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NJPW on AXS report 9-18-15: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Chase Owens for the NWA Jr. title
by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com
Tonight’s show took place on October 13, 2014 at Sumo Hall. It’s a look at New Japan’s annual November PPV, King of Pro Wrestling, which is one of the bigger events on the New Japan calendar. Tonight’s show is our first look at the card, as this episode highlights the big junior heavyweight matches on the card.
First up is reDragon vs Timesplitters for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag titles. reDragon, as far as in ring work goes, are one of the best tag teams on the planet right now and Timesplitters aren’t too far behind. They’ve faced off countless times in the last year, and I think they’ve have had better matches on other shows than this one right here. Not that it’s bad, it was actually a pretty good bout, but it just feels like I’ve seen better from the four. reDragon have totally proved that they belong in New Japan, as we’ll see in future episodes, and when they won the titles I wasn’t too surprised, so good on them. Good, solid work from everyone involved overall.
After the match, reDragon and Timesplitters are confronted by two other teams- The Young Bucks and Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero/Alex Koslov). All four teams argue with another as reDragon leave with the titles, holding them up. This sets up a four way at the WrestleKingdom show, but it doesn’t make much sense, especially since the Timesplitters just lost clean in the middle of the ring. But hey, the match on paper sounds pretty good either way.
Next is Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taichi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship. This is the follow up to the previous episode where the Suzuki-gun junior heavyweights attacked Taguchi, and sure enough Taichi’s two cohorts Desperado & Taka Michinoku are at ringside for this match. Taguchi is the kind of guy who can have great matches with great workers, and Taichi isn’t considered a great worker in the least bit. Looking at the highlights here, they did end up having a pretty good match. The editing was kind of poor as they aired a big spot where Taichi gave Taguchi a Gotch piledriver through a table, then immediately fast forwarded to Taguchi making a comeback, eventually winning with the dodon. That wasn’t the best edit I’ve seen. Regardless, the highlights were good and overall probably a better match than people would expect.
After the match, Bullet Club members enter ringside. Karl Anderson enters the ring and introduces the newest member of the Bullet Club, “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega. He comes in and cuts a promo on Taguchi, saying that he didn’t want the lion mark prestige, all he really wants is the money. He also said that he wanted the IWGP junior title, and that he’s here to clean up NJPW. They have a staredown before exiting the ring, but not before Taguchi takes the mic and says he doesn’t understand English, then says to answer his question, oh my and garfunkel (his catchphrase). It doesn’t sound like it on paper, but after the long promo Omega cut it was pretty funny for Taguchi to give such a succinct answer. This also leads to a title match at WrestleKingdom.
Jushin Thunder Liger is interviewed next, as he takes on Chase Owens for the NWA Junior Heavyweight championship. He says when he thinks of the NWA, he remembers legends such as Ric Flair, the Funks, and Harley Race. They were truly the king of kings as they wrestle all throughout the word. In regards to Owens, he says his moves are simple but he knows to make them devastating. Says it’s hard to wrestle at this age in a New Japan ring but he still has the biggest heart of any wrestler.
The main event aired. This was a solid match as well. Not great, but pretty good. Bruce Tharpe as the NWA manager is so great, his mannerisms are top notch and he’s effective as the wacky heel manager. Owens looked good throughout the match. Like Liger mentioned, he doesn’t do anything fancy, but does enough to have a good match and it works for him well. Always good to see a different style in New Japan, and Owens brings that to the table here. They kept it safe and didn’t do anything crazy. Liger went for a splash at one point but Liger made it to the ropes. Mostly just a good back and forth match until Liger laid out Owens with a brainbuster, then followed with another one and pinned Owens to win the belt. Commentary here did a great job as well with putting the NWA Junior Heavyweight title over as they made it sound like a really big deal when Liger won it.
Liger in a post match interview says that he wants to defend the title in NOAH and other places now that he’s a NWA champion. Tenryu told him to say to keep wrestling until you’re satisfied. Making a comeback is embarrassing, as he will never forget those words. He says that while this is the final chapter for Liger, he will keep going forward. In his reflective interview, he talks about winning the belt in Osaka. In regards to how he envisions the future, he says the future is amazing, and lists people like Kushida, Alex Shelley and Kenny Omega and also mentions that he wants to wrestle Tiger Mask IV one more time, which is something we’ll see down the road.
Very cool episode this week. It didn’t have any blow away matches, but it did show the healthy relationships with Ring of Honor and NWA and how they’ll continue to thrive into 2015, with both reDragon winning the IWGP tag titles and Liger winning the NWA Jr. title. Also very interesting to hear Liger’s words about this being his final chapter. I wonder if he still feels that he’s on the final chapter of his career as we now enter 2016.
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WWE NXT house show report 9-18 Austin, TX
By Travis Banks
I attended the first ever NXT house show in Austin earlier this evening. The event was held in the Austin Music Hall, which hosted a TNA house show in 2011. The venue will be torn down at the end of the year, so NXT will be one of the final shows to hit Austin Music Hall. First up was the VIP Meet and Greet. Basically you were given two ticket options when they went on sale: $100 guaranteed seats with a superstar meet and greet, or $75 General Admission. The VIP was literally just an autograph and picture opportunity with Bull Dempsey. Not exactly worth the extra cash. That being said, Bull was AWESOME, as he took the time to interact with every fan and seemed happy to be there. – Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady def. Blake & Murphy (with Alexa Bliss) and Jordan & Gable. Cass comes out in a huge cowboy hat while he and Enzo do their intro. Gable was also a huge hit with the crowd. Post match, the Dubstep Cowboys and Alexa stare down Enzo and Cass. – Apollo Crews def. Tye Dillinger. Crowd chanted “Uhaa” to start but was chanting “Apollo” by the end – Bull Dempsey def. Solomon Crowe – NXT Women’s Title Match: Bayley def. Dana Brooke with the Belly to Bayley. Afterwards, Bayley poses for pictures with kids at ringside, letting them hold the title. – Intermission. Only NXT merch is sold at the stand, including the awesome NXT Texas shirt. Pricey at $30 but cool. – Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament: Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson def. NXT Tag Champs The Vaudevillains in a shocking non-title upset. The Vaudevillains try to shake hands after the match but Dawson and Wilder refused, cheap shot the champs and ran away. This was taped and should air on NXT TV at some point. – Emma def. Carmella via submission – Samoa Joe def. Tyler Breeze with the Coquina Clutch. Crowd chants “This is Awesome” before the bell even rings… good match somewhat ruined by stupid crowd chants. Really the only time throughout the night the crowd acted too “smarky.” Counting TNA house shows, Joe wins his first match in Austin, going 0-3 in TNA house shows in the city. – Main Event, NXT Title: Finn Balor def. Baron Corbin with the Coup des Gras. Finn came out in a plain black leather jacket and was assaulted by Corbin before the bell. Fun match. They botched a DDT at one point but covered nicely by rolling out of the ring while some people try to start a “You Fucked Up” chant but fail. Afterwards, Finn grabs the mic and says he’ll return to Austin. End of show. Most of the wrestlers signed autographs and took pictures outside as they were leaving. Overall, one of the best WWE live events I’ve attended. Everyone was having a blast and the wrestlers were all excited to be there. -
History of Starrcacde: the complete Observer collection covering every Starrcade from the first to the last
Starrcade Special
Before there was Wrestlemania, there was Starcade
Re-live WCW’s biggest event before the “Death of WCW”Sale Price only Valid until September 30th
$109.95* USD for Canada destinations
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18 great Observers covering Starrcade events and other great news stories that occurred in those issues.
January’84, January’85, December 9’85, December 8’86, December 7’87, January 2’89, December 26’89, December 24’90, January 6’92,
January 4’93, January 3’94, January 2’95, January 8’96, January 6’97, January 5’98, January 4’99, December 28’99, December 25’00**Check out my Wrestling, UFC/MMA ebay auctions and more. Seller name is grantsindex
Some great vintage programs up right now including vintage Calgary Stampede Wrestling classics! Email me if you want to make a multiple item ebay purchase before you bid on something*Regular selling price for Canada $119, a $9 savings
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Enjoy!!
1984
January (20) NWA Starrcade ’83-A Flair for the Gold 11/24 card coverage
Ric Flair cover Wrestling notebook coverage of all the territories news and champions, including
-opening of All Japan tag tourney
-Inoki voted back in as president of New Japan
-Brody & Murdoch appear in Southwest
-World Class draws 19,200 to Thanksgiving show headlined by Kerry vs Hayes
-Jesse Ventura leaves CWA/Jarrett promotions; Lawler “wins” Southern title1985
Jan. 10 (52)** 1984 Observer Awards Winners
($18) 1984 in Review
Dynamite Kid cover 1984 Wrestling Ratings
Champions of 1984
NWA Starrcade ’84-The Million Dollar Challenge 11/22 card coverage
Inside Japan Wrestling
Wrestling notebook covering all the territories news and champions including
-Sgt Slaughter wants to renegotiate contract, Vince dismisses Sarge from WWF
-Tsuruta & Tenryu win annual All Japan tournament
-Atsushi Onita announces retirement
-Kevin Sullivan wins Southwest title
-Flair retains belt vs Kerry Von Erich in Dallas Christmas card
-Brad Armstrong wins North American title from Ernie Ladd
-Michael Hayes now booking Florida1985
Dec.9 (8) NWA Starrcade ’85-The Gathering 11/28 card coverage
Magnum TA wins U.S. title from Tully Blanchard
WWF & AWA go head to head in St Paul
WWF & NWA go head to head in St Louis
NJPW & Mid South reach talent agreement
Crush Girls to wrestle in Madison Square Gardens1986
Dec. 8 (10) John Tatum injured in 11/26 car accident
NWA Starrcade ’86 Night of the Skywalkers card coverage
Bruiser Brody walks out on New Japan
UWF Superdome Thanksgiving card coverage1987
Dec. 7 (10) Survivor Series 11/26 & Starrcade ‘87 Chi-Town Heat 11/26 card coverage
The best & worst of above
Ric Flair regains NWA belt from Ron Garvin
NWA debut card at Nassau Coliseum
Greg Gagne apparently wins AWA title from Curt Henning1989
Jan.2 (8) NWA Starrcade ’88 True Gritt 12/26 card coverage
Michael Hayes, Butch Reed & Brian Pillman headed to NWA
2 other big names rumored to be NWA bound
A look back to reflect and a look ahead at the state of pro wrestling1989
Dec. 26 (10) NWA Starrcade ‘89 Future Shock 12/13 card coverage & poll results
The future of Flair & the NWA title
Tully Blanchard, cocaine and wrestling
ESPN may drop AWA
Haystacks Calhoun passes away
Jarrett concerned about CWA1990
Dec. 24 (10) “The Grinch That Stole Wrestling” by James E Cornette
NWA Starrcade ’90-Collision Course 12/16 card coverage
Iron Mike Mazurki passes away
Lou Thesz to wrestle 12/26-will have competed in 6 different decades
El Canek wins UWA title from Vader
Tokyo Sports awards1992
Jan 6 (10) Steroid Update-Inside Edition story
WCW Starrcade ‘91-The Lethal Lottery 12/29 card coverage
Wilbur Snyder passes away
Couple of big changes going into NJPW/WCW Tokyo Egg Dome show
Dave’s review of the 12/12 SWS/WWF/PWF/EMLL Egg Dome show
Details of the proposed bill to regulate pro wrestling in Florida1993
Jan 4 (10) Starrcade ’92 12/28 card coverage
Jesse Ventura interview by Mike Tenay
Motoshi Okuma passes away
Status of Flair in WWF subject of lots of speculation
Jeff Jarrett wins Southern title from Brian Christopher1994
Jan 3 (10) Flair wins WCW title from Vader-Ric Flair career history
Starrcade 12/27/93 card coverage
Canek regains UWA title from Vampiro Casanova 12/19
Hurricane Castillo Sr passes away
Antonia Pena heading to Japan to negotiate talent deal for AAA1995
Jan 2 (12) Starrcade ‘94 12/27card coverage – Honky Tonk Man quits prior to match
Who draws money? A list of all 10,000 + crowds of 1994 and analysis
Jean Paul Levesque future in WCW up in the air
WWF rehires Jim Ross to work in booking and producing TV
Kama debuts in WWF as a UFC fighter character
Rogeau situation turning into a family feud1996
Jan 8 (12) Starrcade ‘95 12.27 card coverage-Flair wins WCW title from Savage-
WWF announces Vader for the Royal Rumble
WCW reinstates blading after Bret Hart juice job done 10 days earlier
ECW draws sellout in their New York City debut1997
Jan 6 (12) ECW to debut on PPV
Starrcade 12/29/96 card coverage
AAA possibly in trouble of losing TV
Jerry Jarrett’s selling of his 50% of USWA confirmed
Omar Marchessault passes away
Some notes on Steve Nelson’s Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation1998
Jan 5* (16) Rumor of Antonio Inoki retirement announcement
(cover date error) Starrcade ‘97 12/28 card coverage- Sting wins WCW title vs Hogan, DDP wins US title vs Henning
Royce Gracie injury ends up in Pride 2 card being postponed
NHB rules, credibility, promotion methods & matchmaking called into question
1997 final match quality ratings
Old USWA territory turns into hotbed outside the ring
Davey Boy Smith agrees to WCW deal
Terry Funk debuts in WWF as Chainsaw Charlie1999
Jan 4 (18) Mankind wins WWF title from The Rock 12/29
Obstacles of the promotions this year
WCW Starrcade ‘98 12/27 card coverage-Nash wins WCW belt from Goldberg
Jaguar Yokota & Cuty Suzuki retire
Pancrase 12/19 card coverage
UFC 1/8 card preview
Benoit, Malenko & Guerrero agree to terms with WCW1999
Dec 27 (18) WCW’s idea to turn things around is same as it was 3 ½ years ago, NWO angle
Masato Tanaka wins ECW title from Mike Awesome
Starrcade 12/19 card coverage-Madusa wins cruiserweight title
Vince Russo lashes out at criticism of his booking
Tokyo Sports awards
E!Channel’s True Hollywood Story focuses on Hulk Hogan
Chris Candito, Tammy Sytch & Axl Rotten fired by ECW2000
Dec 25 (18) Blue Demon passes away-career retrospect
Problems backstage at Nitro-fight between Steiner & Page, wrestlers walk off
Detailed analysis of the state of WCW & ECW
Starrcade card 12/17 coverage
NJPW in major surprise announces Chosu vs Hashimoto for 1/4 Tokyo Dome News not bright in ECW-paychecks don’t come
Japanese Sports media awards
UFC XIX Defence of the Belts 12/16 card coverage
EMLL Sin Piedad 12/15 Arena Mexico Spectacular card coverage
New Jack’s status in ECW up in the air -
WWE house show report 9-18 Montreal: Reigns & Ambrose vs. Wyatt & Harper; Owens vs. Cesaro; Patterson appears
By Pat Laprade
WWE house show at the Bell Center in Montreal. Neville beat Stardust with a 450 splash. Good match and good reaction to Neville. Team PCB b Team Bad with Natalya as guest referee. PCB got a better babyface reaction than Neville. Charlotte pin Tamina with the natural selection. After the match, Banks complained that it was a fast count, Tamina attacked Natalya from behind. Three on one until Natalya did a comeback and the heels took the powder. Nice pop for Natalya. Good match with Charlotte being the most over. Dolph Ziggler beat Rusev w/Summer Rae Ziggler got a huge reaction coming to the ring with a Montreal Canadiens jersey with number 69 on the back (clever). Best match on the card so far. A lot, and I mean a lot of near falls. Two “This is awesome” chants. These chants used to mean something. And don’t get me wrong. It’s a good match live. But not awesome. Summer attacked Ziggler with one of her high heel shoes, referee saw it and she got kicked out. Ziggler won with the Zig Zag. New Day beat Dudley Boyz and Prime Time Players when Kofi pin Buh Buh with a small package. After the match, the Dudleys put Woods through a table. Dudleys had the new best pop of the night, which is going to be Owens at the end of the day anyway. Ryback beat Seth Rollins by DQ when Rollins used a chair outside the ring. Until then the match was good but the finish felt flat. After the match, Rollins cut a promo saying he’s the best. He went to attack Ryback with a chair but Ryback ducked and hit the Shell Shocked on Rollins. Intermission R-Truth beat The Miz. The Miz spoke in French saying he hated poutine, the Montreal Canadiens and said he was magnificent. They had a dance off and Truth won with the Lie Detector. Very short match. Pat Patterson came to the ring and acted as the ring announcer, instead of Jojo, for the following match, between Cesaro and Kevin Owens. Why is Owens in the semi-main instead of the main-event with one match left is mind boggling. If Rollins and Ryback was the main-event I’d understand. But I can’t say I can now. Owens was the babyface here and Cesaro the heel. Owens won with the pop up power bomb. Maybe not better than Ziggler and Rusev but as good for sure. Owens took the mic and in French thanked everyone, said that it meant the world to him to wrestle in front of his wife and parents at home and that this Sunday, he would continue the bloodline of Quebecers having success in WWE by winning the IC title against Ryback. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose beat Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper The lights went off and Braun Stowman was in the ring. After putting Reigns to sleep, Ambrose took the upper hand and Reigns woke up and superman punched Harper. Wyatt went for the Sister Abigail but Ambrose reversed it and applied the Dirty Deeds for the win. The Kevin Owens’ t-shirt with the Montreal Canadiens colours and KO logo sold like hot cakes. By intermission there were no larges and XLs left. Also, even if he’s not on the card, they were selling “Suplex City Montreal” t-shirts. Best matchTie between Ziggler vs Rusev and Owens vs Cesaro Biggest popOwensDudley BoyzTie between Ziggler and PCB Biggest heatThe MizRusevCesaro Rollins, New Day and the Wyatts (during their entrance) were heels but liked by the crowd.
Pat LapradeCoauteur d’À la semaine prochaine si Dieu le veut (Libre Expression 2013)Co-author of Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs (ECW Press 2013)Coauteur de Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon (Libre Expression 2015) -
CMLL 82nd anniversary show live report from Arena Mexico 9-18 Atlantis vs. La Sombra
Welcome to our live coverage of the CMLL 82nd anniversary show from Arena Mexico.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show, tonight’s ROH show, as well as Bellator and WWE Night of Champions this weekend, so you can leave a thumbs up thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
ESFINGE & FUEGO & THE PANTHER VS. DISTURBIO & PUMA KING & VIRUS
Good match, not too crazy or anything. Fuego pinned Disturbio in the first fall. Disturbio made Esfinge submit to a cruceta in the second fall. Virus pinned Fuego in a battle of captains after a Gori especal bomb. Basic solidly worked match, two dives, maybe one bad looking spot. They teased as face win when Esfinge used the Fuller leglock into a cradle on Disturbio in the third fall.
Late arriving crowd as there were a ton of empty seats at 8:30 local time when the show sarted. It’s a log more full at this point.
GUERRERO MAYA JR. & MAXIMO & STUKA JR. VS. DRAGON ROJO & POLVORA & REY ESCORPION
Maximo, the world heavyweight champion is in the second match here. Good action here. Third fall ended with Escorpion pinning Maximo clean with a package piledriver which may set him up for a title shot. Stuka did this cool backwards twisting head-butt off the top rope to the floor on Rojo. Polvora pinned Maya in the first fall with a dominator off the top rope. Maximo pinned Escorpion in the second fall with a kiss and a cradle.
The building still isn’t totally full but it is a big crowd. Crowd was really into Maximo in the last match. It has the feel of a big show at this point.
DARK ANGEL VS. PRINCESA SUGEI
Even though this was Dark Angel’s farewell match as she’s headed to WWE as a trainer, the crowd was a lot less into this than the first two matches. There was some good wrestling but it went too long and they went past their peak. Panico gave her flowers and a plaque after the match. She did a long interview about spending ten years, thanked Paco Alonso. They played sone sad usc The two women hugged after. Ther crowd was respectful but it didn’t feel like it was that big of a deal to the crowd. They were wanting to work the classic big singles match and did the style but they never really got near that level.
DRAGON LEE & MISTICO & VALIENTE VS. NEGRO CASAS & FELINO & MR. NIEBLA
Easilly the best match so far, and also the shortest. Third fall saw Mistico use La Mistica on Nielbla to win after Lee used a double foot stomp while Casas was in the tree of woe to elminate him. Lee, Mistico and Valiente did a lot of good dives here and the crowd was more into the guys. They hated Mistico, total Cena PPV reaction but didn’t boo Lee and Valiente. Niebla made Mistico submit to the nudo in the first fall. Second fall saw Valiente have Felino in a tombstone and dropped him into a codebreaker.
SHOCKER & VOLADOR JR. & ULTIMO GUERRERO VS. MARCO CORLEONE & RUSH & THUNDER
The match had a lot of heat and it ranged from pretty fun to pretty bad depending on who was in. Finish was crap, though. Rush just threw down ref Tirantes in the third fall for the DQ. Rush has total superstar presence and working ability. Volador is really good. Guerrero can go. Shocker is old and slow but tries. Thunder is just awful. First fall was a double pin as Thunder pinned Guerrero with a splash off the top and Corleone pinned Shocker with Air Italia. Second fall saw Guerrero pin Thunder after a delayed vertical suplex while Shocker did an elbow drop off the middle rope on Corleone.
Volador and Rush went back and forth with challenges for a hair match. Tons of heat for that.
Aside from the dancing girls and big crowd, this doesn’t feel much different than a usual Friday as far as match quality goes. It really is a one match show.
ATLANTIS VS. LA SOMBRA MASK VS. MASK
Atlantis won with the torture rack in the third fall in a match that was exactly what it should have been. Super heat. They are sowing Sombra’s mother crying in he front row. Now thehy are showing his father, his brother was crying. It had that big match feel at a level of something in the 70s, even more than the G-1 mathes. The match was great due to Sombra but Atlantis did a great job considering his age with multiple dives.
Manuel Alfonso Andrade Oropeza, 25 years old, from Gomez Palacio, Durango.
Dad is stoic, mom still crying. Sombra now giving a speech. Mom now hysterically crying. Little brother crying. Sombra put over Atlantis at the end. He called his family to the ring. His mom didn’t come to the ring. He asked his father to take his mask off. Rush hugged him before taking it off. He hugged his dad before taking it off. He unmaksed. Confetti is flying and Sombra’s family put Atlantis on their shoulders. Rush now wants a match with Atlantis. They shook hands as Atlantis posed with Sombra’s mask. Now Sombra’s family has him on his shoulders. Lots of women crying now.
Atlantis won the first fall via DQ for Rush’s interference. Somba won the second with a one arm back suplex. Thrid fall was a million near falls and submissions.
Excellent last match overall, but overall atmosphere was not at the level of last year’s anniversary main event, but that’s a once in a decade like feel with the end of a decade plus story, where as this was less than two months.
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Ring of Honor 9/18 All-Star Extravaganza 7 PPV Live results and coverage – Lethal vs O’Reilly
by Paul Fontaine, for WrestlingObserver.com
Welcome to our live coverage of Ring of Honor All-Star Extravaganza 7 from San Antonio, TX and live on PPV. Jay Lethal defends both his World and TV title against both members of ReDRagon in the feature matches. The Addiction defends their tag titles in a 3 way against the Kingdom and The Young Bucks. A 4 way number one contender’s match between Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Michael Elgin and AJ Styles will determine the next World title challenger.
Also:
Matt Sydal vs ACH in the third match of their best of 5 series
Moose vs Cedric Alexander in a no-DQ match
The Briscoes face a mystery tag team
And in the real main event of the evening, the greatest stipulation match ever as Dalton Castle puts up his boys in a match against Silas Young. If Castle happens to win, Silas becomes a “Young boy” and if Young wins, he’s promised to turn Castle’s boys into men.The action gets underway at 9 pm central/6 pacific so check back here for ongoing coverage.
TV Title Match:
Jay Lethal (champion) w/Truth Martini vs Bobby FishKevin Kelly gets a shot in at WWE’s booking of Seth Rollins during the intros, saying that no pro wrestling champion has been more dominant than Jay Lethal, going over all the people he’s beat recently.
Lethal retained the title in a 14 minute match, pulling the tights on a rollup off of a kneebar attempt by Bobby Fish. Fish was going for kneebars and leglocks the whole match. Lethal hit a Lethal Combination early and Fish teased not making it in for the 20 count. Kelly noted that Horsewomen Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler were in attendance but they weren’t shown on camera. He also noted 25 title defence in over a year for Lethal as TV champion. Good opener.
Boys on the line vs Silas becoming one of the boys:
Silas Young vs Dalton Castle w/his boysYoung won possession of the boys in 13 minutes. Young hit a lowblow while the ref was distracted by the boys and then hit the Misery for the win. Mostly comedy early. The Boys fanned Young and the distraction led to a roll-up by Castle for a nearfall. Match was back and forth with both guys getting long 2 counts.
Briscoes vs Mystery Team up next. Briscoes in the pre-match promo say it’s been a long time since they held the tag belts and this is step 1 to getting them back.
The Decade are out. BJ Whitmer on crutches and Adam Page with his arm in a sling. Whitmer says he’s doing commentary and asks Corino to leave but King doesn’t oblige. Fans chanting PLEASE RETIRE at Whitmer. The Romantic Touch out next. Kelly says he’s been stalking the Briscoes for awhile. I must have missed that. Briscoes attack Touch and I guess he’s not the partner.
The All Night Express are back and they’re the challengers. Rhett Titus had been been playing the Romantic Touch up till now and Kenny King has been in TNA so this is his return to ROH.
Briscoes (Mark and Jay Briscoe) vs All Night Express (Rhett Titus and Kenny King)
ANX won when Titus pinned Mark after a double-team. Titus had Mark up for a powerbomb and King came off the top rope after Jay had been knocked outside the ring. Match was competitive with neither team having an advantage.
Adam Page attacked Jay Briscoe after the match but ANX made the save.
No DQ Match:
Moose w/Stokeley Hathaway vs Cedric Alexander w/Veda ScottMoose won in 13 minutes. Crazy brawl with Moose taking a ton of punishment. Tables, ladders, chairs and a wrench involved. Finish was Alexander and Hathaway fighting for control of the wrench and Hathaway nailing Alexander with it and then Moose spearing him through a table that had been set up in the corner.
Moose took at least three chairshots to the head at various points. He did a summersault dive to the outside, landing flat backed on a ladder that was draped over the ring barrier. Alexander hit a Van Terminator on Moose at one point. Scott and Hathaway both got involved several times and Scott ended up taking a running dropkick in the turnbuckle from Alexander when Moose moved out of the way. Crowd loved this, chanting THIS IS AWESOME several times.
Match 3 – Best of Five Series tied 1-1
ACH vs Matt SydalACH won to go up 2-1 in an excellent match. They went 16 minutes and it was not exactly what you’d expect from these two. For the majority of the match, Sydal worked over ACH’s leg and while it didn’t play into the finish, you get the impression that it could end up affecting ACH in the final two matches. Finish came when ACH hit a brainbuster and then followed up with the Midnight Star for the pin. Just prior, he’d hit a Shooting Star Press from the second rope that Sydal barely kicked out of. Crowd was way into ACH in his hometown. Sydal played subtle heel for most of the match.
Tag Title Match:
Champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian) vs The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs The Kingdom (Matt Taven/Michael Bennett) w/Maria KanellisKingdom won the belts in 16 minutes. This was what you’d expect. I counted 16 superkicks. Finish was Matt Taven making a blind tag and the Bucks hitting a Meltzer driver on Frankie Kazarian and Taven rolling up Matt Jackson, for the win. Big story in this match was someone in a KRD mask coming out and taking out both members of the Addiction, using Chris Sabin’s moves. He never unmasked, but it probably wasn’t Sabin. Could be Adam Cole or a new member of the Kingdom. In one spot, Bucks were about to do a superkick on Maria but Daniels made the save. He then punched Maria right in the face. Bennett went crazy on him and that led to the finishing sequence.
#1 Contender’s Match – AJ Styles vs Michael Elgin vs Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong
Nigel McGuiness joined the commentary team here. Cole was announced as representing the Kingdom but got a huge face reaction from the crowd.
AJ won in 15 minutes, pinning Adam Cole after a Bloddy Sunday DDT followed by a Styles Clash clean in the middle. All four guys got chances to shine. Elgin hit a dead-lift vertical suplex from the top rope into a Falcon Arrow and the pin was broken up by Cole. Strong hit a backbreaker after a sick kick on Cole but Elgin broke that pinfall up and Cole hit a Destroyer on Elgin, which was broken up by AJ. Non-stop action the whole time and crowd was into everything. Elgin in particular probably improved his stock the most and the announcers put over his performance in the G1.
Main Event
ROH World Title Match – Champion Jay Lethal w/Truth Martini vs Kyle O’ReillyNigel remains at commentary and explains that he banned Donovan Dijak and J Diesel from ringside but Truth is allowed out there because he has a manager’s license.
Lethal retained in a TNA-style finish. O’Reilly had Lethal about to tap when Truth Martini pulled the ref from the ring. Nigel got up and hauled Martini to the back. O’Reilly went for a flying knee in the corner on Lethal but Lethal pulled the ref into the path and he was down. Lethal grabbed the title belt but this brought out Bobby Fish. Donovan Dijak followed and got his hands on the belt and laid out Fish. This brought out Adam Cole, who took out Donovan Dijak and then, in a swerve, hit Kyle O’Reilly with a superkick. Lethal hit the Lethal Injection for the win. The Kingdom came out and all four of them posed over O’Reilly, so it was a setup all along. Kingdom should now have title programs with ReDRagon and War Machine.
Match was okay up to that point but no better than the fourth best match on the show. Lethal kept missing the Lethal Injection and O’Reilly would go for the arm. Lethal was vulnerable the whole match and really sold the effects of wrestling his second match in a night.
Show was decent overall. No blow-away matches though and certainly not a show of the year contender but it certainly wasn’t bad by any stretch.
-
Bellator Dynamite weigh-in results and live video: Liam McGeary vs. Tito Ortiz
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s coverage of Bellator Dynamite weigh-ins. This show is a mixture of MMA and Kickboxing headlined by Tito Ortiz challenging current champ Liam McGeary for the Bellator Light Heavyweight title. There will also be a light heavyweight tournament featuring Muhammed Lawal taking on Linton Vassell and Emanuel Newton vs. Phil Davis in round 1. Plus a kickboxing championship bout in Saulo Cavalari vs. Zack Mwekassa for the vacant Glory Light Heavyweight Championship.
Weigh-ins begin at 8PM ET – MMA Results only
Liam McGeary(204.8) vs. Tito Ortiz(204.6) for the Bellator Light heavyweight Title
Josh Thomson(155.4) vs. Mike Bronzoulis(155.4)
Emanuel Newton(204) vs. Phil Davis(205.8) (LHW Tournament)
Muhammed Lawal(204.4) vs. Linton Vassell(205) (LHW Tournament)
Carlos Eduardo Rocha (170) vs. James Terry (171)
Josh Paiva (126) vs. Matt Ramirez (126)
Gabriel Carrasco (135.4) vs. Joe Neal (135.6)
Salvador Becerra (156) vs. Adam Piccolotti (155.8)
Thomas Diagne (145.6) vs. Mike Malott (145.2)
Francis Carmont (205) vs. Anthony Ruiz (205.4) – light heavyweight tourney alternate bout -
FRI UPDATE: Big Weekend, two companies look to set records, CTE, Robinson, Owens, new WWE network show
By Dave Meltzer
We’ve got a huge weekend with lots of shows, tons of audio and perhaps the most important match of the year tonight.
We’ll be doing thumbs up, thumbs down and thumbs in the middle and best and worst match polls on CMLL and ROH tonight, Bellator tomorrow and WWE on Sunday at Dave Meltzer
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Montreal (Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns), NXT in Austin, TX (Bayley vs. Dana Brooke for womens’ title, Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze) land TNA in Morgantown, WV (Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Hardy for TNA title, Bobby Roode vs. Drew Galloway vs. Ken Anderson for King of the Mountain title, Tommy Dreamer vs. Eli Drake falls count anywhere, Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong, Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Abyss & Manik, DJ Zema Ion vs. Tyrus) at Dave Meltzer
CMLL 82nd Anniversary show at 9 p.m. at http://cmll.cleeng.com on iPPV
Esfinge & Fuego & The Panther vs. Disturbio & Puma King & Virus
Guerrero Maya Jr. & Maximo & Stuka Jr. vs. Dragon Rojo & Polvora & Rey Escorpion
Dark Angel (Mexico City farewell before starting with WWE as a trainer) vs. Princesa Sugei
Dragon Lee & Mistico & Valiente vs. Negro Casas & Felino & Mr. Niebla
Shocker & Volador Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Marco Corleone & Rush & Thunder
Atlantis vs. La Sombra mask vs. mask
ROH on PPV at 9 p.m. from the Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio
Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. ?
Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle – If Young wins, he gets the boys, if Castle wins, Young becomes one of the boys
Moose vs. Cedric Alexander no DQ
Matt Sydal vs. ACH match three in best of five
A.J. Styles vs. Roderick Strong vs. Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin – winner gets an ROH title shot
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Young Bucks vs. Matt Taven & Michael Bennett for ROH tag titles
Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish for TV title
Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly for ROH title
New Japan World Pro Wrestling Returns on AXS at 9 p.m. Eastern
Chase Owens vs. Jushin Liger for NWA jr. title
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Taichi for IWGP jr. title
Alex Shelley & Kushida vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly for IWGP Jr. tag titles
World Series of Fighting tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports Network
Justin Gaethje (14-0 vs. Luis Palomino (23-10) for lightweight title
Dave Branch (16-3) vs. Teddy Holder (9-0) to crown the first light heavyweight champion
Timor Valiev (9-1) vs. Tito Jones (11-7)
Ben Fodor (Phoenix Jones) (5-1-1) vs. Roberto Yong (2-2)
Brian Foster (22-7) vs. La Rue Burley (6-0)
RFA tonight at 10 p.m. on AXS
Don Hamilton vs. Kassius Holdorf
James Nakashima vs. Chance Rencountre
Grant Dawson vs. Clay Wimer
Zach Juusola vs. Robert Rojas Jr.
Matt Brown vs. Derrick Minner
Ryan Roberts vs. Adam Townsend
Brock Jardine vs. Anthony Smith
Pro Wrestling NOAH on Saturday at the Edion Arena in Osaka
Yoshihiro Takayama & Mohammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito & Quiet Storm vs. Kenou & Hajime Ohara & Genba Hirayanagi & Captain NOAH
Desperado & Taka Michinoku vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Kota Umeda
Super Crazy & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Buffalo & Billy Ken Kid for the jr. tag tourney
Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Taiji Ishimori & Masamune for jr. tag tourney
Shelton Benjamin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Atsushi Kotoge
Maybach Taniguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka no DQ
Taichi vs Daisuke Harada for GHC jr. title
Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson for GHC tag titles
Minoru Suzuki vs. Takashi Sugiura for GHC title, no DQ, no count out, no stopping on blood, no time limit, nobody allowed at ringside special ref Tiger Hattori
Saturday we’re looking for reports on WWE in Waco, TX (Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns), ROH TV tapings in San Antonio (Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Page, Jay Lethal vs. Takaaki Watanabe for TV title, ACH vs. Matt Sydal, plus The Addiction, Young ?Bucks, A.J. Styles, Mark Briscoe, Matt Taven, Michael Bennett, Adam Cole, Silas Young, Dalton Castle, Moose and Cedric Alexander), NXT also in San Antonio (Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze for NXT title, Vaudevillains vs. Blake & Murphy in Dusty Rhodes tag team tournament), TNA in Belle Vernon, PA (Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Hardy for TNA title, Drew Galloway vs. Tyrus, Ken Anderson vs. Eli Drake, Madison Rayne vs. Awesome Kong, Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Abyss & Manik, DJ Zema Ion vs. Tyrus plus Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy appear).
Bellator Dynamite 1 from San Jose Saturday night on Spike TV at 9 p.m. Eastern
Linton Vassell (15-4-1) vs. King Mo (15-4, 1 no contest) in first round of light heavyweight tournament
Phil Davis (13-3) vs. Emanuel Newton (25-8-1) in first round of light heavyweight tournament
Kerri Taylor Melendez (2-1) vs. Hadley Griffith (0-0) in Glory kickboxing
Paul Daley (20-3) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (1-2) in Glory kickboxing
Josh Thomson (20-8) vs. Mike Bronzoulis (18-8-1)
Saulo Cavalari (31-2) vs. Zack Mwekessa (13-2) for the Glory light heavyweight title
Light heavyweight tournament finals
Liam McGeary (10-0) vs. Tito Ortiz (18-11) for Bellator light heavyweight title
Titan Fighting Championships from Ridgefield, WA on UFC Fight Pass Saturday night
Ricky Simon vs. Alex Soto
Zane Kamaka vs. Belel Muhammed
Steven Siler vs. Austin Springer
Tim Elliott vs Felipe Efran
Andre Harrison vs. Desmond Green for featherweight title
Pat Healy vs Rick Hawn for lightweight title
WWE Night of Champions PPV at 7 p.m. Eastern on WWE network
Seth Rollins vs. Sting for WWE title
Seth Rollins vs. John Cena for U.S. title
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & ? vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper & Braun Strowman
Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte for Divas title, title can change hands via DQ or count out
Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
New Day vs. Dudleys for tag titles
Neville & The Lucha Dragons vs. Stardust & The Ascension preshow match
Raw will be Monday night in Laredo, TX. For what it’s worth, and it wasn’t worth much last week, Randy Orton is scheduled on the show.
Smackdown will be taped Tuesday in Corpus Christi with Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Sheamus as the top advertised stars.
New Japan Destruction in Okayama PPV on Tuesday night at 11 p.m. Pacific and 2 a.m. Eastern on New Japan World
Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jay White & David Finlay & Manabu Nakanishi & Tetsuya Naito
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jushin Liger & Mascara Dorada non-title
Steve Anthony vs. Tiger Mask for NWA jr. title
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Matt Sydal vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan for IWGP tag titles
Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan & Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Shelley vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi & Rocky Romero & Baretta
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. A.J. Styles & Cody Hall
Kushida vs. Kenny Omega for IWGP jr. title
Togi Makabe vs. Kota Ibushi for Never Open weight title
We’ve got a look at WWE right now with the issues that have led to ratings setting record lows as well as an update on TNA, New Japan, GFW, ROH and everyone else in the battle for No. 2, as the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This issue also has a detailed look at the Nick Diaz situation and why it is far more complicated than most are making it out to be, Atlantis vs. La Sombra in one of the year’s biggest matches, a history of the CMLL anniversary shows, a look at Thomas Hauser’s article on USADA, an update on Dr. Christopher Amann’s lawsuit against C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana, what led to the Mayweather flop on PPV and New Japan builds for two PPVs this month.
The latest Wrestling Observer:September 21, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: State of WWE after lowest ratings in years
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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.
The lead story looks at what is and isn’t misleading about the record low ratings for Raw and Smackdown over the past two weeks, the rate of decline, the future of Smackdown, and why wrestling even with lower ratings may be far more valuable to the USA Network when the current contract is over. We look at the problems that are inherent, those that can be addressed and those that can’t. We look at why this past week’s Raw rating was far more sobering than the week before as well as how wrestling and every combat sport is changing from an economic situation worldwide. We look at interviews, finishes, making stars and dropping the ball on stars. We also look at Night of Champions.
We update the TNA television situation, what promotion had a strong growth year, and the future of No. 2, as well as an update on all of TNA’s TV deals.
We go in depth on Nick Diaz, and what are the key elements of the story, why he got a five year suspension, how Diaz has blown his prime years in fighting, the commissioners discuss the suspension and the deliberations leading to it. We talk about why comparisons to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones aren’t valid in this case, detail the controversies over the test results, the legal issues involved, and Diaz talks about what happened in childhood that led him to where he is.
We also look at the situation with Jake Shields and the commission ruling on his post-match punch to Rousimar Palhares, as well as his comments on what happened.
We also look at what contracted talent was told about Hulk Hogan, as well as a double standard that is too obvious, the next Takeover special, Update on Lana, Dwayne Johnson makes former WWE writer a major executive in his company, what happened at the recent NXT talent meeting, Daniel Bryan talks about creating new stars, and his health situation as well as PPV matches he wants.
We look at plans for the November European tour, WWE performers and Twitter, Paige talks in detail about her incident with Alicia Fox that turned into a fight of sorts with two other women and how it all went down. Jimmy Noonan talks issues with WWE security including a story when a fan kicked the ass of a main event wrestler inside the ring one night and how that fan ended up as a wrestler.
We look at another sports star that WWE is bringing in for a tryout, four cast members from Tough Enough who have now signed contracts, this week’s NXT shows, and the father of a WWE wrestler who is an all-time legend in slow-pitch softball.
We’ve got notes on the WWE TV shows as well as the next month of NXT shows, as well as reports on WWE business over the past week, and highlights from all the house shows.
We look at the Atlantis vs La Sombra match, the build to the match, why the match is so big, the last angle and what happened with Dr. Wagner Jr. an L.A. Park. We also look at a history of the CMLL Anniversary shows, with the big names that have appeared on them and the most famous matches over the years.
We look at Thomas Hauser’s article on USADA and how it related to Floyd Mayweather, what about the article had validity and what was a stretch. We look at USADA’s drug testing in UFC and what the results so far say, the concept of retroactive TUE’s, a scary aspect of a contract Manny Pacquiao was given and wouldn’t sign, rumors of Mayweather positive tests, and the story behind Erik Morales failing four tests before a fight for Clenbuterol and still fighting.
We update the situation with Dr. Christopher Amann’s lawsuit against C.M. Punk. We look at the response to the suit filed by Punk and Colt Cabana, WWE’s response and what the key issues in the suit are.
We’ve got notes on the Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto PPV number and lessons that it has taught.
We also run down this past week’s New Japan show at Korakuen Hall and how it builds the next two PPV shows.
We’ve also got ratings from all the television shows this past week along with results from all the major arena events.
We also update on the last two AAA TV tapings, Genichiro Tenryu’s last match at Korakuen Hall, the Dragon Gate Summer Adventure tag team tournament, the All Japan Open singles tournament, the NOAH jr. heavyweight tournament, New Japan talks about their relationship with WWE and more.
We look at the Japanese female wrestler who broke her record for most world championships, and a new Hall of Fame mixed tag team.
We’ve got notes on Hulk Hogan’s latest media and what he said that simple time lines can disprove, notes on Jimmy Snuka including why there will be a lot more coverage of his story coming up, as well as why his hearing this week was canceled. We look at the U.S. gold medalists in the world wrestling championships and what wrestler looks like a great UFC or WWE prospect. We also update GFW and where television stands, look at a star indie wrestler sent to prison, Podcasts involving wrestling personalities, two pro wrestlers at the 1980 Olympic team reunion, an update on House of Hardcore, an update on Kelly Kelly, whatever happened to Chuck Palumbo, former UFC star getting a pro wrestling break, a wrestling show uncovered by a historian that drew 80,000 fans in 1936, the daughter of a WWE Hall of Famer starting wrestling training, and a well known pro wrestler competing under another name in pseudo MMA combat.
We also look at some significant negotiations going on with ROH and a look at the weekend events.
We also look at the Jarrett/Dixie Carter deal, Earl Hebner into the TNA Hall of Fame and his background, an update on Bram and Kurt Angle and Angle’s wrestling schedule.
We look at ticket sales for UFC 194 and how early sales have been, more big fights announced, a UFC signee who will start after competing in the 2016 Olympics, Ronda Rousey in the ESPN poll of the greatest female athlete of all-time, as well as lots of new UFC fights.
We also look at a new Bellator deal, and Scott Coker’s hopes for this week’s show.
We also look at a proposed Chael Sonnen vs. Josh Barnett grappling match, and the return of Ben Askren.
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FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
- Lots of audio on this gigantic weekend for big shows. Bryan and I will be doing shows the next four tonights. Tonight’s show will cover CMLL and ROH, tomorrow we’ll be covering Bellator, Sunday we’ll be covering WWE Night of Champions and Monday we’ll be covering Raw. With four shows, there’s probably a lot of time for questions at least on some of the shows so you can send them to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
- Not that this means anything until an hour before the start of the show, but the odds for WWE at BetWrestling.com are
Seth Rollins -455
Sting +315
Seth Rollins +250
John Cena -350
Ryback -140
Kevin Owens +100
New Day -230
Dudleys +170
Nikki Bella +115
Charlotte -155
Dean Ambrose team -150
Wyatts +110
Neville’s team +130
Stardust’s team -170 - Expectations this weekend are that CMLL could approach if not break its all-time gate record tonight. Bellator has already blown past its all-time gate record for tomorrow.
- Evolve announced on 10/17 in Queens NY that Drew Gulak faces Trevor Lee, with the winner getting an Evolve title shot at Timothy Thatcher on 10/18 in Deer Park, NY. The loser will wrestle Willie Mack. Matt Riddle’s first two matches with the promotion and outside the Monster Factory shows will be on 10/17 against Jonathan Gresham and 10/18 against Chris Dickinson.
- Today would have been the 76th birthday of Billy Robinson. It’s really amazing that for a guy whose entire career was as a pro wrestler, his death got so much more coverage on UFC and MMA broadcasts than pro wrestling broadcasts.
- While this isn’t a pro wrestling or MMA story, although it really is, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University has noted that out of 91 deceased NFL players brains that have been examined, 87 shows symptoms of CTE. In those who never played pro football, but played college or high school that were tested, 44 out of 74 had symptoms of CTE.
- The WWE Network will be debuting a new Monday night show after Raw called “Legends with JBL,” where John Layfield interviews people from wrestling. Monday will be Eric Bischoff.
- Patric Laprade story on Kevin Owens
- One of my friends who has been a paying subscriber to the WWE Network since day one keeps getting an offer for a free month, so they’re actually encouraging paying subscribers to cancel, and get a free month for signing back on.
- Premier Wrestling tomorrow in San Jose at Del Mar High School at 6 p.m.. with JR Kratos (8-2) defending his title against Jeff Cobb (6-2-1), Nicole Savoy & Kahmora vs. Raze & Kikyo Nakamura, Timothy Thatcher (3-2-1) vs. Joe Graves (2-0-1) and more.
- Jim Ross has a talk show on Sunday at the Warehouse Live Ballroom, very close to the Toyota Center, at 2 p.m. for the meet and greet and 4 p.m. for the show. tickets are at tickerly.com and the box office at the building. There will be two and a half hours after the show ends before the first prelim goes into the ring at Night of Champions.
- CMLL on Tuesday night in Guadalajara: Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno b Divino & Reycko, Cancerbero & Raziel & Sangre Azteca b Gallo & Hombre Bala Jr.. & Super Halcon Jr., Blue Panther Jr. & Esfinge & The Panther b Cuatrero & Sanson & Bobby Zavala-DQ, Angel de Oro & Rey Cometa & Stuka Jr. b Misterioso Jr. & Pierroth & Sagrado, Metalico b Omar Brunetti in a hair vs. hair match, Brazo de Plata & Maximo & Valiente b Euforia & Negro Casas & Ultimo Guerrero
- UWE on Tuesday in Tlanepantla: Mr. Arana & Arana Negra b Dragon Force & Pakal, Nino Hamburguesa & Goya Kong b Carta Brava Jr. & Hiedra, Daga & Pentagon Jr. & Angelico & Fenix (fans threw money into the ring after this match), Psycho Circus b El Hijo del Fantasma & El Texano Jr. & Mascara Ano 2000 Jr., Blue Demon Jr. & Canek b Pirata Morgan & Villano IV
- There is a Lucha Libre show on 10/8 in Laredo with Alberto El Patron teaming with father Dos Caras & brother El Hijo del Dos Caras to face Mr. Aguila & Pierko & Pirata Morgan (thanks to Kris Zellner)
- NWAClassics.com today has a young Greg Valentine vs. Tiger Conway Jr. plus early David Von Erich footage.
- Less then 70 tickets remain for tonights’ NFC 77 show at Center Stage in Atlanta.
- AAW tonight in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street is headlined by Ethan Page, The Crist Brothers, Tyson Dux, Matt Cage, Louis Lyndon, Eddie Kingston, Chris Hero, Johnny Gargano, Trevor Lee, Candice LaRae and more.
- Indie band Wavves shot their music video at an Underground Empire Wrestling event (LA hardcore indie promotion).
- Rolling Stone premiered the video
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1981 – Alfonso Dantes beat Enrique Vera to win the Mexican national light heavyweight title
1992 – Lizmark beat Universo 2000 in Acapulco to win the Mexican national light heavyweight title
1993 – Mima Shimoda beat Bat Yoshinaga to win the Japanese women’s title
1995 – Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera beat Latin Lover & Panterita del Ring in Nuevo Laredo to win the Mexican National tag titles and Perro Aguayo beat Cien Caras to win the WWA heavyweight title
2006 – Azumi Hyuga beat Manami Toyota on Tokyo to win the JWP title
-
On this date in pro wrestling history (9/18): Flair pins Dusty, Triple H defeats CM Punk in no DQ
1941
Kansas City, Kansas:
– MWA World Heavyweight Champion Lee Wykoff and Orville Brown went to a time limit draw (2 hour)
1947
Kansas City, Kansas:
Orville Brown beat Warren Bockwinkel to retain the MWA Title
1950
Tampa, Florida:
– The Green Hornet defeated Danny Dusek for the Southern Heavyweight Title
1956
Dallas, Texas:
– Gene Kelly (Kiniski) & Len Crosby defeated Ray Gunkel & Herb Freeman to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Title
Baltimore, Maryland:
– The Fabulous Moolah won a tournament by defeating Judy Grable in the finals. As a result, Moolah was awarded the Women’s World Title after champion June Beyers retired
1961
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Dick Hutton & Sam Steamboat won a tournament for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title
1962
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Bill Miller in 2 out of 3 falls
– The Crusher beat Jack Lanza
– Moose Evens beat Crybaby Cannon
1965
Omaha, Nebraska:
– Haru Sasaki & Mad Dog Vachon beat Verne Gagne & Tex McKenzie to regain Nebraska Tag Team title
– Mad Russian Stan Pulaski beat Mighty Igor Vodik by countout
– Danny Hodge beat Rene Goulet
– Reggie Parks drew Jack Pesek
1969
Kansas City, Kansas:
– In a one night tournament to crown new tag team champions:
– Lou Thesz & K.O. Cox defeated The Ox & Big Luke via DQ
– Tarzan Tyler & The Great Kojika defeated The Viking & Bob Geigel
– Danny Little Bear & Stan Pulaski defeated Masao Komura & Jack Arnstrong
– Tarzan Tyler & The Great Kojika defeated Lou Thesz & K.O. Cox
– Danny Little Bear & Stan Pulaski defeated Tarzan Tyler & The Great Kojika to win the vacant North American Tag Team Title
1972
Muroran, Japan:
– Masked Lee & Sylvia Hackney defeated Jumbo Miyamoto & Aiko Kyo for the WWWA World Tag Team Title
Orlando, Florida:
– Sputnik Monroe defeated Scott Casey
– Bobby Shane and Redbeard defeated Bob Griffin and Mike Graham
– Paul Jones and Dick Murdoch defeated Jimmy Golden and Robert Fuller
– In a Cage Match: Tim Woods defeated Buddy Colt
1978
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler & Mongolian Stomper beat Jos LeDuc & Jean Louie
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Jimmy Valiant
– Lou Thesz drew Tommy Gilbert
– Terry Sawyer beat NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Nelson Royal dq
– Jackie Welch beat Mr. Wrestling
– Tommy Gilbert & Wayne Ferris beat Frankie Layne & Mike Bowyer
1981
Houston, Texas:
– Junkyard Dog defeated Dick Slater
– Scott Casey, Tiger Conway Jr. and Bobby Duncum defeated Buck Robley, Tank Patton and Kelly Kiniski
– Dynamic Duo (Gino Hernández and Tully Blanchard) defeated Mil Máscaras and Manny Fernández
– Bruiser Brody defeated Ken Patera
1983
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– NWA U.S. Champion Greg Valentine defeated Bob Orton Jr
– Angelo Mosca defeated Sgt. Slaughter via countout
– NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Mike Rotundo
1984
Memphis, Tennessee:
At a Pro Wrestling USA TV taping:
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Lanny Poffo
– Jerry the King Lawler & Tommy Rich beat Dirty White Boys
– AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Eddie Gilbert
– Fabulous Ones beat the Masked Spoiler & Phil Hickerson
– Road Warriors beat Tracey Smothers & Keith Eric
– Harley Race beat Dutch Mantel
1986
Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– National Champion Wahoo McDaniel defeated Jimmy Garvin in an Indian strap match
– NWA World Tag Team Champions The Rock N’ Roll Express defeated The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey
– NWA U.S. Champion Nikita Koloff fought Magnum TA to a double countout
– The Road Warriors defeated Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair pinned NWA World TV Champion Dusty Rhodes
1992
Baltimore, Maryland:
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Dick Slater & Greg Valentine
– Unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Champions Terry Gordy & Steve Williams defeated Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton
– WCW World Champion Ron Simmons pinned WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude
– Steve Austin defeated WCW TV Champion Ricky Steamboat
– Jake Roberts & the Barbarian defeated Sting & Nikita Koloff
1994
Roanoke, Virginia:
– At the WCW Fall Brawl PPV; Johnny B. Badd defeated Steven Regal to win the WCW Television Title
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Cactus Jack in a Loser Leaves WCW match
– due to injury Ricky Steamboat was forced to forfeit the U.S. Heavyweight Title. It was awarded to his scheduled opponent, Steve Austin
– Hacksaw Jim Duggan came out, challenged Austin, and won the U.S. Title.
1997
Louisville, Kentucky:
– Salvatore Sincere defeated Tracey Smothers to win the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
2002
Nashville, Tennessee:
– At the weekly NWA/TNA Pay-per-view event, America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) won a Tag Team
Gauntlet Battle Royal to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship
2005
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
– At the WWE Unforgiven Pay-per-view, Ric Flair defeated Carlito for the Intercontinental Title
– Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade defeated Hurricane and Rosey to win the World Tag Team Titles
– Kurt Angle defeated WWE Champion John Cena by dq
2011
– At the WWE Night of Champions PPV, Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton to win the World Championship
– John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the WWE Championship
– Triple H defeated CM Punk in a no DQ match