In 2K’s third reveal for WWE 2K16’s ongoing Roster 3:16, 18 additional WWE Superstars and Divas have been announced for inclusion in the forthcoming franchise release on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 30, 2015 internationally. This week’s additions to WWE 2K16’s extensive roster include Alicia Fox, Bam Bam Bigelow, The Big Show, Cameron, Cesaro, Darren Young, Diamond Dallas Page, Dolph Ziggler, Finlay, Kevin Nash, Layla, Lex Luger, The Miz, Naomi, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Titus O’Neil and Tyson Kidd.
Assets to support today’s roster reveal announcement include screenshots, roster images and a video featuring WWE 2K16 tag team entrances for Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, and as well as The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch):
Additionally, please find supporting assets from the WWE 2K16 & WWE SuperCard SummerSlam Kickoff Event, including screenshots and b-roll of the first-ever WWE 2K16gameplay featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Jake the Snake from this year’s 2K Showcase mode.
WWE 2K SummerSlam Kickoff Event Photos: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiQ1Z1UzdrUmtpR01UQw
WWE 2K16 Gameplay B-roll: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiQ1ZnT01veE1sYzlVag (MUST BE EDITED)
Password: 25Lju?W]
WWE SuperCardScreenshots and App Icon: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiK0dqQ0MrV3pxYk1UQw
Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K16 is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and is in development for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One and Xbox 360.
— WWE returns to Barclays on Monday, 12/28 for RAW with a presale code of WWERAW.
— WWE Superstars:
– Zack Ryder def. Heath Slater after hitting the RoughRyder. – Los Matadores (with El Torito) def. Ascension after hitting the Backstabber and pin thanks to a distraction by Torito.
— Post RAW:
– The advertised six man tag main event didn’t happen. Lillian Garcia thanked fans for coming and that was that.
– Crowd was hot most of the night, except for the divas tag match. Chants included “CM Punk”, “We are awesome” and “boring”. There were also several waves done by the audience.
The WWE Night of Champions PPV on 9/20 in Houston will be headlined by Seth Rollins vs. Sting for the WWE title.
They have also announced that every WWE title will be defended on the show, which in theory means Rollins would have to work twice. If so, that’s the identical storyline ROH is doing with Jay Lethal two nights earlier on PPV.
We’re looking for your thoughts on both SummerSlam as well as NXT for the weekend polls, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re looking for reports from Raw tonight in Brooklyn as far as dark matches, Superstars matches or anything else not evident from the live show.
We’re also looking for reports on the Friday night GFW tapings in Las Vegas and the Saturday GFW show in Reno.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Providence, RI
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We’ve got a new double issue of the Observer up on the site which, on the 55th anniversary of the birth of the AWA, features a look at the history of the AWA and the career of Verne Gagne. The issue also covers the buildup to SummerSlam, the most detailed look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, the History of G-1, Anderson Silva’s hearing and suspension, UFC’s stadium event in Australia, the death of Roller Games heel Mizz Georgia Hase, as well as the monthly WWE & TNA business rundown.
The issue is on the site right now at August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!
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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 big feature looks back at the career of Verne Gagne and the history of the most famous version of the AWA.
We look at the beginnings of the Gagne legend in wrestling and the start of his pro career. We look back at his football offers, his world junior heavyweight title win, the period that Gagne was one of the highest paid athletes in the country and how politics changed the course of his career.
We look at the Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne series and why it abruptly ended and why Gagne was never considered for the NWA title even though he’d have likely made a better champion than those chosen ahead of him.
We’ve got a complete history of the career of Gagne and his various honors.
We look at the war in Chicago in the 50s, the most controversial NWA title match of its era, and both the real reason and storyline reason for the formation of the AWA. We look at the first-ever AWA show, the first-ever AWA title match, the first feuds that put the AWA on the map as a significant organization and its first attempt at doing a stadium show.
We look at some of the AWA’s biggest money feuds in history, and the role the AWA played in getting two of the biggest promotions in the country at the time to join the NWA. We also look at the ironies about Gagne with his own actions and with his complaints about the actions of Vince McMahon.
We look at the era when the AWA title was one of the big three belts. We also look at the first big heyday of the AWA in the late 60s and early 70s, including a look back at a number of stadium shows in Chicago.
We look at the Hulk Hogan-fueled second AWA heyday, how the heel Hulk Hogan from the WWF became the babyface Hulk Hogan in the AWA. We look at Gagne’s role in creating Hulkamania, the first Verne Gagne retirement show, and many coming out of retirement shows. We look at the Gagne-Hogan relationship including the time Gagne tried to shoot on Hogan and what happened.
We looked at why the stories about Gagne being stupid in not putting the AWA title on Hogan show a lack of understanding of the time, and why it would have been the worst thing long-term for him. We look at the business reason why it wasn’t done.
We look at Hogan’s departure for the WWF, and why it had to happen.
We look at the AWA after Hogan, including Jesse Ventura’s departure, Gagne’s business practices that started killing his company, how competition exposed the AWA, and the hard fall at the end. We also look at the deal that kept the AWA alive a little longer, new stars who got early breaks at the end, and the end of the company.
We’ve also got a look at all the news leading into WWE’s second biggest week of the year. We look at the ESPN coverage and why, Lesnar talking Vince McMahon vs. Dana White, the irony of Lesnar calling wrestling fake and the lack of reaction from within wrestling, Jon Stewart, Learn vs. Undertaker reaction, weekend schedule, talk about next year’s SummerSlam and much more.
We also have a look at the finals of this year’s G-1 Climax tournament.
We look at how G-1 started, whose idea it was and what was its original goal. We look at the first G-1 tournament and how it related to the 25th tournament this past week.
We look at the big matches on the last three days, what appears to be the Tokyo Dome plans and the storyline behind it. We look at what will probably be New Japan’s biggest matches of the fall before the Dome, including who Kazuchika Okada will likely headline PPVs against as well as who Hiroshi Tanahashi is also likely to face in big matches this fall.
We compare the New Japan top stars to the All Japan stars of the 90s, as well as look at the G-1 business. We look at how four different shows in Tokyo did going against each other.
We also update the business of New Japan World and talk about next year’s G-1 tournament including who can go, who has to stay and who can be brought in to make the tournament even more interesting.
We update the injuries and the final standings, character changes, the ROH relationship, the real story behind Jushin Liger working for WWE this weekend, and the build for Tenryu’s retirement match.
We also have complete rundowns of all three nights at Sumo Hall, including match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We also have the complete history of the New Japan annual heavyweight tournament dating back to 1974.
We also look at Minneapolis and WrestleMania and the last stadium show in that market 29 years ago, we look at the future of NXT, Roman Reigns talks about when he found out he wasn’t winning the title ad his reaction, when Seth Rollins found out he was winning, as well as Reigns talks about the briefcase hitting him in the head in Victoria.
We’ve got notes on two Dwayne Johnson movies, WWE filing suit against its television partner, the tenure of The Authority storyline, NXT star says he doesn’t want to move up to the main roster, and notes about pay so far for the major NXT shows.
We also have more on what happened between Paul Levesque and Chyna at Roddy Piper’s first funeral, as well as notes no who attended Piper’s second funeral. We debunk a claim made by Chyna about her WWE tenure.
We look at how a WWE PPV is going against one of the biggest television events of the year.
We update on who has worked the most matches this year, have more on the Owen Hart DVD project, an update on Tough Enough leading to the final show of the season, notes on the Nikki Bella vs. Sasha Banks champion vs. champion match, and WWE and Evolve.
We also look at all the NXT and WWE events over this past week, business notes on the show and highlights from every event.
We also look at the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s hearing on Anderson Silva’s drug test failures. We look at the comedy provided from Silva, why he was so lucky this didn’t happen after July, his excuses, evidence, penalties and commission reaction.
We’ve got our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, looking at house shows, ratings DVDs and merchandise. We also look at the cord cutting and how that affects cable TV, as well as the number of homes the cable networks that have wrestling, boxing and MMA are currently in.
We also look at the CMLL anniversary show main event and how quickly it came to be, a guy said to be returning in two weeks after tearing his pec, and at 54 years old, the next AAA TV taping, updates on U.S. stars returning to Mexico and a top indie star and top CMLL star feuding.
We also look at what could be UFC’s biggest show of the year, Chris Weidman wants Jon Jones, Fabricio Werdum’s next title defense against Cain Velasquez and a look at the heavyweight division, this week’s show, return of Anthony Pettis, next year’s attempt to run in Madison Square Garden, update on all the championships, a look at UFC fighter pay, a UFC fighter gets in a bar fight and tons of new UFC fights.
We also have notes on Bellator business and Scott Coker’s predictions for the biggest live event in company history as well as bringing legends of the sport to San Jose, as well as Coker’s long-term goals for the promotion, Was there really a chance for a Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz fight, the final Bellator major event of the year and the lineup, the debut of Josh Thomson and Thomson talks leaving UFC and how badly hurt he was by the Reebok deal.
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.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the latest pro wrestling news. You can send e-mail questions to tonight’s show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
Undertaker was banged up last night in his match with Brock Lesnar. There was footage of him collapsing once he got backstage that made its way around. We don’t believe there was a serious injury and he wasn’t hospitalized. But he did go home and is not expected at Raw. There are reports of Sting and Ric Flair on Raw tonight. Flair has been in town and Sting came back to town after leaving. Flair would make sense to be used as an explanation in the Jon Stewart angle.
WWE got a ridiculous amount of mainstream for SummerSlam, a combination of the New York market, and Jon Stewart’s involvement in the main event. Last night’s show got 1 million Google searches making it No. 2 for the day, which is a level usually reserved for WrestleMania and the top tier UFC events. It was also listed as the most social show on television with 575,000 mentions.
Among the media outlets that covered SummerSlam for Stewart, and some would have anyway, included all the major New York papers including the Times, and the CBS Morning News, Good Morning America, The Today Show and lots of talk radio. The New York Times story
Tonight’s Raw is expected to be the highest rated episode of the show since the day after WrestleMania.
Regarding last night’s audio show where we speculated that Paul Heyman may have come up with the finish of last night’s Brock Lesnar match. That was not the case. The finish did change and was tweaked from whatever the original idea was, but it didn’t come from Heyman.
The idea that the cameras missed the tap originally by Undertaker was the idea. Nobody was supposed to understand what was going on and then it would be revealed after that Lesnar really should have won, but only after Undertaker won first.
The storyline is that Charles Robinson now recognizes that he blew the call in the main event. That will be addressed most likely on the show.
Michelle Runnels, the wife of Dusty Rhodes, was at the show yesterday.
Vince McMahon turns 70 today. He may get to sleep on Wednesday.
Linda McMahon attended SummerSlam and is at Raw today.
We’ve got an interview on the front page of the site with A.J. Styles talking the G-1 Climax tournament. Styles meets Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title in the main event of the King of Pro Wrestling show on 10/12 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Besides Kazuchika Okada, also backstage from New Japan at SummerSlam included Jushin Liger, Gedo, Tiger Hattori and Naoki Sugabayashi.
NXT Takeover was the No. 2 trending topic in Japan on Twitter at one point. The Hardcore fans were really unhappy they couldn’t see Finn Balor in the main event, since the show didn’t air on TV in Japan and WWE network isn’t legally available there. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
Charles Oliveira’s injury that caused a stoppage to his main event fight with Max Holloway on last night’s UFC show just 1:39 into the fight, was reported by MMAJunkie.com, citing a UFC P.R. source, as being a torn esophagus, which can be life threatening.
CBS Radio announced The Taz Show: Bodyslams and Beyond, will air for audio and video streaming from 7-9 a.m. every Monday through Friday starting on 9/14, from the CBS radio headquarters in New York. It will be available on-line starting at 10 a.m. daily. It will be a call-in show on news from around the world focusing on pro wrestling. This daily show will take the place of his weekly podcasts. Seth Neiman will co-host and produce the show.
Brian Cage will be a guest on the season premiere of From Dawn Till Dusk that airs at 9 p.m. tomorrow night on the El Rey Network.
Screen shots of the game and the WWE SuperCard game HERE and HERE
The season finale of Tough Enough is tomorrow night. It’s fan voting with ZZ vs. Josh and Amanda vs. Sara Lee, with each winner getting a one year contract for $250,000. As noted, Cesaro will be doing live matches with Josh and ZZ on the show.
Andy Hug, the legendary kickboxer who was the biggest star in that sport, passed away on this day in 2000
The former C.J. Parker in NXT debuts with New Japan Pro Wrestling on 9/4 under the name Juice Robinson.
We had a ton of complaints about streaming issues early in the show for SummerSlam, but nothing after the start of the show.
It will be interesting to see how the NXT four-way women’s match with Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Dana Brooke and Emma airs and how much gets edited on Wednesday. It was taped on Friday and the first part of the show before the live special aired was for Wednesday’s NXT show. The finish was botched as Lynch was not supposed to be pinned, but she didn’t kick out. The impression we were given is that she was supposed to be saved by one of the heels and the person who was to save her wasn’t there. The ref, doing his job, counted the pin as that is WWE rules is you can’t as a shoot and if it’s a botch, then so be it.
I Believe in Wrestling from Saturday night in Orlando: Josh Parker b Josh Hess, Mark Silva b Ace Andrews, Brandon Scherer b Derrick Jordan, Tyranus b Chico Adams, Mike Patrick & Leo Brien b Jody Kristofferson & Gabriel Black, Rhett Giddins b Aaron Epic. Next show is 9/5.
NWA Florida Underground on Tuesday in Brandon, FL at the Yucatan Bar and Grill.
CWE has a TV taping on Friday night in Vero Beach at the Indian River Fairgrounds Expo Center.
Kissimmee Pro Wrestling on 8/29 at the Wandaliz Arena with formerly known as Ricardo Rodriguez and Santana Garrett.
Trainwreck was No. 3 at the box office this weekend in Australia.
Legacy Wrestling from Saturday night in Palmyra, PA for a Legacy vs. CZW show: Laszlo Arpad b Sean Carr, Tim Donst b Mark Angel, Jason Raditz & Eddie Page b TH Mathis & Malek, Matt Cross b David Starr, JT Dunn b Jon Gresham, Eddie Smooth b Lio Rush and Facade, Kimber Lee b Solo Darling, AR Fox b Shane Strickland.
Jay Skillet of wXw, who wrestled last on 8/8, woke up the next morning in great pain and was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his lumbar spine and a cracked disc in his tailbone. he was advised to retire from the ring, but he is wanting to return after physical therapy.
Great Canadian Wrestling on 10/3 in Oshawa, ONT at the Harmony Creek Community Hall.
NEW from Friday night in El Paso before 250 to 300 fans: Piranita b Super Mario, Pierre Montero b The American, Super Can & Zodiaco b Aydan Colt & Minotauro, Steampunk b Tirano. The main event will be rematched on 9/4 (thanks to Albert Cerda)
CIW from Saturday night in Jackson, MI: Jack Thriller b Mojo McQueen, Princess Tensai b Shayla Hyde, Bane b Baku, Chuck Wagon b Renzo Lavell, Andy Chene DCOR Grizzly House Jones, Shane Douglas & Apocalypse b Mike Knox & Malice, Phil Nitro Monohan b Greg Valentine in a dog collar match (thanks to Leonard Brand)
CTWE on 9/19 in Stratford, CT a the Baldwin Center with Rhyno vs. Antonio Thomas, plus Johnny Gargano Shane Strickland, Brian Fury and Slyck Wagner Brown.
Chaotic Wrestling Breaking Point on 10/17 in Stoneham, MA at the Stoneham High School They also have shows on 9/11 in Woburn, MA at the Elks Lodge and 9/19 in Waltham, MA at the Waltham American Legion at 3 p.m.
Lucha Toronto from yesterday in Toronto: Mr. 450 (Puerto Rico star) & Lince Dorado & Rich Swann b Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik & Amasis, John Greed b Aiden Prince, Shelly Martinez & Movado b Idris Abraham & Alexia Nicole, Jay Cruz & Eddie Rios b Vaughan Vertigo & Gabriel Fuerza, Carter Mason b Pinkie Sanchez, Ricky Reyes b JAKA (thanks to Steven Ashe)
An interview with CMLL luchador Marco Corleone, talking Anniversario, Los Ingobernables vs El Bufete del Amor, working vs Undertaker, his whiplash injury from 2015, CMLL mascot violence, his entrance music, his new clothing line (gongut.com) and more. Also, thecubsfan talks Atlantis vs Sombra, the return of Dr Wagner and LA Park, En Busca de un Idolo final, Lucha Underground, the Cubs’ wild card chances and more.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1986 – Dandy beat Javier Cruz to win the NWA welterweight title
1986 – Fishman beat Villano III in Mexico City to win the WWF light heavyweight title
1989 – Reuben Amada beat Erika Shishedo, who later became Aja Kong, to win the Japanese jr. title, while Mitsuko Nishiwaki beat Madusa in the finals of the Grand Prix singles tournament
1991 – Mark Starr beat Ricky Fuji to win the AWA light heavyweight title
1993 – Super Delfin beat Great Sasuke in Tokyo to win the UWA welterweight title
1994 – Manami Toyota beat Kyoko Inoue in Tokyo to win the WWWA title
2011 – Demus 3:16 beat Pierrothito in Mexico City to win a CMLL minis tournament
The Big Takeaway: As expected, a newsworthy show to kick off the final quarter of the year. Sting made his return in the main event segment, jumping Seth Rollins to set up the main event for Night of Champions. The Dudley Boyz made a surprising return to set up a feud with the New Day over the tag team titles. Braun Stowman debuted as the newest member of the Wyatt Family. John Cena gave Jon Stewart an AA. And there was a MizTV segment so wretched it killed the Divas Revolution momentum dead. I mean, graveyard dead.
Show Recap:
The show opened with HHH talking with Seth Rollins in the lobby of WWE headquarters. HHH showed Rollins the statues of Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior. Surprisingly, the Warrior statue did a more coherent promo than the real thing. HHH told Rollins that tonight, the statue of Rollins would be unveiled.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman said he was the pissed-off advocate of the ripped-off Beast of the Barclays. Heyman showed the footage of the Undertaker tapping out to Lesnar’s Kimura, then compared the myth that the Undertaker is immortal with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
Heyman said Lesnar didn’t blame the referee (he couldn’t say the name Charles Robinson. More of those Vince McMahon mental gymnastics again) or the timekeeper. He brought up the Undertaker collapsing backstage. When he said he has enough material to fill up an entire 3-hour Raw, the crowd chanted “Yes.”
Heyman said Lesnar wanted to fight the Undertaker one more time, and he didn’t want to wait until the Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. He wanted it tonight.
Of course, that didn’t happen. Bo Dallas came out as the sacrificial lamb, complete with white tights. Dallas told Lesnar that last night, he passed out against the Undertaker. The good news was he woke up after having sweet dreams, like eventually bating the Undertaker. All he had to do was Bo-Lieve.
Four laps around Suplex City for Dallas and Lesnar left. Then Heyman talked Lesnar into one more, which he delivered. Brock left again, then Heyman asked Lesnar for one more for him. Brock finally hit the F-5 as Heyman shouted that Brock Bo-Lieves.
The New Day’s ring entrance included Xavier Woods playing a trombone singing a song to the tune of “New York, New York” entitled “New Day, New Day.” They still have to be heels even though the fans are now chanting “New Day Rocks.” Michael Cole told Titus O’Neal and Darren Young to listen to the fans, who I guess were supposed to be chanting something derogatory to New Day. Instead, they chanted “That was awesome.”
The New Day (C) defeated Lucha Dragons in a nontitle match (6:15)
Big E. pinned Kalisto with the Midnight Hour. As Big E. got the pin, Woods started playing “Taps” on the trombone.
After the pin, the Dudley Boyz came out for a surprise appearance and cleaned house on each member of the New Day. Woods took the Wazzup. Cole tried to pretend it was the first time the Dudleys had done Wazzup in 10 years. Then they did the 3-D on Woods through a table. Huge reaction for the Dudleys, who then started jawing with the Prime Time Players.
Jon Stewart is set to explain his actions in last night’s Rollins-Cena match tonight.
Cena was honored in a very nice piece granting his 500th Wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was profiled on ESPN, CBS News, and the Today Show he co-hosted. The young man who was honored was shown at ringside.
HHH and Stephanie McMahon caught a glimpse of the Rollins statue. It showed him adorned with both belts. He looked like a taller Daniel Bryan statue with a thinner beard. Rollins walked in before he could see the statue and talked about how much respect those around WWE headquarters have for the authority, feeling the company is better off with them in it. Stephanie said they feel the same about Rollins. He left as they got ready for the ceremony later tonight.
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper by DQ (10:37)
Roman Reigns had Bray Wyatt pinned after a Superman Punch when the Wyatt’s segue caused the lights to go on. When they came back on, a man under a black goat’s mask with a huge upper body was on the apron. The man took off the mask. He was never identified, but it was Braun Stowman, who was put over as the latest monster heel. Reigns and Ambrose kicked and punched him, but Stowman no-sold everything. He gave both Reigns and Ambrose Samuel Shaw’s old head-and-arm choke finisher. I hope his character goes a lot better than that one. Stowman posed with Bray and Luke as the Wyatt Family is a trio again.
MizTV welcomed Paige, Charlotte and Becky as guests. Charlotte said the Four Horseman were the greatest faction in WWE history. Crowd sounded confused over that one. Miz and Charlotte traded barbs about Ric Flair.
Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch had some lame attempts at comedy before Team Bella came out. This was just awful. Nikki said it didn’t matter who won or lost the SummerSlam match because she was 15 days away from becoming the longest reigning Divas champion of all time. Nikki has spent too much time copying the bad aspects of her boyfriend’s interviews. As Brie Bella and Alicia Fox spoke, crowd chanted for Lana.
When Miz scolded the Divas that when his hand goes up, their mouths go shut, the fans actually popped. Miz scolded Team PCB for wrestling like a bunch of girls. That led to PCB ganging up on Miz. But Team Bella jumped Team PCB. JBL said they were about to have a trios match. Didn’t Nikki just say last night’s match didn’t matter? So wouldn’t I be crazy to care about this one? All I know is Vince Verhei is likely gearing up for a walk right now.
Team Bella defeated Team PCB (14:06)
An unmitigated disaster. Fox pinned Paige after an Ax kick following a cheap shot from Nikki. Crowd was totally dead, then started giving the match the Randy Orton-Sheamus treatment from 2 years ago. They did the wave. They chanted “We are awesome.” It went two long segments. Even worse, Charlotte appeared to be injured as she couldn’t stand up near the end. All the momentum from the NXT debut from five weeks ago is long gone.
Just as strange, Stardust and King Barrett were supposed to team together. For some reason, Stardust turned on Barrett, giving him the Queen’s Crossbow. Neville came down and cleaned house on Stardust, teasing the Red Arrow. But Stardust escaped. No crowd heat at all as the Divas’ segment will be the death of this show until some main eventers show up.
Stewart, complete with Stewart Section signs and “Thank you, Stewart” chants, came out. He’s growing a heel beard now, but he got a babyface reaction for turning on Cena. He said he helped Rollins because he didn’t want Cena to tie Flair’s record of 16 World Championships. This brought out Flair. Stewart did portions of the Jackie Fargo strut as Flair came down.
Flair told Stewart that he had messed up everything. Then Cena came out. Cena chastised Stewart for costing him the U.S. title. Stewart tried to talk him into fighting Rollins again for the U.S. title. Cena said that was for another night, but tonight he was going to have to do what he had to do. So he gave Stewart an AA. $5 will get you $10 that spot gets on Fox News tomorrow. Stewart never broke character here and was helped up to a round of applause.
Renee Young talked with Cena, who said he felt what he did was right. Cena said he would talk to Rollins later tonight.
Randy Orton, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback defeated Kevin Owens, Sheamus, The Big Show and Rusev (17:52)
Randy Orton pinned Sheamus with the RKO after the Big Show accidentally hit Sheamus with the Knockout punch. Among the highlights were Kevin Owens and Ryback engaging in a punching exchange like they were Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama. Lana came out in a bleached jean skirt. I could have sworn she walked straight off the set of a Whitesnake video. In the same vein, the new, skinnier Dolph Ziggler is wearing long sequined pants with black gloves. If the territories were still around, he’d be billing himself as a cousin of Shawn Michaels.
Postmatch, Owens and Rusev got mad at Big Show for costing their team the match, so they attacked him. Owens gave Show the Cannonball. The face team got back in the ring after Big Show got up. You would think this would lead to Show’s latest face turn. Instead, Ziggler gave him a superkick, while Cesaro and Ryback picked Show up so Orton could give him an RKO. Maybe Show really is retiring.
Wyatt did an interview saying the latest member of the Wyatt Clan was indeed named Braun Stowman.
Stephanie and HHH confronted Cena about slamming Stewart, a man he outweighed by 100 pounds. Cena said he was about to take a step up in weight class when he confronts Rollins tonight. Stephanie said he wouldn’t get the chance, and two security guards escorted Cena out of the building. Stephanie gave him the “You can’t see me” signal. So Stephanie was a heel tonight. Vegas should keep odds on this weekly.
HHH and Stephanie came out. Stephanie wished her father a Happy 70th Birthday and they actually led the crowd in singing “Happy birthday to you.” Stephanie appeared a little choked up. Crowd wanted Vince to come out, and HHH joked that he’s really pissed off right now.
HHH did a long speech about how Rollins is a winner who can outwork and overachieve his way to success. Rollins came out as the first man to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and U.S. Championship at the same time.
Rollins said he was joining the Mt. Rushmore of the WWE. Still funny to think of the Warrior on the Rushmore. Rollins said he became a legend last night after defeating Cena, and with the unveiling of the statue, he become immortal. Rollins said Cena has reached the heights he’s reached by working every day of his life for the past ten years, but to be the man you have to be the man. Rollins proclaimed himself the man.
When the time came to unveil the statue, underneath the curtain was Sting. HHH and Stephanie took off, while Sting sent Rollins packing after three punches. Sting closed the show by posing with the WWE Heavyweight belt. The crowd was probably tired, but the reaction to Sting was noticeably less than that of the Dudleys.
SUMMARY: The return of Sting would have meant a lot more if he had defeated HHH at WrestleMania. Now, it’s hard to really care because we’ve seen repeated examples of the WWE creative team not knowing how to use a talent cultivated in another company. In fact, Sting fell victim to it earlier this year.
This show had a great first hour. The announcers played the Dudleys return like it was a huge deal and Stowman like the next monster.
However, the WWE has an ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and they’ve certainly done that with the Divas Revolution. Tonight’s MizTV segment will go down as one of the year’s worst, one that threatens to push the entire division back into also-ran category. Contrast that to the Bailey-Sasha Banks match from just 48 hours ago–in the same building, from the same company–speaks volumes about WWE creative and its inability to create new stars, much less create revolutions.
Here’s the full set of Global Force Wrestling Amped TV tapings results and spoilers, taped Friday night at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Orleans Arena. There is still no word on when these will actually come to a TV or screen near you.
In no particular order:
– GFW Tag Team titles tourney match: Kenny King and Joey Ryan def. Cielo Misteriosio
– GFW Tag Team titles tourney match: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated Lance Hoyt and Davey Boy Smith Jr.
– P.J. Black & The Akbars def. Los Luchas and Sonjay Dutt
– GFW Global Championship tourney match: Shelton Benjamin def. JR Kratos
– GFW Global Championship tourney match: Eric Young defeated Bobby Roode
– GFW NEX-GEN title tourney match: TJ Perkins def. Andrew Everett
– GFW NEX-GEN title tourney match: Virgil Flynn def. Trevor Lee
– GFW Women’s title tourney match: Amber Gallows def. Katarina Waters & Laura James. Anderson and Gallows were at ringside and did a pro Gallows promo.
– Kevin Kross def. Joey Ryan
Promos and other notes:
– Pre-show, they paid tribute to Roddy Piper.
– Chael Sonnen did an in-ring promo, demanding a match.
– Amber Gallows interrupted a Karen Jarrett promo
– Eric Young interrupted a Bobby Roode promo, but Roode ended up beating him up.
– Sonnen and Chris Masters did a promo which brought Nick (Magnus) Aldis out. Masters beat him down. Former MMA fighter Phil Baroni started jawing at Sonnen from the crowd and jumped the rail, but security held him back.
– Jeff Jarrett came out and cut a promo thanking the fans.
Thumbs in the Middle Best Match: Undertaker v Lesnar (until the ending) Worst Match: Miz v Big Show v Ryback
This PPV would have been a clear thumbs up, but I feel like the ending for a lot of the key matches tainted the overall PPV experience. I was expecting Reigns to turn on Ambrose at the end of their tag match and it didn’t happen. So I wonder where they’re going next with these two. The Divas revolution seems to really have done a 360; we’re back to where we started. The match was very lackluster and is a stark contrast to the women’s match on the NXT special last night.
The Rusev v Ziggler countout ending seemed pretty anticlimactic but I suppose they’re building to a mixed tag team match on the next PPV.
The Cena v Rollins match was a great showcase, again for Rollins talents. Cena, although booed at first, really seemed to turn the crowd with his performance as well. I don’t think it needed the swerve ending, so I hope there’s a good explanation on Raw. Perhaps he didn’t want someone tying Ric Flair’s title record? That’s the first thing I thought. Other than that, going in, I thought that Rollins was going to win, only because I could really see him bragging the hell out of holding two titles and being the best champion ever.
The Taker v Lesnar match was fantastic, again, up until the ending. Compared with their Wrestlemania match, the stakes seemed higher and emotions seemed more intense and it really showed in both performances. I still don’t know what to think of the ending. It seemed like a botch at first. And then it turned out it wasn’t. So really, Brock did get screwed. Is this to build to an Undertaker final heel run? WIth this ending and all the low blows he’s been using lately, one would think so. But it’s Undertaker and perhaps those conventions don’t apply.
Overall, it was a thumbs in the middle, but it would have been up were it not for one too many shitty endings.
Thanks for all the work Dave!
Jeff Lam
Toronto, Ontario
Thumbs upBest match: Rollins v CenaWorst match: Ryback/Show/Miz Good show, but some strange finishes. A double count-out, a celebrity run-in, and a timekeeper’s “mistake”…and the one match I thought for sure would end with a screwjob (Reigns/Ambrose v Wyatts) ends with a clean pin and no turn. I’m a bit perplexed about the Jon Stewart angle. That wasn’t the match I thought he’d be getting involved in, given the build-up. Incidentally, no one should be selling for a guy of Jon Stewart’s size even if he has a chair. I’m game to see how they explain the Taker/Lesnar finish on Monday…especially considering the thousands of visual pinfalls and submissions we’ve seen in wrestling that don’t matter a bit. What I really want to mention here, though, is what a lousy experience we had watching this on the Network. Lots of graininess and freezes, especially early on, and some skipping a few seconds back and forth throughout the evening. Given that I don’t watch the network for historic content anymore (way too much buffering, and not nearly enough content added lately), and could care less about their crop of new shows, I’m left paying an average of $30 per PPV for the ones I watch. Would I pay around twice that to have those events delivered to me in a way that’s always been in high quality? I haven’t yet, but one more experience like this and I just might. So much for the phenomenal value of the Network.
D Koormon
Thumbs in the middle
Best Match: PTP v. New Day v. Matadores v. Lucha Dragons
Worst Match: Big Show v. Ryback v. The Miz
For all the promotion Summerslam received, I expected a bigger and more dramatic show. The two disputed finishes in the WWE Title and Lesnar v. Taker matches really hurt the show. To put it another way, the “Too Big For WrestleMania” tagline could have also been, “Big Commercial For Wrestlemania.” WWE put on a bunch of pretty good wrestling matches tonight, but the quality was on par with Raw or Smackdown main events (omitting the very good tag match and the title match).
This is the third match in a row where the Undertaker looks and fights like a nostalgia act. His moves look less and less like wrestling moves and more like weird looking spots. Lesnar has to climb the ropes and wait because Undertaker needs to hit the Last Ride spot. Lesnar needs to bend over and wait with his arm draped nonchalantly over the Undertaker’s torso because the Hell’s Gate spot is next. I would think that at some point the fans would reject a wrestler who paces around for a minute to catch his breath after every move, but it hasn’t happened yet and maybe it never will.
Casey Goldman
HI Dave
Some Summerslam feedback for the site:
Thumb: In the middle
Best Match: Cena vs Rollins
Worst: IC Title 3 way
This is the first WWE PPV I’ve bought since the 2014 Summerslam. Quite the mixed bag. The opening with Stewart and Foley was Thunder level rubbish. Why this was on my PPV I don’t know. What exactly did it accomplish? Is Foley getting killed on Raw tomorrow by Rollins? And then came out Orton and Sheamus, two workers who need to leave my TV for at least a year. I just don’t care about either guy, and a **1/2 match won’t change that. Tag Team fourway was damn fine thou, best bout of the non main events. Rusev vs Ziggler was a fun 10 minutes. The ICT match isn’t worth talking about, while the Arrow match was fine for what is was.. Cena and Rollins were having an excellent fight until the silly John Stewart “turn”. Clearly they needed far more time rehearsing that with him, since he blew the spot. But beyond that, why should I care if a middle aged guy attacks Cena? I guess it serves as a way out, because God forbid Cena could lose clean. Not sure a clean loss would have been worse than losing because a talk show host hit you with a soft chair shot. Would have been ****+ but that finish brings it down. No doubt this gets Stewart in their HOF come 2017.Moving on, the women all try hard, but it’s like watching ballet rather than something akin to a fight. Owens-Casero should have gone on it the ICT title slot, would have been a gem if the crowd weren’t burnt out. Taker vs Lesnar was a great spectacle, but again the ending takes it down quite abit. Too clever by half, and this is the big angle for WM2016? Vince needs to give us Rock vs Brock in Dallas. In the end the PPV was decent, but far too long, and at $30+ in the UK, I really don’t believe I got value for money. I can’t see myself purchasing another for a while. But hey the G1 was great, eh? Geoff Johnston
Hi Dave, Just wanted to give my 2 cents on the Taker/Brock match. I thought it was such a botched finish to an otherwise really good and stiff looking match (which is what people wanted to see originally at WM30 after their kayfabe UFC confrontation). The finish was sooooo butchered, it was right up there with Sting vs Hogan @ Starrcade IMO. *IF* you’re going to do that finish you have to have the perfect camera angles and posititioning. Taker’s arm needs to be in a position where the time keeper can see it, while the ref is on the other side of him and doesn’t. The audience needs to see Taker tapping, so you’re sitting at home going “HE’S TAPPING!”, then the bell rings and you’re fooled into thinking Brock has legitimately won. Then the ref does the whole “I never called for the bell” thing. Instead, it came off as a screwjob fast count as Charles Robinson was in the middle of a pin-count, so nobody is thinking about a submission in that moment – and of course the announcers were clueless as always and had no idea what was going on either. Compare this to a similar finish from Rock vs Benoit @ Fully Loaded 2000 and see how flawlessly this was executed in terms of timing, camera angles, ref positioning, etc. It’s night and day. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz5063_the-rock-vs-chris-benoit-fully-loaded-2000-wwf-championship_sport Tim Dudley in Toronto
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Rollins vs. Cena
Worst: Rusev vs. Ziggler
I thought that every match on the show served its purpose. I know we’re supposed to boo New Day, but it’s hard to do that when they are as entertaining as they are right now. Rollins would have completely stolen the show with a clean win among wrestling fans, but having Stewart help him means more for mainstream exposure in the long run. All of the finishes made good sense. No match was really bad, but the Rusev/Ziggler match, while it builds to a mixed tag or something along those lines, just felt like the one that was the most “there” with no one really looking forward to the follow-up.
Jason Hanes
Woodstock, Ga.
NXT & SummerSlamNXT TakeoverThumbs Up: Overall just good but the fans made it great. NXT is like the combination of Japanese booking with the over the top characters and gimmicks of WWE in the 80’s. Everyone has a role and they act according to that, can’t say the same about RAW or Smackdown.Best Match: Bayley vs. BanksWorst Match: None 1. Liger vs. Breeze. Fine opener. Crowd seems to know Liger’s move which is odd to in a sense. *** 2. Vaudevillians vs. Blake & Murphy. The hot crowd really helped this one. Both teams are good. ***1/4 3. Crews vs. Dillinger. WWE should be very carefull with Crews, he has the potential to be the black star that they are lacking. ** 4. Joe vs. Corbin. Slow at times but fine overall. **1/4 5. Bayley vs. Sasha. The best women match since the glory days of All Japan Women in the mid 90’s. Bayley has the best underdog act in the business and Sasha is just a complete performer. The post match was even better. It’s a shame that WWE blew the debut of Sasha (and Charlotte and Becky) on the main roster with Stephanie telling them what to do like girl scouts. ****1/2 6. Balor vs. Owens. Very good match but they couldn’t follow the women. Plus the dynamic wasn’t the best as the heel, Owens, was the one chasing the title and that never works as good as the other way around. ***3/4 ===================SummerSlamThumbs in the Middle. Overall good but some of the matches didn’t deliver as expected. Best Match: Rollins vs. CenaWorst Match: Divas 3-way 1. Sheamus vs. Orton. Good but this was helped by being the opening match, in any other position this would had got the boring chant treatment. *** 2. New Day vs. PTP vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Matadores. Sometimes luck is better than talent, and that’s exactly what happened with WWE and the New Day gimmick; it started as a borderline offensive stereotype and now is the only hot was act in the tag division. Match was all action and fun. ***1/2 3. Ziggler vs. Rusev. Fine but nothing more. Hope this feud ends with Lana back with Rusev. **1/44. Stephen Amell & Neville vs. Barrett & Stardust. Amell looked fine by outsiders standards. Hard to rate this one. *3/4 5. Ryback vs. Show vs. Miz. Average in every sense of the word. ** 6. Ambrose & Reigns vs. Wyatt & Harper. Lots of spots but not real heat. The more they push Reigns the more fans hate him. **3/4 7. Rollins vs Cena. Show stealing performance by Rollins. He is right there for the MVP Award, or at least best in the ring since nobody means anything when it comes to the business aspect except for Cena. Seth delivered a five stars match but Cena took it down, his punches are terrible and he missed the Stunner spot by a mile. ****1/2 8. PCB vs. Team Bella vs. BAD. My God this was boring and pointless. This whole Diva Revolution deal is just a weak excuse for a real change. They didn’t get any reaction here, which is saying something as it was the same building that Sasha and Bayley steal the show the day before. After the post match deal on NXT, I thought that they would drop the whole stables thing and go with a NXT women vs. Total Divas feud. Sadly, it didn’t happened. I think it’s just a matter of time before the fans turned on them. And I’m usually right about that stuff. It seems that WWE is waiting for Mania to pull the trigger on Charlotte, and if that’s their plan it won’t work since it’s expected that Ronda will be there with Step (in any role) and there is no way that those two are going to be outperformed; so it doesn’t matter what the regulars do, on that day, all eyes would be on Ronda and they will just be an afterthought. *1/2 9. Owens vs. Cesaro. Why this was booked so late on the show is anyone guess. This same match could had steal the show if early on the show. If they switch places with the opener no one could have follow but here it was just good. ***1/4 10. Undertaker vs. Lesnar. This was great until the finish. The rematch is just a matter of time, so no Sting or Cena for Taker. ***1/2
On not getting to fight Conor McGregor at the end of this seasons TUF
“You know, it’s interesting. I actually – you know Cruz and I don’t really like each other, Conor and I have a, you know, a funny relationship. We like to talk crap to each other, but I actually think he’s a decent dude. And I think as a competitor, I think he’s a guy that likes to win and so makes for a good competition. I was pretty pumped about it.”
Urijah explains his relationship with McGregor
“Well I mean, we’ve had it on a couple occasions where we start talking and start [getting] into physical confrontations. But I think it’s [that] both of us like to, I mean were both fighters and just, you know, when personal space gets invaded. But I mean never really cross the line. Like tempers never flared too bad, etcetera. He can take a joke, I can dish it out and take a joke as well, and so there’s a lot of banter back and forth, and hopefully down the line some sort of fight between us.”
On Urijah sounding like he’s almost friends at this point with Conor like they have a brotherly bond going on
“Ahhh I don’t know about that. You’ll have to check out the show and judge for yourself.”
On if Urijah is looking to fight Conor in the future
“Yeah, I mean I got into this sport to fight all the best guys, and I think match-up wise, as much he is in denial about it, his grappling was exposed a little bit. And he’s a big, strong guy for the weight class. He knows how to stay in it, he knows how to capitalise, but you know, our guy Chad [Mendes] rolled off the couch and basically had his way with him on the ground. So I think it’s a good match up.”
“It’s a good match up for me and it’s a fight that we don’t know if it’s gonna happen, but I’d be all for it.”
Urijah explains his comments in a previous interview that Conor likes the back and forth until he gets manhandled
“Both times we’ve got into it physically it’s been, you know, he seems okay like putting his hands on me, and then I put my hands on him and then we start moving around a little bit and, you know, [at this point] we’re just getting to know each other. We don’t really know [each other]. We see each other in passing, etcetera, and this is the first time we’ve been forced to be in each other’s presence every day. So I think that was pretty accurate. It hasn’t really happened again since the first two times, but I would say that was accurate.”
If Urijah thinks the manhandling from the run-ins would translate in a fight with Conor
“Well I mean, here’s the honest truth, I’m a former champion, top contender for my entire career, I’m a very durable guy, but I have the most submissions in Pride, UFC and WEC history. So that’s one of the things I’ve excelled at, and that’s one of the things that Conor – and from what I’ve seen and from his past, he’s got two losses that are from submissions. We saw the way Chad was able to handle him on the ground. So for me it’s a good match up. Now is Conor a dangerous guy? He’s probably about, maybe 20 pounds heavier than I am walking around, which means I’ll probably be a little faster, he may be a little stronger. But it would be a dangerous fight of course, but for both of us. I’m confident I can submit him and I’m sure he feels like he can knock me out, and we both have trained in the other guy’s strengths. So I think it will make an interesting matchup.”
If Urijah plans on fighting at 145 and when he will fight again
“There’s been talk about a couple of different names that I can’t mention because it’s not official, but there’s talk about having me fight in December, I think December 11th, the day before Conor and Aldo fight. It’s not 100 percent sure though. And yeah the weight cut is terrible, but this is the highest level of mixed martial arts and you have to sacrifice at times. So I feel like I compete really well at 145 and 135. So it depends on the fights that make the most sense, the pathway to where I wanna be, the pathway to making the most money out of this career. So I’m willing to stay at 145 and I’m willing to go down to 135. It’s just gonna be kind of dependant on what the future matchups are and I gotta have conversations with Joe Silva and Sean Shelby on that front.”
On if he thinks TJ Dillashaw will have a shot again Conor McGregor in a Super-fight
“Oh of course he would have a shot. I mean here’s the honest truth, Conor McGregor is very good, TJ Dillashaw is very good. When you look at different factors, here’s something that’s for sure. Conor is a much bigger guy than TJ, TJ is a much faster guy than McGregor, and speed is an important thing. Conor’s not slow, but TJ is much smaller. He’s not a huge for the weight class, TJ. So on top of his striking ability and the ability to wrestle – ’cause he’s a lifetime wrestler. His Dad was an All-American wrestler, his brothers are wrestlers. TJ is a more well-rounded fighter. I mean the x-factor there again comes into the power. Conor is a big, big guy for the weight class, but I mean this is the era to be seeing fights like that. And as far as money goes and getting a fight that would really showcase TJ, I think that’s a great fight as well.
On TJ having confrontations with McGregor
“It’s funny ’cause Conor and I have been around each other and have an interesting relationship, but him and TJ on two different occasions have gotten into it with things escalating to, you know, them kind of bad mouthing each other. So there’s a little tension there as well and I think that’s a good fight the fans would love to see.”
“One time TJ and Conor and I in the back of the Ronda Rousey fight in LA, we were in just a private little bar with celebrities and the UFC brass and words were exchanged, and TJ was talking about Conor’s title shot and Conor went back and forth and they were getting on each other’s nerves, really. So I think they ended up having to be split up a little bit. And then when TJ was on the show [Submission Radio].”
On if Chad has been in the gym and helping Team Faber in TUF
“You know, I spoke about the fact that Chad and I were raised different, and I think people were getting that miscued. Chad has been raised since he was five, six, years old by his awesome pop Alvino – ‘the great Alvino’ we call him – as like a lifetime competitor. Since he was a little kid he’s had the best coaches, he’s gone to big tournaments, he’s a pre-teen state national level wrestler, in junior high and high school he’s a stand-out wrestler in college, he’s a combatant and a national finalist. The guy values his time off. I didn’t start wrestling till I was 12 or 13, so I had to go, go, go. Chad has super valued his time off. An off-season in wrestling means that he gets to go hunting and fishing, but he needs those breaks to stay sane. So even in his fight game, when he’s off season he’s off season. So right now Chad is probably hot on the trails of some sort big game animal or dressed in some turkey feathers, hiding in a bush or trying to lasso a pig. I mean the guy is out hunting and that’s what his real passion is, in addition to being a competitor. So he’s loving life, Chad’s living the dream, man. He’s prepared to be a world champion and he’s enjoying his time off. So we haven’t seen him there in the gym this time around.”
On if there’s still some ill will towards Duane Ludwig after his Twitter comments
“You know, I’ve tried to keep it real personal because I don’t want to air dirty laundry necessarily, but it’s just kind of sad. Duane is a guy that was really, really down and out when I gave him a call, and I’ve just learned that dysfunction kind of follows that guy. So we’ve brought him into a great situation and really tried to hoist him up, and to see him bad-mouthing the team is kind of sad, you know? We’ve done a lot for him and he’s been out of our gym for maybe a year and a half, and to see a guy like talk about guys he hasn’t even been around for a year and a half like he knows what the heck they’re even up to is kind of strange. Especially guys that have really gone out of their way to help promote a guy, because he was pretty emotional about how down and out he was at the time. So it’s just unfortunate, man. There’s some guys that, no matter the opportunity seem to stab themselves in the foot. And from my stand point, what I’ve seen from him, I don’t like the way he treats people. He’s a bully, he’s done things that have really rubbed me the wrong way as far as building a positive environment, and I feel bad for the people that are stuck with him, because he takes and he takes and he takes, and it’s not the way that I built my team and I don’t appreciate his negativity. So for me, I’m done with the guy.’
1944 – Kansas City, Kansas; MWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown and Les Wolfe drew at the midnight closing 1 fall a piece, Jimmy Coffield beat Jack Suzek in 2 out of 3 falls, Jack Hader beat Earl Wampler, Harold “Sonny” Myers defeated Larry Tilliman by dq
1955 – Don Leo Jonathan defeated Yvon Robért for the Montreal Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Title in Montreal, Quebec.
1956 – Eddie Gossett (Graham) and Art Neilson defeated Don and Red McIntyre for the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Titles
1960 – The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) defeated Lou and Red Bastien for the Capitol Wrestling United States Tag Team Title in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Eric Pederson defeated Joe Scarpa (Chief Jay Strongbow) to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title in Mobile, Alabama.
1961 – Pat O’Connor is awarded the NWA United States Heavyweight Title at the annual NWA meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The title had been vacant since Buddy Rogers won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from O’Connor on June 30.
1962 – Luther Lindsay defeated Fritz Von Goering for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
1963 – Tony Borne defeated Billy White Wolf to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title.
1964 Davenport, Iowa at Municipal Auditorium; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat The Crusher, Billy Red Cloud beat Larry Hennig and Mitsu Arakawa beat Sailor Art Thomas; Karl and Kurt Von Brauner defeated Al Perez and Tojo Yamamoto for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.
1966 – Neff Maivia defeated Ripper Collins in Honolulu, Hawaii to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title; Giant and Moose Evans defeated Luke Graham and Karl Von Brauner in Nashville, Tennessee to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title.
1970 – Johnny Walker and Tojo Yamamoto defeat The Interns for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.
1972 – Lord Alfred Hayes and Ricky Starr defeated Bobby Duncum and Dick Murdoch to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Title in Amarillo, Texas.
1973 – John Tolos defeated Victor Rivera for the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, California
1974 – Ricky Gibson and Steve Kovacs won the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title from Chris Gallagher and Don Kent in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1975 – The Crusaders (Billy Red Lyons and Dewey Robertson) defeated NWA Toronto International Tag Team Champions The Kelly Twins (Mike and Pat) to win the title in Toronto. Also, NWA Toronto United States Heavyweight Champion The Sheik defeated John Quinn to retain the title.
1977 – Dan Morrow and Bryan Turner defeated Kory Williams and Mike Woods for the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; In Miami, Florida; Rocky Johnson and Steve Keirn defeated Dutch Mantel and Buddy Roberts, NWA Florida Television Champion Pedro Morales defeated Pat Patterson to retain the title, NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff defeated Don Muraco to retain the title and NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF Heavyweight Champion Superstar Billy Graham by disqualification to retain the title.
1978 – Wahoo McDaniel defeated The Spoiler to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Jacksonville, Florida.
1979 – Georgia Championship Wrestling held a 14-man tournament in Augusta, Georgia for the vacant NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title. Killer Karl Kox defeated Bob Armstrong to win the vacant NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title; Dick Slater defeated The Mongolian Stomper for the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Knoxville, Tennessee.
1981 – Jerry Lawler defeated The Dream Machine in a No Disqualification match for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee. At the same show, Bugsy McGraw defeated Steve Keirn to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title.
1984 – Chicky Starr defeated Eric Embry to win the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Junior Heavyweight Title reign in San Antonio, Texas.
1986 – Fishman defeated Villano III to win the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico. At the same event, El Dandy won the NWA World Welterweight Title by defeating Javier Cruz.
1987 – Don Bass defeated Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.
1990 – The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) defeated NWA United States Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) to win the title in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Also on the card, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting pinned Ric Flair to retain the title, NWA United States Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger defeated Mark Callous to retain the title and NWA World Tag Team Champions Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton).
1991 – Mark Starr defeated Ricky Fuji in Tokyo, Japan for the FMW version of the AWA World Light Heavyweight Title.
1992 – Miss Texas defeated USWA Women’s Champion Lauren Davenport to win the title in Memphis, Tennessee. Also, USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gilbert defeated Chris Adams to retain the title and USWA Tag Team Champions Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler defeated The Moondogs (Cujo and Spike) to retain the title.
1994 – Ricky Steamboat pinned WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Steve Austin to win the title in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Clash of the Champions and Ric Flair (with Sensuous Sherri) defeated WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) by countout.
2002 – 3PW held a one night tournament to determine a heavyweight champion in Philadelphia, PA, Gary Wolfe defeated Christian York to become the first 3PW Heavyweight Champion.
2002 – ROH held an event in Boston, Mass which saw ROH Heavyweight Champion Low Ki defeat A.J. Styles to retain the title.
2003 – At SummerSlam in Phoenix, Arizona; World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defeated Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match to retain the title, WWE Champion Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar by submission to retain the title and Kane pinned Rob Van Dam in a No Holds Barred match.
2007 – In Hartford, Conn; ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima defeated Brent Albright and Claudio Castagnoli in a three-way Elimination match to retain the title, – Roderick Strong defeated Jack Evans in a Steel Cage match and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) defeated El Generico and Kevin Steen in a Steel Cage match to retain the title.
UFC Fight Night 74 ended with a whimper on Sunday night. Max Holloway extended his win streak to seven straight, and he now has ten wins in the UFC at just 23-years-old. It wasn’t the way he wanted to win as his opponent Charles Oliveira suffered a neck injury just 99 seconds into the bout, and was stretchered out of the Octagon following the fight. Holloway was looking good on his feet before the injury, but without a satisfying ending, it remains to be seen whether Holloway is ready to fight for a title.
The UFC’s debut in Saskatoon may have had a disappointing ending, but there was some solid action on the card. Neil Magny and Patrick Cote were among the winners on the main card, and as we move past UFC Fight Night 74, it is time to play matchmaker and come up with some fights to make in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 74.
Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
Max Holloway was able to take home the win in the main event of UFC Fight Night 74, scoring a TKO victory over Charles Oliveira after Oliveira suffered a neck injury very early in the fight. While it was not the type of win Holloway was looking for, it still extended his win streak to seven and keeps him in the top five of the UFC’s featherweight rankings. He’s ready for the next level of competition and a title eliminator bout, and that means one man right now- Frankie Edgar. Edgar is, without a doubt, next in line for a shot at the UFC Featherweight Championship when the saga between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor ends. However, he isn’t going to sit around and wait and wants to remain active. Holloway is the right fight for him to take at this time, and it would be a fine addition to a December card in Las Vegas, whether it be a main card bout for UFC 194, or even a headliner for the TUF 22 Finale.
Neil Magny vs. Rick Story
Neil Magny made a quick turnaround at UFC Fight Night 74, coming back 22 days after seeing his seven-fight win streak stopped by Demian Maia. It was a solid bounce back for Magny, who scored a split decision win over Erick Silva, who didn’t look like himself on Saturday night. The fight shouldn’t have even been a split decision and Magny was lucky he didn’t get robbed of a decision as he clearly won. Magny is now 8-1 in his last nine fights and is still a top-flight welterweight. He will definitely be back in action, likely sooner rather than later, this year, and a fight against the man he replaced on Sunday, Rick Story, looks to be a solid match-up. Story has won two straight fights and three of his last four, and both are similarly ranked. Story should be back in action before the end of the year.
Patrick Cote vs. Hector Lombard
Patrick Cote scored an impressive third-round technical knockout win over Josh Burkman in a fun fight at UFC Fight Night 74. Cote rocked Burkman several times throughout the fight, but Burkman showed heart in surviving. It was a battle in the final round and Burkman looked to have Cote hurt before Cote rocked Burkman with a right hand and finished him with more shots on the ground. It was Cote’s first stoppage win in the Octagon since 2008, but his resurgence since coming back has seen him win five of his last six fights. Cote is in line for a solid fight, and he called out a fighter in his post-fight interview- Hector Lombard. Lombard did call out Cote a while back, but is currently out of action until at least January due to a drug test failure. Cote let it be known he wants Lombard when he comes back, calling him a cheater in the process. Let’s get that fight booked for Lombard’s return.
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Francisco Trinaldo and Olivier Aubin-Mercier both picked wins on Sunday night at UFC Fight Night 74 and extended their win streaks in the process. Trinaldo picked up his fourth straight win when he became the first man to defeat former TUF winner Chad Laprise, finishing him by TKO in the first round. Aubin-Mercier scored his third straight win, going to a decision with Tony Sims. He wasn’t as impressive, only landing three significant strikes in the full 15 minutes, the least amount of significant strikes ever landed in that length of time. Aubin-Mercier only has eight fights in his career, but he is ready for the next level of competition. Trinaldo is that next level. It makes sense to book them against each other.
Valerie Letourneau vs. Joanne Calderwood
Valerie Letourneau remained undefeated in her UFC career as she moved to 3-0 inside the Octagon win an unanimous decision win over Maryna Moroz. It was the fourth straight win overall for Letourneau, and she has now won seven of her last eight fights. Her last loss came at the hands of Claudia Gadelha, who will next challenge for the title in the women’s strawweight division. Letourneau is ready for a step up in competition, so why not against the woman that was derailed by Moroz- Joanne Calderwood. Calderwood scored a win in her last fight and she is looking at getting back into contention. She has just one blemish on her career, to Moroz, and now that Letourneau has blemished Moroz’ career, she and Calderwood would be a solid booking.
