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  • Daily Update: WWE TLC Preview, UFC 194 fallout

    WWE TLC PPV ON SUNDAY FROM THE TD GARDEN IN BOSTON PREVIEW

    Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns for WWE title in a TLC match – This is kind of weird because the choices are getting the belt off Sheamus right away on a weak PPV, or keeping a weak champion for another month.  My gut says Rumble is the bigger show and you can hold it off until then, but it really doesn’t matter.  Ultimately they still need to get a heel hot, and Sheamus isn’t the guy.  The matches these two have been having on the road haven’t been tearing the houses down, but WWE TLC matches usually deliver.

    Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose for IC title – They have to get Ambrose hotter, whether that’s a turn or what, I don’t know.  Owens should retain here and on paper they should have a really good match.

    New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Usos in a ladder match for tag titles – Given the Lucha Dragons were given two wins over the New Day on TV, they’re probably losing to the New Day here.  It’s not time for the title switch, nor given where the Usos have been positioned in the food chain with Ambrose & Reigns, are they the ones to beat in this match.

    Charlotte vs. Paige for the Divas title – A lot here will be determined by the crowd, both in if they give the match a chance, and who they cheer.  Charlotte technically hasn’t turned and Paige did back away from her on Monday, but until backing away, Paige was positioned as the face in their segment.  The key is whether people care enough one way or the other, and get into the match.

    Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger for the U.S. title in a chair match – This is a big shot for Swagger so he should be motivated, even though he is almost surely losing and even if the match gets over, which Del Rio’s matches haven’t been doing of late, it won’t matter because Swagger isn’t in their plans.  The key is will Zeb Colter come out and screw Swagger and the breakup on Monday was a swerve to lead to the finish, or is Zeb gone with Del Rio.

    Bray Wyatt & Erick Rowan & Luke Harper & Braun Strowman vs. Dudleys & Tommy Dreamer & Rhyno in a tables match.  WWE doesn’t like to put over guys from the past, particularly whose are still best known from another promotion, and the Wyatts are their own act, so Wyatts would be expected to win, unless they are doing a longer four vs. four program with these teams.

    Rusev vs. Ryback – I think it’s Rusev’s turn this week, right?  Ryback has been working really hard of late and Rusev can go.  They probably won’t get a lot of time, though.  

    Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks– Banks is from the Boston area so she’ll probably be cheered even though  Lynch is positioned as the face.    

    WWE talent always works hard but aside from Owens vs. Ambrose, there isn’t a match that will probably get enough time that is a lock for a great match.  A lot of this show feels like it’ll be determined by how the main event does overall, and what kind of a story they tell if they hold off the Reigns title win.

    Check out F4Wonline.com’s coverage of WWE TLC with Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s TLC show as well as last night’s UFC 194 show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer

    We’re also looking for reports on today’s Lucha Underground tapings in Los Angeles and today’s NXT show in Blackpool, England

    Raw, sorting all of this out,  will be Monday night in Philadelphia while NXT runs Monday night in Nottingham, England.

    Smackdown will be taped Tuesday night in Newark, NJ while NXT runs Tuesday night in Cardiff, Wale.

    NXT TAKEOVER FROM SSE WEMBLEY IN LONDON ON WEDNESDAY

    Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe for NXT title

    Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin

    Bayley vs. Nia Jax for women’s title

    Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady for tag titles

    Emma vs. Asuka

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 12/7/2015: McDevitt comments on concussion lawsuits
    Details on Jerry McDevitt’s comments on the ongoing concussion lawsuits against WWE, Alan discusses potential candidates for 2015’s best rookie.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    Coverage of the biggest weekend in UFC history, the stories behind the big matches, scouting the fighters, the business and handicapping the fights is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at the promotion of the show, how changes in the UFC can affect the major fights, little things in each fight that haven’t beentalked about, fugure for the winners and much more is looked at.

    We also look at the New Japan Tokyo Dome show, the New Japan tag team tournament, what’s new with A.J. Styles and his schedule, the controversy over the winners of the tournament and how it played out, New Japan business this past month and going forward, tournament standings and a rundown of the shows this past week.

    We also have an update on Sting and his condition coming off the match with Seth Rollins, something to watch for about a very significant WWE employee, WWE increasing security at leve events, WWE putting up lots of new content on the network, why the Stampede tapes were taken down, Alberto Del Rio blames AAA for his not coming back and losingg the title, why the time-line of what he says doesn’t add up, another new franchise movie idea for Dwayne Johnson, a new WWE movie annnounced, Mick Foley’s son with WWE, Sami Zayn’s return, Tommy Dreamer’s schedule, WWE surveys, John Cena media, WWE and ESPN update, NXT taping news, Brock Lesnar schedule news, WWE firing, Del Rio & Colter alliance, as well as notes on all the NXT house shows from the past week as well as all the WWE house shows of the past week and the business from the last week.   

    We’ve got a look at this year’s Tokyo Sports pro wrestling awards, all the winners, how the balloting went down, as well as a list of every MVP dating back to 1974, and why different people won the awards and the nature of the politicas behid the awards.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 14, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Biggest weekend in UFC history, tons more

    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@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    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 sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    We cover all the news coming out of last night’s UFC 194 on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio.  A lot of the talk today concerns Conor McGregor’s contract demands that people are talking like he’s going to ask for which would be a level of money that only the top PPV draws in boxing have gotten and nobody in MMA has gotten.  Dana White talked about how McGregor can challenge Saturday’s Donald Cerrone vs. Rafael dos Anjos winner for the lightweight title and give up the featherweight title, but McGregor said he wants both belts and is not giving up the featherweight belt.  As far as what is next for McGregor, nobody is going to make a decision until after this coming Saturday’s lightweight title fight.

    Yoel Romero vs. Jacare Souza scoring, Judge Lester Griffin gave Souza rounds two and three; Judge Glenn Trowbridge gave Romero the first two rounds and gave a 10-8 round one and Judge Tony Weeks gave the first two rounds to Romero.  Of 17 key media members polled at MMADecisions.com, only two gave the fight to Romero.  Three, including me, had it a draw based on a 10-8 first round for Romero and Souza taking two and three, while 12 others had a 10-9 first for Romero and rounds two and three for Souza.  I thought two and three were clearly for Souza.

    Luke Rockhold last night talked about wanting Vitor Belfort in a rematch although he also said he knows he does have to face Romero.  Belfort knocked out Rockhold two years ago, and Rockhold has been furious about it, especially since Belfort was jacked up on TRT at the time.

    Before the stoppage, two judges had Luke Rockhold up 30-26 after three rounds and the other had him up 29-27, with the first round the one in question.  All three gave the third round a 10-8, which you had to, but having to doesn’t always happen.  Judges are far more liberal now with 10-8s which is a good thing..

    There is a major breakthrough on treatment of concussions that has started gaining some traction in the MMA world.  I talked about it last night on the Observer radio show but for WWE, all of wrestling, MMA and high school football programs.  It is a way to really improve treatment, along with far better methods to determine both the extent of the brain injuries that an athlete has and determining when an injured athlete should be allowed to return to their sport.

    Bryan and I will be back tonight with coverage of the WWE TLC PPV.  We’ll also be taking questions on wrestling and MMA that can be sent to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com

    WWE

    • TLC tonight is close to sold out.  The expectation is it will sell out.  The set up is 13,800 so they’ll probably announce in the 16s.
    • Steve Austin’s show with Shawn Michaels airs immediately after TLC tonight on the WWE Network.
    • Big advance for Raw in Philadelphia tomorrow.  Raw hasn’t sold out in the U.S. in months, but there is the belief this one will either sell out or come very close.  Weird how all the negativity on the product and the bad ratings and this week’s key shows are doing well.
    • Daniel Bryan talks a number of subjects including his concussions
    • NXT sold out Blackpool, England today, but that was a small venue.  We’re looking for reports, but William Regal did an interview and the crowd loved him, as expected since he started there and is billed from there.  The crowd was going totally nuts for Jason Jordan & Chad Gable as well.
    • Odds as of 7:30pm Eastern with smart money in…

    Sheamus -4500

    Roman Reigns +1500

    Kevin Owens +600

    Dean Ambrose -1200 (so expect the title change)

    Alberto Del Rio -4500

    Jack Swagger +1500

    New Day -2000

    Usos +1500

    Lucha Dragons +2000

    Charlotte -600

    Paige +400

    Team ECW +350

    Wyatts – 530

    Rusev -4500

    Ryback +1500

    UFC

    • Ronda Rousey will be featured on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. as part of the Barbara Walters’ special on the year’s most fascinating people.  Those on the list besides Rousey are Bradley Cooper, Amy Shumer, Tracy Morgan, Bernie Sanders, Misty Copeland and Donna Karan. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
    • ESPN covered the Conor McGregor win as a significant story that I saw, but not nearly as much on the Luke Rockhold win.  The coverage wasn’t close to that of the Ronda Rousey loss.
    • Ratings in Brazil were unreal last night.  Like the glory days level.
    • TSN in Canada didn’t mention the fight until about 15 minutes in and highlights weren’t shown until 20 minutes into their SportsCenter with everything based on the Warriors loss (which was a huge story in the U.S. and all the hockey coverage. 
    • FS 1 has a Best of Donald Cerrone TV special at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
    • Chris Weidman has Ian Matuszak, 20, who suffers from cerebral palsy and stage 3 esophageal cancer in his corner last night as a special guest.  Matuszak, despite his problems, has trained in Jiu Jitsu and recently earned his blue belt.
    • Tryouts for Ultimate Fighter are tomorrow at 8 a.m. at the Red Rock Casino with the next season being light heavyweights, plus bantamweight and strawweight women.  Dana White on Friday was asked about the coaches for the season that will air in the spring of 2016.  He gave an answer that let you know they have picked them, but said he wasn’t announcing it yet.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • ROH sent out a press release today regarding a partnership with PWG as we’ve noted has been talked about for a few months.  Basically ROH contracted talent is now allowed in PWG.  Before, with the exception of The Young Bucks and Roderick Strong, no contracted ROH guys could appear on PWG shows.  Guys like Matt Sydal don’t have an ROH contract.  
    • Destination America is pretty much done with TNA.  This coming Wednesday, they will air from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., or out of prime time, with no replay. At this point, that is the last scheduled episode airing., so TNA would be off for two weeks before the launch on Pop TV.
    • Kyle O’Reilly was the latest ROH performer under contract to appear on PWG last night in Reseda, CA.  Heard last night’s show was great.
    • Great Khali’s wrestling school had its first show today with put together by Jesus Rodriguez, formerly Ricardo Rodriguez.  Rodriguez has been the head trainer at the school which  has 75 students.  They are running under the banner of Continental Wrestling Entertainment.
    • ECCW from last Saturday in Vancouver, BC:  Bishop b Carl Cunningham, Bollywood Boyz (GFW) & Nicole Matthews b West Coast Express & CAT Power, Ravenous Randy b Pete Power, Phantasmo b Air Adonis, Andy the Dreadful Bird b Antonio Thomas, Scotty Mac b Memphis, Tony Baroni b Artemis Spencer.
    • Red Rock Wrestling on 1/9 in Charlottetow, Prince Edward Island with a combination minor league hockey game at 3 p.m., wrestling at 5:30 p.m. and anther hockey game at 7 p.m.
    • Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling on 12/15 in Port Coquitlam, BC.
    • Great Canadian Wrestling on 12/27 in Oshawa, ONT is a charity show for the Harmony Creek food bank.  Everyone who brings food will get raffle tickets for a drawing of wrestling prizes.
    • CWE on 2/20 featuring Colt Cabana.
    • Rassle Rap charity festival show from Thursday night in Valparaiso, IN:  Shane Mercer b Mad Man Pondo, Ring Rydas b Super Strong Tiger & Spider Monkey to keep JCW tag titles, Moshpit Mike over Rude Boy and Chuey Martinez, 2 Tuff Tony b Ruff Crossing in a lumberjack match, Kongo Kong b Weedman to win the JCW world title. 
    • Same promotion from Friday night in Sauget, IL:  2 Tuff Tony & Justin D’Air & Mike Outlaw b Viking War Party, Mad Man Pondo & Crazy Mary Dobson b Jake Dirden & Samantha Heighs, Rude Boy won three-way over Mosh Pit Mike &  Chuey Martinez, Super Strong Tiger & Spider Monkey b Ring Rydas to win JCW tag titles, Weedman b Ruff Crossing in a lumberjack match (thanks to Kevin Gill)
    • Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL before a sellout of 350 fans:  Daniel Gunner b Jimmy D, Britt Tucker d Bobby D, Ax b Barracus, Troll b Red River Jack (Bob Orton)-DQ, Ken Kasa & Jake Dirden b Chris Hargas & Brandon Espinosa, Sean Vincent b Curtis Wyld in a cage match, Gary Jackson b Attila Khan in a cage match, Kahagas won a three-way over Ron Powers and Flash Flanagan in a cage match (thanks to Larry Matysik and Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • Michael Elgin headlines for Pro Wrestling Phoenix on 12/30 in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.
    • Colin Delaney vs. Lionel Knight in a loser leaves UWA forever headlines 2/7 in Toronto at the Lithuanian House.
    • Great North Wrestling on 2/27 in Hawkesbury, ONT at the Robert Harley Arena with Jeremy Prophet managed by disgraced senator Patrick Brazeau vs. Hannibal and Carlito vs. Paul Rosenberg.

    Al Snow is opening up a wrestling school

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history 12/12: Lawler wins WCCW/USWA Title

  • Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch is the TLC pre-show match

    Despite Sasha Banks hailing from Boston, MA, the site of tonight’s WWE TLC pay-per-view, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha was just announced for the pre-show.

    The show is likely to start shortly after 7:30 p.m.

    We will be having live coverage of the show, headlined by Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE title in a TLC match, starting at that time.  Bryan Alvarez and I will also be back later tonight with a post-show recap, our third of the weekend.

    A full report on the show will be coming in the daily update.

    Lynch and Banks had a tremendous match earlier this year on an NXT Takeover special.  They also had a short Raw match.  Banks has been protected in booking while Lynch has been teased in having a down-the-line feud with Charlotte.

    Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive will be doing a two-hour pre-show LIVE on Sports Byline USA/Sirius Satellite Radio starting at 6 ET/3 PT, which you can listen to through TuneIn Radio on the front page of the website, or by clicking here.  There will also be a Bryan and Vinny Show after the PPV tonight talking all of the matches and angles.

    Click here to sign up for full access to all of these new exclusive shows, plus over 7,000 archived shows dating back to 2005.  This includes last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer reporting from Vegas on the Conor McGregor Show.

  • AJ Styles says he’ll work Ring of Honor Final Battle and Tokyo Dome

    By John Pozarowski

    These are highlights from an AJ Styles interview on the Two Man Power Trip radio show.

    TMPToW: Do you plan on wrestling at both Ring Of Honor’s upcoming Final Battle & New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 10:

    AJ: As far as right now I definitely plan on doing both events. I’ve just been rehabbing a little bit on the back, I don’t know if it’s a slipped disc or a herniated disc it was very minimal which is good. The Doctor says it looks like it mostly seems like it is muscle so basically that’s just rehabbing that and I am feeling pretty good. I just got into DDPY. He (Diamond Dallas Page) doesn’t like it being called yoga. It is a little bit different and man, this thing has done wonders for me and everyday you do DDPY and you get your heart rate up to 150 just stretching and it just awesome. 

    TMPToW: Does potentially favoring a back issue hamper your preparation for such a big match vs. Jay Lethal at Final Battle:

    AJ: Well I don’t plan on favoring it. If it’s something that I have to favor than I am not 100% and if it’s not 100% it’s just going to get worse. I believe by next week I’ll be ready and I don’t see anything messing with me and I’m not in a lot of pain. For starters I was and I didn’t want to make it worse and that’s why I came home from the (NJPW Tag League) tag tournament. After rehabbing it I feel like I’ll definitely be ready to go next week and be 100%. 

    TMPToW: Has there been a pursued interest by WWE to get you into NXT and join both Samoa Joe and James Storm:

    AJ: I haven’t had a call from someone who wants to hire me so nothing really and I’m okay with that and that’s not a big deal to me. I think it’s more of the fans wanting something like this to happen than what I am wanting to happen. I want to be able to retire in a couple of years so I am going to go wherever that takes me. But I have no problem doing the Independents, I love it. I have a great time on the Indies. I’ve had a lot of great opportunities to wrestle a lot of great wrestlers.  Also doing Ring of Honor and Japan that’s a good combination. 

    TMPToW: Before you retire do you even want a full time spot in NXT since that seems to be the gateway to superstardom in the WWE: 

    AJ: Like I said before, I want to support my family and I am going to go wherever that takes me. Would I like to have a “WrestleMania moment”? Sure. But I am very content with having a “Wrestle Kingdom moment” in front of 60,000 fans. I think that is pretty awesome walking down that long ramp of the Tokyo Dome in probably one of the bigger matches on the show. There is probably a couple other people out there that want to do the same thing.

  • NXT house show results, Sheffield 12/12: Balor vs. Zayn vs. Corbin for NXT Title

    By Matt Barker

    Arena was nearly full for what was put on sale as it was cut at the half way point with the top tier curtained off.

    Ring announcer Brown Shoes welcomes us.

    Match 1 Enzo and Cass beat Blake and Murphy. Crowd were massively into all the catchphrases of the faces.

    Match 2 Bull Dempsey over Tye Dillinger with a top rope sit down splash.Crowd got into the perfect ten gimmick.

    Match 3 Samoa Joe defeated Apollo Crews with a musclebuster. Good match.Lots of Uhaa chants for Crews.

    Match 4 Bayley beat Emma with Baylay to Bayley.

    Match 5 Dawson and Dash  beat Jordan and Gable. Match of the night a very good old school tag team match. Half way through some idiot jumped the rail and got in the ring. Security got him quick however. Jordan and Gable are just brilliant and were very popular with the audience.

    Match 6 Asuka over Carmella via submission.

    Match 7 Finn Balor beat Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin in a three way dance. Zayn got huge ole chants prior to his entrance. As Corbin was pinning Zayn,Balor came off the top with a coup de grace on him for the win.

    Decent night of action, only downside was the trouble getting into the arena, queue was massive in the rotten UK winter cold and they were confiscating items including my pregnant wife’s handbag and even fans umbrellas. I understand why with the heightened security issues but it was taken too far tonight.

  • CZW 17th annual Cage of Death report 12/12: Sami Callihan returns

    By Bob Magee

    Combat Zone Wrestling returned to the Flyers Skate Zone Saturday for its annual long day’s journey into night for the 17th annual Cage of Death before a legitimate standing room only crowd.

    Before listing the results, one of the personal highlights for me at Cage of Death every year for the last 11 years, is the Toys for Tots collection, first in Philadelphia at the ECW Arena, then at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees. This year’s collection was spread over the afternoon DOJO WARS show and Cage of Death (making for an easier process of bagging and storing the donated toys over time).

    The final total of donated toys has been estimated at over 420 toys donated by CZW fans on Saturday. I can say personally that an incredible assortment of toys were donated by CZW fans, ranging from radio-operated cars to a skateboard (child’s size) to wrestling figures to all sorts of toys for younger children. Those with toys requiring batteries brought batteries and taped them to their toys.

    THANK YOU to DJ Hyde, Maven Bentley, Brian McCauley, and CZW’ s social media staff… and as always the fans. Saturday’s collection set a record for Cage of Death as 12 full bags of toys (estimated at around 420 toys) tonight at a CZW show….more than any Cage of Death held at the Flyers Skate Zone or ECW Arena ever did.

    The evening began with five United States Marines who had come to escort the donated toys, brought into the ring by Maven Bentley to USA chants and a thundering and inspirational rock version of the National Anthem by Madison Rising, who describes themselves as “America’s Most Patriotic Rock Group”. 

    Dark match/Scramble match for spot in Best of the Best 

    Desmond Xavier defeated Rex Lawless, Chip Day,  Eddie Smooth, Conor Claxton, Lucky 13, Brittany Blake after a corkscrew moonsault

    In the show opener, Lio Rush defeated Joey Janela to win CZW Wired Championship.

    On any other show, this could have been a main event. This had incredible spot after spot…yet the two worked together seamlessly

    Greg Excellent defeated Tony Nese by pinfall with a Tiger Driver 

    George Gatton, who won the DOJO WARS battle royal to secure a spot in Cage of Death defeated CZW Owner DJ Hyde.

    Gatton ducked a Hyde lariat and rolled up Hyde out of nowhere. Hyde then put over Gatton post-match.. Gatton is a longtime CZW fan who went through a long training time at CZW’s Dojo and worked DOJO WARS shows. Gatton plays the underdog role to a T.

    The Amazing Gulaks defeated The Beaver Boys after an “Amazing splash”.

    CZW World Tag Team Titles 

    TV Ready (BLK Jeez/Pepper Parks) defeated Team Tremendous (actually Dan Berry and Sozio, substituting for Bill Carr) after interference by Cherry Bomb (who’d been selling the legit collarbone injury well after it had healed) , then a superbomb and BLK Jeez Walks.

    I Quit Match 

    Chainsaw Joe Gacy defeated Tim Donst in the “I Quit” match, this went all over the building, involving chairs with barbed wire, thumbtacks in the ring; finishing with Donst saying “I Quit” when Gacy threatened to throw Donst off a scaffold, through a table with a barbed wire chair. Submission or not, Gacy did it anyway, throwing Tim Donst off a scaffold through a cameraman…unlike WWE, a real operating cameraman.

    Ultraviolent Rules Death Match 

    Danny Havoc defeated Rickey Shane Page by pinfall after a dragon duplex through glass

    Sami Callihan returned to CZW to defeat David Starr after a good back and forth match with the Stretch Muffler. Post-match, Callihan put over David Starr, calling him “the future”, and  “one tough son a bitch”. Suddenly, out pops Jonathan Gresham complaining about Callihan getting the semi-main event “after he had been representing CZW around the world, winning championships…”. Callihan challenges him to get in the ring right then. Starr turns and pops Callihan in the head form behind. This sets up a potential three way for the February Anniversary show with Sami Callihan vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. David Starr

    Cage of Death:  The Bulldozer Matt Tremont retained his CZW World heavyweight Title defeating Masada, AR Fox and Devon Moore. 

    The finish saw Tremont and AR Fox we’re fighting on the scaffold, then Tremont hit a sidewalk slam on Fox, through a glass panel and through a table.

    CZW will take January off in Voorhees, because they are partnering with Canadian indy SMASH Wrestling on January 16 in Toronto with Team SMASH (led by Johnny Gargano) vs. Team CZW (led by Sami Callihan). CZW returns to the Flyers Skate Zone on February 13 for its anniversary show.

  • Lucha Underground TV season 2 taping results: Aztec Warfare match

    Submitted anonymously

    Show 1 — 

    Show started with a 4 way match between Cortez Castro, Mr Cisco, Kill Shot and Joey Ryan. I am not sure if Joey was at an earlier taping or if this was his debut. Crowd popped biggest for Joey in this match. 

    Before the match Catrina came out of her office and announced that the winner of this match would win a spot in the Aztec Warfare match. I’m not certain if this match was for a separate episode or not.

    Good match overall. Lasted under 10 minutes. Kill Shot in particular looked very good in this match. The two members of the Crew (Cortez and Cisco) at two points in the match got into each other’s faces and argued when they each broke up a pin attempt being made by the other. In the end Kill Shot hit a double foot stomp on Cortez and stumbled afterwards and before he could gain his balance and turn around for the pin Joey Ryan snuck in to get the pin and win an opportunity for the Aztec Warfare match. 

    AZTEC WARFARE match after this. Before the match Vampiro came into the ring and let the audience know that Catrina had set up this match since Fenix had won the Lucha Underground title. He would enter #1 and then Mil Muertes would enter in at #20, last in the 20 man match. 

    So Fenix came out for a big pop. And then Melissa Santos announced the next participant. She said they are from San Diego, CA and the crowd started the stir and after a moment she announced Rey Mysterio came out at 2.Huge pop. Probably the biggest pop of the night. This Aztec Warfare match lasted anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour. I don’t think I could name every spot because at times there was multiple things going on at once. It was a bit hard to keep track of everything. 

    Notable Spots:

     – REY Mysterio ended up hitting a 619 and then a frog splash on the #4 or 5th entrant Argenis very early on. After hitting the frog splash there was a lot of Eddie chants. 

      – Fun Spot – Jack Evans came out while three faces (Mysterio, Puma and Fenix) were stomping on King Cuerno. Evans called for them but neither looked at him. Then he spring boarded and they moved out of the way so he landed his splash right on the mat. Then the three faces all stomped on him which led to Mundo trying to join in on the stomping and the faces all looked at him and started hitting him. 

     – Another fun spot – Joey Ryan came out and handcuffed himself to a side gate and announced that he was going to stay there and win the match since no one could pin him as he was handcuffed to the railing(more on this later)

    – PJ Black made an appearance late in the match. I couldn’t see much of his out of the ring action from where I was standing. However later in the match he ended up being pinned by Texano JR

    – When Brian Cage entered he ended up fighting with Mundo on the outside. Mundo threw him into the office window and then much later into the match Cage then attacked Mundo and threw Mundo back in for him to get pinned by Prince Puma. Later on in the match Mundo came back and knocked out Cage by hitting him and smashing a cinder block on his head which led to Cage being pinned. 

    – Finally Mil Muertes came out with still around 6-9 people still left in the match. As he was down the steps Pentagon JR came out from behind with a chair. Pentagon hit Muertes several times with a chair and then threw him in the ring for Mysterio to hit a splash on him and REY and then Puma on top of Rey to pin Muertes and get him out.

    – Muertes after a minute to recover from this was furious and chased off Pentagon. Catrina then started to yell and then slap Vampiro for mentoring Pentagon JR. And then out came Dario Cueto to a huge pop. He said that he was the boss and this was his temple. He announced that there is one more participant in this 20 man match. It was his brother Matanza. 

    Note on Matanza’s appearance he was about the same height as Pentagon JR. He had on a leather mask with a black skull cap underneath. The mask looked like a mix from something out of an insane asylum with it covering his mouth leaving little thin lines for air and it wrapped around his head not fully covering his head so it showed his black skull cap. Kind of looked like the Jason X mask but it was leather and wasn’t exactly the same as that mask. Just reminded me of that mask is all. Matanza was wearing for an outfit a garbage collector outfit. Similar to a Wyatt family outfit that Daniel Bryan and Rowan wear. Except Matanza’s was a dirty grey one that also had blood. His mask also had spots of dried blood on it. 

    Anyway the match ended after Matanza took out several people. He took out Texano JR. He took out Chavo after Chavo tried to get him to attack some of the faces. Matanza took out Aerostar as well with a german suplex bridged into a pin. One of the very first people Matanza took out was the Lucha Underground champ Fenix. It was a little anticlimatic when he pinned him. Audience was certainly stunned. He pinned Fenix with a powerslam as his finish. Matanza sold very little. No sold a stunner from Mack and then pinned him after with the German Suplex into a pin. Came after Joey Ryan and smashed him against the gate and then broke the handcuffs and destroyed him in the ring. After he took out all those people all was left was Rey and Puma.

    Puma and Rey double teamed Matanza. Eventually he threw Rey out of the ring and then took out Puma. Rey put up a bit of a fit after a long stare down. Matanza caught Rey’s legs when he attempted a 619. Slammed Rey down. Rey kicked out. Rey hit another 619. Matanza kicked out at 1 i believe. Matanza then beat down Rey and won the Lucha Underground title. 

    Notes on Matanza. He was as I said about the height of Pentagon Jr. He was a strong man. He was also very agile. He did a standing shooting star press at one point which was impressive.

    Show 2 — 

    So this next taping started with a promo by Cueto. He announced that they needed to figure out a number 1 contender for his brother’s title.  He also announced that there would be a new tournament for the number 1 contender for the Trios title. And then Pentagon JR came out. I don’t speak much spanish but I understood that Pentagon wanted to know why he wasn’t in the Aztec Warfare match. Cueto said he wasn’t championship material which the crowd booed. Pentagon was super over by the way. Pentagon then said he wanted a match with Cueto’s brother for the title tonight. After Cueto said no he then had him in position to break his arm as he did last season many times. Cueto eventually said yes to the match before Pentagon could break his arm.

    Then came out Sexy Star accompanied by Mack. She faced Cheerleader Melissa( I belive it was her. Not 100% but I do think it was her in the mask) she was accompanied by Marty the Moth. I didn’t catch the name they announced for Melissa. Cheerleader Melissa won in a short match. 

    Then there was a trios elimination match for the Trios title. Ivelisse, Angelico, and Son of Havoc (champs) beat the Disciples of Death. Very good and entertaining match. Ivelisse was the first to get pinned. One DoD then got pinned by Angelico. Some awesome spots in this match. No jumping off rooftops or anything but it was a good match. Angelico got pinned next setting up a 2 on 1. Havoc got a pin on one DoD and was about to get another before Catrina knocked him off the top rope. Ivelisse came out and superkicked Catrina and allowed Havoc to retain the Trios titles. 

    There was a tag team match for the second episode they taped. It was a tag team match with Mundo and he had a female partner. I didn’t catch her name. She was a blonde with pink at the tips of her hair. They faced off against the Crew (Cortez and Mr Cisco). They had a short match. Mundo and his partner were mainly playing heels. They worked Cisco for most of the match until Cortez picked up the hot tag. Cage came out and Mundo tagged himself out and stayed on the opposite side of the ring. Cage stood on right outside of the ropes and Mundo was too scared to break up a pin and so the Crew picked up the win. Mundo ran off with his partner before Cage could attack. This match came after the Cueto promo. Then came the Trios title match and then the Sexy star match and ended with the Pentagon match. 

    Main Event: Pentagon JR vs Matanza. This was basically an extended squash. Crowd was super into Pentagon. He was really over. Pentagon kicked the hell out of Matanza but Matanza sold very little. He threw Pentagon outside slammed him into the ring post on right on Pentagon’s back and threw him into the crowd’s chairs two different times. He then slammed Pentagon into the gate railing. Pentagon was selling a back problem. Pentagon got a little offense in. Got to hit Matanza with a back breaker but Matanza no sold it. Matanza ended up pinning Pentagon after the powerslam. Vampiro ran in to check on Pentagon and threw up the X sign to get him help. He yelled for an ambulance. Matanza knocked out Vampiro and continued his attack on Pentagon and eventually slammed him throw the announce table. Matanza left to loud boos with Cueto at his side. Pentagon left on a stretcher. The show ended with loud chants by the crowd chanting Cero Miedo. Stryker was seen in shock and held up his microphone so the tv audience could hear the chanting for Pentagon after he left on the stretcher. 

  • Daily pro wrestling history (12/13): Sheamus wins WWE title in a tables match

    1883 

    Boston, Massachusetts:
    – H.M. Dufur defeated John McMahon for the American Collar-and-Elbow Title

    1905

    Des Moines, Iowa:
    – “Farmer” Martin Burns beat Charles Hackenschmidt 2/3 falls

    1920

    New York City:
    – Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Joe Stetcher to win the New York version of the World Heavyweight Title

    1923

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – World Heavyweight Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Josef Gurkeweicz 2 falls to 0
    – Stanislaus Zbyszko beat Yousif Hussane 
    – Jim Londos beat Hans Schmitt 

    1940 

    Akron, Ohio:
    – Buddy Knox defeated The Great Mephisto to win the Midwest Wrestling Association (Ohio) Light Heavyweight Title 

    1944

    Des Moines, Iowa:
    – World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat Jerry Meeker 2 falls to 0
    – World Junior Heavyweight Champion Ken Fenelon beat Honey Boy Hackney 2 falls to 0 

    1952

    Roseburg, Oregon:
    – Frank Stojack defeated Roger Mackay for the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title 

    1960

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – Gene Kiniski beat Wilbur Snyder by countout to win AWA US Title
    – Roy McClarty beat Hard Boiled Haggerty dq
    – Nick Roberts beat Len Montana dq
    – Bob Geigel beat Lou Whitson’

    Pensacola, Florida:
    – Lee Fields defeated Pancho Villa for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title

    1961

    Honolulu, Hawaii:
    – The Masked Executioner defeated Lord James Blears for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title

    1963

    St. Joseph, Missouri:
    – Enrique Torres defeated Rock Hunter for the Central States version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title 

    1966

    Tampa, Florida:
    – The Infernos (Frankie Cain and Rocky Smith) defeated Jose Lothario and Sam Steamboat to win the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Title 

    1968

    St. Joseph, Missouri:
    – Dusty Rhodes defeated Tommy Martin for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title 

    1969

    Melbourne, Australia:
    – Mario Milano & Spiros Arion defeated Skull Murphy & Brute Bernard to win the IWA tag title

    – Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne defeated Beauregard and Roger Kirby for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title

    1972

    Mobile, Alabama:
    – Bob Kelly defeated The Spoiler to win the City of Mobile Heavyweight Title

    Honolulu, Hawaii:
    – Don Muraco won battle royal
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat King Curtis
    – Dusty Rhodes drew Sam Steamboat
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Don Muraco & Red Bastien
    – Billy Robinson beat Jack Carson
    – Ed Francis beat Sueno
    – Tosh Togo drew Bull Bullinski
    – Spiros Arion beat Dennis Stamp

    1973

    Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
    – Duke Miller defeated Ken Lucas for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Jim Brunzell defeated Jim Ledford
    – Black Angus defeated Bob Drummer
    – Lord Alfred Hayes fought Mike George to a double-DQ
    – Harley Race defeated Bob Orton in five falls
    – Bob Brown defeated Roger Kirby in three falls

    1975

    New Brockton, Alabama:
    – Duke Miller defeated Ken Lucas to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title 

    1976 

    Vancouver, British Columbia:
    – Don Leo Jonathan defeated John Quinn for the Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title 

    1979 

    Tokyo, Japan:
    Dory Jr & Terry Funk defeated Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta 

    1981

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Perro Aguayo defeated Chris Adams to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Title

    1982

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Mark Romero (later known as Mark Youngblood) defeated Hercules Hernandez for the NWA Central States Television Title 

    1986

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – The Rock ‘n’ Roll RPMs (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) defeated Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Title 
    – Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) won the CWA International Tag Team Title from Akio Sato and Tarzan Goto

    Portland, Oregon:
    – Rip Oliver defeated The Assassin for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title

    1987

    San Juan, Puerto Rico:
    – Miguel Perez, Jr. defeated Kareem Mohammed to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title

    1988

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – AWA World Champion Jerry Lawler defeated World Class Champion Kerry Von Erich to unify the titles. 
    – Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson ddq Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden
    – Strap Match: Wahoo McDaniel beat Manny Fernandez
    – World Class tag Team Champions Samoan Swat Team beat Michael Hayes & Steve Cox
    – Boot Camp Match: Sgt. Slaughter beat Colonel DeBeers dq
    – The Terrorist won a lingerie battle royal
    – Greg Gagne beat Ronnie Garvin by countout to regain the AWA TV Title
    – Ricky Rice & Derrick Dukes & Wendi Richter beat Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond & Madusa Meceli
    – Texas Champion Iceman King Parsons beat Brickhouse Brown
    – Jimmy Valiant beat Wayne Bloom
    – Eric Embry beat Jeff Jarrett to regain the World Class Light Heavyweight Title
    – Chavo Guerrero & Mando Guerrero & Hector Guerrero beat the RPMs & Cactus Jack

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy defeated Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada in the finals of All Japan’s Real World Tag League to win the vacant All Japan World Tag Team Title

    1989 

    Huntsville, Alabama:
    – The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku) defeated Demolition (Ax and Smash) for the WWF Tag Team Title 

    1992

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Gran Hamada defeated Black Power II in a tournament final for the vacant UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Title 

    Bremen, Germany:
    – Tony St Clair defeated Jimmy Snuka to win the CWA British Commonwealth title

    1993

    – Alundra Blayze (Madusa) defeated Heidi Lee Morgan in the finals of a tournament to win the revived WWF World Women’s Title

    1994

    Osaka, Japan:
    – Shinjiro Ohtani defeated Norio Honaga for the UWA Welterweight Title

    1995

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – Jushin Liger defeated Gedo to win the Super J Cup

    1998

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – Rob Van Dam and Sabu defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) to win the ECW Tag Team Title

    2002

    Zurich, Switzerland:
    – Sting defeated champion Lex Luger and Malice in a three way bout to win the World Wrestling All-Stars World
    Heavyweight Title

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Ultimo Guerrero defeated Shocker to win the CMLL Light Heavyweight title

    2008

    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:
     – John Morrison and The Miz won the WWE Tag Team championship by defeating CM Punk and Kofi Kingston

    2009

    San Antonio, Texas:
    – Sheamus defeated John Cena in a tables match to win the WWE title
    – Undertaker defeated Batista in a chairs match to retain the World title
    – DX (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified Tag Team Titles in a TLC match
    – Drew McIntyre defeated Shelton Benjamin to win the Intercontinental title

  • WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2015 Preview and Predictions

    So WWE went ahead and rebooted itself shortly after Survivor Series. They sort of had to, after all, when their long term project Seth Rollins was put out of action with a serious knee injury. Out of all the situations they could have done, they went ahead and did the one that made the least amount of sense – make Sheamus, who on that very same show was treated like a total geek in a nothing match – the WWE champion, pinning new champion Roman Reigns after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

    Sheamus, now the top heel in the company (except whenever the Authority make their presence), has formed a stable consisting of him, Wade Barrett, Rusev and Alberto del Rio known as the League of Nations. Their target is Roman Reigns, who gets another title opportunity this weekend thanks to Triple H, who just gave it to him despite doing everything in his power to get the belt off Reigns. The odds are stacked against him, but he’s proven that he can win the big one, as evidenced the previous month. Will we see a new champion crowned at the final pay per view of the year, or will the Authority’s latest charge find a way to keep his title?

    Our predictors for this month’s show:

    – Bryan Rose: New Japan house show/AXS reporter

    – James Cox: WWE Superstars reporter and WWE DVD reviewer

    – Jeremy Peeples: TNA Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground reporter

    – Steve Khan: WWE Smackdown reporter

    Chairs Match for the WWE United States Championship: Alberto del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

    Bryan Rose: A main event in any arena! Or, should I say, a Main Event main event in any arena. Really, the booking is so lame here. You take Jack Swagger, who has not been on TV for months besides doing jobs on Main Event and Superstars, and now suddenly he’s number one contender just because. He has zero momentum to speak of, Alberto only has a bit more, and overall this just feels like a very lame feud that they gave zero time or effort to get over. Whether or not Zeb is involved doesn’t really matter, as with the new League of Nations gimmick he’s the odd man out, plus he and Alberto really have no chemistry to speak of. With that said, I fully expect it now to be a swerve that will allow del Rio to get the clean win. Over Jack Swagger.

    Winner: Alberto del Rio

    James Cox: It is difficult to hold out much hope for a gimmick match that has traditionally not offered up classic matches. The most intriguing thing will be how they use Zeb, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they just completely ignore that angle and move on without him at all. Swagger can never get over with this character unless they let him win, but, clearly, he’s losing here after what I would guess will be a tussle and back-and-forth between their submission moves in the finish.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Jeremy Peeples: This feud has been built up terribly on television and this match seemingly serves no purpose. Swagger is feuding with MexAmerica, which no longer exists after Raw, so why is this happening? Beyond just giving Swagger a payday, it should be a fine showcase for Alberto and perhaps they bring Swagger and Zeb together. There’s a very slim chance they give Swagger the title here to move Alberto into the WWE Title picture officially, but that seems very unlikely.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Steve Khan: I expect a lot of chairs to be used in this match. Maybe Del Rio will double foot stomp a chair into Swagger’s face. Or maybe he’ll superkick a chair into Swagger’s face. Or maybe he’ll do an armbar through a chair. Either way…

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Eight Man Tag Team Elimination Tables Match: The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno vs. The Wyatt Family

    Bryan Rose: I guess ECW is still popular enough in 2015 that the return of Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno are going to get big reactions. Hey, that’s a testament to the power of WWE still getting over ECW 14 years after it went out of business, plus a misguided attempt to reboot it 9 years ago. I’m not sure what to expect here other than a bunch of table shots. With the Wyatts losing clean last month to the Undertaker, something tells me they’ll do just fine against Team Extreme (not to be confused with Team Xtreme).

    Winners: The Wyatt Family

    James Cox: I worry that this won’t amount to much after an initial ECW pop in Boston, but I hope that I’m wrong. In theory, you can use this to reboot The Wyatts after losing last month, but I don’t know how this company thinks anymore. You can certainly beat any of these men and I would assume they will at least protect Bray and Strowman. I really want this to be a lot of fun, on a ppv that doesn’t look that exciting as things stand.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Jeremy Peeples: They haven’t been doing much with the Dudleys, although Tommy Dreamer has been shockingly over and Rhyno is a welcome sight on the main roster. With Bubba Ray being truly wasted in this ECW/Attitude Era nostalgia act, hopefully he turns heel and does his own thing. Since there is no chance of that happening, Team Extreme will just be used to put over the Wyatts and they can talk about how the Wyatts are the only team in WWE history to defeat the Dudleys at their own game. Sure, it won’t be true, but it will tell a nice story.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Steve Khan: Whether or not this feud is continuing, the Wyatts should win and they probably will. Tables matches are dumb so I don’t expect much from this.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Divas Title: Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair in her corner) vs. Paige

    Bryan Rose: Does anyone care at this point? Now Charlotte’s teasing a heel turn because…I don’t know? I guess we aren’t supposed to think of the Divas as faces or heels? The only true babyface on the Divas roster at this point is Becky Lynch, who only pops up now and again. For all of this talk about a Revolution, we’re right back to square one with Divas whose one note gimmicks are that they are either heels or crazy people. Virtually nothing’s changed now and that’s probably the saddest thing about the WWE this year. Charlotte retains, I guess, but who can care at this point?

    Winner: Charlotte

    James Cox: I hope we see the completion of a double turn in this one. The muddying of the waters around who is the heel is just irritating. Flair can be either. On his own, he’s always going to get a babyface reaction, but with Charlotte I can see that they can use him in that way. But the fact that I’m writing this, after what happened last month with the Flair family name, is ridiculous. With no smoke and mirrors, they’re going to have to work hard to make a Boston crowd care much.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Jeremy Peeples: This feud has been a colossal waste of both women, but Paige’s character is more of a babyface than Charlotte’s now since she’s speaking the truth – it’s just a truth no one wants to accept. Of course, a double turn won’t do much for either of them since the commentators will just talk about how it’s okay for Charlotte to cheat because her dad did, so everything will be undercut. They had a good-ish match on the last PPV and a better one on Raw, so I expect this to have pretty good action if the match itself isn’t just a backdrop to the angle. Charlotte needs the title more than Paige, and a heel-ish win moves her cocky character forward too.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Steve Khan: Paige should really be the star of this division right now, as Charlotte has been nothing as champion, but her storyline over the last few weeks has probably bought her more time with the belt. She cheated last month by accident, so I think she cheats on purpose here to pick up the win. The match itself should be good.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Ryback vs. Rusev

    Bryan Rose: This match was added at the very last minute on Smackdown. They’ve built it up the last few weeks in a build that was, well, just a build. As for the actual match, it could go either way. This could either be a fun slugfest or a WWE-style centric match, which can produce a boring bout. Let’s hope for the latter. I say Rusev wins as he needs some heat on him following his return.

    Winner: Rusev

    Steve Khan: It seems like this show could be dominated by heels, so Ryback getting a token win wouldn’t surprise me, but they just reunited Rusev and Lana and Rusev is in the League of Nations so he should really win.

     Winner: Rusev

    Ladder Match: WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. The Usos vs. The Lucha Dragons

    Bryan Rose: I think this’ll be a stunt show, but a good one. All three tag teams are probably going to go all out here, with lots of ladder shots in between. Not the best built program leading to this, but not many matches on the show were anyway. I see the New Day winning here because there really aren’t any tag teams that are over enough for them to drop the titles so.

     Winner: The New Day

    James Cox: This is a classic case of being booked into a corner by creating gimmick ppvs in advance. There’s no reason to have three teams in this match. But, I’d call this to be the match of the night, provided it isn’t just a spot-fest. Kofi, Kalisto and The Usos are all capable of doing something special here. The New Day have become bloated versions of themselves in the last few weeks, but it makes zero sense for them to lose the titles, other than just for the sake of playing hot potato with the belts.

     Winner: The New Day

    Steve Khan: This obviously has potential to be match of the night and hopefully it’s given time to produce. I would actually put the titles on the Usos. WWE is in love with New Day but too many babyface acts are coming up short lately, and that could continue on this show if Ambrose and Reigns both lose. New Day can come out of this feud as champions eventually, and they’ll probably win here despite what I Just said, but I’ll go out on a limb (?) and take the Usos.

     Winner: The Usos

    Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

    Bryan Rose: This should be a good match if given time. I can’t say there’s a whole lot of interest here because the way it was built, which included Dean Ambrose throwing soda and popcorn at his opponent, and Owens using the walkout finish on nearly every match he’s been in leading up to this one. But again, if they are given enough time, they can go out there and steal the show. As for who wins, it could go either way, but I see Owens retaining here in some sort of finish that allows a rematch for next month.

     Winner: Kevin Owens

    James Cox: With all the bells and whistles that this show has, I feel like time could be an issue here. If they give them 15mins, they can have a great match. Less than 12 and I struggle to see this being much better than just OK. Owens is a great heel and Ambrose a great babyface, but only if the company want them to be and are prepared to invest time in them. With one eye on WrestleMania now, you’d have to think that if Ambrose wins, Owens becomes a potential for the Rumble or a high spot on the WrestleMania card. But in theory, with this weakened roster, so should Ambrose.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Jeremy Peeples: This match really hasn’t had much of a build to it, and Raw’s popcorn and soda usage didn’t exactly set fire to the feud. Dean Ambrose has no momentum, while Owens at least has some – so he seems like a lock to win – especially if they decide to throw him in as one of the many champions in the League of Nations. Doing so would keep this feud alive and make a Dean win in the future mean more since it showed Roman’s group could take something from Sheamus’s.

     Winner: Kevin Owens

    Steve Khan: It occurred to me that this company may not want to put a title on Dean Ambrose as long as Roman Reigns is without one himself. Imagine the Usos and/or Ambrose walking out with Reigns and they have belts but he doesn’t? That puts the odds against Ambrose and the Usos on this show. Watching the babyfaces constantly come up short is getting tiresome, so that’s probably what we’ll see. The match itself should be good.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    TLC Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus (c) vs. Roman Reigns

    Bryan Rose: So they went ahead and did the worst possible finish they could have done at Survivor Series by making Sheamus the WWE champion again. Booking and ratings aside, Sheamus has never felt like a main event talent, and that is what causes me to have little to no interest in this match. They’ll work hard and probably have a good match. But I’m jaded enough on WWE’s product to know there will probably be a screwy finish here that leaves Roman Reign a loser for the upteenth time this year, leading to a Royal Rumble scenario that probably sees him winning the title shot again. To say this isn’t interesting television right now is an understatement. But hey, Roman Reigns has a few people cheering for him now, so I guess it all paid off, right?

    Winner: Sheamus

    James Cox: A TLC match is just the kind of match that Sheamus does well in when in the main event picture: long brawls where he ultimately stands tall, drenched in sweat. There’s so much that they can do here with the two factions that they have created around each of them, that maybe this will become just a series of run-ins. I hope not. This needs to kick start this programme and, ideally, we should know by the end of it what our Royal Rumble main event is. But Reigns losing again? That feels like one too many. In a TLC match I guess you can still keep him looking strong despite the defeat. And let’s not forget that, for whatever reason, this company likes Sheamus.

    Winner: Sheamus

    Jeremy Peeples: Sheamus is dangerous enough in a regular match, but adding at least three implements of destruction (or toys as JBL could call them) adds even more risk to Roman. With so many people out with injury, I wouldn’t put Roman in this match against Sheamus, but it’s booked and Sheamus needs to look strong. The problem is that Roman needs to as well and really can’t be losing so many title matches. With that said, Sheamus needs the win and has an entire stable to ensure a victory, so he is the likely victor and then Roman will have to overcome the entire League of Nations to get a rematch or something along those lines.

    Winner: Sheamus

    Steve Khan: The finish of the match is important (or at least the follow-up) because it potentially sets up the title picture through WrestleMania, which probably has a lot of moving parts at the moment. Reigns winning here seems unlikely. If he gets a rematch at the Rumble, he can win that and go into WrestleMania as champion. But if he loses and the Authority refuses to give him another rematch, then Reigns goes into the Rumble and probably wins that. That leaves a hole for Sheamus to be filled at the Rumble. Maybe they’ll throw Brock Lesnar or Undertaker or John Cena in there to set up a match with Reigns, but for now it doesn’t really matter.

    Winner: Sheamus

  • Two major names debut at tonight’s Lucha Underground TV taping

    Both Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dario Cueto’s mythical brother MATANZA debuted tonight at the Lucha Underground television tapings.

    Lucha Underground announced Mysterio’s expected signing today in a press release.

    “When it comes to in-ring performers, Rey Mysterio is among the elite and we are thrilled to welcome him and his skills to the ‘Lucha Underground’ franchise reinforcing our promise to bring US audiences the very best in lucha libre wrestling,” said Executive Producer and Showrunner, Eric Van Wagenen.

    Mysterio said:  “I am excited by the opportunity to join such an extraordinary group of athletes and be a part of the Lucha Underground family.  It is a privilege to be able to represent this sport and have a chance to share my love of Lucha with passionate wrestling fans around the globe.”

    Matanza Cueto is the new Lucha Underground champion. They had a 20-man Aztec Warfare match at the tapings, which is Lucha Underground’s modified version of the WWE Royal Rumble. Rey Mysterio showed up at #2 after the first entrant, Fenix. Matanza showed up at 21 after being introduced by Cueto. He pinned Fenix and it finally came down to Mantanza vs. Rey at the end, and Mantanza cleaned house and won the championship.

    Lucha Underground Season 2 premieres on El Rey Network on Wednesday, January 27 at 8pm ET/PT.

  • Daily Update: Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo, petition to remove Trump from HOF

    Here is F4WOnline.com’s coverage of UFC 194, Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor for the featherweight title.  As was mentioned yesterday almost all of the professional fighters picked Aldo over McGregor when asked who they thought would win.  The professional fighters were not in such heavy agreement for the somewhat forgotten and understandably overshadowed co-mainevent between Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold for the light heavyweight title.  It is a very hard fight to pick as they seem VERY evenly matched.

    UFC 194 FROM THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS ON SATURDAY NIGHT

    Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time

    Marcio Alexandre Jr. vs. Court McGee

    Yancy Medeiros vs. John Makdessi

    Magomed Mustafaev vs. Joe Proctor

    FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern time

    Kevin Lee vs. Leonardo Santos

    Warlley Alves vs. Colby Covington

    Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger vs. Tecia Torres

    Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Saenz

    PPV AT 10 p.m. Eastern time

    Max Holloway vs. Jeremy Stephens

    Gunnar Nelson vs. Demian Maia

    Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo Jacare Souza

    Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title

    Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor for the featherweight title

    WWE TLC PPV ON SUNDAY FROM THE TD GARDEN IN BOSTON

    Sheaumus vs. Roman Reignns for WWE title in a TLC match

    Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose for IC title

    New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Usos in a ladder match for tag tiltes

    Charlotte vs. Paige in a Divas title match

    Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger for the U.S. title in a chair match

    Bray Wyatt & Erick Rowan & Luke Harper & Braun Strowman vs. Dudleys & Tommy Dreamer & Rhyno in a tables match

    Sunday is almost NXT in Blackpool, England.

    Raw will be Monday night in Philadelphia while NXT runs Monday night in Nottingham, England.

    Smackdown will be taped Tuesday night in Newark, NJ while NXT runs Tueday night in Cardiff, Wale.

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 12/7/2015: McDevitt comments on concussion lawsuits
    Details on Jerry McDevitt’s comments on the ongoing concussion lawsuits against WWE, Alan discusses potential candidates for 2015’s best rookie.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    Coverage of the biggest weekend in UFC history, the stories behind the big matches, scouting the fighters, the business and handicapping the fights is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at the promotion of the show, how changes in the UFC can affect the major fights, little things in each fight that haven’t beentalked about, fugure for the winners and much more is looked at.

    We also look at the New Japan Tokyo Dome show, the New Japan tag team tournament, what’s new with A.J. Styles and his schedule, the controversy over the winners of the tournament and how it played out, New Japan business this past month and going forward, tournament standings and a rundown of the shows this past week.

    We also have an update on Sting and his condition coming off the match with Seth Rollins, something to watch for about a very significant WWE employee, WWE increasing security at leve events, WWE putting up lots of new content on the network, why the Stampede tapes were taken down, Alberto Del Rio blames AAA for his not coming back and losingg the title, why the time-line of what he says doesn’t add up, another new franchise movie idea for Dwayne Johnson, a new WWE movie annnounced, Mick Foley’s son with WWE, Sami Zayn’s return, Tommy Dreamer’s schedule, WWE surveys, John Cena media, WWE and ESPN update, NXT taping news, Brock Lesnar schedule news, WWE firing, Del Rio & Colter alliance, as well as notes on all the NXT house shows from the past week as well as all the WWE house shows of the past week and the business from the last week.   

    We’ve got a look at this year’s Tokyo Sports pro wrestling awards, all the winners, how the balloting went down, as well as a list of every MVP dating back to 1974, and why different people won the awards and the nature of the politicas behid the awards.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 14, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Biggest weekend in UFC history, tons more

    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@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    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 sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    For the record, and since he’s been spot-on with his own predictions in the past, Conor McGregor told Dana White that he would knock out Jose Aldo Jr. in four minutes of the first round tonight.

    Bryan and Dave have already done the first of four straight radio shows this weekend, last night’s UFC preview show talking all of the news from Vegas, plus pro-wrestling notes from PWG, WWE and more.  They’ll be back tonight with the UFC recap show, Sunday with the WWE TLC recap show, Monday with the Raw recap show, plus Bryan will have his usual weekend fare up as normally scheduled (Wrestling Observer Live TLC pre-show Sunday, Bryan & Vinny Show talking TLC Sunday night, After Dark Radio (more below), etc.).

    WWE

    UFC/MMA

    • Dana White on Frankie Edgar getting a title shot after his destruction of Chad Mendes last night: “Nobody can deny Frankie anymore. He looked amazing tonight, and he’ll get whatever he wants.”
    • If the last  three days straight of MMA weren’t enough for you, Pancrase 273 will air on UFC Fight Pass around the time UFC 194 ends. No real names on the show that would be familiar  to North American fans with Issei Tamura, who fought TJ Dillashaw at UFC 158, being the only former UFC fighter  on the card. The main event is a bantamweight title fight between Shintaro Ishitawa and Victor Henry. There will also be a men’s strawweight title fight on the show.
    • Speaking of Fight Pass show, Bellator Heavyweight Champion Vitaly Minakov knocked out Josh Copeland in the main event of a show that aired on the UFC’s streaming service on Friday. He’s now 17-0.
    • In the main event of the ONE Championships show yesterday from Manilla, which was tarnished by the death of a young fighter scheduled to compete on it just hours prior, Brandon Vera KO’d Paul Cheng to become that group’s Heavyweight Champion. Strawweight sensation Angela Lee moved to 4-0 on the undercard  with a 2nd round sub. She’s finished every one of her pro opponents and is already one of the most popular fighters on their roster.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • On the latest edition of the 6:05 Superpodcast, David Bixenspan and Brian Last discuss the amazing story of Vince Russo being booked as entertainment at Brian’s bar mitzvah 23 years ago.
    • From Bryan Alvarez:  For those of you asking about the Dark Matter Digital Network and the apparent final retirement of Art Bell, I really don’t know what is going on, nor do I know if I will be doing a show on the network this coming Sunday night.  All I know for sure is that one way or another, After Dark will continue, even if it goes back to being a podcast on the website as it was originally before we moved over there.  There will be a new show this weekend as I’ve already taped the interview with James Garbarino where we will discuss the psychology of mass shooters based on his 20 years of interviewing killers after the fact.  There is more information on the situation up at Artbell.com.  Whatever happens, I do want to really thank Keith Rowland for all of the often-thankless hard work and personal expense that he put into the Dark Matter Digital Network over the past few years, and I hope for only the best for him.
    • Freakshow Wrestling has a unique show (no surprise) tonight in East LA (926 Clela AVE, East LA 90002) with a fans bring the weapons main event featuring BLACK SANTA vs. ZOMBIE JESUS.  Santa will have Mrs. Claws in his corner and Jesus will be cornered by Mary.  Obviously.

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history 12/12: Lawler wins WCCW/USWA Title