added to UFC 200 on 7/9. Mousasi was scheduled in a big fight with Derek Brunson, but Brunson pulled out earlier today.
3-2 Mike Sempervive, John Pollock, David Bixenspan
2-3 Josh Nason, Mike Sawyer, Frontrow Brian, Paul Fontaine
0-5 Steve Juon
MISCELLANEOUS
AAW did a sellout standing room only show of 600 fans on Friday night in Merionnette Park, IL: Kongo Kong & Dezmond Xavier won four-way over Eddie Machete & Conor Braxton, Candice LeRae & Heidi Lovelace and Shane Hollister & Markus Crane, Tommaso Ciampa b Josh Alexander, Jessicka Havok b Kimber Lee, Silas Young b Drew Gulak, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett retained the tag titles over The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter), Chris Hero b Drago, AR Fox b Aerostar to keep the AAW Heritage title, Trevor Lee won four-way over Andrew Everett, Cedric Alexander and Moose, Zack Sabre Jr. b Johnny Gargano, Sami Callihan & Dave Crist b Eddie Kingston & Homicide. The next show is 7/23 with Callihan defending the AAW title against Pentagon Jr., Fox vs. Fitchett for the Heritage title plus Fenix, Marty Scurll, Ciampa, Everett, Lee, Sabre Jr. and Gargano.
Candice LeRae was injured last night. We don’t have details past she wrote a Twitter post that said, “4 hrs in the ER watching drunk people take precedent to my concussion, possibly broken nose, and a huge hole in my lip. Left. No diagnosis.”
This week’s Elite show from Thursday night at Arena Mexico is here.
Vince Russo has joined the coaching staff at the Mercury Pro Wrestling Academy in Arvada CO. For more info you can write toiray@nrwprowrestling.com.
TMZ ran a piece today on Tammy Sytch who said she was booze free for 90 days and loves being clean so much she doesn’t want to leave rehab.
The Boston Globe on if Chris Nowinski cost Dr Bennett Omalu an award is here.
NWA Cajun Heat on 7/2 in Morgan City, LA at the Municipal Auditorium with two cage matches, with Jeremy Moore vs. Matt Riviera for the Mid South title and Greg Anthony vs. Americos for the national title. Kevin Nash will be making a guest appearance.
Supreme Pro Wrestling today at 5 PM. at the SPW Arena in Sacramento is headlined by Scoot Robertson vs. JR Kratos. In honor of Father’s Day, all fathers get a free hot dog and a soda.
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL before 200 fans (a bad house for them): Britton Tucker b Sean Vincent-DQ, Jason Vaughn b Matt Kenway, Bobby D b Dave Vaughn, Freddy Fury DCOR Purple Passion, Brandon Espinosa b Daniel Gunner, Troll b Big Jim Hoffarth, Ken Kasa & Gary Jackson b Chris Harges when Harges failed to win a fall in the 15:00 time limit, Kahagas b Johnny Blade, Ron Powers b Atilla Kahn-DQ (thanks to Larry Matysik)
Ring Wars Carolinas on 6/25 in Fayetteville, NC at 7707 S. Raeford Rd.
Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno: Big Dogg b Eli Everfly, Skitzo b Dark Usagi, Anthony Idol b Manny Fernandez. Next TV taping is 7/16 at the Tioga Sequoia Brewing Company Beer Gardens as a combined wrestling and stand-up comedy show called Pain & Laughter (thanks to Jon Southerland)
Insane Championship Wrestling runs tonight in Glasgow, Scotland at The Garage with Big Damo vs. Grado for the ICW title, plus Joe Coffey vs. Joe Hendry. The tease is that the winner will face Kurt Angle on the big show in Glasgow on 11/20 at the SSE Hydro.
Kurt Angle has been announced as a special guest for Booker T’s Reality of wrestling show on 8/20 in Houston.
Tenzan welcomed us to the show this week. I don’t think he’s been interviewed once since these shows started airing on AXS.
This is from August 14, 2015 in Sumo Hall.
Doc Gallows vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Gallows chokeslammed Shibata on the apron early, which is a big time owwie. I mean apron spots are cool, but New Japan has some of the nastiest ones I’ve seen. This wasn’t one of them, but they remind me of the ones Will Ospreay and Ricochet took during the Best of the Super Juniors. This was fine, but nothing memorable. Gallows got the surprising win with the Gallows Poll.
Kota Ibushi vs. Togi Makabe
Ibushi is so great at adapting to styles. He’s not only a terrific aerial wrestler but a great striker as well, and this that made this match memorable. Facially Ibushi is awesome at everything he does. A really fun, stiff match. Makabe is great in this role, but Ibushi shone in being able to hang with him. He got the win with the Phoenix splash.
Tenzan mentioned that 2015 was his 20th anniversary in the ring, so this year’s G1 was tough for him. He was outraged when someone wrote he wasn’t capable of being in the G1, and thus got him enraged and motivated. Regarding Naito, he says he really wanted to tear him apart and it was in his mind the whole time. He’s wasted his chances by acting out, doesn’t seem committed. He wonders if there is any motivation. He’s not a type of guy he enjoys wrestling against.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito
First off, I hope Tenzan didn’t read what I said prior to the G1 because…well, Tenzan has on and off days. Sometimes he’s super awesome, other times it’s kind of sad that he’s still wrestling. Time’s never kind to pro wrestlers, Tenzan being a good example of this in recent years. But despite all that, he did some great work in this match, and with the announcing of JR and Barnett, they turned this into a really good match.
Announcing was great here, getting over that Naito was being disrespectful to his former mentor. In terms of work, nothing blow away awesome, and some of it wasn’t pretty but as a whole the match was pretty good. Tenzan gets the submission win with the anaconda vise.
Tenzan ran down Naito after a match, saying it would take a million years before he could beat him. Naito said good job, was he able to regain his honor in the end? Nice work, he’s heading home now.
Tenzan mentioned that it was a really long G1 – he was determined, however, not to lose. It wasn’t a refreshing victory, and physically it was tough. At times, his body didn’t move like it wanted to. It is NJPW’s most prestigious series right now, though, and he wanted to fight until the end.
Tanahashi welcomes us to the 200th episode of World Pro Wrestling Returns! This also took place on August 14.
Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale
This really wasn’t much. Jim Ross called it a “bowling shoe ugly” match and I wouldn’t disagree. They always tease the count out spot in New Japan, and here they finally did it as Fale didn’t make it to 20 and got counted out.
Already time for Tanahashi to talk. He mentioned his match against Kota Ibushi where he was lawn darted into the turnbuckle (and in hindsight, what a dangerous spot), and was still banged up from that spot.. AJ’s match was one of concern. He definitely didn’t want to lose against him. The winner of the match was going to the finals. He considered AJ one of the best wrestlers in the world – why wouldn’t he want to beat Styles and reclaim that title?
AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
They, of course, pulled out all the stops here and was a great match that you totally need to see if you haven’t yet. I really liked the leg work from Styles on Tanahashi early in the bout, only for Tanahashi to return it a while later. Another factor that you have to remember is that even before Styles came to New Japan, Tanahashi used the Styles Clash, so that was also a big part of the match, with Styles escaping before eventually landing one.
Styles even hit a high fly flow but Tanahashi kicked out. Finally Tanahashi hit a big high fly flow to a standing Styles then finished him off with another one. This was so fantastic, a great story told by both men. One of the best matches of 2015, easily, and stands out even more today thanks to the English commentary.
Tanahashi announced he was in the finals match to big applause. ‘
In his reflective interview, he mentions how it took eight years for his favorite match (vs. Goto) to be replaced by this one. He mentioned that how of the four wh made it to the semifinals, only two would be continuing to 2016 in New Japan, which shows how great 2015 was.
On Styles leaving, he would like to thank him as a member of New Japan Pro Wrestling. In his first match against him back in 2007, he was booed. But after, he said he wanted to face him again. “Let’s do this again, genius” is the exact quote. When AJ left for WWE, he told him the same thing.
First hour had some pretty good action. The second one is great and highly recommended, as it was fantastic.
Hollywood, California: – Leroy McGuirk defeated Jon Swneski to win the World Junior Heavyweight Title
1941
St. Louis, Missouri: – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sandor Szabo beat Bronko Nagurski – Don McIntyre beat Cherry Vanilla – Warren Bockwinkel defeated Joe Dusek
1958
Kansas City; Kansas: – Bobby Bruns, Thor Hagen and Joe Scarpa beat Emil Dusek, Ricci Sexton and Otto Von Krupp 2 falls to 1 – Joe Scarpa beat Ricci (Cyclone) Sexton – Otto Von Krupp drew Thor Hagen – Bobby Bruns beat Emil Dusek via dq
1959
– Fred Blassie defeated Dick Gunkel (Dick Steinborn) for the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1962
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Larry Hennig beat AWA Champion Mr. M dq – Doug Gilbert beat Crybaby Cannon – Jack Pesek beat Stan Kowalski
1967
Davenport, Iowa: – In the first ever cage match held in Davenport; The Crusher beat Johnny Powers – Harley Race beat Rene Goulet – Larry Hennig beat Kenny Jay – Chris Markoff beat Billy Wicks
1969
Kansas City, Kansas: – Dick Murdoch and K.O. Kox defeated Luke Brown and Tor Kamata to win the NWA North American Tag Team Titles
1971
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – In a Cage Match, The Crusher beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Heenan – Billy Robinson beat Strong Kobayashi – Nick Bockwinkel beat Dr. Big Bill Miller – Larry Hennig & Lars Anderson beat Paul Diamond & Sailor Art Thomas
1973
Mobile, Alabama: – The Lumberjack defeated The Mighty Mongol to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1974
Peoria, Illinois: – In an Indian Strap Match; Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Heiniemi – Ivan Putski beat Buddy Wolff – Baron Von Raschke beat Bull Bullinski – Greg Gagne beat Bill Howard – Larry Hennig beat Jim Brunzell
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Billy Graham beat The Crusher dq – Gene Kiniski beat Dory Funk Jr
1978
West Palm Beach, Florida: – Dusty Rhodes defeated The Spoiler to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1979
Allentown, Pennsylvania: – Pat Patterson defeated Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Heavyweight Title
1982
San Francisco, California: – In a Handicap Match; Hulk Hogan beat Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan – AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan -Ken Patera beat Ray Stevens dq
1983
Hamburg, Minnesota: – Buck Zumhofe defeated Mike Graham for the AWA World Light Heavyweight Title
– Mr. Wrestling II defeated Larry Zbyszko to win the NWA National Heavyweight Title
1986
Tokyo, Japan: – Antonio Inoki defeated Dick Murdoch in the finals of the annual tournament for the IWGP Heavyweight Title
1987
Green Bay, Wisconsin: – Greg Gagne beat AWA Champion Curt Hennig dq – Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens (sub Jimmy Snuka) beat Larry Zbyszko & Brian Knobbs (sub Super Ninja) – Wahoo McDaniel beat Boris Zhukov – AWA Women’s Champion Sherri Martel beat Madusa Miceli
1993
St. Louis, Missouri: – The Steiner Brothers defeated Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase & IRS) for the WWF World Tag Team Titles
Puerto Rico: – Mohammad Hussein and Dusty Wolfe defeated Ray Gonzalez and Ricky Santana to win the WWC World Tag Team Titles
2001
Orlando, Florida: – The Dudley Boyz defeat Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho for the WWF Tag Team Titles
2002
Nashville, Tennessee: – AJ Styles defeated Psicosis, Low-Ki, and Jerry Lynn double elimination match to win the NWA X Division Title – Ken Shamrock won a “Guantlet for the Gold” battle royal to become the NWA World Champion
2011
WWE Capital Punishment: Washington, DC: – Dolph Ziggler won the WWE US Championship from Kofi Kingston – Ezekiel Jackson defeated Wade Barrett for the WWE Intercontinental Title
2015
ROH Best in the World: New York City: – Mark Briscoe (with ODB) defeated Donovan Dijak (with Truth Martini) – The Decade (B.J. Whitmer and Adam Page) (with Colby Corino) defeated Matt Sydal and ACH – Dalton Castle defeated Silas Young – War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) defeated C&C Wrestle Factory (Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander) – Roderick Strong defeated Michael Elgin and Moose (with Veda Scott and Stokley Hathaway) – Bullet Club (A.J. Styles, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated The Kingdom (Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, and Matt Taven) (with Maria Kanellis) – The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) defeated reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) in a No Disqualification tag team match to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship – Jay Lethal defeated Jay Briscoe to win the ROH World Title
Pretty good crowd. The very top sections weren’t used, but overall, it seemed fairly full. Byron Saxton was the host and ring announcer for the evening.
– Cesaro beat Alberto Del Rio using the Neutralizer
Del Rio always gets a good pop in L.A., but fans still sided more with Cesaro. Good match.
– Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson beat Lucha Dragons with the Magic Killer on Kalisto
Fun match. Anderson was mocking the Lucha chant with the arm movements.
– Baron Corbin beat Dolph Ziggler with the End of Days
Pretty good match, but it didn’t make me want to see it again Sunday. These guys need new opponents.
– Sasha Banks, Natalya, Becky Lynch, and Paige beat WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte, Dana Brooke, Summer Rae, and Eva Marie
Banks made Dana tap out to the Bank Statement. Eva got a big negative reaction as she always does.
– Dean Ambrose defeated Chris Jericho in an L.A. Street Fight
Jericho did some mic work telling everyone to be quiet and take in the gift of Jericho. Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds. They used a kendo stick, chair, and Jericho went through a table.
– US Champion Rusev (w/Lana) beat Titus O’Neil
Lana came out first to a good reaction. O’Neil didn’t get much offense in and Rusev beat him pretty fast with a kick to the face. Doesn’t bode well for MITB.
– Sami Zayn beat Kevin Owens with the Heluva Kick
Good match. These two always work well together. Owens had some fun insulting fans and playing with the crowd. Everyone was singing Sami’s song.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat AJ Styles and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match
Styles and Rollins worked over Reigns a lot together before they finally turned on each other. Styles was late on one save when Rollins has Reigns down and the ref had to really stop from counting to three which caused a “Ref sucks” chant. The match was good and we even got a “This is awesome” chant. Reigns won with the spear on Styles, and got his usual mixed reaction.
– No return date was announced. Overall, a fun show that went three hours including a short intermission.
