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  • WWE NXT: just announced Barclays Center event to kickoff three straight nights in Brooklyn

    WWE announced Friday that there will be an NXT show on 8/22 at the Barclays Center, the night before SummerSlam in the same building. The show will air live on WWE Network

    That will mean WWE has booked the building for three straight nights as the following Monday Night Raw is also at the Barclays Center. Tickets go on sale on 7/18 for the NXT event.

    The NXT event will go head-to-head with ROH’s Field of Honor event in Brooklyn that features their stars in addition to NJPW’s Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazuchika Okada.

  • WWE July 3 Tokyo house show results: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor vs. Chris Jericho

    From Friday’s Sumo Hall show in Tokyo:

    – Neville b Kofi Kingston

    – Cesaro b Kane with the sharpshooter

    – Lucha Dragons won three-way over Los Matadores and New Day (Big E & Woods) when Sin Cara pinned Woods.  They announced the Prime Time Players vs. Lucha Dragons for the titles tomorrow at ‘Beast In The East’.

    – They did a Tatsumi Fujinami Hall of Fame ceremony where Hideo Itami introduced him. Fujinami talked about his career, his son carrying on his legacy, and his goal of seeing his son Leona appear at WrestleMania. 

    – Dolph Ziggler b King Barret

    – Divas Champion Nikki Bella b Tamina Snuka.  Paige attacked Nikki after the match and announced she would be in the three-way tomorrow at ‘Beast In The East’. She was orignially billed to be in this match, so people thought that was really weird.

    – Finn Balor b Chris Jericho

    – U.S. Champion John Cena b NXT Champion Kevin Owens via DQ for a low blow.  Cena gave Owens the attitude adjustment after the match. 

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (July 3): Velvet McIntyre beats Moolah for WWF women’s title, Bret Hart vs. Nick Bockwinkel in 1981,

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1938 – In Waterloo, Iowa; Al Bisignano beat Earl Wampler in a 1 hour and 21 minute match to win the Iowa title. Also, Otto Kuss beat Gordon McKenzie (dq) and Olaf Swenson beat Alf Johnson

    1941 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Orville Brown defeated Benny Rosen in 2 out of 3 falls and Jack Kennedy beat Jack Hader in 2 out of 3 falls.

    1964 – In Davenport, Iowa at Municipal Stadium; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Hans Schmidt, Art Thomas beat Larry Hennig (sub Crusher), Wilbur Snyder beat Mitsu Arakawa dq and Mad Dog Vachon (sub Danny Hodge) beat Rene Goulet

    1969 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City; Big Luke and Tor Kamata beat K.O. Cox and Dick “Big Daddy” Murdock in 2 out of 3 falls cage match to win the North American Tag Team Titles. Also, The Viking defeated Ronnie Etchison and Pat O’Connor and Joe Scarpello went to a 20 minute draw.

    1975 – In Winnipeg; Billy Robinson won a 15 man Battle royal for $25,000 by eliminating Baron Von Raschke. Also, Nick Bockwinkel beat Khosrow Vaziri

    1981 – In Calgary, Alberta, Canada; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Bret Hart, Mid Heavyweight Champion Dynamite Kid beat Keith Hart, David Shultz & Kerry Brown & Duke Myers beat Bill Irwin & Duffy O’Rourke & Randy Tyler and Bruce Hart beat Adrian Street

    1984 – In Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Leo Burke beat AWA Champion Rick Martel by dq, Kendo Nagasaki beat Hubert Gallant, Coco Samoa beat George Labelle and JJ Dillon beat Antonio Ricco

    1985 – In Raleigh, North Carolina; NWA World Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev won a $50,000, 10-team battle royal

    1986 – Velvet McIntyre defeated the Fabulous Moolah for the WWF Women’s Title in Brisbane, Australia

    1995 – The Rock ‘n Roll Express defeated PG-13 for the USWA Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

    2002 – AJ Styles & Jerry Lynn defeated the Rainbow Express in the finals of a tournament for the NWA World Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee

  • Observer Exclusive: a talk with the Hart family’s Georgia Smith, the sister of Davey Boy Smith Jr.

    By Gary Mehaffy for WrestlingObserver.com

    I had the opportunity to interview Georgia Smith, daughter of ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith and Diana Hart-Smith and an entertainer in her own right, for over 30 minutes talking about her life growing up in the shadow of a wrestling superstar and what she hopes for her future within the acting world.

    We talked about her voice acting work, meeting wrestling fans, her dad’s impact on the UK, his death and how her family dealt with it and are still dealing with it today, the Davey Boy Smith Memorial Cup, the Hart family legacy and much, much more.  It’s a great, fun interview with a great, fun person! I hope you enjoy it!

    **** 

    Starting out, for everybody reading this, how are things with you and what have you been up to?

    Things have been good! Last week I was presenting at The Limelight film awards, and the movie I presented was under the title of ‘Best Experimental Film’ – it won movie of the night! That was really fun. I’ve been to the WWE Hall of Fame and the Slammy Awards when I was little, but I’ve never been to an awards show where I was invited for me and to present something on stage on front of all these people, that was really, really fun.

    I’m working on a voice demo right now with Mark Silk – he does the voices of Bob the Builder in the (United) States and Jonny Bravo and he does various voices. I’m excited to be working with him on other projects as well. Once that’s all prepared then people can hear what my voices are all about! I demoed when I first came here (UK) and I showed some people and they made suggestions, so now I’m on the right track with it.

    I went to school for broadcasting in the States – and for radio – and I interned for Fox, NBC and Daytime Television while I was there. I’ve always had a passion for acting, so I want to get more into that. I’ve done a lot of acting training in Canada and in the States, as well as modelling. So, yea, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell! (laughs)

    I know that when you were young – as with a lot of people – your mum got you involved and got you into a lot of classes, but has your family background and heritage – so to speak – helped to open some doors in the industry?

    Oh yea, absolutely. It’s a blessing and it’s a curse, because so many people know me as Davey Boy Smith’s daughter. I was at London WrestleCon and so many people wanted to take a picture with me – but it’s, like, because my dad’s not here I’m the closest thing to him, looks wise and everything I guess, so it’s like a picture (then) a picture…..(laughs) But it’s not because of me, it’s because of my dad they want a picture with me!

    So, yea, it definitely has (helped) but on the other hand I’ll want to do some acting auditions and then they’ll see who I’m related to and then they don’t take me seriously. Wrestling isn’t the most top of the line drama – people don’t take it seriously – and it’s difficult too because just label me. They’re like “Oh, that’s his daughter” and that’s it. No, actually, there are more layers to me, there’s more to me. I’m trying to make my own life and be my own person. My dad is a part of me but I’m not him and he’s not me.

    He, indirectly – possibly before you were born – is responsible for me having any involvement in the industry, because the first American – or WWE – wrestling match that I ever saw was on ITV. I remember turning it on and The British Bulldogs were coming out with Matilda at Madison Square Garden and from that point as a young child I was like “This is what I have to watch!”

    I can definitely see that. In my opinion – and I’m not just saying this because he’s my dad – he made Britain famous with wrestling. He is the most famous wrestler from the UK – he was the most popular person.

    He was a star in the States, but I don’t think people in America quite realise just how much of a star he was here in the UK. He was legitimately big business.

    Yea, exactly. I totally agree. I think they think like he was just a very famous British wrestler, but he was a lot more than that. He did a lot more while he was here. I mean (at SummerSlam 1992) he and Bret were the main event. They outsold Michael Jackson and Madonna at Wembley Stadium! Research shows that that Wembley Stadium match was the highest grossing show for WWE and it actually beat the record of selling out in ten hours. Who can do that now? Nobody.

    It’s funny that you mention that match at Wembley in 1992. At that point WWE had gone to Sky here in the UK and we didn’t have it but there was a guy at the top of our street who had it. Everybody knew who Davey was, and it was a case of “Oh my goodness! He’s wrestling Bret – we need to see this!” Everybody from our street was piled into this one house for that one match, looking back on it now, you go “Yea…..that’s proper star appeal.”

    Yea, that’s true. And it’s like what you were saying – my dad was such a big star in England that he was ultimately the one who got WWE on Sky. It’s because of him – or that’s what I’ve been told.

    Even a few years after that in WWE the European Title was created specifically for him at first to win it and come over here (the UK) and go “You have got your European hero – your UK hero. Here he is!” I think there were times that some people were frustrated – and you may know this or even from talking to Bret or your mum you might know it – but there were times in both WCW and WWE where people felt that he could have genuinely been moved to the very top and had a run with the title. Do you think that was something that he regretted?

    I think he always regretted that it………I feel bad that it never happened. He should have become World Champion, but I don’t know why. I think it was just that the timing of everything was always wrong because just when he was getting to such a high level something would happen. Then he would be going to the top of the next company and something would happen. I think that had it not happened – after SummerSlam 1992 when he got released – he would have been World Champion then, and I think Vince wanted to the put the World Championship on him (in 1997), but he’s leaving for WCW with Bret so we can’t have that – hence they took away the European Championship from him. I don’t really agree with how that went down, but it was just circumstances that……I think he always felt bad that he knew he had what it took and he could do anything if he hadn’t have quit.

    Even coming full circle now, you have been involved this year with the Davey Boy Smith Memorial Cup. Two aspects to this one: how big an honour was it for you to be involved with it, but also how big an honour was it for you as a family to have this honour of Davey being recognised in this way?

    Well, when Alex Shane presented it to me eh said this is what we want to do, we want to have a cup in your dad’s name, and I was like yea, of course. My dad loved British wrestling so much and I knew that this was something that had to be done. It was such an honour that people were competing for that. I wish my were here to have seen it

    I showed my mum and Harry the matches and it was fun for me, because I’ve never been into wrestling and have kind of always distanced myself from the indy scene and stuff like that, but when this opportunity came from WrestleTalk and they wanted to get this going – and it was a long time coming with a lot of planning. It wasn’t done in a day; it took a long time – but I supported it 100% and I’m glad that it happened and I hope that another one will happen.

    Anything that keeps my dad’s legacy alive – and the fact that the fans and the wrestlers competing in it were doing it for his honour – is really nice.

    Two things off the back of that. You talk about keeping his memory alive. A lot of people, especially here in the UK but in North America as well, would say that he is 100% deserving of being in the WWE Hall of Fame – either as a singles (wrestler) or as part of the Bulldogs, or both. How much do you – hope that happens is maybe the wrong way to put it – how soon do you see that happening, because it definitely should happen?

    I want it to happen so bad, but it’s like…….I’m not trying to make WWE sound bad, but they know that we want it to happen so bad that they’re like “Ok, well, we just won’t give it to them” – if that makes sense, you know? – “Ah, we’ll take our time with it.” I know they have to spread it out and they can’t put everybody in all at once.

    Apparently they’re running out of people to put in, but it’s embarrassing when people ask me why isn’t he in, what’s going on, and I don’t have an answer for them. I wish I did have an answer for them. I wish WWE had some sort of communication just to tell us and give some sort of idea so that I could tell people. The fans have been making petitions to get him in. People are trying to get him and are mailing WWE. I wish I had the answers for them but I don’t!

    I honestly think that it’s going to happen…….I don’t think that it’ll be next year (2016) but I think it’s gonna be 2017 when it happens, and when it does happen it’s going to be like a weight lifted off of my shoulders, because I know if my dad was here he would want it so much. And I think that’s another reason why they (WWE) are taking so long with it, because my dad’s not alive and they only, apparently, do one posthumous person a year. I think that they want as many people as possible that are alive to collect the award, but unfortunately a lot of people in wrestling have died so they’ve steered away from that. That’s fine, if they want to be politically correct and do the right thing, but at the same time you have a legend that you need to put in, so get to it! (laughs)

    The second side (of the question) about his legacy: it was obviously a shock to fans whenever he dies in 2002. Obviously, he had some injuries and stuff that had played into it. I almost feel bad for asking it this way, but how tough was it for you in your early teens to have it happen and how tough is it for you now today? You can tell how much you still miss him in the way that you talk about him, but could you let everyone know just how that was for you?

    It was so shocking. I’ve never gotten over it. It’s been, like, 13 years and I’ve never gotten over it. I saw him the day before he died. I called him and said to come over and he came over and we spent the afternoon together. It was activity day for me at school and I thought “I’m not going to do that!” (laughs). It was a Friday and I said to come on over. I made some really horrible pizza that he ate – well, we all ate it although I really didn’t cook it all that well – and I remember that he said he had a stomach ache, that his stomach hurt. My mum has a pantry full of vitamins and stuff and I said I don’t know if you want to take something for the pain or some pepto bismol or something.

    We were watching movies, and it was at 6 or 7 pm that he said “Well, I’m going on a road trip to B.C.” – which is the province in the West of Canada – and he said “I’ll see you Monday; I’ll be back on Monday.” Then I wake up the next day, and I’m playing on the computer at 11 and my brother came up and he’s like “Eh, something happened to Davey.” I said “What? What do you mean?”

    Plenty of things had happened to my dad, with his hospital incident where he had this major infection in his arm the year before and they had to take so much of it (out) and he always got infections and things, so when he (Harry) told me it was like “Is he at the hospital? Is he ok? I don’t know what’s going on.”

    My mum left her work and she came in and she came downstairs and she said “Get downstairs now!” We came downstairs and she said we were going to my grampy’s house – my grandfather Stu’s house – and she said “We’re going to hear something, but I don’t know how it’s going to go or what’s going to happen, but you guys need to be prepared for it.”

    The phone was ringing off the hook at my grandpa’s house and everyone was crying and I’m like “What’s going on?” because nobody had told me anything. My uncle Ross was like “Well, we’ll have to get the body sent here.” and I’m like “What body? What’s going on?” I was saying to TJ – Tyson Kidd – outside, “Davey’s been through everything – he’s broken his back, he’s been through major injuries in wrestling, he’s been in car accidents – he’s pretty unbreakable!” TJ wouldn’t say anything.  My mum was on the phone – I think she was on the phone with Vince McMahon telling him what was going on – and I looked at her and I said “Tell me! Tell me what’s going on! Is he alive or is he dead?” and she said “He’s gone.” That was like a punch in the face – it was so shocking. It was traumatising, it was bad.

    I don’t know what’s worse – if something like that happens or if you know someone is going to die. If someone is dying, you can go “OK, they’re going to die in two months” or is someone just dies overnight, I don’t know what’s worse. I spoke to my grandfather (in England) on the phone and he was really upset and my aunt was really upset.  Reality really hit when they showed the tribute video on Monday Night Raw. I went to school a week later and everybody was like “What happened? What happened to your dad?” and “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

    It was bad, too, when we went to this funeral home. My dad’s body wasn’t  there – when he passed they flew his body back to England – but prior to it, in the funeral home, they were like “Well, maybe Davey would like this chestnut wood colour,” and it’s like, my dad can’t even fit in these coffins!  It was traumatising to even see that.  “Ok, well maybe would like to be in this urn…..” and I’m like (thinking) “I just saw the guy 2 days ago! What is happening?”

    Then whenever the phone rings you think “Oh, that’s him calling.” Oh, no, it’s a newspaper thing (on the phone) or it’s this……

    It annoyed me too, because when he died there was so much negative press about it. People forget that he had a family. I collect all the mags at the time from when he was in WWF, when he was in WCW and some Australian magazine and then there was PowerSlam magazine, which was a British magazine. I was like “Oh, wow, he’s on the cover of it!” I thought it would be this nice tribute – I read it now, and they’re completely bashing him they’re (saying) well, this was coming to him and I’m like “How dare you! How dare you say this! You don’t know anything about him.”  (They said) “His family may be in denial, but we all know the truth. He was going through a downward spiral and a colleague of his said that he wasn’t able to speak and keep himself standing.” I’m like “Who is this…..who would…….” I found it so offensive, but that’s not the first time I’ve seen it. I’ve seen so many people act like they know everything and know what happened or what kind of person he was, and that’s the most difficult thing.

    Since he’s been gone I feel like I always have to defend him – and I always will, because he’s my dad – but it’s so hard, because I hear all the time these people that try to bash him. it annoys me, because my dad should be here to be like “No, I’ll put these people in their place!” It’s so difficult. When he died, he wasn’t like ‘Bob you neighbour’ he was this massive star, despite not being on TV for a year or two, he was still this icon. I guess when people that are so famous die, they feel like they can say what they want and rip you apart. It wasn’t right – especially when I was 14 and going to school and hearing all these people saying “Oh, he died of steroids.” It’s like “Uh, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” I don’t mind talking to you (now) but then I was “I don’t even want to talk about it! My dad just died a week ago, leave me alone!”

    In talking about him and your extended family, obviously the Harts and the extended family are, without a doubt, the first family of wrestling – they are a dynasty within it. Today we still have Harry, Nattie and Tyson – even Teddy Hart doing some stuff still – as well as others involved in the industry. How do you see the family legacy and the legacy of your dad within the wrestling industry?

    I think it’s kind of sad how it’s all kind of happened that there’s pretty much only one Hart now in WWE. That kind of makes me sad, but at the same time my brother is in Japan and he’s made a really big name for himself over there. He’s got the bulldog on his tights – that’s one of the things that bothered me in WWE.  He was always wearing the pink and black. I mean, I’m glad that they were really putting over the Hart name and using him, but what about his other heritage? The red, white and blue and the bulldog. They kind of were just doing the pink and black, so I’m glad now where he’s at my brother can have the bulldog on his gear and he can things that he wasn’t allowed to do in WWE.

    I’m glad Nattie……she’s working with what she’s got there. I don’t really watch WWE, and I don’t know how well the women’s division is – but apparently, from what I’ve heard, the WWE isn’t doing much with them. So, the fact that Nattie is on a show and showing her personality, and networking and taking what she’s got to another level – and good for her. I’m glad she’s doing that and the fact that she is a Hart doing that – that’s amazing.

    Coming back to you, I appreciate the acting side of things – I am a frustrated actor/writer myself. You have said before about not wanting to get in the ring like your dad, but obviously you have gone into the entertainment industry – you talked about some of the voice work that you’re doing, etc. What do you hope is going to happen for you off the back of all of this?

    What I really want is just to make my own individuality and just to become my own person – and that people will know me as Georgia Smith the x, y and z, and not just Georgia Smith who’s related to some people in wrestling. Sometimes, I kind of hide behind my family sort of, because when people ask me what I do it always comes back to my family. I need to big myself up a little bit and be like “I’ve done this and this.” I’ve accomplished a lot, but at the same time I go “Well, it’s not as great as what they’ve done….” So it’s difficult, but I want to get to a place where I’m completely confident and be like “This is me” and if you go on my Twitter profile you know exactly what I’m about and who I am. I’m proud of where I come from, but I don’t want to be 40 years old and it to be like “Oh, she’s the British Bulldog’s daughter – that’s all she is.”

    Anybody who knows me knows that I have a lot more to show of me and it’s just (about) getting more opportunities for myself to show what I’ve got. That’s what my dad did. My dad wasn’t just one of The British Bulldogs – he became the British Bulldog. HE became his own thing and had the cape and the braids and made his own individuality – he wasn’t in a tag (team) anymore. That’s just an example. Like with Harry – Harry was in the Hart Dynasty, it’s what he was famous for. But now he’s in the Killer Elite Squad, he’s coming into his own, he’s more confident and I’m kind of on that path – but not with wrestling! I do my own thing, my own entertainment thing.

    You mentioned Twitter and stuff there. How can anybody keep up to date with what you’re up to and the things that you’re involved with?

    Twitter (@georgiasmith87) and I have a Facebook page (facebook.com/georgiasmith7). My website is currently being built right now. Those three things are the main things – people can follow my snapchat, but it’s kind of boring! (laughs) It’s just pictures of my dog! Yea, Twitter, Facebook and the website – georgiajsmith – it’s under construction. Probably at the weekend it will be all up and running.

    I much appreciate you giving me your time and on the acting side of things I really hope it all comes off. About 12 years ago I was very close stuff happening for me (in acting) and I made the decision to finish my teaching degree rather than go and pursue the acting. While it was good that I finished my teaching degree, the acting opportunity had passed me be, so I am genuinely a frustrated actor – so from that point of view, I hope it all comes good for you!

    Yea, it’s definitely not easy. It’s like when people ask me “Where should I train to wrestle? “ or “What would you recommend me?” I’m like (laughs) “Do something else! Don’t do it! Do anything else but that unless you want to annoy yourself.” Sometimes I feel like that with acting – sometimes I feel like I’m so close and then something happens and I’m at a standstill.

    Even right now, I have an agent – a big, well known agent – who wants to represent me, but the thing is I don’t have the specific requirements.  I haven’t had years of acting training in England or English drama, and I’m not a part of the union. So, I’m trying to find a way to get around that so that if I get with this agent then it’s going to be like a dream come true. So, I have to just keep like plodding along and if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be – but I feel like whether it’s acting or voice work acting on TV or wherever, I feel like that’s my destiny! I have to get the Bulldog strength and just power through it.

  • NJPW Road to Dominion Korakuen Hall 7-3-15 live coverage and results: Huge surprise appearance

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly

    Started out slow with a feeling out process, mostly with O’Reilly working on Tanaka. Komatsu made a great comeback that the crowd ate up big time, including transitioning into a dragon sleeper but O’Reilly came back and broke it up. Komatsu sinked in the hal leg crab. In a funny spot, O’Reilly kept slapping Komatsu as Tanaka deadlifted him into a German suplex. reDragon did a double team codebreaker into a deadlift German suplex for their comeback, then win with the Chasing the Dragon on Tanaka in a very good opener. These four have good chemistry together.

    Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada

    Starts off with Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi, which the crowd liked. Taguchi and Tiger Mask Followed, then Dorada and Liger, with Dorada doing a huge dive on the outside taking out Liger. Didn’t last too long. Taguchi and Dorada made a comeback and wiped out Tiger Mask. Dorada was going for his screwdriver finish when Tiger Mask countered and rolled him up for the win. Any roll up in 2015 is quite the deadly finishing maneuver.

    Yuji Nagata cut a promo after the match, mostly just talking about being in the opener on Sunday.

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Cody Hall

    This turned into a pretty good six man. Usual formula with everyone pairing off. Boiled down to Tama Tonga and Jay White. Tencozy took out Hall with the 3D and White got a nearfall with a missile dropkick. Tonga fired back with a TKO, then pinned him with a waist lock hold into a DDT. 

    Kushida & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi

    Despite Kenny Omega stealing the Best of the Super Junior trophy on last week’s show, Kushida came to the ring with it. I guess maybe management forced Omega to give it back, or something. Basic tag match with the Bullet Club getting heat on Captain New Japan. CNJ made the hot tag and Kushida ran wild, including hooking Yujiro’s feet into a bridge and giving a German suplex to Omega for a double near fall. CNJ tagged in and ran wild, but as usual he got cut off and Yujiro pinned him with the Tokyo Pimps.  

    Kushida and Omega were having a staredown when suddenly who should emerge from the crowd but none other than last year’s Best of the Super Junior winner, Ricochet, wearing an Akira Tozawa t-shirt. He challenges whoever wins at Dominion to a IWGP junior heavyweight title match. Crowd popped big time for this.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Gedo

    Another formulaic tag match with everyone pairing off. Naito was the last to enter the arena and was aggressive whenever he was in the ring, including shoving the referee down at one point. Makabe and Ishii had their usual big exchange, then Tanahashi and Yano went at it. The former went for the high fly flow, but Yano got the knees up and rolled up him for the nearfall. Tanahashi then grabbed him by the hair and rolled him up for the three count. Naito immediately bailed the minute Yano was pinned and was never seen again, continuing to signal a heel turn.

    Makabe and Ishii exchanged words after the match, while Yano came back with a chair. Tanahashi dropkicked the chair into Yano’s face and sent him reeling as he celebrated. 

    Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba & Gedo

    This was every multi-man tag you’ve ever seen from these six. Not that it was bad, because it actually got really great in the end. Yoshi-Hashi was scoring some great nearfalls, including a powerbomb into a bridge but Goto kept kicking out. Shibata tries to break it up but Goto held his own until he couldn’t no more. Goto hit his neckbreaker on the knee, Shibata hit the penalty kick then Goto followed with the shouten kai for the pinfall.

    Everyone stared down their rival in the post match, with Sakuraba and Shibata exchanging slaps. 

    Kazuchika Okada & Michael Bennett & Matt Taven & Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. A.J. Styles & Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson & Young Bucks

    Despite being a hard camera event, they made sure to get shots of Maria’s behind when she entered the ring. Amber Gallows was also here seconding the Bullet Club. This started out as the usual ten man tag but got wild at the end. Everyone paired off with their rival, and eventually it boiled down to Romero being worked on. He makes the hot tag to Taven, which brings in the two teams facing off for the titles on Sunday until Okada and AJ are tagged in. Lots of crazy action here including a double tope from the Kingdom onto various Bullet Club members. Anderson grabs Romero in the Razor’s Edge position and throws him onto the rest of the participants in the match. Anderson was stopped by Maria. Anderson was into Maria when Amber Gallows ran in and they had a catfight. Doc Gallows came in and he and Anderson were about to do the Magic Killer when the Kingdom ran in. They wen to the outside as it boiled down to Baretta vs. Young Bucks and AJ Styles. Young Bucks and AJ Styles all did 450 splashes on Baretta for a nearfall when Okada ran in. AJ wipes him out when he helps the Young Bucks do an assisted Indytaker then immediately follows that with the Styles Clash for the pinfall. Great spectacle of a match.

    AJ cuts a promo on Okada after the match, saying he’ll always lose to the Bullet Club because they’re real. 

    Overall a pretty great show with a wild main event, and lots of interesting directions heading into Sunday’s PPV. 

  • THURS UPDATE: Brock Lesnar WWE Japan, Hogan lawsuit, Kevin Nash, Match of Year

    By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for reports on late tonight’s WWE show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo as well as from today’s show in Singapore at dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Smackdown tonight from Hershey, PA:

    Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

    R-Truth vs. Adam Rose

    Ryback vs. Mark Henry

    Brie Bella vs. Naomi

    Prime Time Players vs The Ascension non-title

    Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns non-title

    New Japan runs Korakuen Hall early tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time live on New Japan World

    Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly

    Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Cody Hall

    Kushida & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi

    Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Gedo

    Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba & Gedo

    Kazuchika Okada & Michael Bennett & Matt Taven & Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. A.J. Styles & Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson & Young Bucks

    The story behind UFC losing perhaps its biggest fight of the year with Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor, update on WrestleMania and the match that isn’t in the plans right now, the TNA-GFW situation and how it happened, and how many expect big changes in UFC very soon, multiple WWE related lawsuits, Tough Enough and the WWE & TNA monthly business rundowns are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/43362-july-6-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-jose-aldo-injury-fallout-tnagfw-mystery-and-much-more

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are at  http://www.f4wonline.com/member/signup.php

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

    The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

    Our lead story looks at the injury to Conor McGregor, what UFC attempted to do to save the fight, why the fight didn’t happen, McGregor building up a later fight, how much does this change hurt, the positives of Mendes in the spot and the mentality of the PPV buyer.  We look at the key issues involved in the fight not happening.

    We also look at why the TNA/GFW alliance took place, why TNA made the call to Jeff Jarrett, plans or non-plans going on, why this is beneficial to both, departures from TNA, where that talent would go next and more.

    We look at why Saturday’s UFC show in Hollywood, FL was the end of an era on several accounts, both from the uniform standpoint, as well as drug detection and weight cutting standpoints.  We also make a suggestion of something that is already done in other sports that UFC should implement, although it will never happen, as well as an example of why weight-cutting is done the way it is.

    We also look at a lawsuit against WWE for making allegedly misleading claims that led to the stock price going way up, and then falling.  We look at a unique thing that came up regarding the key witness, stories changing, and if stories were legit to begin with.

    We also look at the death of the bill to legalize MMA in New York, and how it went down.

    We also have early notes on next year’s WrestleMania, an update on Sting, how the main event planned is unique because it’s out of WWE’s control if it happens, more on Reign vs. Wyatt, the Japanese tour, ideas for the network in 2016, Japanese pro wrestler tryouts, Dolph Ziggler on his contractual situation, The Rock at the house show in Boston, Rock movie news, update on Tyson Kidd, update on WWE network, update on lawsuits against WWE, and notes on the new season of Total Divas.

    We also look at awards WWE is nominated for, Randy Orton, WWE announcing, and notes on the weekend NXT and WWE house shows and business notes and highlights from all of the shows.

    We’ve got coverage of the UFC show in Hollywood, FL, how the card fell apart beforehand, business notes on the show, and what should happen next for Yoel Romero.  We also look at TNA Slammiversary.

    We’ve got a story on the new season of Tough Enough, what has and hasn’t worked so far, notes on the ratings, notes on the competitors, who are said to be the favorites, what on the show is misleading and more on what is involved.

    We also have our monthly business review for WWE & TNA, looking at monthly business in a number of categories.  We look at what categories are up, how far down are the ones down, and what one category with WWE that is significantly up and one that is collapsing.

    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:

    –New promotion that has had success dumps its two biggest stars

    –A look at the All Elite show in Mexico City with several American stars brought in and others scheduled who had to pull out

    –CMLL announces its next major big show main event

    –Updates on reaction to the Busca de un Idolo tournament

    –Notes on the last shows at Arena Mexico

    –Notes on this year’s TripleMania and why it is taking place so late in the year

    –Some major injuries to Lucha Underground stars

    –AAA signs a longtime CMLL star

    –Rey Mysterio Jr. headlines for AAA’s last TV tapings

    –Why the Great Muta U.S. tour fell through

    –An international promotion having money problems and having to cut back and losing wrestles in the process

    –Notes on Dragon Gate’s next major show including some U.S. tours appearing

    –Notes on the NOAH upcoming junior heavyweight tournament

    –Updates on New Japan business

    –New Japan World G-1 notes

    –Notes on New Japan’s biggest main event of the week

    –Notes on the New Japan U.S. television show

    –Update on the original tiger Mask

    –Genichiro Tenryu’s final match

    –Hiroshi Tanahashi appears on DDT major show

    –Update on Bruno Sammartino

    –Dave Bautista likely to land another major movie role

    –Notes on this past week’s PWG show including celebrities and four-star matches

    –Notes on the next two PWG shows

    –Young Bucks face Mysterio for the first time and notes no the show

    –More talent appearing for Jarrett on shows

    –Lots of news regarding the new NWA streaming service and Houston wrestling tape collection

    –Another major streaming service announced

    –Former WWE star set for a new E! reality show

    –Another former WWE performer gets  into legal trouble

    –Notes on pro wrestling books

    –Update on former WWE star Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore

    –Update on the WWC’s last major show

    –Former pro wrestler competing in high level bodybuilding contest

    –One of the most reviled men of the last 50 years in wrestling is coming out of retirement once again

    –Latest on Lucha Underground

    –Notes on the ROH stadium show in Brooklyn

    –Complete lineup for ROH’s next iPPV show

    –Notes on the next ROH show in Las Vegas

    –Updates on TNA titles after this set of tapings

    –Everything on TNA television through mid-August

    –Update on problems with production people

    –Update on health of Kurt Angle

    –Update on Jeff hardy

    –Former WWE star working for TNA behind the scenes

    –Controversy over Anderson Silva drug test result

    –Ronda Rousey ESPY award nominations

    –Crazy UFC schedule over an eight day period

    –Official UFC 187 numbers

    –Update on C.M. Punk training

    –UFC’s return to Ireland announced

    –Update Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –Aftermath of Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice

    –Ken Shamrock talks about a fight with Frank shamrock

    –More on Alexander Shlemenko suspension

    –Foamer Pride star sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison

    –An August battle of MMA legends falls through.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Our most requested issues in our history are:

    *November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

    *December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

    *August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

    *March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

    *October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

    *July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

    *February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

    *May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

    *January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

    *February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

    *March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

    *April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

    *May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

    *June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

    *June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

    *July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

    *August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

    *September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

    *October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

    *January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

    *February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

    *February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

    *March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

    *March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

    *July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

    *July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

    *August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

    *August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

    *October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

    *November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

    *January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

    *March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

    *May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

    *June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

    *July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

    *September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

    *October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

    *November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

    *January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

    *January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

    *April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

    *April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

    *July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

    *September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

    *October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

    *November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

    *November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

    *November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

    *December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

    *January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

    *March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

    *March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

    *March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

    *April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

    *July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

    *October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

    *November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

    *December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

    *January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

    *March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

    *April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

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

    * September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

    * September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

    You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

    We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

    To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

    THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • There are two major shows this weekend, both from Japan, with the WWE show that takes place Saturday morning and the New Japan Dominion show that takes place Sunday morning.  The WWE has a two-hour window on the network, so I don’t know that the entire card will air since in Japan, the local station airing the show has a three-and-a-half hour window.  Last word was Michael Cole and Byron Saxton announcing the show.  The Dominion show is New Japan’s biggest card since the Tokyo Dome, headlined by A.J. Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title, and the culmination of pretty much all the current angles. 
    • On last night’s show, when we talked about wrestling pilots that were shot that turned into shows, two have made it on the air, Lucha Libre USA, which never got any reaction, and Wrestling Society X was picked up by MTV, but didn’t last long.
    • Jim Ross announced that Paul O’Brien, who has written a number of wrestling novels, will join Scott Williams in working on his autobiography.
    • Conor McGregor will be appearing on Conan O’Brien tonight at 11 p.m.
    • Jose Aldo’s team has released X-rays that clearly show he suffered a broken rib. 
    • I was told that last night’s Ultimate Fighter show was the best episode of the season, with some horrible refereeing, an amazing comeback and a temper tantrum that has to be seen.
    • Destination America numbers
    • ROH at 8 p.m. 157,000 viewers (lowest to date)
    • TNA at 9 p.m. 267,000 viewers (lowest to date except for the week they ran a show from one year earlier)
    • ROH at 11 p.m. 81,000 viewers (lowest to date)
    • TNA at midnight 51,000 viewers (lowest to date)
    • Boy do those numbers speak volumes.  From both sides perspective, that has to be a huge disappointment.     
    • The Hulk Hogan lawsuit against Gawker.com for posting his sex tape with Heather Clem, that was supposed to start Monday, has been delayed to a later date.  The case generated a good deal of publicity this past week.  Hogan has already settled out of court with Clem, so the only defendant is the web site. 
    • Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards won’t be appearing on the next PWG show on 7/24 due to having to be in Orlando for TNA tapings.  I’m not sure if they were ever announced in the first place, but they at first were planning on doing the show.  Tickets for that show should sell out in five or so minutes tonight.
    • The WWE has appointed Tracey Keenan as its new Vice President and General Manager for the UK and Ireland territory.  Her previous tie was WWE Vice President of commercial Partnerships for the Europe, Middle East and Asai markets.
    • TNA yesterday announced the hiring of Eric Sherman as Chief Strategy Officer.  His background included working for MTV Networks overseeing VH1 Classic, VHA 1 Soul and Palladia and President of Fuse TV.
    • Magic Mike XXL, with Kevin Nash in a key role, debuted last night an did $9.3 million its first night.  Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new Terminator movie did $8.9 million for second place. 
    • Also told the Cima & Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Yamato & Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino match at today’s Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall was a match of the year candidate. (thanks to Case Lowe) 
    • These are the names appearing at the UFC Fan Expo 7/10 and 7/11 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at the Venetian/Plazzo:  Jheny Andrade, Luciana Andrade, Jon Anik, Rafael dos Anjos, Andre Arlovski, Raphael Assuncao, Carly Baker, Joseph Benavidez, Chrissy Blair, Kahlihi Blundell, C.M. Punk, Travis Browne, Bruce Buffer, Liz Carmouche, Arianny Celeste, Donald Cerrone, Michael Chiesa, Daniel Cormier, Dominick Cruz, John Dodson, Frankie Edgar, Rashad Evans, Urijah Faber, Don Frye, Kelvin Gastelum, Jamillette Gaxiola, Gary Goodridge, Renzo Gracie, Forrest Griffin, Clay Guida, Vanessa Hanson, Johny Hendricks, Matt Hughes, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Anthony Johnson, Demetrious Johnson, Michael Johnson, Shawn Jordan, Chuck Liddell, Guy Mezger, Stipe Miocic, Pat Miletich, Rose Namajunas, Megan Olivi, Brittney Palmer, Julianna Pena, BJ Penn, Kendra Perez, Dustin Poirier, Luke Rockhold, Ben Rothwell, Bas Rutten, Dan Severn, Erick Silva, Cub Swanson, Oleg Taktarov, Tecia Torres, Frank Trigg, Chris Weidman, Fabricio Werdum, Tyron Woodley, Paige VanZant, Paul Varelans and Cain Velasquez.
    • Naomichi Marufuji was announced as coming to Harley Race’s annual World League Wrestling camp from 8/24 to 8/28 in Troy, MO.  Marufuji will instruct along with Gedo of New Japan, Tom Prichard and Ric Flair.  For more info you can call 517-392-4100 and check out more info at www.harleyrace.com/2015trainingcamp.html
    • Another major boxing PPV show is almost set for November with the expected Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto fight.  ESPN.com reported the promoters are working out the basics but expect the fight on either 11/7 or 11/21, and at 155 pounds.  This is expected to do more than 1 million buys.
    • Regarding the discussion of last night’s show, we’re told Patrick Martin on Tough Enough was a huge fan as a kid and studied wrestling before starting at the MCW school.  We’re also told that Alex, who was cut, was far from the least knowledgeable person about wrestling on the cast, but just got caught saying something stupid in an argument.
    • Alexander Frekey not only got cut from the show but also was fired from his job the same week because he had asked for time off to do the show saying his boss called him and said they were struggling and since you’re not around we’re letting you go.  He also said he knew quite a bit about wrestling and nearly went to wrestling school coming out of college.  He said the scene was taken way out of context saying that knowledge of history doesn’t help you with physical performance.  He said he knew as much as Patrick except Patrick was better with dates.   
    • Becky Lynch is expected out of action for a few weeks due to a hip flexor injury that we were told was minor. 
    • The 30 minute Finn Balor special airs tonight at 10:30 p.m. on the WWE Network.
    • Although TMZ has reported that the mother of Doink the Clown was suing WWE, as noted before, it was the mother of two of Matt Osborne’s children who is filing suit.
    • Odds have shifted for the Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes fight.  Mendes was originally a 6-to-5 favorite, but as of earlier today, McGregor was a 7-to-5 favorite.
    • Nothing at all on twitter right now gaining any traction from wrestling, boxing or MMA.  The two most talked about things are WWE History with 662 tweets and TUF Talk (coming off last night’s Ultimate Fighter show) with 276.
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata, in an excellent match, headlines the AXS New Japan show tomorrow night from last year’s G-1 tournament.
    • Jonathan Coachman has been on Twitter the last few days trying to get people to retweet “Sports Center on the road at SummerSlam” to show his bosses the power of WWE fans and make coverage happen.  He said he won’t be happy until he can bring both shows together (thanks to Jeff Bradley)
    • WWE sent out a release on Saturday’s show and only mentioned that Brock Lesnar will return to action and Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor, so they are specifically not announcing what will be on the show.
    • New Japan had an issue as they had to apologize to people who either purchased tickets to their shows on-line or signed up for their Fan Club between August 28, 2013 and April 28, 2015, over a security breach.  The company said they will respond properly to correct any issues that come forward.  This does not affect subscribers to New Japan World.
    • WWE stock closed down 12 cents per share to $16.53 today.   
    • Valkyrie women’s wrestling on 7/9 in Woodbury Heights, NJ headlined by Kimber Lee vs. Kacee Carlisle.
    • Paragon Pro Wrestling debuts on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. Eastern and Pacific on Pop! TV.  The first show will have a Battle Royal to determine the top contender for their championshp and features Caleb Konley and Gangrel.  Jessy Sorensen also defends the title in the main event.  Pop! TV is on DirecTV 273 and Dish 117.
    • EWF tomorrow night in Covina CA at 4315 N. Vincent Ave.
    • Uproar Pro Wrestling on 7/11 in New Port Richey, FL at the Verizon Event Center with Jessy Sorensen, Eddie Graves and Leo Brien as headliners.
    • Destiny World Wrestling on 6/28 in Mississauaga,ONT:  Will White b Phil Atlas, Randy Reign b Tyler Tirva, Tyson Dux b Josh Alexander, RJ City b Donovan Danhausen, PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) b Ethan Page, Joe Coleman b Cody Deaner, Taeler Hendrix b Ashley America, P.J. Black won over Will White, Randy Reign, Tyson Dux, RJ City and Joe Coleman to win their DWW world title.  Among those at the show were Booker T (guest ref), Santino Marella, Scott D’Amore, Ron Hutchison and Ricky Johnson (Dwayne’s uncle). (thanks to Bob Kapur and Steven Ashe)
    • Brodus Clay will headline a tour of Alberta for CWE with shows on 8/26 in Camrose, 8/27 in Sherwood Park, 8/28 in Red Deer and 8/29 in Calgary.
    • Chris Nowinski is on briefly on the June HBO Real Sports show in a segment about head trauma in under-14 girls soccer. (thanks to Jeff Cohen)
    • Jonny Fairplay is guest on the Wrestling Outsiders podcast at BlogTalkRadio.com/WrestlingOutsiders
    • CWE on 7/24 in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar.
    • New England Championship Wrestling on 7/4 and 7/11 at The Brockton Fair in Brockton, MA.  Admission is free with fair admission.  On Saturday, Slyck Wagner Brown & Brad Hollister face Mike McCarthy & Todd Loco.
    • Booker T, Ariane Andrew (Cameron) and Virgil are appearing  7/9 to 7/12 at the San Diego Comic Con.  Booker & Ariane will be signing from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
    • Dangerous Adrenaline Wrestling Gladiators at the Maximum Sports Complex in Glassboro, NJ on 7/10.   
    • KSW runs 10/31 at the SSE Arena (Wembley Arena) in London featuring Judo Jim Wallhead, Oli Thompson and James McSweney.
    • Pro Wrestling Eclipse on 7/12 in Oshawa, ONT at the Oshawa Legion 471 headlined by Cody Deaner.
    • Jim Duggan headlines for River City Wrestling on 7/12 in Kirby, TX at the Turner Club, facing Skitzkrieg in the main event.
    • Anarchy Wrestling from Saturday night in Cornelia, GA before 100+ fans:  Stryknyn b Romeo Reynolds, CB Suave & Raphael King b Stitch Orisis & Kevin Park, Jeff Lewis b Bobby Moore, Jeremy Foster & Jacob Ashworth b Kevin Blue & Trevor Aeon, Todd Sexton b Sal Rinauro, Frank White & Dementia b Big FN Deal & SKS, Slim J & Fred Yehi b Washington Bullets to keep tag titles, Shadow Jackson & Logan Creede b Lars Manderson & Jagged Edge (thanks to Bill Behrens)
    • Bellator today announced the signing of Chase Gormley, the Titan FC heavyweight champion.  Gormley has a 12-4 record, as has formerly fought in UFC.
    • JJ Dillon talks Dusty Rhodes, Eric Bischoff and his only match in Madison Square Garden
    • Alex Frekey talks being voted off Tough Enough.  He talks his experience, his choice of words, swimming in a swamp with an alligator, how intense Patrick is, what is next for him, his acting career and more.
    • Zack Sabre Jr. documentary trailer
    • Ethan Carter III talks winning the TNA title
    • Honky Tonk Man talks the death of Rick Rude
    • Hulk Hogan talks his career and life

  • Ethan Carter III talks winning TNA title

    The following is from a third party:

    This Is Awesome Wrestling Show with host Glenn Moore, interviewed new TNA World Champion Ethan Carter III today about his win and other topics. EC3 talks about the title win, which is his first singles belt of his career. What will the future hold for EC3 and TNA? He discusses what’s going on with Global Force Wrestling. Also, he talks about his character progression, and how Wednesday’s win was a culmination of his work from the last two years.

    On Becoming TNA World Champion:

    “Everything I’ve ever been through, every stupid personal or professional hell I’ve ever had to overcome, it made it all worth it. I’m very fortunate. I hate using the word blessed, because people use #blessed way too much. But for one day, I can say I was #blessed.”

    Being able to watch his win and experience it with everyone else:

    “Watching it personally, I had a nice soiree. My girlfriend hooked us up with a party and a bunch of people came by. What was cool about it, as much as people who support either her or I, our friends, they not huge wrestling fans. They check it out from time to time. Kind of fans we need more of, which is mainstream people checking it out from time to time. You know, again, when we talk about smart fans and credibility, or messing with the finisher or outside interference. The hook, line, and sinker with every little thing we did and every part of that story we told, like, it was mostly clean, but I’m still kind of a dirt bag because I still need a little help — the stuff with Tyrus.

    I guess, a guy whose never had a wrestling match in his life who can give out stars can say, ‘Hey, that’s typical TNA.’

    When you watch the reaction of the people we try to get, and they are hooked, line and sinker, and they are buying into this and seeing it unfold, it was kind of an out of body experience.”

    Impact of having Kurt Angle be the wrestler he wins belt from:

    “He’s a Hall of Famer in every company he’s been in, let’s not forget that. But I mean, dude, whoa. Like, whoa.

    Like you said, we grew up watching Kurt. It’s very, very rare you have the opportunity to have your dream match. And I think it’s even more rare that it happens to be for a world title. It’s surreal.

    You know, I’ve had that match a thousand times in my head. I remember doing German suplexes and then Angle Slams in my backyard, locking in the ankle lock. Next thing you know, I’ll take about eighteen of them…I don’t remember because they all hit me in the head. Withstand that, then defeat him with a wrestling hold. Ha! Pin! What? Out of control.”

    Who hugged him first after win?

    “John Gaburick.”

    What did Angle say after the match?

    “Later that day, he was sitting down talking to me, and I will not say what he said to me. But to hear those words come out of his mouth, was maybe even more important than actually winning the title.”

    Joining the list of past TNA World Champions, like Sting, Jeff Hardy, Bull Ray, Samoa Joe, Mick Foley, Angle, and more:

    “When you read it like that, that’s a pretty damn exclusive list. I guess that’s a great thing about TNA World Championship, they take a lot of slack for doing things wrestling fans hate for some reason. One thing they do very well is keep the integrity of the World Championship. And that’s pretty cool to be on that list.”

  • WWE: Now is the Time to Pull the Trigger on Cesaro

    In what will almost certainly be the best Raw match of 2015, Cesaro answered John Cena’s U.S. Title Open Challenge Monday night and took the champion to the limit in a 20-minute classic. The ending of the match, which saw Cesaro’s Sharpshooter being broken up by Kevin Owens seemingly moments away from victory, left the distinct impression that Cesaro is on the verge of being a major player in WWE. Cesaro’s history since debuting on the main roster in 2012 might suggest otherwise.

    As anyone who has followed Cesaro since his days in CHIKARA and Ring of Honor can attest, he possesses the tools necessary to be a top star in WWE. He very well still can be just that. But in order for this to happen, WWE needs to pull the trigger right now.

    Flirting With Stardom

    After debuting on Smackdown in April 2012, Cesaro embarked on a fairly substantial winning streak and eventually captured the United States Championship in a little under four months’ time. He held the belt for 239 days, but by the time he dropped the belt to Kofi Kingston, he had already been diminished to a comedy role thanks to a ridiculous yodeling gimmick that lasted all of a few weeks.

    Cesaro was then inexplicably paired with anti-immigration cartoon character Zeb Colter, an incongruous situation hand-waved with his status as a legal immigrant from Switzerland. He would be paired up with Jack Swagger as “The Real Americans,” and they would do next to nothing of note as a tag-team for the next nine months. Meanwhile, Cesaro was simultaneously working in a feud with then-NXT-newcomer Sami Zayn that resulted in a series of exceedingly great matches between 2013 and 2014. Cesaro would also score a big win on the February 14, 2014, Smackdown with a clean pinfall victory over WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton. Nothing further ever came from it.

    At WrestleMania XXX, Cesaro split from Swagger after an unsuccessful attempt at winning the WWE Tag Team Championship, putting his former partner in the Cesaro Swing. He would appear in the inaugural André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal later in the show, which he ultimately won by body-slamming Big Show out of the ring in a fashion reminiscent of Hogan slamming André at WrestleMania 3. To further establish the connection, Hogan himself presented Cesaro with the trophy the next night on Raw and gave him an endorsement. To cap off the segment, Cesaro announced that he was dumping Colter for a new manager—Paul Heyman. The idea, it seemed, would be to accentuate Cesaro’s incredible in-ring acumen with Heyman’s mic work to elevate him as a true top-tier star.

    While these elements combined should have vaulted Cesaro into a role as an emerging babyface, Cesaro was kept as a heel, made to drop the swing that had just begun to get over with crowds, and given some truly horrendous entrance music that Cesaro himself has admitted is awful.  To make sure that he had almost no chance of succeeding further, Cesaro was also booked to lose consistently to mid-card talent like Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, and Big E.

    Cesaro and Heyman ended their partnership in July, and a five-month slog filled with countless mid-card losses followed. This all but guaranteed that whatever juice Cesaro had left from his big win at WrestleMania would dry up.

    The Missing “It Factor”

    The handling of Cesaro was so baffling that it caught the attention of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who took the occasion of his podcast interview with Vince McMahon in December to ask what Cesaro needed in order to become a top-level superstar. McMahon responded by faulting Cesaro for everything from a perceived lack of an “it factor” and charisma to an inability to establish a connection with the audience because of his nationality and European-influenced in-ring style. Austin noted Cesaro’s inconsistent booking since the split from Swagger and Colter, stating that he believed it had negatively impacted his organic growth at a time where he was beginning to get over, and he asked how McMahon felt that he could be booked to regain that momentum that he had lost. McMahon’s response: “I’m not certain.”

    This led to a segment on the December 29 Raw where Cesaro sat in a corner of the ring ala Raven and addressed criticism from “WWE decision-makers” who claimed that he didn’t connect with the audience. His response: “I don’t connect; I deliver.” This was immediately overshadowed when Cesaro flubbed a line, referring to the ring’s “four ropes.” Despite recovering quickly and correcting himself, he was buried on commentary on the way to a loss to the returning Wade Barrett (who also knows a thing or two about stop-start pushes).

    By this point, Cesaro had already begun his tag-team partnership with Tyson Kidd, another immensely talented and underutilized performer. They quickly took to calling themselves “The Brass Ring Club”—a knock on McMahon’s claim that Millennials like Cesaro and Kidd were unambitious and unwilling to grab the brass ring—but the name didn’t stick. The team thrived, however, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship at Fastlane in February and defending the belts at WrestleMania 31.

    Kidd and Cesaro dropped the championship to The New Day at Extreme Rules, and they came up short in a two-out-of-three falls match at Payback and a six-team Elimination Chamber match. On June 7, WWE announced that Kidd had been injured during a dark match with Samoa Joe, and spinal fusion surgery spelled the end of the team.

    Why Now is the Time for Cesaro

    In the wake of Kidd’s injury, the question of what would come next for Cesaro arose. After a week off of TV, Cesaro returned to the ring in a highly-competitive match with NXT Champion Kevin Owens on the June 18 Smackdown. After another week off TV, Cesaro appeared on Monday to challenge John Cena for the United States Championship. Their match is almost guaranteed to be the best match on Raw this year, and it’s certainly one of the best Raw matches of the past several years.

    Consistent with the premise of Cena’s U.S. Open Challenge, Cesaro was given a platform to show the audience what he can do, and he delivered to a magnificent degree. The match was every bit an offensive showcase for Cesaro, and he and Cena both had the crowd completely into the match for the full 20 minutes.  

    In McMahon’s interview with Austin, it was said that one of the things inhibiting Cesaro’s progress is that the audience seems incapable of feeling him; that he is unable to project in such a way that the audience cares about him. The audience on Monday night sounded very receptive of Cesaro, and he carried himself like a superstar should. One has to wonder if Vince McMahon finally saw the “it” that he’s been looking for for so long. “It” was most certainly there, but the question is whether Vince McMahon is capable of seeing it or not.

    During a sequence wherein Cesaro cuts Cena down to his knees with a flurry of European uppercuts, the camera cuts suddenly to black. Here, Cesaro had allegedly given Cena a double middle finger salute. Upon closer inspection, Cesaro appears to have flashed Cena his ring fingers, perhaps suggesting to Vince that this is where the much-discussed brass ring belongs.

    If WWE has any hope of elevating Cesaro to the next level, there is no better time to start than now. Not tomorrow. Today. This wouldn’t even require a monster push along the lines of what Kevin Owens has received since his main roster debut. It would be as simple as gradual, consistent upward trajectory—something from which Cesaro has never benefitted in the WWE. Cesaro has something resembling forward momentum for the first time in more than a year, and it would be foolish to squander it.

    If there’s one thing that the past few years have proven, it’s that manufacturing the energy necessary to propel a superstar into the fans’ good graces is an incredibly difficult task for WWE to undertake. Cesaro’s match with Cena provides him with the best spotlight he’s had since his segment with Hulk Hogan, and the fact that he visually had the champion beaten solidifies that he is a contender for Cena’s U.S. Championship. So keep him there at that level.

    John Cena is in a unique position on the card where he ostensibly acts as the Cerberus guarding the gates to the main event picture. If you do not make it past Cena, you are stuck in the hell that is the WWE mid-card, an infernal place occupied by the likes of Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth. Cesaro has been in this hell long enough to know this, and he should be hanging around the gates looking to break through as long as possible.

    Kevin Owens’ meteoric rise could be for naught if he regresses once his feud with John Cena ends. Thus, it stands to reason that Owens should continue working with Cena as long as possible until he is ready to ascend into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture. At the very least, we would all be guaranteed a few more fantastic matches along the way.

    A great way to extend this feud and, by extension, continue building both Kevin Owens’ star power and the importance of the United States Championship is to incorporate additional variables into the mix. This is where Cesaro should fit in.

    Cesaro had his match with Owens, and he came up just short in a way that didn’t make him appear weak. In his match with Cena, Owens got involved by breaking up the Sharpshooter, stating after the fact that he is the only one who gets the beat Cena for the title. This not only leaves the viewer with the image of Cena on the verge of defeat in a submission hold in the middle of the ring, but it establishes the idea that even Owens felt that Cesaro had the title won.

    This leaves Cesaro with a legitimate case for a rematch. It’s a position not terribly dissimilar from when Neville presumably had Cena beat with a Red Arrow before Rusev crashed the ring and caused the disqualification. Neville immediately slid back down the card and into a feud with Bo Dallas, which has cooled him off considerably. In order to capitalize on Cesaro’s sudden momentum, this cannot happen.

    If Cesaro were to remain involved in the United States Championship picture and the ongoing Owens/Cena storyline, he could benefit immensely. It would also serve the dual purpose of keeping Owens and Cena together and building a pool of opponents for both men to work with in the months ahead. Keeping Cesaro buoyed to the United States Championship picture could very well prevent him from treading water.

    If Owens drops the NXT Championship to Finn Balor at the WWE Network special in Japan this Saturday—and it’s very likely that he will—this gives Balor an almost automatic springboard to make the leap from developmental to main roster, assuming that Owens walks away with the U.S. Title at Battleground. Keeping Owens, Balor, Cesaro, and possibly another up-and-coming talent or two orbiting around Cena allows them an opportunity to harness his star to build their own.

    Cesaro is also booked for the Tokyo show—in a match against Diego of Los Matadores. WWE is pushing the special hard, and they’re pushing it on two factors entirely: Balor vs. Owens for the NXT Championship and a Brock Lesnar match. Kofi Kingston has been listed as Brock’s opponent since the show was announced, but this fact has gone conspicuously unmentioned on television. This leaves open the possibility that WWE could slot in somebody else to wrestle Brock.

    So why not Cesaro? Why not use the venue to establish him as being at least someone in the vicinity of Brock Lesnar’s level? There’s a certain sadistic joy in imagining Brock rag-dolling Kofi around the ring, but just imagine how the audience would respond if Cesaro were able to manhandle Brock with a couple of power moves. It would most certainly make for another great showcase for Cesaro, and it would be a great way of maintaining the progress that seems to have been made in a single night.

    There are a number of directions that WWE can go with Cesaro’s star seemingly back on the rise, but the only wrong way is backwards. For the first time since WrestleMania XXX, that natural momentum that Austin mentioned seems to have returned. After a phenomenal match that had fans eating out of the palm of his hand, Cesaro has shown that he can connect. Now it’s time for WWE to deliver. 

  • UFC ‘Ultimate Fighter 21’ episode 11 recap: Amazing Graves?

    By Steve Juon, Wrestling Observer

    Quick summary: The Blackzilians are up 300-200 with Nathan Coy narrowing their lead last week with a 20-18 unanimous decision over Valdir Araujo. American Top Team still needs to win the final two fights – if the Blackzilians win tonight it’s all over. The good news for ATT is that they have home gym advantage tonight.

    Show Recap:

    Glenn Robinson says there will be no more scoreboards and no more cigars for anybody in the camp until they’ve won the season. “It’s not over!!” Jason Jackson accuses some of his teammates of losing their hunger. Robinson: “We are gonna make our win in their house. That’s more satisfying. Maybe that’s how it was meant to be.”

    Coincidentally Jackson is the guy they are zeroing in on to take this week’s fight. Jackson: “Of course man! I’m ready to do it. Let’s do this! If I don’t challenge myself, I don’t think I belong in the UFC.” Jackson last fought on week six of the show and beat Marcelo Alfaya in a close fight – a 20-18 X2 majority decision.

    Top Team debates who should go. Dan Lambert seems to be suggesting Michael Graves should get some redemption after losing to Kamaru Usman in the first fight of the show. Lambert says he’s got a baby on the way and a lot on the line for his future. Graves: “I’m getting ready to get some points back for myself and my team. You’re about to see a whole different Mike Graves.”

    This season it’s not a coach vs. coach challenge – it’s an OWNER vs. OWNER challenge. The winner gets $10,000 and all of the fighters on the winning team get $1,500 each. The challenge is a relay race – they can pick any three guys (including their coaches – it’s not limited to the fighters) but the owners have to run the final leg themselves.

    Jason Jackson tries his best to give Glenn Robinson a huge lead with his long stride, but Dan Lambert is in better shape and outruns him in the last leg for the money. Lambert: “I can’t really take a lot of pride when you beat Glenn in something physical.”

    Weigh-in day and Jackson and Graves step forward, and Graves weighs in first – he’s 170 even. Lambert: “Mike Graves says he has a lot more to offer than he showed in taht first fight.” Jackson is 170.25. Dana White believes Jackson wants this more than anyone.

    This isn’t going to be a long fight – they pad the heck out of this show with drama in the house and interview segments until there are only 15 minutes of air time left.

    * Michael Graves (American Top Team) vs. Jason Jackson (Blackzilians)

    Graves is in red trunks and Jackson is sporting black. Graves lands a solid left hook about a half minute in. Jackson lands a kick to the body that looks like it might have gone to the nuts, but the red didn’t stop it and Jackson tries to swarm and finish him with knees against the fence. Graves is doing his best to cover up and survive. Jackson just keeps pouring on knees to the body. The ref gives him a warning for shots to the back of the head as he tries to hammer out a finish. Graves survives, turns around, and gets a takedown at 2:20. Not only that he takes the back and immediately goes for a rear naked choke. Jackson taps at 3:01!!

    Amazing come from behind finish. Glenn Robinson is pissed saying the fight should have been stopped when Jackson was pouring it on with knees and hammers. He’s screaming at the officials, he’s screaming at the refs, everybody’s telling him to calm down. “The guy didn’t defend himself for over a minute!”

    Robinson keeps barking at the officials as they walk out. “I’m gonna post this on the internet with your picture!” Meanwhile back inside the gym everybody is giving Graves daps and hugs. Lambert: “That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life.” Hard to argue – Graves went from nearly being finished to getting the tap moments later. Lambert: “I was surprised the ref did not stop it.” That’s only going to rile Robinson up MORE. Dana White: “The only one who got screwed in that fight was the Top Team, not the Blackzilians! He (Graves) overcomes three fouls!”

    It is what it is though – a 300-300 tie with one fight left to go – the season finale airing next week!

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (July 2): Nick Bockwinkel faces Ricky Morton, Umaga wins WWE I-C title

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1933 – In Waterloo, Iowa; Joe Stecher beat Abe Kashey and Alan Eustace drew Homer (Bearcat) Wright.

    1939 – In Waterloo, Iowa; Ali Baba beat Earl Wampler by dq and Abe Kashey drew with Rudy Strongberg

    1948 – At Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri; Ernie Dusek beat Felix Miquet, Al Lovelock defeatd Al Billings and Warren Bockwinkel and Don McIntyre went to a 20 minute draw. (Promoter was Martin Thesz, father of Lou Thesz.)

    1964 – In Kansas City; KS; Harley Race defeated Steve Bolus, Sonny Myers defeated Bulldog Plechas via DQ and Moose Evans won a 6-man Battle Royal (other participants: Sonny Myers, Steve Bolus, Rocky Hamilton, Bulldog Plechas, Harley Race).

    1970 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City; Roger Kirby defeated Don Drummer, Scandor Akbar fought The Viking to a draw, Pat O’Connor defeated Tarzan Tyler, Danny Little Bear defeated Oki Shikina and Baron Von Raschke & Harley Race defeated Bob Geigel & Bob Brown in three falls

    1975 – In Minneapolis, MN; Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant were the final two survivors in a 15 man battle royal and split $25,000. Also, Ivan Putski drew Baron Von Raschke, Dusty Rhodes beat Jimmy Valiant by dq and Nick Bockwinkel beat Chris Taylor by countout.

    1977 – In Duluth, Minnesota; Super Destroyer beat Pedro Morales, Angelo Mosca ddq Larry Hennig, Billy Robinson beat Roger Kirby, Bob Backlund beat Blackjack Lanza and Steve Olsonoski beat Lord Alfred Hayes

    1982 – In Houston, Texas; Mongolian Stomper won a 2 ring battle royal, AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Ricky Morton, Terry Funk beat Tully Blanchard, Bruiser Brody no contest Killer Brooks, Ken Lucas & Tito Santana & El Gran Apollo beat Bob Sweetan & Jim Duggan & Mike Boyette and Buddy Landell defeated Alexis Smirnoff

    1983 – In Greensboro, NC; NWA Tag Team Champions Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood and NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Ric Flair via disqualification.

    1988 – In Dothan, Alabama; Austin Idol beat AWA Champion Jerry Lawler by dq, and AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Ken Wayne.

    1992 – In Sneedville, Tennessee; Tim Horner pinned Buddy Landel, SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee pinned the Dirty White Boy, The Fantastics, Bobby & Jackie Fulton defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane & Tom Pritchard) via disqualification and Tim Horner and Dixie Dynamite co-won a battle royal

    1999 – In Poughkeepsie, NY; Jerry Lynn defeated Lance Storm, Sabu defeated Justin Credible, ECW World Champion Taz defeated Spike Dudley and ECW TV Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Balls Mahoney.

    2007 – In Dallas, Texas; Umaga defeated Santino Marella to win the WWE Intercontinental Title.