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  • TNA tapings from Orlando 7-22-15

    Notes from tonight’s tapings.  This was more just matches for One Night Only and Xplosion:

    James Storm and Austin Aries, whose contracts expired a few weeks ago, worked tonight so they are at least in for some shows.

    Drew Galloway b Bram

    Rockstar Spud b Grado

    Awesome Kong b Madison Rayne

    EC 3 d Austin Aries

    Bobby Roode b James Storm

    Abyss b Eric Young

    Matt Hardy b Davey Richards

    Brooke b Gail Kim

    Kenny King b Aiden “The Thug” O’Shea

    DJ Zem Ion b Tigre Uno

    Tyrus b Chris Melendez

    Micah b Eli Drkae

    Robbie E b Eddie Edwards

    Jessie Godderz b Crimson

    Manik b Mandrews

    Mahabili Shera (formerly Khoya) b Crazzy Steve

    Drew Galloway b Grado

    Eric Young b Bobby Roode

    Bram b Spud

    Spud b Bram

    Bobby Lashley b Ken Anderson

  • WWE Smackdown July 23 TV results & recap: Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro, Kevin Owens vs. Rusev

    Photo: LA Times

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com 

    – Airdate: July 23, 2015 (July 22 in Canada) 
    – Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE 

    The Big News: 

    Cesaro made fat jokes about Kevin Owens so Owens beat him up. 

    Show Recap: 

    SmackDown started with the announcement of three matches: Kevin Owens vs. Rusev, Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. The Bella Twins, and Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Jimmy Uso was the announce team because Jerry Lawler has the week off. Oh boy. 

    Sheamus beat Dean Ambrose via pinfall 

    Before the match, Sheamus called Ambrose a coward who put himself and Big Show through a table on purpose to get out of their match last week. Sheamus said he would kick Ambrose’s arse and called himself the next WWE Champion. Ambrose said Sheamus does look stupid. 

    Sheamus worked over Ambrose’s leg, body slamming him leg-first into the ropes, as well as using a stretch muffler and half crab. Ambrose came back with a rebound clothesline, jabs and a suicide dive. After hitting a flying elbow, Bray Wyatt came out on the stage and Luke Harper appeared on the announce table. 

    Ambrose went after Harper but ate a Brogue kick on the outside. Sheamus finished him off with a second Brogue kick for the win. No Roman Reigns, who wasn’t on the show at all. Perhaps they should’ve mentioned this. The crowd liked Ambrose. 

    They recapped what happened last week between Stardust and Neville, again using comic book graphics to tell the story. Backstage, Neville told Jo-Jo that Stardust isn’t a villain, he’s a coward. He said Stardust can’t hold him down and the Altitude Era is now. The TV behind Jo-Jo suddenly switched to a shot of Stardust who was giggling and doing that thing with his hands. 

    Neville beat Adam Rose via pinfall 

    No Rosa Mendes. Rose got the heat immediately but was caught with a forearm after trying a suicide dive. Neville followed up with kicks, an Asai moonsault and Red Arrow for the win. Not much of a match. 

    As Neville celebrated, Stardust showed up on the screen. I’m not sure what he said, but there were two main takeaways: One, he referenced Dusty Rhodes again when he said his hand was reaching out to Neville’s. Two, Stardust had a somewhat subtle reference to Stephen Amell. (Stardust held up green party favour and said it doesn’t matter what colour the “arrow” is — referring to both Neville’s finisher and Green Arrow.)

    They aired a video package for Sasha Banks. The best part of this was that Banks was allowed to explain her side of things and why she thinks she’s the best. They should air this on Raw, and they should do this kind of thing more often in general. 

    King Barrett came out on the stage for a quick promo. He said if you come at the King, you best not miss. Those weren’t his exact words. Barrett finished by saying his crowning moment has yet to come. This was fine. 

    Rusev beat Kevin Owens via countout

    One of the commentators said Owens has had an incredible week. (He lost twice in two nights.) Owens cut a promo saying that all he has heard since Sunday is “Tap Owens, tap.” Owens said that’s not what happened. Owens gave John Cena the fight of his life and decided to live to fight another day because he has a family to think about. 

    He moved on to the match from Raw, explaining that Rusev couldn’t decide which Lana he wanted to go to second base with, which cost them the match. Rusev came out immediately to attack Owens. 

    After a break, Owens had control of the match and hit a cannonball. As Owens struggled to pull Rusev away from the ropes, he yelled “Lose some weight!” Rusev eventually came back with a spinning heel kick and superkick (he was booed). Rusev went for the Accolade but Owens rolled out of the ring and took the countout loss. 

    Backstage, Cesaro told a male interviewer it feels right that he has a match with Seth Rollins tonight. Cesaro said he has sacrificed a lot to get here — sleeping on floors, missing his best friend’s wedding, and not spending Christmas with his family in 11 years. Cesaro said he loves this business and the American dream never dies. 

    Owens showed up and mocked Cesaro. Owens said nobody cares about his dreams or that Cesaro abandoned his family. Cesaro called Owens the expert on abandoning since he abandons half his matches. 

    Cesaro also asked Owens if he just came from catering. Owens said he was heading to catering now to watch Cesaro lose to Rollins. Cesaro told Owens not to choke on his food, like he choked against Cena. Fat joke aside, this was really good. 

    Nikki & Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) beat Naomi & Sasha Banks (w/Tamina) via pinfall 

    Bellas worked over Naomi briefly until she tagged out to Banks. Brie took Banks down easily with a single kick to the gut and Nikki followed with a low dropkick. Brie went for a running knee but Tamina pulled Banks out of the ring and superkicked Brie (she missed, actually). 

    After a break, Naomi and Banks worked over Brie, and Nikki got the crowd to rally behind her. What the hell? Nikki made the hot tag and used a terrible Alabama slam on Naomi. 

    Nikki tried a Rack Attack but Banks took her down with a “spear.” Brie knocked Banks out of the ring and Fox took out Tamina with a “spear” of her own. Naomi missed a Rear View and Nikki hit a forearm and Rack Attack for the win. Crowd cheered Nikki. 

    This was your average WWE women’s tag match and the finishing sequence was a mess. The Bellas were 100% babyfaces, which is dumb as hell. 

    They aired a good video package for Lesnar vs. Undertaker. Also, Cesaro was announced for Tough Enough next week. 

    Non-title: WWE Champion Seth Rollins beat Cesaro via pinfall 

    Rollins dodged an uppercut and hit a running knee and suicide dive to gain control. Cesaro caught Rollins off the top and hit a belly-to-belly suplex, followed by an uppercut parade. Rollins countered a superplex into a turnbuckle powerbomb, but Cesaro came back by applying a sharpshooter. 

    Rollins tried to get to the ropes, so Cesaro put him in a crossface. Rollins got to the ropes but Cesaro followed with a pop-up uppercut for a near fall. Rollins bailed a grabbed his title, but Cesaro cut him off with a running uppercut. 

    Cesaro tried a big swing but Rollins poked him in the eye, which the referee missed, and Rollins followed with a Pedigree for the win. Good match. 

    As Rollins left, Kevin Owens walked out to the ring. Owens attacked Cesaro and left him laying with a pop-up powerbomb. 

    Final Thoughts: 

    Not much of a show but the main event was good. Cesaro vs. Owens should be fun, assuming that’s the direction. Also, I’m glad they did a video package for Sasha Banks but the tag match was a step back. The revolution will be slow and plodding. 

  • UFC On FOX 16 preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    The UFC returns to the FOX Network on Saturday night for their annual summer event as the Octagon rolls back into the Windy City, Chicago, with a championship bout headlining the card and a title eliminator serving as the co-main event. It will be the fourth FOX event eminating from Chicago, and the first title fight on FOX since December 2013. The event kicks off with preliminary action on UFC Fight Pass at 4:15 PM eastern time. The action moves to FOX at 6 PM eastern time with more preliminary card action before the four-fight main card kicks off at 8 PM eastern time.

    The long-awaited rematch for the UFC Bantamweight Championship headlines the event as champion T.J. Dillashaw makes his second title defense, this time finally defending against his rival and the man he defeated for the title, Renan Barao, who looks to regain the title he held for nearly two years. In the co-main event, it is a title eliminator in the women’s bantamweight division as former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate takes on rising contender Jessica Eye. Also on the main card are two exciting lightweight match-ups as Edson Barboza takes on Paul Felder, and veterans Joe Lauzon and Takanori Gomi square off. Let’s dive deeper into the night’s action and look at five storylines to keep our eye on.

    1. Can T.J. Dillashaw score a second win over Renan Barao and retain the UFC Bantamweight Championship?

    When Renan Barao and T.J. Dillashaw were announced for the main event of UFC 173 in May 2014, many were expecting a win for Barao as he was entering the fight on a 33-fight unbeaten streak where he had absolutely dominated the competition, and he was a heavy betting favorite when they stepped into the Octagon in Las Vegas that night. A funny thing happened to Barao, though. As dominant as he had been over those 33 fights, on this Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend, it was Dillashaw that did the dominating. Barao didn’t even look in the league of Dillashaw that night, and Dillashaw finished Barao in the fifth round to become the new UFC Bantamweight Championship.

    Dillashaw and Barao have been on a collision course for a rematch ever since, and after two false starts, they will finally step inside the Octagon across from each other 14 months later. Both men have fought just once since then. Dillashaw scored a dominant win over Joe Soto at UFC 177 in August, a fight that Soto took on one day’s notice after Barao was forced out due to being rushed to the hospital during his weight cut. Barao submitted Mitch Gagnon in December, a fight he controlled, but he wasn’t as dominant as he had been in the past. Dillashaw and Barao were scheduled to meet at UFC 186 in April, but a rib injury forced Dillashaw out of the bout. With two pay-per-view headline fights between the two falling apart, they were put on a free television card, and both men look ready to make the walk on Saturday.

    Things are different as we head into this Saturday night’s fight. Dillashaw is now the favorite, coming in as a two-to-one favorite. He has been splitting time between California and Colorado, training with his Team Alpha Male teammates, and also training under striking coach Duane Ludwig. He is Ludwig’s prized student and Ludwig was a big key in Dillashaw defeating Barao the first time. Barao looked lost when dealing with Dillashaw’s footwork, and if he looks the same way, it is hard to envision Barao winning the championship back. Barao is going to need to be explosive and counter the footwork of Dillashaw by using pressure. Dillashaw may just be too quick on his feet. Barao still has to cut a lot of weight to make 135 pounds, and it may drain him like it did the first time. This has the makings of another win by Dillashaw, but it is hard to count out Barao. A win by Barao undoubtedly sets up a trilogy bout, but a Dillashaw win sets him up for when Dominick Cruz returns.

    2. Who wins the title eliminator between Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye?
    The co-main event is a women’s bantamweight title eliminator between perennial contender Miesha Tate and rising contender Jessica Eye. Tate is a former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion who has fought for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship, losing to Ronda Rousey at UFC 168 in December 2013. She has since scored three straight decision wins over Liz Carmouche, Rin Nakai and Sara McMann, showing off a better arsenal of attacks. She wants to get back and get another crack at Rousey, who has beaten her twice, but Tate thinks a third time would be different.

    Eye has fought three times in the Octagon, and while she only has one official win, she, the UFC brass and a lot of people see her as 3-0 in the UFC. She scored a win over Sarah Kaufman in her UFC debut, but that was turned into a no contest due to a failed drug test for marijuana, which has been repeatedly said to be due to second-hand smoke. She then dropped a split decision to Alexis Davis, but it was a fight many, myself included, scored for Eye. She is coming off the big win at UFC 180 in November when she scored a TKO win over Leslie Smith, literally punching Smith’s ear off in the process while landing 80 significant strikes in under seven minutes of action.

    Tate carries the same attack and style into every fight, and she will be looking to go for the takedown. She has improved her striking, but she still tends to eat a lot of punches and walk through them, and Eye is one of the top strikers in the division, using excellent footwork and kickboxing skills, and she fights at a relentless pace. The conditioning edge clearly goes to Eye as well as the striking edge. Tate will be looking for takedowns and Eye will need to show improved defense and good ability to get off the ground if it goes there. Eye can hold her own on the ground, but Tate can be suffocating in top control. An x-factor in this fight is Tate is cornering her boyfriend, Bryan Caraway, in his fight earlier on the card. If Caraway loses, what kind of affect will it have on Tate, and will not relaxing when she should throw her off. This is a big battle for the next title shot, and I like Eye taking a decision in a tough battle.

    3. Can Paul Felder remain undefeated against the tough Edson Barboza?
    A big lightweight battle between Anthony Pettis and Myles Jury was originally scheduled for this card, but through a series of injuries, we ended up with an interesting lightweight contest between Edson Barboza and the undefeated Paul Felder on the main card of Saturday’s event. Barboza is coming off a tough loss to Michael Johnson in February, ending his two-fight win streak that had him on the verge of breaking into the top five of the division. Every time he gets on a roll, he has suffered a setback, and this is his chance to get back on a roll. Felder is undefeated in his ten fight career, scoring his last two wins in the UFC. He is coming off a spectacular spinning back fist finish of Danny Castillo at UFC 182 in January, and he gets a high-profile fight on the main card for the first time in his short UFC career.

    Barboza is an excellent kickboxer with excellent speed and power on his feet, and he has had some dazzling finishes in his career. Felder is excellent at countering attacks and he will make his opponents pay for making mistakes. Felder has solid power, and he is good in the clinch and at defending takedowns. Barboza has trouble when he is pressured by his opponents, and Felder fights at a relentless pace and is good at applying pressure. Barboza does leave himself easy to hit, and if he can’t get the takedown, this fight will likely end up with Felder dominating on the feet. He still has to watch out for the speed and power from Barboza. Both men can score finishes out of nowhere. This is Felder’s chance to break into the rankings while Barboza tries to hang on to the future title challenger potential he has. This is a close fight on paper and in the betting odds. I like Felder to score a close decision.

    4. Can Joe Lauzon score another bonus to add to his record?

    Joe Lauzon is the UFC’s all-time leader in post-fight bonus awards, scoring thirteen over his career. He has been an Octagon staple since 2006, but he comes into Saturday night’s event having lost three of his previous five fights, and a win after being knocked out by Al Iaquinta would get him back on track. He faces Japanese legend and former PRIDE Champion Takanori Gomi, who certainly would like to get back on track as well after having dropped two of his last three, and he is also coming in off a knockout loss, at the hands of Myles Jury in September. Both men are in a kind of limbo as they have been around for a long time and they may never contend for titles these days as a new breed of fighters enter the UFC, but they are plenty capable of producing some fun fights.

    Lauzon on offense is all about finding ways to finish the fight, whether on the feet or on the ground. Gomi was a knockout artist in his prime, but as he has lost the speed and some of the power on his feet, he has become a better technical striker. Lauzon has a chin that can be tested, and Gomi is still capable of landing a big right hand. Gomi still lacks some on the ground, and while he has great takedown defense, he gets in bad positions on the ground. Lauzon is excellent on the ground and will take advantage of any bad positions that he has Gomi in. He is excellent at sweeps and transitions, and has a full arsenal of submissions. Conditioning could be a key for both men, but a ground battle favors Lauzon. He is the bonus king for a reason, and he has a good chance at scoring another one on Saturday.

    5. What is there to look out for on the preliminary card?

    The night’s preliminary card is full of solid match-ups capped off by F4W’s very own “Filthy” Tom Lawlor making his return after being out of action for over two years, and moving back up to the light heavyweight division as he takes on Gian Villante, winner of two straight fights. It will be interesting if Lawlor’s wrestling and submission game can match up with the striking attack of Villante. Jim Miller and Danny Castillo meet in a lightweight bout as both look to end two-fight losing skids. Kenny Robertson puts his three-fight win streak on the line against Ben Saunders, who has won five of his last six. Eddie Wineland returns from a 15-month layoff to take on Bryan Caraway as both look to rebound from a loss. All of those fights air on FOX.

    On the UFC Fight Pass portion of the card, there are four fights that could breed some solid action. Lightweights Daron Cruickshank and James Kruase look to rebound from some bad luck in recent Octagon appearances when they meet. Ramsey Nijem looks to rebound from a loss when he meets undefeated Octagon newcomer Andrew Holbrook, making his UFC debut as an injury replacement. Women’s bantamweights Jessamyn Duke and Elizabeth Phillips square off in what could be a loser leaves town bout as both have lost two straight. Opening the card is a welterweight bout between Zak Cummings and Dominique Steele, who is taking the fight on short notice as an injury replacement.

    Full UFC On FOX 16 Fight Card, Betting Odds & Predictions

    MAIN CARD (FOX-8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    UFC Bantamweight Championship: T.J. Dillashaw(c) vs. (#1) Renan Barao
    Betting Odds: Dillashaw (-240), Barao (+200)
    Prediction: Dillashaw by knockout in round 4

    Women’s Bantamweights: (#2) Miesha Tate vs. (#5) Jessica Eye
    Betting Odds: Tate (-200), Eye (+170)
    Prediction: Eye by decision

    Lightweights: (#7) Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder
    Betting Odds: Barboza (-135), Felder (+115)
    Prediction: Felder by decision

    Lightweights: Joe Lauzon vs. Takanori Gomi
    Betting Odds: Lauzon (-350), Gomi (+290)
    Prediction: Lauzon by submission in round 3

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX-6 PM ET/3 PM PT)

    Light Heavyweights: (#15) Gian Villante vs. Tom Lawlor
    Betting Odds: Villante (-230), Lawlor (+190)
    Prediction: Lawlor by decision

    Lightweights: Jim Miller vs. Danny Castillo
    Betting Odds: Miller (-130), Castillo (+110)
    Prediction: Miller by decision

    Welterweights: Kenny Robertson vs. Ben Saunders
    Betting Odds: Robertson (-115), Saunders (-105)
    Prediction: Saunders by submission in round 2

    Bantamweights: (#6) Eddie Wineland vs. (#12) Bryan Caraway
    Betting Odds: Wineland (-145), Caraway (+125)
    Prediction: Wineland by decision

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4:15 PM ET/1:15 PM PT)

    Lightweights: Daron Cruickshank vs. James Krause
    Betting Odds: Cruickshank (-155), Krause (+135)
    Prediction: Cruickshank by decision

    Lightweights: Ramsey Nijem vs. Andrew Holbrook
    Betting Odds: Nijem (-140), Holbrook (+120)
    Prediction: Nijem by knockout in round 2

    Women’s Bantamweights: Jessamyn Duke vs. Elizabeth Phillips
    Betting Odds: Duke (+150), Phillips (-170)
    Prediction: Duke by decision

    Welterweights: Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele
    Betting Odds: Cummings (-260), Steele (+220)
    Prediction: Cummings by submission in round 2

  • TNA Impact Wrestling July 22 TV results & recap: Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode, Spud vs. Eric Young

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week, Bully Ray debuted as The Law, Tigre Uno retained the X Title with a botched Phoenix splash, while Brooke won the Knockouts title with a botched X Factor. Drew Galloway won a battle royal to get a title shot at EC3. Thanks to Eli Drake turning on Drew and hitting him with his crutch, EC3 retained his title.

    Dixie comes down to the ring for a very important announcement – the Hall of Fame induction of Jeff Jarrett. Jeff gets an epic video package spanning his Memphis days with footage, some WWF photos with Owen, and some hilarious hyperbole. Pope congratulates Jeff Jarrett for his induction while Josh talks about him being the King of the Mountain, and we’ll see that tonight as they air the Slammiversary match. Spud faces EY in a chain match, while Roode faces Matt in a number one contender’s match. Tigre Uno cuts a promo on Donald Trump and to start the show off, we get Magnus vs. Bram in a street fight for some reason.

    Magnus vs. Bram – Street Fight

    Josh talks about their past, but we don’t know why this match is happening now. They brawl on the floor Magnus gets a superplex in this street fight and boots him in the face. Josh runs through Bram’s many nicknames while he gets some trash cans and hits a cookie sheet shot. Bram, the most dangerous man in TNA according to Josh, gets a trash can on his head and gets hit with a chair before falling like a tree to the mat. Magnus gets his super-slick flying elbow for 2. Magnus gets the spine shaker/Mark of Excellence for 2. Bram gets a low blow and a modified schoolboy for the win. Storm comes down with a bull rope and hits Magnus with the cow bell. Storm says we’ll know who his partner is, and he gets another kick in. We get a replay of Eli Drake attacking Drew, and we’ll hear his explanation next. What explanation does he really need? “This team I was only in for a few weeks broke up, so I had no use for this guy”.

    Drew Galloway and Eli Drake Have a Brief, Friendly Chat

    Eli comes out and Josh is offended by what he did, so Josh is a face for this segment. Eli comes out to an entrance video of himself turning to the side slightly and mocks the fans for being dummies. Eli says that “E-li Drake is a creator of circumstance” and he made a circumstance that benefited him. Drake mocks #standup and says they can all sit down. He hasn’t been given much in TNA so far, but he’s making the most of this chance and is shining brightly here. Drew says that he brought Drake into the Rising and people think he’s older than he is because he’s been around for 15 years, and he in fact has a torn shoulder now – which at least explains him looking like hell recently.

    Drew says he’ll make Eli famous. Drew is now stealing likes from Big Evil Taker, and is trying to make Eli famous. On Destination America!? They fight and Eli low blows him and they fight for a bit. Okay then. Taryn wants to call Gail out, but only inside the steel cage. Why does she want a cage? Logically, she should want a one on three trap for Gail in there, but Josh always points out how easy it is to get into TNA’s cage, so why bother?

    Taryn and Brooke Have a Long, Screechy Chat

    Josh runs down the Taryn-Gail feud and Josh throws to Christy plugging Pit Wars, but Taryn comes out first and blames Christy and the fans for her title loss. Taryn says she won’t leave until she gets her title back and she wants Bully to give her a shot and screeches. Brooke comes out and knocks over the dollhouse while saying that the fans are important, not Taryn. Brooke knocks the “doll-hoes” and they have another long exchange of saying annoying things. Brooke lures Taryn to the ramp so Gail can attack the Dolls in the cage. Gail beats them up and Brooke chases Taryn up the ramp. Taryn has a tantrum on the ramp while Gail and Brooke stand tall. The King of the Mountain match from this year’s Slammiversary is next. Josh says that we’ll see the whole thing, so hopefully they go through with that.

    King of the Mountain 2015 Match

    If you hadn’t heard, Eric Young is a world-class maniac and he’s deranged. Josh compares King of the Mountain to the playoffs and the Super Bowl while explaining the rules. They dub in some new commentary about Jeff joining the TNA Hall of Fame class. Pope talks about KOTM being a cool concept while Josh plugs the GFW TV tapings at the Orleans Arena and they give credit to Bully for putting his PPV main event on free TV. Josh and Pope are bitching and moaning about who can suck up the most and join GFW…on TNA TV. EY beats Jeff and Jeff goes in the box for an ad break.

    Pope talks about Hardy vs. Roode and how that one on one match can literally go either way. Pope’s a really smart guy, but it doesn’t quite come across that way on commentary. EY and Roode eat back to back pins, so they’re in the box. Jeff hits the Stroke on Drew, but Matt breaks up the pin despite that just making it harder for him to win. Matt hops around and goes for the Twist, but Jeff gets the Stroke for 2 thanks to Drew breaking it up.

    Pope points out that this is a weird move, but then Josh says that preventing pins prevents someone else from being ineligible to hang the title over the ring in the reverse ladder match portion of the match. And to think that some feel this stipulation is convoluted. EY and Roode go to sing the Canadian national anthem, but EY turns on him for a piledriver attempt. Tower of Doom Kyptonite Krunch hits Matt. Jeff didn’t get the pin, so he can’t win the title until he gets a fall. EY, Roode, and Jarrett duke it out for an ad break.

    During the ad break, we get a plug of two new TNA DVDs – a new Jeff Hardy DVD called Humanomoly, and The Best of Hulk Hogan, which includes Hulk Hogan’s final match. It was a TNA house show six-man tag, and it can only be seen on this DVD in full, or in HD in the ads unless TNA decides to just put it on Youtube.

    Jeff eats a piledriver on the ladder bridge between the ring and the barricade. Drew dives off of the penalty box onto the rest of the pile. Drew goes to put the title up, but Matt Twist of Fates him off the ladder. Jeff gets a super stroke off the ladder to EY and climbs the ladder to win. Josh asks what the future holds for TNA and for Jeff Jarrett while they go to the announce both area and they run down the rest of the card, including a chain match and a table match – because we needed more stips on this random episode of Impact without a theme to it.

    Tigre Uno Challenges Donald Trump

    Tigre Uno is put over as a loving father and a lucha legend. One of these statements is true. Uno says that people who come to the U.S. work hard and he invites Donald Trump to the Impact Zone next week. Well, this ate up maybe three minutes and they spent more time hyping it up than the actual special. The Revolution walks backstage to introduce their next member next.

    We get a brief recap of the most recent Storm-Mickie issues. The Revolution comes down with Abyss amusingly being called the powerhouse in this group with Khoya. Abyss is moving about as slowly as Taker is now. Storm says that America’s children are lost causes who need guidance, but that his Revolution is all-inclusive and doesn’t hold anyone’s race or language against them. Serena Deeb comes down and she’s put over as someone who knows Mickie better than Magnus. Pope tells the story about them being in OVW today and Mickie mentoring Serena. Serena says that they were like sisters, but Mickie forgot her. Storm says that he’ll stand beside her proudly and they’ll beat and embarrass Magnus and Mickie. If TNA is going to turn into an homage to OVW, could they bring back the Heartbreakers and Mo Green? Rockstar Spud faces Eric Young, who is a world-class maniac and the lunatic unhinged.

    Eric Young vs. Rockstar Spud – Chain Match

    Eric Young comes out for this chain match. They haven’t explained why EY and Spud have an issue, why a chain is involved in their rivalry, and thus why this needs to be a chain match. Rockstar Spud comes out and gets choked with the chain. Josh says that this will have a pinfall or submission, so it won’t be a “touch the corners” match. Josh insults Spud for trying to run away from this, but Josh mocks him for it and then praises EY for ramming the chain into Spud’s jaw. EY chokes him some more and drags him up to his feet with it. Josh talks about Impact being a trend worldwide thanks to Slammiversary, the King of the Mountain match, Serena, Gail Kim, and Brooke. Spud ducks under EY and lifts the chain into EY’s crotch. Pope says that Spud is Rocky-ing it up. They’re pimping a Hulk Hogan DVD – just use Hulking up. Pope brings up the Valentine vs. Piper chain match, which unlike this one, had a reason for happening. EY piledrives him on the chain and wins.

    Bobby Roode vs. Matt Hardy – No. 1 Contender’s Table Match

    Josh talks about how Bully named Matt Hardy as the number one man in the top five, while Bobby Roode is number two. Why were these numbers chosen? Matt gets a Side Effect by countering a lariat. Josh talks about how all of this happened due to TNA’s site and/or their Youtube channel – which is apparently now more important than their national TV show. They fight on the floor and Roode suplexes Matt onto the steel steps. Should Matt really be taking bumps like that now? Bobby Roode puts a table on Matt, surfs on it, and then jumps on Matt. Matt comes back and gets a lariat in the corner, but Bobby counters the bulldog into a spinebuster. Matt gets a Twist of Fate while Josh ponders Matt’s options to win. Bobby trips Matt up to send him to the mat. Matt counters a spinebuster and sends Bobby over the top to the floor for the win. Well, this was a match – and a show. Next week, Jeff Jarrett goes into the Hall of Fame, Mickie has her final match in TNA and Jeff Hardy returns. That seems like something you’d want to bring up a time or two.

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

  • Lucha Underground July 22 TV results & recap: Mundo vs Texano, battle royal

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week’s show was all about solidifying the build towards Ultima Lucha. We got a lot of top-notch work towards Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro, while the ancient medallions were the focus of the show. Sexy Star won one medallion and defended it against Marty the Moth, beating the creeper with La Mistica to close out her mini-series to defend her medallion.

    The show begins with a recap of the medallions, the turn of Blue Demon Jr., Texano’s babyface turn. It’s one of the most abrupt videos yet, but effective. Dario meets with Ryck and says that they’re not seeing eye to eye, but he had big plans for Ryck. He was blinded by Daivari’s money, and Dario apologizes for his word choice. Dario says that tonight, he’ll reveal the power of the medallions and what means more to Ryck – money or power. Ryck says he wants both and gets money from Dario through intimidation. Serio Arau is our house band, and they have some fantastic hairstyles amidst this group. Vamp says that Prince Puma will speak tonight and we’ll get Mundo vs. Texano. Actually, that will be our opener as Johnny is walking down now.

    Johnny Mundo vs. Texano

    Mundo calls Texano something that actually gets bleeped, which is astonishing. Vamp says that Johnny has the abs, but Texano’s a real “shit-kicker” who can lift practically. Johnny sweeps the knee, but eats a dropkick. Texano gets a seated buzzsaw kick for 2. Texano lands a pair of punches, but a third one gets blessed from above, and countered. Johnny kicks him and gets an apron kick and apron-assisted spinning neckbreaker. Johnny knees him against the barricade and gets a spinkick against the fencing. This gets 2, so Johnny goes for some mounted punches.

    Johnny gets a chinlock, but eats elbows to the gut. Texano chops away, so Johnny ducks – and eats a chop to the back instead. Rough Ryder gets 2 for Texano while Vamp says that Mundo is 260. Pounds!? Mundo crotches Texano on the top and eats a big kick for 2. Texano gets a pair of kicks after avoiding the End of the World and the Crew comes down and attacks Texano for a DQ win. Alberto comes down for a save, so logically, we should get the Crew against Texano and Alberto next week. Alberto runs wild and Texano whips them. Alberto and Texano share a glance, but haven’t made peace. This was really good stuff – excellent start to the show.

    Cueto tells Hernandez that Ultima Lucha will begin next week and he’ll face Drago there. Dario says that he’s been reading tweets, and the fans hate Hernandez. He’ll make a strap match where the fans have straps and can attack them – it’s the Believers Backlash match. Hernandez downs some Miller Lite and says he’ll paint the canvas red with the fans’ blood if they attack him. Cage and Mack are in the ring. Vamp says that Mack is a big jumbly bumble bee that he wants to hug.

    Cage vs. The Mack

    Mack gets a flash pin, resulting in Mack and Cage fighting all over the ringside area. They brawl with security and Dario tells them to hold up, so he’ll find anything laying the Temple and use it to beat each other up. Dario says that Ultima Lucha will be starting next week and they’ll start it with Mack vs. Cage in a falls count anywhere match. After a break, he’ll say what the medallions mean.

    Dario says that whoever has the medallions can get the Gift of the Gods title belt, but there won’t be any cashing in. He must have one week of notice to advertise the match, and if the GotG title-holder waits too long, they’ll have to defend the title and risk the medallions. A seven way medallion match will happen at Ultima Lucha, so the medallion-holders come down with Cueto doing a hilarious intro for Big Ryck and Bengala. Striker says that Ryck got his through a deal with Dario. Dario has them place their medallions in the belt, which still leaves one medallion left to be placed because Fenix was destroyed. Dario puts that medallion up for grabs in a battle royal – but with a pinfall at the end ala TNA’s gauntlet match. Fenix returns and Dario is greatly unamused by this development. Dario tells him that he’s late, but he’ll let him enter the battle royal.

    Medallion Battle Royal

    Fenix is mid-ring and then Marty the Moth comes down to join the fray. Vinny Masarro bonks Fenix into the buckle. Famous B gets a crotch chop and a pedigree before doing Hogan’s big legdrop. Ricky Mandel is tossed out. Arenis eats a Pele kick from Famous B to take him out. Killshot goes up top, but Daivari tosses him to the floor to prove the risk of that position. Vinny hits a giant lariat on Famous B. Vinny eats a neck snap to take him out. Mascarita Sagrada hits a monkey flip to take he and someone else out. Marty the Moth, Famous B, Daivari, and Fenix are the final four. B is double teamed and eliminated. Fenix takes Daivari out, ending the battle royal portion and just making it a Marty vs. Fenix match for the medallion.

    Fenix vs. Marty the Moth

    Marty gets a big dropkick for 2. Marty gets a slam and Fenix goes to the floor. Marty feigns a dive, but bows instead. Fenix gets a Tajiri-style springboard back elbow mid-ring. Fenix does a wacky triple-jump armdrag. Big flip dive to the floor to Marty. Fenix counters a wonky tilt a whirl with an even wonkier rana for the win. Fenix regains his medallion and thanks the fans in the crowd. Dario comes out and is fairly pissed, but Fenix won fairly. Puma speaks next.

    Striker and Vamp talk about Ultima Lucha. Next week’s show is one hour long, and the August 5 show is two hours long. They run down the card, and show the build-up for every single match on the card. Puma comes down in black jeans, a yellow hoodie, and a new mask with black and red. Before he can speak, Mil Muertes and Catrina come down. Muertes looks even bigger and more of a badass in his suit. The Disciples of Death attack Puma, who fights back with a series of wacky kicks. Mil Muertes stares at him, but doesn’t move as his goons eat more offense. Finally, he comes down and we get a quick brawl. Puma takes the challenger down and hits the 630 – it hits, which doesn’t bode well for Puma.

  • WWE NXT July 22 TV results and recap: Samoa Joe, Owens/Balor contract signing

    by Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com and Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    The Big News: Kevin Owens punched Mr. Regal during the contract signing for his match at NXT Takeover.

    Show Recap:

    – The show opened with the first live appearance by the new NXT Champion! Finn Balor is here, kicking off the show. It should be noted that except for Sami Zayn (due to a storyline injury) the new NXT Champion has kicked off the next show they taped. I know that reads weird, but the last two weeks’ shows were taped before Finn won the belt.

    The crowd went nuts, chanting “You deserve it”. Jeremy Borash’s little brother Greg Hamilton conducted an in-ring interview. Finn said he has been competing all over the world for over 15 years and all the difficult decisions and sacrifices he had to make were made worth it when he won the NXT Championship.

    The fans booed when Greg mentioned NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Finn said Kevin Owens hurt Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Hideo Itami, Rusev and beat John Cena, but he did not defeat Finn Balor. He plans on making history in Brooklyn by walking in champion and leaving the same way.

    – Devin Taylor interviewed Eva Marie about her re-debut tonight. Eva thanked Mr. Regal for giving her the opportunity. Eva said this is her dream and she has been training the last few months just to get the chance tonight.

    Eva Marie pinned Cassie

    In 2013 Eva Marie’s debut ppv match won the Worst Worked Match of the Year award (Total Divas vs Everyone Else at Survivor Series). A rematch the next night on Raw finished 3rd and then in 2014 her only match, vs Bayley, finished high in the voting. In theory she can only get better.

    Eva kept it simple and looked better than she has in the past. Mind you she is still worse than everyone else on the roster, but there was nothing embarrassing. Cassie almost won with several spin kicks to Eva’s face. Eva did win with The Kendrick.

    – William Regal walked into his office to find Tyler Breeze laying across his desk. Tyler demanded a match for Takeover so Mr. Regal said he is working on it.

    Baron Corbin pinned A Local Competitor

    We didn’t even get a “commercial break”, but come on. You can squeeze 7 Baron Corbin matches into one segment. Baron’s opponent didn’t even get a name, but was in a purple bodysuit with blue streaks in his hair. Baron won in 10 seconds with End of Days.

    Samoa Joe pinned Mike Rollis

    Rollis exploded out of the gate and Joe responded by punching him a dozen times quickly. Rollis went bouncing off the ropes and ran into Joe’s elbow. Like most Joe matches this was just an excuse to see all of Joe’s moves. Joe won quickly with the Muscle Buster.

    – It was announced that Samoa Joe will wrestle Rhyno in 2 weeks on NXT.

    – Emma laughed at the idea that Bayley is going to hurt her. She broke Bayley’s hand and now is going to break her childish spirit. Emma and Dana Brooke hugged and the segment ended with Dana patting Devin Taylor on the top of the head.

    Bayley pinned Emma (w/Dana Brooke)

    About a month ago Bayley broke her hand in a match against Emma. The funny thing is she is on tv so infrequently that they could have just not mentioned it and no one would have noticed her injury.

    Emma got the early advantage when by attacking Bayley from behind when Bayley went to throw her slap bracelet into the corner of the ring. Emma’s offense centered around Bayley’s injured hand. The announcers never mentioned that if Bayley’s hand is injured she wouldn’t be able to use a proper grip for the Belly to Bayley Suplex.

    Bayley ignored her hand pain and gave Emma a series of Polish Hammers, but couldn’t keep Emma down. Dana Brooke yanked on Bayley’s arm, which for some reason was not a disqualification. Instead the ref sent Dana to the back.

    They reversed roll ups and Bayley won with the Belly to Bayley. Go figure.

    – Bayley cut a post match promo saying she wants to be Women’s Champion and wants a match with Charlotte to prove she is ready.

    – Some New Girl interviewed Charlotte. She enunciates her words worse than Eden ever did. Charlotte nearly cried about getting the chance to be on Raw, but did accept Bayley’s challenge. Dana walked in and said Charlotte’s gotten chance after chance but she always messes it up. Dana said she never got a chance because she doesn’t have a famous last name, but is going to make a statement by beating Charlotte.

    So Charlotte agreed to wrestle Dana next week and Bayley the following week. Dana looked like she was going to pat the New Girl on the head, but didn’t.

    The Vaudevillains vs Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton

    The #1 Contenders are here to do battle with Dawkins & Fulton. Fulton got a haircut and a more aggressive game plan. As always, Dawkins and Fulton looked good, this time getting the heat on Gotch. Dawkins went to give Gotch a side suplex, but Gotch lifted up his own foot to kick Angelo in the head.

    English got the hot tag and quickly the top contenders won with the Whirling Dervish.

    – Next week: Blake & Murphy vs The Vaudevillains for the tag team titles!

    – Blake & Murphy were mockingly clapping for their foes backstage. Blake actually bleached his hair so now they look different, but he needs to either shave his beard or bleach it as well.

    – Up next was the MAIN EVENT CONTRACT SIGNING! William Regal oversaw the signing between NXT Champion Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. When Mr. Regal mentioned Brooklyn 398 people booed, while two people, who probably live in Brooklyn, stood and applauded.

    Owens tried to intimidate Balor by pointing out he is in the position of defending the title in the biggest match in NXT history. He heeled on the crowd by pointing out it was in Brooklyn. Owens ran down all of his accomplishments that he did in his first 6 months in WWE.

    In Brooklyn he is going to show all these idiots that Japan was a fluke when he becomes the first ever 2-time NXT Champion and take Finn Balor out for good. Finn’s reply is he is going to take Kevin’s words and shove them down his throat. They both signed, Mr. Regal signed, indicating he witnessed this and the match is official.

    You’ll never believe what happened next. Owens attacked Balor and the signing broke down into violence. Shockingly Balor got the better of it, however Mr. Regal tried to pull Owens off, so Kevin punched him in the face. Finn sent Owens packing twice as the show went off the air.

    So, that’s it for this week. What will Mr. Regal say about being punched? How much more can the crowd boo Brooklyn? Will we have new tag team champions? Only one way to find out. Until next week, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • Strike shuts down Broken Skull Challenge

    Deadline.com reported today that the crew that works for the CMT show “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” walked off the job this morning.

    The Motion Picture Editor’s Guild and IATSE have put up a picket line outside the offices 51 Minds Entertainment, the series producers.

  • WWE News: Tuesday night ratings

    Tough Enough last night did 1,144,000 viewers, up from the 977,000 it did last week against the Major League Baseball All-Star game.

    It was significantly lower than episodes of Crisley Knows Best that followed on USA.

    Total Divas! dropped to 995,000 viewers, which was far above anything else on E! last night.

  • Article and video on Bryan Alvarez, the radio shows and website in new Herald Business Journal

    You can read the article by Quinn Russell Brown (@quinnthology) by clicking here. Bryan talks about the genesis of the website and radio shows, his wrestling career and much more.

    The Herald Business Journal is available both online and in a hardcopy version in various stories across Western Washington.

    Quinn also created an accompanying video which is linked below.

    Bryan Alvarez: Flying dropkick over the airwaves from Quinn Russell Brown on Vimeo.

    When Bryan Alvarez goes upstairs and turns his microphone on, pro wrestling fans around the world listen. Alvarez has been the host of “Wrestling Observer Live” for 16 years. Read the story: http://www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com/article/20150722/BIZ/150729970/1172/He-talks-they-listen

  • WED. UPDATE: Notes on Real Sports MMA feature, motion to dismiss denied in CM Punk defamation case, and more

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

    Tonight on TV:

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has -Eva Marie vs. Cassie, Baron Corbin vs. Mr. 450, Samoa Joe vs. Mike Rawlis, Emma vs. Bayley, The Vaudevillains vs. Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton, and the contract signing for Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover Brooklyn.

    ROH at 8:00 p.m. ET on Destination America has The Briscoes, Roderick Strong, and ODB vs. Jay Lethal, Donovan Dijak, J Diesel, and Truth Martini.

    Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey has all of this: The true meaning of the Aztec Medallions will be revealed by Dario Cueto himself. Battles of the night include Texano vs Johnny Mundo, as well as Mack vs. Cage. The fun doesn’t stop there when the major event of the night will choose a winner for the final Aztec Medallion in the Battle Royal. The madness goes down on Wednesday, July 22nd at 8:00PM ET/PT on El Rey Network.

    Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET on Destination American has Dixie Carter announcing the next inductee to the TNA Hall of Fame, Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Roode in a tables match to determine the number one contender, Bram vs. Magnus in a street fight, and Eric Young vs. Rockstar Spud in a chain match.

    No UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 this time.

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with an extensive look at the new NWA Classics streaming service, the Houston Wrestling library, and Houston’s place in wrestling history. Among the topics covered are:

    * What made Houston Wrestling unique and how the town evolved.

    * What’s on the NWA Classics service so far and why it’s awesome.

    * What other libraries are still around?

    And much more. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news.

    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 Conor McGregor phenomenon and the new direction of women in WWE and a history of women in WWE are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  

    The issue is on the site right now at July 20, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 189 report, WWE calls up NXT women

    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!

    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 Meltzer

    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 talks about the Conor McGregor phenomenon, how it ushered in the new era of UFC, the business notes on the show, McGregor’s popularity in Ireland, why iPPV numbers probably set records, U.K. reaction, what to learn from McGregor vs. Mendes, how risky a gamble this fight was, similar gambles from the past, the story of the fight, McGregor vs. Aldo next, Ultimate Fighter and a full rundown of UFC 189.

    We also look at WWE’s bringing up Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks this past week, and a look back at the history of women performers in WWE dating back to the Wendi Richter vs. Fabulous Moolah match in 1984.  We look at the forgotten best women’s matches in main roster history and best workers, and failed attempt to market athletic women, what really happened with Aja Kong, We also look at the different ways this can go, how the angles changed, how the angle was done, as well as how UFC made it work and what was the same and different.

    We also look at what may be UFC’s biggest event of 2016, the UFC 200 show.

    We also look at the NXT show in Brooklyn and the busy weekend in the New York area, notes on when the next WWE network number will be released and what it would be up to, as well as break-even, and the peak number.  We look at advance sales for Battleground and the card, Lennox Lewis admits to almost doing a mixed match with Brock Lesnar in 2003, the story behind that fight and why it never happened, William Regal explains what WWE is looking for in new talent in a fascinating interview, notes on the future of Smackdown, who are planned to be focal point of NXT, Ziggler, Cody Runnels, update on Tyson Kidd, key WWE exec gets fired and new major WWE stock purchase by one of the richest men in Holland.

    We also look at an update on several legal proceedings involving WWE suits, notes on Tough Enough, as well as a rundown of the weekend NXT and WWE house shows with business notes on the shows.

    We also look at this year’s UFC induction ceremony, how it has changed, its future goals, and the speeches by Bas Rutten, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes Frank Trigg, Lori Blatnick and many others.  We look at the histories of all the inductees as well.

    We also have more on Fedor Emelianenko being shopped around for a comeback at the age of 38.  We look at who he is, what he said just a few months ago about a comeback, if it is realistic to expect a match with Brock Lesnar, what Fedor said directly a few months ago about a match with Lesnar, as well as how UFC or Bellator can use him.

    We also look at UFC’s Sunday show in Las Vegas and business notes on the show.

    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 the big weekly event at Arena Mexico

    –Build to CMLL’s big summer show

    –A major big show controversy and a lot of buck passing involved

    –Top matches for this year’s TripleMania

    –A look at this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –A major star celebrates 30th anniversary of his pro debut

    –Third generation legend makes debut

    –Wrestle-1 announces its own tournament

    –Coverage of Wrestle-1 show from the past week

    –Notes on the G-1 debut card

    –Shinya Hashimoto death anniversary show

    –More on Dusty Rhodes and one of his most famous angles

    –A look at the build of Starrcade 85

    –GFW’s road shows and TV tapings

    –A look at the Waterloo wrestling Hall of Fame and this year’s inductions

    –A match of the year candidate

    –Former WWE star falls into more problems

    –One match which features champions from New Japan, a top star of Evolve, the TNA world champion, a Lucha Underground champion, anther TNA wrestler as well as a WWE wrestler and an ROH wrestler all in the same match

    –A look at Tommy Dreamer’s next show

    –Update on Alberto Del Rio

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –Movie being made about a Lucha Underground star

    –More on ROH over WrestleMania weekend

    –This week’s upcoming ROH show in Las Vegas

    –A look this past week’s ROH show

    –More on the future of TNA

    –Update on Davey Richards

    –Something to watch for when it comes to UFC fans

    –Update on Travis Browne situation

    –This week’s UFC show on FS 1 and Fight Pass Titan show

    –More on C.M. Punk and his debut

    –More on fighters and prospective TV show ideas

    –Cris Cyborg, UFC and Invicta

    –New UFC fights

    –Lawsuit filed regarding Bellator

    –This week’s Bellator show

    –Notes on how new Bellator announcer used to write for a wrestling newsletter

    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.

    ****

    Wednesday Daily Update

    — HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel had an extensive feature on domestic violence among MMA fighters last night, which is available now on HBO on Demand, HBO Go, and HBO Now. The reaction has been mixed, though it’s been hard to gauge how many of the people complaining actually saw the show.

    What happened was that they were going to interview Christine “Christy Mack” Mackinday about the incident last Summer where War Machine (the former Jon Koppenhaver) attacked her. In doing their research, they found out about the other high profile domestic violence arrests of MMA fighters, taking note of how so many took place in close proximity (Josh Grispi’s arrests were days before Christy Mack was attacked). Their research, focusing on Americans in the “top 200” (presumably FightMetric’s rankings) of each weight class since 2003, found that MMA fighters are twice as likely to be domestic abusers.

    More than anything else, HBO not giving any more detail about their research is the biggest fault with the piece. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s automatically flawed, but there’s no way to scrutinize it. That said, it was absolutely not the hit piece some people are making it out to be. They didn’t imply that being a MMA fighter makes someone an abuser or anything like that. Instead, in a segment where they interviewed Rener Gracie, it was chalked up to a few factors as to why abusers might flock to MMA (as opposed to the other way around):

    1. People prone to violent outbursts will be drawn to the idea of fighting for money.

    2. Steroid use makes it worse.

    3. Abusers with MMA training, especially because of the submission grappling aspect, becme more “effective” abusers, as they gain knowledge of the breaking point of a limb, how long a choke must be held before someone passes out, and so on.

    Qualms about the lack of transparency in the research about the frequency abuse aside,it’s a very good piece. The Christy Mack interview is not for the squeamish (including audio of the attack, as she managed to call 911 and set the phone down), but gives good insight into that whole situation. They also interviewed Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who is clearly not in good shape mentally, whatever the cause.

    — Lots of publicity for Sheamus’s plane home after the SmackDown tapings requiring an emergency landing. He even tweeted a photo where he has one of the emergency oxygen masks on.

    — As noted last night, UFC fired (or technically will no longer be hiring) veteran cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran after he did an interview with Bloody Elbow where he talked about losing the ability to wear sponsor logos on his vest while not getting any additional compensation from the UFC. He most likely won’t have any trouble getting work, but it’s not a good look.

    — The judge denied a motion to dismiss Dr. Christopher Amann’s defamation lawsuit against Phil “CM Punk” Brooks and Scott “Colt Cabana” Colton. Not much in the way of details, though.

    — Keith Elliott Greenberg has an extensive article about Virgil at FoxSports.com. Really good article covering the majrority of his career. For those not aware, with his newly active Twitter account and GoFundMe campaign to make $1 million so he can become “the real Million Dollar Man,” Virgil appears to now have some self-awareness about his public image these days…while not necessarily having full self-awareness about his image, if that makes sense. He’s now managed by The Iron Sheik’s representation who rebuilt his image, so that’s probably why. 

    — Unsurprisingly lots of rave reviews for Daniel Bryan’s book, which was officially released yesterday in all formats. AVClub gave it an A-, for example.

    — The Langley Times has a story about Don Leo Jonathan being honored at an independent show.

    TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS (thanks to Thomas Rude)

    TNA


    The Question Mark (Episode 17)

    A Look At TNA Wrestling Hall Of Famer:  Sting

    GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING


    #GFWVegas:  PJ Back-Who Is “The “Darewolf?”

    #GFWAmped:  Kevin Kross-I’m Going To Punch A Hole In Bobby Roode’s Head

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-Whaat Is Your Opinion Of the GWF Roster?

    #GFWAmped:  Reno Scum-United We Stand, Divided We Die

    GFWAmped:  Sonjay Dutt-What Do Wrestling Fans Want?

    #GFWAmped:  Chris Mordetzy-How Did You Become Involved With GFW?

    #GFWAmped:  Kongo Kong-Why Is He Going To Win The GFW Global Championship?

    #GFWAmped:  Lei’D Tapa-I’ve Also Played Other Sports Like Professional Football!

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-Will You Guys Be The Face Of GFW?

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-The GFW Tag Team Tournament Championship Tournament

    #GFWAmped:  Kevin Kross-Who Is The Tollman?

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-They Talk About Their Heritage And How It Influences Them In The Ring

    WWE/NXT

    7/20/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  GiGi Goes Head Over Heels During Ring Training

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Coaches Get Brutally Honest With Predictions

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  A Divide Among Divas In The Barracks?

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Can ZZ Survive The Obstacle Course?

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chelsea Assesses Her Spot Post-Injury

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chelsea Gets An Update On Her Ankle

    7/21/15 WWE Network-Tough Talk

    7/20/15 Top 10 RAW Moments

    CHIKARA


    Top 5 Moves Of Fire Ant

    CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go (Episode 425)

    LUCHA UNDERGROUND


    The Road To Ultima Lucha:  Matt Striker

    INDY TV SHOWS


    AIWF Mid-Atlantic TV (Episode 220)

    Covey Pro Wrestling TV (Episode 215)

    Powerbomb Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 35)

    America’s Most Liked Wrestling TV (Season 1, Episode 12)

    West Coast Wrestling Connection TV (Episode 60)

    New England Championship Wrestling “Online” (Episode 8)

    MISC. STUFF


    West Virginia Championship Wrestling “Spotlight” (Episode 125)