A heavyweight bout with title shot ramifications has been added to UFC 195. Contenders and top-five ranked fighters Stipe Miocic (13-2, 7-2 UFC) and Andrei Arlovski (25-10 1 NC, 14-4 UFC) will meet in the co-main event of the January 2 event from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC confirmed the news on Wednesday following an initial report by the Los Angeles Times.
Miocic was scheduled to fight on this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 76 event from Dublin, Ireland, against Ben Rothwell, but was forced out of the bout due to injury. Miocic said he wouldn’t be out of action for long, and was quickly booked for a different fight against Arlovski. Rothwell campaigned for the fight with Arlovski, but ultimately didn’t get it, and he is rumored to be on stand-by in the event Junior Dos Santos or Alistair Overeem are forced out of their scheduled bout on December 19.
Miocic is coming off a dominant fifth-round TKO win over Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 65 in May. He is 4-1 in his last five fights, with the lone loss coming to Junior Dos Santos in a close fight that won “Fight Of The Night” honors at UFC On FOX 13 in December.
Arlovski will go into the bout riding a six-fight win streak, one that was thought to have secured him the next potential title shot. However, after his lackluster win over Frank Mir at UFC 191 in September, he will be looking to solidify his title shot opportunity with a win over Miocic. Arlovski is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion who found himself out of the promotion for years, but he has won four straight fights since returning to the company in 2014.
UFC 195 will air on pay-per-view and be headlined by UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler making his second title defense, this time against former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit.
Des Moines, Iowa: – Ed “Strangler” Lewis beat Joe Dusek in 2 out of 3 falls – Iowa State Heavyweight Champion Gene Bowman and World Light Heavyweight Champion Ken Fenelon went to a count out
1955
Houston, Texas: – Ray Gunkel and Wilbur Snyder defeated Duke Keomuka and Danny Savich
1960
– Atlanta, Georgia: – Freddie Blassie defeated Ray Knunkel for the Southern Heavyweight Title
1968
– Rocket Monroe defeated Bob Kelly to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1969
Dallas, Texas: – Fritz Von Erich won the NWA American Heavyweight Title by defeating Johnny Valentine
1969
Little Rock, Arkansas: – Danny Hodge defeated Chuck Karbo to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title.
1971
Tampa, Florida: – Dick Murdoch & Bobby Duncum defeated The Australians (Larry O’Day & Ron Miller) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles
1972
Honolulu, Hawaii: – The Sheik defeated Fred Curry for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title – Billy Robinson beat Ivan Koloff in 2 out of 3 falls – Sam Steamboat beat Rick Ferrara – Ed Francis beat Bill Dromo – Bull Bullinski drew Mighty Inoue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Mad Dog Vachon & Andre Rousimoff in 2 out of 3 falls – Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Hennig – George Scott drew Rene Goulet
1974
San Juan, Puerto Rico: – Ernie Ladd defeated Carlos Colon to win the WWC North American Heavyweight Title
1975
Omaha, Nebraska: – AWA Tag Team Champions Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens – Jos Leduc beat Baron Von Raschke – Greg Gagne beat Johnny Valiant dq – Jimmy Valiant beat Jim Brunzell – Chris Taylor beat Don Wade
1976
Gifu, Japan: – Akihisa Takachiho & Samson Kutsuwada defeated Jerry & Ted Oates to win the All Japan All-Asian Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas: – Mike George and Super Intern defeated Mad Dog Vachon and Baron Von Raschke to win the Central States version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles – Harley Race defeated Black Gordman – Bob (Sgt) Slaughter defeated Pat O’Connor – Rick Gibson defeated Great Goliath – Haystack Calhoun won a 13-man Battle Royal
1977
Charleston, South Carolina: – Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA United States Heavyweight Title – Victor Rivera and Texas Red defeated Black Gordman and Goliath for the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles
Houston, Texas: – NWA Champion Harley Race defeated Ox Baker – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Terry Funk – Texas Tag Team Champions Bull Ramos & Captain USA John Studd beat Jose Lothario & Alberto Madril – Ernie Ladd beat Killer Tim Brooks
1978
Greensboro, North Carolina: – Ken Patera defeated Tony Atlas to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title
1979
Orlando, Florida: – Manny Fernandez defeated Terry Funk to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1982
Auckland, New Zealand: – King Kamaka and General Hiro defeated Mark Lewin and Al Perez for the NWA Australasian Tag Team Titles
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Andre The Giant won battle royal – Andre The Giant & Ray Stevens beat Ken Patera & Bobby Heenan – Hulk Hogan beat Adrian Adonis – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Jim Brunzell dq – Otto Wanz no contest Jerry Blackwell – Brad Rheingans beat Sgt Jacques Goulet
1983
Richmond, Virginia: – Jack and Jerry Brisco defeated Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship
1984
St. Paul, Minnesota; – Jerry Blackwell & Boom Boom (King Kong) Bundy won tag battle royal – Lights Out match: Jerry Blackwell beat King Kong Brody – Fabulous Ones no contest AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors – Baron Von Raschke beat Paul Ellering – Jimmy Garvin beat Tom Zenk – Curt Hennig drew Nick Bockwinkel – Tony Atlas beat Mr. Saito dq
1985
Memphis, Tennessee: – Phil Hickerson defeated Mongolian Stomper to win the AWA International Heavyweight Title
Fort Worth, Texas: – King Parsons defeated John Tatum for the WCCW Television Title
1986
Tokyo, Japan: – PWF World Heavyweight Champion Riki Choshu defeated Terry Funk to retain the title – Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Stan Hansen to win the NWA International Heavyweight Title
1996
– Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Marc Mero to win the WWF Intercontinental Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – Wolfie D and Brian Christopher defeated Bill and Jamie Dundee to win the held up USWA Tag Team Titles
2001
Kansas City, Missouri: – Edge defeated Christian in a ladder match to win the WWF IC Title – Chris Jericho defeated the Rock to win the WCW World Title – Steve Austin defeated Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam to retain the WWE World Title
Evansville, Indiana: – A.J. Styles defeated Petey Williams, Christopher Daniels and Chris Sabin in a four-way match to win the vacant IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
2003
Albany, New York: – Doug & Danny Basham defeated Eddie & Chavo Guerrero to win the WWE Tag Team Titles
Due to unfortunate circumstances, I have decided not to fight on November 7th against Fabio Maldonado in Sao Paulo, Brasil, as part of a UFC Fight Night event. During a training session Saturday, I suffered a small cut over my left eye after a head-to-head clash after a takedown. The cut suffered was deep, though not deep enough to jeopardize my ability to fight in November. I returned home to spend time with my newborn son and watch some of my teammates compete in a World Series of Fighting event later that night.
While watching the fights and a Boston College football game, it became increasingly harder to focus on what was in front of me. I have very good eyesight. However, it was taking longer for the blurs and lights to go away as I watched on TV. As time passed, I became more mindful of the vision problems I was experiencing and I began to think about the fortunes of a fighter I share the same initials with: TJ (Thomas Joseph) Grant. Once a former top lightweight contender, TJ now works in potash mines in Saskatchewan, Canada. While working a “real” job is a fine way to make a living, I long ago decided that I have no desire to go back to that world.
I grew up as a fervent professional wrestling fan, and my UFC introduction was as a 10-year-old watching UFC 2 on a VHS tape at a friend’s house. As I grew older, I was more than an avid fan. I was in high school and my spare time was filled with activities that no teenage male likes to admit in public: playing wrestling video games and competing in E-feds. But it wasn’t just the easily accessible WWE, WCW, and ECW stuff I was watching. At the time, UFC was hardly a household name. Not easily found on PPV and relegated to tape trading, the UFC had a future that was uncertain at best.
But in Japan, the stakes were just raising and I was ordering events like RINGS Kings of Kings ’99 and Pride 8 through Internet websites. As if that wasn’t enough, I would even go to such great lengths as staying up until 4 AM to read people type results in ICQ chat rooms as they watched the events live!
I’ve had what some would say is a successful career in the UFC. As of today, I hold a UFC record of 6-4. Two of those losses are somewhat controversial split decisions, I lost to a grizzled veteran in his home country, and I was soundly defeated by the current 185-pound champion in minutes. But to me, I am both a success and a failure. The young boy that I once was, the onne that still resides in me, is happy and ecstatic for me every time I get to drive to the gym to twist, wrench, and wreck my body for the next two hours.
But the adult who has just watched the birth of his first child can’t help but feel as if there isn’t enough money for the future.
Fortunately (and I truly do thank them for this), the UFC has been generous to me with performance bonus money which has allowed me to continue living this dream for the past seven years. Like most dream sequences that seem too good to be true, now is not the time that I want to wake up and live in the “real” world. Unfortunately for now, there is a constant headache that has woken me up long enough to be advised not to compete due to a concussion suffered from the previously-mentioned head crash.
There is no doubt in my mind that three weeks ago, whoever votes in the UFC rankings finally had it right, and I was listed amongst the top fighters in the world. I also realize that by fighting in this state, I risk my future ability to continue climbing those ranks, which would finally serve both masters (my young and adult selves) adequately. With more wins comes greater compensation, and the birth of my son has finally given my adult self the motivation that was needed to turn that sense of failure into one of success.
I just traveled a long two years off to come back, score a win over a top 15 fighter, and earn a Performance of the Night award on July 25th in Chicago, IL. But that was never the goal; the goal was always to keep living that young boy’s dream. To raise my hands, hear the roar of the crowd, and become intoxicated in the moment. It is a moment that it is unforgettable, surpassed only by the unexplainable joy that seeing your son or daughter for the first time can provide. It seems as if now my life revolves around the dreams about this sport that I had as a young boy and the dreams that I possess for one’s future. And that is absolutely okay with me.
Next year will mark another return for me on the way to a longer and more productive career because of this decision. My motivation for fighting will continue to grow, as will my skillset and understanding of life. It has to. I’d hate for my son to grow up and dare to live a dream because I set an example that resulted in having to stop living mine.
So in 2016, look for me to be back in the Top 15, beating Top 10 opponents, and proving to every young boy who has to watch the UFC behind his parent’s back and every adult that worries about their family that dreams can and do come true.
Submitted by Travis Banks from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
Pre-Show Notes:
– Arena is roughly 3/4 empty. Maybe 4000 total in attendance. Security telling everyone to only stand and make noise during entrances.
Dark Match:
– Dudley Boyz def. The Ascension with the 3D
– Mark Henry def. Brad Maddox with the World’s Strongest Slam. Henry gives his shirt to his family in the crowd.
Main Event:
– Sasha Banks w/ Team BAD def. Brie Bella w/ Team Bella with the Bank Statement
– Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan def. The Prime Time Players with a Strowman bearhug on Titus
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens def. Neville with a Pop Up Powerbomb. During the match, Owens tried to run around ringside and hide. Security forced anyone who stood up to sit back down, some almost violently.
Smackdown:
– Show begins with Seth Rollins arriving backstage. He is booked in a match against a mystery opponent by Corporate Kane. New Day asks Kane for the Dudleys but get booked against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
– WWE Champion Seth Rollins def. mystery opponent Cesaro with the Pedigree. Stardust is in the crowd in the “Stardust Section”.
– Paige is out to explain that she didn’t attack Natalya last week. She invites Becky and Charlotte out, and they accuse Paige of being jealous. Bellas come to the stage and ask if they’re watching Pretty Little Liars. Paige challenges Nikki to a match, which is next.
– Miz TV with Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae is announced. Miz is backstage with Renee Young and says Summer has a bomb to drop.
– Nikki Bella def. Paige with the Rack Attack. Both have their teams at ringside but neither get involved.
– Miz TV with Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae. Summer introduces her new man, Tyler Breeze. He says he and Summer Rae of Sunshine will give WWE a makeover. Dolph calls Breeze a lazy millennial but Breeze attacks and does a beatdown.
– Sheamus and Wade Barrett (w/ Rusev) def. The Lucha Dragons with a Brogue Kick.
– Ryback def. Bo Dallas. Owens is interviwed backstage and says he is better than Ryback and will prove it Sunday.
– Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose def. New Day with a spear on Kofi. Post match Bray Wyatt on the tron tells Roman he will see him in hell.
After the show Wyatt and Rowan come out and fight Reigns and Ambrose and get thrown out of the ring.
Louis is growing his hair out, seemingly leaving the bald monster persona behind. Tucker & Marcus were half way to the ring when the Hype Bros music hit and the two sprinted past them to get everyone fired up. The crowd was all over Tucker Knight for his silver boots, always a fun live event tradition, even singing songs about them. Ryder took a beating here until making the hot tag to Mojo who ran wild before tagging in Ryder to hit the electric chair rough ryder from the top for the win.
Apollo Crews beat Elias Samson
Elias makes his way to the ring with his guitar to be interviewed by our hostess Dasha Fuentes, he begins playing his guitar and does a fun song insulting the town they’re in as he does at each event. Apollo’s music hits to a good reaction, plenty of chants for Crews as Elias worked holds during this match. Towards the end Crews got a hold of Samson’s guitar and held it over the side of the ring threatening to drop it, then threatened to play it, all to infuriate Samson. After the guitar was safe the finish saw Crews fire back and hit his new finish a big scoop slam variation for the win. Apollo Crews has a lot of fan support growing here.
Gionna Daddio & Aliyah the former Jasmin aka Nhooph Al-Areebi were out to talk to the crowd, very energetic and likable babyfaces here, talked about being the youngest divas in NXT and were proud to follow in the footsteps of those who started the Divas Revolution, mentioning Bayley, Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte. Which lead to Emma & Eva Marie interrupting them, Emma proclaimed she started the Divas Revolution, crowd was anti Eva Marie here, booing her down so she put her arms up and twirled to soak in the attention and encourage it. During the verbal exchange the heels took cheap shots and laid out the two youngsters leading to referees rushing the ring attempting to break it up and check on the roughed up divas.
Riddick Moss def. Levis Valenzuela Jr.
Valenzuela is charismatic, likable and plausible as his persona, his dancing and proclaiming “Fiesta” brings the people in and his taunts received actual laughs from the crowd, the best being “Booo this man, he sucks!” as he pointed at Riddick. Simple yet wonderful when the wrestler has charm the way Levis does. Moss is technically sound and plays the straight heel to Levis’ flamboyant babyface.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan beat Dash & Dawson
A great reaction for Gable & Jordan, these are made men after that performance at Takeover Respect. The singing of their names to the old Kurt Angle theme is very over, with Jordan even encouraging it along. Dash and Dawson are also well respected by the local crowds and strong, rough, and tough workers. A very good tag match as one would expect, and in the end Gable & Jordan get the win with the assisted German suplex. Jordan and Gable feel like a cut above with their athleticism, they are amazing wrestlers.
Hugo Knox beat Sawyer Fulton
Knox is another non-tv wrestler with personality that already shines through, his dancing and party boy attitude got a lot of “Go Hugo” and other chants of encouragement. Fulton is big and scary, so the dynamic of this match was the serious heel getting frustrated by the fun loving face and finally getting beat.
Gionna Daddio storms out from the back with a mic to call out Emma and Eva Marie, she says they don’t know who they’re messing with and she’s from Jersey. The heels make their way down and take each side of the ring asking her what she’s going to do, which leads to Gionna declaring she wasn’t challenging them alone…
Asuka & Gionna Daddio beat Emma & Eva Marie
Huge pop for Asuka, this woman is a star. Emma’s nightmare continues as Asuka seems to be following her at every turn both on tv and on live events. Good heel work by Eva Marie in this match, taunting Gionna while in holds, embracing the heat. Hot tag to Asuka who laid in some ferocious kicks to Eva Marie at one point. Tag to Gionna who hit a crossbody for the win. Gionna has a lot of potential, as many of our non tv wrestlers on this show, the personality and likability is already there. Emma & Asuka did a good job here keeping everything going.
Baron Corbin beat Solomon Crowe
Heel heat for Corbin is not only on NXT tv but also at live events, there are always hecklers and those who get Baron’s attention only to get taunted right back. Crowe is out with an altered look, Orange sleeveless zip up hoodie, the sides of his head shaved and looking quite intimidating. Hard hitting match here, big moves in this one, Baron prevails with the End Of Days for the win and a chorus of booos.
Blake & Murphy w/ Alexa Bliss & Tye Dillinger vs. The Vaudevillains & Finn Balor went to a no contest once Alexa Bliss interfered, leading to Bayley running in to have the match restarted as an 8 Person Tag.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor, WWE NXT Women’s Champions Bayley & WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillains beat Tye Dillinger & BAMF
BAMF entered first to their dubstep music which always gets them heat, Dillinger even as a heel is well liked at live events, and his Ten gimmick is over, even Alexa Bliss was holding up the two hands open Ten sign during his entrance.
The Vaudevillains are quite popular at live events as well, superstar reaction to Finn Balor. The current non-demon persona with the leather jacket has included an attitude of confidence, he is the main event. Finn joins in posing with Gotch and English pre match and is entertained himself with their ole timey antics, including some awkward stretching by Simon Gotch.
The match took off once it was restarted as Bayley is another true main eventer here in NXT, the place lit up, people jumped out of their seats at her music. Finn Balor himself was leaping and punching the air as Bayley laid into Alexa Bliss. Finn was ecstatic to see Bayley and was her biggest fan. This match then went all over the place including all six men in a long connected submission hold with Finn at the end holding a Boston Crab on Murphy, yelling to ASK THEM.
Then all hell broke loose, Aiden English hit a Stone Cold Stunner on one of BAMF and this lead to Bayley hitting one of her own on Alexa Bliss. The place was going crazy. The ring clears and Bayley is seemingly alone as Bliss is down and the men are all on the outside. As Tye Dillinger comes face to face with Bayley in the center of the ring, putting his hands in her face with his Ten gesture, and in the greatest moment of the night Bayley wraps her arms around Dillinger and hoists him up for the Belly To Bayley. Leaping to her feet and pumping her fist after hitting him to the mat, the crowd was electric.
Balor then goes to the top and nails the Coup De Grace on Dillinger for the pin. The babyface champions all celebrated, hugs for all. Bayley even Too Sweeted Finn Balor, everyone left this show happy.
Adding Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair to Raw last night only bumped the number up to 3.35 million viewers, up 80,000 viewers from the non-holiday low of 3.27 million set last week.
The New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles game with the Star Wars trailer did 13.90 million viewers, up 14 percent from last week, but it was lower than the game two weeks away, on a week Raw did essentially the same audience (3.37 million viewers) as last night. But last night also had the Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays playoff game, that was expected to do monster numbers in Canada. However, that doesn’t relate to the U.S. number, as the game did less than Raw in the U.S., with 3.09 million viewers, down 47 percent from last week’s St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs game and 22 percent from the late Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets game.
The audience fell as the show went on, which should have been expected when the big guns, Austin, Undertaker, Lesnar and John Cena were all used in the first 30 minutes and none returned the rest of the show.
Tuesday has Smackdown tapings in Austin, TX with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and Sheamus as the headliners.
Friday: Eurasian Fight Night at 12:30 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.
Saturday: UFC FIght Night: Poirier vs. Duffy live on UFC Fight Pass. The main card starts at 4:00 p.m. ET with the prelims at 1:00 p.m. ET. With the originally scheduled Stipe Miocic vs. Ben Rothwell co-headliner off due to Miocic’s injury, Patrick Holohan vs. Louis Smolka has been bumped up.
Sunday: WWE Hell in a Cell live on WWE Network and pay-per-view at 8:00 p.m. ET (pre-show an hour earlier) with a double main event of Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker and Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, plus Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against (Demon) Kane.
****
Figure Four Weekly:
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring details on all facets of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, including a better understanding of Gawker’s defense, what else the judge has sealed to protect Hogan, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter
A complete look at Mistico/Myzteziz/Original Sin Cara and his leaving AAA, and what it means to the Mexican scene, and his history including WWE is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We also look at NXT Takeover, full details behind the new Rizing Fighting Championships in Japan including what role pro wrestling will play and the Hall of Famer scheduled to headline, New Japan’s going forward with notes on upcoming shows and King of Pro Wrestling, Rusev & Lana and the TNA title tournament. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
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Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
As noted on Wrestling Observer Radio last night, Randy Orton is out of action with a shoulder injury, the full extent of which is unknown pending an MRI. This is a big blow to the company given that John Cena’s final day before his 6-8 week hiatus (as of this writing) begins the day after his Hell in a Cell match where he defends the WWE US Title against a mystery opponent.
WWE sent out a press release announcing that William Shatner will be the narrator of the new “Breaking Ground” documentary series about the Performance Center, which premieres on WWE Network next week.
John Cena will be the guest on the new weekly ESPN Sportscenter segment on ESPN News, hosted by former WWE announcer “Coach” Jonathan Coachman.
We got several reports from Raw last night about an incident where they were panning the camera around the building during the commercial break so that everyone could show off the signs they brought to the show. Someone held up a giant sign that read, “WRESTLEMANIA 32”, and as soon as the camera focused on it he turned it over and on the other side it read, “THREE HOURS SUCK”. The camera quickly panned away.
WWE Hell In A Cell odds are up at BetWrestling.com. Right now, Brock Lesnar is a big -600 favorite against Undertaker (+400). Roman Reigns is a -290 favorite against Bray Wyatt’s +210, while Seth Rollins is a -475 favorite against Kane’s +325.
According to the promoters in a bit of a scathing video released Tuesday, new signee Patrick Clark of Tough Enough is apparently going to no-show an appearance for Millennium Wrestling Federation in Massachusetts Wednesday despite WWE clearing him to work the event. MWF is co-owned by John Cena Sr. As of this writing, Clark hasn’t responded on Twitter.
Kevin Lee is very upset that UFC is giving Sage Northcutt a fight with Cody Pfister, who Lee calls “the worst lightweight on the roster”. Apparently Lee doesn’t understand that UFC is attempting to create a star here. The bigger concern is that Paige Van Zan and Sage Northcutt (hashtag #paigeandsage on Twitter — seriously) are fighting on a FIGHTPASS EXCLUSIVE, a surefire way to be seen by the fewest number of people.
OTHER WRESTLING
TNA has reinstated BRAM, aka Thomas Latimer, after charges of domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment charges were dropped. The prosecutor in the case declined to press charges. If history is any indication, that means at any time TNA should be announcing that Bram has been signed to a new multi-year contract.
Ring of Honor debuted on WMCN-TV in Philadelphia on Friday night. It’s regular schedule will include Saturday night airings at 11:30 ET.
Global Force Wrestling will crown both it’s NEX*GEN Championship and it’s Women’s Championship match this coming Friday at the Orleans in Las Vegas at its next set of TV tapings. The NEX*GEN finals features PJ Black vs. Virgil Flynn vs. Jigsaw vs. TJP, and the Women’s Title finals features Christina Von Eerie vs. Amber Gallows.
Kimbo Slice, Santana Garrett, and Rocky Johnson will be part of a Tuesday night CCW event in Coral Gables, FL. Find tickets and card info here.
On the new episode of the Between the Sheets podcast, Bruce Mitchell joins Kris Zellner and David Bixenspan to talk October 13-19, 1986. They discuss the tragic car wreck that ended Magnum T.A.’s career in the ring and how Jim Crockett Promotions was affected from it. They also discuss the impending departure of Hacksaw Jim Duggan from the UWF, the return of Roddy Piper to the WWF, Riki Choshu to the WWF?, and Mad Dog Vachon in his new role in life as…Inspector Gourmet?!?!
The latest Fire Pro Podcast looks at the best wrestling theme songs here.
CHIKARA: Off The Hook is this Saturday, October 24th, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. It takes place at the Jeffersonville Arena on 1416 Spring Street in Jeffersonville, IN. Tickets are still available.
AWA wrestling personalities will be honoring Stan Kowalski with a luncheon tribute on October 29 in Minneapolis. AWA alums Larry “The Axe” Hennig, Kenny “Sodbuster” Jay, Eddie Sharkey, and Jim Brunzell have all indicated they will be attending.
Crossfire Wrestling returns to the Merritton Community Centre 7 Park Avenue St. Catharines ON for “JINGLE BELL BRAWL IV!” Saturday December 5th 5pm Bell Time with a Double Main Event of Crossfire Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Jeremy Elliott vs. Kongo Kong Cody Deaner vs. “Showtime” Eric Young. General Admission tickets are $15 individually or 2 for $25. General Admission Entry is 4:30pm. You can also call the Hotline 905-329-2693 for General Admission tickets.
Border City Wrestling Excellence results from October 17, 2015 at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario: Sonjay Dutt, Brent B & Ashley Sixx defeated N8 Mattson, Benjamin Boone & Orlando Christopher, John E. Bravo won the Doug Chevalier Memorial Gauntlet. Other participants were Krimson, Toro Acero, Ray Steele, Muscles Marinara, Mysterious Movado, Randy Reign, A1, Tyler Tirva, and Bobby Clancy. Moose (w/ Scarlett) defeated Johnny Swinger (w/ Jade), Shane Helms & The Great Sanada defeated Tyson Dux & Brad Martin. Overdogs Sebastian Suave & Tarik defeated Action Jackson & Aiden Prince in the first match of the BCW Can-Am Tag-Team Championship Tournament after Jackson laid out Prince and abandoned him in the ring, PJ Black defeated Phil Atlas, Lisa Marie Varon & Bryan Castle defeated Joe Coleman & Taeler Hendrix, and Cody Deaner defeated Bobby Roode & Kongo Kong (w/ Scott D’Amore) to win the Interim BCW Can-Am Championship.
WWE is going to be offering the first episode of “Breaking Ground,” a documentary on NXT, on its Facebook page and YouTube channel on Sunday at Noon Eastern time.
Future episodes, will be WWE Network exclusives. The show will be airing regularly on Monday nights right after Raw. There are currently 10 episodes in the series.
William Shatner of “Star Trek” fame will be the narrator of the show.
The show is a behind-the-scenes look at training to be a WWE performer. There will be ten episodes of the series.
Kevin Dunn will be the producer of the series, which is a co-production of WWE and 3 Ball Entertainment.
3 Ball Entertainment has produced reality shows such as Bar Rescue, Catch a Contractor and Sweat Inc. on Spike TV, My Cat from Hell on Animal Planet and Extreme Weight Loss on ABC.
Randy Orton missed this past weekend’s WWE house shows in Mexico and was not on Raw Monday night due to a dislocated shoulder. The extent of the injury is not yet certain pending the results of an MRI, and when he can return will be determined on whether if he needs or doesn’t need surgery.
On television, they noted Orton was not in Mexico and not at Raw, and almost portrayed it as him no-showing. Later in the show, they gave the impression from an interview with Dean Ambrose that the Wyatts had gotten to him.
Orton has a history of shoulder problems from injuries earlier in his career.
The Orton & Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper & Braun Strowman match scheduled for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell PPV has been canceled, and a six-man tag match with Sheamus & Rusev & King Barrett vs. Neville & Dolph Ziggler & Cesaro was put in its place around the pre-show time.
Kansas City, Kansas: – World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz beat Lord Albert Mills in 2 out of 3 falls – Bobby Bruns beat Jimmy Coffield 2 falls to 0 – Enrique Torres defeated Big Ben Morgan
1952
Des Moines, Iowa: – Verne Gagne beat Bob Orton in 2 out of 3 falls – Mike DiBiase and Joe Dusek wrestled to a draw
1964
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Mad Dog Vachon defeated Verne Gagne to win the AWA World Heavyweight Title – Reggie Parks beat Moose Cholak – Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Bob Geigel & Art Thomas – Ivan Kalmikoff beat Tony Russo
1969
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jackie Fargo and Dennis Hall defeated Don and Al Greene to win the NWA Southern Tag Team Title
1972
Atlanta, Georgia: – Dick Steinborn and Argentina Apollo defeated Skandor Akbar and Ox Baker to win the NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles
1976
Miami, Florida: – Andre the Giant won a 19 man battle royal – Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco beat Bob Roop & Bob Orton Jr – Non Title: Steve Keirn beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq – Ray Candy beat Ray Stevens – Ken Lucas drew Missouri Mauler – Hollywood Blondes, Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown beat Jan Nelson & Don Serrano – The Assassin beat Tommy Seigler – Bob Backlund beat George McCreary
1979
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Dutch Mantel defeated Dennis Condrey to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
1983
Kansas City, Kansas: – Buzz Tyler won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title by defeating Super Destroyer – Buck Robley beat Roger Kirby – Bulldog Bob Brown beat Killer Karl Krupp dq – Jerry Brown beat Booker T – Mike Pagel beat Jerry Brown dq – Angelo Mosca Jr & Ron Ritchie beat Tonga John & Doug Somers
1984
Greensboro, North Carolina: – Dusty Rhodes & Manny Fernandez defeated Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles
1985
Shizuoka, Japan: – NWA World Champion Ric Flair & AWA World Champion Rick Martel fought Terry & Dory Funk Jr. to a double count-out
1986
Fort Worth, Texas: – Crusher Yurkov (Bam Bam Bigelow) defeated Steve Simpson to win the WCCW Television Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – Tracy Smothers won the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion by defeating Tony Falk
1987
Tokyo, Japan: – Chigusa Nagayo defeated Yukari Oomori to win the WWWA World Singles Title – Bull Nakano and Condor Saito defeated The Red Typhoons (Kazue Nagahori and Yumi Ogura) to win the WWWA World Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee: – Hector Guerrero & Dr. D beat Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee to win AWA tag titles – Jerry Lawler beat Steve Keirn – Southern Tag Team Champions RPMs beat Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis – Tournament final for Southern Title: Bobby Jaggers beat Billy Travis to win Southern Title
1989
Dallas, Texas: – Kerry Von Erich defeated The Punisher (The Undertaker) to win the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title
Nagoya, Japan: – Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu defeated Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu for the All Japan World Tag Team Title – Masanobu Fuchi defeated Joe Malenko to win the All Japan World Junior Heavyweight Title
1992
Birmingham, Alabama: – Ricky Steamboat defeated Steve Austin – Shane Douglas & WCW/NWA Tag Team Champion Dustin Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton – Sting defeated Cactus Jack
1995
Knoxville, Tennessee: – Terry Gordy defeated Brad Armstrong to win the SMW Heavyweight Title
2002
– Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit defeated Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr. in the finals of the Smackdown World Tag Team Title tournament
