Jacob “Stitch” Duran, regarded as the best cut man in the business, was fired today by UFC in a shocking move.
Duran just posted on Twitter in regard to a fan question based on stories this week that he had lost sponsors due to the Reebok deal, “You will be the first to know that the UFC just let me go because I spoke out about the Reebok deal. Got to look for a new job.”
The Raw ratings were up coming off Undertaker’s return at Battleground on Sunday night, but probably not by as much as expected.
The show did 3.79 million viewers, up 250,000 from last week, although last week was the second lowest number for a summer non-July 4th Raw since 1997.
The second hour, with the Lesnar-Undertaker angle, did the best, but once it was made clear they were gone, the audience dropped significantly.
8 p.m. 3.84 million viewers
9 p.m. 4.03 million viewers
10 p.m. 3.54 million viewers
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
Tonight on TV:
Tough Enough is on USA Network at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with a new episode titled “Swallow Your Pride, It’s Good For You.” The promos have been built around one of the challengers (if you want to find out who, it doesn’t take much effort) suffering an injury during a challeng. Last night on Raw, Big Show threatened to show up on “Tough Enough, the reality show” and punch out the male contestants, so presumably he shows up in some form.
Total Divas is on E! at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT with a new episode titled “Eat Your Heart Out.” Nikki and Eva’s peace talks come to a very negative end; while on stage, Nattie takes a large risk; Paige’s first WrestleMania brings her to tears; meanwhile, Brie and Bryan get the results back from their fertility testing. There are a few preview clips on WWE’s YouTube channel, including Brie and Bryan at the fertility clininc and a Nikki Bella/Eva Marie heart to heart.
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO at 9:00 ET/PT has a featured on domestic violence in MMA. There’s a trailer on HBO’s YouTube channel showing a section of the part about Jon Koppenhaver/War Machine’s attack on Christy Mack/Christine Mackinday. Full description from HBO:
Outside of the Cage. Last summer, just as news of Baltimore running back Ray Rice’s violent assault on his fiancée in a hotel elevator was about to make headlines, a far more brutal domestic violence attack involving a pro athlete had just taken place. But the beating that nearly killed former adult film star Christy Mack, allegedly at the hands of the MMA welterweight known as War Machine, flew largely under the radar.
High-profile sports like football and boxing, the father of all fight sports, have long dealt with athletes’ domestic violence toward women. But the newly minted American combat sport Mixed Martial Arts, which showcases the world’s most violent athletes, has largely escaped mainstream scrutiny of its fighters’ conduct. REAL SPORTS correspondent David Scott investigates domestic violence among pro MMA fighters and efforts by MMA organizations to address it, and talks to Christy Mack, who for the first time tells the harrowing story of what she says was an abusive relationship with a trained professional fighter and the assault that nearly took her life.
If you’re attending tonight’s SmackDown taping, please send a report to newstips@wrestlingbserver.com.
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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.
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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
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
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.
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Tuesday Daily Update
— Daniel Bryan’s book was officially released today, so you can now order both physical copies and the Kindle version. It’s an excellent, honest, detailed book that’s well worth checking out. It’s fascinating just how much his feelings match up with the fans on so much of what happened with him. Fox Sports has a listicle of “surprising revelations” in the book.
— Donald Cerrone has accused UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos of using steroids, and Dos Anjos fired back to MMAFighting. “I train to be the champion. I’m the champion. He trains because he likes this lifestyle. He was never the WEC champion, and will never be the UFC champion. He will get beat up one more time.”
— Jonathan James Cboins, an indie wrestler who works under the name Jonboy, was arrested for sex with a minor in Middletown, Ohio over the weekend after a show.
— Alex Jones’ InfoWars.com (a conspiracy theory type site, for lack of a better description) has discovered the influence of UNITE HERE on pro MMA staying illegal in New York. The article is flawed in various ways, but this is right up their readership’s alley, so it could prove interesting if they were to rally behind it. Don’t read the comments, though. Seriously.
— Dave has his postmortem for Wednesday and Saturday’s UFC card as MMAFighting.
— Tyler Breeze talked to the Miami Herald to promote this week’s NXT house show in Miami. Lots of good stuff about how he developed his character.
— Magnus appeared on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast to talk about all sorts of topics. On the Mickie James train angle: “The only person who did like it was the person who wrote it. He had the final say on it, we all suggested alternatives, we all thought it was not going to work and it was not going to get a reaction, and our disregard for it and that was the result of it. That was one of the reasons where we just kind of said ‘okay, it’s maybe time to wrap this thing up.’”
— Ricky Steamboat appeared on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast. Lots of topics covered including the angle where Jake Roberts DDTed him on the floor: “Pulling the mat away and exposing the cement floor and being dropped in the DDT is very dangerous and it ended up being dangerous for me that night. I’m going to say it was a timing issue. If my memory serves me right whenever Jake would suck you in and pull you underneath his arm he would always look at the crowd for a moment and then drop you. In that moment you show that this is the end for this guy and he would have a little snicker on his face and a little bit of an attitude and then drop you. But as soon as he sucked me in he dropped me and I was waiting for that pause. The unfortunate thing that happened is that what everybody suspects when he does do the move YES when it happened my head did meet the cement and they took me away with a bad concussion. Part of my head swelled up so bad and ballooned out and I know I got in front of the camera with it but I cannot find any pictures of what my face looked like because it looked distorted.”
— Sam Shaw (based in Jacksonville, FL) and Facade (based in Pittsburgh, PA) are now accepting bookings through Bill Behrens at showbis@aol.com and www.sbibookings.com.
— NWA Smoky Mountain presents it’s hottest event of the summer, Fire on the Mountain 2015 on Saturday, August 8 at the Civic Auditorium in Kingsport, TN! Bell Time is 8:00 PM. Already signed for this huge event: ROH Star Matt Sydal (fka WWE’s Evan Bourne), TNA Impact Wrestling Star Davey Richards, Former NWA World Champion Rob Conway, ROH Star Cedric Alexander, TNA Knockout Angelina Love, and many more. There will be a special Meet & Greet with the Stars at 6:00 PM for VIP Ticket Holders.
by Brian Hoops
1971 – In San Antonio, Texas; AWA Champion Verne Gagne drew Toru Tanaka and Wilbur Snyder beat Bronco Lubich
1972 – In Denver, Colorado; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Ivan Koloff, Larry Hennig & Dusty Rhodes beat Don Muraco & Wahoo McDaniel, Billy Robinson beat Larry Hennig and Dusty Rhodes beat Wahoo McDaniel via dq.
1974 – In Green Bay, Wisconsin; In a No dq match with special Referee: Greg Gagne; The Crusher & Billy Robinson beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens in 2 out of 3 falls to win the AWA tag team title, Ivan Putski beat Billy Graham via dq, Baron Von Raschke beat Wahoo McDaniel and Greg Gagne drew Buddy Wolff. Attendance was 6,448.
1982 – Abdullah The Butcher is named the first World Wrestling Council
World Heavyweight Champion in Puerto Rico.
1984 – In Chicago, Illinois at the Rosemont Horizon; AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Nick Bockwinkel by countout, Fabulous Ones drew Road Warriors, Jim Brunzell beat King Kong Brody (Bruiser Brody) by dq, The Crusher beat Abdullah The Butcher by dq, Curt Hennig drew Mr. Saito, Tony Atlas beat Larry Zbyszko and Billy Robinson beat Steve O. Attendance was 14,000
1986 – In Memphis, Tennessee @ Mid South Coliseum; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Jerry Lawler, Fire & Flame beat Giant Hillbilly & Cousin Junior by dq, Nightmares beat Mod Squad, Bam Bam Bigelow beat JT Southern by dq and Jeff Jarrett & Pat Tanaka beat Akio Sato & Tarzan Goto by dq.
1995 – Dean Malenko defeated Eddie Guerrero in Tampa, Florida to win the
ECW World Television Title
2002 – Cody Hawk defeated Lance (Garrison) Cade in Jeffersonville,
Indiana to win the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title
2002 – WWE held their Vengeance Pay-per-view in Detroit, Michigan. Lance
Storm and Christian defeated Hulk Hogan and Edge to capture the WWE
World Tag Titles. Rock defeated Undertaker and Kurt Angle in a three-way
match to capture the WWE Undisputed World Title.
2009 – Tara and Miss Tessmacher defeated Sarita and Rosita to win the
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles in Orlando, Florida.
2012 – TNA held a show in Brooklyn, New York which saw Austin Aires retain the TNA World Title over Bobby Roode, AJ Styles defeated Jeff Hardy and Sting defeated Bully Ray in a No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere match.
Courtesy of WWE.com
By Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com
The Big Takeaway: In a phenomenal start to the buildup of the SummerSlam main event, The Undertaker made his first Raw apperance in over a year. It culminated with a sensational pull-apart brawl with Brock Lesnar, which was the textbook way of how to build a main event between two larger than life titans. It looks like John Cena will face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, as well, so the Kevin Owens is history.
Show Recap:
The Undertaker (star created in 1990) showed up to “Undertaker” chants and big cheers. He said he’s a remorseless, vengeful grim reaper. He said the painful truth is streaks are made to be broken, but Brock Lesnar (star created in 2002) had to remind everyone week after week of his greatest accomplishments, and enough is enough. Lesnar has taken what was once smoldering ashes and turned it into a raging inferno. Undertaker said last night was his resurrection.
He said Lesnar can’t kill what won’t die and he will challenge Lesnar’s mortality. He will conquer was has yet to be conquered. In the end, just like all living things, man or beast, Lesnar will rest in peace.
HHH (star created in 1999) and Stephanie McMahon (star created in her own mind) watched this scene elated from backstage. HHH said Undertaker and Lesnar would main event SummerSlam. However, HHH didn’t want Lesnar or Paul Heyman showing up tonight and putting the main event of their next PPV at risk. Stephanie left to call the marketing department to start promoting Lesnar-Taker (shouldn’t that have been done weeks ago?) while HHH called Heyman and told Lesnar not to show up to the arena. Yeah, if I had promoted Pacquaio-Mayweather, the last thing I’d want is to have Mayweather show up at a press conference or something.
Team BAD, Sasha Banks (just arrived), Naomi (50/50 club) and Tamina (50/50) were at ringside for the Divas match.
Charlotte (3rd Raw) was shown embracing her father Ric Flair after her match at Battleground last night.
Charlotte defeated Brie Bella (9:00)
Charlotte won with the Figure 8. Brie Bella (50/50. Since a pattern?) was a step slow in spots, particularly when Charlotte missed a Pescado before the break. Brie threw kicks to Charlotte’s body and the crowd chanted “Yes” in salute of Daniel Bryan (star created in 2012, despite the company’s best efforts otherwise). Nikki, Alicia Fox (50/50) were in Brie’s corner while Paige (50/50) and Becky Lynch (2nd Raw) cheered on Charlotte.
HHH was on the phone with Heyman when The Miz tried to talk with him. Heyman resisted but HHH told him not to bring Lesnar to the building. Meanwhile, Miz was mad about Big Show punching him last night. HHH really wasn’t listening and said Miz would face Big Show tonight and told “Obi One” to leave.
Los Matadores defeated the Prime Time Players (C) in a nontitle match (4:03)
Diego (jobber) pinned Titus O’Neal (50/50) with a back stabber after the New Day came out and distracted the Prime Time Players, who still aren’t as over as their push. El Torito has added a muscular body costume that makes him look like Giant Gonzalezito.
The Big Show defeated The Miz (1:28)
Show (star created in 1995 by WCW) pinned the Miz (50/50 after the most drastic fall from the top of the card in company history) with an elbow smash off the second rope in a squash. Show challenged Ryback for the I-C title and said he would appear on Tough Enough tomorrow night and told him to show up then. So they’re shooting angles for Tough Enough now.
HHH and Stephanie were backstage talking to an artist backstage about creating a mural for the SummerSlam main event when they saw Heyman. When they confronted him, Heyman quivered and said he just wanted to deliver Lesnar’s reply to the Undertaker. Heyman swore Lesnar wasn’t there. After he left, HHH and Stephanie didn’t believe him and said they needed extra security.
Next up was the time honored tradition of HHH and Stephanie dressing down the entire locker room. HHH said their entire livelihoods depends on keeping Lesnar and Undertaker apart tonight. HHH said they weren’t asking the locker room, they were telling them.
Heyman was in the ring to deliver Lesnar’s retort. He blamed Undertaker for Lesnar not being WWE Champion. He brought up April 6, 2014 as the night Lesnar conquered the Undertaker’s undefeated streak, which got some boos. And 469 days later, the Undertaker has returned for revenge.
Heyman brought up all the names who challenged the Undertaker at WrestleMania and failed. He didn’t mention C.M. Punk. In a babyface manner, Heyman said Undertaker sold his soul to the devil, but his ass belongs to Lesnar.
The lights went out and Undertaker was in the ring. Taker teased going after Heyman when Lesnar’s music hit to a huge pop. The announcers hit the road, the crowd went nuts, Lesnar ran to the ring like he had $10,000 in his hands as they started brawling. It was one electric scene. A group of jobbers first tried to break them up to no avail. HHH came out and emptied the locker room to get them apart. The ring was filled with midcarders, which now includes Kevin Owens (Cena program, which is a new third category. And a populated one, at that). Meanwhile, Roman Reigns (on the verge but not a star yet) and John Cena (star created in 2005) were MIA. Lesnar got free twice before about 30 guys got to him. Crowd chanted “This is awesome.” Great hype segment.
Once Lesnar got to the back, he saw Undertaker and it all started again. It was humorous watching R-Truth (jobber) and Bo Dallas (jobber) on the ground trying to pull Lesnar off. No announcers for any of this. You just heard police finally separating Lesnar, who had his hands cuffed with plastic bands. Lesnar told the officers not to touch him as he was escorted to a police van.
Seth Rollins (what does it say when the WWE Champion is an afterthought? It says he isn’t a star yet) walked up to HHH and Stephanie and asked for a chance to address the fans. He’s the champion, shouldn’t he get interview time without having to ask anyone?
Bray Wyatt (Cena program) and Luke Harper (50/50) were backstage. Wyatt said the fans annointed Reigns and they would burn for it. Harper said they would pick Reigns apart until there was nothing left.
Roman Reigns defeated Luke Harper by DQ (13:01)
They had a good match until a cheap finish where Wyatt tripped Reigns after Reigns hit a drive-by on Harper and Wyatt. Reigns sold his right arm most of the match. Harper is the proverbial “good hand in the ring” that’s great for making guys shine. He did a great job in this match. Dean Ambrose (50/50, check the PPV records if you don’t believe it) came out to be in Reigns corner. Michael Cole said Reigns hasn’t won a match since Wyatt cost Regins the Money in the Bank match. How can anyone who attends a house show take that statement seriously?
Wyatt threw Reigns into the announcer’s table. Ambrose starting brawling with the heels until Wyatt threw him into the timekeeer’s table. Harper clamped on a crossface on Reigns until Ambrose ran back in. It ended with Reigns hitting Wyatt with a Superman’s punch just as Wyatt was about to give Amrbose Sister Abigail. Reigns was more over in this segment than a long time. Very good presentation.
Rollins came out to very little reaction. He bragged about still holding the WWE title after Battleground and called himself the most underappreciated champion in the history of the WWE. Rollins says he can’t help but feel like he was robbed last night after the Undertaker got in the ring to interrupt the main event. He asked Lillian Garcia to get in the ring and asked her to announce him as the winner from last night’s match. She started to announce Lesnar as the winner by DQ, but Rollins was still champion.
Cena (star created in 2005, the Chris Berman of the WWE) came out. Rollins thought Cena was there to issue another U.S. Open challenge. Cena said he was there to thank Rollins. He said every time the fans see the US Championship belt, they would see excellence from challenger and champion. If it wasn’t for Rollins, that wouldn’t happen and called Rollins a lousy excuse for a champion. He said Rollins’ actions make people lose respect for the WWE championship and gain respect for the US Championship.
Rollins shot back that Cena can keep worrying about the US title, he would keep on being the WWE Champion. Rollins started to leave, but Cena said Rollins was about to walk away from another challenge. Cena dared Rollins to man up, said the man makes the title and called Rollins a joke. He challenged him to man up. Rollins teased going at it with Cena and naturally left. So it looks like Rollins vs. Cena at SummerSlam, though that wasn’t announced.
Sasha Banks and Naomi defeated Paige and Becky Lynch via submission (13:29)
Banks won with the Bank Statement on Paige. Team Bella was on commentary with Brie not selling her two losses in 48 hours to Charlotte at all. This was the curse of a 3-hour show as fans treated this as a popcorn match. The charisma of Banks and Lynch didn’t translate to a bigger crowd, at least not tonight. Fans did get interested after Paige got the hot tag. Match was OK.
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Next, of all things, was Jake Gyllenhaul training for his role in the upcoming film “Southpaw.” Billy Gunn, Lita and Booker T talked about how Gyllenhaul works so hard for the role. All I can say is if you compare Gyllenhaul’s physique from his Donnie Darko days to his 2010 film “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” it’s….interesting.
Renee Young talked with Lana (50/50 after being on the verge of getting over huge, inexplicable face turn killed it) regarding Dolph Ziggler. She said the doctors haven’t medically cleared him, but he’s talking again Then Summer Rae (50/50) peared dressed as Lana. Rae said Rusev (Cena program) like her in that outfit. Rusev walked up and kissed Rae, then told Lana she looked tired. Lana looked shocked. Rae started to console Lana, but slapped her instead and walked off laughing. For a movie that didn’t do very much at the box office in 1994, there sure are a lot of wrestling angles based on “Single White Female.”
Randy Orton, John Cena and Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens, Rusev and Sheamus (14:56)
Apparently they were looking for ways to have weirder psychology than last week’s Rusev-Cena match. As the heels were getting the heat, Cesaro (50/50) pushed Owens (Cena program) into Sheamus (not a star because the fans aren’t biting even though the company sure is pushing), who collided with Rusev. This led to Sheamus pushing Owens and walking out. Owens went to tag Rusev, but Rusev was still down after getting hit by Owens. So Owens slapped Rusev, then kicked him, and left, as well. So Rusev, the heel, was left alone to face three babyfaces. It was a weird sight seeing Cesaro crawling to make a hot tag in what had turned into a 3-on-1 match. It ended with Lana coming down and tackling Summerr Rae, tearing the bun out of her hair. In the ring, Cena gave Rusev the AA, Cesaro gave him the Giant Swing into Randy Orton’s (star created in 2007) RKO, which is the most over finisher in the company. Orton got the pin.
SUMMARY: You can’t say enough good things about that Lesnar-Undertaker pull apart. That’s what makes the WWE wonderful. And this was a good show. However, did you notice any new stars in the above section created after 2007? No. Which is what makes the WWE so frustrating. They know what to do with the hand they’re dealt, so why can’t they just do it? I know Dave’s annual Wrestling Observer Awards are reserved for entities, not concepts. I wish that would change, because the notion that the WWE is a star creating company might be the most overrated concept in the industry.
By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com
Welcome to our live coverage of WWE Battleground from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. We’re looking for your thoughts on this show, as well as tonight’s New Japan G-1 opening night and Dragon Gate Kobe World show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
KING BARRETT VS. R-TRUTH
Barrett won and maintained his “Kingdom” in a decent match with not a lot of heat. The finish saw R-Truth go for the Lie Detector, but Barrett held onto the ropes and then hit the Bull Hammer on R-Truth for the pin.
SHEAMUS VS. RANDY ORTON
Orton won using the RKO in a strong opener after getting to the ropes while in the Clover Leaf submission. Orton rolled away after a Brogue kick earlier in the match. Slow starting match but they built it well: a real professional slower style deliberate match with everyone doing all of their moves in a long match.
Stephanie McMahon did an interview, putting over St. Louis and Sam Muchnick’s Wrestling at the Chase. She said all three Divas teams are picking a rep for a three way (Brie vs. Charlotte vs Sasha Banks most likely) and she wants them to tear the house down.
WWE Tag Team Champions PRIME TIME PLAYERS VS. NEW DAY (Kofi Kingston & Big E)
The Prime Time Players retained when Titus pinned Big E with the Clash of the Titus. It was Big E & Kingston with Woods on the floor. Match was pretty well paced with a few missed spots, most notable O’Neil having to actually change direction so he could be in position for Woods to intefere. They did heat spots on Young most of the way, O’Neil made a brief hot tag. After a few quick tags, Young escaped from an attempt at the Big Ending and ducked when Kingston tried Trouble in Paradise.
Becky Lynch, Paige, and Charlotte were talking about burning the house down tonight. They are trying to really push the women tonight.
ROMAN REIGNS VS. BRAY WYATT
Wyatt won when Luke Harper interfered and threw Reigns into the post and into the ring, leading to Wyatt hitting Sister Abigal in just over 21:00. Very good match with some cool spots including Reigns going for his dropkick on the floor and Wyatt clotheslining him. They were blocking each others’ finishers. Wyatt also did a DDT on the apron and Wyatt kicked out of a Superman punch.
Interview with NaomiTamina and Sasha Banks.
NXT Women’s Champion SASHA BANKS VS. CHARLOTTE VS. BRIE BELLA
Charlotte used the Figure Eight on Brie to win via submission after Brie broke up Banks’ with the Bank Statement on Charlotte and Brie went for the X Factor on Charlotte, but it was blocked. They didn’t tear the house down by any means but this was a better match than the vast majority of women’s matches in WWE. However, it was not close to the level of the NXT women as Brie seemed to hurt the match. The announcers were trying to push this like it was a revolution. It seemed like part of the crowd was more receptive than for a usual women’s match on WWE PPV, but a lot of the crowd didn’t see it as anything different.
U.S. Champion JOHN CENA VS. KEVIN OWENS
Excellent match that Cena won clean in the middle with the STF after Owens had kicked out of 2 Attitude Adjustments during the match as well as a third time off the middle rope. The match was mostly about them doing their moves and kicking out. Cena kicked out of the pop up power bomb. Owens used the AA as well as the STF on Cena. The crowd was totally pro-Owens. I’d say this wasn’t as good as the first two matches but still the best thing on the show so far.
The Miz is coming out now, but I don’t know that we need this so late in the show. He talked about how the triple threat isn’t happening and his branding team had plans for him when he won the IC title. He already had talked show appearances but said Ryback got hurt and the match is postponed. He said he’s known Ryback since Tough Enough, saying the big guy is really the big pansy. “When the going gets tough, Ryback gets injured.” Miz said Ryback knows he’s the toughest man in WWE and he’s the toughest man in the building right now.
He said Big Show has been missing since the Attitude Era and should retire. He said they should declare him the champion the way a real city like Los Angeles is going to claim the Rams. Show is out, and Miz switched his tune. He asked Show to be a tag team. Show just knocked him out and walked off. That was the end of the segment. Is Show a face or a heel? Was that turn No. 41?
WWE Champion SETH ROLLINS VS. BROCK LESNAR
Well, this was a weird one.
Obviously it’s about drawing a rating Monday with Undertaker. Lesnar gave Rollins 13 suplexes in nine minutes and hit the F-5. At that point, the Undertaker’s gong hit. The referee and Rollins both disappeared into thin air when the lights came back on. Undertaker was in and laid Lesnar to waste with a high choke slam and two tombstone piledrivers and the show went off the air. The crowd loved the idea of Undertaker being there so it worked live, but as far as a main event went, it was pretty bad as far as going anywhere. The action was fine but it was way too short, there was no finish announced, and the show ended almost 15 minutes early.
By Dave Meltzer
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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.
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–Third generation legend makes debut
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–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
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–A look this past week’s ROH show
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–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
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MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
ON THIS DATE IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1985 – Chamaco Valaquez beat La Fiera in Mexico City to win the NWA middleweight title
1989 – Lola Gonzalez beat Zuleyma in Tijuana to win the WWA women’s title
1994 – Dick Slater beat Nobutaka Araya to win the IWA title
1996 – Jushin Liger & El Samurai beat Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka in Tokyo to win the WAR Int. jr. tag title and Rey Misterio Jr. beat Psicosis on the same show to win the WWA welterweight title
2000 – Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi in Sapporo to win the IWGP tag title and Tatsuhito Takaiwa beat Liger to win the IWGP jr. title
2001 – Masayuki Naruse beat Minoru Tanaka in Sapporo to win the IWGP jr. title and Gedo & Jado beat Liger & Samurai to win the IWGP jr. tag title
2002 – Koji Kanemoto beat Minoru Tanaka in Sapporo to win the IWGP jr. title
2007 – Negro Casas & Mistico beat Dr Wagner Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero in Mexico City to win the CMLL tag titles
2013 – Shinsuke Nakamura beat La Sombra in Akita to win the IC title
2014 – BxB Hulk beat Yamato in Nagoya to win the Open the Dream Gate title and T-Hawk & Eita beat Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi to win the Open the Twin Gate tag title
TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS
WWE/NXT
WWE Fury: 16 Of Brock Lesnas’s Most Furious F-5s
7/19/15 WWEcom Exclusive: Team Paige Celebrates With The Nature Boy
7/19/15 WWE.com Exclusive: Lesnar Leaves WWE Battleground
7/19/15 WWE.com Exclusive: The Prime Time Players Beat The Odds
7/19/15 WWE.com Exclusive: Kevin Owens Is Not In The Mood To Be Interviewed
7/19/15 WWE.com Exclusive: Kevin Owens Gets In Touch With His Artistic Side
GLOBAL FORCE NETWORK
#GFWAmped: Chris Mordetzky-Why Did You Leave WWE?
#GFWAmped: PJ Black-It’s All About The Adrenaline Rush
#GFWAmped: Brian Myers-What Would It Mean To Be The First Ever GFW Global Champion?
INDY TV SHOWS
Premiere Wrestling Xperience HD TV (Episode 4)
Premiere Wrestling Xperience HD TV (Episode 5)
Premiere Wrestling Xperience HD TV (Episode 6)
West Virginia Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 237)
Victory Championship Wrestling “Victory Wrestling Shocase” TV (Episode 112)
7/19/15 NWA Southern All-Star Wrestling
Fedor Emelianenko’s manager Vadim Finkelchtein had an hour long interview with Submission Radio getting down to every detail of a possible return for “The Last Emperor”
When it comes to where Fedor is going Vadim believes UFC has the highest chance as long as Dana White actually provides a substantial offer “If Dana would not only talk, but do some things [and] will make a good offer to Fedor, they have a big chance then.” While many are speculating the Rebook deal may be an issue for Fedor Vadim assured Submission Radio that it’s no problem at all “It’s going to be a big problem because I think Rebook is interested in Fedor as well as the UFC, and I think if they really want this they will find some ways.”
While on the subject of Dana White Vadim assured Submission Radio that the shaky negotions that Emelianenko had on a secret island along with the negative comments in the media won’t hurt a possible deal in the future “Dana talked a lot. [He] talked a lot about Fedor, about Vadim, and he talked bad. But Fedor understands that it all was just PR. He’s not in a bad relations with Dana and he doesn’t feel anything bad about him.”
With WSOF bidding for a co-promoted card between them and M1 Vadim shot down the idea “Well, when it comes to M-1 we are not really interested in any kind of co-promotion. M-1 is a self-contained, European promotion which has no less than 12 shows a year, and this number is about to grow every year.” As well as WSOF Vadim wouldn’t consider co-promotion between M1 and Scott Coker’s Bellator similar to their deal with Stirkeforce “I don’t think that a co-promotion with Bellator is possible. The other time when we co-promoted with Strikeforce [it was] because Fedor had a contract with M-1. Now it’s a different story. And, well to repeat what I said before, I want to say that M-1 don’t really need any co-promotion.”
According to Vadim a fight with Randy Couture isn’t out of the question if the former UFC champion looks to make a return to the ring “From my point of view this fight would be interesting. They are both legends and great fighters, but I can’t talk about Fedor. I think that can be interesting for him because years ago it was interesting for him.”
Finally when it comes to Joe Rogan and some of his comments earlier in the year suggesting Fedor’s use of PED’s Vadim just puts it down to PR tricks “Well, actually we never put a big attention on that PR tricks, and Joe Rogan’s words were those kind of PR things. I am a friend of Fedor, I was his manager, and I know he never used any doping. People even asked him “why don’t you use this? Why don’t you take this medicine?” and so on, but he never did this. He just ate healthy food, trained a lot, and stayed healthy. He never used any doping.”
Full link: http://bit.ly/1Gvjdv2
Transcript
On if Vadim is interested in a co-promotion deal with WSOF for a potential Fedor fight
“Well, when it comes to M-1 we are not really interested in any kind of co-promotion. M-1 is a self-contained, European promotion which has no less than 12 shows a year, and this number is about to grow every year.”
“Well, actually we can talk about this. It depends on many things. It’s complicated to make a co-promotion. It’s a hard thing. It’s about money, and when it comes to Fedor, it’s only his choice. He has a very wide choice of MMA organizations in the world, and who will make a better offer to him will get Fedor.”
Seeing as M-1 co-promoted with Strikeforce in the past, if he would consider co-promoting with Scott Coker and Bellator on a card with Fedor?
“I don’t think that a co-promotion with Bellator is possible. The other time when we co-promoted with Strikeforce [it was] because Fedor had a contract with M-1. Now it’s a different story. And, well to repeat what I said before, I want to say that M-1 don’t really need any co-promotion.”
On if the negative experience and failed negations with Dana White (from the meeting on the island) in the past will have an impact on Fedor coming to the UFC
“Well I don’t think that story can influence somehow Fedor’s decision to choose UFC or any other MMA promotion. If they will make a good offer to him that will be good for himself, then he can accept this. Also Bellator can make a better offer. So I don’t think that situation can influence it somehow.”
On if Fedor has any negative feelings towards Dana White
“Dana talked a lot. [He] talked a lot about Fedor, about Vadim, and he talked bad. But Fedor understands that it all was just PR. He’s not in a bad relations with Dana and he doesn’t feel anything bad about him.”
On if Vadim would be open to selling M-1 Global to Dana White as he expressed in a previous interview he was open to the idea a number of years back when Dana offered to buy it but had no power to sell it
“It was a completely different situation then. We had some financial problems then. And now I’m not going to sell M-1 to anywhere because we are growing and developing. We have no less than 12 events a year, and the next year we are going to have 14 or 16 events. We have a lot of sponsors, we have support, and we started to make the “M-1 arena” for 3000 people in St Petersburg. So it’s no more financial problems and no matter for me to sell to M-1.”
On if the new Rebook deal will be a problem when the UFC will sign Fedor due to loss of sponsorship money
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big problem because I think Rebook is interested in Fedor as well as the UFC, and I think if they really want this they will find some ways.”
On if UFC is the most likely company to sign Fedor
“Well I think UFC have a big chance to sign Fedor. It depends on what offer they will make. If Dana would not only talk, but do some things [and] will make a good offer to Fedor, they have a big chance then.”
On if Fedor is still open to fighting Randy Couture
“From my point of view this fight would be interesting. They are both legends and great fighters, but I can’t talk about Fedor. I think that can be interesting for him because years ago it was interesting for him.”
The level of competition that Fedor would fight upon his return and if he would pursue a title belt of have showcase fights
“Before he decided to retire, Fedor was working hard, training and fighting a lot during his whole career, and he was tired, both physically and mentally. So he decided himself [that] it was time to stop. And that was a common decision, and I was doing my best to make him come back. Now he decided to come back, but he never stopped training. He always gave master-classes, always had sparring, and so on. So his physical form is very good now. He didn’t lose anything. All he needs now is some time to get ready to get prepared, because I see fire in his eyes. He is ready mentally to fight. All he needs is to take some training and he will be able to beat any fighters and the strongest fighters in the world.”
Thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov saying “I hope Fedor understands that MMA has changed a lot”
“Fedor never actually never left MMA, he just didn’t fight. He was always involved. He saw the level of the fighters, he saw the level of the champions, and well he was involved. He didn’t miss anything. He has trained constantly and been self-active. Furthermore, he had never used any kind of doping. All of his power and all of his strength was gained by the hard work only. So this vacation only even benefited him because he didn’t have all that condition downfall that it’s users typically experience when they stop using it.”
If Vadim was upset with Joe Rogan’s comments about Fedor and PED’s
“Well, actually we never put a big attention on that PR tricks, and Joe Rogan’s words were those kind of PR things. I am a friend of Fedor, I was his manager, and I know he never used any doping. People even asked him “why don’t you use this? Why don’t you take this medicine?” and so on, but he never did this. He just ate healthy food, trained a lot, and stayed healthy. He never used any doping.”
Tito Ortiz returned to Submission Radio to discuss his big title fight at Bellator 142.
Before discussing the fight Tito opened up about Fedor and his belief that he’s going to Bellator creating an opportunity for a possible match up “I think Fedor is signing with Bellator, and if he can get down to 205 I would love to fight him. I’ve always fought at 205, I will always fight at 205 because I know I’m in great shape when I fight at 205, but if Bellator could put that together; wow, can you imagine after I beat McGeary, me and Fedor for the light heavyweight title? That’d be amazing.” When asked about why Tito thinks Fedor is going to Bellator especially after claims from his manager that a UFC signing looked likely Tito explained “Well, you know Scott Coker is a straightshooter, and I know he’s an awesome guy, and I know Fedor has had that great time with Bellator at the signings, and I know Scott Coker and Fedor are good friends, his managers are good friends with him. And you know it just seems like when you’re in a good business relationship, things just make sense, and I don’t know. We’ll see. I can’t let the cat out of the bag too soon can I?” Although Fedor vs. Tito would be a great fight the biggest barrier in the way could be Ortiz wanting to do the fight at 205. However when asked if he’d be doing a catch weight fight Tito admitted “Yes I would.”
Tito like many had some opinions on the UFC uniforms, he explained “The uniforms are horrible. Thank god I don’t have to fight for that company. Gosh I feel bad for those guys. Man they look silly, and I’m not a big fan of it.” “It just looks like a conveyer belt of fighters that are going out and are fighting, you know? Thank god for McGregor who talks very well and he’s outspoken and he’s able to find a character and run with it”
Ortiz’s compliments for McGregor didn’t stop there. When asked if he believes the champion is a bigger draw than Brock Lesnar Tito said “McGregor is a bigger draw in MMA than Brock Lesnar as of now” “I hope he’s getting paid what he deserves and I gotta say, I respect the guy. He dresses nice, he talks great, and he fights great; kind of like myself when I was the world champion. So it’s nice to see a guy do it nowadays and not afraid to do it, and have no backlash for doing it.”
Before Tito took his title fight with Liam McGeary he process of fighting the Bellator champion wasn’t easy as Scott Coker didn’t see the fight as a good option Tito explained what he went through “Right off the bat I told Scott [Coker] “I want to fight Liam”. He’s like “well why don’t we do you and Kimbo”. I was like “no I want to fight Liam”. And he’s goes like “why don’t we do you and Ken Shamrock”. I’m like “no I want to fight Liam”. He goes “well how about you and Frank Shamrock”. I go “Scott please, who do I need to talk to? I want to fight Liam McGeary”. And he goes “alright, well I really don’t think people like this”. And I said “okay, we’ll see”. And I posted it on Twitter and people went nuts. Legend vs. Champion, they want to see it. And all of a sudden Viacom’s talking, Spike TV’s talking. And then all of sudden Scott called me back. He’s like “oh this will be great, champion vs. legend.”
As for Frank Shamrock don’t expect Tito to fight him any time soon as Ortiz explained his decision making process when he was offered the fight initially “It took about maybe two seconds to figure that one out and say no. Let’s think about this. Tito Ortiz 2015, fights Frank Shamrock who’s retired. Tito Ortiz who’s on a two-fight win streak and has an opportunity to fight for a world title. Why would I want to give my fans an easy win when I could go out saying I fought the champion and beat the champion and challenged myself like no other?”
While on the subject of potential fights Tito still belives that Ronda Rousey is ducking his former client and close friend Cris Cyborg “Yeah, if she wasn’t [ducking] she would already fight her. The fight would already be done, you know? They’d fight at catchweight at 140 and they would already make it happen. One of the reasons why Ronda ran into 135 pounds – she used to be a 145 pounder when she fought in Strikeforce, but she cut down to get away from Cris. If the fight would have happened it would happen already, but Ronda wants to ride her glory trailer. I’m proud of her though. I’m proud of Ronda. She’s doing an amazing job. She’s putting MMA on the map for women like no other, and she’s a superstar in the sport, in films, and around the world. So you know, I’m proud of the girl.”
Submission Radio clarified if Tito believes Cris can cut down to 135 pounds “As a friend, as a training partner, I really see it hard for Cris to make 135. You know, we talk about it, about making it. Making 145 is not super difficult, but it is hard for her to do. She’s coming down from 170, you know I mean? When she’s not in great shape she’s 175, almost 180. She’s a big girl. I mean, she’s fought her whole career – we’re talking about Cris Cyborg – at 145 pounds, I mean her whole career. And it’s just, her trying to cut down even more, I just think it just….it would really make her not as great a fighter as she is if she fights at 145 pounds; or even at 140″
With IV ban’s in the UFC many fighters will find it difficult to cut weight Tito belives it could be an issue for big weight cutters in the UFC “A lot of these other guys do the IVs and they go from, you know, 170. They weigh in and all of a sudden they’re 185, almost 190 when it’s fight time. And that’s a big difference too for the size of a man that’s putting that much weight on.”
Finally don’t expect Tito to retire after his contract with Bellator runs out according to Ortiz a record breaking run as champion may be in the cards “Well you know I have two fights [left on the current contract]. So I win this world title, I defend the world title, and I come back to the negotiation table, and I come back and run it for 6-7 fights and be the longest raining Bellator world champion, and be the longest raining MMA world champion in history. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Read full transcript for comments on recent Jenna Jameson lawsuit, fighting Liam McGeary, thoughts on Alexander Shlemenko and much more.
Full interview: http://bit.ly/1Ohplwt
Transcript
If he believes Ronda Rousey is ducking Cris Cyborg
“Yeah, if she wasn’t [ducking] she would already fight her. The fight would already be done, you know? They’d fight at catchweight at 140 and they would already make it happen. One of the reasons why Ronda ran into 135 pounds – she used to be a 145 pounder when she fought in Strikeforce, but she cut down to get away from Cris. If the fight would have happened it would happen already, but Ronda wants to ride her glory trailer. I’m proud of her though. I’m proud of Ronda. She’s doing an amazing job. She’s putting MMA on the map for women like no other, and she’s a superstar in the sport, in films, and around the world. So you know, I’m proud of the girl.”
If there’s any chance Cyborg could fight Rousey at 135 or if the fight would have to be at catchweight?
“As a friend, as a training partner, I really see it hard for Cris to make 135. You know, we talk about it, about making it. Making 145 is not super difficult, but it is hard for her to do. She’s coming down from 170, you know I mean? When she’s not in great shape she’s 175, almost 180. She’s a big girl. I mean, she’s fought her whole career – we’re talking about Cris Cyborg – at 145 pounds, I mean her whole career. And it’s just, her trying to cut down even more, I just think it just….it would really make her not as great a fighter as she is if she fights at 145 pounds; or even at 140, I think she would even do better. But it’s just, we’re going try to get down before the year is over. Try at least have one fight at 140. And it’s just a matter of time I think. Miesha Tate has said she’d fight Cris at 140. So that might be the first right step towards getting a fight with Ronda Rousey.”
On if Rousey’s with Cyborg is important for the growth of WMMA
“I think it’d do a lot for the sport in general and in woman’s MMA. It’s just one of those things like a Manny Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but I think this would be a real fight. I think you’d have a more exciting fight, where she would want to exchange with each other, not play the pitter-patter of dancing and how boxing does, as the Mayweather fight did give you. I mean I was bummed about it. I was a huge Mayweather and Pacquiao fan. I was excited to see who would be the better boxer.”
Tito’s thoughts on the IV ban
“Well, you know I really didn’t start using IVs until like 2009, 2008. Randy Couture is the one who told me about it. I’ve always just done pedialytes. I mean and I’ve always cut anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds for a fight and the IVs helped out a whole bunch more. It makes it easier. But for other people who cut the 20 pounds, they’re usually a smaller man. I’m a big guy so I can cut a lot of weight, it’s not a problem, I’ve mastered this. I’ve never missed a weight in my whole career, and I just think for a whole lot of other people it’s hard for them to accept the fact that in the UFC they’re going to have to cut IVs. I mean I really don’t see the negative benefits that the athletic commission get for not doing IVs, you know? If it makes it kinda harder for guys to use any kind of dope or any type of steroids and anything like that – but if the guys are using them, they’re going to catch him anyways. So I don’t understand what’s the difference. In Bellator we don’t have to worry about it – thank god – but if it does happen during my career, I have no problem rehydrating with pedialytes and water and food, and just get back up to normal walk-around weight, pre-fight, around 220, 223, to 224. That’s not a problem. A lot of these other guys do the IVs and they go from, you know, 170. They weigh in and all of a sudden they’re 185, almost 190 when it’s fight time. And that’s a big difference too for the size of a man that’s putting that much weight on.”
On Tito’s opinion if the Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice fight was a work
“Well for one, you’ve got two guys – you know Kimbo is a street fighter and Ken Shamrock is 51 years old. I’m not talking anything bad about Ken Shamrock – you know or Kimbo either – but to be a main event, the name speaks for itself. The names sold it. They got over 2.2 million viewers, which was great. People still want to see those two guys fight, they want to see Kimbo fight and I think the hatred they had towards each other it’s what fuelled the fire. People don’t understand – you know for people to view something to be a spectacle, that’s why they watch it. No matter what. They watch it. You look at Conor McGregor. I mean they guy has only fought four times in the UFC, and he got probably one of the biggest pay per view buys in his last fight he had ’cause he talks. He talks well. People like excitement, people like people who are fighters, who put their heart and soul out there and say what they mean, and say what they feel. And Kimbo and Shamrock did the same thing. As far as Rogan saying that it was a fixed fight; I was sitting right there, I mean literally right in front of it, and the punch that Shamrock got hit with, I felt it. I was like “ow”. And it was far from fixed at all. I mean I don’t know how they could cut the camera away and put blood on Ken Shamrock’s face, put a gash on his face. It was far from fixed.”
“You know, Ken Shamrock just wasn’t in shape. He was in good enough shape for a 50 year old man, but wasn’t in shape enough to finish, you know, a non-professional mixed martial artist. At the same time, I just….I don’t know, I thought it was a spectacle fight that got viewership into it. At the end of the day, the fights prior to that were exciting. The whole card in general was a really exciting card, and I was happy to be in the audience.”
On if Scott Coker really offered for him to fight Frank Shamrock next, and if Tito considered it
“It took about maybe two seconds to figure that one out and say no. Let’s think about this. Tito Ortiz 2015, fights Frank Shamrock who’s retired. Tito Ortiz who’s on a two-fight win streak and has an opportunity to fight for a world title. Why would I want to give my fans an easy win when I could go out saying I fought the champion and beat the champion and challenged myself like no other? I could take the easy road, I could make the payday, I could get paid. This is not paydays for me. I have money, that’s fine. It’s not about that. This is about me leaving the sport as being a world champion. How I started this sport is being a world champion, and I challenge myself. I mean that’s why the fans love me, I challenge myself. I could have taken a fight with Kimbo Slice, I could have taken a fight with Ken Shamrock, but no, I didn’t want to. I want to challenge myself as a human being, as an athlete, as a legend in the sport. I have really done so much for the sport. This sport has given me so much. I just really chose this, and right off the bat I told Scott [Coker] “I want to fight Liam”. He’s like “well why don’t we do you and Kimbo”. I was like “no I want to fight Liam”. And he’s goes like “why don’t we do you and Ken Shamrock”. I’m like “no I want to fight Liam”. He goes “well how about you and Frank Shamrock”. I go “Scott please, who do I need to talk to? I want to fight Liam McGeary”. And he goes “alright, well I really don’t think people like this”. And I said “okay, we’ll see”. And I posted it on Twitter and people went nuts. Legend vs. Champion, they want to see it. And all of a sudden Viacom’s talking, Spike TV’s talking. And then all of sudden Scott called me back. He’s like “oh this will be great, champion vs. legend. Let’s do this”. And bada bing, bada bang, we’re in the ropes, on the road of being the world champion again. I’m very, very excited.”
On his feelings towards Liam McGeary and if it’s difficult not having an issue with Liam like he did with Bonnar going into the fight
“I think Liam is a great guy. I really like the guy. He has something that I want, and that’s a world title. You know, face to face I have respect for the guy. When it’s fight time, everything is going to be thrown out the window, and it’s going to be two dogs trying to get their first meal. But I think it will help me more that I fight with my heart and mind, and not with my mind and heart as I did with Stephan Bonnar. I just fought with pure heart and anger that fight. I hated him. I mean I just…every punch had bad intentions on it. I was swinging for the fences. There was no technique to it, you know? I was just….I was trying to maul Bonnar. I was just trying to kill him. I still wanted to punch him after the fight was over. I still want to punch him even now. I don’t like the guy. I really don’t like the guy. He’s just a scumbag. I don’t like the guy. And I mean, in my whole career there aren’t many people I can say that after I fought them that I still don’t like them, and Bonnar is one of those guys I still don’t like. He’s just….he’s a dirt bag. But McGeary I have complete respect for, and I think it just makes the match that much more exciting to watch because we’re going to see who’s the best technician, who has the better skills. And yes, Liam is 10-0 and he’s submitted a lot of guys, he’s knocked out a few guys, but has he ever fought anybody like Tito Ortiz? I really don’t think he has. I watched what Emanuel did to him and to take him down at will like that. I know what I have to do to win the match and I know what it’s going to take for me to be the world champion. But like I said, Liam is the best right now. In 205 pounds in Bellator, Liam is the best fighter in the world, and I gotta prepare for that. I gotta prepare for the worst and best will happen.”
On if Liam brings something different that Tito hasn’t seen before
“Will he bring anything different that I haven’t seen before? No. Because I’m training with the best of the best right now. I’m training at Kings, I’m training with Fabricio Werdum, I got a lot of guys that I’m working with, you know, Rafael Cordeiro, Jason Parillo, a lot of Jiu Jitsu guys that are helping, some wrestler guys that are helping. I’m just putting in the work. My mind is able to do it, my body’s been able to react to everything I’m doing, I’m doing my road work, I’m doing my lifts, and I’m doing the things that I need to do to prepare myself for war. I’m going out there, I’m gonna give it everything I possibly can to get my hand raised, and that’s what I’m gonna do on September 19th, is getting my hand raised and be a champion in two major organizations for the first time. No other fighter has done that.”
On how long Tito Ortiz plans to stick around in Bellator if he wins the title
“Well you know I have two fights [left on the current contract]. So I win this world title, I defend the world title, and I come back to the negotiation table, and I come back and run it for 6-7 fights and be the longest raining Bellator world champion, and be the longest raining MMA world champion in history. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
If his ex-girlfriend Jenna Jameson’s lawsuit, and if it will take any of his attention away from his upcoming fight
“The plain answer to that one, is I’m fighting. And that’s why this is all happening, because I’m fighting. And you know once again [she’s] trying to get back in my head again, and I ain’t letting it. I’ve gotten away from that woman two years ago and I’m happy. It’s all a façade that she built up in her own mind and I can step away and not have to worry about it because I know the truth, and I know what she’s trying to do to me, and it’s sad. The person needs help. And that’s pretty much all I can say about that.”
Thoughts on the UFC uniforms
“The uniforms are horrible. Thank god I don’t have to fight for that company. Gosh I feel bad for those guys. Man they look silly, and I’m not a big fan of it. I don’t know, that’s just me. I think each person has their own unique personality that shows through their clothing. That’s the way I did. I mean back in the day, can you imagine Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz having to wear Rebook and they couldn’t wear ice and flames? It just wouldn’t make any sense. So you lose the fighters. It’s just….you’re controlling the fighters. The fighters don’t get an opportunity to make a name for themselves ever because they all look the same. It just looks like a conveyer belt of fighters that are going out and are fighting, you know? Thank god for McGregor who talks very well and he’s outspoken and he’s able to find a character and run with it. I mean the guy is a great talker and he can back it up in his fights. I actually – he has just changed my mind of what type of fighter he really is, and I think he’s going to be great, and I think he’s going to be one of the greatest.”
Thoughts on former Bellator opponent Alexander Shlemenko being suspended for 3 years
“I guess he should have never called me out. Once I choked him unconscious, his career really just took a crap, you know? I stole his soul and I guess I’m sorry Alex Shlemenko – or Alexander Shlemenko – I apologize to you for doing that, but you called me out. And a lot of these guys get popped for this stuff and it’s stupid. Why do they do it? They think they’re going to get away it. It’s just….it’s sad for the sport, it’s sad for each one of the individuals that do get caught with it. You get high names who are doing it, I mean big named guys who are doing it and getting caught with it, and you would never believe it. But I think it’s bad for the sport. They’re sending a bad example for the sport and for themselves, and they gotta pay the price. And Alexander Shlemenko paying three years for it…that’s a big price to pay.”
On if Tito believes McGregor is a bigger draw than Brock Lesnar
“McGregor is a bigger draw in MMA than Brock Lesnar as of now. Before, Brock Lesnar was, just because he came over with all the WWF fans and they’re huge, crazy, maniac fans. But now Conor McGregor has a whole country on his side and actually he’s got two countries now with the United States and he has Brazil hating him. So when you have them love them and hate you, you fall in my shoes where they love to hate you and hate to love you, which is great. And I think McGregor is – before, I thought he wasn’t as great as he is after the fight, because he was taking an ass whipping for a round and he came back and he showed poise, and he showed technique, and he showed talent, and he’s great on the mic, and he ended up knocking out Chad Mendes. And Chad’s never been knocked out ever, and he knocked him out within three [rounds] and he called it. He said he’s going to knock him out in three, and I wonder if Dana made that three million dollar bet with him saying he was gonna knock him out. So I think McGregor’s good for the sport. I think he deserves everything he gets. I hope he’s getting paid what he deserves and I gotta say, I respect the guy. He dresses nice, he talks great, and he fights great; kind of like myself when I was the world champion. So it’s nice to see a guy do it nowadays and not afraid to do it, and have no backlash for doing it.”
On people suggesting Conor McGregor’s fight at UFC 189 against Chad Mendes was fixed
“It’s ridiculous [to say] that it was fixed. It was not fixed. I mean they did pick Chad Mendes two weeks prior to the fight. They probably ran him through the PR tour, and I mean, well Chad wasn’t ready. I would have loved to see Frankie Edgar with that fight. I think Frankie Edgar would do a better job, but of course the UFC there’s a little weight on McGregor that the UFC wants him to win. The guy talks great, and if he fights good and he puts peoples butts in chairs, and people watch it on pay per view, and that’s what they care about, you know? They protect their commodity, and their commodity is Conor McGregor.”
On if Tito has any indications that Fedor is singing with Bellator and if he’d fight him
“I think Fedor is signing with Bellator, and if he can get down to 205 I would love to fight him. I’ve always fought at 205, I will always fight at 205 because I know I’m in great shape when I fight at 205, but if Bellator could put that together; wow, can you imagine after I beat McGeary, me and Fedor for the light heavyweight title? That’d be amazing.”
On what makes Tito think Fedor is signing with Bellator
“Well, you know Scott Coker is a straightshooter, and I know he’s an awesome guy, and I know Fedor has had that great time with Bellator at the signings, and I know Scott Coker and Fedor are good friends, his managers are good friends with him. And you know it just seems like when you’re in a good business relationship, things just make sense, and I don’t know. We’ll see. I can’t let the cat out of the bag too soon can I?”
On if Scott Coker does a catch weight between Fedor and Tito would he agree?
“Yes I would.”
Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling has announced a late October tour of the U.K.
The date annnounced are 10/28 at the Grimsby Auditorium in Grimbsy, Lincolnshire; and 10/30 at the Lynnsport and Leisure Park in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
Names announced for the tour are Jeff & Karen Jarrett, Doug Williams, Nick Aldis, Mickie James and Marty Scrull.