St. Joseph, Missouri: – MWA Champion, Orville Brown beat Vic Holbrook 2 falls to 1 – Bobby Bruns beat Cowboy Roy Graham – Rube Wright drew Dan O’Connor
1948
Dallas, Texas: – Antonio Rocca defeated Danny McShain to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1968
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – The Crusher beat Mitsu Arakawa – Billy Red Lyons no contest Dr. X – Bill Watts beat Harley Race – Pampero Firpo beat Luke Brown – Lars Anderson beat Frankie Laine
1972
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch beat Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon – George Gordienko beat Ivan Koloff – Superstar Billy Graham beat Wahoo McDaniel – Don Muraco beat George Scott – Rene Goulet beat Bob Tuck
1973
Denver, Colorado: – No dq Match: Superstar Billy Graham beat Ken Patera – Billy Robinson beat Ivan Koloff – Ricky Romero beat Bill Crouch – Geoff Portz beat Tony Rocco
Chicago, Illinois: – Dick the Bruiser & Verne Gagne beat AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens dq – Larry Heiniemi beat Sailor Art Thomas – Pepper Gomez beat Baron Von Raschke – Bob Ellis beat Buddy Wolff – Rene Goulet beat Billy Red Cloud – Ric Flair drew Greg Gagne
1979
Houston, Texas: – Bruiser Brody defeated The Spoiler to win the NWA American Heavyweight Title
1986
St. Joseph, Missouri: – No DQ: Bulldog Bob Brown beat Sam Houston – Rufus R. Jones, Rocky King & George South beat The Mod Squad & Mark Fleming – Central States Tag Team Titles: Dave Peterson & Todd Champion beat The Warlord & Colt Steele to retain the titles – Mitch Snow beat Teijo Khan – Italian Stallion & Denny Brown beat Thunderfoot I & Thunderfoot II
Chicago, Illinois: – Curt Hennig beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq – Jerry Blackwell beat Colonel DeBeers – Midnight Rockers & Despina Montagus beat Buddy Rose & Doug Somers & Sherri Martel – Greg Gagne beat Larry Zbyszko dq – Leon White beat Boris Zhukov – Alexis Smirnoff & Yuri Gordienko beat Billy Robinson & Steve Olsonoski
1997
Monaca, Pennsylvania: – Shane Douglas defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the ECW World Heavyweight Title
2001
Sapporo, Japan – Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Vader & Scorpio to win the Pro Wrestling Noah Global Honored Crown Tag Team Title
Ric Flair is scheduled to appear on tonight’s WWE Raw show in Pittsburgh, PA.
Flair is in Pittsburgh now, but he is at a lot of WWE shows backstage because of daughter and current Divas Champion Charlotte being in the promotion. However, he was scripted into the show as of earlier today. Most likely, his role will be something to do with Charlotte’s angle with Paige, but as we know, WWE can change on a dime when it comes to scripts.
With a weak NFL Monday night game as competition (Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns), as far as the competition goes, Raw should rebound over last week’s 18-year-record low in the ratings. A number approximating last week’s would indicate the problem is deeper than NFL competition.
No matches have been announced at this time for the show, which, given the three weeks between shows, should include announcements of most of the top matches for the 12/13 TLC pay-per-view show.
We’ve just gone through Black Friday, and now here we are on Cyber Monday! No sales here as today the World Tag League continues, this time stopping at Ehime for the latest round of results. Should be noted that again AJ Styles has been taken off this show (where he was scheduled to compete in a prelim tag match); the next time he’s scheduled to compete is on Tuesday so we’ll see if he’s in shape by then.
Block A: Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe
Basic match. Fale worked a lot on Honma and so did Tonga. Makabe made a hot tag. They ended up getting the win after a top rope kokeshi by Honma followed by the King Kong Knee drop by Makabe for the win. Note that Makabe has taken most, if not all the wins in this tournament thus far.
The Kingdom vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii
Another basic match for the most part. More back and forth than the first match. The Kingdom actually channeled the Hardy Boyz at one point and did the old twist of fate/swanton bomb combo for a nearfall. Nakamura made a quick comeback and pinned Taven with a boma ye.
Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata
Fine match. Tanahashi and Elgin did their best to make this a fine main event and they succeeded in doing that, but not much else beyond that. Elgin and Nakanishi worked a lot of the match together. Nakanishi was immobile as usual but he and Elgin did big guy power spots that were fine. Double lariats to Tanahashi and Elgin. Nagata had Elgin in a armbar but Elgin lifted him up and threw him into Nakanishi, who had Tanahashi in the torture rack. Nakanishi was double teamed, tried a comeback but Elgin splashed him then hit the powerslam. Tanahashi followed with the high fly flow, then pinned him.
In the morning hours here in North America, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson fought Jorge Masvidal in the main event of the UFC’s debut in Seoul, South Korea — the last fight on his UFC contract. Now a free agent, the 32-year-old veteran is near the peak of his game and will be either an attractive acquisition or solid re-signing for the company that manages to secure his services.
In the past few years, many fighters considered top 10 in their weight class have been cut loose by UFC much to the outcry of hardcore fight fans who felt that if UFC was to be taken seriously as a sport, they shouldn’t let top tier talent walk away. But with Henderson, it’s different. Guys like Phil Davis, Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, and Yushin Okami were still top contenders but didn’t move ratings or PPV buys (proven when they went elsewhere), weren’t serious title contenders, and carried high price tags. While UFC runs a lot of cards and could use the depth that these guys provide, they also have a future to think of and names like the ones I’ve listed here were essentially roadblocks for younger talent to make their way to the top.
This is why someone like Henderson is very important. He could arguably be a top 10 competitor at either 155 or 170, and is someone that can very easily headline an FS 1 or Fight Pass card. He also fits in nicely in a co-main event position on a FOX show or PPV. The top of the show is familiar territory for him as in 14 UFC fights, he has been in either the main or co-main event position all but two times. And on one occasion, it could be argued that he was in the co-main (UFC on FOX 1), since only the main event fight aired on television.
On those shows, Henderson has delivered in terms of ratings or PPV buys…for the most part. Here’s a look*, listed by most recent appearance:
Fight Night 60 (main event vs Brandon Thatch) – 913,000 viewers on FS 1 (above average vs. an opponent with very little name recognition)
Fight Night 59 (co-main vs Donald Cerrone) – 2,751,000 viewers on FS 1 (record number obviously powered by Conor McGregor, but this was a strong co-main)
Fight Night 49 (main event vs Rafael Dos Anjos) – 689,000 viewers on FS 1 (below average,, but this was a very weak undercard and during a very down period for UFC)
Fight Night 42 (main event vs Rustam Khabilov) – 1,217,000 viewers on FS 1 (2nd highest FS 1 number at the time against an opponent with no name recognition)
UFC on FOX 10 (main event vs Josh Thomson) – 3.2 million viewers on FOX (above average)
UFC 164 (main event vs Anthony Pettis) – 270,000 PPV buys (the second highest number for a show headlined by a lightweight title defence that didn’t involve BJ Penn up to that point)
UFC on FOX 7 (Main event vs Gilbert Melendez) – 3.7 million viewers on FOX (well above average)
UFC on FOX 5 (main event vs Nate Diaz) – 4.4 million viewers on FOX (3rd highest number ever for UFC on that station)
UFC 150 (main event vs Frankie Edgar) – 190,000 PPV buys (very weak number for the period. Probably too soon after their first fight, which did very well
UFC 144 (main Event vs Frankie Edgar) – 375,000 PPV buys (still the highest number for a show headlined by a Lightweight title defence that didn’t involve BJ Penn)
UFC on Versus 5 (co-main vs Jim Miller) – 766,000 viewers on Versus (second highest number of the year on the station for a show with a weak main event of Dan Hardy vs Chris Lytle)
*His other two UFC fights were on the undercards of the first UFC on FOX show and UFC 129, both of which did monster numbers that had next to nothing to do with him.
Clearly, he’s made a difference for a number of years and should continue to do so as his skills haven’t diminished and as recently as this year, he was still doing very strong numbers for UFC. He’d be valuable for Bellator as they hope to bring bigger TV ratings to Spike TV, and would likely be favored in a fight against either their welterweight champion Andrei Koreshkov or lightweight champion Will Brooks. A win by either of those champions would legitimize those divisions in the eyes of fans and a win by Henderson would give them greater exposure and provide marketability that no fighter still in his prime has had for the company.
Asian MMA company ONE Championships would be another viable option. They run shows that draw big crowds in southeast Asia on more or less a monthly basis but have yet to make any real kind of dent in the North American market despite their shows being available on iPPV. A star the level of Henderson could help them get that foothold there while also helping ticket sales in that region, where he is very popular due to his maternal family being from the area.
Henderson is in a rare position where the UFC needs him as much as the outside companies do, maybe even more. Many cards that the UFC runs are somewhat skippable these days but having someone of his caliber on the marquee makes his fight almost a must-see. He almost always has the best fight on the show, and is one of the more skilled fighters in the world in two different weight classes.
Fighters like this do not become available all the time and Henderson should be in a position to almost name his price.
We’re looking for reports on toady’s WWE show in Huntington, WV with Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, The Wyatts, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, Alberto De Rio, Kane, Usos and Ryback. Send to NEWSTIPS
New Japan tag team tournament for today’s show in Ehime is up on New Japan World
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Raw is Monday in Pittsburgh. Nothing to this point has been announced for the show.
A look at the decision to make Sheamus the WWE champion and its ramifications is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We look at WWE’s options, both the obvious ones and the ones out of the box, different ways to use people, the nature of the decision, the prior identical decision in 2011 and the storyline it was supposed to lead to and why it was made.
We look at the real long-term goal, the note on the ratings, the portrayal of Sheamus leading up to the title change, the plans for the TLC show, what has been messed up, the women’s division, the WWE blaming Charlotte on a bad taste angle, ESPN and WWE, plus match-by-match coverage of Survivor Series with poll results and star ratings.
We look at the TNA deal with Pop TV, both the good and the bad of it, plus the tapings in Bethlehem, the economics of the deal and note on the station.
We’ve got a look at the New Japan tag team tournament, with current standings, goals of the tournament, who probably can’t win the tournament, and coverage of the tournament so far.
We also look at why Genichiro Tenryu is one of the biggest stars of the past 40 years in wrestling, with a look at his career in wrestling, his days in sumo, his early U.S. run, his rise in All Japan, why he left All Japan, how his leaving led to a boom period for All Japan, his deal with Super World Sports, his feud with Riki Choshu and Jumbo Tsuruta, the real story behind his Tokyo Dome match with Hulk Hogan, the story behind his rise. the WAR days his biggest matches and his final show.
We also have an update on Randy Orton, Cesaro, notes on new WWE signing La Sombra, thoughts on the Sombra signing, how it’s the same and different from the original Mistico signing, WWE week on USA and changes this year, WWE Network shows, Brock Lesnar’s return to Raw, legal briefs filed by WWE, why Stephanie McMahon has been gone from TV and why she’s back regularly, next Takeover special, HHH talks Hogan’s return, John Cena talks his departure, WWE star teases retirement in a few years, Mick Foley upset with creative direction and notes from the developmental shows over the weekend,.
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
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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.
A.J. Styles didn’t work today’s New Japan show in Ehime. His next tag team tournament match is scheduled for Tuesday.
Matt Hardy was hospitalized last night. He was wrestling Jeff Jarrett in Winston-Salem and he had a big cut opened up.
John Carelli aka Santino Marella was married yesterday.
Today is Jerry Lawler’s 66th birthday.
One of the biggest wrestling shows of its time, the U-Cosmos show, took place 26 years ago today, on November 29, 1989 at the Tokyo Dome. The UWF promotion, which had no television, sold out 50,000 tickets in three days for a show headlined by Akira Maeda vs. European judo champion Willie Wilhelm, Nobuhiko Takada vs. U.S. Olympic wrestler Duane Koslowski and there was an undercard match with Minoru Suzuki against future UFC heavyweight champion Maurice Smith (a worked match won by Smith).
The annual Mid Atlantic Fan Fest, the one where it’s seemingly always the last year it’ll take place, was just announced for 8/4 to 8/7 in Charlotte at the Hilton University Place.
Tyson Fury, who won the heavyweight boxing title last night over Wladmir Klitschko,was the third most searched item on Google yesterday with 200,000 searches, behind Ohio State vs. Michigan and Derrick Henry.
WWE
Natalya & Jim Neidhart have an autograph signing on 12/9 at HMV Underground at 333 Yonge St., in Toronto at 5 p.m.
Great North Wrestling from Friday night in Rockland, ONT before 450 fans: Preston Perry b Bushwhacker Luke, Vanessa Kraven b Jessica Black-COR, Yves Droiun & Michael Van Payton b Paul Rosenberg & Soa Amin, K-Nine b Bret McLeod, Blade b Mystify & Shooter Storm in a handicap match, Freak Nation b Katalyst & Sean MacMillan, Gregory Carpenter b Sami Tokan, Jeremy Prophet became the new Canadian champion in a three-way over Giant Darko and Hannibal when Senator Patrick Bazeau threw something in Hannibal’s eyes an pushed him off a ladder onto the floor. (thanks to Anthony Ambros)
Big Time Wrestling on 12/4 in Newark, CA at the Pavilion plus there is a Matt Striker seminar at 3 p.m. that today.
Joe Graves won a three-way round-robin tournament yesterday in Gilroy, CA over Timothy Thatcher and Jeff Cobb (Lucha Underground) under rounds rules. It was a very different kind of tournament as all three matches were grappling oriented, fought in rounds, with judges.
Ultimate Championship Wrestling from Friday night in Bay City, MI: Black Bushido b Malcolm Monroe III, Chelsea Marie b Misfit Mollie, Dave Duponte b TK Parker, Caleb Stills b Jake Something, Nitro & Malice & Chainsaw b Chuck Wagon & Andy Chene & Ray Orndorff, N8 Mattson b Palmer Cruise, Rod Street & Deputy Dave b Zach Gowen & Malcolm Monroe III, Sabu b DBA, Danny Shay b Hakim Zane, N8 Mattson won Battle Royal (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Pro Wrestling Phoenix today in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge with Arik Cannon headlining.
Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in St. Louis: Jake Dirden b Ric Maverick, Evan Morris b Jayson Khaos, Justin D’Air b Varik Morgan, Shorty Biggs & Outtkast won three-way over Rocket Mapache & Jackal and Ozzie Gallagher & Bahamatu, BillyMcNeil b Ace Hawkins, Danny Adams b Brandon Espinosa-DQ, Ricky Cruz NC Kevin Lee Davidson (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
UWC has its annual Toys for Tots toy drive on 12/5 in Wrightstown, NJ at Kelly’s Banquet Hall. Admission is free with an unwrapped toy (suggested value to be an excess of $10).
GOUGE Wrestling from last night in Durham, NC: Popo the Klown b Einsteiner, Chet Sterling b Otto Schwanz, Alas de Angel & Ese Joker b Gato Salvaje & Chicano Power, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. & Mickey Gambino b Seymour Snott & Waylon Maze and No Direction to win tag titles, Timmy Lou Retton b Ricky Reyes, Mickey Gambino won a turkey on a pole Battle Royal
For yesterday, here are the Florida main events over the years thanks to Barry Rose and his friends
1958 – Enrique Torres beat Big Ben Sharpe (West Palm Beach)
1960 – Eddie Graham & Chief Big Eagle beat Mighty Yankees-DQ (Orlando)
1963 – Eddie Graham & Don Curtis & Mark Lewin beat The Assassins (three of them) in a 2/3 fall match (Jacksonville)
1966 – Jose Lothario & Lester Welch beat The Infernos-DQ (Orlando)
1967 – Jose Lothario & Joe Scarpa (Chief Jay Strongbow) beat Tarzan Tyler & Johnny Valentine (Tampa)
1970 – Jack Brisco beat Tarzan Tyler (Miami Beach)
1972 – Jack Brisco beat Paul Jones to win the Florida title (Tampa)
1972 – Bob Orton Sr. & Bob Orton Jr. beat Sputnik Monroe & Norvell Austin via count out (Fort Myers)
1973 – Ron Fuller beat Don Carson via DQ (Fort Pierce)
1973 – Paul Jones beat Buddy Colt via DQ (Miami Beach)
1974 – Dusty Rhodes beat Cowboy Bill Watts to win the Florida title (Jacksonville)
1977 – Lars Anderson beat Pedro Morales (West Palm Beach)
1978 – Harley Race beat Jack Brisco to retain the NWA title (Tampa)
1979 – Harley Race double count out Manny Fernandez to retain the NWA title (Miami Beach)
1981 – Ric Flair beat Jack Brisco to retain the NWA title (St. Petersburg)
1984 – Jim Neidhart & Khrusher Khrushchev beat Mark & Jay Youngblood (Tampa)
Pro Wrestling Eclipse from last night in Oshawa, ONT: Bryan Castle b Jim Nye, Bee Machine won three-way over Green Phantom and Black Bushido, Jewells Malone b Xandra Bale, Phil Atlas b Sexxy Eddy, Tyler Tirva won four-way over John Atlas, Joshua James and Will White, Rage b Buck Gunderson (thanks to Steven Ashe)
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1981 – Faraon beat Ringo Mendoza in Guadalajara to win the Mexican national middleweight title
2000 – Ricky Marvin beat Virus in Acapulco to win the CMLL super lightweight and Mexican national lightweight titles
2002 – Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda beat Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi to win the WWWA womens’ tag team title
2009 – Shuji Ishikawa beat Kota Ibushi in Tokyo to win the KO-D open weight title
T Bone, Iestyn Rees, and Bubblegum beat Delirious, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish
Solid opener that ended with Bubblegum pinning Delirious who had part of his clothing caught in the turnbuckle. Bobby Fish really great with all his little comments throughout the match as usual.
Noam Dar beat Lionheart
After some fun and games revolving around Lionheart having only one diehard fan, he once again walked out taking a count out loss. After the match both Dar and Sha Samuels stated their claim to a Heavyweight title shot.
Kenny King beat Cedric Alexander
Ring announcer Richard Parker accidentally began to call Alexander “Kenny” during his intro with prompted much mirth and references to racism/Hulk Hogan. Decent match and Alexander always seems to over deliver in these sort of situations.
Dalton Castle beat Silas Young
Good match between two of the MVPs of the weekend.
War Machine beat Roy Knight and T Bone
Originally supposed to be both members of The Hooligans but Zak Knight legitimately got drunk last night and did his ankle ligaments falling over a kerb or something. Tremendously wild match, all sorts of chaos and big bumps around the ringside/chairs. Really good stuff, T Bone and Roy as warring tag team partners in the midst of a fight.
Adam Cole beat Bubblegum to retain the PCW Cruiserweight Title Bubblegum answered Cole’s open challenge. At this point the crowd was so tired for the rest of the show, but they tried hard to get a reaction. Cole retaining presumably means he will be returning in 2016.
Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby beat Charlie Garrett and Ashton Smith
A good comedy outing. Hayes got the pin on Smith whilst holding the ropes.
Roderick Strong beat Jay Lethal (non title match)
Strong picked up the win via submission when Lethal tapped to the Stronghold. Good mixture of some comedy to draw the crowd in and more serious stuff. Both guys seemed to enjoy the weekend, Lethal cut a pre-match promo putting over PCW and describing the weekend as not just a wrestling show but an experience. Strong spoke positively after the match, and called the rest of the ROH guys out to share the ring.
Wichita, Kansas: – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ede Virag beat Charley Lutkie – Jack Nasworthy beat Bill Ely
1956
Kansas City, Kansas: – Ernie Dusek, Emil Dusek and Joe Dusek beat Jim Dobie, Larry Hamilton and Sonny Myers 2 falls to 1 – Mighty Atlas beat Mario DeSouza 2 falls to 1
1960
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – AWA Tag Team Champions Hard Boiled Haggerty & Len Montana beat Verne Gagne & Joe Scarpello – Gene Kiniski beat Bob Rasmussen – Wilbur Snyder beat Tommy O’Toole
1962
Jacksonville, Florida: – Eddie Graham defeated Boris Malenko to win the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1972
Honolulu, Hawaii: – AWA Tag Team Champions Ed Francis & Billy Robinson beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens dq (only recognized in Hawaii) – The Destroyer beat Dory Dixon – Tosh Togo drew Jack Carson – Sam Steamboat beat John Foley
1973
Rockford, Illinois: – Weightlifting: Ken Patera beat Billy Graham dq – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Billy Robinson & Geoff Portz – Tony Rocco beat Ric Flair – Greg Gagne drew Rene Goulet
1980
Shreveport, Louisiana: – Killer Karl Kox defeated The Grappler for the Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight Title
Omaha, Nebraska: – Mad Dog Vachon beat John Studd dq – Adrian Adonis beat Greg Gagne – Dino Bravo & Tito Santana beat Jesse Ventura & Jerry Blackwell – Buck Zumhofe drew Steve Regal
1986
San Juan, Puerto Rico: – Al Perez defeated The Mighty Igor to win the WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title
1992
Knoxville, Tennessee: – The Rock N’ Roll Express defeated The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane & Tom Pritchard) in a Steel Cage match to win the SMW Tag Team Championshipin
1994
Chicago, Illinois: – Tito Santana defeated Cowboy Bob Orton Jr. to become the first American Wrestling Federation World Champion
2003
Miyagi, Japan: – Gedo & Jado defeated Hiroki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi in a tournament final to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
2010
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Sheamus defeated John Morrison in the finals of a one night tournament to win the WWE King of the Ring
The Big Takeaway: Adam Rose continues to lose with this woeful gimmick and The Miz and Zack Ryder, of all people, had a good match in the main event.
*****
R-Truth beat Adam Rose (3:32)
Adam Rose came out for a promo. He blamed the WWE universe for blocking his path to fame. He said that in the future everyone would talk about him because he’s going to be “so famous”. This was dull but he got good heat.
Straight off the bat, Truth tries an O’Conner roll, but Rose kicks out and they exchange arm rings. They chain wrestle until Truth stops Rose in his tracks and gyrates his hips at him. Then he hip tosses him and Rose begs for mercy, going to the ropes. The ref stops things, urging Truth to back off, but Rose takes the opportunity to use a cheap shot and then throws Truth outside and does a running kick on the apron.
Rose rolls Truth back in and goes for the cover, which only gets a two count. He beats him down with elbows and a chin lock but a backdrop gets Truth out. Rose’s charge to the corner is blocked by Truth’s elbow and then Truth gets the heat with clotheslines, a heel kick, but then he misses a scissors kick. Rose hits Truth with a discus clothesline and covers him for two. Then Truth stays down, playing possum, and after the ref checks on him he pops up and hits Rose with the Lie Detector for the win. What a heel!
The Miz beat Zack Ryder (7:02)
I saw Miz live at the house shows on the European tour recently and was really reminded what a great heel he can be, particularly given the right context. He plays The Miz very well. Ryder, meanwhile, was featured on last week’s Breaking Ground where they profiled Mojo Rawley and focused in on the tag teams. He really comes off as a thoughtful and dedicated guy who just desperately wants to play a role that is taken seriously in this company. Anyway, here, these two had a good match.
Miz takes his glasses off at the bell – I still quite like this spot. Ryder shoulder barges him, so Miz takes a walk. When he slides back in, he uses a shoulder barge of his own and then mocks the ‘Woo’ fist pump. Miz goes for a neckbreaker, but it is broken up by Ryder who hits him with a beautifully timed drop kick, followed by a face plant. Ryder sends Miz over the top rope to the outside and then missile drop kicks him through the ropes. He rolls him back in, but as Ryder is mounting the apron, Miz sends him flying into the announce table. We head to a break.
Miz is stomping Ryder as we return. When Ryder kicks out of a pin at two, he hits him with elbows. Ryder takes a buckle bump well and Miz does his running corner clothesline. Miz comes off the top with a double axe handle, but is punched in the stomach by Ryder and so they both go down. Ryder then gets some hope with a flying clothesline, but a top rope drop kick is dodged by Miz who hits him with a DDT for two. Then Miz tries for a suplex but it is reversed into a neckbreaker by Ryder for two.
Ryder then misses the Rough Ryder, Miz misses a charge to the corner and so Ryder goes for the Broski Boot. This is scouted by Miz, who rolls outside. Miz then counters a sunset flip, and holds the ropes while pinning Ryder. The ref spots it and breaks up the pin. Ryder charges and misses a cross body and hits the ropes, so Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the win. This was an entirely solid match.
We are back for the sixth day of World Tag League action, but instead of the normal 3-4 matches per card, we’re only up for two as AJ Styles had to pull out of today’s show in Yamaguchi due to a lower back injury. No word on his status for the rest of the tournament, but we do know that his team has officially forfeited this match, so Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto get an extra 2 points as a result.
The Addiction vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
Okay match, but nothing special. What I like about the Addiction here that isn’t prevalent in a lot of New Japan matches is that they are heels who cheat, but not like the Bullet Club where there’s a bunch of interference. They just work like heels and that’s kinda cool. They worked on Honma for most of the match. Makabe made a comeback and eventually just pinned Kazarian with the King Kong knee drop. Pretty anti-climatic finish.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows vs. Tencozy
Another decent and basic formulaic match, but everyone looked good. Bullet Club jumped Tencozy right at the bell. Anderson worked a lot of the match and was in control until Kojima made a comeback. Kojima kicked out of a gun stun. BC went for the Magic Killer but Tenzan cut them off and they hit a 3D. They got rid of Gallows as Kojima worked on Anderson. Kojima hit the ropes and Gallows grabbed his feet. In a split second, Anderson laid out Tenzan with a gun stun and soon after Kojima met the same fate. BC then hit the Magic Killer as Anderson pinned Kojima.
