This season, both the women’s strawweight division and the men’s light heavyweight division will be competing. At the end of the season Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha fight on the TUF 23 Finale with Joanna Champion defending her strawweight title. Last week Claudia Gadelha’s team won again and took a 4-0 lead. She picked Eric Spicely vs. Elias Urbina IV for this week’s fight. Here we go!
*****
We open with Dana White talking about Gadelha’s lead and Abdel Medjedoub’s personal problem. On last week’s show, his wife threatened to divorce him if he didn’t quit UFC. After talking to Medjedoub, he agrees to allow another phone call. He tries to explain to her that if he leaves the show, he’ll never do anything in MMA again, but she’s not having it. She basically gives him an ultimatum – come home or we’re done.
White makes Medjedoub a very unique offer – leave the show for a few days but if he comes back before the next fight, Sunday he can stay on the show. White’s position is he doesn’t want Medjedoub to have to choose between his career and marriage. Medjedoub takes him up on the offer and backs his bag to fly to Montreal and try to straighten things out.
Finally we get to see some actual training with Elias Urbina IV. He admits he’s the baby of the show and talks about how growing up his family was intent on keeping him and his siblings in the sport of wrestling. If they had one dollar left that dollar went to wrestling shoes. Urbina says he doesn’t fear anything and that he feels relaxed in the cage whether it’s on the feet or on the ground.
Meanwhile, Team Jedrzejczyk is game-planning for what they’ll do if Medjedoub can’t return. While they believe Khalil Rountree would get a second shot, he’s having so much pain in his knees training Jedrzejczyk advises him to take time off and heal up.
Eric Spicely talks about his girlfriend dying in a camping accident when her canoe flipped under a bridge and she smashed her head into a pillar – she drowned while she was unconscious. He talks about how she never had any vices or issues – all she cared about was family, sports and school. He vows to continue to win in her memory.
Pranking has infected the house. The guys put baby powder in the blow dryers. The girls respond by pouring baby powder on them while they’re in the hot tub. Khalil pranks Myron by jumping out of the shower when he goes to use the bathroom. Etc.
Weigh-in. Urbina is 203.5 and Spicely is 205.5.
Medjedoub flies back and is welcomed by Team Gadelha with hugs and smiles all around. Whatever he did it has been resolved. He refuses to talk about it on the camera, only saying he admits 1000% all the fault was his, and it will remain between him and her.
* Eric Spicely (Team Gadelha) vs. Elias Urbina IV (Team Jedrzejczyk)
Spicely nearly catches Urbina in an armbar, and Urbina does something I’ve never seen before – he picks up his opponent and SWINGS HIM into the fence trying to shake him off. Spicely rolls for a leg and Urbina ends up dropping hard elbows on his ribs, but Spicely just won’t let go. He makes a transition to the back and get one hook in at the point Urbina nearly had top mount. Urbina keeps his chin tucked and concentrates on controlling Spicely’s arms. Spicely tries to soften Urbina up with rights to the head. The rest of R1 is Urbina defending.
Whatever happens now, this fight’s not going three rounds given the TV time left.
Urbina is attacking with kicks. Spicely shoots in for a single and misses. He shoots for the double and Urbina keeps his footing until 56 seconds. He nearly gets to his knees and pops up but Spicely drags him down to the ground and gets both hooks in. Chris Tognoni warns Spicely about shots to the back of the head. Urbina keeps defending and blocking as best he can but that’s all he can do. Dana is pissed off.
Spicely 20-18 X3. Team Gadelha is 5-0. Gadelha predicts a clean sweep and picks Amanda Cooper to fight Jamie Moyle next week. See you then!
Day 5 results are in (though you probably already know that reading this evening’s edition of the Observer), which featured A Block action in Iwate:
Gedo vs Matt Sydal
The heel Gedo jumped Sydal immediately with a superkick to the gut. He was in control for most of the match. Sydal escaped from Gedo and took him down, remained in control and got the win rather quickly with a shooting star press. Okay for what it was.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. BUSHI
This was just there. Crowd was kind of into it, but not really. It was solid but the crowd hurt it a bit. There was a ref bump but O’Reilly avoided the mist and hit the brainbuster for a nearfall. The referee recovered way too quickly over that ref bump; doing it in every Bushi match is going to get really tiresome, plus they come up with the most contrived ways to execute them. O’Reilly immediately sank in the armbar and got the submission.
Kushida vs. David Finlay
Another solid match here. Kushida worked on Finlay’s arm early. Finlay came back with a German suplex and did the uppercut in the corner. Finlay broke out the stretch muffler but Kushida made it to the ropes. Some hot nearfalls toward the end. After some back and forth reversals Kushida got in the hoverboard lock and after some fighting, Finlay submitted.
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Rocky Romero
Taguchi decided to wear a pirate costume to the ring. And when I mean costume, I mean a plastic hook and an eyepatch. Not imaginative, but gets the job done I guess. Another okay match. Everything looked fine, nothing wrong with it. Romero kicked out of a running hip strike. Taguchi went for another but Romero grabbed him. Taguchi countered by reversing into an ankle lock submission, which got him the win.
The Big News: Austin Aries will face Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: The End
The Medium News: Nia Jax won a Triple Threat match and will now face Asuka for the Women’s Championship, also at Takeover.
The Little Beaver Sized News: TMDK debuted, changed their name to TM61 and, shockingly, lost their debut.
Welcome to the only article you’ll read today that has absolutely nothing to do with the Brand Extension! However if you read this, you will probably become familiar with some of the future guys and girls of Raw and Smackdown.
*******
The show kicks off with NXT General Manager announcing that Bayley is not cleared to compete, so she will not be facing Asuka at NXT TakeOver: The End. Tonight, there will be a triple threat match with Carmella, Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax and the winner will get the title shot at TakeOver.
There is a new intro video, which culminates in showing all three champions, as opposed to just the NXT Champion.
*******
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated TM61
Gargano and Ciampa are announced as two of the competitors in the Cruiserweight Classic, and are facing the debuting TM61: Shane Thorne and Nick Miller tonight. They are the former TMDK, so are they now The Mighty 61? Despite their new name, they cut an inset promo saying The Mighty Don’t Kneel.
This was a really good debut match. Honestly, this is probably the best debut match for someone since Sami Zayn debuted three years ago against Cesaro. Ciampa got the hot tag and he didn’t fare very well either at first. The new duo hit a really nice combination where one used a moonsault and the other used a fist drop on Ciampa.
This match went through a commercial break and Gargano & Ciampa got a good amount of offense on Thorne after the break. Thorne hit a beautiful dropkick before tagging out to Miller. Ciampa went for a slingshot sunset flip, but Miller caught him and TM61 hit a double team neck breaker, but only got a 2 count. Ciampa and Gargano got a surprising win over the debuting duo with their combo superkick/knee strike.
*******
We got a video package building to the Samoa Joe-Finn Balor cage match at NXT Takeover: The End, which concentrated more on Samoa Joe.
*******
Bayley cut a promo and flat out said it sucks that she can’t compete at NXT TakeOver: The End against Asuka. Before she could continue, Nia Jax walked up and mocked her for losing, adding she should give Nia credit for putting her out. Nia shoved Bayley away, so Carmella and Alexa both walked up, causing Nia to walk off. Carmella and Alexa exchanged words and then Bayley wished Carmella luck.
*******
A video aired for the impending debut of Andrade “Cien” Almas, the former Manny Andrede. He was shown taking off his mask, but had his back to the camera.
*******
Austin Aries came out to the arena for a promo. He said the phrase “The Best” is the most overused term in sports. Everyone is the best…until the next person comes along, which is why Austin always called himself The Greatest. Austin says that timing is everything and when he walked into NXT there were other people grabbing attention, so the fans picked up on it and began chanting for Nakamura. He announced that after Joe and Balor finish their business, he is challenging the winner for the title.
This brought out Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura did his full entrance while Aries stood there bemused. Nakamura spoke Japanese, stopped and asked Austin if he understood Japanese and Aries said he didn’t understand Nakamura in a funny line. Nakamura then said the NXT Championship wasn’t coming to greatness, it was coming to the King of Strong Style.
Out comes Mr. William Regal who made Aries vs Nakamura at Takeover in 2 weeks. They shook hands afterwards and the match is on!
*******
American Alpha cut a promo on The Revival, who they will face at NXT Takeover: The End, but they know what to expect. Dash & Dawson will go out and punch them in the face, but this is not a boxing match, it’s a wrestling match and they are the best tag team around.
*******
No Way Jose defeated Jonathan Oregon
No Way Jose is back. Apparently on May 14, he did a No Way Jose Day on Twitter and posted pictures of himself all day, which people apparently loved. Go figure. Byron Saxton reported on WWE.com that No Way Jose is his nickname and Corey Graves pointed out exactly what everyone is thinking regarding that stellar reporting.
Jose is nonstop movement, so it makes sense that he uses an Airplane Spin. Oregon, who had Vandal written on his butt, got 3 seconds of offense. Jose did his windup into a punch to the face before winning with the Cobra Clutch Slam.
After the match, Jose went over and danced with Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Phillips made an ass out of himself and Graves refused to, however he was drawn into dancing. Remember when Mahabali Sheera did his dance at Bound for Glory and it somehow made like 6 guys to do it with him? This was similar, but not nearly as asinine.
*******
To combat the Samoa Joe video earlier, we got a NXT Takeover: The End main event video that focused more on Finn Balor.
*******
Asuka said it doesn’t matter who wins in the main event because she will defeat them at NXT Takeover: The End.
*******
In a #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match, Nia Jax defeated Carmella and Alexa Bliss
Carmella was trying to give a cue to Alexa that they should take Jax out at the bell, but Bliss decided to roll outside instead and watch the other two ladies compete. Nia slammed Carmella down, so Alexa tried to sneak up with some sort of top rope move. However, Nia turned around and stared Alexa down before she tried anything.
Jax got posted and fell outside, so the two perky blondes squared off momentarily while the monster recovered. Alexa grabbed Carmella by the throat and did a leg trip, followed by a moonsault for a 2 count when Nia came in to drop an elbow, however Alexa moved and Nia landed on Carmella. Something funny to note is Nia was on her knees and was almost taller than Alexa, who was standing up. Alexa actually got a near fall with a Sparkle Splash on Nia at one point.
Nia got sent outside again. Carmella tried a suicide dive, but got caught. Alexa, the annoying little pixie she is, stopped Carmella from being killed. Carmella slapped her Triangle Choke on Alexa, but Nia broke it up. Carmella got a rear choke on Nia, but Nia got out of it and eventually hit the legdrop on Carmella, picking up the win.
Nia Jax will now go to NXT Takeover: The End and challenge Asuka for the NXT Women’s Championship! Before that, Asuka came out to stare down her future challenger as the show went off the air.
*******
Next week is already the go home show for Takeover, what will happen then? Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Two titles are on the line tonight as Cage battles Chavo for the Gift of the Gods Title, and Rey Mysterio Jr, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. defend against the team of Fenix, PJ Black, and Jack Evans. It’s an unlikely team of opponents though, as Fenix is a babyface and thus an odd man out. Joey Ryan also faces Mascarita Sagrada, who is looking for his first win with Famous B by his side.
The show begins with a recap of the cop drama and the Trios Titles being won by Rey, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. Chavo stealing Cage’s medallion is shown, and we see him letting Chavo win so he can get a shot tonight. In Vampiro’s lair, he tells Pentagon Jr. that he’s not ready to face Matanza – while Pentagon says he has zero fear. Vamp welcomes the Voodoo Greyskulls to the show, and he runs down tonight’s card as Cage battles Chavo for the Gift of the Gods Title.
Striker talks about the main event which will see PJ Black, Jack Evans, and Fenix facing Rey, Azteca, and Puma. Joey Ryan is mid-ring while Striker calls him a hit and quit it kinda guy. Famous B comes out and gets a nice Famous B chant. He transitions it into a Mascarita chant and introduces him wonderfully, outside of getting jumped and calling him ‘MASCARITA GODDAMN!”
Joey Ryan vs. Mascarita Sagrada
Joey jumps him, but Sagrada recovers, sends him to the floor and dives onto him. Sagrada gets crotched, and then Joey offers up his lollipop to Brenda. Joey can’t lift him over his head, but is overjoyed when he lands a basic slam. Wasteland by Sagrada and a diving headbutt gets 2. Joey gets kicked low, which hurts Sagrada. A small package gets 2 for Sagrada and then Joey gets a very awkward tornado DDT for the win. B and Brenda console Sagrada while the commentators talk about how Sagrada has yet to win with Famous B by his side.
We get a Taya personality profile about how she sees confidence when she looks in the mirror. She also kicks the asses of a bunch of wacky suited ninjas, as you do. Taya says she sees the perfect woman in the mirror, and Mundo agrees. Her red dress and ass-kicking made it seem like they were going for a Ronda Rousey in Expendables 3 vibe – only with more lucha ninjas. King Cuerno talks to Mil Muertes’s body in a coffin in his office. Mil acted like he was king – but he was still in Cuerno’s jungle. Well, that was different and great. Chavo comes down and then Striker adds a billion nicknames for Cage, including the Sentinel.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Cage – Gift of the Gods Title
Chavo gets a “Cage is gonna kill you” chant right away. Cage’s new black and gold singlet looks fantastic. He starts with tons of lariats in the corners while Vamp buries Striker for saying Chavo was once one of the best in the world. Chavo tries to gain an edge with sneaky tactics, but gets caught in an apron tree slam. He rakes the eyes and gets Cage to the floor – but a dive is caught and he eats several slams against the railing. Chavo sends him to the floor with a tilt a whirl headscissors and a dive.
Chavo lands a draping DDT and gets 2. Chavo goes for the legs, but Cage tosses him into the buckle and monkey flips him. Cage catches a dive and lands a Finlay roll before a moonsault misses. Chavo gets 2, and works on the knee. Cage hits an apron kick and lands his power superplex into the ring. European uppercut sends Chavo into the corner, where Chavo tries to kick him – but eats a sitout Alabama slam that gets 2. Cage’s F5 is countered and Chavo hits a running tornado DDT for 2.
Rolling kick hits for Chavo, but a discus lariat only gets 2 for Cage thanks to Chavo getting his feet on the rope. Chavo avoids a superplex and gets a sunset bomb and a frog splash for 2.5! Chavo doe the Eddie shuffle and lands Three Amigos – but only gets two of them and Cage turns into a suplex, then a powerbomb, and then Weapon X for the win and the Gift of the Gods Title. Cage trades in his title for a shot at Matanza next week – where it will be Monster vs. Machine.
Taya takes Jack and PJ to the locker room where Fenix is laid out. Mundo replaces him and then punts Fenix for good measure. Officers Neehan and Reyes search Dario’s office since Dario and “his hot ninja” are gone. They find tons of money before Castro busts them for trying to rob Dario without him – so Reyes arrests Cisco while Neehan points a gun at him. Well, this was different and furthers the cop drama while also ending The Crew. Taya comes out and tells everyone that Fenix won’t be here, but PJ and Jack have a better partner – Mundo!
Johnny Mundo, PJ Black, and Jack Evans vs. Trios Champions Rey Mysterio, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr.
Jack starts with Azteca and lets everyone know he still hates dragons. Jack flips around a bit, but eats a dropkick and some nasty chops in the corner. Azteca hits a double-jump armdrag sending Jack to the corner. A triangle dropkick sends Jack to the floor. PJ comes in to face Puma, and Puma gets tied to a tree of woe before Jack attacks in the corner. Mundo lands a tornado kick while Puma tries to rise up. PJ comes in and gets 2 off of that match. Mundo and PJ land a double backbody drop for 2.
Puma uses Jack and PJ against each other and forces PJ to DDT Jack with a flying lariat. Rey comes in to face Mundo and sends him down with a deja vu headscissors. Puma and Azteca kick away at Mundo. They get 2 off a legdrop while Jack jumps in for a save. Johnny turns Puma and Azteca’s bodies against each other by catching Azteca and sending Azteca into Puma in the corner. PJ gets 2 off a pop-up cutter. Evans comes in and lands a tornado kick before Rey sends Mundo to the floor. Azteca lands a springboard rana to the floor and sends Mundo into the apron.
Evans goes up, but gets crotched. Puma sends him down and that results in Evans hitting a wacky kick before hitting a pop-up rana that sends Puma into PJ where PJ eats a rana. Rey kicks PJ into the ropes for a 619, which hits. Puma’s 630 hits and only gets 2 because Mundo pulls the ref out. Mundo kicks Rey low before Mundo and Taya land a double superkick. PJ kicks Puma in the crotch and Evans kicks Puma low too! PJ goes for a brainbuster, but Jack kicks him low first and then the Wellness Policy hits. Johnny goes for the End of the World, but it only gets 2! Mundo goes for a German superplex, but Puma flips back and tags Azteca. Azteca gets a code red, but Jack chairshots him and Mundo cradles him for the win! PJ Black, Jack Evans, and Johnny Mundo win it – giving us two new champions tonight.
To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.
The big news of today, and really for the week, month and maybe the year, is that WWE and USA Network is moving Smackdown to Tuesdays and running it as a live show. Additionally, they are going to attempt to relaunch the brand split and according to our Dave Meltzer, they are going to be aggressive in signing talent outside the company to help restock the cupboards.
As history has told us, WWE’s first brand split eventually failed due to the crossover of the big stars on their two shows — especially guys like John Cena. If they want to truly create two brands, they need to be two distinct brands with different aesthetics that may have WWE DNS but not the same look, feel, and even sound. Unfortunately, that also might mean a return to the dual champion era with one distinctively being pushed far heavier than the other. (Basically, the WWE title defended on RAW and especially when Cena wore the strap.)
There are still questions to be answered (dual tours? Dual monthly Network events? What about NXT?), but this is the company’s latest attempt to do something different with the 5+ live hours they have on USA every week. NXT showed that when done organically, uniquely, and firmly using wrestling’s roots as the foundation, having two promotions under one banner can work if you put them in two different parts of the wrestling universe and believe in both succeeding equally.
But if WWE doesn’t learn from history, they are doomed to repeat it….with just as much McMahon on our TV screens as ever.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
A look at what’s next for WWE after Extreme Rules, the UFC sale with lots of exclusive info, Vince & Linda McMahon selling their stock, Chris Weidman’s injury and how that changes plans, the staggering drop in kids viewing for WWE and exactly who watches the TV today, plus UFC 198 coverage and Best of The Super Juniors tournament news are among the stories covered in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
More on the injury returns and summer ideas and why WWE could have its deepest talent roster in a long time in very short order. Plus, talk about the NXT/WWE balance and why talent is actually more important for arena business if in NXT.
There is also an extensive look at the Extreme Rules show.
In addition, updates on the UFC sale, including news about who is in, who is not in, what it all means, what is being sold, where Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta fit in and UFC fixture who indicates he’s likely gone if the sale goes through, all in covered in this issue.
A glimpse into Vince McMahon’s stock sale, what it means, how much money did he get, and how his stock sale only increased the difference in the value of UFC vs. WWE, and for how much Vince McMahon bought the company.
More on the injury to Chris Weidman, how it happened, his future, Michael Bisping’s title shot and more on UFC 1999.
Also in this issue, find out who watches WWE on television and how many in each different age group.
Find out how WWE has changed the schedule of the Cruiserweight tournament and why, more on the arrest of Adam Rose, more on Stephanie McMahon’s book, how Stephanie will be pushed on television going forward, how Stephanie will be marketed as the face of the company, and another WWE firing.
Finally, there’s full coverage of UFC 198, including business notes including early estimates on success, ramifications of the show, match-by-match coverage, looking at the judging of close fights and poll results.
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.
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Diego Brandao was given a nine month suspension from the NSAC for his marijuana test failure following his fight with Brian Ortega. Brandao was subsequently released from UFC but will be eligible to fight again on October.
The probability of Hulk Hogan getting $140 million increased as Gawker’s attempt to get a retrial was tossed out of court today. Gawker wanted a new trial because, well, the first one didn’t go their way, but they still have the right to appeal. This case is still far from over.
There’s much more on the story of the secret backer of Hogan lawsuit via Huffington post and Forbes Tech. Here’s a piece from the Washington Examiner, another piece from Forbes, and finally a third piece from the NY Times. This trial gets more Hollywood everyday.
This week’s Fire Pro Podcast looks at Extreme Rules and the release of Cody Rhodes here.
MMA
TUF 22 winner Ryan Hall will face Alex White at the UFC Fight Night show in South Dakota on July 13th. This will be his first fight since dominating Artem Lobov in the tournament final last December
ONE Championships has an event Friday morning at 6 am eastern from Bangkok, Thailand with a strawweight title fight between Dejdamrong Sor Anyuaysirchoke defending against Yoshitaka Naito. Featherweight champion Murat Gafurov takes on challenger Kazunori Yokota in the co-main. Teen sensation Christian Lee is on the undercard with his 5th fight in less than a year and he’s won the previous four via early stoppage.
Dan Severn talks about MMA, Ken Shamrock, and some pro wrestling on this podcast.
Scottish fan favorite Robert Whiteford has been cut from UFC after two straight losses. The 33-year-old featherweight had a 2-3 record in UFC, fighting mostly on European shows.
June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title
June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
In the DVR era, how to get people to watch shows live (and hence, watch commercials) has almost become more important than what they are actually watching. Pro sports and other live entertainment has flourished with higher rights fees deals, especially in the latter. Many believe there’s a bubble that will eventually burst, but no one is seeing a needle just yet.
In the latest effort to take advantage of that, WWE announced Wednesday morning that Smackdown will not only air live starting on July 19th, but it will officially move to Tuesday nights at 8 PM. The announcement was made in Variety, but WWE later released a statement and a video indicating that Shane and Stephanie McMahon will each run a show:
A twist that was buried in the story also indicates a brand split may be coming as well:
“A draft will be held before the “Smackdown” launch date to determine which wrestlers on the company’s talent roster will be assigned to which program. Each show is expected to feature separate cast, plots and writing teams.”
The initial brand split happened in 2002 and ran through 2011, long after fans realized that it was pointless considering talents from both show were regularly appearing on the other show on a weekly basis. There was a yearly draft that started in 2004 that always shook up the deck a bit, but over time, the main stars were on both shows anyway.
The key aspects of the move are that WWE would have five hours of live programming every week, and on PPV weeks, it would be closer to nine hours on three consecutive days. WWE will also need to expand its main roster talent base, but also leave at least enough talent in NXT to be able to draw on their own.
In addition, a key aspect of this story is the declines at USA have led to wrestling becoming its strongest ratings programming.
The move to Tuesdays will also move Smackdown away from the ratings juggernaut that is NFL Thursday Night Football, which returns in September with extra added emphasis over past seasons. Smackdown has seen its ratings drop during the season, and the move to a live Tuesday format should avoid that strong night on television. Moving to Tuesday will also put it head-to-head against TNA, which likely won’t hurt Smackdown ratings, but could have a big impact on the TNA ratings.
Variety noted that Smackdown has captured an average of nearly 1.06 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 on a live-plus-seven-day basis while Raw has a 1.85 million viewership number with the same demo, “season to date”.
A breaking news audio is up now, in addition to an in-depth feature in this week’s Observer. Also, check out today’s WOL also on the subject!
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – Verne Gagne and Edouard Carpentier defeated Nikolai and Boris Volkoff for the Chicago version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas: – Bobby Bruns beat Wild Red Berry – Richard Brown (son of Orville Brown) beat Joe Costello – Curtis Reed went to a no contest with Black Panther
1959
Portland, Oregon: – Kurt Von Poppenheim and Dan Manoukian defeated Nick Kozak and Al Kashey to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1962
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – AWA Champion Mr. M beat Verne Gagne – Doug Gilbert & Pat O’Connor beat Bob Geigel & Don Leo Jonathan
1963
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Crusher beat Rocky Hamilton in a Missouri Rules Match (Tiny Mills was referee) – Verne Gagne & Doug Gilbert & Don McClarty beat Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff & Waldo Von Erich
1973
Chicago, Illinois: – Dick the Bruiser & Wahoo McDaniel beat Ernie Ladd & Superstar Billy Graham – Cowboy Bob Ellis beat Blackjack Lanza – Baron Von Raschke beat Sailor Art Thomas
Atlanta, Georgia: – Billy Spears defeated Tiger Conway Jr – Bobby Duncum defeated Bill Dromo – Ramon Torres fought Stan Vachon to a draw – Southern Heavyweight Champion Buddy Colt defeated Norvel Austin (substituting for Jack Brisco) – NWA Jr. Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge defeated Bob Orton Jr. – Bobo Brazil defeated U.S. Champion the Sheik (with Abdullah Farouk) in a No DQ match – WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales defeated Paul Jones – Mr. Wrestling #1 & #2 defeated Jack Brisco & Georgia Heavyweight Champion Bill Watts – Eddie & Mike Graham defeated Georgia Tag Team Champions the Super Infernos (with JC Dykes) via disqualification – Bob Armstrong defeated Bobby Shane (due to pre-match stipulations, Armstrong won Shane’s Cadillac; Had Shane won, he would have received $8,500)
1976
Tampa, Florida: – Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Jack Brisco to win the Florida Heavyweight Title
Omaha, Nebraska: – Larry Hennig & Jos Leduc ddq Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke in 3rd fall – Jim Brunzell went to a draw with Blackjack Lanza – Bobby Duncum beat Bull Bullinski
1978
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Greg Gagne & Verne Gagne & Jim Brunzell went to a no contest with Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza & Bob Orton Jr – Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat Steve Olsonoski & Evan Johnson – Rufus R Jones beat Angela Mosca
1979
Denver, Colorado: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Greg Gagne – Super Destroyer Mark II (Sgt. Slaughter) beat The Crusher dq – Mad Dog Vachon beat Bobby Duncum – Jesse Ventura went to a double countout with Paul Ellering
1980
Memphis, Tennessee: – Skull Murphy and Gypsy Joe defeated Rocky Johnson and Jimmy Valiant for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title
Dallas, Texas: – Mark Lewin defeated Gino Hernandez for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
Naucalan, Mexico: – Perro Aguayo defeated Gran Hamada to win the UWA World Light Heavyweight Title
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – The Great Hussan Arab (Iron Sheik) defeated Dewey Robertson (Missing Link) to win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title
Odate, Japan: – George Takano pinned Hiroyuki Saito – Kuniaki Kobayashi pinned Shoji Kai – Haruka Eigen defeated Makoto Arakawa – Hulk Hogan & Bad News Allen defeated Williem Ruska & Osamu Kido – WWF World Champion Bob Backlund pinned Kengo Kimura in a non-title match – Dusty Rhodes pinned Riki Choshu – Seiji Sakaguchi defated Stan Hansen via disqualification – Antonio Inoki defeated Ryuma Go by forfeit – Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, & Strong Kobayashi defeated Andre the Giant, Chavo Guerrero, & Tito Santana in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
1981
Memphis, Tennessee: – Kevin Sullivan and Wayne Farris (The Honky Tonk Man) won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship by defeating Bill Dundee and Dream Machine
1982
Shizuoka, Japan – Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) defeated Les Thornton to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
Croydon, England: – Steve Grey defeated Jim Breaks for the British Welterweight Title
1985
Chicago, Illinois: – Jerry Blackwell & Sgt. Slaughter beat Road Warrior Animal & Paul Ellering – AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Buddy Roberts (sub King Tonga) – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Fabulous Freebirds Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts via dq – Butch Reed no contest The Crusher – Nick Bockwinkel beat Brad Rheingans – Larry Zbyszko (sub Jim Garvin) beat Baron Von Raschke – Ray Stevens beat Buck Zumhofe – Steve Regal went to a draw with Steve O
1987
Lake Tahoe, Nevada: – Soldat Ustinov & Boris Zukhov defeated Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels for the AWA World Tag Team Titles
1989
Osaka, Japan: – Salman Hashimikov defeated Big Van Vader for the IWGP Heavyweight Title – Jushin Liger defeated Shiro Koshinaka to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
1990
Dallas, Texas: – Matt Borne defeated Kerry Von Erich to win the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1992
Miyaga, Japan: – Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated The Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas) to win the AJPW All-Asia Tag Team Titles
1997
Evansville, Indiana: – Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith for the WWF World Tag Team Titles
1999
Moline, Illinois: – Jeff Jarrett (w/ Debra) pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion the Godfather to win the title
2002
St. Petersburg, Florida: – Steve Corino defeated Danny Doring in a tournament final for the vacant NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
Day 4 results of the Best of the Super Junior tournament are in. Here’s what went down this morning in Yamagata, which featured B Block action:
Tiger Mask vs. Volador Jr.
Pretty solid match. Both guys looked very good. Volador’s thing is he’ll wrestle for half the match with the mask on, then take off the mask for his comeback. Tiger Mask came back and laid him out with a Tiger bomb and tried to submit him with a seated armbar but Volador got to the ropes. He came back with a backstabber then submitted him with him standing over Tiger Mask and having him submit to an armbar while kneeling.
Chase Owens vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Solid match. Yujiro was at ringside. Owens has improved a lot in between tours, though he was never bad . Good back and forth match. Owens was going for the package piledriver, but Liger escaped and pinned Owens with the crucifix for the out of nowhere win.
Yujiro jumped Liger immediately after the match, allowing Owens to lay out Liger with a package piledriver. Not sure what exactly this is over, but I believe it’s something storyline wise since he got legit injured during the recent ROH tour. They stretched him out. Kind of a bit too much when you do two stretcher jobs on the same tour, no?
Bobby Fish vs. Ricochet
I know this is a shock but Ricochet is amazing. He hopped over Fish’s kicks on the apron early, ran towards the turnbuckle and laid him out with a moonsault. It really has to be seen just how great he’s able to execute stuff like that so flawlessly. This was really good, one of the best matches from this fixed camera shows so far. Ricochet looked awesome and Fish did his part well in being the guy that killed Ricochet’s momentum to get the heat. He worked over his legs and had him in some leg locks near the end but Ricochet was either able to escape or counter them. Ricochet drilled him with two knee strikes then finished him off with the Benadryller for the win.
Trent Baretta vs. Will Ospreay
Good back and forth early, crowd totally into Ospreay. Baretta gave him a German suplex on the apron and I’m pretty sure Ospreay landed on his head. Don’t take bumps like this, kids. Some great action towards the end. Baretta cut Ospreay off on the top rope and laid him out with a back to belly suplex off the top rope,, then followed that with a knee strike for a great near fall. Ospreay tried for a pin but Baretta kicked out and countered Ospreay with a Dudebuster for the win.
Last week on Impact, Matt Hardy was revealed as the one behind the Willow mask, making him the master mind behind the attacks on his brother, Jeff Hardy. Meanwhile, Ethan Carter III defeated Tyrus in a Last Man Standing match and brings him one-step closer to getting his rematch with Mike Bennett. Last but not least, TNA World Champ, Drew Galloway and Bobby Lashley wrestled to a no contest in a Lumberjack match, which resulted in the entire roster brawling to end the show.
Tonight on Impact:
On tonight’s show, EC3 continues on his Road to Redemption as he goes one-on-one with the twisted and disturbed, Matt Hardy. Also, Trevor Lee will defend the X Division title in an Ultimate X Match. Furthermore, Grado returns and seeks revenge against Al Snow.
Show Recap:
–The night kicks off with Matt Hardy making his way to the ring as Josh Matthews and The Pope tells us that tonight’s show is “May Mayhem”.
-Matt addresses the Impact Zone. He is a changed man and speaks in a strange way. It’s a weird tone and he’s using very proper grammar. Matt has a mad scientist kind of vibe to him that matches his “Einstein” hairstyle. Matt calls his match with EC3 a warm up match. He promises to destroy Jeff at Slammiversary, whom he keeps calling “Brother Nero”. Rockstar Spud and Tyrus hit the ring. Spud seems rather bothered by the changed Matt Hardy. He implores Matt not to face Jeff. Matt challenges Spud and Tyrus to take on Jeff in a ladder match for the Slammiversary contract. If Spud and Tyrus wins he won’t face Jeff, but if they lose he will. However, if Spud and Tyrus are not successful they can no longer associate with Matt. The match is official.
Suddenly, we cut to the catchiest music in wrestling and EC3 makes his way to the ring for his match. Josh reminds us that if EC3 wins he gets his rematch with The Miracle at Slammiversary.
Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Hardy
Back from commercial, EC3 doesn’t know what to make of the changed Matt Hardy. Josh and The Pope talk about the transformation that Matt has gone through and is now a “Psychotic Lunatic”. Matt said the same earlier about himself so they’re pushing this as his new character.
They have a really good back and forth match. These two usually have good matches together. Josh reminds us that EC3 is on his Road to Redemption and he must win by pin fall or submission to get his rematch. EC3 gets the advantage and The Miracle comes down to ringside to get a better look. EC3 locks on the Cobra Clutch but The Miracle jumps EC3 for the disqualification, which means EC3 doesn’t get his rematch.
Post match, The Miracle beat down EC3 and laid him out with the Miracle in Progress. Miracle tells EC3 he failed on his Road To Redemption and that he won’t be getting his rematch. Pope and Josh speculate that The Miracle had no intention to face EC3 ever.
-A whole lot of hot is headed to the ring, as Maria Kanellis is on her way into the arena with her assistant Allie following behind like a little puppy.
-Back from commercial, the interviewer guy asks The Miracle about his actions. The Miracle says he created art but putting together the EC3 Road to Redemption. He compared himself to Prince and mentioned “Purple Rain”.
-In the ring, Allie demands the audience quiet down and listen to her. She introduces Maria. Allie looks at Maria in awe and agree with everything Maria says. The crowd started chanting for Velvet Sky who made her last appearance with TNA last week. Gail Kim interrupts and takes the mic. Gail is very upset about Maria forcing Velvet out of TNA last week. Maria lets us know that because she is the leader of the Knockouts, Maria and Gail can’t touch each other unless it’s in a match. Maria announces that Gail will face Sienna and if Gail loses she has to leave TNA. Sienna jumps Gail from behind and beats her down.
-Backstage, Grado and Mahabali Shera talk about Al Snow. Grado is going to bring weapons and pulls out a chicken leg from his tights. Shera eats the chicken and Grado pulls out a chain from his tights. #notweirdatall
-Backstage, Robbie E. calls Jesse Godderz on his cell phone. Robbie doesn’t realize that Jesse is standing on the other side of the fake wall. Robbie E. wants them to meet a “Guru” at the gym who will help them get the tag titles back. Jesse is ignoring Robbie E. and giving out high fives to random people walking by. This is an interesting way to build up a tag team.
-Still in the back, Gail is very upset about what happen just now. She is determined to defeat Sienna. She has no plans to leave TNA.
-We get a recap video of Al Snow and Grado’s lasting feud. Al asks if the fans want tables and chairs. They cheer, but he says his fists are the only weapons he needs. Al hides on the stage and attacks Grado as he comes out.
Street Fight: Al Snow vs. Grado
Al dominates Grado and beats him around the ringside before sending him in the ring. Al went into his tights and pulled out a white powder (insert dirty joke here.) Grado managed to blind Al with his own white powder. Shera ran out with a trashcan enabling Grado to use the lid on him. Shera brought out the chicken leg from earlier and Grado used it. Grado used the chain and had the match won when two “gentlemen” in “France” shirts run down and attacked Shera. They distracted Grado, which gave Al the chance to beat him. After the match Josh and The Pope wondered who these two gentlemen are. It was the debut of recently released NXT stars formally known as Marcus Louis and Sylvester Lefort, but the announcers did not name them on air.
-Backstage, TNA Champ Drew Galloway and Bobby Lashley have been ordered to the ring and both are on their way.
-Back from commercial, Reby tries to convince Matt to not face Jeff, even trying to use Maxell to get Matt to change his mind. Not surprisingly, not even the kinship between father and son stop Matt from destroying his own brother.
-Jeremy Borash was in the ring recapping last week when Lashley interrupted him. He intimidated J.B. to leave the ring. Lashley wants the TNA titled handed to him because he was screwed out of the title last week. Galloway comes out and wants to fight right now. Before they can fight, TNA President Dixie Carter comes out and announces that they will face in the main event at Slammiversary. Dixie wants a clear winner so the match can only end by knockout or tap out. Drew and Lashley end up brawling. Drew has the advantage until security comes out. Lashley gives the spear to both Drew and the referee. Lashley uses his headband to choke out Drew, and then poses to end the segment with a lot of carnage left in the ring.
Ultimate X Match: X Division Champion Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. Eddie Edwards vs. DJ Z
Shane Helms is in both Lee and Everett’s corner. Josh wonders if Everett will help Lee or try to take the title for himself. Eddie hits a dive right off the bat to start the match. This was a really good match and each guy got the chance to shine. There was lots of climbing up the structure and across the cable before being cut off.
DJ Z climbed up and across the cable, but Lee pulled him down into a German suplex in a cool spot. Everett went up to get the belt, but Lee stopped him and freaked out that he was going for the belt. They teased fighting but Shane convinced them to work together. DJ Z prevented Lee from winning and took on both guys. Eddie pulled down the belt, but Lee stole the belt out of Eddie’s hand who was still hanging from the cables. Shane had the referee distracted at ringside so he didn’t see Eddie pull the belt down.
-In the back, Maria pumps Sienna up for her match with Gail. Sienna promises to eliminate Gail from TNA. Allie was repeating Maria, which clearly annoyed her.
-Backstage, it’s time for EC3 to cut his weekly awesome promo. He talked about how The Miracle rigged the game. EC3 compared himself to Bobby Fisher and said he won’t lose this game. He going to make a phone call he doesn’t want to make but he’s going to make it because he wants to face The Miracle.
-Next we get a recap of Sienna ending Velvet’s TNA career. We also get her emotional goodbye.
Sienna w/ “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” and Allie vs. Gail Kim w/ Gail’s Job on the Line
Josh calls Sienna Maria’s enforcer. Josh wonders if Sienna will end Gail’s career like she ended Velvet’s last week.
Gail runs wild on Sienna right from the start. She goes for several near falls and tries to put Sienna away early. She’s in control until Maria distracts her. Sienna takes over on Gail and dominates her. Gail climbs to the top, but Maria pulls her down and Gail takes a nasty fall to the outside. Sienna goes to put Gail away but then Gail rolled up Sienna for the win.
Post match, Maria beats down Gail with the help of Sienna. Maria went absolutely crazy on Gail and kept slapping her over and over.
-Backstage, Spud is worried about their upcoming match. Tyrus tells Spud not to worry about it. Reby shows up and tells them they need to fix this. She tells them they need to end Jeff Hardy. She tells them that Matt won’t even hold Maxell. They promise to handle it.
-Robbie E. and Jesse Godderz are at the gym looking for the “Guru” who will help them win the tag titles. For some reason, they both take their shirts off. The “Guru” ends up being a woman with purple hair called Raquel. The BroMans think it’s weird to be trained by a girl. Robbie couldn’t even look at her. To make a long story short, she’s a tough trainer and they had a good workout. This is the same Raquel that was appearing in segments with Lashley a few months back, but the angle was dropped without explanation. It appears she will now be the valet for the BroMans.
Ladder Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Tyrus & Rockstar Spud
Spud jumps Jeff on the outside to start the match. The heels double-team Jeff, but he makes his own comeback. Jeff slides a ladder in the ring and works over Spud. Tyrus pulled the ladder out of the ring. The heels regain control of the match. Tyrus lays out Jeff and attempts to climb the ladder but the second rung breaks under his weight. Apparently, Tyrus can’t climb the ladder because of his size.
Jeff takes out Tyrus with the Twist of Fate. Spud sneaks up the ladder. Jeff and Spud exchange shots at the top of the ladder until Jeff hits the Twist of Fate sending Spud face first into the ladder. They both fall off the ladder, but Jeff quickly climbs back up and pulls the contract down. That means Jeff vs. Matt is official for Slammiversary and Spud & Tyrus can’t associate with Matt anymore.
Post match, Matt and Jeff have a stare down to end the show.
Next Time on Impact:
Next week, Drew Galloway and Lashley will compete in “Pick Your Poison”, where they will each get to pick the others opponent for the night.
The show opened with Michael Cole in the ring with a Money in the Bank briefcase. He brought out Dean Ambrose. Then, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Alberto Del Rio all came out. Chris Jericho didn’t come out as he wasn’t booked for Smackdown, and Cesaro didn’t come out since he was on the show later. Del Rio said he would become a two-time Money in the Bank winner.
– Del Rio then qualified by beating Zack Ryder with the armbar.
– Big Cass and Enzo came out. They were talking when the Dudleys came out. They challenged each other to a fight, but the Dudleys did the heel back off deal.
– US Champion Rusev beat Kalisto with the accolade to retain
– Natalya beat Dana Brooke via DQ when Women’s Champion Charlotte interfered. They both beat down Natalya.
– A.J. Styles did an interview. He was asked what is next for him, but he didn’t know.
– Fandango & Tyler Breeze beat Goldust & R-Truth.
– Seth Rollins came out. Everyone cheered him huge until he turned on the fans once again during his promo.
– Intercontinental Champion The Miz beat Cesaro to retain due to help from Maryse.
