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  • New Japan 2015 G1 Climax 25: A First-Timer’s Guide

    Be sure to also check out Mike Sempervive’s G1 guide posted earlier this week.

    With the first G1 Climax 25 tournament set to air early Monday morning, anticipation is mounting for New Japan fans who have seen the previous tournaments that have aired live over the internet – for them, it’s one of the biggest tournaments of the year. For others, they have no earthly idea what the fuss is about. If you fall in the latter category, and want a better idea of what the tournament is about and how you can order it, this article is designed especially for you! If you are new to New Japan and the G1 and want a primer, look no further than here as I’ll try and keep you informed of what will be going on for the next few weeks in New Japan.

    What is the G1 tournament? What does G1 stand for?

    Good question to start out with! The G1 (or Grade 1) Climax Tournament is a tournament held every year, with a varying number of wrestlers (this year it’s 20) competing to become champion. Each wrestler is put in a block; they must wrestle all of the people in that block, and the person with the most points in each block will face off in the finals to determine the winner of the tournament.

    When does it start? And when does it end? Just how many shows are there?

    This year’s G1 starts on 7/20 at 11:00 PST. It will end on 8/16. Not sure on the time for the latter as the August schedule for New Japan World hasn’t been put up. Refer to here for the schedule for the rest of July, and check here for a time conversion. All together, there will be 19 shows airing throughout July and August.

    Wait, so people are going to wrestle on all 19 of these shows? Aren’t these type of matches going to kill them through exertion?

    These shows won’t exclusively feature block matches like previous years – each day there will be 5 matches on a card featuring exclusively A block matches for B block matches. The rest will be mostly tag team matches. Since most multi man matches in New Japan are super formulaic, it pretty much gives them a few days off to rest and prepare for the next big match. You can see the full cards for these shows here.

    How are points determined?

    Whoever wins a match is given two points. If a match ends in a draw, it’s one point each. A loss gets zero points.

    Say that at the end of a tournament two guys in the same block are tied for the most points. What happens then?

    Whoever won the match between the two gets the tiebreaker and advances to the finals. And if you ask what happens if they drew…well..it hasn’t happened, at least not to my knowledge, so who knows!

    What happens to the two runner ups? Last year a match between AJ Styles and Hiroshi Tanahashi determined third place. Is that usually the case?

    Nope. It happened last year, but it doesn’t seem that they’re doing it this year. They could announce it for the finals, but nothing has been confirmed right now. 

    Well…so who are the participants? Give me a basic summary of everyone involved.

    A Block

    AJ Styles: Former TNA world heavyweight champion. Joined New Japan in 2014 and has quickly risen to the top, already a two time IWGP Heavyweight champion, the top belt in New Japan. Leader of one of the top stables in New Japan, the Bullet Club.

    Bad Luck Fale: The heavy of the Bullet Club. At 6’4 and 320 pounds, he easily towers those. Very few people have kicked out of the Bad Luck Fall. Also a former Intercontinental champion.

    Doc Gallows: Formerly Luke Gallows/Festus in WWE. Often teams with Karl Anderson, and in fact they are the current IWGP tag team champions. Also of the Bullet Club

    Hiroshi Tanahashi: Longtime ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Won the G1 Climax tournament in 2007. He’s held the IWGP Heavyweight championships the most times at 7 reigns. He’s been embroiled in a feud with Toru Yano for most of the year, but a decisive win at Dominion means he’s focusing solely on the G1.

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan: Currently, often teams with Satoshi Kojima, and together they are known as Tencozy. Also holds the NWA World Heavyweight championship. He’s no stranger to the G1 as he’s won it in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Although most of the year his collection of injuries have crept up on his work, some of his best matches in the year happen in the G1.

    Katsuyori Shibata: Known as “The Wrestler”, Shibata broke into NJPW in 1999, but left in 2004 to freelance and work in MMA. He returned in 2012 and has been well known for his extreme stiffness, pelting his opponents with kicks and strikes that would make anyone cringe. 

    Kota Ibushi: The “Golden Star” of NJPW was originally scheduled to compete in the G1 last year, but a concussion kept him out of action. Known for his high flying offense as well as his ability to absorb extreme punishment, Ibushi has really broken out since advancing to the heavyweight division, and this just might be the year that he breaks out and wins the tournament.

    Tetsuya Naito: The 2013 G1 Climax winner has undergone a dramatic change in appearance in recent weeks, as his colorful red and white garb has been replaced with a black t-shirt and cap. Now part of the CMLL stable Los Ingobernables, Naito looks to secure another tournament win, complete with scruffy beard and heelish tendencies.

    Togi Makabe: known as a lover of sweets, Mabake is also known for being another brawler in New Japan, as well as a former IWGP World Heavyweight champion and the winner of the 2009 G1 Climax tournament. His recent battles (more akin to wars) with Tomohiro Ishii over the NEVER Openweight championship have kept him busy for the last few months, so one has to question if those battles have had an affect on him.

    Toru Yano: Yano is most famous for using every trick in the book not related to pro wrestling in order to secure a quick, cheap win. Whether  it be undoing the turnbuckle pad, using the ref for a distraction or introducing a chair into the match, Yano’s main goal isn’t to have a great match, but rather do anything on Earth to get the win. 

    Block B

    Hirooki Goto: Current IWGP Intercontinental champion and winner of the 2008 G1 Climax tournament. Goto can best be described as always a bridesmaid but never a bride. While he’s gotten many shots at the IWGP championship, he’s never been able to pull it off and get the big win. The thing he has going for him at the moment is that he’s on a roll, beating Shinsuke Nakamura twice, first winning the Intercontinental championship then successfully defending it against him as well. Perhaps if he pulls it off here he can challenge for the big one at WrestleKingdom.

    Karl Anderson: A key member of the Bullet Club and a constant fixture in the tag team divison of New Japan, Anderson looks to try his luck again at the G1. He’s gotten close, losing in the finals of the 2012 G1 tournament, but has never won the tournament outright. Having just won the IWGP tag team championships at New Japan’s last big event, Dominion, momentum is on his side.

    Kazuchika Okada: The current IWGP Heavyweight champion. Since his return from his excursion to the United States in 2012, Okada has went from being a Green Hornet rip-off to one of the best workers in the world, having top quality matches with a variety of opponents. He’s also been ultra successful, already winning the IWGP Heavyweight championship 3 times as well as winning the G1 Climax tournament in 2012 and 2014. At 27 years old, he’s far from finishes winning high profile titles. It’s rare for a champion to win the G1, but it’s entirely possible.

    Michael Elgin: Representing Ring of Honor, Elgin has been looking to make his mark in Japan for quite some time, and now he’s finally receiving the opportunity by competing in this year’s tournament. Elgin’s style does seem to fit in Japan, but as of right now he’s considered an unknown commodity in this tournament; given the high expectations through recent G1 tournaments we’ll see if Elgin is able to compete with the top athletes in New Japan.

    Satoshi Kojima: Kojima is one of the more decorated veterans in the tournament; not only did he win the G1 Climax tournament in 2010, he’s also one of the few who have held both the IWGP Heavyweight championship as well as the AJPW Triple Crown championship. During the rest of the year, he mostly teams with Hiroyoshi Tenzan as Tencozy. But as a singles, Kojima is able to hold his own with the brightest prospects in New Japan.

    Shinsuke Nakamura: The Wrestling Observer 2014 Wrestler of the Year has held many titles, including the IWGP Heavyweight championship on 3 occasions as well as winning the G1 tournament in 2011. But in recent years, he’s been the Intercontinental champion, and has established that title as one of the top titles in NJPW, even rivaling the prestige of the IWGP Heavyweight title. Known for his brash attitude and oozing charisma, he is always a favorite in the tournament, and even made it to the finals last year. Perhaps he’ll pull it off again this year.

    Tomoaki Honma: Honmamania has reached to new levels in recent years as Honma has gained massive amounts of popularity with the New Japan audience. Known for giving it his all in every match, his win-loss record in the company is quite lopsided, and not for the best. He lost every match in last year’s G1 tournament, but despite this he looks to re-enter the tournament this year and give it his all again. 

    Tomohiro Ishii: Also another wrestler who has gained popularity in recent years, Ishii has known to be someone who will destroy not only his opponent, but his own body as well. He’s had incredible wars with the likes of Katsuyori Shibata, Hirooki Goto and most recently Togi Makabe. His brash style has meant that he’s accumulated many injuries over the last couple of years, but considering he’s spent most of 2014 in bandages, that won’t deter him from destroying himself or his opponent in this year’s tournament as well.

    Yuji Nagata: Known as “Mr. Anti-Aging”, at 47 Yuji Nagata is still considered one of the best wrestlers in New Japan, and has been able to hold up his own against younger opponents. Winner of the 2001 G1 Climax and a former IWGP Heavyweight champion, Nagata looks to do it once again. Set to face many top contenders in his block, Nagata looks to, at the very least, retain his title of Mr. Anti-Aging with more spectacular performances.

    Yujiro Takahashi: Since breaking out from former No Limit tag team partner Tetsuya Naito, Yujiro isn’t known for his great wrestling skills, but rather for how little his lady friends who accompany him to the ring wear. Joining the Bullet Club last year has gained him some notoriety, winning the NEVER championship, but Yujiro still hasn’t found his niche in New Japan yet. The G1, however, might be a great place to find it.

    If the goal is for the winner to get a title match, then why is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, in the tournament?

    It’s the norm for the heavyweight champion at the time to compete in the tournament. Any losses the champion might receive during the tournament can very well set up future title matches down the line, and if they win, it shows how dominant they are as champion. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened as Kensuke Sasaki and Keiji Muto have both won it while champion.

    Who has won the most G1 tournaments?

    Masahiro Chono, also known as “Mr. August”, was won the tournament on 5 different occasions since it’s inception in 1991.

    I’ve seen guys like Okada and Naito carry a briefcase, a la the Money in the Bank briefcase. Does the winner get an automatic shot at the title any time they please?

    Kinda. I don’t believe it’s official, but the new trend in the last few years is for the winner of the G1 to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at WrestleKingdom.

    All of this is all well and good, but why is everyone so excited for the tournament? What makes the G1 so special?

    Thanks to internet PPV, for the first time we’ve been able to see the G1 Climax tournament in full. And from what I have seen personally, it’s some of the best wrestling you’ll see all year. If you look at last year’s Wrestling Observer awards, many matches and cards from the G1 received tons of votes as some of the best of the year. Everyone (well, except maybe Yano) works the best match they can, and it often shows in their match.

    If you’ve never been a fan of the Japanese style of wrestling, this tournament may not be your cup of tea, but still worth investing in because of the diversity of styles. Shibata’s offense is stiff kicks, whenever Ishii is in a match you’re in for a brawl. Tanahashi and Okada provide traditional back and forth wrestling matches. Yano has a bunch of tricks up his sleeve. Every match is different than the one before it. But if you’re looking for something new, for roughly eight dollars on New Japan’s streaming service New Japan World, this is well worth the price for anyone who is a fan, as well as someone new who wants to have a look at something they’ve never seen before. It’s totally worth the investment, at least in my opinion.

    Ok, so I’ve heard of New Japan World, but have no idea how to use it. How do I sign up for it, and how do I navigate the site?

    Well, first off, going to the site helps wonders! At the bottom of the site, you’ll see an option to select a language. Pick English, and the site will be converted to English. Go back to the top and you’ll be able to see a place where you can login and register, click on that.  On the login page, there will be another option for you to translate into English, click on that again. From there, you’ll be able to register in English. For payment, most American credit cards should be able to do the trick.

    Once you’ve signed up, you can continue navigating in English with the Google Translate option. Be sure to check the schedule for dates of upcoming shows. All G1 Climax 25 shows will be live on New Japan World; you can access the livestream roughly 30 minutes before the show starts on the main page, highlighted in a yellow box.

    Also, be sure to check out Alan4L’s guide too.

    These shows air live way too early in the morning. How quickly will they be available on demand?

    It should be shortly after the show ends. If not, it will more than likely be posted later that day.

    Anything else I should know?

    If I forget anything, you can always contact me on Twitter and I’ll be happy to answer. Otherwise, nope! I’ll just reiterate what I said earlier. If you aren’t a fan of the Japanese style of pro wrestling, this is worth a look regardless because of all the different types of matches you’ll be seeing in the tournament. It’s worth eight bucks to at least give the tournament a try. If you’re new to Japanese wrestling, totally give this a shot, especially if you grow bored of what’s going on in the United States. The athleticism and diversity here is second to none, and even if you don’t like everything, there might be something or someone you’ll like.

    To sum it up.: when it comes to the G1, everyone should give it a shot.

  • Weekend boxing coverage: CBS/Showtime doubleheader

    by Jeremy Wall

    PBC had a double-header on Saturday, July 18th with two shows in front of 9,245 at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso. The first was headlined by the US debut of IBF Super Bantamweight champion Carl Frampton and aired Saturday afternoon on CBS. The second show wasn’t officially a PBC show, but featured fighters signed to Al Haymon. It aired on Saturday night on Showtime and was headlined by the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr after Junior’s devastating loss to Andrzej Fonfara earlier this year. The show was promoted by Leon Margules of Warrior Boxing, who has worked as the on-site promoter for PBC before.

    CBS aired two fights during the afternoon show, which began at 4pm ET. In the main event on CBS, Carl Frampton (21-0-0, 14KOs) made his shakey debut in the US by defeating Alejandro Gonzalez Jr (25-2-2, 15KOs) by unanimous decision to retain his Super Bantamweight title. Frampton, 28, is from Northern Ireland and continues the recent theme of Irish fighters coming to the US to try and become stars. It was Frampton’s second defense of the IBF title. Gonzalez is the son of former world champion Alejandro “Cobrita” Gonzalez Sr.

    Frampton struggled in his American debut and was knocked down twice in the first round against Gonzalez. They were the first and second knockdowns Frampton has ever suffered. Frampton, however, came back and outboxed Gonzalez for most of the rest of the fight. Gonzalez, 22, was also consistely hitting Frampton below the belt and lost two points in seperate rounds for low blows, one in the third round when the fight was close and one in the eleventh when Frampton had clearly secured the decision.

    Frampton connected on 246 of 692 punches for 36-percent and Gonzalez connected on 145 of 593 punches for 24-percent. Scores were 116-108, 116-108 and 115-109 for Frampton. He came into the weigh-ins at 121.6 pounds compared to 121.4 for Gonzalez. Although Frampton wasn’t weighed again the day of the fight, he looked massive the next day and had clearly rehydrated back to a much heavier weight.

    Frampton is large for a super bantamweight and has talked about moving up to featherweight soon. There is talk of Frampton facing the winner of Leo Santa Cruz vs Abner Mares in a fight that airs on ESPN on August 29th. Santa Cruz fought on the pay per view telecast of the undercard of Mayweather-Pacquiao in May and has tremendous potential. A fight between Frampton and Santa Cruz would definitely be interesting, although some of the lustre is off Frampton because of how he struggled against Gonzalez on CBS. The plan for Frampton is to get his next fight on the east coast, where he is more likely to draw Irish supporters in larger numbers.

    Frampton is one of many European fighters to have signed with PBC. Others include James DeGale, Amir Khan, Beibut Shumenov, and Marco Huck, among others. PBC also won a purse bid for Badou Jack vs George Groves for the WBC Super Middleweight title that Jack won on a PBC broadcast a few weeks ago. Groves is a star European fighter.

    The opening match on CBS saw Chris Arreola (36-4-1, 31KOs) go to a pathetic majority draw with Fred Kassi (18-3-1, 10KOs) at heavyweight in a bout that was meant to set Arreola up as a challenger for Deontay Wilder’s WBC Heavyweight title on NBC on September 26th. The opening rounds of Arreola-Kassi went up against the Michael Bisping-Thales Leites main event on UFC Fight Night from Glasgow on Fox Sports 1.

    Scores were 95-95 twice and 96-94 in favour of Kassi. The scoring was fair. The fight could have reasonably been judged either way. A draw was fair, too, and may have been the most fair result because neither fighter was in danger at any point in the fight. Arreola landed 97 of 317 punches for 31-percent and Kassi landed 135 of 534 punches for 25-percent.

    When asked in the post-fight interview on CBS whether he did enough to earn a title shot against Wilder, Arreola responded, “Personally, I don’t think so. I know that if I was to get Deontay Wilder, I would be in much better shape and a lot better prepared. Not that I wasn’t prepared [for Kassi] because I was very prepared for Kassi. He just came in here and came with a good fight.”

    Arreola was going into the fight with Kassi off a sloppy unanimous decision win over club fighter Curtis Harper on Spike TV on March 13th. Arreola didn’t look much better against Kassi. Kassi is a no-name journeyman who was brought in to give Arreola a showcase fight to generate interest in Arreola challenging Wilder for the title and was coming off a seventh-round knockout loss to Amir Mansour last November.

    Arreola looked out of shape weighing in at 246 pounds, but he was actually lighter than the 262 pounds he weighed in for the Harper fight in March. In his prime, Arreola typically weighed in around 240 pounds. His physique, however, looked lousy this time, so even though Arreola weighed in at his typical competitive weight, he obviously wasn’t in the same physical shape as in his prime.

    Arreola is probably pegged as the next opponent for Wilder because Arreola has a bit of a name from challenging Bermane Stiverne twice in 2013 and 2014 in major heavyweight matches, the latter being for the then-vacant WBC Heavyweight title that is now held by Wilder, as well as from challenging Vitali Klitschko for the WBC belt in 2009. Arreola also holds a first round knockout win over Eric Molina from 2012. Molina recently challenged Wilder for the title. Arreola is currently ranked eleventh at heavyweight by the WBC.

    Wilder is making his network television debut in September after fighting on Showtime twice this year. Getting Wilder to network TV was important because of all the possible stars Haymon has under contract, Wilder is the one with the most breakout potential. He’s young, flashy, a good (but not great) fighter, and has tremendous charisma. He has room to improve as a boxer, being early in his career still. Arreola is a good opponent to showcase Wilder’s debut to a wider audience on NBC, because Arreola has somewhat of a name as a B-side opponent for bigger stars and is a former title challenger, but is well past his prime and should make for easy work for Wilder and setup Wilder’s mandatory title defense owed to Alexander Povetkin at the end of the year.

    On Showtime, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (49-2-1, 32 KOs) recovered from his recent loss to Andrzej Fonfara at light-heavyweight to defeat Marcos Reyes (33-3, 24 KOs) via unanimous decision. Scores were 98-91, 97-92 and 96-93 for Chavez.

    I was unable to watch the fight because Showtime does not air in Canada and they currently have no contract with another Canadian broadcaster to air Showtime boxing. They were airing on SuperChannel, which is a premium movie channel in Canada, until the end of last year. The Stiverne-Wilder fight from January aired on TSN, but TSN hasn’t picked up any more Showtime fights. One would think Showtime boxing would be a natural fit for the Fight Network. Perhaps Showtime wants way too much money for Canadian broadcast rights to their boxing. Boxing isn’t popular in Canada at all outside of Quebec, even though pro wrestling and MMA are both popular here.

    Reports were that Chavez looked terrible and even though he was fighting just across the border in El Paso, the crowd totally turned on him. The fight took place at light-heavyweight, which looks to be Junior’s new home even though Junior’s people claim he will continue to fight at super-middleweight. Reyes was fighting for the first time at light-heavyweight after a career of fighting at super welterweight and middleweight and was brought in as a showcase opponent for Chavez.

    The fight was originally booked at 168-pounds, which is the super middleweight limit. The idea was obviously that Chavez was fighting in a weight class with opponents that were way too large at light-heavyweight, so they put him in a fight against a smaller opponent at super-middleweight, which was how Chavez was booked before facing Fonfara. Chavez, however, was unable to make weight and the fight was moved to 170-pounds and Reyes was paid an undisclosed amount for the short-notice weight limit change. Could you imagine that happening in the UFC?

    To top it off, even with the increase in the weight limit, Junior still missed weight, coming in at 170.8 pounds. Reyes weighed 168.4 pounds. Junior blamed the scale in his hotel room being inaccurate as the reason why he missed weight, which doesn’t make a bit of sense if you think about it for more than a couple seconds. Chavez’s next fight will apparently be at 168-pounds again, though.

    Chavez’s drawing power was severely damaged by the loss to Fonfara, a fight where Chavez quit on the stool after the ninth round. Prior to that fight, Chavez was one of the best drawing boxers with his fights topping out the list of the most-watched matches on HBO. Not anymore. The fight against Fonfara in April only drew 618,000 viewers on average and peaked at 836,000. In comparison, Chavez’s two fights with Bryan Vera on HBO drew 1.416 million and 1.39 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively. After the loss to Fonfara and the poor showing against Reyes, I suspect Chavez’s drawing power will continue to drop, even with all of the additional promotion from CBS.

    Chavez is a fighter with a laundry list of problems, ranging from missing weight, to fighting poorly, to DUIs, failed drug tests, and so on. But because he has the same name as the Mexican legend and is a competent fighter when matched against easy opponents, Junior has made a career as a box office draw. Those days look finished, although there is talk of Chavez fighting the winner of Badou Jack vs George Groves, who face each other for Jack’s WBC Super Middleweight title on Showtime next month.

    The afternoon CBS broadcast was clearly used as a lead-in to sell the Showtime fight. Both CBS and Showtime are owned by the same company. The idea was clearly to use the CBS broadcast to sell the Showtime fight, as much of the advertising on CBS was for Chavez’s fight on Showtime later that night. It is a business model that makes a bit more sense compared to what PBC is doing on the other networks, as the idea for turning a profit on CBS is clearly to get people to pay extra to subscribe to Showtime in order to watch Showtime boxing and use CBS to create new subscribers. It is more or less the same business model as using a free television show to hype a pay per view.

    Production values for the CBS broadcast were restrained. PBC usually doesn’t go out in terms of production for its afternoon shows on CBS and NBC. They had the huge stage and the fancy entrances for last week’s debut on ESPN, but not this weekend on CBS. Television advertising has become more varied rather than just ads for Corona shown over and over again (as well as that stupid Jake Gyllenhaal boxing movie), but PBC scaling back production costs is not a good sign and is worth keeping an eye on if that trend continues.

    PBC’s debut on ESPN last weekend drew 799,000 viewers and a 0.3 rating among adults 18-49 in the 9pm to 11pm ET timeslot. It went against the last hour of the UFC pay per view prelims on Fox Sports 1 and the first hour of the UFC pay per view. The UFC prelims from 8pm to 10pm ET drew 847,000 viewers and a 0.4 rating. NBC Sports won that night with 3,216,000 viewers and a 0.6 rating for the Nascar Sprint Cup from 8pm to 11pm ET.

    PBC on ESPN was outdrawn in recent weeks in the same timeslot by UFC (on the same night), HBO Boxing, and the College World Series on ESPN. It was also outdrawn by an afternoon broadcast of a hot dog eating contest on ESPN that aired July 4th weekend. Compared to July 4th, ESPN drew 1,108,000 for its afternoon coverage of Wimbledon and ESPN2 drew 1,129,000 for a lunchtime airing of a hot dog eating contest. The week before, Bradley vs Vargas on HBO on Saturday night drew 1,121,000. And on Saturday, June 20th, ESPN drew 1,085,000 for the College World Series between Florida and Virginia from 8pm to 11pm ET. Past Saturday night live events on ESPN have been around the 799,000 rating that PBC drew last weekend.

    Relative to the ratings for the UFC prelims the same night, as well as recent boxing on HBO (which has far less clearance than ESPN, not even close), and ratings on ESPN for other events in Saturday night time slots, the debut of PBC on ESPN was a major disappointment. It was interesting how the ratings were covered by the boxing media. It was widely reported as a win for PBC, with few major boxing sites mentioning that PBC was outdrawn by the UFC and even fewer putting PBC’s ratings on ESPN into context relative to previous Saturday night ratings on ESPB.

    Instead, it was widely reported that PBC on ESPN outdrew ratings for Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. Well, of course it was going to outdraw ratings for Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. That’s like reporting that ratings for Bellator were a win because it outdrew past UFC shows that aired on Fox Sports 2.

    If PBC on ESPN was a major win for both companies, it would have outdrawn the UFC prelims and shown audience growth relative to what ESPN normally draws for live events on Saturday nights. But it did neither. PBC picked a bad night to debut on ESPN, going against the Conor McGregor breakout show on UFC.

    CBS ratings for PBC have been in decline after being steady for the first few broadcasts. The latest PBC show on CBS that took place June 21st drew a 0.8 rating, which is down from April 4th (1.1) and May 9th (0.9) on CBS. PBC has also aired afternoon shows on NBC, with a May 23rd show drawing 0.85 and a June 6th show drawing a 0.95.

    Jeremy Wall can be contacted at jeremywall1984@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @jeremydalewall.

  • WWE July 18 Peoria, IL, house show results: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose street fight

    Submitted by Josh Anderson

    Hot opener with Stardust (who was mega over) teaming with Heath Slater to face off against the Meta Powers.  Pretty decent comedy in the beginning of the match.  Huge “Cody” chants for Stardust.  Curtis Axel got the pin on Slater after a leg drop.

    Zack Ryder was out next to a good reaction; a guy next to me said “If this is a squash with Rusev I’m going to get a beer” and sure enough Rusev’s music hits.  Rusev makes his entrance with Summer Rae in tow. They had a shockingly even, lengthy match with Long Island Iced Z getting some decent offense in. As Rusev was about to lock in the Accolade, Lana comes down the ramp to a big pop and catfights with Summer.  Ryder almost got a win with a roll up but Rusev hit a superkick and locked in the Accolade for the win.  Then Fandango randomly ran in with a little flurry of offense but he also got crushed by Rusev.

    Next was Lucha Dragons versus The Ascension versus Los Matadores with El Torito.  This was a Fan Vote match, the choices being “One-Fall” or “Elimination Tag”.  Elimination match won in a landslide. Matadores were eliminated by a Fall of Man while the other Matador was flirting with Eden at ringside.  A short while later Sin Cara hit a Swanton for the win.

    Next up was Bray Wyatt versus Roman Reigns, who actually fist bumped me on his way to the ring for a mark out moment.  Pretty standard hard hitting match, which Roman won out of nowhere with a school boy. Wyatt attacked after the bell but Reigns hit a Superman Punch and sent him packing.

    Intermission

    In the biggest disappointment of the night, after seeing the revolution of women’s wrestling on Raw, the Divas match was Emma & Layla versus Alicia Fox and Cameron.. Pretty sloppy match with no heat whatsoever outside of random Emma chants. Fox got the pin on Layla after a scissors kick.

    The ring was then set up for Miz TV, with special guest Big Show.  This was originally supposed to be a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship but Ryback’s staph infection prevented that. They bantered a bit after they showed the trailer for Big Show’s Vendetta movie, it was kind of hard to hear over all the people telling Miz to shut up.  Show hit a knockout punch to end the segment.

    The main event was a “Peoria” Street Fight for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  Very entertaining match, Rollins utilized his belt as a weapon, Ambrose used a kendo stick.  Ambrose was powerbombed through a table in the corner for two.  After a back and forth Rollins hit a Pedigree and Dean actually kicked out!  Ambrose then hit a big top rope elbow drop on Rollins through another table, when Bray Wyatt ran in and hit Sister Abigail on Dean.  Bray dragged Rollins on top for the pinfall. Afterwards they performed some double team moves until Reigns stormed back down.  Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Rollins and Reigns hit a spear on Wyatt.

    Biggest Pops:

    1. Dean Ambrose

    2. Roman Reigns

    3. Lana

    4. Stardust (He was the first entrance of the night, plus people just love this guy)

    Biggest Heat:

    1. Seth Rollins

    2. Rusev

    3. The Miz

    4. Bray Wyatt (Wyatt was over but it was very 50/50)

    Biggest Apathy:

    1. Cameron

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (July 18): Kane cashes in MITB to win WWE World title, Chris Sabin wins TNA title, Lance Storm wins WCW U.S. title

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1934 – In St. Louis, Missouri for promoter Tom Packs; Orville Brown beat Dr. Karl Sarpolis, Abe Coleman beat Whitey Hewitt, Dick Raines beat Tommy Marvin and George Tragos defeated Harold Metheny

    1964 – In Omaha, Nebraska; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Mad Dog Vachon dq, Reggie Parks drew Otto Von Krupp and Billy Red Cloud beat Bulldog Danny Plechas

    1968 – In Winnipeg; The Crusher won a 12 man battle royal, NWA Champion Gene Kiniski beat Bill Watts by dq, Dr. X beat Man Mountain Mike and Crusher beat Harley Race

    1972 – In Tampa, Florida at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory; In a Texas Death Match; Jack Brisco beat Paul Jones, Zodiac & Buddy Colt beat Mr Wrestling Tim Woods & Johnny Walker, Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Louie Tillet & Hiro Matsuda and Mike Graham beat Mike Webster

    1974 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Don Fargo vs. Mike George, World Tag Team Champions Pat O’Connor & Omar Atlas vs. The Interns (w/ Dr. Ken Ramey) and Bob Brown vs. Harley Race. 

    1976 – In Green Bay, Wisconsin; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Mad Dog Vachon, Baron Von Raschke beat Larry Hennig, Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum in 2 out of 3 falls and Buddy Wolff drew Billy Red Cloud

    1980 – Verne Gagne defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Title at Cominskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. Also on the card, Jerry Blackwell (sub Ernie Ladd) beat Dick The Bruiser, Greg Gagne beat Bobby Heenan by count out, The Crusher & Mad Dog Vachon beat Jerry Valiant & Adrian Adonis, Bobo Brazil beat Super Destroyer Mark II, Steve Regal beat Roger Kirby, Paul Christy drew Tito Santana, Pat O’Connor no contest Wilbur Snyder and Jerry Blackwell won a 15 Man, $25,000 Battle Royal. Attendance was 12,000

    1982 – In St. Paul, Minnesota; Hulk Hogan & Otto Wanz & Baron Von Raschke beat Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum & Jesse Ventura, AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Tito Santana & Rick Martel by countout, Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan beat Spike Huber & Ray Stevens and Buck Zumhofe & Brad Rheingans beat Bobby Heenan & Rene Goulet

    1988 – At the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis; AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Kerry Von Erich by dq, Jimmy Valiant & Jeff Jarrett no contest Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden, Billy Travis beat Great Sensei by dq, CWA Champion Phil Hickerson beat Max Pain and Brickhouse Brown beat Scott Steiner

    1989 – Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard defeated Demolition for the WWF World Tag Team Title in Worcester, Massachusetts

    1993 – At the Beach Blast 1993 PPV, Ric Flair defeats Barry Windham for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Biloxi, Mississippi; Vampire Warrior (Gangrel) defeated Jeff Jarrett for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1999 – Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley defeated The Dudley Boyz for the ECW World Tag Team Championship in Dayton, Ohio

    2000 – Lance Storm defeated Mike Awesome in a tournament final for the WCW United States Heavyweight Title.

    2010 – Kane defeated Rey Mysterio to win the WWE World Title after Kane cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase he won
    earlier in the night at the Money in the Bank PPV in Kansas City, Missouri.

    2013 – At the Destination X PPV, Chris Sabin defeated Bully Ray to win the TNA World Title. 

  • SAT. UPDATE: William Regal on Liger booking, How Gawker controversy relates to Hulk Hogan, MVP done wi/ TNA, & more

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

    With UFC FIght Night in Glasgow out of the way, the big event for tonight is Titan FC’s UFC Fight Pass debut:

    Titan FC 34 at 7:00 p.m. ET live on UFC Fight Pass from Kansas City’s Scottish Rite Temple:
    Pat Healy vs. Marcus Edwards for vacant lightweight title
    Kurt Holobaugh vs. Andre Harrison for vacant featherweight title
    Brett Johns vs. Anthony Gutierrez for bantamweight title
    Tim Elliott vs. Iliarde Santos for vacant flyweight title
    Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons vs. Tyler Stinson
    Freddy Assuncao vs. Cody Bollinger
    Isaac Vallie-Flagg vs. Jason Witt
    Phil Hawes vs. Lucas Rota
    Vince Eazelle vs. Desmond Green
    William Joplin vs. Andrew Whitney
    Mike Bruno vs. Dakota Cochrane

    For recognizable names, this is not bad for a regional level card. Elliott-Santos is a very good fight on paper, Vallie-Flagg is is usually fun to watch, and hey, Pele is fighting in 2015. Maybe not a card t watch live, but there might be some fun stuff to check out tomrorrow on Fight Pass. 

    WWE Battleground tomorrow live from St. Louis on PPV and WWE Network with the pre-show starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time and the main card an hour later at 8:00 p.m. ET:

    Seth Rollins (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for WWE Championship
    John Cena (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE U.S. Championship
    Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
    Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
    Prime Time Players (c) vs. New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championshp.
    R-Truth vs. King Barrett in the pre-show match

    No replacement match listed on WWE.com to substitute for Ryback (has a staph infection) vs. Big Show vs. The Miz.

    NJPW G-1 Climax Night 1 from Sapporo airs on New Japan World tomorrow night at 2:00 a.m. ET:
    Yohei Komatsu & Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay & Jay White
    Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs. Cody Hall & Yujiro Takahashi
    Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
    Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo

    Tournament matches:
    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows
    Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano
    Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale
    A.J. Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata
    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

    Raw is Monday night from Kansas City with the start of the build up for SummerSlam.  Brock Lesnar is advertised on the show and there are also rumors that The Undertaker will be there or at least have his character somehow intergrated into the show. SmackDown will be Tuesday night in Lincoln, NE.

    If you’re attending any of the weekend’s WWE house shows, please send a report to newstips@wrestlingbserver.com.

    **** 

    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. 

    **** 

    We’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, highlighted by part two of our look at the career and life of Dusty Rhodes.  This focuses on his babyface turn in Florida, his quest for the title, his rise to national prominence, and his feuds with Terry Funk, Superstar Billy Graham and Ole Anderson.  Plus, we look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, New Japan Dominion, lots of injury notes regarding some of WWE and TNA’s biggest stars, WWE lawsuit, Beast in the East and much more.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer:  July 13, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Dusty Rhodes bio part 2, back to back major shows in Japan

    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 this week looks at the babyface heyday of Dusty Rhodes as a touring attraction.  We look at how the business was in the 70s, the changes in the business in the Southeast and why, the rise of pro wrestling on cable television, his departure from World Championship Wrestling, and his first babyface run that people have forgotten.

    We look at the heyday of Championship Wrestling from Florida, the work of Gordon Solie, Eddie Graham, and Rhodes arrival in Florida in 1973.  We look at the angle that changed Rhodes’ career, the transition from Jack Brisco to Dusty Rhodes as the big star in Florida and how that changed the business, the Dusty Rhodes vs. Terry Funk I Quit match, the relationship between Rhodes and Funk, Dusty Rhodes’ first two NWA title runs, how the NWA title changed during the 70s and why and Rhodes’ quest for the title.  We also look at who Rhodes worked with, and his travels around the globe during his heyday, including some unique matches and opponents that most Americans don’t realize ever took place.

    We look at his Madison Square Garden feud with Superstar Billy Graham, pro wrestling at the Omni in Atlanta, Dusty Rhodes on TBS and the role pro wrestling made in the early history of cable television, as well as the famous angle where Ole Anderson & Ivan Koloff kicked off their feud with Rhodes that set cable records.

    We look at the famous Ole Anderson interview after turning on Dusty Rhodes and why their angle is so fondly remembered, The last Tangle in Tampa, the night that cable television changed the history of pro wrestling, the end of Roy Shire’s promotion, and the second world title run.

    We also have a look at the G-1 Climax tournament for this year, including the favorites, all the matches, as well as full coverage of the Dominion show from Osaka with Kazuchika Okada beating A.J. Styles for the IWGP title.

    We’ve got a look at WWE’s latest legal action, including filing suit against four wrestlers in Connecticut.  We also look at the cases of wrestlers who are suing WWE.

    We’ve also got complete coverage of Beast from the East, how the show came together, why Brock Lesnar was on the show, and match-by-match rundowns with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have more on the NXT show in Brooklyn before SummerSlam, how it will be promoted, a scary note on how bad the Tyson Kidd injury could have been, Battleground update, Dolph Ziggler storyline notes, more WWE injury notes, thoughts on Cesaro, Big Show talks about his demotion to OVW, Thoughts on the memo from five years ago with the notes for WWE announcers and how things have changed since then, Brie Bella talks NXT women coming up as well as vague notes on Daniel Bryan’s injury, thoughts on Bryan’s future as well as an update on Bruno Sammartino after back surgery.

    We also look at the Sports Illustrated article on pro wrestling this week, social media numbers, Ambrose movie release, why Regal was in Japan, WWE’s Japan tryouts, Piper leaving Podcast One, Austin talking Piper leaving Podcast One, longtime WWE writer takes new job, notes on Randy Orton, USA Network take on Tough Enough, Jamie Noble and Becky Lynch injury updates, WWE stock, movies with WWE talent, lots of Tough Enough news, as well as notes from all the weekend live events, business notes and highlights from all the shows.

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

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

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –CMLL running a free live stream this week

    –Notes from the latest shows at Arena Mexico

    –Controversy coming from a womens’ hair vs. hair match

    –Notes from this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –A look at the monthly Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall

    –A look at the next two Dragon Gate iPPV shows

    –A look at the last Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall

    –Notes on Tetsuya Naito’s apparent heel turn

    –New Japan’s last Korakuen Hall show

    –Zero-One Fire Festival notes

    –Notes on the heyday of OVW

    –A look at the upcoming GFW shows

    –Hulk Hogan lawsuit news

    –A look at the careers and lives of who are believed to be the two oldest living pro wrestlers

    –A look at a former WWE star who will star in a reality show piggy backing off Total Divas

    –Former AAA star has a major accident

    –Notes on the next PWG show

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –NXT and ROH go head-to-head in Brooklyn and what ROH is running

    –Notes on return of Austin Aries to ROH nest week

    –Notes on Andy Barton leaving TNA

    –Update on Kurt Angle

    –Thoughts on the GFW deal

    –Notes on Gilbert Melendez failing his drug test

    –Dana White talks about how much Aldo would have made if he had fought McGregor

    –Update on Jon Jones

    –Notes on all the UFC shows this week

    –Notes on the IV ban

    –UFC fighter retires

    –Crazy street fight story involving a former UFC fighter and a current one

    –Notes on charges against the husband of Britney Palmer

    –Notes on fighters cut from UFC

    –Jose Aldo drug test note

    –Sonnen pranks Mendes just before the fight

    –Notes on Jacare Souza

    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.

    Saturday Daily Update

    • If you didn’t see the UFC card from Glasgow live, it was very good with a lot of finishes and a hot crowd. The main card is being reaired tonight/tomorrow morning on Fox Sports 1 at 3:00 a.m. ET, with the prelims being reaired at 7:00 a.m. n Fox Sports 2.
    • At a press conference late last night, the list of promotions that NJPW said they’re exchanging talent with various promotions all over the world…but WWE wasn’t one of them. ROH, GFW, NWA (not sure if that means continuing to use the champions, sending wrestlers to the flagship members, or working with all of members), CMLL, Revolution Pro, and WXW. 
    • Meanwhile, on Twitter, William Regal was characterizing the Jushin Liger NXT booking as him calling in a favor from a friend he’s known for decades, tweeting a photo of a program featuring them both and writing this:

    People are looking for a story where there isn’t one. Sometimes just being around enough you can call a friend. It really is as simple as me making a call to a friend I’ve known since 1986 to come and compete for @WWENXT. Really.N ow please stop asking. A lesson-be polite,helpful,understand that a still tongue keeps a wise head and you’ll earn a lot of trust and people will help when needed.

    • Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, which was already becoming a bigger and bigger news story by the day, is getting a lt more publicity in light of Gawker posting, then pulling an article that outed a publishing executive as gay for no real reason. Gawker’s public defense (and a component of their legal strategy in defending Hogan’s suit) of posting an edited version of the video of Hogand and Heather Cole was that Hogan had very specifically lied about any such encounter happening.
    • Gawker founder Nick Denton had cited Gawker not posting the stolen nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities last year as an example of their line in the sand, but this story went against that. In a blog post yesterday, he wrote about the new controversy, saying “I believe this public mood reflects a growing recognition that we all have secrets, and they are not all equally worthy of exposure. I can’t defend yesterday’s story as I can our coverage of Bill O’Reilly, Hillary Clinton or Hulk Hogan.”
    • Also on Twitter, John Gaburick and MVP confirmed that MVP has left TNA. With his unaired segmnents not airing due to the Hernandez contractual issues and him not returning, that means that he’s already disappeared without a trace from TV.
    • Daniel Bryan’s book is now in stock at Amazon, and the Kindle version will be available Tuesday. It’s well worth picking up. Super honest, he has a good memory, lots of details about everything you’d want to hear about, and so on. The complete omission of AJ Lee from their run together is a bit odd, but with a book this good, it feels like a nitpick.
    • Bruce Tharpe sent out a press release announcing that NWA Classics will start uploading matches at faster than the promised one a day clip, with all of these matches showing up on the service this week:

    Kerry Von Erich vs. Kamala, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs.  Dirty White Boys, Gino Hernandez vs. Nick Kozak, Rocky Johnson vs. Bruiser Brody, Hector Guerrero vs. Jose Lothario, Buddy Landell vs. Al Madril, Fantastics vs. Dutch Mantell & Bill Dundee, Dusty Rhodes & Leroy Brown vs. Gary Hart & Killer Krupp, Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd vs. Rock ‘n’ Rll Express & Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Dick Slater vs. Jake Roberts, Dr. Death Steve Williams vs. Mark Reagan, Ghetto Streetfight: Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed, Dog Collar Match: Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed, Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Jose Lothario & Al Madril, Ernie Ladd vs. Magnum TA, 20-man Bunkhouse Battle Brawl, Scaffold Match: Rock N Roll Express vs. Midnight Express (with Jim Cornette), NWA World Title Match – Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA, Gino Hernandez & Tully Blanchard vs. Junkyard Dog & Tony Atlas, Terry Gordy vs. Dick Murdoch, and Terry Taylor vs. Jake Roberts

    A few are already up,  and a bunch of those weren’t in the hands of collectors. I believe both Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed matches are new (the televised street fight was from a different city), Gino & Tully vs. JYD & Atlas is new, as is Gordy-Murdoch. Flair-Magnum is up now and required new commentary, so it never aired. Can’t recommend this service enough, as what they’ve uploaded so far is fantastic.

    Click here for the WWE Network schedule

    TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS

    INDY TV SHOWS


    Victory Commonwealth Wrestling “Victory Wrestling Showcase” TV (Episode 111)

    Smash Wrestling TV (Episode 60)

    7/18/15 NWA Smoky Mountain TV

    7/3/15 Future Stars Of Wrestling “High Octane” TV

    America’s Most Liked Wrestling TV (Episode 19)

    7/15/15 Resistance Pro HD TV

    WWE/NXT

    5/15/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chelsea Receives Medical Attention

    5/15/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  A Royal Review Of Week 4

    7/13/15 WWE.com Exclusive:  Charlotte Comments On Her Match With Sasha Banks

    7/16/15 WWE Smackdown “Fallout”:  Cesaro Speaks After His Victory Over Rusev

    7/16/15 WWE Smackdown “Fallout”:  Neville Calls Stardust A Coward

    7/17/15 Top 10 Smackedown Moments

    5 Things:  1,000-Day WWE Champions

    WWE Top 10:  Ridiculous Reversals

    WWE Canvas 2 Canvas:  The Beast Incarnate F5s Onto The Canvas

    MISC. STUFF


    Rocky Johnson on “The Apter Chat”

    7/17/15 CHIKARA Event Center

    The Condron Chronicles:  First

    7/16/15 Thursday On The Throne

    Ringside Collectibles’ “Ringside Or Riot” (Season 4, Episode 33)

    POWW “Inside The Ropes” (Episode 19)

    AnarchyPro “Internet Beatdown” (Episode 14)

    GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boyz-Influences Getting Started In Professional Wrestling

    #GFWAmped:  Brian Myers-Are You Worried About Chris Mordetzky?

    #GFWAmped:  Chris Mordetzky-Do You Feel Pressure Being One of the “Known” Guys On The Roster?

    #GFWAmped:  Lei’D Tapa-I’m Excited To See Where GFW Goes…The Love And Passion For Wrestling!

    #GFWAmped:  PJ Black-Can He Be The Face of GFW?

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-Are Having Alternate Wrestling Brands Appropriate?

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-Why Should Fans Be Excited About GFW Amped on July 24?

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-What is Your Mindset Going Into The GFW Global Championship Tournament?

    #GFWAmped:  Reno Scum-“Knuckle Up, Boys”

    #GFWAmped:  Kongo Kong-“Now Is The Time To Prove Myself”

    #GFWAmped:  7 Days Away

    TNA


    TNA Roster Has a Mixed Reaction To Bully Ray Being In Charge

    Backstage Interview With Brooke After Becoming Knockouts Champions

    First Comments From Bully Ray After Taking Over

    IMPACT In 60  The New “Law”, Championship Matches And More

    LUCHA UNDERGROUND

    The Road To Ultima Lucha:  Vampiro’s Announcement

  • MVP leaves TNA

    On social media Saturday, MVP said that the BDC is no more in TNA and bid farewell to the organization.

    https://twitter.com/The305MVP/status/622545341347266561

    The timing comes right after all of the BDC footage that was taped, but not yet aired on Impact, had to be pulled due to legal threats from Lucha Underground due to usage of Hernandez, who Lucha Underground was in the process of releasing, but hadn’t done so before he had already appeared on TNA in what would have been a violation of his non-compete even if the release was executed.

  • ROH July 17 Las Vegas house show results: Austin Aries returns, new no. 1 contender for TV title crowned

    Submitted by Armando Aguilar

    – Will Ferrara b The Romantic Touch

    – TV title no. 1 contender’s qualifier: Bobby Fish b Matt Taven via Falcon Arrow

    – Nanae Takahashi b ODB with what looked like an Emerald Frosion.

    – TV title no. 1 contender’s qualifier: Christopher Daniels b Mark Briscoe via Angel’s Wings

    – TV title non. 1 contender’s qualifier: ACH b Kazarian

    – Roppongi Vice b Young Bucks. Barreta gets the win with the Dudebuster.

    – Silas Young b Willie Mack

    – War Machine b The Kingdom

    – Bobby Fish b Christopher Daniels & ACH to become the #1 contender for the TV Title. Daniels pinned ACH with the BME, then was submitted by a knee bar from Fish.

    – Vegas Wild Card: Jay Briscoe, Dalton Castle, and Kyle O’Reilly b Austin Aries, Moose, and Jay Lethal. O’Reilly submitted Lethal with an armbar.

  • WWE July 17 Newark, NJ, house show results: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

    Submitted by Frank Costa

    – Neville beat Bo Dallas with the Red Arrow

    – Cesaro beat Wade Barrett with the sharpshooter

    – Sheamus beat R Truth with the Brogue Kick 

    – WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players def. The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods)

    – U.S. Champion John Cena def. Kevin Owens by DQ after a low blow. Match was very good similar to their 2 PPV matches 

    INTERMISSION

    – Paige beat Tamina with a roll up after she bumped into Naomi on the apron

    – Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt with a roll up after escaping a Sister Abigail. Bray laid him out after the match.

    – WWE Champion Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose in a street fight after Bray Wyatt interfered. Match was good with a couple table spots.

    Notes:

    The show went almost 3 hours. I was surprised by how many kids showed up compared to Extreme Rules in Jersey last year.

  • UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites live results and coverage

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites from The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The event, the UFC’s first-ever trip to Scotland, is headlined by a five-round middleweight bout between 9th-ranked Michael Bisping and 10th-ranked Thales Leites and airs on FOX Sports 1 at 1 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 10 AM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FOX Sports 1 at 11 AM eastern time.

    Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 10 AM ET/7 AM PT):

    HEAVYWEIGHTS: DANIEL OMIELANCZUK VS. CHRIS DE LA ROCHA

    ROUND 1- Omielanczuk rocks Rocha quick with some big punches and a head kick but Rocha survives. Omielanczuk rocks him again and they are swinging hard. Omielanczuk drops Rocha with a right hand and then two punches on the ground and this fight is over quickly. Omielanczuk with a quick knockout win in less than a minute.

    Official Result: Daniel Omielanczuk def. Chris de la Rocha by TKO (punches) at :48 of Round 1

    BANTAMWEIGHTS: MARCUS BRIMAGE VS. JIMMIE RIVERA

    ROUND 1- Rivera starts with a head kick and they trade punches. They swing hard early. Rivera with a leg kick and Brimage stumbles for a moment. Brimage with a front kick to the body and then a straight left hand. Brimage with a leg kick. Rivera rocks Brimage big with a right hand and then knocks him down against the fence and more punches and the fight is stopped. Rivera picks up the win in his UFC debut.

    Official Result: Jimmie Rivera def. Marcus Brimage by TKO (punches) at 1:29 of Round 1

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 11 AM ET/8 AM PT):

    FEATHERWEIGHTS: ROBERT WHITEFORD VS. PAUL REDMOND

    ROUND 1- Whiteford got a massive ovation as he is from Scotland and had bagpipes playing during his walkout. Whiteford lands a right hand and then connects with another. Redmond with a head kick and he eats a right hand and goes down for a moment but gets up. Both men land and we have an eye poke. Whiteford with a leg kick after they exchange. Redmond lands a right hand that rocks Whiteford for a moment. Whiteford lands a left hand as the crowd chants loudly for him. Whiteford drops Redmond with a big left hand and finishes him with more punches and the crowd goes wild. Whiteford jumped out of the Octagon and went into the crowd to celebrate as they chant loudly for him. It came across well on the broadcast.

    Official Result: Robert Whiteford def. Paul Redmond by TKO (punches) at 3:04 of Round 1

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: MICKAEL LEBOUT VS. TEEMU PACKALEN

    ROUND 1- Packalen has a takedown stuffed in the opening seconds and they clinch against the fence. Packalen gets the fight to the mat and is in half-guard. Packalen passes guard into the mount but Lebout recovers to half-guard. Packalen with some punches from the top. Lebout scrambles to the top and Packalen is going for an arm. Lebout goes to side control and then takes side mount on the back. Packalen rolls out and Lebout gets to his feet. Lebout with a hammerfist and then takes the back for a moment but goes back to side control. Packalen rolls out. Lebout with some left hands from the top. Lebout goes to side control and then takes the back. Lebout rolls for a submission and it allows Packalen to go to mount and he starts landing big punches and elbows from the top. We are headed to the second round for the first time today. 10-9 Packalen.

    ROUND 2- Packalen goes for a takedown but Lebout sprawls. Lebout gets to his feet lands some leg kicks before the referee stands Packalen up. Lebout sprawls a takedown again and lands more kicks to the legs and body from a standing position. Lebout goes to the ground but gets back up. Packalen ordered back up after eating some kicks. Packalen lands a spinning back kick to the body as he is starting to gas out. Lebout lands a knee and right hand to the body. Lebout misses a right hand and defends a takedown. Lebout lands a knee to the head by accident and we have a timeout. No point deduction. Lebout lands a right hand. Packalen gets a weak takedown and goes for a leglock. Packalen gets to the mount but goes back to half-guard. Lebout gets to his feet as the round ends. 10-9 Lebout, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Packalen lands some big punches to start the round and they clinch against the fence. Packalen tries to grab the arm and stumbles to the ground. Lebout lands leg kicks from a standing position. Packalen ordered to his feet and lands a right. Lebout lands a couple of jabs. Packalen whifs on a telegraphed takedown. Lebout gets to his feet. Packalen gets up and they trade punches. Both men are tired. Packalen has a takedown stuffed again. They trade punches again as the pace has slowed. Packalen is able to finish an ugly takedown attempt. Packalen in the half-guard. Lebout tries to sweep and goes into side control against the fence. Packalen tries to roll out and can’t get Lebout down. They trade punches as they get to their feet and Packalen pulls guard and Lebout takes his back. Lebout goes for a choke but time expires. 10-9 Lebout, 29-28 Lebout.

    Official Result: Mickael Lebout def. Teemu Packalen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

    LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: ILIR LATIFI VS. HANS STRINGER

    ROUND 1- Latifi with a big leg kick. They trade leg kicks and Latifi drops Stringer with a right hand and then lands one more and another for good measure and it is over quickly. Fourth fight to finish in the first round today. Solid card for finishes.

    Official Result: Ilir Latifi def. Hans Stringer by knockout (punches) at :56 of Round 1

    FLYWEIGHTS: PATRICK HOLOHAN VS. VAUGHAN LEE

    ROUND 1- Holohan got a big reaction. Lee with a side kick. Holohan with some body kicks. They go to the may and Lee ends in the guard of Holohan. Holohan working for an arm but eats some hammerfists from Lee. Holohan transitions and looks for a triangle choke. Holohan still looking for it as he lands some elbows from the bottom. Holohan still working for it as Lee is looking to escape. Lee and Holohan are both landing punches as Holohan tries to transition and Lee escapes. Lee then grabs the back and has a choke locked in but Holohan survives as the round ends. Awesome final minute. 10-9 Holohan.

    ROUND 2- Lee lands a big leg kick. Holohan misses a spin kick but goes for a takedown against the fence. Lee defends and lands a big knee. Holohan rolls to the ground and Lee is on top and lands a big punch from the top. Lee in the half-guard and lands a big hammerfist as he transitions to mount. Holohan grabs a leg and looks for a heel hook. Holohan rolls to the top. Holohan in the half-guard. Holohan moves to side control. Holohan looking for an arm. Elbows from the top by Holohan. Holohan with more left hands from the top as they spin to north-south position. Holohan looks for a kimura as he lands hammerfists. Holohan looks to switch for an armbar. Lee defends as the round comes to an end. 10-9 Holohan, 20-18 Holohan.

    ROUND 3- Holohan lands a kick that goes just a little too low and we have a timeout. Back to action after Lee used almost all of the five minutes. Holhan with a high kick but Lee lands a left hand counter. Holohan with a combo. Holohan with a jumping high kick and then another. Lee lands a left hand and then a combo to the body. Holohan with a spinning heel kick and then another. Holohan with a side elbow and a spinning back fist. Lee with a left hand. Holohan lands a combo and then a knee to the body. Holohan misses a spinning head kick. Lee lands a straight left hand and then lands a solid left hand. Holohan lands a late takedown and some elbows as the fight ends. 10-9 Holohan, 30-27 Holohan.

    Official Result: Patrick Holohan def. Vaughan Lee by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 1 PM ET/10 AM PT):

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: STEVIE RAY VS. LEONARDO MAFRA

    ROUND 1- Ray got a massive reaction and a chant as he is from Scotland. Ray with a head kick to start. Ray slips on a kick but gets up. Ray lands a left hand. They trade kicks. Mafra with a leg kick. Ray misses a wheel kick. Ray lands a right hand.Ray lands a big right hand and Mafra is hurt bad. Ray lands some more and they are throwing bombs as Mafra has recovered. But then Ray lands a big right hand and some punches against the fence and this one is over. Massive reaction from the Scottish fans as Ray gets the first-round win. A nice night of first-round finishes.

    Official Result: Stevie Ray def. Leonardo Mafra by TKO (punches) at 2:30 of Round 1

    WELTERWEIGHTS: LEON EDWARDS VS. PAWEL PAWLAK

    ROUND 1- Edwards is coming off an eight-second win in his last fight. Edwards with a head kick. Edwards with a body kick and then lands a left hand. Pawlak lands a right hand. Edwards lands a big combo and they clinch against the fence. They trade knees against the fence. They break and Edwards lands a big left. Edwards with a combo and they clinch again. Edwards looking for a takedown against the fence. They trade knees and then are broken up by the referee. Pawlak goes for a takedown but Edwards sprawls. Edwards lands a left hand and a body kick. Pawlak with a body kick. Edwards lands a left hand at the end. 10-9 Edwards.

    ROUND 2- They both miss on their attack to open. Edwards with a big head kick. Pawlak counters but Edwards lands a combo that hurts Pawlak for a moment. They trade punches. Edwards just misses with a spin kick against the fence but lands a big left hand. Pawlak with a combo and a body kick. Edwards lands a left hand and they clinch. They are broken up by the referee as not a lot happened in the clinch. Edwards lands a left hand. Pawlak goes for a takedown but Edwards ends up in his guard. Edwards with some elbows from the top. Edwards with some punches from the top. 10-9 Edwards, 20-18 Edwards.

    ROUND 3- They both miss on punches to start. Break in the action after a low blow. Pawlak slips on a kick but right back up. Big head kick from Edwards drops Pawlak and Edwards goes to the ground looking for the finish. Big punches from Edwards but Pawlak survives and is able to recover. Pawlak holding Edwards on the ground trying to recover. Edwards in the guard landing but unable to pass the guard. They stand. Edwards misses a flying knee. Edwards lands a left hand. Pawlak misses a spinning back fist and they clinch against the fence. Edwards lands short punches against the fence. Edwards with an elbow on the break. Pawlak with a body kick and they clinch again. We go to the judges. 10-9 Edwards, 30-27 Edwards.

    Official Result: Leon Edwards def. Pawel Pawlak by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS: JOANNE CALDERWOOD VS. CORTNEY CASEY

    ROUND 1- Calderwood got a massive reaction being from Glasgow. They trade punches and Casey rocks Calderwood with some right hands. Calderwood is stunned against the fence and they clinch. Calderwood with body punches in the clinch. Casey pulls guard and they go to the mat. Calderwood with body punches from the top. Calderwood with a big elbow from the top. Casey with an upkick. Casey goes for a heel hook. They trade punches on the ground and Calderwood is able to transition to the half-guard of Casey. Casey with elbows from the bottom and Calderwood with punches from the top. Hammerfists from both women. 10-9 Casey.

    ROUND 2- Calderwood initates a clinch against the fence. Calderwood with knees and elbows in the clinch as they break. Calderwood with a nice combo and a spin kick to the body. Calderwood with knees in the tie-up and then gets a takedown. Calderwood in the guard of Casey. She gets to her feet and Casey does as well. Calderwood with a big left hand and then another but eats a right hand from Casey. They trade punches. Calderwood with a right hand. They clinch and Calderwood trips Casey to the ground. Calderwood with body punches from the top. Loud chants for Calderwood from the crowd. Calderwood with ground-and-pound and they get to their feet. Calderwood with a spin kick to the body into the clinch where she lands some knees. Calderwood lands a big combo at the end of the round. 10-9 Calderwood, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- They trade leg kicks. Calderwood with a right hand. They trade a lot of punches and Calderwood landed a big right hand. Calderwood with a spinning elbow. Calderwood drops Casey with a spin kick to the body and goes for the finish. Punches and elbows from Calderwood but Casey is surviving. Calderwood backs off and they stand. Calderwood with two left hands. They trade punches. Calderwood with a big right hand and they clinch. Casey goes to the mat and Calderwood goes into her guard. Calderwood moves to side control but they get to their feet. Calderwood with some leg kicks and they clinch. They trade and clinch and Calderwood lands some knees. Casey pulls guard and Calderwood lands punches to the body. Calderwood with strikes from the top. Calderwood with more punches and she ends the round with a huge flurry and a massive ovation from the crowd. Great fight. 10-9 Calderwood, 29-28 Calderwood.

    Official Result: Joanne Calderwood def. Cortney Casey by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: JOSEPH DUFFY VS. IVAN JORGE

    ROUND 1- Duffy is the last man to defeat Conor McGregor. Jorge lands a right hand. Duffy with a solid combo. Duffy with an inside leg kick. They clinch against the fence. Duffy with a body kick and knee and a combo. Jorge with a knee to the body. They break. Duffy with a knee and then just misses a head kick. Jorge lands a combo. Duffy with an uppercut and Jorge gets a takedown but goes into the guard of Duffy. Duffy locks on a triangle and looks for an armbar and Jorge taps out! Duffy with the impressive win.

    Official Result: Joseph Duffy def. Ivan Jorge by submission (triangle choke) at 3:05 of Round 1

    Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson was announced as the main event of UFC 192 on October 3 in Houston, Texas.

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: ROSS PEARSON VS. EVAN DUNHAM

    ROUND 1- Dunham lands a knee as Pearson ducked in. Dunham with a body kick. Pearson lands a right hand. Dunham shoots in and gets a takedown and lands some punches on the mat but Pearson gets to his feet. Dunham has the back and lands some knees. Dunham gets another takedown and takes the back of Pearson and has the hooks in. Dunham looking for the choke but Pearson is defending. Both men landing strikes on the ground. Dunham landing punches and elbows from the back. Dunham transitions to the armbar and it is in deep. Pearson is somehow surviving and gets out! That was locked in tight but Pearson survived. No idea how Pearson didn’t tap there. Pearson lands a right hand and then another as the round ends. 10-9 Dunham.

    ROUND 2- They trade and Dunham gets the takedown and is on top. Dunham with punches from the top. They get up and Dunham has the back. Dunham looks for a slam but Pearson defends and they run to the mat against the fence. Dunham still has the back and drags Pearson to the mat and is looking to get the hooks in. Dunham with punches from the back as he has the hooks in on Pearson. Dunham working for the choke as Pearson lands punches from the top. The fans are booing. Dunham looking for the armbar but the round ends before he can get it. 10-9 Dunham, 20-18 Dunham.

    ROUND 3- Dunham with a head kick. Pearson defends a takedown attempt from Dunham. Pearson with a body kick. Dunham goes for a takedown and pushes Pearson against the fence. Dunham with an elbow. Pearson with an elbow as Dunham works for the takedown. Pearson lands some knees as he defends and Dunham is cut. Dunham initiates a tie-up and pushes Pearson against the fence. Pearson lands a knee as Dunham drops to work for the takedown. Dunham with a knee. Dunham still working for the takedown. They trade elbows in the clinch. Pearson with a knee to the body. They trade short punches and Dunham works for the takedown and gets it right at the end of the fight. 10-9 Dunham, 30-27 Dunham.

    Official Result: Evan Dunham def. Ross Pearson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS: MICHAEL BISPING VS. THALES LEITES

    ROUND 1- Leites starts with a leg kick. Low kick by Leites lands in the wrong place. They trade punches and Bisping lands a right hand. Leites with a leg kick. They trade punches. Bisping with a combo ending with a high kick. Leites with a leg kick. Leites lands a nice combo. Bisping with a head kick. They trade punches and kicks. Bisping with an inside leg kick and then another. Leites lands a leg kick but Bisping counters with a right hand. Bisping lands a right hand and scores a takedown. Bisping in the half-guard of Leites. Leites switches to the back and is looking for something on Bisping. Bisping grabbed the fence. 10-9 Bisping.

    ROUND 2- Leites lands a leg kick. Bisping with an overhand right. Leites lands a right hook and Bisping with an inside leg kick. Bisping with another leg kick and then lands a solid combo. Big right hand from Leites lands. Bisping with an inside leg kick. They trade leg kicks and Bisping stumbles to the ground. Leites with a right hand as Bisping lands a leg kick. Bisping with a big body kick. Leites lands an uppercut and then a big leg kick. Bisping with another inside leg kick. They trade an exchange. Bisping lands a big overhand right. Bisping with another inside leg kick and then lands a big left hook. They trade leg kicks. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping with a high kick. Two close rounds. 10-9 Bisping, 20-18 Bisping.

    ROUND 3- Leites lands a big right hand and has Bisping hurt. Leites fires away with punches and Bisping is able to clinch. They break and Bisping is cut. They trade punches as Bisping looks to circle around. Bisping with the jab and firing away punches and a kick. Leites comes back with a leg kick. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping lands a spinning back kick. Bisping with another combo. Leites with a leg kick. Leites with a leg kick. Leites is bleeding as well. Bisping lands a right hand. Leites lands a big uppercut against the fence. Another close round but Leites takes it. 10-9 Leites, 29-28 Bisping.

    ROUND 4- Both come out swinging against the fence. Bisping with an inside leg kick. Bisping’s footwork has slowed down and he does land another leg kick. Leites with a leg kick and Bisping counters with a right hand. Leites with a combo but Bisping is able to circle away. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping with a right hand and an inside leg kick. Bisping with a double jab and leg kick combo. Both men land punches. Bisping with a Superman punch and Leites counters with a combo. Bisping with a combo. They trade punches as both men are slowing a little. Bisping with a leg kick and Leites fails at a takedown attempt. Leites with a leg kick. Bisping with a body kick. Another close round. 10-9 Bisping, 39-37 Bisping.

    ROUND 5- Leites lands a left hand and both men come with an exchange. Leites being the aggressor. Leites with a leg kick. Bisping lands a right hand but Leites landed a left hook. Bisping with the jab. Leites lands an uppercut and both land a leg kick. Bisping with a solid combo with a right hand and head kick. Leites with a right hand as Bisping was against the fence. Leites with a combo as he has Bisping against the fence but Bisping is able to circle away and lands a leg kick. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping lands a nice right hand. Both men land punches. Bisping lands a solid combination and then a right hand. Leites lands a combo. Bisping countering well. Leites lands a right hook that stuns Bisping. Bisping goes for a flying knee but Leites lands a right hand. Bisping lands a spin kick as the fight ends. Super close fight and will be interesting. 10-9 Bisping, 49-46 Bisping.

    Official Result: Michael Bisping def. Thales Leites by split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47) 

  • WWE NXT report 7-17 Cocoa Beach, FL – Balor vs. Breeze

    Submitted by Wayne Mason

    Friday night NXT brought another night of top notch wrestling action to Cocoa, Fl and a sold out crowd. It was an intense night of action that saw plenty of bumps, a few surprises, and a main event featuring the newly crowned NXT champion, Finn Balor.

    There are not many hotter ways to start a show than with the always over Cass and Enzo. The two came out to a huge pop bringing the Cocoa crowd to their feet. Their opponents for the evening are the roughnecks Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Enzo starts out strong for his team using his speed to his advantage staying one step ahead of his opponents. Zo hits a Dash with a nice crossbody and the action continues to the outside where Zo does a new swinging kick maneuver around the turnbuckle. Soon though Wilder gets the upper hand via a little distraction from Dawson. The two pick apart Enzo with the trademark combination of brawling and wrestling acumen that one expects from Dawson and Wilder. Enzo mounts a comeback and attempts to make the hot tag but Dash pulls Cass off of the ring apron. The two turn Enzo inside out with a guillotine, but regardless moments later Amore made the hot tag to Cass. The big guy comes in clearing house ejecting Dawson from the ring and laying out Wilder with a swinging side slam. He follows with “Air Zo”, launching Enzo off the turnbuckle onto Wilder for the pin. This was a fun match and a great way to start the night.

    Next up is Angelo Dawkins taking on Uhaa Nation. The two start slowly feeling each other out until Uhaa mounts some momentum early on. As always Uhaa Nation did a great job of making it look too easy until Dawkins laid him out with a cheap shot. At this point Dawkins wisely did his best to keep Uhaa grounded in a front chancery.  Inevitably Uhaa mounted a comeback with a crossbody, a clothesline, dropkick and a splash in the corner. With Dawkins rocked, Nation finished him off with a military press followed by an incredible standing moonsault. Afterwards Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 0. Uhaa Nation looked incredible as always, while the Dawkins controlled parts of the match slowed the momentum quite a bit. Hopefully he will go back to teaming with Sawyer Fulton as the two had developed a tag team synergy together that will likely carry them much further than singles matches at this stage.

    The Vaudevillians are out next to deliver a promo. They tell us that they have traveled all over the territory and have faced everyone. English continues by stating that they stand at the precipice of the tag team division as number one contenders, and that the will defeat Blake and Murphy. At this point the two are interrupted by the music of the champions Blake and Murphy who make their way to the ring. English asks Gotch what he thinks of dubstep and Gotch replies, “No Sir, I don’t care for it.” Unfazed Murphy tells us that it is great to be in Daytona before Blake corrects him. Blake tells The Vaudevillians they should bow out and give up their contender spot before they destroy them. Blake and Murphy take cheap shots but English and Gotch quickly turn it around chasing the champs off before a final pose in the ring. This was a good segment that showcased all four men in a good light and gave us the rare opportunity to see Blake and Murphy tested on the mic, which they did well.

    Tag team action is next with “The Hype Bros” Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley taking on the newly formed team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. In the opening moments Jordan takes the distinct strength advantage tossing around Ryder with ease. Gable tags in and Ryder flapjacks him and makes a tag to the very animated Mojo Rawley who comes in with his usual banter letting us know that Gable “Ain’t hyped!” followed by dancing and “hammertime”.  Later into the match Jordan and Gable manage to wrest control over Ryder focusing on attacking the leg. Ultimately Ryder would make a hot tag to Mojo who comes in and lays out Gable with a shoulder tackle and a big splash while Ryder nails Jordan with a Broski Boot. Rawley hoists up Gable and Ryder hits a Rough Ryder off the top rope for the win. This was actually a very entertaining match. Gable is quickly becoming one of my favorite athletes in all of NXT, while Jason Jordan is looking better than ever. I’ll also admit The Hype Bros seem to be gelling as a tag team as well, I still can’t stand the Rawley gimmick but he and Ryder work well together.

    Next, Mike Rawlis attempts to take down the lone wolf Baron Corbin in a match that wasn’t quite a squash but was pretty one sided. Baron Corbin seemed to be toying with Rawlis as he took his time picking him apart. Rawlis made a few short lived comebacks that Corbin quickly shut down. In a final rally Rawlis caught Corbin with a powerslam. He followed with a flurry of punches accentuated by an impressive fallaway slam. Unfortunately for Mike Rawlis this seemed to anger Corbin more than anything. Corbin nailed him with a big boot and planted him to the mat with an End Of Days for the win.

    Women’s action follows with fan favorite Bayley taking on Eva Marie, who came out to major heat. The match starts off with much grappling and several pin attempts. Eva gains momentum culminating in a nice headscissors but Bayley battles back with a one handed bulldog and her patented slip and slide on top of Eva. Later the tide turns and Eva Marie slows the pace contorting Bayley into a grounded abdominal stretch followed by a suplex and a running senton. The momentum swings back to Bayley who ultimately finishes Eva with her splash and elbow in the corner followed by a Hugplex for the win. Of course, what everyone is dying to know is how Eva Marie did. This is not the same Eva Marie you last saw in a WWE ring, while she may still be rough around the edges, her hard work and training is shining through. She shows much potential and with Bayley as ring general the two put on one of the more fun matches of the night.

    Next up the perfect ten Ty Dillinger goes up against Bull Dempsey. In the opening moments Dillinger has fun easily evading Dempsey, following by flexing his glutes at the big guy. Dempsey answers with a cartwheel of his own followed by gyrating his hips at Dillinger. The two eventually get down to business and Ty takes over laying out Dempsey with a DDT and follows with a series of strikes and kicks, the often playful Dillinger is relentless when on the attack. Dempsey begins to mount a comeback but Dillinger shuts him down with a superkick. Moments later Dempsey runs over Dillinger and follows with a series of punches and a bionic elbow. With Dillinger down Dempsey climbs the turnbuckles and comes down with a seated senton for the pin. This was a good lighthearted match that could have went either way. The momentum of Dillinger increases with every show while Dempsey to gain more traction as a face than he ever did as the wrecking ball.

    Solomon Crowe comes out for a short interview with Greg Hamilton. Hamilton ask what to expect from Crowe in the coming year. A fan chants “Crowe for champ”. Crowe echoes his sentiment.

    I’m a big fan of Crowe but this segment sort of meandered without saying too much.

    We continue with women’s tag action as Carmella and Lina take on Dana Brooke and Cassie.  Lina quite easily takes over against Cassie and dominates the early goings with Carmella. Eventually Dana causes a distraction shifting the complexion of the match. Dana and Cassie employ frequent tags until Dana eventually grounds Carmella with a body scissors. Ultimately, Carmella makes the hot tag to Lina who runs over Dana. Moments later Dana jumps onto Linas back and locks on a short lived sleeper hold. Brooke tags in Cassie but Lina puts her through the mat with a side slam and follows with an elbow for the pin. This was an entertaining match with all four women doing a great job. Dana Brooke gets better with every outing, while out of the recent class Cassie (KC Cassidy) is the standout.

    Our main event of the evening is Tyler Breeze taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The match begins with some nice back and forth grappling until Breeze take a cheap shot. It didn’t help, as Finn easily regained the upper hand. A frustrated Breeze decides to quit and head to the back but Finn gives chase and brings him back. Breeze pokes Finn in the eye and goes on the attack, targeting the leg that Balor was favoring. Breeze locks on an agonizing Figure-4 but Balor eventually reverses it. Moments later Breeze goes for a second Figure-4 but Balor kicks Breeze out of the ring. The action continues as Finn rolls through Breeze’s sunset flip and answers with a dropkick. Now in control Finn locks on a short lived Figure-4 of his own. The two battle back to their feet and Balor hits a slingblade. Balor attempts to follow with a dropkick but runs into a superkick from Breeze instead. Breeze continues with an aggressive attack on the leg of Balor. The action continues and Balor once again hits a slingblade and follows with a dropkick into the corner. Finn Balor climbs the turnbuckles and hits the Coup De Grace for a hard fought victory. This was an exciting main event, as one would expect from the NXT champion and the underrated Tyler Breeze.