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  • WWE Smackdown 9/10 TV results & recap: Seth Rollins vs. Ryback lumberjack match

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

    – Air Date: September 10, 2015 (Sept 9 in Canada)
    – Location: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA

    The Big News:

    The Wyatts took out another friend of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins got his win back over Ryback.

    Show Recap:

    They announced the two main events for tonight, including a Seth Rollins vs. Ryback lumberjack match. They pushed this with a graphic reading “Champion vs. Champion” in big, gold lettering as if the titles are at stake, but they’re not.

    Bray Wyatt and his friends came out for a promo. Bray said Roman Reigns is sick—infected with the desire to become “the one.” Bray claimed that Roman didn’t care about the fans because he’s a smart man.

    Bray said Dean Ambrose is cursed, cursed by his loyalty to Reigns who doesn’t care about him. Bray warned anyone who wanted to join their team that they are the modern day Hatfields and McCoys, destined to fight forever.

    He reminded us what they did to Randy Orton and showed a clip. Bray warned Jimmy Uso not to make the wrong decision, “and you can believe that.” Braun Strowman finished off by saying, “They all fall down.” This was nothing special and the crowd didn’t care.

    The new commentary team is Rich Brennan, Booker T and Jerry Lawler.

    Cesaro beat The Miz via submission

    The Miz got an entrance. Cesaro did not. Cesaro’s ribs were taped so Miz took control working them over. Miz applied a weak leg scissor and Cesaro impressively countered into a vertical suplex. Miz regained control briefly, but after trying a running kick, Cesaro caught his leg and again did an impressive counter, this time into a Sharpshooter for the tap-out win. Short match.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked Ambrose and Reigns about Jimmy Uso. Reigns said it was Ambrose’s idea to bring in Jimmy Uso, but Reigns was hesitant to involve more of his family. Ambrose thought he was the perfect fit and said Jimmy got him so excited he almost painted his face. Jimmy showed up, excited to return to action. He and Ambrose did the “Uce-O” routine and Reigns looked at them like they were nuts.

    Paige NC Sasha Banks

    They showed a replay of the finish from Raw and said the shoulders of both women might have been down. In an in-set promo, Paige told Sasha it was time to tap. Sasha responded, saying she was the boss of this house. The teams almost got into a brawl before the match so the referee kicked out the peripherals.

    Booker and Brennan reminded us that Stephanie McMahon started this revolution and that women have taken the centre stage all over the sports world. Banks had control for a while and Paige started selling an eye injury. As the referee checked on her and backed off Banks, Paige shot out of the corner with a spear and attacked her wildly. The two of them brawled to the outside, ramming each other into the barricade.

    Eventually, Team BAD and Team PCB ran out to pull them apart. As with every wrestling brawl, Paige and Banks each broke through a couple of time until this was finally settled when referees ran out and Team BAD left. The crowd was into the brawl and we even got a “P-C-B” chant. I did like the angle, especially if Paige is turning heel.

    Backstage, Seth Rollins told Byron Saxton that Sting caused him to have, perhaps, the worst night of his career. Rollins screamed about the statue before calming down to explain that Sting is burying himself into a bigger hole. Rollins said he would crush Sting the way his statue was crushed.

    Rollins wanted the locker room to watch him beat Ryback to prove he only lost because of a distraction. He said he would beat Cena and Sting at Night of Champions when Sheamus showed up. Sheamus said something uninteresting and then wished Rollins luck. Same old.

    The New Day NC Jimmy Uso, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns

    The crowd was pretty quiet to this point but there were loud “New Day sucks” chants here. Ambrose had control until he was cut off by a Big E clothesline. Kingston knocked Reigns off the apron so Ambrose tagged in Uso who hit Kingston with a superkick and Samoan drop.

    Ambrose took out Woods with a suicide dive and Uso took out Kingston and Woods with an Uso dive. With the referee distracted, Big E hip tossed Uso to the outside to regain control.

    After a break, New Day stomped a mudhole in Jimmy and Woods stopped in the middle of it to grab his trombone to play a few notes. Crowd popped for that. Xavier ran at Uso but ate a superkick and Reigns made the hot tag.

    Reigns hit Woods with ten clotheslines and an apron dropkick, clotheslining Kingston along the way. Big E tried to interfere so Reigns gave him a Samoan drop. Woods hit a spinning DDT on Reigns and presumably had him beat but Ambrose broke it up.

    Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Kingston, and a rebound clothesline to Big E on the outside. Reigns hit Woods with a superman punch and tagged in Jimmy Uso who went up for the big splash but the lights went out.

    When the lights came on, Strowman had Uso in his hugging maneuver on the stage (with Bray and Harper looking on). Ambrose and Reigns went after them but the lights went out and the Wyatts disappeared. Ambrose and Reigns checked on Jimmy as the phrase “They all fall down” played over the speakers.

    The Ascension (w/Stardust) beat The Lucha Dragons via pinfall

    Ascension came out with Stardust to their own music. Viktor gave Kalisto an STO and they used Fall of Man for the win. Ascension and Stardust attacked Lucha Dragons after the match so Neville ran out to make the save. He tossed out Konnor and Viktor and chased away Stardust. If they’re going to do a six-man they shouldn’t have killed the Dragons so easily.

    Backstage, Nikki Bella told Renee that Charlotte is jealous and afraid of her. Charlotte showed up and said none of those things are true. Charlotte asked if Nikki was excited because Nikki was about to become the woman who was almost the longest reigning champion ever. Charlotte said Nikki would be calling her champion after Monday. This is all they did to build the title match on Raw and it wasn’t good.

    Non-Title Lumberjack Match: WWE & US Champion Seth Rollins beat IC Champion Ryback via pinfall

    After Stardust and Ascension just ran away from Neville and the Lucha Dragons, they were all out here together as lumberjacks. Ziggler, Show, Henry, Dudleys and Owens were among the bigger names out there.

    Ryback was tossed to the outside and the heel lumberjacks jumped him for no reason. The good guys backed them off and they went to commercial.

    In the middle of his comeback, Show blatantly pulled Ryback out of the ring and tossed him into the barricade. This was not a DQ. Show knocked out Mark Henry for good measure. The good guys backed off Show and he left.

    Ryback knocked away some lumberjacks and nailed Rollins with a forearm to counter a suicide dive. Ryback gave him a spinebuster and sent him flying onto the babyface lumberjacks on the outside.

    The heel lumberjacks jumped Ryback again, this time in the ring, until the faces made the save. The Dragons hit suicide dives and Neville took out a bunch of them with a moonsault off the top.

    With everything presumably clear, Rollins and Ryback traded counters. Ryback had Rollins up for the shell shocked but Kevin Owens hooked Ryback’s leg (ref happened to be distracted) and Seth countered into a pedigree for the win.

    This match was nonsense. Booker called this a clean win.

    Final Thoughts:

    I was almost going to call this show a positive. I like that Paige is slowly losing it and the six-man tag was really good. But two non-finishes and a crappy, overbooked main event sure made the show feel like a waste.

  • TNA announces Kurt Angle’s return to wrestling

    After Kurt Angle announced earlier this week that he would not sign a new TNA contract after his deal ran out at the end of the year, TNA announced Thursday that Angle would be wrestling on a TNA house show on 10/3 in Salem, VA, as well as Bound for Glory on 10/4 in Concord, NC.

  • WWE NXT: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks IronWoman match to headline TakeOver

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley will face former champion Sasha Banks in a 30 minute IronWoman match as the main event for the next NXT TakeOver special on October 7th at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.

    The two faced off at WWE TakeOver: Brooklyn in a match that was hailed as one of the best, if not THE best, of WWE’s SummerSlam weekend in NYC.

  • THURS UPDATE: Former wrestling promoter arrested, Total Divas & TUF numbers, GFW, Kurt Angle, NXT

    By Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT tapings in Orlando at Dave Meltzer

    Smackdown tonight from Wilkes-Barre:

    Paige vs. Sasha Banks

    Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Jimmy Uso vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods

    Sin Cara & Kalisto vs. The Ascension

    Seth Rollins vs. Ryback non-title lumberjack match

    New Japan runs at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow  Eastern time from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo live on New Japan World

    Yohei Komatsu vs. David Finlay

    Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger vs. Jay White & Sho Tanaka

    Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada & Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo & Rocky Romero & Baretta

    Kazuchika Okada & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Tama Tonga & Cody Hall

    Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Kushida vs. Bad Luck Fale & Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Kenny Omega

    Togi Makabe & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito

    Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii       

    The last two matches are kind of unique and could be something.

    There is an Invicta show tomorrow on Fight Pass from Kansas City.

    A look at next weekend, which is one of the biggest weekends of the year with Bellator and CMLL having their biggest shows, plus a WWE PPV show and an ROH PPV, is one of the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We also have a look at the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot, tons more on the Jimmy Snuka case, An update on TNA and the future of Kurt Angle, a letter UFC sent to all its fighters about unionization, plus full coverage of UFC 191 and Battle of Los Angeles, and thoughts behind Raw & Smackdown doing record low numbers.

    The issue is on the site right now at September 14, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Huge Weekend Preview, WWE/CMLL/ROH/Bellator

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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.

    We look at next week’s big shows, including a preview of  CMLL’s main event, why L.A. Park is already gone from the promotion, and a preview of  both Raw and Night of Champions.

    We’ve got more on the Jimmy Snuka case, with a background of WWE in 1983, Vince McMahon purchasing the company from his father, what was and wasn’t known in wrestling at the time, the first Snuka arrest, the decision made on Hulk Hogan being the face of the company’s expansion, the role Snuka’s autobiography played in his indictment, the corner saying why he felt there was no indictment and his quotes on the subject, new evidence, Buddy Rogers before his death talks about the subject, another coroner weighs in, a lawyer who investigated the case in 1983 weighs in, how Snuka handled his finances fro that point on, Snuka’s run in New Japan, the famous Brody & Snuka walking out on the tag tournament finals, what Vince McMahon was doing to protect Snuka, key Allentown officials talk cover-up rumors, WWE talks those rumors and more.

    We also update the Kurt Angle TNA situation and why Angle said he was leaving the company when his contract expires in January.  We look at the situation with Destination America, what talent knows and how WWE fits into all this right now.

    We look at the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters regarding unionization and our thoughts on the subject.

    We’ve got a look at the 2005 Hall of Fame ballot, a look at the new candidates and their credentials, candidates for the future, understanding of the process, as well as how everyone on this year’s ballot fared last year.

    We also look back at research into the biggest draws of all-time on the ballot, as well how the candidates have done in various awards, in drawing power for their era, as well as match quality, how difficult it is to be voted in, and notes on a lot of this year’s modern candidates.

    We have an update on Ronda Rousey and WrestleMania, an upcoming WWE wedding, John Cena injury notes, WWE asks fans about PPV start times and thoughts, update on Amanda from Tough Enough and what appears to be her new deal, WWE pulling out all stops for next months tour of Mexico and why, Dean Ambrose talks acting, Nikki Bella as Divas champion, Eric Bischoff appearing on WWE Network, Undertaker’s future, the signing of Kana and she talks coming to WWE, Zahra Schreiber talks her firing, some NXT matches, a WWE wrestler on a sabbatical, as well as the WWE business notes from the past week and highlights from all the house hows.

    We look at Saturday’s UFC show, the business notes on the show, where the top guys go next along with match-by-match coverage, how much everyone earned, and poll results on the show.

    We also have rundowns of the major TV shows of the past week.

    We also go in depth on the Battle of Los Angeles tournament with match-by-match coverage for all three nights, what is PWG, the atmosphere and more.

    We also have notes on the ratings of all the major television shows, including just how badly the main shows fared, and results of the major league arena events over the past week.

    We also look at the affect that Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A. Park have on business in Mexico, what dream of L.A. Park fell through, Rey Mysterio in AAA and notes on several big shows plus names they are talking about bringing in.

    We also update the Dragon Gate tag team tournament and the NOAH Jr. tag team tournament.  We also look at New Japan’s next international tour, why Tenryu vs. Okada is taking place in November, what foreign stars are being discussed for New Japan, and Hiroshi Tanahashi doing the DDT show and the future of Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka.

    We also look at Hulk Hogan’s overseas talk shows, the death of Tommy Rogers of The Fantastics, Dave Brown retires from WMC TV and how it was celebrated locally, Axl Rotten’s future goals, CHIKARA King of Trios, Jeff Jarrett TV talks and the final GFW ballpark shows of the year and what is left on the schedule, Bob Backlund’s autobiography, update on Batista, the death of Jerry Prater, an instrumental figure in Florida wrestling in the 70s and the heyday of wrestling programs and magazines, the Carlos Maynez tribute show this past week featuring legends from the past, a Roddy Piper movie not released and the Darrell Dawkins connection with pro wrestling.

    We also update things on Lucha Underground.

    We look at next week’s ROH matches.

    We look at a TNA wedding, lineups for the upcoming TNA shows, U.K. TNA ratings and updating Impact.

    We also have Conor McGregor talking his future, McGregor vs. Faber and why it didn’t happen, key UFC announcements over the pat week including new shows, new main events and new title matches, the retirement of Sam Stout, Rousey doing “Road House,” next UFC TV events, update on Charles Oliveira, UFC’s most popular markets, how much Rousey and McGregor are carrying things right now and former UFC star buys $2.75 million mansion from a rock star.

    We also look at Alexander Shlemenko’s attempt to get his steroid punishment over turned and his arguments, plus a new Bellator show was announced.

    We also update Fedor Emelianenko and his situation, as well as a former WWE star debuts this week as an MMA announcer and top pro wrestling stars attending.  We also look at the results of the latest medical study on injuries suffered in boxing vs. MMA and where each is more and less dangerous than the other.  

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    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

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    THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Total Divas on Tuesday night drew 1,143,000 viewers, which was well up from the prior week.
    • The Ultimate Fighter last night did 622,000 viewers on FS 1.  That’s for the show with Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber as coaches.  The first show of last season did 490,000 viewers.
    • Daniel Bryan talks his attempt to get back in the ring, Total Divas, his dream for the 2016 WrestleMania and more
    • I’m not sure that this means anything, but on Tuesday there were 94,700 tweets regarding Kana signing with WWE.
    • Catherine Jo Perry (Lana) had surgery on her left wrist today.
    • The rainstorm in Japan that has been all over the news killed attendance at shows today in Japan.  The New Japan show was in the city where the river overflowed and there was blooding.  There were only 480 fans at the show and some left early, as there were homes lost and damaged in the city.
    • Former Australian pro wrestling promoter Andrew McManus, 54, was arrested today at Melbourne Airport, among five people arrested in connection with allegations of cocaine importing and money laundering.  The FBI in the U.S. worked with New Zealand authorities on the case when Sean Carolan, an MMA fighter and racehorse trainer was discovered in 2011 with a black suitcase with $702,000 in cash in it.  He claimed the money came from Owen Hanson Jr., who was going to invest it in his weight loss business.  The authorities confiscated the money, but Carolan went to court to have it returned.  But in court, McManus claimed the money was his after an interview with police in 2012.  He said the money was from the Lenny Kravitz tour he had promoted in New Zealand, but he was using it to replay Hanson Jr., who had put up a deposit for a ZZ Top tour McManus promoted.  .
    • The movie “12 Rounds 3:  Lockdown” with Dean Ambrose will have a limited theatrical release starting tomorrow. 
    • UFC 194 tickets for 12/12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena went quickly to Fight Club members yesterday.  Some seats were held back for today’s pre-sale using the code word GOBIG and some tickets will be put on sale Monday.  That’s the Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo and Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold show that is expected to do another near record gate.  
    • Tickets for UFC’s debut in Monterrey, Mexico go on sale to the public tomorrow.  A press conference was held toady in Monterrey with headliners Kelvin Gastelum, Ricardo Lamas, Diego Sanchez, Erik Perez, Leandro Silva, Efrain Escudero, Hector Urbina and Henry Cejudo.
    • A few days ago, when we mentioned it would be good for all talent with WWE dreams to get rid of any photos in social media that have a sexual connotation or any tweets that contain anything that could be taken racially, it was regarding Nhooph Al-Areebi (Jasmin) since some tweets of hers were discovered by those in the company a few days ago.  The company issued a statement saying, “WWE conducted a thorough investigation and has determined that Nhooph-Al Areebie’s Twitter account was used without her knowledge when she was 16 and 17 years old.  Jasmin remains apologetic for any offensive remarks that were made.”
    • The World Series of fighting announced three names to its Board of Directors, Mark Ford, the Executive Vice President of Global Advertising for Time Inc., Mike Stevens, the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the New York Giants and John Weiser, the President of U.S. Distribution for Sony Pictures Television.  The promotion also announced the signing of Caros Fodor and Cory Devela, both former Strikeforce fighters.
    • Global Force Wrestling announced for its 10/23 tapings in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena, the last tapings on the current schedule, that PJ Black, Jigsaw, Christina Von Eerie, Amber Gallows, Chris Mordetzky, Bobby Roode, Reno Scum and the Bollywood Boyz will be appearing.
    • Kurt Angle will be doing a speaking tour of the U.K.  Dates are:
      11/18 in London
      11/19 in Cardiff
      11/20 in Leicester
      11/21 in Rotherham
      11/22 in Edinburgh
      11/23 in Manchester
    • NXT has announced more title matches for next week in Texas
    • 9/17 in Houston Bayley vs. Emma for women’s title
    • 9/18 in Austin Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin for NXT title
    • 9/19 in San Antonio Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze for NXT title
    • Premier Wrestling on 9/19 in San Jose at Del Mar High School at 6 p.m..  Tickets are $5 off regular prices at www.premierwrestle.com  JR Kratos (8-2) vs. Jeff Cobb (6-2-1) headlines plus Nicole Savoy (2-1) & Kahmora (0-1) vs. Raze (0-1) & Kikyo Nakamura (0-0), Timothy Thatcher (3-2-1) vs. Joe Graves (2-0-1), Gabriel Gallo (3-0) vs. Dom Vitalli (1-2), Alexander Hammerstone (0-0) vs. Dylan Drake (4-4), Marcus Lewis (4-4) vs. Julio Pedroza (3-3), Tyler Bateman (0-2) vs. Dalton Frost (0-0) and Nick Ruiz (3-4) vs. Hawaiian Lion (0-0).
    • There is a 35th anniversary of the 1980 Olympic wrestling team that was not allowed to compete due to the boycott at 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Gold Coast Hotel in Las Vegas.  The 18 surviving members of the team, including former pro wrestler Brad Rheingans and Great Wojo, will be there, a will Dan Gable, Lee Kemp and Randy Couture (who will represent the late Jeff Blatnick).
    • Tanner Saraceno from Tough Enough will be fighting in the main event of an MMA show in Kuwait tomorrow night. 
    • Lennie Hardt, the famous Pride ring announcer, will be doing the Bellator show in San Jose on 9/19. 
    • Austin Matelson, who was in WWE developmental as Judas Devlin, is in the commercial for the new season of Big Brother. (thanks to Ross Blair)
    • CWE on 9/25 in Steinbach, Manitoba at the Legion Community Hall has eight woman Battle Royal.
    • Pure Wrestling Association on 9/19 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club and 9/13 in Kitchener, at the Williamsburg Town Centre Community Festival outdoors between 1 and 4 p.m.
    • Absolute Intense Wrestling tomorrow night in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School headlined by Bob Holly.  Also on the show are Louis Lyndon, Johnny Gargano, Candice LaRae, Colt Cabana, Athena, Cliff Compton and Eddie Kingston.
    • Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ricochet vs. P.J. Black in a three-way headlines a TV taping for Destiny World Wrestling on 10/3 at the Don Kolov Arena in Mississauaga, ONT.  There will only be 500 tickets available and they are expecting to sellout, as the ringside and VIP tickets are already gone. 
    • Smash Canada vs. USA womens’ wrestling on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Franklin Horner Community Centre with Nicole Matthews, Portia Perez, Jewells Malone, KC Spinelli, Jennifer Blake, Vanessa Kraven and Xandra Bale of Team Canada against Kimber Lee, Cherry bomb, Sassy Stephanie, Jessicka Havok, Veda Scott, Candice LaRae, Heidi Lovelace and Allysin Kay of Team USA.
    • Great North Wrestling has a benefit show for the Canadian Cancer Society on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hawkesbury Ford in Hawkesbury, ONT with Frenchy Martin managing Hannibal against Myzery Barbarian.
    • Eddie Edwards headlines for New England Championship Wrestling on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Everett Rec Center in Everett, MA.  Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Mike McCarthy vs. Brad Hollister for the NECW title is one of the main events.
    • Jim Ross is doing a talk show tonight in Knoxville.
    • House of Hardcore runs 11/13 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena and 11/14 in Queens at the Elmcor Center with Ethan Carter III, Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke as the FBI, Rhino, Bobby Roode, Eric Young, Chris Hero, Austin Aries and Thea Trinidad.
    • Vince Russo is doing a Q&A on 9/28 in Dublin, Ireland at the Academy Plaza.
    • Tier One Wrestling on 10/2 at the R Studios in Queens, NY.
    • Carolina Wrestling Showcase on Saturday night in Asheboro, NC with Gunner and C.W Anderson.
    • Longtime Canadian independent wrestler Robby Royce announced he was retiring after 25 years.    
    • ECW Press has a 50% off sale on all of their books, which includes the new Bill Apter autobiography.
    • The new match uploaded to NWAClassics.com today is Wahoo McDaniel vs. The Spoiler in a two out of three falls match.
    • PBC returns to NBC with a 4 p.m. show on Saturday headlined by Peter Quillin (31-0-1, 22 knockouts) vs. Michael Zerafa (17-1, 9 knockouts) from the Foxwood Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT.
    • A new comic book called Ringside #1 will be released on 11/25, written by Joe Keatinge.
    • The South Jersey WrestleFest and Convention takes place on 10/11 in Woodbury Heights, NJ at the Community Center.  The convention starts at 3 p.m.  and features reps from  a number of independent promotions with New Jack, Sandman, Justin Credible and Raven. 
    • A BBC piece on Lucha Libre
    • Former pro wrestler Matt Ghaffari talks Alexander Kaerlin and Hulk Hogan among others
    • Jessie Godderz on Big Brother at the 7:40 mark
    • POP-TV also announced that Jessie will be “taking over” their network this Friday Night for their “Orwell Games” promotion at 12/11c.

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (9/10): Andre The Giant, Bob Backlund, Harley Race wins NWA World title

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1937

    Kansas City, Kansas:

    – Everett Marshall beat Sol Slagel to retain the World title
    – Lou Thesz beat George Zaharias

    1951

    Augusta, Georgia:

    – Don McIntyre defeated Art Nelson in a two of three falls match to win the Southern Heavyweight Title

    1952

    Des Moines, Iowa (4900 attendance)

    – Pat O’Connor beat Jim Dobie
    – Gypsy Joe beat Balk Estes
    – Billy Hickson beat Milt Olsen
    – Johnny Balbo defeated Reggie Lisowski (Crusher)

    1965

    Denver, Colorado:

    – AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat The Crusher & Verne Gagne

    1968

    Dallas, Texas:

    – The Spoiler & Gary Hart defeated Fritz Von Erich & Grizzly Smith to win the NWA American Tag Team Title. Also, Nick Kozak fought Dusty Rhodes to a draw.

    1976

    Denver, Colorado:

    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke
    – Blackjack Lanza beat the Crusher
    – Bobby Duncum beat Peter Maivia on a 3rd fall dq
    – Billy Francis drew Pierre Poisson

    1978

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada:

    – Angelo Mosca beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by countout
    – WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Gorilla Monsoon
    – Andre the Giant beat Waldo Von Erich
    – Verne Gagne beat Lord Alfred Hayes

    Dallas, Texas:

    – Kevin Von Erich fought Gino Hernandez to a double countout.
    – David Von Erich beat Bruiser Brody to win Texas Heavyweight title.
    – Rocky Johnson & Leroy Brown went to a time limit draw with Killer Karl Krupp & Killer Brooks.

    1979

    Louisville, Kentucky:

    – Steve Regal & Eddie Gilbert defeated the Spoilers
    – Ron Bass defeated Tommy Gilbert
    – AWA Southern tag champs the Blonde Bombers (Wayne Ferris & Larry Latham aka The future Honkytonk Man & Moondog Spot) beat Steve Regal & Eddie Gilbert.
    – Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy defeated Sonny King & Ricky Morton via DQ.
    – Bill Dundee defeated Jerry Lawler.

    1980

    Ohtsu, Japan:

    Harley Race defeated Giant Baba for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title

    1982

    Dallas, Texas:

    – Brian Adidas defeated The Samoan
    – Al Madril defeated Armand Hussein
    – José Lothario defeated Magic Dragon
    – Bill Irwin and King Kong Bundy defeated WCCW America’s Tag Team champs Kerry and Kevin Von Erich to become the new champions
    – The Great Kabuki defeated Bugsy McGraw

    1983

    Memphis, Tennessee:

    – Austin Idol defeated Ken Patera to win the AWA International Heavyweight Title.

    Portland, Oregon:

    – Brian Adidas wrestled Matt Borne to a time limit draw.
    – Al Madril and Jules Strongbow went to a time limit draw.
    – Siva Afi defeated Scott Ferris by disqualification.
    – Al Madril and Mike Miller went to a time limit draw.
    – Rip Oliver & The Assassin & The Dynamite Kid defeated Buddy Rose & Billy Jack (Haynes) & Curt Hennig.

    1984

    Memphis, Tennessee:

    – Dutch Mantell fought Mark Ragin to a draw.
    – The Dirty White Boys (Tony Anthony & Len Denton) beat Johnny Wilhoit & Mark Batten.
    – Tojo Yamamoto beat Kurt Von Hess via DQ.
    – AWA Southern Tag Champs The Nightmares beat The Rock N’ Roll Express.
    – CWA International Champ Eddie Gilbert beat Tommy Rich.
    – King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude beat Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage via DQ.

    Baltimore, Maryland:

    – David Schultz defeated Jose Luis Rivera.
    – The Fabulous Freebirds’ Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy defeated the Moondogs.
    – The Junkyard Dog defeated the Iron Sheik.
    – Andre the Giant & Pat Patterson, & Sika defeated Capt. Lou Albano & WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch.
    – Sgt. Slaughter defeated Bob Orton
    – WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Jesse Ventura.

    1988

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

    – United States Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) defeated Four Horsemen members Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard for the NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1990

    Memphis, Tennessee:

    – Brian Lee & Don Harris defeated Jeff Jarrett & Jeff Gaylord for the USWA Tag Team Title

    1992

    Providence, Rhode Island:

    – High Energy, Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware defeated Skinner & Barry Horowitz
    – The Mountie pinned Tito Santana
    – Shawn Michaels pinned Virgil
    – Razor Ramon pinned Randy Savage
    – WWF Tag Team Champions Natural Disasters defeated the Beverly Brothers
    – Bret Hart pinned Papa Shango
    – The Undertaker defeated WWF World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification

    1995

    – Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Dan Kroffat (aka Phil LaFon) in Tokyo, Japan to win the All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Title.

    2001

    San Antonio, Texas:

    – Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Chris Kanyon for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title

  • UFC News: Dana White announces TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz for January FS1 show

    By Dave Meltzer & Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com

    On UFC Tonight Wednesday, UFC president Dana White announced that bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw would defend the title against former champion Dominick Cruz on Sunday, January 17, 2016, in Boston’s TD Garden.

    The show will be on Fox Sports 1, and will be the second ever title fight in that network’s history as the UFC strawweight title was decided back in December 2014 following the TUF season.

    The 29-year-old Dillashaw (12-2) will be looking for the third successful defense of the title that Cruz officially never lost. After being ravaged with injuries for three years due to a torn ACL and groin, the 30-year-old Cruz (20-1) was stripped of the title after several comeback attempts were postponed. He returned in September 2014 and steamrolled Takeya Mizugaki in 61 seconds at UFC 178, but found himself on the injured list yet again with a torn ACL in his other knee.

    Similar to the January 2015 FS1 show featuring Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver, the event will be on a Sunday following an NFL playoff game. However, the show will be on the same day as the AFC and NFC divisional playoffs and not the AFC Championship game as last time.

    The McGregor/Siver fight set an FS1 ratings record, and this show will be heavily promoted on FOX during their football telecasts.

  • UFC TUF 22: McGregor vs. Faber results & recap for episode 1

    By Steve Juon, WrestlingObserver.com

    It’s a whole new season and Conor McGregor is the reason, as he and Urijah Faber go toe to toe as coaching foes on The Ultimate Fighter. They won’t duke it out after the season is done, but there’s still pride on the line, not to mention Conor’s reputation as the newest badass on the block.

    See what happens on episode one at 10 PM ET, 9 Central (7 PT) and join us each episode for “The Notorious Quote of the Week” as Conor puts his mouth where UFC’s money is! For example…

    The Notorious Quote of the Week from McGregor to Faber: “You should walk around with a ring card and shake that chin.” WINNER~!

    A slew of American and European fighters arrive at the gym in Las Vegas to open the show, all bragging about their credentials and which team will win, which is all just a build up to the arrival of the coaches. Dana White says it’s all Lightweights this season, but the interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor will coach the European team, and Alpha Male owner and bantamweight UFC star Urijah Faber is in charge for the American team.

    Conor: “I don’t see Urijah as a competitor on my level. He’s just there. I smoked his teammate.” This comes with a clip of the McGregor vs. Mendes bout from UFC 189.

    Faber: “Is Ireland known for cantaloupes? He looks like a cantaloupe on a toothpick. If they’re not known for them they should be now.”

    Conor: “If this was Urijah against anyone else, it would not be what it will be.”

    Our first fighters trying out are Johnny Nunez (5-1) vs. Ryan Hall (4-1). If the former seems familiar it’s because he fought (and lost to) Joe Condon at WSOF 17 on the main card via guillotine choke. Nunez proves he’s vulnerable to submission yet again as Ryan goes to the ground, locks up a leg, and Nunez taps out to the heel hook.

    Next up are two Europeans. David Teymur (3-1) says he’s an outstanding kickboxer who is 41 out of 42 in muay thai fights. He’s facing Thibault Gouti (10-0), who notes that MMA is still illegal in France, which makes it much more difficult to be a pro fighter. Both rounds are cut down to highlights, although Teymur seems to be doing more damage in R2 thanks to his K-1 background. Teymur advances via majority decision.

    Andres Quintana (8-1) will face Thanh Le (4-1) in our second American fight. Le is quickly branded “The Kung-Fu Man” by Faber due to his arsenal of kicks. His overhand right is equally dangerous. Le throws a wild spin kick that appears to nail Quintana in the head but Dana White thinks it hit a glove. Either way he survives for a second round. Le lands a clean straight right hand in R2 and one follow-up on the ground before it’s waved off. Le advances by knockout.

    Between fights McGregor is talking smack. “Be glad you don’t have to face me. I’d kill you stone dead.” Faber: “I’d like to see you pull your massive f—ing head out of my armpit. It wouldn’t happen.”

    McGregor’s friend, Russian ex-pat Artem Lobov (11-10-1-1) is next. He faces Mehdi Baghdad (11-3) from France, who says his advantage is he trains with Anderson Silva. Lobov is actually the one acting like Silva – dropping his hands and daring Baghdad to hit him some more. McGregor is calling out advice to him as he watches from the judging desk. He lands some hard shots and Baghdad shakes it off then connects with a kick to the chin. McGregor is begging Lobov to throw the left kick and left knee. There were enough hard shots on both sides that a second round is somewhat surprising.

    Both men are quickly throwing hands to open R2. Lobov goes for a takedown, Baghdad sprawls, Lobov comes up bloody. Dana White is thrilled. Faber: “What a war.” White: “These guys are f—ing murdering each other.” The second round is cut down to highlights. Dana: “This fight was awesome. I honestly believe it should have gone to a third round.” Baghdad gets a majority decision. McGregor comes over to console Lobov and tells him it was a great fight. Dana says he’s “far from a loser” afterward.

    Julian Erosa (14-2) vs. Jason Soares (8-0) for America is next, but this fight is cut down to “Performance Highlights.” Erosa stuffed takedowns and did more damage so Erosa wins by decision and does a backflip to celebrate.

    Europeans are next. Saul Rogers (10-1) says he may be European for this show he’s Manchester, England all the way and will continue to put it on the map. Paulo Boer (10-1-1) is his foe and says the flight from Vegas was short so he’s ready for war. This is cut down to highlights too. Boer survived an early choke attempt but Rogers ultimately got his hand raised. Faber asks where the ring girls are.

    The Notorious Quote of the Week: “You should walk around with a ring card and shake that chin.” WINNER~!

    Brandon Ricetti (7-1) vs. Billy Quarantillo (6-1) is next for the Americans. This one is also cut down to the highlights. Ricetti hammers his way to a TKO in R2.

    Frantz Slioa (4-0) faces Martin Delaney (10-1) for the Europeans next. Slioa seems to have one trick in the bag – going for takedowns and getting on top in scrambles. Delaney eventually takes advantage of that and gets a back mount with a body lock, getting an arm under the chin. Slioa goes out cold for Delaney’s rear naked choke – a win via technical submission.

    Jason Gonzalez (9-2) vs. Tim Welch (12-5) is next for Team America. Welch is another fighter you may recognize going in, due to a couple of bouts in Bellator, if not for his bright red shock of hair. Welch quickly winds up on top in side control but is pushed back to guard. Gonzalez gets a leg around his neck but Welch pops free and is dropping some big right elbows which have Gonzalez’ sister and girlfriend worried.

    After R1 is cut to highlights we go to R2 with Welch popping Gonzalez in the stand-up until Gonzalez clips him with one big liver shot and pounds it out on the ground, leaving Gonzalez’ family relieved. Gonzalez advances via TKO.

    Abner Lloveras (19-7-1) from Spain faces Vlado Sikic (10-0) from Croatia. The latter definitely has the better smack talk – he says he loves to break people. Lloveras is flying all around the cage with kicks but Sikic takes him down 30 seconds in. Sikic’s shoulder pops out but he decides to keep fighting. Lloveras ultimately gets the verbal submission when he torques Sikic’s arm on the ground.

    Mike Flach (7-1) takes on Tom Gallicchio (19-8). Faber on the latter: “That’s a HAIRY dude!” Gallicchio: “I’m like water. I don’t really know what that means but Bruce Lee says it so it has to be good.” I like him already. With that record I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before. Gallicchio taps out Flach a little over a minute in via RNC.

    Martin Svensson (14-5) will battle Mohamed Grabinski (10-1). Once again we’re only going to see “Performance Highlights.” Apparently they spent the entire first round escaping each other’s back takes. It’s a draw so we go to the third round and Svensson wins a unanimous decision.

    Djamil Chan (9-2) takes on Marcin Wrzosek (10-2). Highlights again. ‘The Polish Zombie’ Wrzosek wins via submission.

    Sascha Nitin Sharma (8-2) faces Sean Carter (10-1). Cut down to highlights. Dana White says the first was “a pretty uneventful round.” Sharma landed a lot of ground and pound, Carter went for a triangle too late, Sharma advances.

    Austin Springer (8-0) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (12-1). I won’t lie – I’m pretty psyched about this one given I’ve interviewed Springer before. Both men are going toe to toe with shots from the start. Springer gets a big cut over his right eyebrow in one of the exchanges and gets clipped shortly after. Gruetzemacher nails him with a big knee before the end of the round in cut down highlights, but Springer survives to get R2.

    Gruetzemacher hurts him with another knee, and Springer is warned twice not to grab the fence. Springer is trying like hell to stay in the fight, but he’s getting nailed with knees up the middle, and Dana White is calling for the fight to be stopped. “This kid’s got nothing left.” McGregor is begging the ref to stop it too when Springer takes another knee flush to the head. Dana is pissed. I am too. Faber: “Man that was a tough fight to watch.”

    Needless to say Gruetzemacher advances via TKO.

    Brennan Sevin (7-1) vs. James Jenkins (8-1) in another fight to join Team America. Jenkins gets a takedown quick and just as quickly is told to “improve his position.” He backs off for a second and gets right back in guard, with his girlfriend cheering him on. That’s where he stays for most of the round it seems as this is cut down to highlights.

    The second round turns into a slobberknocker with both guys throwing haymakers trying to get the other to fall, with the coaches marking out for each blow that lands, Dana White being as loud if not louder. McGregor: “Good exchanges.” No s–t Conor!! Every other word out of Dana White’s mouth is being bleeped out. After a failed takedown they trade again for the final 17 seconds of R2.

    Jenkins advances via the judges to conclude the qualifying TUF 22 fights.

    Faber dubs his team the “Bad News Bears” but says they have a great mentality and will win with positive energy. McGregor says he doesn’t (yet) have an emotional bond with his team – it’s all business. Dana thanks everybody for being here and tells the losers we appreciate you but pack your bags and head out. To those who are left: “You fight like you fought today and you’ll do just fine.”

    TEAM FABER WINS THE COIN TOSS and gets the first pick on Monday. What does that even mean? The show airs on Wednesday. Anyway that’s where the show ends.

    Team McGregor (Europe): Abner Lloveras, David Teymur, Marcin Wrzosek, Martin Delaney, Martin Svensson, Mehdi Baghdad, Sascha Sharma, Saul Rogers

    Team Faber (United States): Brandon Ricetti, Chris Gruetzemacher, James Jenkins, Jason Gonzalez, Julian Erosa, Ryan Hall, Thanh Le, Tom Gallicchio

  • WWE NXT 9/9 live TV results: Samoa Joe & Finn Balor team in Dusty tag Classic

    By Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com and Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    Hear ye, hear ye! Let it be known that on this, the 9th day of September in the year of our Lord 2015, we have gathered here on F4WOnline.com! We gather on this page not for Ring of Honor or Impact, but for NXT!

    Join me at 8pm for our weekly live review of a taped show! Tonight in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, it is Samoa Joe & Finn Balor vs Lucha Dragons. Plus Bull Dempsey teams with Prince Pretty to face Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano!

    Since last Wednesday night four more first round matches have taken place in the Dusty Rhodes Classic. If you go to WWE.com you can see highlights of all the matches. Here are the current brackets and up to date brackets:

    Finn Balor & Samoa Joe vs Lucha Dragons
    Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady beat Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton

    Dash & Dawson beat Tucker Knight & Elias Sampson
    The Vaudevillians beat Blake & Murphy

    Hype Bros beat Noah Kekoa (replacing Marcus Louis) & Alexander Wolfe
    Jason Jordan & Chad Gable defeating Neville & Solomon Crowe

    Rhyno & Baron Corbin defeating The Ascension
    Tyler Breeze & Bull Dempsey vs Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano

    1.) Carmella tapped out Peyton Royce

    The Princess of Staten Island kicks the show off this week, going one on one with Peyton Royce. For the record, you pronounce the R like an R and not an H. This is Carmella’s anniversary here on NXT, as one year ago Enzo and Colin got her fired from her job as a hairdresser.

    They exchanged backslides and Carmella did the Moonwalk, which was credited to Michael PS Hayes. Peyton got a near fall with a Fisherman’s Suplex, which was called a “Look at that!” The fans aren’t as anti-Carmella as they used to be. Perhaps they are saving their hatred for Eva Marie.

    This was a good match and Carmella won with an STO into a legscissiors.

    -Finn Balor and Samoa Joe had a meeting, getting ready for their tournament match. Joe handed Balor his championship belt, after taking a long look at it.

    -They showed a video of the four Dusty Rhodes Classic matches from this past weekend. So scratch what I said about going to WWE.com to watch them.

    -Nia Jax is coming soon. I feel like I have written that before.

    2.) In a first round match in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano defeated Tyler Breeze & Bull Dempsey

    So I was going through my autographed 8×10’s the other day and found one of East Coast Pro Wrestling’s Donnie The Body Johnson, who did a Simon Dean gimmick. Something about him looked so familiar, so I Yahoo’d him and discovered that it was Bull Dempsey. Mind you it was Bull from 10 years and about 50 pounds ago, but still. He has come a long way from The Strand in McAdoo, PA.

    Bull laid on the top rope like Tyler, much to Prince Pretty’s chagrin. The fans popped for Gargano and Ciampa. Breeze was mocking Ciampa, so Ciampa gave him a David Schultz open hand slap to the side of his head. The fans chanted “Bull is gorgeous” when Tyler tagged out. Gargano speared Breeze through the ropes and kicked him in the head. This has not been Breeze’s night.

    Gargano gave Bull a kick to the back of the head and Ciampa got a near fall with a running knee. Bull squashed Tommaso when Ciampa had a sleeper hold locked on. Gargano tagged in and dropkicked Breeze off the apron, so when Bull went for a tag there was no one there.

    Breeze pulled himself up on the apron, but Bull collided with his partner. Ciampa pinned him with a roll up.

    -After the match Breeze attacked Bull and beat him down, including kicking the big man in the ribs.

    -Sin Cara cut a promo in Spanish, so Kalisto translated it. Basically they want to win the tournament and it is an honor to wrestle Samoa Joe & Finn Balor.

    -Devin interviewed Dana Brooke about her upcoming match. Dana said what bothers her is she had to watch Bayley become the Women’s Champion instead of her. Dana wants to be known as the best wrestler NXT has and she said she wants to become the NXT Champion. Well I think Finn has her beat. She takes offense to people thinking she only has her spot because of her body and face.

    -A Tye Dillinger video aired. He’s the Perfect 10 if you haven’t heard yet.

    3.) Dana Brooke pinned Billie Kay

    It’s the night for Australian Diva’s in action. First Peyton Royce and now Billie Kay. Rich Brennan said Billie Kay was tall, which led to Corey Graves being obnoxious. I swear I am going to start muting the audio.

    Dana used some unique moves, including a headstand elbow drop and a headstand where she used her foot to choke Billie in the corner. Billie got a near fall with a Hurricarana and a boot to the face, but Dana picked up the win with a sit out Death Valley Driver.

    -Apollo Crews referred to the NXT crowd as the Apollo Nation.

    -The little girl who comes to every NXT show dressed like Bayley, met the new champion and got a tour of the WWE Performance Center.

    4.) In a first round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, Finn Balor & Samoa Joe defeated Lucha Dragons

    This match was actually taped a few weeks ago when SmackDown was in Providence. I was actually going to go to this show, but ended up not going. This is really interesting with them taping matches in different locations. Tom Phillips and Jimmy Uso were the commentators. At least it’s better than Corey Graves.

    The fans were chanting “This is awesome” during the opening lock up. Other than that the fans weren’t into the general minutiae of this match. They did pop when Balor did his dive over the top rope, but they mostly sat on their hands.

    This match only went about 8 minutes, but most of that was with Balor and Joe on offense. The Dragons got in a little bit, but this match was actually disappointing. I was expecting much more. The fans finally woke up when Joe got the hot tag, but died when Kalisto hit a really nice Tornado DDT.

    Joe went for the Muscle Buster, but Cara fought out of it. Kalisto actually got a believable near fall with a Hurricarana, but Joe & Balor won with first the Muscle Buster and then the Coup de Grace.

    -So that is it for this week. Next week it is the return of Bayley, but until then make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • TNA Impact Wrestling 9/9 live TV results: Chris Mordetzky vs. Drew Galloway

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week, GFW gained a TNA title when they cashed in Magnus’s feast or fired case to allow Trevor Lee and Brian Myers a title shot – which they won thanks to a case shot out of nowhere. Magnus didn’t actually appear – they just kind of implied he left TNA to join GFW and I guess that didn’t void this contract or anything.

    While TNA lost one title, they also regained the “prestigious King of the Mountain Championship” when Bobby Roode beat PJ Black with an outside-in springboard Roode Bomb. One child was very visibly excited for this, and it actually made this seem kinda cool. Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky, and Angelina Love sent the Dollhouse B-team packing for a quick reunion, and Matt Hardy lost to EC3 and now Jeff is going to be EC3’s assistant.

    Also, in a week, the history of TNA changes forever again this month when a Lethal Lockdown match happens pitting Team Jarrett against Team Dixie for control of TNA. No word yet on if they can find an old belt to be for the first-ever Lethal Lockdown Championship. Speaking of which, tonight, Drew Galloway faces Chris Mordetsky to get the man advantage for that bout.

    An absurdly fast-paced video package recaps last week’s GFW events with “hostile takeover” repeated a ton and random shots of dudes getting beaten up. Also, there’s some coverage of the Matt-EC3 thing, which didn’t have a “big match feel” despite Josh saying that in the video. Josh and Pope are in their echo chamber talking about the future of TNA – but first, we’ve got a lumberjack match for the Lethal Lockdown match’s man advantage. Josh throws it to EC3, who comes down the aisle with Tyrus carrying some signs for him.

    Josh talks about how EC3 has BFG on his mind – why? There’s nothing made for the event. EC3 says the future of TNA is hanging in the balance, but he doesn’t give a crap. EC3 brags about beating Matt and brings Jeff down. Jeff has his theme, so EC3 says that he gets no theme and he demands silence from the crowd. EC3 wants water for her and Tyrus and smacks his lips forever. EC3 isn’t pleased with his water being one degree hotter, so he pours it on him. Tyrus gives Jeff a 2×4 with EC3’s face on it. This thing appears to have taken about five minutes to make. Jeffrey Nero Hardy introduces himself as EC3’s biggest fan to a chorus of boos. EC3 makes Tyrus and EC3 against Matt Hardy and Rockstar Spud. Matt and Spud just come out, so I guess that’s next. After the break, the match is in the ring.

    EC3 and Tyrus vs. Matt Hardy and Rockstar Spud

    Matt and Tyrus get into a bit of a corner brawl with a lot of thigh jiggling from Tyrus. EC3 comes in and eats corner mount punches. Josh says that Jeff got EC3 a gig on Jim Ross’s podcast, which Pope calls “one of the number one podcasts there is”. Spud runs wild with a mudhole stomping on EC3, but gets beaten up by Tyrus on the floor and tossed into the ring. EC3 hits a sloppy gordbuster and drops Spud right on his knees. Tyrus comes back in and gets a corner charge and tags EC3 back in for 2. Tyrus yells at Jeff to hit Spud – why? Granted, this match means nothing, but why risk a DQ?

    Matt gets a pair of lariats and a Side Effect for 2. Tyrus comes in off a blind tag and eats a shot to an area near the midsection. Matt gets a big lariat and Spud covers for 2. Spud gets the running forearm shivers EC3 puts Jeff in front of him and kicks Matt in the groin. Jeff is told to hit Matt with a chair, but says no way. Tyrus lifts Spud up and hits the ICU spike horribly for the win.

    Recap of Myers and Lee winning the tag titles. The Wolves briefly chat before Drew says the war is coming, and they act like they’ve been Drew’s allies for years. Taryn and the Dolls are backstage and she tells them to take out one of the BPs now. Josh compares the Velvet-Taryn issue to Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus. We get a preview of Alaska Monsters.

    The Dolls confront Madison and we get a quick brawl leading to Angelina being “hit by a chair” playing off the Taryn injury angle and writing her off for her pregnancy without risking her health. Jeff Jarrett comes out and Josh says the Lethal Lockdown match will be the biggest match in TNA history. Jeff talks for about 20 seconds before Josh talks about what he’s talking about. Why even bother having the promo if Josh is just going to talk over it? Jeff is pissed about Roode winning the KOTM Title and Roode says he’s the king of the mountain and holds it for the fans. So now he’s a babyface. We get a Glo-bal Force chant to the tune of the New Day Rocks clap. Karen says she has five kids at home and doesn’t need two more, and it’s time for Jeff to get real and get everything he wants next week. Karen is at least as tall as Roode is – wow. She says Dixie is outnumbered and wants Bobby to think about his history with Jeff before ordering Jeff to leave. Karen was so great here – easily the best part of the show so far.

    Eli Drake, Kenny King, and Jessie Godderz chat backstage about stuff. Drew is upset over them not caring about the GFW takeover. Kenny buries Drew for not being a great general. Wasn’t Kenny a face last week? Robbie, Uno, and Micah come in for a brawl. A couple of chairs fell down in all this – quite the chaotic scene. EC3 scolds Jeff for not hitting Matt, but gives Jeff the chance to sell EC3 shirts to the fans. Mr. Pectacular, Kenny King, and Mr. ED are in the ring for a six-man tag against Robbie, Uno, and Micah.

    Jessie Godderz, Kenny King, and Eli Drake vs. Robbie E, Tigre Uno, and Micah

    Well, this sure came out of nowhere. Micah clotheslines King down. Robbie E runs wild on Jessie before Eli tags in and gets taken out with a crossbody by Uno. Micah tags back in for some arm work. Kenny tags in and hits a spin kick for 2. Micah comes back with a double lariat to Eli and King. Uno gets a wheelbarrow bulldog, which Josh implies is the 619. Josh hypes up BFG as the biggest night of TNA’s year. If it’s so big, why is nothing announced for it? Jessie moves Uno to the corner where King tags in to run wild a bit, but eat a tornado DDT. Robbie and Jessie go back at it again. Robbie gets a super Hart attack for 2. Micah gets a sloppy backdrop to Eli over the top due to Eli’s legs getting tangled up. Micah gets a Big Ending to King, but Eli hits a spine shaker on Micah. Uno gets a rana to Eli, but one to Jessie leads to a powerbomb, while Robbie gets a full nelson facebuster called the Boom Drop for the win. This was a cluster. Brooke vs. Gail is next for the knockouts title. Gail comes out to a big reaction and is called a legend. It’s amazing to think, but she really is one in TNA – she should go into the Hall before the company folds. Brooke came out and did her booty shaking deal.

    Brooke vs. Gail Kim for the Knockouts Title

    Josh takes great issue with Gail being considered a legend, because every analyst says she’s so great. What the hell? This was just weird even by Josh’s usual segment-by-segment shift from face to heel. Collar and elbow tieup leads to corner chops. Gail counters a baseball slide to the floor by taking her to the floor and they exchange forearms. Brooke gets a rollup for 2. Pope says that he’s got his boots ready in case he’s called to action, while Josh says that he sold his a long time ago. What part of Josh’s character is supposed to be likable? Cool seated Octopus stretch/armbar combo by Gail here – I demand this be in a video game ASAP.

    Brooke gets a silly move onto Gail by dropping to her butt and rolling into this weird reverse camel clutch. Double-down off a double crossbody. Lei’D Tapa and her husband walk down and grab the belt. Brooke hits the facebuster, but sees Tapa and gets up to attack. After an extended brawl between them, it’s only a DQ due to a belt shot. Gail beats her up, but then gets beaten up by Tapa. TKO by Tapa. Kong comes down to attack Tapa, leading to Josh talking about how Kong already kicked her ass. They exchange some horrible-looking offense before Kong clotheslines her over the top to the floor. Coach D’Amore and Jeff hype up their crew. Jeff tells Drew he’s on his side before EC3 scolds him for not doing his laundry. The Wolves come out to face Myers and Lee.

    The Wolves vs. Brian Myers and Trevor Lee – Tag Title Match

    A quick brawl starts things off and we get a pair of double dives from the Wolves. Lee gets a standing moonsault powerslam for 2. Wolves hit Chasing the Dragon for 2. Trevor eats a superplex for 2. Rolling German gets 2 thanks to a save by Brian. Double team alarm clock hits, but Sonjay comes in and Earl Hebner takes him out. Punt kick alongside a tombstone gets the titles back for the Wolves. This match, much like every part of this feud, was on fast forward. Chris Melendez is interviewed about why he’s back and Sarge says he won’t back down.

    Sarge comes down on crutches because EY won his leg, and now Josh is a face siding with Chris and against EY. Melendez says he’s on his last leg and cuts a great promo about wanting revenge. Chris Melendez being a Team 3D student, a war hero, and having a great story while the Dudleys are in WWE and WWE has a Tribute to the Troops show bodes very well for his wrestling future. EY comes out with Sarge’s leg covered in tape and Sharpie text.

    EY came out and says he’s God and he destroys all of America’s heroes. He’s taken Kurt Angle out, taken Chris out, and he can’t wrestle because of him. Chris cuts another great promo on him and EY says he’ll give him the leg back and then shoves him down with it. Chris being an above the knee amputee and being able to wrestle at the level he is able to, especially given his level of experience, is amazing.

    Josh interviews Mahabali Shera, who thanks Kurt Angle and says he’ll pay him back 200%. He has no friends and no family, but he thanks Manik for helping him – but Storm is a very bad man. He says Koya was bad, but he is good and he says he will beat Storm and show him who he is. Shera does his little dance in his suit and we’ll get Shera vs. Abyss. This was something. Tapa vs. Kong vs. Kim vs. Brooke is announced, and Drew comes down for the main event with Team TNA while Mordetsky comes down with Team GFW.

    Chris Mordetsky vs. Drew Galloway – Lumberjack Match

    They punch and chop around for a couple of minutes before an ad break. Sonjay interferes and Mordetsky gets 2 off a double axehandle off the second rope. Mordetsky gets a lariat and gets 2. Drew gets 2 off a Sky High, and each side isn’t taking cheapshots on the other guy going to the floor. Drew gets a leaping Future Shock, but stomps away in the corner. Myers and Lee attack, then the Wolves take them and D’Amore down. Jeff Jarrett has the guitar, but EY stops him so he can hit Drew with it. Mordetsky wins. This match was very good in spots, but really held back by bad booking.

    To see every screen for the show, just click here.

  • A detailed look at everything that led to the indictment of Jimmy Snuka, Hogan’s attmpted image rehab, WWE & TNA business report, Shooting update, Bram arrest and suspension, WrestleMania 33 & 34 news

    It’s a gigantic news week in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with the main feature story on everything that led to the indictment of Jimmy Snuka after 32 years, plus Irv Muchnick, who has reported on the story for years gives his views on the proceedings, and we also look at Hulk Hogan’s attempt at redemption of his character, the full story behind the shooting at the Performance Center, notes from Battle of Los Angeles, the retirement of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Hayabusa walks to the ring, Bram gets arrested, WWE fires Zahra Schreiber, UFC brings back Travis Browne, a rundown of the PPV business in WWE in 2015 and the latest monthly business report from WWE & TNA.

    The issue is on the site right now at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/44362-september-7-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-snuka-indicted-shooting-at-wwe-performance-center-and-tons-more

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are at  http://www.f4wonline.com/member/signup.php

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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    Rates are:

    For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

    If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

    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.

    Our lead story goes back to 1983 with an in-depth look at the death of Nancy Argentino, how the media caused the case to be reopened, a look at the charges against Jimmy Snuka, the different statements on the subject by Snuka, Snuka’s lawyer speaks, notes on documentation and testimony from the time, lots of notes regarding evidence, where Jimmy Snuka stood in the wrestling business in 1983, how Buddy Rogers fits into this story, what Snuka told police the morning after Argentino died as well as testimony from those who treated Argentino before her death.

    We also look at the autopsy report, the police report from that time, the strange question that was never answered regarding the case being dropped, what Snuka has said to different people, the brawl in Syracuse before Argentino’s death, how the pro wrestling business in 1983 is so completely different from today and the previous legal action regarding this case. 

    Irv Muchnick also does a piece on the indictment talking about several points from the indictment.

    We also look at Hulk Hogan appearing on Good Morning America and Nightline in a way to get his job back and repair his public image.  We look at the WWE reaction, what Hogan said, what does and doesn’t hold up, the timeline issues with his various stories, neighbors of his growing up contradict his story and more.

    We also look at the story of the man who was shot in front of the Performance Center, the circumstances of the shooting, and the different things he had done in recent months regarding his obsession with wrestling.

    We also look at Battle of Los Angeles, how the tournament went, highlights from the weekend and celebrities at the shows.

    We also look back at the career of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, including his new job with UFC, his becoming the top heavyweight in the sport at one time, his background, his debut in RINGS, his move to Pride, his fight with Bob Sapp, his three fight series with Fedor and his UFC run.

    We look at the arrest of Thomas “Bram” Latimer of  TNA, police details of what happened, TNA’s response and what is next for him.

    We’ve got a story on Hayabusa, one of the best high flyers from 15-20 years ago and his attempted recovery from near paralysis.

    We’ve got a look at Travis Browne and his reinstatement in UFC.

    We look at the firing of Zahra Schreiber, the girlfriend of Seth Rollins, by WWE.

    We also look at WWE & TNA business when it comes to house shows, merchandise, ratings and other categories for the past month.

    We also have a PPV chart with how all the shows in the first seven months of the year have been, and compared them with the last few years.

    We also look at WWE signing one of the major international women stars and why she’s not going to be wrestling in NXT, the return of Dr. Wagner Jr. & L.A. Park to Arena Mexico and how it got over, top pro wrestling star gets a reality show gig, and some major title changes.

    We also look at maneuvering for the 2017 and 2018 WrestleMania, and the favorites, the 10/3 Madison Square Garden WWE live special, notes on lots of indie stars on WWE’s radar, ticket sales for NXT in the U.K., a new WWE movie, Update on Wade Barrett, action figure sales, announcing changes, SummerSlam edits, lots of notes on various WWE lawsuits, Dean Ambrose talks Renee Young, Fan tries to attack Ambrose, Sara Lee in NXT, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT house shows over the past week.

    We also look at a number of top stars who worked recently in Bolivia, the last AAA TV taping and AAA wrestlers in a bodybuilding contest.

    We update Wrestle-1 and the three generations of green mist stars trios match.

    We also look at the Dragon Gate summer tag team tournament and its big show in Fukuoka and what came out of it.

    We look at All Japan’s last major show and its current singles tournament.

    We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s next major show, including a title match that was set up in the U.S., a well as the bracketing in the upcoming junior heavyweight tag team tournament.

    We look at the weekend IGF show, a record that will be set at the next Tokyo Dome show, and the NWA title change.

    We also look at U.S. stars who usually don’t tour Japan that are going shortly.

    We’ve got more on the planned bio movie on Chris Benoit, Angelo Mosca getting his number retired, the weekend GFW shows and angles, Preston City Wrestling’s weekend show, former TNA star retires and a unique main event, plus early notes on this year’s WWC Anniversary show.

    We also update the TNA TV situation, the Lucha Underground TV situation, the next ROH PPV show, new roles for people in ROH and notes from the weekend show.

    We also look at changes in UFC main events, can UFC sell 70,000 tickets to its November show with Ronda Rousey, Rousey talks when she expects to retire, Cyborg, the date with the marine and notes about live shows on Fight Pass this month.  We also look at this week’s PPV show, talks about the Jan. 2 Las Vegas card, a star fighter retires, Chad Mendes wants a rematch with McGregor, what happened recently with Jose Aldo, Rousey T-shirt sales, plus lots of more fights.

    We also have a look at Bellator’s next major show, including the updated card, as well as plans for the big November show.  We look at the Fan Fest with Fedor and Sakuraba, as well as notes on last week’s show.

    We also look at the arrest of Chris Leben, and new restrictions on weight cutting that is being tried out for in California.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Our most requested issues in our history are:

    *November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

    *December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

    *August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

    *March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

    *October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

    *July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

    *February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

    *May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

    *January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

    *February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

    *March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

    *April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

    *May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

    *June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

    *June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

    *July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

    *August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

    *September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

    *October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

    *January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

    *February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

    *February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

    *March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

    *March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

    *July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

    *July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

    *August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

    *August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

    *October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

    *November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

    *January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

    *March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

    *May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

    *June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

    *July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

    *September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

    *October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

    *November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

    *January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

    *January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

    *April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

    *April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

    *July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

    *September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

    *October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

    *November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

    *November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

    *November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

    *December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

    *January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

    *March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

    *March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

    *March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

    *April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

    *July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

    *October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

    *November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

    *December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

    *January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

    *March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

    *April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

    * September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

    * September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

    * September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

    You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

    We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

    To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.