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  • Ask The Observer: Paul Heyman scripted promos, Roddy Piper racial promos

    By David Parker, Wrestling Observer

    Here is the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio mailbag where we post some of the questions asked during weekly Observer audio shows. Want to know if something’s been asked? These will be a good place to start. If you want to hear more questions and insight from Observer audio several times a week, subscribe now!

    Questions are asked by Bryan Alvarez or Mike Sempervive and are in bold, and primarily answered by Dave Meltzer unless otherwise noted.

    To what extent does Paul Heyman have his promos scripted for him?

    DM: They’re all scripted, but he has the right to…he works with the scriptwriters on his promo number one, so he has input on them, and number two, he doesn’t follow the script word-for-word at times. He’ll come up with things, and it’s fine because they know he’s got the instinct. Him, Jericho, John Cena, Triple H obviously, those kind of guys. They veer from the script. You obviously can tell with Cena because of all of the ad-lib stuff he does.

    When Roddy Piper first came to WWF (in) 1984, much of his act as a heel was probably considered racially insensitive by modern audiences (DM: Absolutely, and gay-bashing (and) racial bashing). Looking back on that on that era, the heel side in general was characterized by using race to get heat like Don Muraco, Mr. Fuji, Iron Sheik, David Schultz, among others. Why was this done, and did WWF ever get a backlash from the public?

    DM: I can’t say they ever got a significant backlash for anything like that. It was a different time. They were very much under the radar. Jesse (Ventura) got minor (backlash) for calling Koko Ware “buckwheat” when he ran for governor, but he still won the election. A lot of that wouldn’t fly today.

    MS: (Inaudible) and it came from the territorial days about getting heat, and it’s why there are a lot of people that look at wrestling as the lowest common denominator thing because there would be heels going to the lowest common denominator to get the heat, and you can go back and hear things come out of Stan Frazier’s mouth in Memphis and even watched just Memphis throughout the 80s at a time where other people were turning away from it. It was just a different place down there, and it was still acceptable to hit people with certain things verbally, and they did it, but if you think about like Eddie Murphy was the biggest comedian of that time…you know, I guess it’s the other F word that you can’t say anymore when it comes to gay people. I think he had two tracks on both Raw and Delirious. He had “(F******) Revisted” when it was just a different time, and I’m not saying that it was accepted at all mainstream or anything like that, but it was a lot looser back then in all aspects of everything, and it’s good that times…

    DM: It depended on who you were. If you were a politician, you (would) be dead.

    MS: Oh, absolutely. That’s still the way…

    DM: Look at Jimmy the Greek.

    MS: Yes. “Blacks are bred to be the better athlete.”

    DM: And he didn’t even use negative words. He just said that blacks were bred to be the better athlete, and he was dust, and we never saw him again.

    MS: No, and did you see the 30 for 30 (ESPN) did on him?

    DM: No, I did not.

    MS: It’s fantastic. It actually is really, really good, but boy, it tells that story, and he was abandoned (quickly), and there was nothing left of him, and he died penniless in Vegas, and it was a sad situation, and you’re absolutely right, that was the case. Wrestling, too, was as big as it was; again, I know this is no excuse, but times were just different.

    DM: You know, what’s funny was you didn’t need it because…

    MS: And Heenan was still doing it in the 90s, too. Not to jump in there too, but it was like when Chavo was fighting Eddie, and it’s just like (inaudible) and their mama’s so upset that beans are burning and someone’s stealing the tires off the house.

    DM: Yeah, well you could say (that about) the whole lie, cheat, steal thing and Cryme Tyme too, and that was was a lot later than that even, but…

    MS: Well, Hunter at WrestleMania (19).

    DM: Booker and Hunter, yeah. The thing that was weird was that I grew up here, and…it’s weird because in Los Angeles, John Tolos was very strong on race-baiting, but it wasn’t like verbiage that would get anyone in trouble. His race-baiting would be he would come out, eat tacos, and spit them all over the ring saying, “This food is horrible!” like that. I don’t remember swimming across the border stuff or anything like that. I mean, they probably did it. Up here, we never did anything. I just remember that when Ed Wiscoski made a remark about George Wells, who was a black wrestler who was actually from Oakland. He was a Canadian football star and a very good athlete, but anyway, and he made a remark about “He reminds me of a porter at the airport,” and that was the closest thing to a racial thing, and I just thought it was in the worst taste possible, because we went ten years before that without anything close to that happening here. I can’t remember anyone…

    MS: If that’s the case, he had to (have blown) your mind then when he came out as Col. DeBeers in the NWA. That was to me, even though there was a lot of race on commentary with Ventura and stuff like that, and they were using the localized promos, that for some reason was so stark compared to…

    DM: Yeah, but that was a groundbreaking thing that was also a big failure, because I remember AWA attendance just dropping like crazy when he would do that stuff. And he got tremendous heat in the buildings, but it was like that…you know what’s funny is the term “X-Pac heat,” and then people (say), “Oh, there’s no such thing as X-Pac heat,” and it’s like there is X-Pac heat, but I’m not sure X-Pac ever got it (laughs). I would watch him, and I never sensed…

    MS: People wanted him to F off, not really go away.

    DM: I never saw a situation where I watched Sean Waltman as a heel where it was “turn the channel off.” Now, was it necessarily always money-drawing heat? Maybe not, but was it negative? I never felt it was. People would say it, (but) I never felt it was. But Ed Wiskoski as Col. DeBeers, New Jack in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, without a doubt. There’s not even an argument that exists, and those are the prime examples that those were characters who got tremendous heat, but they kept people from going to the matches. I mean, absolutely.

    MS: If you want to go talk about a different age too, even though a lot of the times it would be on at midnight, (ESPN would replay) Legends of World Class and AWA during the day at four o’clock. Col. DeBeers-forget about like I think it was Fargo who had the swastika tattoo, and again, just something that was an oversight-but Col. DeBeers on ESPN doing that schtick, busting Snuka open, can you imagine that on ESPN now?

    DM: Oh, never. Yeah, it was just a different time.

    Do you think Diesel’s WWF Title reign would’ve been more profitable if his win wasn’t at a house show?

    DM: No. Absolutely makes no difference whatsoever. It was going to be exactly the same either way.

    Dave has mentioned (that) WWE freaked out over Cena’s merchandise sales going down post-Kevin Owens loss, which is why they rushed to get his win back so quickly. I don’t understand; if Cena’s merchandise went down, didn’t Owens’ merchandise go way up to compensate?

    DM: Owens sells a lot of t-shirts. The merchandise business for the quarter wasn’t bad, but the attendance figures are bad, so you can take it either way. Bad may be too strong, but they’re down ten percent, which is a legitimate drop.

  • UFC News: Werdum vs. Velasquez 2 is a go, final event & FOX show of ’15 announced

    – On UFC Tonight Wednesday, it was announced that the annual December big FOX show (originally set for 12/12) has been moved back one week to 12/19 at the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL. The reason for the change was the booking of the Conor McGregor/Jose Aldo featherweight unification fight for Saturday, 12/12 in Las Vegas.

    – Ariel Helwani reported on the show that Fabricio Werdum’s first heavyweight title defense will be against former champion Cain Velasquez. The date of the fight has not been confirmed.

  • UFC News: UFC decides on next heavyweight title fight

    Ariel Helwani reported on today’s UFC Tonight that Fabricio Werdum’s first heavyweight title defense will be against former champion Cain Velasquez.

    The date of the fight has not been confirmed.

  • WXW weekly news report

    By Markus Gronemann

    Shotgun revamped: YouTube show now 45 minutes, available in German, English and Czech

    Starting with episode 219 (8/5), wXw revamped Shotgun, their weekly YouTube show. From now on, episodes will now be about 45 minutes long and will be available in German, English and Czech. The German version is currently being moderated by Verena Fischer (Big Daddy Walter’s real-life girlfriend) and I guess Christian Michael Jakobi, once he returns from holiday. The English version is being moderated by Dutch wrestler Rico Bushido, while the Czech version is being moderated and translated by Michal Petrgal, who does commentary for the Czech version of WWE shows on Eurosport and is the local promoter for the company’s shows in the Czech Republic.

    The shows now feature more matches, there are summaries of some of the main storylines, including clips leading up to backstage segments and there will be subtitles for the international versions. Alan Counihan provides commentary for the matches in the English version, while Michal Petrgal does commentary for the Czech version. They also announce new matches and upcoming tour dates and feature a social corner, where fans can contribute to the show via social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). They developed the concept with input from Vince Russo and the first episode was pretty good and had a good mix of matches, promos, news and commercials for their upcoming events and merchandise.

    The shows in German and English are available at https://www.youtube.com/user/wXwGER, the Czech version can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/prowrestlingczech

    During the summer break, Shotgun also had some great free matches from the past, all featuring wrestlers who are now in WWE: Chris Hero vs. KENTA (Hideo Itami), Axel Tischer (Alexander Wolfe) vs. Eddie Edwards, PAC (Neville) vs. BxB Hulk and Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. All of those are well worth checking out!

    The wXw Wrestling Academy opens as a full-time wrestling school

    wXw recently announced that they will open a full-time wrestling school in Germany this fall, called the wXw Wrestling Academy. Walter Hahn (Big Daddy Walter) will be the head coach, while Kim Stübner (Kim Ray) and Tobias Schumacher (Toby Blunt) will be assistant trainers; both had also been trainers at the Westside Dojo. Another trainer is Severin Fernandez, who is a BJJ blue-belt under Milton Ferreira (Gracie Barra).

    They will have their own building in Essen, Germany that will also include their offices. The major difference to their Westside Dojo training facility will be that the school will operate full-time, while the Dojo only offered training on weekends (so wrestlers had to choose whether they wanted to attend the show at the weekends or attend training). Also, the school will be open for everybody, while the Dojo featured a try-out process and only accepted those who successfully completed a try-out.

    They ran a fund-raiser for the Academy on 8/8 where the wrestlers worked for free and fans could also donate money for the new operation. Long-time sponsor Moonsault.de also made a donation. The show featured all current wXw champions, Karsten Beck, Kim Ray and PROST (Mike Schwarz & Toby Blunt), all of whom are graduates of the Westside Dojo, the first time this is the case in wXw’s history. The event is already available for purchase at wXw’s VOD service on Vimeo.

    wXw ceases sale of DVDs, focuses on VOD via Vimeo

    In Germany, every DVD has to be rated; since wXw sold a lot of DVDs by international partners (ROH, PWG, CZW, etc.) none of them were rated in Germany, neither were wXw’s own DVDs; having them rated costs in the four-digit range for each disc, so is not feasible. They would have had to implement an 18+ section in their shop and users would have to prove their age via a method only available in post offices (called PostIdent). Also, shipping would only have been possible if they made sure only the person ordering got to accept the package. So they stopped selling DVDs in their online shop and will now focus on their VOD offerings on Vimeo and plan to launch their version of a “wXw Network” as soon as possible as Vimeo supports it or go with another partner. Their DVDs are still available internationally from Smart Mark Videos, but I don’t think they will release any DVDs from their events in the future.

    The More Than Wrestling Tour (January to June, 25 shows) and the upcoming 15th Anniversary Tour (30+ events, August through December) are available for just 99 euros on VOD as well. Older tours are as cheap as 80 euros for the whole package.

    wXw World Tag Team Tournament Lineup complete

    The World Tag Team Tournament from 10/2 to 10/4 will feature these teams:

    A Block (Friday):

    Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) from NJPW/ROH
    Young Lions (Lucky Kid & Tarkan Aslan), from GWF Berlin/Germany
    Hot & Spicy (Axel Dieter Jr. & Da Mack) from wXw
    Karsten Beck & Tyler Bate from wXw
    Reich & Schön (Kevin Roadster & Marius van Beethoven) from wXw
    Champions of Champions (Bad Bones John Klinger & Absolute Andy) from wXw
    Big Daddy Walter & Zack Sabre Jr. from wXw/NOAH
    French Flavour (Peter Fischer & Lucas di Leo) from wXw

    B Block (Saturday):

    Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End & Michael Dante) from wXw
    Calamari Catch Kings (Jonathan Gresham & Chris Brookes) from CZW/UK Indies
    Cerberus (Robert Dreissker & Julian Nero) from wXw
    PROST (Mike Schwarz & Toby Blunt) from wXw, current tag team champs
    The Schild Brothers (Bobby Gunns & Vinny the Beast) from wXw
    ACH & Tommaso Ciampa from ROH
    reDragon (Kyle O ‘Reilly & Bobby Fish) from ROH/NJPW

    Event Notes and Matches

    8/28: 15th Anniversary Tour Opening/Fan Appreciation Night Hamburg

    World Title: Karsten Beck (c) vs. Bad Bones John Klinger
    Tag Titles: PROST vs. Schild Brothers
    Shotgun Title: Kim Ray vs. Michael Schenkenberg
    Damian O’Connor vs. Ivan Kiev
    Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay & Scotty Too Hotty) vs. Reich & Schön

    8/29: 15th Anniversary Tour Opening/Fan Appreciation Night Oberhausen

    World Title: Karsten Beck (c) vs. AJ Styles
    Damian O’Connor vs. Marius Al-Ani

    On 9/4 they run at the Spirit Festival music festival for a 90 minute show

    On 9/5: they run two shows in Berlin with an additional afternoon show, since the evening show already sold out

    15th Anniversary Tour Hamburg, Afternoon:

    Hot & Spicy vs. Young Lions
    Four Way: Chris Colen vs. Pascal Spalter vs. Big Daddy Walter vs. Cash Money Erkan

    15th Anniversary Tour, Evening:

    No Rules: Cash Money Erkan vs. Mike Schwarz
    Rambo vs. Absolute Andy

    9/6: 15th Anniversary Tour Erfurt

  • WWE NXT recap for August 12: Bayley vs Becky, Finn Balor

    by Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com, Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    Preview: Tonight it’s Bayley vs Becky Lynch with the winner moving on to Takeover to face Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title. Plus NXT Champion Finn Balor goes one on one with Marcus Louis!

    Join me here at 8pm for a live recap of a taped show!

  • WWE NXT August 12 TV results: Bayley vs Becky No. 1 contender’s match, Finn Balor vs. Marcus Louis

    by Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com, Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    Preview: Tonight it’s Bayley vs Becky Lynch with the winner moving on to Takeover to face Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title. Plus NXT Champion Finn Balor goes one on one with Marcus Louis!

    The Big News: Bayley is the official #1 Contender, pinning Becky Lynch in a good main event with bad commentary. Plus Samoa Joe choked out Baron Corbin.

    Show Recap:

    -The show began with Mr. Regal confirming that Balor vs Owens at NXT Takeover will be a ladder match. He wished luck to both men, but in a way that you know he was forced to wishing both men luck.

    Tye Dillinger defeated Solomon Crowe.

    Solomon Crowe is here to kick things off this week. I believe this is his first match since Kevin Owens gave him the power bomb on the ring apron almost three months ago. This is Tye Dillinger’s debut using the Perfect 10 gimmick.

    Dillinger is just as perfectly good as he was six months ago when he teaming with Jason Jordan, he’s just now pausing between every move to flash the Perfect 10 sign. Crowe got in his unique ways to do every day moves but this was Dillinger’s match. Tye pulled down his knee pad, which led to Crowe’s comeback. Crowe hit a Diamond Cutter at one point, but no one reacted to it. Finally Tye won by falling backwards and pulling Crowe’s face into his knee. Kind of like Eat Defeat only with the knee.

    -Earlier today Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder had a meeting. Ryder asked him to stop calling him at 3 in the morning and wondered why Mojo was in his gear even though they don’t have a match. Mojo talked about getting 12 chicks at the club last night and Corey Graves called him a liar on commentary.

    Baron Corbin defeated Axl Tischer

    You know the story of this match. The fans chanted boring at Baron before the match even started and before I could type that Baron won with End of Days.

    -After the match Baron took the mic, calling himself The Real Deal. RD Reynolds should challenge him to a match. Instead of RD, Steve Cutler attacked him and got laid out as well. He said no one gets up from End of Days and that brought out Samoa Joe.

    Joe challenged him to a match and Baron said he already fought two men. As Baron left they slammed shoulders into each other so Baron kicked his butt. No seriously. Baron dropped him over and over again with punches to the face. Finally Joe got on the Coquina Clutch and choked out Baron.

    -A new Bull Fit video aired. He threw medicine balls at the ground and lifted some weights.

    -Tyler Breeze cut a promo with his phone. He called Jushin “Yushin”. Maybe he thought it was Okami. Anyway Breeze referred to himself as the Face Of The Rising Sun.

    NXT Champion Finn Balor pinned Marcus Louis

    It has now been 11 months and 1 day since Louis lost his hair when Sylvester Lefort lost a Hair vs Hair match to Enzo Amore. Louis’ hair still hasn’t grown back.

    These two had an actual match and was not just a Balor squash. Mind you it only went 4 minutes, but still. Balor hit the Slingblade, the corner dropkick and the Coup de Grace for the win.

    -As Balor was walking away after the bout, Kevin Owens ran out and attacked Finn. Kevin went for the Power Bomb on the ring apron, but Balor got out of it. Finn gave him a running dropkick, which sent Owens crashing through the guardrails. Back inside the ring Owens turned the tables on Finn and dropped him with the Pop Up Power Bomb.

    -Greg Hamilton interviewed The Vaudevillians. They vowed to have someone in their corner to take care of Alexa Bliss. This brought Alexa in and she slapped both men for the second time.

    I have this knot in the put of my stomach that it’s Eva Marie. I hope I am wrong.

    -An Apollo Crews training video aired. They showed him giving someone a standing suplex and doing a squat while holding the guy up. His debut is at Takeover in 10 days.

    -Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin is now official for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.

    -They showed the WWE 2k16 Terminator commercial. Anyone else notice that it lists Dean Ambrose as the United States Champion?

    In a #1 Contender’s Match, Bayley defeated Becky Lynch

    The love of my life, the NXT Woman’s Champion Sasha Banks, joined the announce table for this main event. The winner will go to Takeover in 10 days to face Sasha for the 7 pounds of silver and purple.

    The fans entertained themselves at the start of the match by singing Becky’s theme song. Corey asked Sasha what it was like to compete in the best city in the world, New York City. Shockingly it was Rich, not Sasha, that brought up that the champ is from Boston.

    Corey Graves was especially annoying in this match. Rich tried to put over how Becky is working over Bayley’s arm, setting it up for the Armbreaker and Corey just started bragging about Sasha’s finisher. That’s all fine and everything if Sasha was in this match.

    If you ignore the announcing this match was quite good and continued the storyline of Bayley overcoming all obstacles in her way. Becky went for a top rope Something, but Bayley stopped her and dropped her with a Running Powerslam. Becky slapped on the Disarmer, but Bayley was in the ropes. Bayley blocked an Armbar and won with a school girl!

    -After the match Sasha stood on the ramp holding the belt over her head while Bayley made motions about wanting to be champion. That is it for yet another week of NXT! Next week is the go home show and until then make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • A look at the career breaks of Roddy Piper, WWE financial update, Rise of Ronda Rousey, G-1 Climax tournament updated

    The life and times of Roddy Piper is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We also have coverage of WWE financials and why the stock is going through the roof, the rise of Ronda Rousey and UFC 190 numbers, the G-1 Climax tournament update and the full story behind the 2002 pitch made to WWE about a gay asskicking wrestler.  

    The issue is on the site right now at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/43950-august-10-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-roddy-piper-passes-away-wwe-q2-results-a-analysis-a-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

    You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

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

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

    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 is an extensive look at the career of Roddy Piper.  We start by looking at the cause of death, and Piper’s role in the national expansion of WWF and the first WrestleMania.  We look at how Piper differed from almost every wrestler in WWF when he came in, why Piper didn’t work certain shows, Piper working outside WWF while under contract, how he flopped in his first WWF run, his runs in California, Oregon, Georgia and the Carolinas before WWF, the feud with Jimmy Snuka, the Hogan-Piper program, The War to Settle the Score, the original WrestleMania and how it changed the history of wrestling, his period in WCW, his relationship with Mad Dog Vachon, his issues with Kevin Nash, how he got started in pro wrestling, the story behind his babyface turns and the loss at WrestleMania to Bret Hart.

    We also look at WWE business, why stock is up, what aspect of business looked deceptively good, a look in depth at the network numbers, how many people dropped and picked up subscriptions this past quarter as well as how all the other aspects of WWE business are doing.

    We look at UFC 190 and the storyline that led to Ronda Rousey setting her highest PPV mark.  We look at how things have changed for Rousey since February, the interest level of her fight,  Rousey vs. Cyborg, ratings in Brazil and the U.S. and match-by-match coverage.

    We also go in-depth on the G-1 Climax tournament with the updated schedule, standings and match-by-match coverage.

    We also have an update on John Cena, more on the injury and surgery, Cena actually going to a show this weekend but fans didn’t see him, Shawn Michaels return, will fans respect Cena more, update on the SummerSlam card and matches being built, Cena vs. Rollins future, WrestleMania note, note on Daniel Bryan’s book, Update on Ryback, Update on a 2002 angle proposed for a gay wrestler and funny story behind it, Bryan’s plan for the IC title, more on womens’ division, Eva Marie note, Tough Enough notes, Ultimate Warrior book, Cesaro section notes, WWE lawsuit notes, Pat Patterson book, sister of current WWE star gets a tryout and Owen Hart DVD news.  We also have coverage of the NXT and WWE shows over the weekend and business notes on the shows. 

    The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

    We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –A look at TripleMania

    –A legend and patriarch of one of the biggest wrestling families leaving pro wrestling at the age of 82

    –Build up for Rey Mysterio and Myzteziz

    –Alberto El Patron’s problems with Myzteziz

    –Lots of Mysterio matches

    –Update on Dragon Gate major programs

    –Full coverage of the NOAH Global jr. tournament and what is next for the winner

    –Lots more on the Hogan case and background of it

    –PWG Battle of Los Angeles news

    –Tammy Sytch update

    –Jimmy Snuka update

    –Jerry Lynn news

    –Chael Sonnen as a pro wrestler

    –A look at the biggest indie show of the year

    –A look at a group touring china

    –More on the ROH show in Philadelphia

    –Note on ROH next PPV show

    –What ROH is looking to test out

    –James Storm leaves TNA

    –A look at the beginning of his TNA career and the highlights

    –TNA star taking a sabbatical

    –Notes on al the TNA Impact shows through the end of September and where the programs are going

    –Update on UFC 189 numbers

    –Update on the other Las Vegas shows during Fight Week

    –Notes on the upcoming UFC big matches and the fall and winter schedule

    –Thoughts on Fedor in UFC

    –Ronda Rousey movie work

    –Ronda Rousey new TV commercial

    –Cris Cyborg on ESPN talks Rousey

    –FS 1 success this year

    –This week’s UFC show

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    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)

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    *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)

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

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    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.

  • TNA Impact August 12 TV results & recap: GFW vs. TNA supershow

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week, TNA paid tribute to Roddy Piper with a video package – it wasn’t quite as long as Dusty’s, but still good.Ken Anderson beat the perpetually-contracted Bram, Gail Kim beat the Dollhouse, and Eli Drake stole a pin and debuted a new yellow and black taped-up #sitdown shirt. Rockstar Spud beat Austin Aries in a Rockstar name vs. Career match to send Aries out of the company for at least a little while. In bigger news, EC3 beat Matt Hardy in a TLC match, and Bully Ray was taken out by a mystery attacker. As a result, TNA was left without an authority figure until Jeff Jarrett volunteered.

     In the days since, TNA has released information on Facebook and Youtube about this being a GFW vs. TNA show. Instead of using their global TV show to announce this, they used social media, which seems like either forward thinking or not thinking things through. Either way, the company announced some new talent will be getting exposed nationally like Trevor Lee, while Lei’D Tapa returns to a TNA ring and the former Justin Gabriel PJ Black debuts in TNA alongside Chris Mortetsky as highly-talented WWE mid-carders that could have been used better than they were.

    The show begins with Jeff Jarrett and some of his GFW crew entering the building as the hype video builds up GFW vs. TNA as an interpromotional war. We’ll get the Wolves against Trevor Lee and Bryan Myers and a defense of the King of the Mountain title. Jeff and Karen come down and slap hands with the fans. Jeff says that he’s now done with his TNA days thanks to GFW, which is about competing at the highest level…isn’t that what all companies should be? Jeff equates this to the Lakers-Celtics and says that the KOTM title will be vacated and defended tonight. EY comes down and tells Jeff that he isn’t the King of the Mountain, he is the King of the World and God, while Jeff is just “the booker man”. Yes folks, it’s 2015. EY jumps Jarrett and the GFW crew comes down to brawl with TNA stars like Robbie E and some other people that can’t be seen due to tight camera shots and jump cuts.

    The GFW roster is pissed about this attack, but Jeff tells them it isn’t an invasion and it’s all about respect. “Mr. TNA” Josh Mathews and Elijah Burke, whose action figure has his WWE jacket, are angry about all these damned non-TNA guys coming in to TNA. Lei’D Tana comes down with her husband Royal Red to face Awesome King. Red tells Kong to bow to Tapa, so hopefully he gets beaten up a bit. Kong comes down and they talk more about this not being an invasion, but hating the GFW guys anyway.

    Lei’D Tapa vs. Awesome Kong

    They ram into each other a bit until Kong gets 2 off a crossbody. Kong clotheslines her down a few times before hitting a splash and getting 2. Tapa took a pretty awful bump for the final of three lariats there, but gets a Samoan drop for 2. Kong gets a chokeslam and clotheslines her to the floor over the top rope. They brawl on the floor for a double countount and brawl some more. Wow was this not good.

    Josh talks about the KOTM match and we learn that PJ Black will be here and we get a brief interview with him saying he loves jumping out of planes and then hops back on his phone like he was when he came into the building with Jeff. After a break, Drew says he jumped off a shark cage in the KOTM match, and he’ll do whatever it takes to win.

    Bobby Roode is in the ring talking about being pissed about Jarrett coming in and him not being in the main event. Bobby Roode is perhaps the only man angry about not being included in the king of the mountain match. He’s mad at Jeff, but even more mad at Spud for ending Austin Aries’s TNA career. Spud appears to be starstruck by Roode, but says he’s amazed at what a prick he is. Spud talks about Roode being a bully while Roode says there isn’t a person who can stop him, and Spud attacks him. Roode defends himself and chokes Spud with his jacket before hitting the Roode Bomb. Spud gets tossed to the floor and then shoulder-first into the steps before a crossface.

    Jeff runs into Roode backstage and yells at him. “The Man” Jesse Godderz is mid-ring to face LASHLEY!? They’ve spent the better part of a year to build up Lashley in some way and he’s just back here with no hype or anything. Also, the winner goes onto the KOTM match.

    Jesse Godderz vs. Lashley

    Lashley clotheslines him down after some trash talk. Josh talks about “that woman Ronda Rousey beat up” while both Josh and Pope talk about how they don’t remember her name. Lashley gets a corner shoulder and a delayed suplex. Jesse gets a knee shot and lands a dropkick to the face before getting an inverted bearhug. Lashley lands a punch and a spinning back elbow to send Jesse down. Lashley takes him for a brief trip to suplex city with a German and overhead belly to belly. An Edge “spear, spear, spear” chant breaks out, but Jesse powerslams him for 2.  Jesse poses instead of doing the Adonis Crab, but gets kicked off and eats a spear for a loss.

    Full Metal Mayhem clips from last week air. EC3 and Tyrus walk backstage, but we hear that there’s something going on and Drew is taken out – so TNA is down a man for the KOTM Title match. We get clips on the Drew attack again and Jeff talks to Dixie about this being “something”  and telling Dixie “trust me” over and over.

    EC3 comes down to cut a promo, with Tyrus in an “I’m a Glorious Unicorn” singlet. EC3 says that Matt fought him in his own game and lost. When he defends the title, he’s in God mode and he’s the champion forever. Matt Hardy limps down and gives EC3 credit for beating a Hardy in a Hardy specialty. However, he’s not going to stop because he won’t die. EC3 says he now respects Matt, but it’s up to the people to give Matt a shot. EC3 says no, so Tyrus attacks him. EC3 hits him with the title and it appears that TNA is now using a replica belt judging by the cheap-looking leather backing. The Wolves walk backstage to face Trevor Lee and Bryan Myers.

    Taryn tells the Dolls to take out Gail Kim next week inside a cage. It will be a very special “Turning Point” show. Josh talks about Myers and Lee while Bryan’s “@TheCurtHawkins” Twitter handle is shown. While that is needed for his account to be verified, I’m surprised they showed it on TV.

    Bryan Myers and Trevor Lee vs. The Wolves

    Josh hypes up TNA’s Youtube shows while Myers eats offense from the Wolves. The GFW team gets low-bridged and hit with a pair of baseball slides. Stero dives hit on the floor and Josh talks about Trevor growing up in Cameron, NC and growing up admiring Shane Helms. Bryan’s Jerry Lynn circa-ECW gear is nice. A Davey missile dropkick gets 2 on Lee before we get a forearm exchange between Lee and Davey. Trevor gets a slick deadlift German suplex for 2! The Wolves get the powerbomb>back cracker to win.

    Lashley talks about defending TNA and being able to win in any fighting area he’s in. Tigre Uno comes down to face Sonjay Dutt, who has a very generic theme despite being in TNA for years. He also has no entrance video, which kind of makes sense on one level since he’s a GFW guy, but this is being done with TNA’s cooperation.

    Tigre Uno vs. Sonjay Dutt

    After Tigre ties Sonjay up using his own limbs, Sonjay gets a rana. They fight to the floor where Sonjay gets a running spinning rana. Sonjay sends him in and gets a springboard Rey Mysterio splash for 2. Josh reads his WWE commentator rulebook and talks about Drew being taken to a local medical facility while Tigre wins by rolling through a rana with a sunset flip and Josh brags about it being yet another win for TNA. Jeff Jarrett talks to EC3 and Tyrus – he’s proud of EC3 and says that next week, he’ll defend the TNA World Title against the winner of the King of the Mountain match.

    We get a Mr. Anderson highlight video in TNA while he talks about what the mic represents. The mic stands for all of his success in TNA – his world titles, and it’s a symbol for him. He’ll face Bram next week in an open mic challenge. Robbie E comes down to replace Drew Galloway and defend TNA like he did in the opening brawl. The second entrant is PJ Black, who has the best theme of any of the GFW guys. Chris Mortetsky comes out while Josh buries him for being the second Adonis in TNA – behind Godderz. The World Class Maniac, the Lunatic Unhinged, the Deranged Eric Young comes down. Lashley is the last man out. Wow is this a random match.

    TNA Legends/Global/World TV/King of the Mountain Title Match – Robbie E vs. PJ Black vs. Chris Mordetsky vs. Eric Young vs. Lashley

    Lashley pins EY quickly and now Lashley is eligible for win. PJ gets a flash pin on Chris, so both EY and Chris are in the box. Robbie hits the Boom Drop onto PJ Black to send a third man into the box. Lashley beats Robbie E and then the first guys in the box, who we never saw, leave and brawl on the floor. EY and Mordetsky celebrate after the break, but EY eats a schoolboy and loses.

    Pope points out several logic holes here, including why guys on opposite sides are talking to each other and why guys on the same “team” aren’t helping each other. During the Mortetsky lock on Lashley, Robbie E dives off the penalty box onto them to break it up. Robbie tosses PJ into the box, which pisses off EY. EY leaves the cage and hits him in the nuts before piledriving Robbie onto the steps so he can be sent into the box. Mordetsky and PJ Black brawl over the belt while Pope talks about the very prestigious King of the Mountain/World TV/Global/Legends title. Chris and PJ brawl on top of the ladder, but Lashley tips the ladder over and hits them with spears.

    Lashley climbs up, but EY tips the ladder over. PJ does the Shelton rope to ladder hop and brawls with EY. Lashley climbs up top and spears EY off the ladder. That was easily the best spot of the night. PJ gets a 450 off the ladder sorta onto Lashley and wins the King of the Mountain title. This was quite the must-miss show even though the potential was there for everything here to be at least interesting to watch with new blood on Impact. Absolutely nothing clicked on the show and it’s sad to see how much worse the show has gotten over the past few weeks after a mostly good-to-great run of TV shows.

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

  • WED UPDATE: Anderson Silva claims tainted “sexual performance” supplement led to failed drug test, small Hulk Hogan FBI update

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

    Tonight:

    * NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has Solomon Crowe vs. Tye Dillinger, Baron Corbin vs. Axel Tischer, Finn Balor vs Marcus Louis, and Becky Lynch vs. Bayley for the NXT Women’s Championship shot at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

    * UFC Tonight airs on to Fox Sports 1 8:00 p.m. ET.

    * Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America kicks off the TNA vs. GFW shenanigans with Jeff Jarrett in charge for the night.

    * UFC Ultimate Answers, a new show, airs at 9:00 p.m. ET n Fox Sports 1.

    * UFC Ultimate Insider, focusing on the T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao fight from a few weeks ago, airs at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    * Best of WEC has a new episode focusing on the middlewight and light heavyweight divisions at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 

    * ROH at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America has Watanabe vs. ACH War Machine vs. J. Diesel and Donovan Dijak,  Adam Page vs. Tim Hughes. and reDRagon vs.The Kingdom.

    **** 

    The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to th site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.

    Last week’s FREEFigure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture. 

    Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle. 

    **** 

    The latest Wrestling Observer: August 10, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Roddy Piper passes away, WWE Q2 results & analysis

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    Our lead story is an extensive look at the career of Roddy Piper.  We start by looking at the cause of death, and Piper’s role in the national expansion of WWF and the first WrestleMania.  We look at how Piper differed from almost every wrestler in WWF when he came in, why Piper didn’t work certain shows, Piper working outside WWF while under contract, how he flopped in his first WWF run, his runs in California, Oregon, Georgia and the Carolinas before WWF, the feud with Jimmy Snuka, the Hogan-Piper program, The War to Settle the Score, the original WrestleMania and how it changed the history of wrestling, his period in WCW, his relationship with Mad Dog Vachon, his issues with Kevin Nash, how he got started in pro wrestling, the story behind his babyface turns and the loss at WrestleMania to Bret Hart.

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    ****

    Wednesday Daily Update

    • Last night, Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting was the first English speaker to report that tomorrow at the Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing, Anderson Silva’s defense for testing positive for the anabolic steroid steroid drostanolone is that he was taking “a supplement for the purpose of enhancing sexual performance” tainted by the drug. They tsted the supplement and found drostanolone in it, though when it comes to the other metabolites he tested positive, he just speculates that another supplement might have ben contaminated. You can read the full Silva filing here as a PDF on Google Drive.
    • With regards to his positive test for benzodiazapines, which are not explicitly banned, Silva does admit to taking a pill to get to sleep the night before the fight when he was so anxious that he just couldn’t fall asleep. While he’s supposed to disclose any medications on the pre-fight medical questionaire, he signed the questionaire earlier that day, so he maintains he did not fail to disclose. 
    • However, Ariel Helwani reports that Steve Mazzagatti’s refereeing in the Rousimar Palhares vs. Jake Shields fight is not an issue that will be dealt with at the hearing, while Palahares and Shields’ actions, as well as Silva’s drug test failures, will be. The hearing will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.
    • Didn’t get a Google Alert about this until today, but WTVT in Tampa did a story on Monday about the closed FBI investigation into the alleged attempt to extort money from Hulk Hogan via the videos of him and Heather Cole having sex that were shot without his knowledge. Most of the substance of the story had to do with Los Angeles-based lawyer Keith Davidson, who was the target of a FBI sting, but there was a new piece of information as they got the FBI to confirm that Matt “Spice Boy” Loyd, a former producer and sidekick of Bubba the Love Sponge Clem,  is “relevant to the sex tape investigation and has provided information to agents on the case.” Loyd’s involvement had been the subject of speculation by Bubba fans since the leak three years ago.
    • Meanwhile, Hogan fell for another tweet from a “fan” using a British celebrity’s photo, this time a photoshop of Liverpool radio presenter Pete Price at Hogan’s restaurant.
    •  VegasFuel Energy Drink announced that Michael “EC3” Hutter has signed on as their national spokesman. The energy drink is in “over 10,000 locations nationwide,” consisting of Rite Aid and GNC chain stores as well as thousands of independent businesses.
    • RIP Roddy Piper: your favorite matches & moments – part 3 of 3, amazing video list
    • NJPW G1 Climax Tournament 8-12 live results: Ishii vs. Honma, Okada vs. Nagata
    • WWE Tough Enough Episode 8 Results and Recap
    • Dave has an article about th surprisingly strong UFC ratings from Saturday at MMAFighting.
    • Chikara announced the full field for this year’s King of Trios tournament. The biggest names are The Bullet Club (A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks), Team AAA (Aero Star, Drago & Fénix, and Team bWo (Stevie Richards as Big Stevie Cool, Blue Meanie as Da Blue Guy, & Nova as Hollywood Nova). The full lineup is:
      Arcane Horde (Kodama, Obariyon, & Oleg the Usurper)
      Battleborn (Kevin Condron, Lucas Calhoun, & Missile Assault Man)
      Battle Hive (Amasis, Fire Ant, & Worker Ant)
      Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Jakob Hammermeier, Nøkken, & Soldier Ant)
      The Bullet Club (A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks)
      Crown & Court (El Hijo del Ice Cream, Ice Cream Jr., & Princess KimberLee)
      Dasher’s Dugout (Dasher Hatfield, Icarus, & Mark Angelosetti)
      The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch, & Max Smashmaster)
      The Gentleman’s Club (Chuck Taylor, Drew Gulak, & the Swamp Monster)
      Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare, Hallowicked, & Silver Ant)
      The Snake Pit (Eddie Kingston, Ophidian, & Shynron)
      Team AAA (Aero Star, Drago, & Fénix)
      Team Attack! (Mark “Mandrews”, &rews, Morgan Webster, & Pete Dunne)
      Team bWo (Big Stevie Cool, Da Blue Guy, & Hollywood Nova)
      Team Fight Club: Pro (MK McKinnan, Trent Seven, & Tyler Bate)
      United Nations (Juan Francisco de Coronado, Mr. Azerbaijan, & The Proletariat Boar of Moldova)
    • Jushin Thunder Liger cut a promo for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn that went up on the NXT Twitter account.
    • You can vote to name an alien plaent after Jumbo Tsuruta. Really.
    • Bill Goldberg visited the San Diego Chargers’ practice yesterday.
    • The Daily Beast talked to Brian Cage about wearing a Donald Trump shirt at TripleMania. 
    • Volume 3 of WWE’s Best of WCW Monday Nitro series came out yesterday on DVD and Blu-Ray.
    • On the latest Between the Sheets podcast, Kris Zellner and I are joined by Brian Last to talk about the week that was August 4 – August 10, 1995, including Cactus Jack turning heel in ECW, a terrible Clash of the Champions, and SMW Fan Week, which Brian attended. Not only did that week include the SMW Super Bowl of of Wrestling show, but when the SMW fans went to the USWA show in Louisville as part of the SMW vs. USWA feud, they needed a police escort out of the building in an amazing story that Brian tells in vivid detail.
    • From a GFW press release about Roddy Piper’s last movie: Ridgerock Entertainment Group and Global Force Wrestling have teamed up for  events to promote the Jan. 8, 2016, theatrical release of THE MASKED SAINT (Freestyle Releasing). The joint agreement will showcase the film’s commitment to the integrity of professional wrestling and focus on family entertainment.  This coincides with the mission of GFW, which has brought new excitement and true family entertainment to the  world of professional wrestling. This exciting partnership will be kicked off during GFW’s second TV taping at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 21.
    • Evolve is now selling Blu-Rays of their latest shows in their store at DGUSA.TV. Also, they’re doing a ticket giveaway for this weekend: We are offering a free ticket giveaway for EVOLVE 47 this Saturday and EVOLVE 48 this Sunday. To enter simply email Help@DGUSA.tv. Please put the show you can attend in the subject. We will give away one pair of ringside seats to EVOLVE 47 and EVOLVE 48. There will be two separate winners, one for each event. You can enter the contest for each event. The winners will be drawn at random on Thursday morning. Good luck!

  • RIP Roddy Piper: your favorite matches & moments – part 3 of 3, amazing video list

    By Josh Nason, Wrestling Observer

    It’s never easy to say goodbye especially when it comes to a legend like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper who we learned had left for the big ring nearly two weeks ago.

    As I did with Dusty Rhodes in June, I asked for your favorite Piper matches and moments to compile them in one place. This final part features an amazing list of YouTube matches and promos in addition to a smorgasbord of your other favorite matches. This is a great companion to the other two parts of this series which you can find here and here.

    Cue the bagpipes!

    The Build & Execution of Wrestlemania I

    Jon Southerland

    Just wanted to share my thought’s on my personal favorite match of the greatest of all time, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. I’ve been a wrestling fan for about 35 years since I was 10 years old. Piper had been my absolute favorite of all time from the very first time I saw him on WWF television in the early 80s. Piper was just as much the reason for the mainstream success and national expansion of the then WWF into mainstream pop culture of the time. Just as much as Vince and Hogan were with getting the credit of taking the company and getting it noticed on a national basis, Piper was just as responsible for this success as well.

    Every hero needs a great villain, and Hogan had the best villain he could ever hope to get in Roddy Piper. My personal favorite match was the main event of the first WrestleMania and the hot build to that match and everything that it entailed. The success of the main event, the success of WrestleMania, would not have been as big as it was if not for the involvement of Roddy Piper. That main event tag match in MSG with Hogan and Mr T battling Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff was absolute magic, and every main stream outlet and celebrity was involved.

    The build for that main event started a little earlier during the MTV Rock N Wrestling connection feud between Wendi Richter, Cyndi Lauper, Fabulous Moolah, and Lou Albano. The Piper’s Pit segments were directly responsible for the build up of that match when then later concluded with the main event of WrestleMania. Piper carried that main event tag match on his back. Mr T was not trained to wrestle, Hogan is not very good at carrying a match. So that left the workload primarily on Roddy Piper to sell the match and Paul Orndorff as the workhouse powerhouse and of course with the “Ace” Cowboy Bob Orton in their corner as well.

    The build to the match was amazing, with all the vignettes with Piper as the absolute antagonist going after Hogan, Cyndi Lauper, Mr T, and even smashing one of Cyndi Lauper’s gold records over the head of Lou Albano in the middle of the ring in all of the build up to the match. Everyone had an easy job. Just let Piper do his thing and follow his lead. Everything he did was so groundbreaking for it’s time. He sold that entire match and everyone from all walks of life in the entertainment world was watching.

    It was the transition of pro wrestling to sports entertainment in its formative years, but nobody really coined that term as of yet; an amazing tag team match that even included Muhammed Ali as the special ref, Billy Martin as the ring announcer, and Liberace as the the timekeeper. Piper was the main who built and sold everything for that main event match. From his appearances on Wrestling TNT at the time, his Piper’s Pit segments, and the trio of Piper and his henchmen of Orton and Orndorff was such an amazing pairing of the three, it just did not get any better than that.

    Piper made you believe in everything he did, he was the best promo man ever, The best villain ever, and later became the best legend ever. The man was such a trailblazer in every sense of the world. Getting wrestling noticed by the mainstream media, being one of the first pro wrestling superstars to star in a major motion picture in “They Live”. And his groundbreaking Piper’s Pit segments that were used to sell himself, sell his matches, and sell the main event of WrestleMania. Everything was so groundbreaking for it’s time, including being a major part of the success of Saturday Night’s Main Event, which was the return of pro wrestling to NBC and network TV in decades.

    This guy did so much his entire career and so many moments, it’s just impossible to even write a 3rd of what this guy did over his amazing career. But he deserves just as much credit as Hogan and Vince for the success of the expansion era of the WWF in the 80s and it would not have been the same if not for Roddy Piper. Heaven just got a little more Rowdy today, and this is the guy that people will always remember, especially for those of us who grew up with Piper and his matches and his larger than life personality in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, etc.

    Just when you thought you had all the answers, Piper changed the questions! Sad day in the wrestling world but I’m sure Piper would be thrilled to know all of the attention this received, and he was the guy that is etched in stone in everyone’s memory. There is a Mt Rushmore for great pro wrestlers, and then there is the man who stands above that mountain in Roddy Piper. God Bless the Hot Rod, may he rest in peace.

    Piper vs. Ted DiBiase – WWF L.A. Sports Arena house show match – 1989
    Robb Block

    I went with my dad and cousin to the Los Angeles Sports Arena for a house show.  The big semi main event advertised match was Ted DiBiase vs. Jake Roberts.  At the beginning of the show the ring announcer said that Jake would be not be there.  The crowd was groaning and all three of us were upset with this news as usually the replacement was a lesser star.  To our shock, the announcer said and taking Jake’s place would be none other than Rowdy Roddy Piper.

    We went out of our minds as did the whole arena especially since Piper had not been wrestling and his only appearance I believe had been at Mania doing the Piper’s Pit segment and he had been making movies since he left after WrestleMania III.  

    We were all happy and that may have been of the best Piper matches I actually ever saw as far as doing wrestling moves.  Piper was always entertaining, but a lot of his matches didn’t consist of a lot of actual wrestling.  I remember he and DiBiase put on quite a match with Piper doing suplexes and crossbodies and things you didn’t see from him too often.  Piper was one of if not my favorite wrestler/performer of all time and I had the chance to meet him several times in person and he was one of the most friendly guys I have ever met.  He was sincere and really liked talking to all of his fans.

    There have been many sad deaths in wrestling, but this is one of the most hard hitting to me personally.  I will never forget the Hot Rod.

    Piper vs. Paul Orndorff cage match – WWF L.A. Sports Arena house show – 1985
    Dan Alegria

    My first show was on November 16, 1985 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. I was 5.

    My dad and older cousin had tickets and were about to head out the door when I found out where they were going. I was crushed. There wasn’t much they could do, the show was sold out. Then my dad came up with the idea of having me scrunch up and carrying me into the arena like I was a sleeping toddler. It worked, I spent the show sitting on my dad’s lap.

    I don’t remember 99% of the show. Kind of like my memories of the circus at that age. I don’t remember elephants, but I remember eating a snow cone and the flashing wand my parents bought me. But I do remember the main event was “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs Rowdy Roddy Piper in the old school blue steel cage.

    My only recollection of the match was Piper climbing the cage to escape and Orndorff grabbing his tights exposing his butt. At that exact moment, a flood of camera flashbulbs lit up the Sports Arena. It’s something I can close my eyes and picture to this day.

    I didn’t go to another live show for another seven years, and didn’t see Piper in person again until Wrestlemania 12 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. It was the backlot brawl with Goldust, with the first half of the match airing on the big screen before coming back later in the show to wrestle in the ring. It wasn’t a technical masterpiece and I spent years trying to forget what Goldust wore under his suit.

    But the applause and send off Piper got after the match is something that stayed with me. A prolonged ovation, almost a thank you / farewell to the Hot Rod and I felt honored to be in the crowd to see it. It turned out the fans were right in the farewell since Piper didn’t step into a WWF/WWE ring again until the Hogan vs McMahon match at Wrestlemania 19.

    Piper vs. Paul Orndorff – WWF house show in Jacksonville, FL – 1986
    David Kaplan

    My favorite Piper match appears ordinary. During a time, many WWF wrestlers didn’t work hard at house shows, Piper worked as if this match was the most important of his career. He brawled all over the arena with super intensity, whipping Orndorff with his belt, took a few leaps off the top rope; he gave it 100%.

    And, this match wasn’t even the main event! I’d seen wild brawls before as a dedicated fan of Championship Wrestling from Florida. Still, the work was believable, exciting and creative. Roddy’s work stood out as superior. I was as entertained as much as a pro wrestling fan could be. Thank you Roddy.

    Piper chats with Art Barr in Portland
    Eric Walker

    This may be the most obscure one, but it is literally a “This is the genius of Roddy Piper” in one segment.

    In 1989, Roddy Piper made a few appearances for Don Owens “Portland Wrestling”, where he had worked from the late 70’s until 1981 when he went to Jim Crockett Promotions. During an episode of Portland Wrestling, The Grappler and Carl Styles came out to bully a very young Art Barr until Piper made the save. Later in the show, Art Barr comes out and does the babyface promo promising to watch Piper’s back and everything.

    Roddy comes out and tells Art Barr we have to “get some aggression” out of you. With the assistance of CW Bergstrom and Bryan Adams (I believe), they bring out a sheet and have Barr remove all his wrestling gear, and Piper was rolling with comedic but innocent little digs on Barr.  Piper then gives him his new outfit, adds a little makeup and mousse to his hair and some baby powder. In under 5 minutes, Piper transforms Art Barr into “Beetlejuice” and thus “lights a fire under his butt” as Piper put it. This promo is literally Piper at his best, and he elevated Barr within 5 minutes and the Portland Sports Arena crowd ate it up.

    Piper’s Pit: Hogan vs. Andre – 1987
    Tom Judd

    Piper and Jesse verbally sparring to set up Hogan vs. Andre.

    Piper vs. Mr. T – WWF Wrestlemania II
    Jason ‘Doc’ Young

    My favorite Roddy moment is WM 2, when he boxed Mr. T. It looked like a shoot to me, but after a little bit, Piper said “F*ck it”. BOOM! He picks T up and bodyslams him for a DQ and they keep scrapping after the bell. Ahhh, memories. RIP, Roddy.

    Piper in Baltimore
    Daniel in Baltimore

    My favorite memories of Piper were a collection of his matches at The Baltimore Civic Center (Baltimore Arena) in the late 1980s. I used to go every time with my friend, and the crowd was always hot to boo Piper, people would walk around during intermission or beforehand with a large sign praising Piper and boy beer cups and popcorn flew at the direction of Piper fans walking around praising their hero. He was my hero too.

    But I loved his feud with Paul Orndorff, it lasted for I think 3 house shows in Baltimore, each more violent than the last. He had a way to rile the crowd up. He was not the best technician in the ring, but he could hold his own against anyone, but he was one of the best all around performers or entertainers. When he came to town, especially in a main event feud, you knew you were getting your money’s worth or more. He will sorely be missed, it is an end of an era.

    Piper vs. Jose Estrada, August 1979
    Name withheld

    I always think back to August 1979.  He took on jobber Jose Estrada and went to a 10:00 draw on WWE All Star Wrestling.  He tried to play the bagpipes and was attacked from behind by Estrada.  The next show, WWE Superstars, about five hours later, TV time,  he was wrestling another jobber Steve King.  Piper was getting booed vociferously trying to play the bagpipes and then attacked King and went total heel.  It worked out for him as he was able to pin King. That was all we saw of Roddy until the Hulk Hogan days.

    Piper vs. Bad News Brown, Wrestlemania 6
    Jeff Krausser

    I loved the lead up to the match, which may have not been the greatest but Piper painting himself half black was great. It was one of my earliest memories of Roddy and still holds up and cracks me up to this day. WWE should teach a Piper Promo class at the Performance Center.

    Piper vs. Don Muraco: WWF King Of The Ring 1986
    Andy MacConney

    I was deeply saddened when I heard about one of my all time faves Rowdy Roddy Piper. Much as I loved the Wrestlemania 3 match against Adonis and his I-C title win against the Mountie, my favorite was the 1986 King of the Ring in Foxboro against Don Muraco.

    The match itself ended in a double-countout, but the beginning of it was what made it memorable.  And it was nothing Roddy did or said.  His slow stroll to his music had everyone in the park mezmorized.  And the roar from the crowd, low at first and built throughout, was definitely memorable.  This was also his first match back after Mania 2(I think).

    While the WWE Universe may have a tough time viewing, this it was definitely memorable.  They Live is also one of my favorite movies.  Hope Rowdy Ronda Rousey keeps the Rowdy name going for many years.

    Best Of The Rest

    Ivan Adams

    My favorite match was the Greg Valentine Dog Collar match at Starrcade 1983, while my favorite moment was when he saved Gordon Solie from a Don Muraco attack on Georgia Championship Wrestling in the early 1980s. What a great Roddy face turn.

    Steve Gennarelli

    Piper’s match with Bret Hart at WrestleMania reminded people how Roddy was an underrated talent in the ring and his ability to work a match and to control a crowd was second to none. There’s also a hellacious cage match from the Spectrum where he and Orton have a old fashioned bloodbath with Bruno and Orndorff that is worth searching for.

    But I have many favorite memories of Piper that were away from an actual wrestling match. Him slapping Lord Alfred Hayes on “TNT” was pretty shocking back then. He & Blassie chewing scenery in “The Goonies” video with Cyndi Lauper.  The CBS Saturday Morning preview hosted by Piper. He did great interviews with Eddie Andleman in Boston and another great interview on the old FNN/Score network. Too many Piper memories to narrow them down. Thanks for the Memories RP Squared and a box of fluffy ducks to you.

    Craig Dempster

    I actually have two Piper matches that stand out to me, both happening within a couple of months of each other. The first is Piper vs The Mountie from Royal Rumble 92, the second is Piper vs Bret Hart from WrestleMania VIII.

    These matches have stuck with me through the years as this was the time that I was first introduced to pro wrestling in any capacity (I’m from England but I have no memory of World of Sport). The match at the Rumble wasn’t great by any stretch, but I’ll always remember the way that Piper celebrated his victory, he was so happy and made it look like this was the greatest moment of his career.

    The match with Bret speaks for itself. It was the first time I’d seen blood in a match on that sort of level and the story those guys told that night may have stole the show. More than anything, I remember my personal encounters with Piper at various conventions over the years, whether it be WWE Axxess or independent conventions. His line was always packed and slow moving, but the reason for this was that he was very personable with everyone that he met. He was a really nice guy, no attitude, no ego, none of that nonsense. He will be sorely missed.

    Adam Ginsberg

    I was exactly 2 years old when the infamous Piper’s Pit coconut incident took place in 1984. I remember it vividly, watching with my father. Jimmy Snuka staggering around knocking the set of the pit down in the process after being humiliated by the Hot Rod. Yes, that was in fact the moment I was hooked. From that point on, I set forth on a dream to become a pro wrestler, a dream I achieved. I encourage anyone reading that if you can dream it, you can achieve it.

    There isn’t one particular match or promo I can say is my favorite. In my opinion, Piper’s best work is from his days here in Southern California for Mike Labell, and Don Owens in Portland in his beginning years. Speaking of Portland, what can be said about Roddy taking a stand against WWF when they toured Oregon out of respect, and loyalty to PNW Promoter Don Owens? Who was ever so bold to stay true to himself and his beliefs other than The Hot Rod?Just when you think we have the answers, he changes the questions indeed.

    Most when remembering Roddy will remember his many WWF runs.His first being the most trendsetting upon pop culture and Pro Wrestling. Being the catalyst for tying the Rock and Wrestling Connection together. It took two to tango, and he and Hulk Hogan ignited a generation forever. Was there ever a better heel than Roddy Piper? In my opinion, no. He was at the top of the list for many things, and it is for that he will always live on throughout our hearts and minds. Rest in Paradise HotRod.

    Chris Aiken

    Though it isn’t necessarily my favorite match, the promo from this video is a classic early Piper promo from California in the late ’70s.

    28 Matches & Moments
    Name Withheld

    1 – Obviously the Snuka Piper’s Pit, but they use the TNT airing that has him smugly smiling while watching in an inset and he does the “I Love you” hand gesture.

    2 – The MSG match with him and Dr D bloodying Andre

    3 – The sketch where they go see a “doctor” on Ace’s arm. Obviously nothing is broken, but Piper starts making duck noises, implying he’s a quack to the point even Vince who’s moderating the segment starts laughing

    4 – His Pit interview with himself

    5 – I remember I was in 8th grade and on Nov. 10, 1984, I had a basketball game. We got blown out, and I didn’t shower or stay to hear the coach because he was facing the Tonga Kid at MSG and I had to be home.

    6 – His debut on Nitro

    7 – The TNT ep where he slapped Hayes (“Excuse me, I don’t wear a bow tie”)

    8 – His return after to TNT to start his feud with Albano (1/3/85; It’s on the Network)

    9 – The August ‘84 MSG match where he took out Snuka

    10 – The Pit right after Mania in the locker room (I didn’t know Dave Meltzer existed so I was floored to find him turning on Orndorff)

    11 – The Wrestling Classic. Just him vs Hogan was just a main event to me.

    12 – His face return in ‘86 and the Pits that followed, especially where he destroyed The Flower shop with the bat

    13 – The 3/30/85 promo on TBS the night before Mania.

    14 – The Rick McGraw Pit and match

    15 – Obviously: “Just when they think they got the answers, I change the questions”

    16 – The matches he had in 85 with Bruno and Orndorff (mixing in Ace)

    17 – Him managing Studd and, I believe, Adonis for one taping.

    18 – Discovering the Pits he did exclusively for St Louis. It’s like they did dry runs with Snuka feud 3 times before the major angle.

    19 – He and Jesse Venture were banned from dissing Hogan on his hairline, but on his Coliseum Video interview he snuck one in.

    20 – The squash where Snuka returned

    21 – The 12/84 Meadowlands live Pit

    22 – The 3/85 matinee live Pit at Garden (wow)

    23 – Just about every promo he cut on Mr. T.

    24 – I have a local promo for the first SNME as it was at the Nassau Coliseum. It was Hogan vs Orton, but he stole the promo and I didn’t realize until after SNME aired that was what it was for.

    25 – His first face turn promo against the Iron Shiek on SNME

    26 – His SNME feud with the Hillbillies

    27 – There’s a local MSG promo with him, Schultz and Orndorff about their match with Atlas, Johnson and Putski that is so outrageously offensive that only he could pull it off and swing it to where you didn’t see him so much as a racist, but just a jerk who you wanted to see get his butt kicked.

    28 — And of course, several Pits (Frankie Williams, Andre, the Orndorff one with the cast while he had Blassie’s stable and they’re arguing from the ring to his set).

    ****

    The Ultimate Roddy Piper YouTube List
    Steve Helwagen

    The Early Days

    • Piper/Buddy Rose Feud Portland 1979: A | B | C
    • Piper-Ric Flair Mid-Atlantic angle 1981 US title change and more links: A | B | C | D | E
    • Great interviews Flair and Piper: A | B
    • Piper-Valentine feud 83: A | B

    The Georgia Years

    • Piper Rich brawl: A | B

    Move to WWF in 1984

    • Piper-Snuka matches: A | B
    • Highlights of WM 1 match Piper-Orndorff vs Hogan-Mr. T: A | B
    • 1996-97: Piper-Flair promos on WCW Nitro: A | B | C