Paypress testing

Category: Post Type article

  • TNA Impact results: Bobby Roode vs. Abyss headlines week 7 of the World title tourney

    Last week, Madison Rayne debuted wacky ninja training and used it against Gail Kim. Sadly, it didn’t do her much good as she still lost. Eli Drake cheated to beat Jessie Godderz, and Matt used a top rope Twist of Fate to beat Eddie Edwards. DJZ beat Mandrews with a cradle, while EC3 beat Anderson in the main event. A video package recaps the wins for last week’s matches, and tonight’s matches include Kong vs. Brooke and Roode vs. Abyss. There will also be a face off between Matt Hardy and EC3. Pope and Josh recap the events of the video package before we get another video package recapping the opening video. We’re two minutes into the show and they’re already loading the show with filler. Brooke, who just left the company, comes out to face Kong. Kong comes out and they recap her beating Rayne, but losing to Gail in the series.

    Brooke vs. Awesome Kong

    Pope talks about how the knockouts main event the show here in the opener, and then Josh says the main event will be Abyss vs. Roode. No part of that match screams “main event” at all. Kong gets a big Biel throw and Brooke responds with flying forearm shots. Kong takes her down and works on the fingers a bit. Kong stomps on the hand for a bit and they talk about having a target on her hand with the split. Brooke rolls to the floor and then rolls back in and gives her the double bird! Well, that was unexpected and hilarious. Kong whoops her ass for doing that and slams her down for a cocky two count with her foot on her chest. Brooke gets a drop toehold and gets a bizarre variant of the Cattle Mutilation that Kong counters. Josh plugs Dixie’s Twitter and Kong hits a modified AA on Brooke, but misses a corner splash. Turnbuckle X factor hits for 2. Kong counters a back suplex and hits the chokeslam for the win. Brooke is now out of the series as a contender, while Kong and Gail have advanced. This was pretty good. EC3 and Matt Hardy meet next. 

    We get a recap of Brooke vs. Kong while Josh asks just how for the knockouts can go in this tournament facing men. They throw to Matt Hardy on a very jumpy Skype video call where he says he’ll use the Matt Hardy Formula to win the series. EC3 says that Matt’s not in the champions group because he wasn’t a true champion. Matt rambles on about things and says “it’s gonna be YOU VERSUS I!” while EC3 says he wants to take him out in the series whenever he gets the chance. EC3 ends the promo mercifully while Josh threatens that it will continue later. EY talks about being a dangerous man and now isn’t a good night for Storm to face him and that Storm’s a has-been.

    After a break, we get a recap of EC3’s send-off on the promo. Josh says that EC3 has refused to be on-screen with Hardy, so we’ll get separate Matt Hardy and EC3 promos. Well, that will get the show closer to the grave, I suppose. Tigre Uno is out to face Manik, and he has to win to stay in the series. Pope calls Manik a maniac while Josh buries him for calling everyone a maniac and promises to buy him a thesaurus. Pope welcomes that as long as it has the word “maniac” in it.

    Tigre Uno vs. Manik

    They fly to the floor to start and Manik suplexes him on the ramp. Josh plugs their Youtube channel and says that in a couple of weeks, they’ll have a very interesting announcement with it. Well, that seems to indicate that they’ll be leaving DA and then publishing the show straight to their Youtube channel until they find a new TV deal. Something called Bracket Brawl is coming soon – I guess it’s a fan voting context, and the winner gets a free trip to an Impact taping. Josh plugs more things and says he’ll give Don West a run for his money. Manik gets a kneeling surfboard on Uno and turns it into an armbar. Uno kind of hits a weird springboard DDT. Uno gets a shotgun dropkick, but eats the double chickenwing lungblower for 2! Uno sends him down with a wacky inverted Samoan drop and wins with a split-legged corkscrew moonsault. 

    Recap of the TNA Originals’ finishes in the series so far. Josh says that EY vs. Storm is up next and one of the most important matches in the careers of either of these men. They recap Uno vs. Manik and Josh says that it will be a three way match between DJZ, Uno, and Manik next week to determine who goes on in the series. Basically, everyone moves on except for the guy who gets pinned. Josh brags about #bubbleburst trending since last week and then buries Storm for being done. A video of Abyss highlights airs while Roode puts him over as a monster. Storm comes down while Josh runs down a recap of how he got here, and then EY comes out and they do the same for him.

    Eric Young vs. James Storm

    EY jumps Storm and they cut to a break mid-mudhole stomp in the ropes. EY beats him up on the floor. Josh says there’s no honor among thieves while Pope says that EY just did it to Storm before he could have it done to him. So if cheating is okay for literally everyone to do, why should fans ever be angered by it? Storm fires back on EY with some elbows to the gut, but a hairpull sends him down for 2. Josh ponders that perhaps Storm will get fired up thinking about Eric Young being a trending topic in the series. Storm runs a bit wild and gets the corner hopping kick before landing a sloppy Codebreaker. EY goes for the piledriver, but eats a backdrop. Whirly Bird gets 2 for Storm and he’s cheered on by the fans. EY takes him down and grabs the legs for an ’80s cradle on the ropes for 2. Backstabber hits, but Storm gets lightly tapped off a forearm and EY low blows Storm and hits a piledriver for the win. Storm is out of the series. This was a basic match, but not bad outside of the commentary.

    Josh and Pope talk about Lashley vs. Austin Aries next week – well, that should be fantastic. Matt Hardy’s second promo of the evening is up next after a break. Matt says this could get anymore personal, and he loves taking haters and jamming their hate down their throats. He talks for 500 miles a minute and says that he is the guy. He’s confident and feels he’s as good as he’s ever been. No one can stop the Matt Hardy Train and he’s picking Roode to win the main event. Aiden ‘O Shea comes out in black slacks and a green shirt, looking like an angry Amish golfer to face Mahabali Shera.

    Aiden ‘O Shea vs. Mahabali Shera

    Shera does his dance in the corner before doing it in front of the corner and dodging a punch to send Aiden into the buckle. Shera takes him down with a headlock takeover before doing it again. Pope talks about chatting with ‘O Shea and realizing that this isn’t his first time being in TNA before just moving off of that point right away. Aiden lands his slick left handed jab before nailing him with a few elbow strikes. Aiden puts him over the apron and clubs away while Josh talks about how you’re seeing a lot of World Title Series copycats out there now. Aiden stands on the hand and slaps him in the face before going up top for some reason. Shera slams him off the top, but eats an eye rake. Aiden goes for a punch, Shera ducks and gets the Sky High for the win. EY cuts a backstage promo about how he’ll always win as long as he’s drawing a breath. Eli Drake still comes out with a goofy Aquaman vest and trunks with “ED” all over them. Eli is facing Crimson in what might be the only match in Group Future 4 to be aired in full.

    Eli Drake vs. Crimson

    Crimson tackles him down and takes him down with a big suplex. Crimson’s gear consists of small MMA-style shorts and MMA gloves – it’s a fairly unique look right now and works for him. Plus, it plays off of his debut in the company in the Double J-MMA angle. Eli drags him down and drops a knee on the arm for 1. EC3 interrupts and says he’s ready for his interview while Josh says he’ll have to wait – we have a match. Why would this match be more important than the other Future 4 matches we’ve seen the closing moments of? Crimson hits a lariat mid-ring and another in the corner. Eli gets a standing Kimura and wins. EC3 comes back and says that the TNA World title is his possession and he’ll take it back. He’ll prove that he is the rightful champion and then gives the show permission to move forward. They rundown the matches tonight and pick who will progress next week. Abyss comes down and they air clips of his matches in this series.

    Abyss vs. Bobby Roode

    Abyss shoves him into the corner before posing a couple of times. Abyss does the “Beer!” part of the Beer Money bit and eats a few punches. Roode avoids a chokeslam with a kick to the leg, but is sent down for an ad break. We come back to some floor brawling and Roode is flung into the steps knees-first ala Mick Foley. Abyss grabs a chair and brings it in and places it in the corner. Earl tries to move it, but Roode gets a schoolboy so he counts 2 for that. Abyss clotheslines him down. A nerve pinch/head twister is locked on, but Roode punches free and we get a five minute countdown clock.

    Three lariats take Abyss down. Blockbuster hits for 2. Abyss misses a corner charge and hits his own chair, but he counters Roode’s attempt at a chokeslam. Roode takes him down and gets a crossface locked on, but Abyss goes to the corner to break it up. Roode goes for the Roode Bomb, but he can’t hold him up and Abyss gets 2 off a chokeslam. Abyss leaves the ring to grab his implement of death, which isn’t a DQ here in this sporting tournament. Janice gets wedged into the buckle, but falls and luckily Roode spinebusters him away from it and wins. EY and Roode move on in the series, so we’ll probably get at least one more “final battle” between them this year. Pretty nothing happening show overall. To see every screenshot for it, just click here.

  • WWE NXT results: Women’s Champion Bayley battles Alexa Bliss

    The Big News: NXT had a bad show. The matches were mostly bad, the audience was mostly dead. I couldn’t even get entertainment from Corey Graves’ obnoxious commentary

    The Medium Sized News: Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe was made official for Takeover.

    The Little Beaver Sized News: In news almost as tragic as “NXT had a bad show”, Eva Marie will be challenging for the Women’s Championship next week.

    *****

    Nia Jax pinned Carmella

    This is Carmella’s first appearance since her boys Colin and Enzo were taken out two weeks ago. After 14 months of being aligned with the most charismatic man on NXT no one cares about Carmella at all.

    Carmella looked bad in this match, seemingly unable to take a bump as even when Nia ran her over, she just fell into the ropes. Nia used that jumping bear hug that is so much cooler than her actual finish, but Carmella turned it into a front chinlock. That lasted 10 seconds. Nia did miss a jumping sitting splash, but she caught Carmella on a move, used her standing uranage and legdrop for the win.

    That wasn’t Eva Marie bad, but bad nonetheless.

    – Alexa Bliss is tired of hearing about the Iron Man Match at Takeover and now tonight she is going to take Bayley’s championship. Alexa said she wasn’t on NXT to make people smile or have a good time (ignore baby face run). As she was finishing up a referee came in and told her that Mr. Regal banned Blake & Murphy from ringside. Blake and Murphy were upset, but Alexa didn’t get angry.

    Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated The Ascension

    The Ascension were the longest NXT Tag Team Champions in history. Not mentioned is they held the belts forever because there were literally no other teams on NXT. When I say there were no teams I don’t mean there were 2 or 3 times. I mean there was 1 team and that was The Ascension.

    The NXT fans were really into Ascension, like they always were. They were so into Konnor and Viktor they didn’t reply much to Jordan & Gable, who are normally the crowd favorites. In addition they chanted “Ya ya!” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s WWE theme, as opposed to “Gable” like they normally do.

    Ascension looked better here than they have possibly ever on the main roster. Has WWE effectively used anyone from NXT since The Shield? Better yet, have they used anyone effectively in their NXT gimmick? The fans kinda got behind Gable, but only enough to do a dueling chant while the heels got the heat on him. Jordan got the hot tag and even then the fans didn’t really care until he dropped his straps like Angle.

    Viktor used a beautiful flying knee from the middle rope on Jordan, but Gable broke it up and hit a flip dive onto Konnor on the outside. Finally Jordan and Gable picked up the win with their move where Jordan throws Viktor into the air and Gable catches him and hits a side suplex for the win.

    – On WWE.com, they announced a Survivor Series elimination match, but literally did not list a single person in the match. So with that taken care of, I want to squash a rumor right away: I will NOT be a team captain or even a member of either team. Sorry to let everyone down.

    – They aired a really good video package for Bayley vs Alexa. Too bad the match is happening tonight and not at Takeover.

    – Speaking of Bayley, she cut a promo stating that becoming champion was not easy and retaining the title is just as hard. Alexa Bliss will learn that it is not easy to take the championship from her and will get the wrestling lesson of a lifetime.

    Emma submitted Mary Kay

    Emma is here going one on one with a pretty girl with dark hair. If you have no idea why I said that, consider yourself lucky. Anyway they didn’t bother to name Mary Kay until the match had long since begun.

    This match was better than the opener, but not by a whole lot. The announcers spent the whole time building up Emma’s future match with Asuka and all I could think was I don’t want to see Emma wrestle anyone. Are my standards just too high or was Emma just never any good? Anyhoo Emma used a version of the Curb Stomp before winning with the Emma Lock.

    – Last week Baron Corbin cut a promo stating he didn’t like Apollo Crews before challenging him to a match at Takeover: London.

    – Next week: Dash & Dawson vs The Vaudevillians for the tag team titles

    NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated Corey Hollis & John Skylar

    Much to my surprise Hollis and Skylar were introduced on tv. Anyway the story of this match is these four men faced off years ago, before any of them were in WWE. Dawson used a really nice Dragon Screw Leg Whip and single legged crap on Hollis as the champs got the heat on their foe. This match was longer than the other squashes on the show. I guess someone realized they needed to fill time. Anyway they destroyed Hollis’ knee until Hollis tagged in Skylar. Skylar was so fricking excited, he ran into the ring…and immediately got hit with the Toss in the air/Codebreaker combo to give the champs the win.

    – Tom Phillips asked Asuka about her masks. Before she could say anything, Dana Brooke walked up and she is still offended that Asuka patted her on the head. Next week it will be a rematch. Dana patted Tom on the head and it was not nearly as great as with Devin. Emma skipped in after and they secretly spoke of their plan for Asuka.

    – Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship was made official for Takeover in December, plus next week they will sign the contract for their match.

    -Samoa Joe put a pre-taped promo from his home. Joe said Mr. Regal ordered him to stay home just in case Finn tried to retaliate. Joe said this was to protect Finn and next week when the match is set in stone he will hurt Finn and take his championship at London.

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss

    Bayley got, by far, the biggest reaction of the show so far. Like it was an entirely different crowd that came out for the main event.

    Bayley blitzed Alexa at the bell, just destroying her challenger, putting her in different inopportune situations. Alexa rolled outside to breathe when Bayley followed out and got slammed into the ring apron, finally giving Alexa the chance to take over.

    The fans literally got so bored during the heat they did the “Boo!” “Yay!” cheer spot even though Alexa had Bayley in a rear chinlock. This was twice as long as any Alexa singles match ever and it seemed she was not ready for a match that long as it looked like she ran out of things to do. Alexa got a near fall with a sunset flip, which turned out to be the closest she ever got. The match built and ended out of nowhere. Bayley won with a Belly to Bayley Suplex out of nowhere. I am sure the fans were a-ok with the match being over, but sure seemed like Alexa never did anything that made you think she was about to win.

    Just when this week’s episode couldn’t get worse…Eva Marie came out. The fans barely had the energy to boo and chant no at her entrance. However the did not want her to talk, as soon as she opened up her yap they summoned up the energy to boo the heck out of her. Eva eventually challenged Bayley to a title match next week. May God have mercy on our soul. On Thanksgiving Eve Eva Marie may become champion.

    *****

    Well, that does it for another week. Until that absolutely dreadful moment, I encourage you all to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • Daily update: Ric Flair comments on RAW angle, John Cena hosting new FOX show

    Ric Flair comments on RAW angle

    The most talked-about story since Raw continues to be the Charlotte/Paige interview where Charlotte’s brother, Reid, who passed away, was used as heat to further the storyline.

    Yesterday, Charlotte’s mother expressed her disgust on Twitter for the angle. On Ric Flair’s newest Woo Nation podcast, Ric said he was never contacted by WWE about the angle in advance, and said he cried while watching it. In an attempt to remain as political as possible, he said Charlotte was not in the position in her career to say no to any angle, that if he was a fan he wouldn’t have liked it and that he wouldn’t have booked something like that himself.  He said at the end of the day, he was still going to be at Survivor Series and he thought the two girls were going to have a great match and that would lead to people forgetting about the angle.  

    Also, despite reports to the contrary, Ric’s co-host Conrad said the story that the angle was Charlotte’s idea is one hundred percent false.

    NXT airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network with a main event of Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss for the Women’s Championship.

    Impact Wrestling airs at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America with more of the World Title Series.

    A rerun of last week’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    The Ultimate Fighter airs at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with a new episode titled “Bullseye.” This will include not just the Coaches’ Challenge, but the final preliminary fight and the decision of which winning fighter will not advance due to having an uninspired performance.

    ROH airs at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America with The Kingdom vs. The Addiction for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in the main event.

    Fox Sports Live at 11:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 opens with the “TUF Talk” segment going over The Ultimate Fighter.

    Figure Four Weekly:

    Figure Four Weekly (11/16/15): Rey Mysterio vs. Low-Ki and The Anatomy of a Dream Match
    A road report for Jersey All-Pro Wrestling’s 19th Anniversary show takes a deep look at the latest match in Rey Mysterio’s dream match tour vs. Low-Ki.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

    Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.

    We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.

    We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The latest Wrestling Observer: November 16, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Seth Rollins injury, Wrestlekingdom 10 matches

    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

    Pro Wrestling

    • Why is John Cena gone right now? He announced on Twitter that he is hosting a new series coming to FOX called American Grit, a reality show focused on 16 contestants that will go through military and survival themed challenges. Given that UFC is also on Fox, you have to imagine there is some hope for cross-promotion and, dare we say it, a cageside interview?  We have gotten reports that the show is being taped at least in part in Washington State.
    • The whole Alberto Del Rio/AAA/Mega Title controversy will be settled officially at this year’s AAA Guerra de Titanes on December 4th. After all the talk about doing some sort of title tournament, the company changed their mind and it will not be Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Johnny Mundo for the vacant championship in a singles match.
    • Oddly enough, there is a poster for Guerra de Titanes that not only has Alberto del Rio front and center, but is also advertising that it will be his farewell show.
    • Here’s a random fun fact: the 2/29 edition of WWE RAW will be their first Leap Year edition in company history. Yes, they already have a hashtag for it.
    • TSN jn Canada has cancelled Off The Record, Michael Landsberg’s long-running interview show that regularly featured pro wrestlers at times. Landsberg was always really well-prepared and the boom period wrestling interviews were popular among tape traders back in the day for how good they were.
    • Rolling Stone has an oral history of The Wrestling Album to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its release.
    • Undertaker’s Gravest Matches debuts on WWE Network tonight.
    • ICYMI, ROH announced they’re doing what many do in Las Vegas after staying one night: staying another.
    • Here’s a local feature on Ted DiBiase talking about the role of religion in his life.
    • Bill Goldberg told Channel Guide Magazine that TNA had been contacting him with ideas.  He noted that he did a movie where one of his main adversaries was Bram of TNA.  He didn’t seem like he was strongly considering the idea.
    • TNA’s Dixie Carter noted that she was heading to Los Angeles, likely to get people thinking that she’s working on some sort of TV deal. She may very well be. However, last week she teased that there might be something in the works with Spike TV, and suffice to say, there was not and is not.
    • Here’s a Vice op/ed on whether mixed gender wrestling is good or bad.
    • You know it’s a relatively light news day when we get a story about a sumo wrestler making his head coach eat a container of wasabi. (Thanks to Mike K.)
    • Comics Alliance looks at Superman vs. Pro Wrestling. Really.
    • Some corrections to Paul Fontaine’s Nick Bockwinkel column from reader Jeff Sharkey: His famous Winnipeg Arena match with Ric Flair was not title vs. title (Bockwinkel wasn’t AWA Champion at the time)

    MMA

    • Pre-sale tickets are available for UFC’s return to Boston on Sunday, January 17th featuring bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominic Cruz. Pre-sale tickets available here by using ‘BOSTON’ as the code. Public on-sale starts this Friday.
    • Mauro Ranallo continues to push for awareness of mental health issues through honesty about his own struggles.
    • Here’s Ryan Frederick’s early-week UFC preview piece along with some early betting odds.
    • Inside MMA will have a “Special Edition” episode about Holly Holm this Friday night at the special time of 11:30 p.m. ET on AXS TV.
    • Former Bellator VP and well-known MMA personality Sam Caplan is this week’s guest on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, available on Wednesday night EST here on the site.

  • UFC Fight Night 78 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    The UFC returns for the third straight weekend as they debut in a new city as the Octagon travels to Mexico for the third time. It will be UFC Fight Night 78, which will also serve as the finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 when the UFC invades Monterrey for the first time this Saturday night. The main card airs on FS1 starting at 10 PM eastern time, with preliminary action kicking off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 PM eastern time before moving over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. We will have coverage all weekend here.

    The event will be headlined by a five-round welterweight bout as Neil Magny steps up, yet again, on short notice to take on Kelvin Gastelum, who looks to regain his traction in his return to the welterweight division. In the co-main event, it will be former featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas taking on the last man standing from the original TUF, Diego Sanchez. Also on the card is a potential flyweight title eliminator bout as Jussier Formiga takes on Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo. Let’s take a closer look at the night’s action and give you five storylines to keep an eye on during UFC Fight Night 78 on Saturday night.

    1. Will Kelvin Gastelum get back on track in the welterweight division in the main event?

    Kelvin Gastelum makes his return to the welterweight division in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 78 event, his first fight back at 170 pounds since missing weight badly for his bout against Tyron Woodley at UFC 183 in January. Gastelum has fought since then, scoring a dominant TKO win over Nate Marquardt as a middleweight at UFC 188 in June, but pleaded his case to UFC management to go back down to 170 pounds. They’re letting him, but another case of missing weight and he’ll be done as a welterweight. Gastelum has had the issues making the welterweight limit, officially missing weight twice and coming close a couple of other times. He says he has the issues under control, but that truly remains to be seen. If he has those issues taken care of, at 24-years-old, Gastelum has the chance to become a very serious threat in the division.

    Gastelum has just one loss in his career, to Woodley, but it was a close split decision loss that Gastelum almost won. He has scored eleven wins in his career, with eight coming by stoppage. He is the youngest winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” in show history, and is a huge prospect making his first main event appearance. His opponent, Neil Magny, is also making his first headline appearance as he fights for the fifth time this year, taking the fight on short notice as an injury replacement for Matt Brown. Magny is known as the man to call in the welterweight division to take a short-notice opportunity, as this will be his second straight year to fight five times. He won all five of his fights in 2014, and he has gone 3-1 in his four 2014 bouts. His lone loss over the past two calendar years came to Demian Maia at UFC 190 in August, a bout that Magny was outclassed in. For all of Magny’s success over the past two years, he has only fought one fighter that was ranked at the time of the fight- Maia. Gastelum will be the second as Magny looks for his second straight win after defeating Erick Silva in August, just three weeks after his loss to Maia, in another bout he took on short notice.

    Gastelum is a strong prospect and has the chance to be fighting for the title down the line if he can keep his weight issues in check. His size makes him better suited for the welterweight division, where he will be the relative same size as his opponents. It’s important for him to keep his weight in check. As far as his fight against Magny, it will be an interesting test. Magny isn’t a flashy fighter, but he gets the job done well. He has some decent power, but it has been showcased against lower-level competition. Magny will have a nine-inch reach advantage over Gastelum, which he will need to use to keep Gastelum on the outside. Gastelum is a solid wrestler and has some good power in his hands as well. Both men land a lot of strikes, and Gastelum eats a lot of punches. Neither man have gone 25 minutes. Gastelum, with the huge cut, may not have the energy to make it. Magny, with the short notice, may not either. This is a decent fight to make on short notice, but I like Gastelum to get the job done and move back up the rankings.

    2. How much fight does Diego Sanchez have left?

    And then there was one. Diego Sanchez is the last man standing in the UFC from the original cast of “The Ultimate Fighter” after the recent retirement of Mike Swick and the UFC departure of Josh Koscheck. Sanchez makes his long-awaited return on Saturday night in the co-main event, and in doing so, he will join another “TUF” alum, Kenny Florian, as a fighter to compete in four different weight classes in UFC competition as he makes the move to the featherweight division. It is an interesting time for a fighter to be dropping down with the IV ban, and with a long history of injuries, it is unsure how much fight Sanchez has left. He is 2-3 in his last five fights, but the two wins were split decisions that could’ve gone either way, so we are looking at a fighter that could very well have been on a five-fight losing skid. Sanchez is still only 33-years-old, but after having been with the UFC thru some 282 events, we may be seeing the end of the road for “The Nightmare”.

    Sanchez will take on former featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas, the fourth-ranked fighter at 145 pounds in the UFC. Lamas is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Chad Mendes in April, and is looking to erase the sting of his first stoppage loss inside the Octagon. It is a tough first outing for Sanchez at 145 pounds, but we are talking about one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC. Only a handful of fighters have had more time inside the Octagon than Sanchez, who has fought for a title and fought in a main event seven times, and has been in countless “Fight Of The Year” fights. Sanchez has a penchant for having extremely close fights, and most have gone his way. This will probably be another close fight as both land solid punches, and it will likely stay on the feet. It will be a chess match, but at this stage, Lamas is simply a better fighter. Unless we see the Diego Sanchez of old, it will be Lamas walking away with the win.

    3. Who will secure the next title shot at 125 pounds when Jussier Formiga and Henry Cejudo square off?

    For all intents and purposes, the flyweight bout between Jussier Formiga and Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 78 on Saturday will determine the next challenger for UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson. That is definitely the case for Cejudo, who comes into the fight undefeated at 9-0 and has been being groomed for a title shot. Formiga has won three straight fights, and he isn’t quite a 100% lock, but if he were to put a 1 in the loss column of Cejudo, you have to think he will be given a crack at Johnson despite having lost prior UFC bouts to Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson, who have been frequent Johnson challengers in the short history of the UFC flyweight division. It will be an interesting battle on Saturday as it will be Formiga’s grappling skills going against the Olympic wrestling game of Cejudo.

    Cejudo is the most decorated wrestler in the UFC, having won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. His striking has gotten better with every fight, and he hasn’t seen much of a need to rely on his wrestling skill, though he has recently, to win fights as he has won them primarily on the feet. Formiga is very experienced on his feet, but is capable of being knocked out, and aside from a submission win off a headbutt over Scott Jorgensen, he hasn’t shown the finishing capability in the Octagon. Cejudo hasn’t finished an opponent either, but he has yet to lose a round in the UFC. Cejudo is wanting that crack at Johnson and the title shot, and if he keeps his weight issues in check, which he has since dropping back down, he may give Johnson the toughest test to date. Formiga is Cejudo’s toughest foe, and while he has three straight wins, he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. He has fallen short against the elite competition, and this fight is shaping up for that to happen again. Look for Cejudo to cement his shot at the title.

    4. Will Efrain Escudero make it three straight against Leandro Silva?

    Efrain Escudero has done something that no other fighter in the history of the UFC has been able to do. He is the only fighter to ever win a season of “The Ultimate Fighter” to be cut and then brought back to the promotion. In fact, this is Escudero’s third stint in the UFC. He won season eight of “TUF” but went just 3-2 in his first UFC stint, not a bad record by any means, but was cut after missing weight badly in his loss against Charles Oliveira. He was brought back in late 2011 as an injury replacement, but was cut again after two straight losses. He was brought back in 2014, and while he lost his return to Leonardo Santos, he has since won two straight to get himself back on track, and in his hopes, finally showing his potential in his third UFC stint.

    It was almost five years between UFC wins for Escudero, but he goes into Saturday night against Leandro Silva looking for his first three-fight win streak inside the Octagon. Escudero’s last win was a 54-second submission win over Drew Dober in June, and he went on to coach this season of “TUF: Latin America 2”, and he will be one of the more popular fighters on the card. His opponent, Silva, should be on a three-fight win streak if not for an error by a referee that made his own win over Dober into a no contest, and he will be a tough test for Escudero. Escudero has some solid wrestling, but Silva is a good grappler. They are pretty even on the feet. Silva is a larger opponent and has used his strength to maintain top position in prior fights. Neither man is creeping up on being ranked in the division, but neither want to be in a position of being cut. I like Escudero to pull off a decision win.

    5. Who is a fighter to keep an eye on during the rest of the card?

    The card will feature the finals in the welterweight and lightweight tournaments coming off of “TUF: Latin America 2” when Erick Montano faces Enrique Marin in the welterweight finals, and Horacio Gutierrez takes on Enrique Barzola in the lightweight finals. Also on the card is a former winner of “TUF: Latin America” as Alejandro Perez, who won the first season in the bantamweight division, takes on UFC and WEC veteran Scott Jorgensen, who is looking to get back on track after a disappointing 4-7 tenure during his time with the UFC. In featherweight action, Gabriel Benitez will take on Team Alpha Male member Andre Fili. In the opening bout of the night, it is two powerful Brazilian lightweights as Valmir Lazaro takes on Michel Prazeres.

    We wanna keep our eye on the featured preliminary bout as Erik Perez returns from a long layoff to take on Taylor Lapilus. Perez was thought to become the Mexican star the UFC was looking for, but he hasn’t quite lived up to recent expectations. After winning eight straight fights, including his first three UFC bouts. He has since lost two of his last three bouts, and he hasn’t fought since a June 2014 loss to Bryan Caraway. He gets a tough foe in Lapilus, who is an interesting prospect at 135 pounds. Lapilus is 10-1 in his career and has won five straight fights, including his last two in the UFC. He hasn’t fought someone at the level of Perez, who had been ranked in the top 15 before the bout of inactivity. It is a tough test for both men as Perez looks to bounce back and Laplius looks to score the biggest win of his career. We will keep an eye on that bout for sure.

    Full UFC Fight Night 78 Fight Card, Betting Odds & Predictions

    MAIN CARD (FS1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)

    Welterweights: (#13) Neil Magny vs. (#15) Kelvin Gastelum
    Betting Odds:     Magny (+230), Gastelum (-270)
    Prediction: Gastelum by decision

    Featherweights: (#4) Ricardo Lamas vs. Diego Sanchez
    Betting Odds:     Lamas (-590), Sanchez (+445)
    Prediction: Lamas by decision

    Flyweights: (#3) Jussier Formiga vs. (#5) Henry Cejudo
    Betting Odds:     Formiga (+400), Cejudo (-500)
    Prediction: Cejudo by decision

    TUF: Latin America 2 Welterweight Finals: Erick Montano vs. Enrique Marin
    Betting Odds:     Montano (+160), Marin (-185)
    Prediction: Montano by submission in round 1

    TUF: Latin America 2 Lightweight Finals: Horacio Gutierrez vs. Enrique Barzola
    Betting Odds:     Gutierrez (-150), Barzola (+130)
    Prediction: Gutierrez by knockout in round 2

    Lightweights: Efrain Escudero vs. Leandro Silva
    Betting Odds:     Escudero (+120), Silva (-140)
    Prediction: Escudero by decision

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    Bantamweights: Erik Perez vs. Taylor Lapilus
    Betting Odds:     Perez (-125), Lapilus (+105)
    Prediction: Perez by decision

    Welterweights: Hector Urbina vs. Bartosz Fabinski
    Betting Odds:     Urbina (+165), Fabinski (-190)
    Prediction: Urbina by submission in round 2

    Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Alejandro Perez
    Betting Odds:     Jorgensen (-145), Perez (+125)
    Prediction: Jorgensen by decision

    Featherweights: Gabriel Benitez vs. Andre Fili
    Betting Odds:     Benitez (+165), Fili (-190)
    Prediction: Fili by submission in round 2

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)

    Welterweights: Vernon Ramos vs. Alvaro Herrera
    Betting Odds:     Ramos (-165), Herrera (+145)
    Prediction: Ramos by knockout in round 1

    Lightweights: Cesar Arzamendia vs. Polo Reyes
    Betting Odds:     Arzamendia (-190), Reyes (+165)
    Prediction: Arzamendia by decision

    Lightweights: Valmir Lazaro vs. Michel Prazeres
    Betting Odds:     Lazaro (+105), Prazeres (-125)
    Prediction: Lazaro by decision

  • Ring of Honor announces 2nd show for 14th anniversary in Las Vegas

    Ring of Honor announced on Wednesday that its 14th anniversary event in Las Vegas, which had already been slated as its first PPV show of 2016, will now be a full weekend.

    The company announced shows for Friday, 2/26 and Saturday, 2/27, at Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas. The PPV show will be on Friday followed by a television taping on Saturday.

    Tickets are currently on sale for both shows to Ringside Members, and go on sale to the public on Friday at 10 a.m.

    ROH’s next major PPV is Final Battle 2015 from the 2300 Arena (former ECW Arena) in Philadelphia, PA, on December 18 — their version of WrestleMania. This year’s main event features Jay Lethal defending the ROH World Heavyweight Title against ROH and New Japan star AJ Styles. It will air live on traditional PPV at 9 PM ET/6 PT.

  • Daily pro wrestling history (11/18): Jack Brisco battles Bob Backlund for Missouri gold

    1938 

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
    – Jim Londos defeated Bronco Nagurski for the World Heavyweight Title 

    1942

    Des Moines, Iowa:
    – Orville Brown defeated Ed “Strangler” Lewis in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Ken Fenelon beat Nick Elitch 2 falls to 0
    – Ronnie Etchison beat Bad Boy Brown 

    1971

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
    – Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat AWA Tag Team Champions The Crusher & Red Bastien dq
    – Billy Robinson beat Lars Anderson
    – Larry Hennig beat Dr. X
    – Ivan Koloff beat Bull Bullinski
    – Don Muraco beat Treach Phillips

    1972

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher
    – Wahoo McDaniel beat Ivan Koloff
    – Superstar Billy Graham beat Moose Cholak
    – Rene Goulet drew George Scott
    – Larry Hennig beat Joe Scarpello

    1976 

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – Jack Brisco defeated Bob Backlund to win the Missouri State Title

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Attendance was 10,000
    – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel double count out Verne Gagne (Special Referee: Pat O’Connor)
    – The Crusher beat Baron Von Raschke
    – Jim Brunzell beat Pierre Poisson
    – Pedro Morales beat Blackjack Lanza
    – Pat O’Connor beat Bobby Duncum
    – Peter Maivia drew Moose Morowski

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Akio Sato defeated The Iron Sheik via DQ
    – Bob Brown defeated Ronnie Etchison
    – Bob Geigel & The Super Intern defeated Bob Brown & Mitsuo Hata

    1983 

    Cleveland, Ohio:
    – Ted DiBiase defeated Brett Wayne Sawyer for the Georgia National Heavyweight Title 

    1992 

    Macon, Georgia:
    – Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas defeated Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes to win the NWA & WCW World Tag Team Titles
    – Sting and Rick Rude wrestled to a 20 minute draw

    1995

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
    – ECW World Champion Mikey Whipwreck defeated Steve Austin
    – ECW World Tag Team Champions 2 Cold Scorpio & The Sandman defeated The Public Enemy

    2001 

    Greensboro, North Carolina:
    – WCW Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Matt & Jeff Hardy in a steel cage unification match
    – The Rock defeated Steve Austin

    2007

    Miami, Florida:
    – ECW Champion CM Punk defeated The Miz and John Morrison
    – WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated Shawn Michaels
    – World Champion Batista defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match

    2012

    – WWE Champion CM Punk defeated Ryback and John Cena
    – United States Champion Antonio Cesaro defeated R Truth

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens & Alberto del Rio

    WWE Main Event —

    – Usos over Alex Rose and Brad Maddox after Jimmy pinned Rose with a splash
    – Naomi over Alicia Fox with a submission
    – Titus O’Neil over Heath Slater after the pop up power bomb.

    WWE Smackdown — 

    – Miz TV segment with I-C Champion Kevin Owens, U.S. Champion Del Rio, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns coming out one-by-one to discuss the WWE title tournament, disagree with each other, and the usual. R-Truth came out to make his claim for the title, and was told he was not in the tourney. He then apologized to the faces and left. Pretty funny. The segment ended with Reigns and Ambrose standing tall after a clear out of the heels.

    – Cesaro submitted Miz after Miz complained about what happened the segment before.

    – Dudleys and Neville def. Stardust and Ascension after a 3D on Viktor

    – Tyler Breeze def. Zack Ryder after a promo with Summer Rae. Dolph Ziggler, who was at ringside, superkicked Breeze afterward.

    – Druids out, and then all four Wyatts. Bray & Strowman talk for a bit until the Undertaker’s dong hits. He appears on the screen to cut a promo with Kane, burning a sheep mask. Kane hits the pyro spot.

    – Divas Champion Charlotte submitted Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) in a non-title match with the Figure 8. Paige did a backstage interview afterward.

    – Big E over Kalisto after a big splash. The New Day attacks he and Sin Cara. That leads to Ryback running in for the save, and gives Big E a splash.

    – More ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ movie promo magic with Miz and Paige.

    – Dean and Roman talked backstage.

    – Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns def. I-C Champion Kevin Owens and U.S. Champion Alberto del Rio by DQ when Del Rio threw Reigns…into steel steps. The faces stood tall as the show ended. 

    Other Notes:

    – Fandango won in a dark match versus a local opponent.
    – Reigns vs. Wyatt in a street fight was advertised for the dark match main event, but did not happen.  

  • UFC 193 has third highest prelims viewers numbers of the FS era

    The prelims for UFC 193 on Saturday night averaged 1,394,000 viewers on FS 1 up against College football and the Democratic debate. This was the highest viewership for a PPV prelims show since the UFC 183 prelims on January 31st. That was the show where Miesha Tate fought in the featured prelim fight. The main card was headlined by the Anderson Silva-Nate Diaz fight, which drew an estimated 650,000 PPV buys.

    There is usually a correlation between the prelims number and the final PPV buys number, particularly when the prelims number is large. It should also be noted that on PPV shows where Ronda Rousey is fighting on the main card, the prelims number is up almost 50% over shows where she’s not on the main card.

    It should also be noted that there was nothing even close to a big name fighting on the prelims, with the four fights all featuring Australian fighters against low-mid card fighters from the rest of the world, the most well-known being Gian Villante. The featured fight was Jake Matthews vs Akhbar Arreola, neither of whom has even fought on a televised main card in the UFC.

    PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era: 26 shows, 882,840 average viewers

    PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era where Rousey is on main card: 6 shows, 1,204,600 average viewers

    PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era where Rousey is not on main card: 20 shows, 802,400 average viewers

    The theory behind this would be that Ronda Rousey is such a big name to the casual audience that the fact that she is fighting on the show raises awareness and brings up the prelims number.

    Further evidence that the show did a very strong number of PPV buys is the following:

    There have been 8 FS 1 PPV prelims shows that did at least 1 million viewers since the station started airing them in August 2013. Here are the PPV buys for those shows:

    UFC 168 – 1,025,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,550,000 viewers)

    UFC 175 – 545,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,000,000 viewers)

    UFC 182 – 800,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,040,000 viewers)

    UFC 183 – 650,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,546,000 viewers)

    UFC 184 – 650,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,205,000 viewers)

    UFC 185 – 310,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,003,000 viewers)

    UFC 190 – 900,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,332,000 viewers)

    UFC 193 – ?  PPV buys (prelims – 1,394,000 viewers)

    UFC 185 was the exception here and that was a show headlined by a main event of Anthony Pettis v Rafael Dos Anjos. The only show during this time period that did a strong PPV buys numbers coinciding with a relatively weak prelims number was UFC 189, which did about 825,000 PPV buys and 847,000 prelims TV viewers.

    No estimates are available at this time for how UFC 193 did on PPV although Dana White today on Joe Rogan’s podcast said that the show was trending at well over a million buys. These numbers would suggest that to be a distinct possibility.

  • WWF Tuesday Night Titans episode 40: Missing Link, Jesse Ventura & Bobby Heenan

    By Joshua Molina for WrestlingObserver.com

    • Air date: July 4, 1985
    • Runtime: 45:16

    We’re in week 40 of our rambunctious ride through the video annals of perhaps the greatest “talk show” ever on the USA Network — Tuesday Night Titans. Long before “Mr. McMahon” was created at the 1997 Survivor Series, “Mr. McMahon” was instigating, humiliating and insulting WWF talent on this iconic show.

    Yes, back in 1985, McMahon, in all his purple suit-wearing, pencil-holding, “I’m just the lead announcer” glory was controlling the puppet strings on a product that was taking off and about to take off in really, really big way.

    Whereas today we pray that a guy like Kevin Owens can get the microphone for more than two minutes, on TNT everyone had a chance. Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant could rap (or mumble) with McMahon, but so could jobbers such as Jim Powers and SD Jones. Even the old-timers appeared on TNT, guys such as Lou Thesz, Freddie Blassie and Bruno Sammartino to talk about the good old days.

    TNT helped so many guys and girls get “over.” It was a highly scripted forum, but within that script, there was great freestyle dialogue between McMahon and his guests. Throw in a little slapstick comedy from sidekick Lord Alfred Hayes, and you have wrestling splendor like only 1985 could bring. This week was extra special because we had two of the great talkers in wrestling history: Ventura and Heenan. We also have a “worker” in Les Thornton, and 1985’s version of “Ryback,” but way more intriguing, “The Missing Link.”

    The show opens up with future Minnesota governor and conspiracy theorist Ventura. At this time Ventura is transitioning from full-time wrestler to full-time announcer, and apparently part-time singer.

    For the second time in a month, we are treated to a music video featuring Ventura, where he’s belting out a not-so-horrible song called “The Body Rules.” It’s typical 1980s, with strobe lights, blurred cuts in and out and all-around weak production values. The video features Ventura on the microphone with scantily clad ladies dancing and some big-haired musicians. Ventura on McMahon’s couch reminds us why he matters: “I can be a rock star and a wrestler. How many rock stars can be wrestlers? I guess that depends on if Vince Russo is booking the show.

    Ventura has a little bit of Kanye West in his lyrics here:

    “The body rules. This body is strong. You mess with me, I am going to tear you down.”

    Hey, those lyrics put over a nice rap sample, would have made it sound really nice. Or there’s also these from the heart lyrics that resemble a bit of rawness of a young Jim Croce: “I will split your head Jack. I am the baddest mother walking the streets.”

    The video features several slow-motioned shots of a man that Ventura calls a “premiere underground flash guitarist of Minnesota.” His name sounds like “Mark Orian”. “This man is better than Prince,” Ventura says, which is a set-up for a show-long angle involving the diminutive musical genius. Ventura is boasting that he has a big record deal coming up with Epic Records.

    “I foresee possibly The Rolling Stones opening for me,” Ventura says. Few could spew absolute nonsense and make it sound somewhat real like Ventura could. The video features some images of Ventura bashing Hulk Hogan and throwing water in his face. McMahon, ever the instigator, asked if he got clearance from Hogan to show that footage.

    Ventura said he didn’t need approval from Hogan because it shows what is true: Hogan is ducking him. Although at this point in time Hogan was clearly the more prominent wrestler and celebrity, today Ventura has a lot more going for him than Hogan does. Ventura may insult the government with reckless abandon, but he doesn’t make sex tapes with his best friend’s wife, nor throw around racial slurs in them. McMahon then asks Ventura talk about his transition into color commentary and Ventura starts explaining why he’s the best announcer in the business.

    “I tell it like it is,” Ventura says. “I play no favorites.”

    That’s absolutely hilarious because Ventura always rooted for the heels, with special affection for guys such as Randy “Macho Man” Savage,” and “Ravishing Ric Rude,” while berating Hogan incessantly. McMahon, since he likes to bully, asks Ventura about his oversized red glasses and asks Hayes what he would look like wearing them.

    Ventura puts the glasses on Hayes and then unfortunately lets us see something we can’t unsee. Hayes puts his glasses on and sticks out his tongue like he’s some stereotypical rock star. Hayes sticks his tongue out and — well, it looks like he has one of the gnarliest cold sores on his tongue. Just saying . . .

    McMahon tells Ventura that “there’s no doubt that you are among the Top 10 wrestlers in the world today,” before heading to a match between Ventura and WWF legend Tony Garea. Garea does some great selling while Ventura works the crowd. At one point Garea’s head gets tied up in the ropes and the referee has no idea how to get him out of it. He literally flips Garea around to get him out, which couldn’t have felt good.

    Garea misses a splash into the corner and Ventura pins him by dropping an elbow. Back on the couch, Ventura complains that McMahon was a “biased announcer” and that he could do a better job commenting and a better job behind that desk than McMahon could. McMahon, clearly setting up an angle, tells Ventura that next week he can have his chair and that he can be guest host TNT and bring any guest he wants. Ventura says that Hayes can stay next week because “we don’t want to see Alfred in the unemployment line.”

    Ventura, because we’re supposed to believe he’s super connected to mainstream celebrities, says next week “Maybe I will call up Prince. No one has ever talked to Prince. I might do that.” Can’t wait for that.

    Next up we go from the super charismatic Ventura to a guy named Les Thornton, who looks like a 1985 version of William Regal or Fit Finley. This guy was built like a tank and certainly possessed legitimate wrestling skills.

    Thornton comes out and tries to establish his street cred. He says Hayes is from the posh parts of England, while he lived among steel factories and cold mines. “Where I come from, we learned submission,” Thornton said.

    McMahon asks Thornton to show off some of his submission holds on a “volunteer” from the audience. Keep in mind that TNT has no live audience yet. Thornton goes to town on some skinny guy, taking him down and squeezing him like he was destroying some kid in Stu Hart’s dungeon.

    Even though Thornton was past his prime at the time of his appearance on TNT, it was still an opportunity for a professional wrestling fan to appreciate him, and a change for Thornton to get himself over, even in a small way. And now we get to the main event: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. As Heenan comes out he get books from the fake audience. Just as Heenan sits down McMahon asks the live band to play “Pop Goes The Weasel,” which just humiliates Heenan.

    Considering that AWA fans were calling Heenan “weasel” long before he walked into the WWF, it’s surprising that McMahon embraced the term, but then again, McMahon is rolling in the dough in his 1985 expansion glory, so he might not care that much right now about burying gimmicks he didn’t create.

    The great thing about Heenan was that he didn’t care that McMahon owned the company. He could shoot with the best of them, and make people laugh while doing it. Heenan says McMahon is a “troublemaker” who likes to “set people up.” He recalls last week’s episode where McMahon asked Cowboy Bob Orton how much money Rowdy Roddy Piper takes from him.

    “It is none of their business,” Heenan says.

    McMahon then asks Heenan how much money he takes from Ken Patera and Big John Studd. Heenan then just floors McMahon with his response:

    “Why don’t you read me my rights first?” Heenan says. “I don’t answer these kinds of questions.” Patera is wrestling some guy named Gary Starr. Ventura is on color commentary and called Patera “an awesome specimen.” After Patera pins Starr, he poses and Ventura says “pose for me Kenny, pose for me Kenny.” Ventura loves his hardbodies.

    Back on the couch McMahon asks Heenan if anyone has collected on the $25,000 bounty on Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff yet. Heenan says it will happen soon. He then does what he does best: berate the little people.

    “That’s $25,000 people,” Heenan says. “That’s more than you make in 10 years. That’s more than the bands’ instruments are ensured for. I ought to put a bounty on the band. $11 bucks.” LOL.

    McMahon clearly outwitted in this banter, gets to the point and asks Heenan to “tell us a little bit about your latest acquisition.”

    As a kid I was absolutely terrified of The Missing Link. He had that green face-paint, ball of hair on the back of his head, and mean look on his face. He was also one of the few WWF wrestlers featured in the iconic Sports Illustrated issue that Hulk Hogan was on the cover of. The Link had an aura about him. Too bad he couldn’t wrestle.

    Heenan explains who The Missing Link is — with humor: He’s close to 275 pounds. He’s about 6 foot 3 or 4 and he’s off the wall. He’s not a lot of fun at parties. He probably stays in the room with the coats and memorizes the labels.” LOL.

    Heenan continues: “He’s not like Les Thornton, who takes some 110-pound cab driver from the audience and takes him down. You know what The Missing link would do with Les Thornton? He would put him on a spit and baste him.”

    LOL

    We go to the ring where SD Jones is already there. The Missing Link is announced next and he takes a few seconds to get into the ring.

    Play-by-play announcer Gorilla Monsoon says “What on Earth is that?” The Link looks legitimately mean. As he turns around the camera catches a great deal of acne on his back. This was the 1980s afterall . . .

    The match is hardly a match. It consists of the Link giving Jones several axe handle chops. Monsoon, like McMahon was in his headset telling him what to say, says, “he’s obviously very athletic.” Obviously.

    Hayes on color commentary says The Link looks like “a madman.”

    Link is just pounding on him. I don’t know how great of a wrestler The Missing Link was when he was in his prime, but in 1985 he makes Ryback look like Ric Flair. The Missing Link pins Jones with a headbutt off the top rope. Monsoon screams “he made it look easy.” Then Monsoon says, from the look of paintwork on his face “he looks like he could be from some aboriginal tribe.”

    Not really.

    Link then grabbed a red chair and set it up in the middle of the ring. He went to the top rope as though he were going to jump off the top and break the chair, but Heenan got in the middle and calmed him down.

    Back on the couch, Heenan says The Link is “the most devastating force in wrestling. Whether he is from Borneo or Cleveland this man has everybody talking. After the commercial break, McMahon says that they are going to search or the Link in his hometown, Parts Unknown, Population 1.

    It’s clearly a set designed to look like a remote jungle. Heenan is carrying a flashlight looking for The Link. He explains that this is a big day because The Link has been “asked to be on Carson, Letterman, Merv Griffin, but he has never done a talk show.” Heenan finally finds him and escorts him out to the front of the set. The Link looks disoriented and confused. McMahon then decides to use a little bit of humor of his own:

    “What percentage of your take home pay does Bobby “The Brain” Heenan take?” McMahon asks. The Link ignores him like he doesn’t understand what he is saying. The Link is pacing when Heenan is standing next to some kind of beef barbecue on a stick. Heenen rotates the meat and says: “That’s one of my jobs. Whenever he wants to eat, I turn his meat.”

    LOL.

    McMahon can’t take it anymore and puts a microphone in The Links face and asks “why the unusual color of the face paint?” (what color should face paint be?).

    The Link runs off like he’s Kamala in the presence of a snake, while Heenan says “you scared him off.” When they return they are back on the couch and McMahon says next week’s host will be “Jesse “The Body” Ventura” and “it is going to be the greatest TNT in history.”

    They packed so much into an hour show. It’s 30 years ago, but the WWF was so much more progressive in 1985. Imagine what would happen if someone like Bray Wyatt put a bounty on Brock Lesnar? How awesome would that be. Lesnar could destroy everyone put before him until the man whom he least suspects turns on him and collects on the bounty. That would make an instant heel out of someone like Roman Reigns, who will need to be a great heel before he can be a great good guy.

    The greatest thing about TNT is that it gives facetime to so many wrestlers week after week. That facetime is crucial to getting new stars over. You never know. Your heel champion could tear out his ACL and you might need some other guys waiting in the wings to step in — and get accepted by the fans.

    Next week: Will Prince show up on TNT?

  • WWE RAW sees highest rating in 3 weeks

    The quarterfinals of the WWE title tournament led to an audience rise this week, up to 3.28 million viewers, up from 3.16 million last week and 3.24 million the week before.

    The Houston Texans upset of the Cincinnati Bengals going head-to-head did 12.19 million viewers, so Raw did a better number than last week against a more viewed football game.

    The pattern remained consistent with the first hour doing well, with the first half hour not against football doing the strongest, and the audience fading in the second and third hours, but not fading at the level of last week.

    The third hour was built around Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro and the controversial Paige-Charlotte contract signing.

    The three hours were:

    8 p.m. 3.54 million viewers

    9 p.m. 3.29 million viewers

    10 p.m. 3.05 million viewers