Category: Post Type article

  • WWE Dayton, OH, house show results: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton

    Submitted by Parker Smith

    Cage above the ring for already announced Reigns vs Big Show cage match. Also, triple threat for title with Ambrose vs Orton vs Rollins for the title. Show starts with 10 bell for Dusty, and then JoJo does  the national anthem. The opening plays and starts with an R-Truth segment on the tron asking if the crowd is ready.

    Neville vs. Kofi Kingston

    They accidentally gave Kofi Neville’s pyro, he gets good heat, with “New Day, sucks” chants. In a match that went about 12 minutes, aside from a moonsault to the outside from the ropes featured nothing out of the ordinary Neville won with the red arrow.

    – Money in the Bank promo airs

    Lucha Dragons vs Matadors

    Matadors play the heel and do the handshake and kick in the gut spot. Torito gets involved and almost cross body’s one of the matadors and then they send him to the back. Matadors dominate and then Kalisto gets the hot tag and Torito comes back out and hurricaranas one of the matadors and the Lucha Dragons win around the 13 minute mark.

    Nattie and Layla vs. Alicia Fox and Summer Rae.

    Standard hot tag finish with Summer Rae tapping to Sharpshooter. The match was like 8 minutes or something.

    – Connors cure video package

    – Hype video for Big Show vs Roman Reigns steel cage match

    Cage Match: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show 

    Big Show is out first to a mix reaction, Reigns gets biggest reaction of the night.  During the match Reigns tries to lift and slam the 73838292 pound giant but can’t. In a 16 good match for the people involved, Reigns escapes from the too while Show tries go through the bottom and hits Show with the door on the way out for the win. Crowd chants “Big Show lost” and he reacts but mocking fans.

    Intermission

    Fandango vs Heath Slater

    Each person dances to see who gets the biggest reaction but it’s not a dance off. fandango wins with a surprise roll up in a 5 minute match. Slater stays out there complaining and Truth comes out. Slater and Truth go back and forth on the mic. Truth references the promo from the start of the show says he was late because of traffic, Slater complains he shouldn’t be out there during his time and mocks him saying “what’s up?” And goes for cheap “your town sucks!” heat. Truth says them(the crowd) told him to go out there. Slater tells the ref to ring the bell and they have a match and Slater tries to get stips for himself like blindfold him and have two hands behind his back to make it easier for him. Nothing is done but Truth still beats him in like 30 seconds.

    Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus

    Sheamus addresses the “you look stupid” chants and threatens to leave and then leaves and then Ziggler chases him up the ramp and back to the ring. The match is mostly outside the ring about two minutes in and then Sheamus takes control. In a boring back and forth match with a lot of near falls where I was more entertained looking around and then seeing a little two year girl making silly faces Sheamus wins around the 16 minute mark with a Brogue kick. Ziggler takes awhile to get up and Charles Robinson looks pissed so he might have hurt himself taking the Brogue, because Ziggler is not even interacting with the fans after.

    Randy Orton vs. WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

    Rollins comes to boos but no title and “you sold out chants”, and then Orton comes out to a huge pop probably bigger than Reigns. Ambrose doesn’t come out despite being advertised too. Rollins gets on the mic about how he wanted to defend the title and then talks about why he’s not naming Ambrose a reason why, and goes on about how he’s the rightful champion and then he says based on the reaction to Ambrose’s name and Ortons entrance and says we don’t deserve to see him defend the title and he’ll be Randy’s ass. 5 minutes into the match there are “Justin Bieber” chants and Seth tells the crowd to suck it. Randy Orton nearly gets counted out. Action goes to the outside where Seth throws Randy into the rail and then throws him back inside for a near fall. Orton goes for the RKO but gets countered into a roll up near fall.

    Rollins does the RKO set up and then goes for a Pedigree but Orton counters and then hits a T-Bone suplex. After countering the apron DDT, Seth hits a suicide dive. Orton hits a superplex, Rollins starts to walk away when J&J come out and they have a huddle, take off their suits and ties, they surround Orton on the apron and then J&J walk off and walk away as they wave to the crowd. Orton then hits Seth with the DDT as he flips off J&J, and Seth walks out again as Ambrose comes WITH the belt and the biggest pop of the night. Orton hits an RKO and win a 20 minute match. Ambrose enters the ring with the title and grabs a mic as Orton leaves. The title was behind a strip club on Bourbon street. Ambrose tosses him the belt, hits dirty deeds and then celebrates with the belt to end the show. Ambrose cuts a promo on about his first match was at the Montgomery Fair Grounds and cuts a promo on how he’s the real champion and quotes Dusty Rhodes.

  • UFC announces a third show in Mexico

    UFC has announced its third event in Mexico to be November 21 at Arena Monterrey – the site of tomorrow’s Verano de Escandalo show. The show will be on Fox Sports 1, and will include the finals of the next season of TUF Latin America.

  • UFC 188 live results and recap: Fabricio Werdum stakes his claim for best heavyweight of all time

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum from Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. The event, headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship Unification bout between UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum, airs on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 7 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FX at 8 PM eastern time. We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)

    FEATHERWEIGHTS: GABRIEL BENITEZ VS. CLAY COLLARD

    First round: Collard out in a Lucha mask.  You knew at least one American would do that.  He’s also wearing a serape.   Benitez from Tijuana is from TUF Latin America season one.  Crowd super hot.  Benitez dropped him with a left right away and a body kick.  Crowd so loud for Benitez.  Body kick by Benitez.  Great low kick by Benitez.  Left by Benitez.  Hard body kick by Benitez.  Collard landed several punches.  Collard with a left to the groin for a time out.   Collard working for a takedown.  Benitez working for a guillotine, .  He’s squeezing but slipped off.  Collard is on top.  Collard is bleeding and has Benitez’s back.  Collard working for a choke.  Hard elbows by Benitez.  Collard up.  Collard with a German suplex.  Benitez up.  Another body kick by Benitez.  Good first round.  Benitez 10-9.

    Second round: Nice low kick.  Collard bruised up everywhere.  Low kicks by Benitez.  Benitez with a left to the head and body.  Collard got the takedown.  Knee to the body and Benitez back up.  Benitez bleeding from the side of the head.  Benitez with a kick to the body and Collard took him down  Another takedown by Collard.  Collard punching the body.  Collard bleeding from tje nose and right eye.  Body shot by Benitez.  Knee to the body by Benitez.  Low kick by Benitez.  Benitez with another body shot.  Collard’s hurting.  Benitez 20-18.

    Third round: Benitez with low kicks.  Left by Collard.  Collard is hurting and exhausted.  Benitez on top.  Benitez let him up.  Left to the jaw and kick to the face by Benitez.  Collard with a takedown.  Another takedown by Collard.  Collard landing punches and has his back.  Collard throwing punches.  Benitez’s round 30-27, although this was close enough with the takedowns you could go 29-28.

    Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Benitez.

    WELTERWEIGHTS: AUGUSTO MONTANO VS. CATHAL PENDRED

    First round: Montano is from Mexico City so the crowd going crazy for him.  Side kick by Montano.  Kick to the face by Montano.  Slow first round.  Crowd booing.  Montano slipped but Pendred took no advantage of it.  Pendred getting mad and Montano still dancing away.  Knee by Montano.  Montano 10-9.  Crowd booing the round heavy.

    Second round: Herb Dean threatened Montano that he’d take points for timidity if he doesn’t do more.  Montano hurt him with a right.  Pendred pushed him into the fence.  Takedown by Pendred.  Montano up.  Pendred working for another taekdown.  He got him down a second time.  Third takedown by Pendred.  Pendred punching the side of the head.  Pendred’s round so 19-19 going into the third round.  Crowd booed another round heavy.

    Third round: Pendred pushed him against the fence.  Knee by Montano.  Crowd booing heavy.  Low kick by Pendred.  Nothing happening this round.  Montano doing nothing.  Crowd booed the hell out of this round.  Pendred’s round 29-28.

    Scores: Crowd booing even before the scores are.  All three have it 29-28 Pendred.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FX- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: FRANCISCO TREVINO VS. JOHNNY CASE

    First round: Case in with with a punch/kick combo.  Case firing.  Case with a body kick and body punch.  Case landed a right.  Side kick by Trevino.  Trevino poked him in the eye and Case started screaming.  The eye was scratched when a finger was put in.  The doctor is checking.  His left eye is closing.  Case said he could see.  They are letting it go.  Case with a takedown.  Trevino reversed to the top.   Case 10-9.

    Second round: Takedown by Case.  Case moved to side control.  Case has a guillotine and Trevino escaped and on top.  Trevino with a knee to the body and Case back up.  Both tired right now.  Takedown by Case.  Close round Case 20-18.

    Third round: Case landed a series of shots.  Case with an uppercut.  Takedown by Case.  Case moving forward.  Crowd booed the round a lot when it was over.  30-27 Case

    Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Case.   Crowd cheered even though Trevino is of Mexican heritage.

    BANTAMWEIGHTS: ALEJANDRO PEREZ VS. PATRICK WILLIAMS

    First round: Williams out fast with punches, Williams dropped him with two rights and grabbed a guillotine.  He choked him out cold.  That was the fastest submission in bantamweight history. Not a good night for Mexico so far.  :23

    Williams tried a backflip after the win, lost balance and fell on his ass.

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: EFRAIN ESCUDERO VS. DREW DOBER

    First round: Dober slipped on a kick and Escudero grabbed a guillotine.  Dober survived for a while in it before tapping.

    FLYWEIGHTS: HENRY CEJUDO VS. CHICO CAMUS

    First round: Camus is defending the takedowns well.  Front kick by Cejudo.  Camus with a left hook.  Cejudo again pushed him into the fence.  Camus landed a right.  Camus pie faced him on a break and Mario Yamasaki told him not to do it again.  Both missing and Camus defending another takedown.  Cejudo with a single leg and a left.  Cejudo got a takedown but Camus back up.  10-9 Cejudo.

    Second round: Cejudo landed a right.  Cejudo landed more punches.  Fans chanting for Cejudo loudly.  Both trading punches.  Camus landed two rights.  Body kick by Cejudo.  Camus blocked another takedown.  Both landing punches and Camus landing more.  Foot stomps and knee by Cejudo as he has Camus pinned against the fence.  Camus landed some punches.  Cejudo with a left.  Cejudo with a body kick.  20-18 Cejudo.

    Third round: Camus landed a right.  Camus got poked in the eye.  Left by Camus.  Cejudo again couldn’t take him down.  Camus with a right.  Left by Cejudo.  Cejudo pushed him into the fence again.  Right and left by Cejudo on a break.  Left and body kick by Cejudo.  Body kick and a right by Cejudo.  Camus is going for a takedown with no success.  Camus with a right and a left.  Camus with a body kick.  Cejudo got a takedown late in the round.  Camus back up.  Close round but I have 30-27 Cejudo.

    Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 Cejudo

    MAIN CARD *****

    WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS: TECIA TORRES VS. ANGELA HILL

    First round: Torres pushed her into the fence but couldn’t get her down.  Torres then got the takedown.  Torres landing a lot of punches late to win the round.  10-9 Torres.

    Second round: Torres with punches and got the takedown.  Torres landed in side control but Hill got guard.  Torres into side control.  McCarthy ordered a stand up.  20-18 Torres.

    Third round: Trading low kicks.  Nice exchange.  Torres landed punches.  Torres with a left hook.  Hill landing a left.  Both trading.  Crowd booing as Torres was working for a takedown and didn’t get it.  Ref John McCarthy called a break with 1:08 left.  Both very tired in this round.  Torres pushed her against the fence again working for a takedown and not getting it.  Crowd booing.  Torres 30-27.  Crowd booed this a lot.

    Scores: 30-27, 30-27 for 29-28 Torres

    FEATHERWEIGHTS: YAIR RODRIGUEZ VS. CHARLES ROSA

    First round: Spin kick by Rodriguez.  Awesome enzuigiri by Rodriguez.  Front kick by Rodriguez.  Flying knee but Rosa took him down.  Rodriguez working for a triangle.  Place going crazy.  Rosa landing punches from the top.  Rosa has his back.  Rodriguez getting up.  Crowd loving this.  Nice takedown by Rosa.  Up kicks by Rodriguez and both throwing punches but Rosa was landing from the top.  Rosa landing elbows to the body.  Rosa went for a kneebar after Rodriguez went for an armbar.  Super round.  Rodriguez 10-9.

    Second round: Crowd super loud.  Side kick by Rodriguez.  Rodriguez with a body kick.  Rosa trying for a takedown and getting nowhere close.  Spin kick by Rodriguez.  Body kick by Rodriguez.  Rosa landed a good left.  Left by Rodriguez.  Rodriguez with a judo takedown into mount.  Rodriguez stands back up.  Rosa bleeding badly from the left eye.  Rosa trying for a takedown and not getting it.  They are going to check the cut.  They let the fight continue.  Nice low kick by Rodriguez.  Rosa tried a takedown but Rodriguez stepped away.  Rodriguez missed a high kick.  Rosa going for a leglock but Rodriguez punching him and stood up.  Big right by Rosa. Rosa got a takedown.  Rodriguez reversed and stood up.  Rodriguez 20-18.

    Third round: Rosa landed a right.  Low kick by Rosa.  Low kick by Rodriguez.  Rosa working for a takedown and got him down.  Crowd booing Rodriguez being on the ground.  Rosa split him open with an elbow.  Rosa landing punches on the ground.  Rodriguez working for the triangle.  Rodriguez is landing elbows while holding the triangle.  Rosa escaped the triangle.  Rodriguez out of trouble and back to his feet.  Body kick by Rodriguez.  Takedown by Rosa.  Rosa into side control.  Rosa landkng punches late .  Rosa’s round 29-28 Rodrigeuz.  Super fight.

    Scores:  29-28 Rosa 29-28 Rodriguez 29-28 Rodriguez. Rodriguez threw up on himself during the post-fight interview.

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS: KELVIN GASTELUM VS. NATE MARQUARDT

    First round: Body kick by Marquardt.  Gastelum landing lefts.  Knee by Gastelum.  Big right by Marquardt.  Gastelum with more punches.  Left and right by Gastelum.  Marquardt back with punches.  Gastelum with a left.  Gastelum with an elbow  Marquardt landed a right.  Right by Gaselum.  Loud Mexico chant.  Right to the body by Marquardt.  Marquardt with a takedown. Gastelum back up and landed.  Gastelum got a takedown.  Gastelum has his back.  Body kick by Gastleum hard lefts by Gastelum.  Gastelum has him hurt late in the round.  10-9 Gastelum

    Second round: Gastelum with a right.  Gastelum with a head kick.  Gastelum with punches and two hard knees.  He’s punching him on the ground.  Gastelum on top with punches.  Marquardt tripped him down and Gastelum went for a guillotine.  Marquardt dropped.  Gastelum has his back and is throwing punches.  Marquardt tried a reverse but Gastelum blocked it and stayed on top.  Gastelum with elbows from the top.  Hard body shots by Gastelum.  Gastelum 10-8 round 20-17 Gastelum.

    Third round: Marquardt’s corner stopped the fight.  Marquardt said I’ve got nothing left and they stopped it.

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: GILBERT MELENDEZ VS. EDDIE ALVAREZ

    First round: Alvarez in with punches.  Melendez with jabs.  Hard right elbow by Melendez hurt him.  Left by Melendez.  Another left by Meldnez.  Right by Melendez.  Both fighting far more cautious than expected.  Melendez with a punch and Alvarez with a low kick.  Alvarez landed a punch.  Melendez with a jab.  Alvarez staying on the outside.  Melendez 10-9.

    Seoind rund: Alvarez left eye looks real bad.  Alvarez with a nice right.  Alvarez’s left eye looks terriible.  Left by Alvarez.  Left by Alvarez.  Alvarez working for a takedown.  Low kick by Alvarez.  Melendez faked a takedown and hit a knee.  Crowd wants more action and now booing. Right by Melendez.  Alvarez working for a takedown.  Alvarez got the takedown.  Spinnig elbow by Alvarez.  Alvarez’s round so 19-19.

    Third round: Alvarez working for a takedown.  Melendez throwing short punches and Alvarez working for a takedown.  Alvarez got him down.  Alvarez went for a takedown and Melendez threw a knee.  Alvarez landed an overhand right.  Melendez is really tired.  His mouth is wide open and breathing heavy.  Low kick b Alvaerz.  Takedown by Alvarez.  Melendez back up.  Alvarez with another takedown.  Melendez breathing super heavy.  Both trading.  Spinning elbow by Alvarez cut him badly.   Both swinging.  Crowd booed hem.  Alvarez’s round 29-28.

    Scores: 29-28 Alvarez 29-28 Melendez 29-28 Alvarez

    UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: CAIN VELASQUEZ VS. FABRICIO WERDUM

    First round: Both swinging. Werdum dropped. Both trading punches. Werdum grabbed a clinch. Both swinging more. Velasquez with a knee and punches. Crowd is going crazy. Velasquez with a knee and punches.  Velasquez punched him and is bleeding from the eye. Velasquez took him down into side control. Velasquez got back up and pushed him into the fence. Werdum tried a trip but didn’t get it. Both trading.  Velasquez landing several punches. Werdum got a takedown. Werdum with a knee. Both trading again. Both are getting tired from the pace. Werdum with jabs and landing punches now. Velasquez landing punches and Werdum back. Takedown by Velasquez. Velasquez let him up and is all bloody. Right by Werdum but Velasquez back with punches.  Velasquez 10-9.

    Second round: Velasquez with a punch and low kick. Both trading.  More low kicks by Velasquez. Werdum with a good punch but Velasquez with several more punches. Front kick by Werdum. Velasquez is tiring. Body kick by Velasquez. Werdum back. Knee by Werdum. Werdum hurt him with punches Velasquez back with punches. Werdum hurt him with a right. Velasquez landing a lot of punches.  Werdum with two punches. Werdum hurt him with an uppercut and a knee. The altitude is killing Velasquez. Velasquez doesn’t have any power left. Right by Velasquez but Werdum back with a right. Hard right by Werdum. Werdum with a left and right. Werdum hurt Velasquez with a knee.  Werdum with a right and a knee. Werdum’s round 19-19.

    Third round: Werdum landing jabs. Takedown by Velasquez. Velasquez kicking the leg. Werdum back up. Left by Werdum. Head kick by Velasquez. Werdum has a guillotine, but Velasquez escaped. Werdum landing a punch and a knee. Velasquez back with a right. Both exchanging. Velasquez with a takedown, but got caught in a Werdum guillotine. Velasquez tapped out at 2:13.

    We have a new undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

  • Global Force Wrestling June 12 Jackson, TN, house show results: Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs. New Heavenly Bodies

    Submitted by Lou Pickney

    Brandon Baxter and Matt Douglas warmed up the crowd right as the 7:30p.m. bell time hit. Baxter did a good job handling the ring announcer/hypeman duties.

    Tate Twins beat the Best Friends (approx. 15 minutes)

    The audio system temporarily crashed as the Best Friends made their way onto the field, so they killed time by pantomiming the throwing of a first pitch by Trent Beretta to Chuck Taylor. After watching Best of the Super Juniors, it was nice to see a Beretta match without hearing that grating Roppongi Vice song.

    Sonjay Dutt pinned Jamin Olivencia (approx 10 minutes)

    Dutt won after a tornado DDT & top rope splash.

    Thea Trinidad pinned Lei’d Tapa (approx 6 minutes)

    Nothing match. As I noted elsewhere, Trinidad is very attractive, though her beating the much larger Tapa out of nowhere was low on believability.

    Moose pinned Kevin Matthews (approx 11 minutes)

    After the original pinfall of Moose by Matthews, who had his feet on the ropes for leverage, it was overturned by a second ref who came in from the opposite side of where it happened. The match was restarted and, almost immediately, Moose hit the spear and got the pin. It was great that the show had announced time limits, though for some reason this match was one fall with a 15 minute time limit.

    INTERMISSION

    Chris Mordetzky won by submission over Dustin Star (approx 11 minutes) with the Master Lock

    The ref did the “raise the arm and drop it” routine on Star, and after one drop he called for the bell, so it wasn’t a tapout or verbal submission by the babyface Star. In contrast to Moose’s 1/15 match, this was one fall with a 45 minute time limit.

    Brandon Baxter introduced Jim Cornette, who announced to the crowd that there would be a 10 bell salute/moment of silence for Dusty Rhodes. The crowd was respectfully quiet for this.

    Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows beat the New Heavenly Bodies in approx 8 minutes

    Cornette cut a scathing promo on the NHB before the match, essentially calling them out for not exactly having the proper physique to use the Heavenly Bodies name. The finish saw the NHB try to use a foreign object to cheat, which led Cornette to get up to the ringside table to stooge it off to the referee. When that was ignored, Cornette soon after waylaid one of the NHB guys in the back with an incredibly loud tennis racket shot which led to the pin.

  • SAT. UPDATE: UFC 188 preview, plenty of Dusty Rhodes tributes, fallout of UFC drug test incident in Brazil, and more

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.comFollow @davidbix

    UFC 188 is tonight live from Arena Ciudad in Mexico City:

    Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 7:00 p.m. ET
    Gabriel Benitez vs. Clay Collard
    Augusto Montano vs. Cathal Pendred

    Prelims on FX (not Fox Sports 1) at 8:00 p.m. ET
    Johnny Case vs. Francisco Trevino
    Alejandro Perez vs. Patrick Williams
    Drew Dober vs. Efrain Escudero
    Henry Cejudo vs. Chico Camus

    Main card on pay-per-view at 10:00 p.m. ET
    Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill
    Yair Rodriguez vs. Charles Rosa
    Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt
    Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez
    Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum for heavyweight title

    This is a solid line-up for a pay-per-view, albeit one with at least one obvious concession made for Mexican television in the Rodriguez (The Ultimate Fighter LatinoAmerica winner) vs. Rosa doesn’t have much business on a PPV main card even if it’s a good fight on paper. The main event is the best fight that can be made at heavyweight right now, and while Velasquez absolutely should be the favorit, his the knee injury is a question mark is Werdum has made a career out of exceeding expectations.

    Melendez-Alvarez is a long-time dream match of the top two non-UFC lightweight names, both of whom have been trash talking the other, and it has the potential to be an incredible action fight. It’s unlikely that it’s anything less than a very good fight, the question is just how good it gets. Gastelum is up at middleweight working off his punishment for missing weight against Tyron Woodley in January, and the matchmaking (Marquardt is an aging veteran middleweight who has a welterweight frame by 2015 standards and went 1-3 when he moved down) makes it seem like this is a one off punishment where he’ll go back down after a win here.

    The featured prelim and main card opener are two really fun fights from the UFC’s two lightest weight classes. Camus, who’s reinvented himself with a new, movement-heavy style at flyweight, is a sneakily tough matchup for Cejudo, arguably moreso than the higher-ranked Chris Cariaso, who Cejudo beat in his last fight. Cejudo is the better athlete and wrestler, but if Camus can stay away and potshot him, it’s a winnable fight. Torres-Hill is a tremendous striking match on paper and an interesting clash of different kickboxing styles.  The UFC clearly sees something in Hill, signing her for the TUF tournament right after her pro MMA debut (a fight she took to be eligible for the show), putting her in front of the media when they can, etc, and this is a big test for her.

    WWE has Money in the Bank tomorrow night on pay-per-view and WWE Network:

    Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose in a ladder match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship
    John Cena vs. Kevin Owens in a non-title match
    Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Neville vs. Kane vs. Kofi Kingston in the Money in the Bank ladder match
    Ryback vs. Big Show for the WWE Intercontintnal Championship
    New Day vs. Prime Time Players for the WWE Tag Team Championship
    Nikki Bella vs. Paige for the WWE Divas’ Championship
    R-Truth vs. King Barrett

    Also on Sunday, the U.S. World Team Trials in wrestling air Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

    For today, we’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Terre Haute and Dayton, NXT in Columbus and GFW in Knoxville at newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

    We’re looking for feedback on tonight’s UFC show as well as both Money in the Bank and Verano de Escandalo tomorrow, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle rating for the shwre along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    Raw is Monday in Cleveland featuring the return to WWE of Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Buffalo.

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at what made Dusty Rhodes such a uniquely gifted performer. Topics covered include:

    * How his appeal differed from other superstar babyfaces.

    * His underrated athleticism and in-ring working ability.

    * His versatility on promos.

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

    Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the AmericanCanadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle. 

    **** 

    Last week the big story was the tease of a Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar match at WrestleMania.  This week we have a double issue because of such a busy news week, with our lead story talks about the background of that promo and why the match isn’t happening.  We have the background of Austin, Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon, what led to the promo on the WWE Network, why Vince McMahon was unhappy about it, and what happened from there including Austin talking about the situation.

    We also have the first look at the Wednesday night wrestling wars with ROH & TNA, an update on MMA in New York, coverage of one of UFC’s best shows in recent years, New Japan’s summer look at including the G-1 Climax and Super Juniors tournament along with a history of the New Japan junior heavyweight division, as well as full coverage of the Hall of Fame and the new season of Tough Enough.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer: June 15, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Latest on Austin-Lesnar, Destination America, NY MMA

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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

    Our lead story talks about Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar.  We look at Austin’s comments regarding what he said last week, we look at the background, we look at why Vince McMahon wasn’t happy about what happened, we look at what this seems to end speculation on, where the Texas death match comment came from and what we don’t know about the situation and why the book seems closed on the match.

    We’ve got full details on the first week of both ROH & TNA together on Destination America.  We look at the audience for both groups, and what the quarter hours told about both groups.  We look at what the ratings seem to have indicated about both ROH and TNA and their audiences, as well as the next time this should be evaluated.

    We also look at Money in the Bank, the WWE Network special on 7/4 from Japan with the lineup.  We also look at the rest of the tour, an idea floated for the Slammys, what Vince McMahon wants out of the live talk shows on the WWE network, update on Tyson Kidd, why the stock is rising, Dwayne Johnson entertainment news, how the Kevin Steen action figure triggered so many things, return of Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman, special guest on Raw next week, Austin signs a new deal, and lots of the recent WWE tryout camp.

    We also look at the Jessicka Havok situation.

    We also look at all the NXT and WWE house show notes and business notes from the past week.

    We look at the new attempt to pass legislation in New York to legalize MMA, how this affects pro wrestling in the state as well as boxing, why MMA has to agree to certain things that are inherently unfair in a last ditch effort to get into the state.  We also look at a unique law regarding attendance at events in the bill, as well as what rules are in place to promote pro wrestling in New York.

    We’ve got coverage of one of the year’s best events, Saturday’s UFC show in New Orleans.  We look at the record tied, the career of Dan Henderson, the career of Brian Ebersole, as well as business notes and full coverage of the show.

    We also look at New Japan’s G-1 Climax tournament, who is in, who is out, what is says about current booking, the big shows on the tour, coverage of the show, prior winners, handicapping the tournament, why the winner is already planned out and how far in advance booking is, as well as the next few shows on New Japan World and the Dominion PPV show.

    We also have coverage of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, why the interest level was down, business notes on the tournament, a look at the great finale match, as well as coverage of the final shows.  We also have a history of the New Japan junior heavyweight division, including the stars that build the division and the 1996 heyday period.

    We’ve got full coverage of the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremonies last month in Amsterdam, NY, with the awards, presentations, and a look at talent like Jumbo Tsuruta, Rick Martel, Vivian Vachon, Whipper Watson, Pedro Morales, The Freebirds and Curt Hennig.

    We also look at the new season of Tough Enough, who was and wasn’t picked to be part of the show, notes on why the winners are going to have it tough and not winning may to advantageous, as well as notes and backgrounds of some of the people involved.

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

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

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –A look at this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament’s first shows

    –What happens in pro wrestling the night before UFC

    –Problems between companies in Mexico regarding CMLL pulling talent

    –Notes on Verano de Escandalo and U.S. iPPV and the card

    –First notes on TripleMania

    –What mach may be headlining this year’s TripleMania

    –Upcoming AAA TV

    –The debut of the three generations of green mist trio

    –Dragon Gate two big shows coming this week

    –All Japan’s big event for the week

    –A tag team of stars from two different promotions has a long reign as tag champions gone

    –More on the new Japan NOAH relationship and how this relates to the New Japan World service

    –New Japan scouting talent in the U.S. this summer

    –New Japan’s upcoming shows in Singapore

    –Satoru Sayama health update

    –Notes on the beginning shows of Global Force Wrestling

    –Notes on the lineups and what is and isn’t important about these events

    –Special celebrity guest added

    –An unselfish act acts an aspiring pro wrestling career

    –Another streaming service expected to start featuring 800 hours of a lost library

    –Chris Hero’s three hour gauntlet match and full details

    –Bill Goldberg talks about a potential pro wrestling farewell match and what could stand in the way

    –Who Goldberg still keeps in touch with in wrestling

    –Goldberg talks Brock Lesnar

    –A look at the big show at Citifield in New York this past week

    –A look at what TNA angle was revived on the show and how Goldberg fit in

    –A.J. Styles vs. Lionheart match coverage, back story, and why the crowd was so hot

    –Kris Travis talks return from cancer

    –Tons of indie big show news

    –A suspended senator in Canada participates in a pro wrestling show

    –Early ROH champion moving into MMA

    –Son of former Oregon star suspect in a beating death

    –Wrestling star in talks for a national cable television show unique deal

    –Update on the next ROH PPV

    –A look at the weekend ROH events

    –Why they did the Mickie James angle

    –TNA gets another international deal

    –UFC’s Labor Day weekend show announced

    –Two new title fights announced

    –Comparing Bader vs. Gustafsson as challengers for Cormier

    –When Cormier is targeting his first title defense

    –What Bader needs to do to get a title shot

    –Update on Anderson Silva and his suspension hearing, as well as Nick Diaz

    –Ben Rothwell accuses Cain Velasquez of PEDs and Velasquez responds

    –Former UFC star gets TV major network announcing gig

    –An interesting question that the courts may have to decide regarding UFC contract clause

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –Notes on Shamrock vs. Kimbo

    –The first head to be cut off in new stronger penalties for PED usage

    –War Machine has court outburst

    –TV martial arts star with pro wrestling ties in bad health

    –Fighter comes back from nearly being stabbed to death to win a small promotion world title

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    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:

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    *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)

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

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    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.

    ****

    Saturday Daily Update

    — The Brazilian UFC website released a statement about the incident relating to Jose Aldo’s random drug test a few days ago, which MMAFighting translated into English. In the statement, it said they’re fully supporting Aldo and his team. Essentially, what happened was that the tester didn’t have any identification associating him with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which led to Aldo’s coach, Andre Pederneiras, calling the police after Aldo gave a urine sample. It turned out that the tester had the wrong type of visa, which meant he was in Brazil illegally, invalidating the sample. The Brazillian commission worked to facilitate a new test a day or two later.

    Meanwhile, Aldo’s opponent next month, Conor McGregor, tweeted that on that unlike Aldo, who was only subjected to a blood test, he had to give both urine and blood samples for his last random test, which was May 23rd.

    Triple H unveiled the Tough Enough “barracks” today, which will be the living quarters for the participants. It’s pretty barebones except for the relaxation/recreation area and the hot tub. We were told by someone in WWE to keep in mind that they hired a producer from “Blind Date” to work on this show, meaning that the hot tub may not be there specifically for recovery.

    Really nice obituary for Dusty Rhodes in the Austin-American Statesman, the paper of record in his birthplace of Austin, Texas (which is also where his son Dustin still lives today). This made the front page of their sports section today. It includes quotes from Mark Henry and a high school classmate.

    The Sedalia Democrat in Missouri has another nice Dusty obituary with quotes from Harley Race and local fans.

    Fighting Spirit Magazine has reprinted Jim Cornette’s column about Dusty from two years ago on their website for free. Excellent stuff covering all of Dusty’s career.

    — In a bit of an weird coincidence, the promos for last night’s CES MMA card on AXS TV featured Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil cutting his own version of the Dusty Rhodes’ “hard times” promo, complete with Dusty impression. These had started airing last week, so it had nothing to do with Dusty’s death, but it stood out a lot more during NJPW on AXS last night for obvious reasons.

    — To push next week’s card in Berlin, UFC posted Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s strawweight title win over Carla Esparza for free on YouTube. If you haven’t seen it, it’ll probably make you a lot more interested in her next fight.

    The Independent in the UK has an article on Mark Henry talking to him about the evolution of his career with a special focus on the “Attitude Era” since he’s promoting WWE’s book about that period. 

    WGHP TV has a story about Larry Heck, an athletic trainer who’s been on the road with WWE for 14 years.

    — I was on Kris Zellner’s latest Exile on Badstreet podcast so we could go over the career of Dusty Rhodes.

    TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)

    12:00 AM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Follow Batista’s path from the struggles that drove him away from WWE to his triumphant return in 2014.

    1:00 AM ET
    WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!

    1:15 AM ET
    CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

    1:30 AM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    2:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.

    3:00 AM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!

    4:00 AM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.

    5:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Infamous Intercontinental Champions of all time!

    6:00 AM ET
    WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.

    7:00 AM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

    8:00 AM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!

    9:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Infamous Intercontinental Champions of all time!

    10:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.

    11:00 AM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Straight to the Top: The Money in the Bank Anthology presents the lineage of this epic match!

    1:00 PM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!

    2:00 PM ET
    THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.

    2:30 PM ET
    WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!

    2:45 PM ET
    CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

    3:00 PM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.

    4:00 PM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!

    4:55 PM ET
    STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!

    6:00 PM ET
    THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.

    6:30 PM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    7:00 PM ET
    MONEY IN THE BANK 2015 KICKOFF Money In The Bank Kickoff LIVE from Columbus, Ohio! Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves and Booker T preview Money In The Bank!

    8:00 PM ET
    WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2015 A WWE Championship opportunity hangs in the balance as WWE Superstars try to climb the ladder of success at Money in the Bank. 

    11:00 PM ET
    WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2015 A WWE Championship opportunity hangs in the balance as WWE Superstars try to climb the ladder of success at Money in the Bank. 

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (June 13): ‘Strangler’ beats Londos, Crusher vs. Mad Dog cage match, Briscos win tag team gold, Jerry Lawler vs. Curt Hennig

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1924 – For promoter Tom Paks in St. Louis, Missouri at St. Louis University Stadium, World Heavyweight Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Jim Londos in 2 out of 3 falls.

    1940 – Orville Brown defeated Bobby Bruns in Kansas City, Kansas to win the Kansas City version of the Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title.

    1947 – At Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri; Ray Steele beat Bronko Nagurski, Dizzy Davis defeated Bob Cummings, Butch Levy beat Jack Conley. Promoter was Sam Muchnick. Attendance was 2,316 fans and event was billed as season finale.

    1957 – Ed Francis defeated Al Lolotai for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    1960 – Tony Borne defeated Bull Curry to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title in Fort Worth, Texas.

    1961 – In Kansas City, Art Neilson & Ray Shires defeated Red Bastien & Lou Bastien in three falls, Bobo Brazil defeated Killer Kowalski in three falls and Bob Ellis defeated The Sheik via DQ in three falls.

    1963 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Masked Medic #1 and Masked Medic #2 beat Pat O’Connor and and Tiny Mills 2 falls to 1, Sonny Myers beat Bob Geigel 2 falls to 1 via dq, Larry Hamilton drew Steve Kovacs and Rock Hunter beat Steve Bolus

    1969 – In Duluth, Minnesota; The Crusher & Bill Watts beat Larry Hennig & Lars Anderson, Red Bastien beat Dr. X and Billy Red Lyons beat Big K

    1970 – In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; In a Steel Cage Match, The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon, Dr X & Double X beat Edouard Carpentier & Pepper Gomez, Paul Diamond beat Larry Hennig, Butcher Vachon beat Billy Howard, and Blackjack Lanza beat Moose Cholak Attendance was 12,076 and gate was $58,000. That card set a new Wisconsin indoor gate and attendance record.

    1972 – Alfonso Dantes defeated Rey Mendoza for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Tijuana, Mexico; Jerry Brisco defeated Rip Hawk to win the Mid-Atlantic Eastern title in Columbia, S.C.

    1974 – The Interns (Tom Andrews and Jim Starr) defeated Bob Geigel and Rufus R. Jones to win the Central States version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas. Also, Jim Brunzell defeated Bobby Garcia, Pat O’Connor defeated Ciclon Negro via DQ and Bob Brown defeated Don Fargo via DQ.

    1975 – Black Gordman and Goliath win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title from The Hollywood Blonds (Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts).

    1975 – Great Kusatsu and Mighty Inoue defeated Tor Kamata and Duke Savage in a tournament final to win the vacant International Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title in Morioka, Japan.

    1978 – Jack and Jerry Brisco defeated Mr. Saito and Mr. Sato (The Great Kabuki) in Miami, Florida to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title.

    1981 – The Kelly Twins (Pat and Mike Kelly) defeated Wilbur Snyder and Spike Huber to win the World Wrestling Association (Indiana) Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana; The Crusher & Baron Von Raschke beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura dq, AWA Light Heavyweight Champion Mike Graham beat Buck Zumhofe and Jerry Blackwell ddq Brad Rheingans in Omaha, Neb.

    1982 – Centurian Negro defeated Gran Hamada in Monterrey, Mexico, for the Universal Wrestling Association World Middleweight Title

    1983 – Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) defeated Fishman to win the vacant WWF World Junior Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico; In Salt Lake City, Utah; Rick Martel beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq, Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell beat Baron Von Raschke & Mad Dog Vachon and Wahoo McDaniel beat Blackjack Lanza

    1985 – Kuniaki Kobayashi defeated The Dynamite Kid for the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title in Koga, Japan; In Ibaraki, Japan; Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu beat Terry Gordy & Tiger Jeet Singh & Mario Milano, Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu beat AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors dq, In an International Junior Heavyweight title match, Kuniaki Kobayashi beat Dynamite Kid dq.

    1986 – Lex Luger defeated Ron Bass to win the NWA Bahamas Heavyweight Title in Nassau, Bahamas.

    1986 – In Houston, Texas; In a Texas Tornado Street Fight; Steve Williams & Dusty Rhodes & Bill Watts beat Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff & Kortsita Korchenko, Terry Gordy beat Terry Taylor, AWA Champion Stan Hansen no contest Nick Bockwinkel, Rock & Roll Express beat Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts and Magnum TA beat Baron Von Raschke

    1987 – Bill Dundee defeated Chick Donovan to win the AWA International Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee

    1988 – At the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN; AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Curt Hennig, Brickhouse Brown dcor Max Pain and Great Sensei & Dutch Mantel beat Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden dq. Attendance was 4,500.

    1991 – Gran Hamada and Perro Aguayo defeated Los Brazos (Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata) to win the UWA World Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

    1992 – Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. defeated El Egipicio in Mexico City, Mexico to win the Mexico National Heavyweight Title

    1993 – The WWF held the first televised King of the Ring pay-per-view event in Dayton, Ohio. Yokozuna pinned Hulk Hogan to win the WWF World Title and Bret Hart pinned Bam Bam Bigelow to win the King of the Ring Tournament.

    1994 – PG-13 (J.C. Ice and Wolfie D.) defeated The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus) for the USWA Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee

    1997 – Nygma defeated El Salsero to win the Mexico National Welterweight Title in Xochimilko, Mexico.

    1998 – Buddy Landel defeated Jimmy Cicero in Alexandria, Virginia for the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title; E.Z. Ryder and Darren Daulton defeated Damage Inc. (Skar and Sledge) to win the Canadian Wrestling Federation Tag Team Title in Garden City, Manitoba.

    1999 – WCW held the Great American Bash at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The Jersey Triad (Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon) defeated Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn to win the WCW World Tag Team Title; Koji Nakagawa and Gedo defeated Masato Tanaka and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to win the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Title in Okayama City, Japan.

    2002 – Shouichi Ichimiya defeated Chocoball Mukai for the Dramatic Dream Team Ironman Heavymetalweight Title in Tokyo, Japan

    2003 – Yutaka Yoshie and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Tokyo, Japan, to win the IWGP World Tag Team Title

  • PBC on Spike report: Erislandy Lara vs. Delvin Rodriguez

    By Jeremy Wall

    Spike TV aired its latest broadcast of PBC boxing Friday, June 12th from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. The show featured a double headline of Erislandy Lara shutting out Delvin Rodriguez by unanimous decision in one of the dullest fights yet promoted by PBC. Lara has a terrible reputation as a boring fighter and this fight was a classic example of a fighter losing reputation with a bad win. In the other bout broadcast by Spike, Artur Beterbiev had another star making performance by stopping Alexander Johnson in the seventh round. This was Beterbiev’s second appearance on a PBC broadcast after knocking Gabriel Campillo in the fourth round on PBC’s debut on CBS on April 4th.

    The 32-year old Lara (21-2-2, 12 KOs) was defending his WBA Super Welterweight championship against 35-year-old Rodriguez (28-8-4, 16 KOs). As per PBC convention the title wasn’t mentioned on the Spike broadcast by name. It was a total mismatch anyway. To be clear, Lara holds the regular WBA Super Welterweight title, whereas Floyd Mayweather Jr holds the WBA Super Super Welterweight title (which the WBA calls the Super World Super Welterweight title, which I guess to them sounds a bit less ridiculous). If PBC accomplishes anything, I hope that it is cleaning up the title situation in boxing and making it less of a joke.

    It was a battle of the B-sides as both Lara and Rodriguez had been opponents for bigger name fighters in recent years. Lara was coming into the fight off a win over Ishe Smith by decision in December, but previous to that was the most notable fight of Lara’s career when he lost a dull split-decision to Canelo Alvarez at the MGM Grand last July. Rodriguez hadn’t fought since going to a split-draw with Joachim Alcine last May, but previous to that was stopped by Miguel Cotto in the third round in October 2013.

    Rodriguez was handpicked as an opponent to showcase Lara in front of the Spike audience, to build Lara up as a credible opponent for another bigger name under the PBC banner. Lara knocked Rodriguez down in the sixth round and shut him out on the scorecards with scores of 120-107, 120-107 and 120-107. But in the world of combat sports you can’t control what happens in the ring and the two had a complete snorefest that damaged Lara’s reputation more than an exciting loss would.

    Lara, of course, was oblivious. “This was really a great performance tonight,” Lara said after the fight. “I was able to land my left. Delvin was really just trying to survive in there, so I knew what I was doing was working.” Despite Lara believing he put in a great performance, the crowd began to boo the fight in the fifth round and didn’t stop until it was over.

    “I’m going to sit down with my team and Al (Haymon). The future is clear,” Lara said in his post-fight interview with Jimmy Smith. “We want the best. We want Floyd Mayweather. We want Miguel Cotto. We want Gennady Golovkin at 160 pounds.”

    He is probably getting none of those fighters. Maybe with a great performance here he could have gotten his name in the mix as Mayweather’s opponent for September 12th. But after the way Lara fought Rodriguez, I can’t see that happening. Cotto will be fighting Canelo. And Golovkin doesn’t fight on PBC.

    **********

    Beterbiev’s performance against Alexander Johnson at light-heavyweight in the opening bout on Spike was far more intriguing. The 30-year-old Beterbiev is only 9-0 as a pro, but he had a long amateur career which included two Olympic appearances and amateur championships. He has knocked out all nine of his opponents, now two of them on national television.

    He knocked Alexander Johnson (16-3, 7 KOs) down four times during their fight, twice in round five and twice more in round seven. Johnson fought defensively and was clearly trying to survive for as long as possible before Beterbiev finished him in the seventh. Johnson’s performance wasn’t impressive, but he was the first fighter to take Beterbiev beyond four rounds in a professional fight.

    Beterbiev did have a bit of a problem with Johnson being a southpaw, as Beterbiev was originally scheduled to fight the orthodox DouDou Ngumbu, who pulled out nine days before the fight.

    “This is a big plus for me and great experience for my pro career. I’m very happy to have gone past four rounds tonight,” said Beterbiev. “Nothing was really working that well for me tonight though. I like to box smart and find the right openings. Maybe the righty to lefty switch in the last week made a difference.”

    Last week PBC announced that Beterbiev had signed a long-term contract with both Al Haymon and Montreal-based promoted Yvon Michel, who worked with Haymon to promote the April 4th CBS broadcast in Quebec. I was a bit surprised to read that, since Beterbiev had already fought for PBC in April. I’m unclear on whether Beterbiev had a short-term contract with Haymon and then signed a long-term extension, or if he fought in April without being under contract to Haymon.

    “The only disappointment he’s had in his career is that he hasn’t fought for a world title yet. He’s willing to fight anybody in boxing in the light heavyweight division,” said Yvon Michel. “There’s a lot of talent in the light heavyweight division now. There’s WBC champion Adonis Stevenson. There’s Sergey Kovalev, who has the other three belts. There’s a guy here [in Chicago] who I have a lot of respect for, Andrzej Fonfara … it’s a very, very interesting weight division. Artur Beterbiev wants to play a major role in it.”

    Fonfara was ringside for the fight. He is under contract to Haymon and recently beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on Showtime in a Haymon card that wasn’t promoted under the PBC banner. He also had a great fight against Adonis Stevenson in Montreal last year. He’s an exciting fighter and would be a good higher profile opponent for Beterbiev. Fonfara has a reputation for being an underdog that upsets better fighters, so it would be a good test to see where Beterbiev stands as a fighter before graduating to fight the elite.

    Between Adonis and Kovalev, it would seem more likely that Beterbiev would face Adonis for the WBC belt. Adonis is under contract to Haymon. Kovalev is promoted by Main Events and fights on HBO. One of the biggest potential fights in boxing is Adonis vs Kovalev, but because they are under contract to opposing promoters it has been nearly impossible to put that fight together. The negative is that if Beterbiev faces Adonis, he will invite unfair comparisons to Kovalev, who is similar to Beterbiev in that they are both power fighters from Russia in the prime of their respective careers. Kovalev is a champ and has been around as a pro longer than Beterbiev, though. Kovalev is defending his three light-heavyweight titles against Nadjib Mohammedi on HBO July 25th. Adonis last fought in April on CBS and currently has no fight scheduled.

    **********

    The last PBC on Spike show with Amir Khan beating Chris Algieri by decision to possibly setup Khan facing Floyd Mayweather in September drew 811,000 viewers on average in the DVR +3 ratings, peaking at 1.3 million. The live average was 772,000 viewers with a peak of 1,120,000.

    In March, PBC on Spike drew 869,000 viewers and peaked at 1 million. In April, it drew 569,000 and peaked at 761,000. PBC airs on Spike from 9pm ET to 11pm.

    The live average for the three PBC on Spike broadcasts has been 736,667 viewers. It is better than what Glory draws on Spike, and in the same range as what the weaker Bellator shows draw, but not as good as the strong Bellator shows.

    I suspect this most recent broadcast to have low viewership considering the main event was weak both from a box office perspective and from a fighting perspective. Bad fights between relative unknowns isn’t going to draw an audience on Spike. PBC has struggled a bit more on Spike compared to NBC or CBS, probably because boxing skews older and Spike skews younger, so PBC would have a hard time winning over Spike’s demographic. Spike’s demo of young men is strong from an advertising stance as that demo commands better ad rates, so PBC increasing their penetration with males 18-34 is one of the many roadblocks PBC has in winning its war for boxing.

    *********

    On the Spike broadcast PBC also announced that former light-heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (31-6, 22KOs) would return to the ring for PBC to face Steve Cunningham (28-7, 13KOs) at heavyweight.

    Tarver is 46-years-old and currently works as a colour commentator for PBC on Spike. His last high profile fight was in May 2009, a unanimous decision loss to Chad Dawson at light-heavyweight on HBO.

    Tarver has been active since losing to Dawson, moving up to heavyweight and fighting in a series of low-profile bouts. His last fight was December 11th, 2014, a seventh-round TKO over Johnathan Banks. Tarver came into the fight at 225 pounds. Fighting on Spike, however, will be Tarver’s highest-profile match since 2009.

    I think what’s notable about Tarver fighting for PBC is that with boxing’s comeback we will likely see a number of stars from the past attempt returns to the ring to cash in on the sport’s increase in popularity. There is a major promotional war happening between Haymon’s PBC and HBO. Similar to how UFC and Bellator are using aged stars from the past as chess pieces to try and steal market share from one another, PBC and HBO will likely end up doing the same.

    Tarver will likely beat Cunningham. If Tarver has a good fight, he could be someone used to put over Deontay Wilder, the WBC Heavyweight champion under contract to Haymon who has tremendous star potential and could use a few wins over big names to build his box office appeal.

    **********

    Speaking of aged fighters seeking just one more chance at faded glory, after the PBC show, Spike aired shoulder programming for the Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice fight on Bellator next Friday.

    It was a talk-show format with Jimmy Smith hosting. He interviewed Michael Chandler, Bobby Lashley, and then Kimbo and Ken separately, and then interviewed Kimbo and Ken together.

    Chandler and Lashley came across as likeable. But Ken is still one of the best promos in MMA. They talked vaguely about the fight between Kimbo and Ken that never happened years ago and positioned the bout as MMA vs streetfighting with Ken seeking to prove to Kimbo that technique trumps brawling.

    Ken still has all the same fire and intensity he had years ago for his fights against Tito (and even longer ago for his fights against Severn and Royce Gracie). It is that same intensity that Ken was never able to successfully import into his pro wrestling career. Ken looks old facially, though. With Kimbo it is harder to tell because he wears the cap, the sunglasses, and the giant beard.

    The fight is the most ridiculous MMA match in many years. But Spike has done everything to promote it as well as they can, so we will see if these two can still bring the ratings.

    But really, neither of these guys belongs in the ring in 2015.

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

  • WWE NXT June 12 Cleveland, OH, house show results: Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Finn Balor

    Submitted by Adam Scraga

    – A ten bell salute for Dusty Rhodes occurred at the start of the show.

    Enzo & Big Cass d. Vaudevillains

    Enzo and Cass were very over. Good match with some comedy including a chicken fight with Enzo/Gotch on their partner’s shoulders. Enzo got the pinfall with a Cass-assisted big splash from the top. After the match the crowd chanted for them to hug it out, and they did.

    Bull Dempsey d. Jason Jordan

    Bull was the face in this matchup. They repeated the spot from Bull v. Breeze with them running on the outside and Bull getting winded. Bull got the pinfall with an Avalanche splash from the turnbuckle.

    Baron Corbin d. Rhyno

    Lots of ECW chants as well as “Corbin sucks” chants to the beat of “New Day sucks.” Corbin got the pinfall with End of Days. After the match he attacked Rhyno again and received a gore.

    Bayley & Carmella d. Dana Brooke and Emma

    Bayley entered first, followed by Brooke and then Emma. Brooke and Emma cut a promo about how Brooke was ashamed to be from Cleveland, the “mistake on the lake” and that Bayley had no partner for this match since she has no friends, so it was now a handicap match. Enter Carmella. Dana Brooke’s family was at the show in a balcony box and were very vocal in their support of her. Carmella got the victory with her headscissors submission.

    NXT Tag Team Champions Blake & Murphy with Alexa Bliss d. Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley

    A decent match between the teams. Ryder was very over while Mojo was not. There was a spot where Alexa came onto the ring apron to cause a distraction and was grabbed and kissed by Mojo. The champions retained with a frog splash.

    NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks d. Charlotte to retain NXT Women’s Championship

    The match of the night, in my opinion. They went back and forth with a unique spot where Charlotte had the figure four locked in, Sasha got to the ropes, and Charlotte slid underneath the ropes to the floor with the hold still attached. Sasha eventually got the win with the Bank Statement.

    NXT Champion Kevin Owens d. Samoa Joe, Tyler Breeze, and Finn Balor

    All four men were cheered. After Owens entered, chants of “John Cena sucks” began, and he got on the mic to say that very soon we will never have to see him again. A very good match. Owens mocked Cena by using the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Attitude Adjustment on Breeze. The finishing sequence was a Muscle Buster from Joe to Balor, a Beauty Shot on Joe, and a pop-up powerbomb from Owens to Breeze for the pin. After the match, Joe and Balor had a face to face staredown in the ring, only to too sweet one another and walk away.

    – A lot of bionic elbows tonight and other tributes to Dusty.

  • WWE June 12 Springfield, IL, house show results: John Cena vs. Kane, Chris Jericho vs. Luke Harper

    Submitteed by Wayne Utt

    – IC Champion Ryback defeated Bray Wyatt. Standard match. Wyatt hit an apron DDT in a great moment.

    – Bo Dallas cut a promo about how awful Springfield was then promptly lost to Jimmy Uso in a quick match after a superkick and a top rope splash. Bo then blamed the audience for not Bolieving in him and said he wanted someone to come out and give him another chance to win.

    – Jack Swagger came out, got jumped by Bo and then came back to snag Bo in an ankle lock for a tap out victory.

    – Cesaro defeated Erick Rowan in a great back and forth match. A highlight was Cesaro hitting a running European Uppercut to Rowan, who was leaning against a rail. Cesaro won after swinging Rowan four times before locking in the Sharpshooter for the submission.

    – Chris Jericho was out next to hype up the crowd. He asked the audience if he would be a better person to lead WWE than the Authority, which the audience promptly agreed with. In the midst of him revving up the crowd, Luke Harper walked out, smacked the mic out of Jericho’s hand. Jericho called for a match and it started. There was an excellent moment where Jericho was punching Harper in the corner and Harper lifted Jericho into a suplex. Jericho looked great and full of energy and the crowd gave him a great ovation.

    – The Bellas defeated Tamina and Naomi in a tag match. The match was voted on by the audience (the options were either a one-on-one between Naomi and Nikki or the tag match. The tag match won by a landslide.) This was a good Divas match that featured the women hitting their signature spots. Nikki pinned Naomi after hitting the Rack Attack.

    – New Day came out next for a Fatal Four-Way tag match for the Tag Titles. Big E personally told me that I smelled, which I appreciated. Next out was The Miz and Adam Rose as a team, then The Ascension, followed by Axelmania and Macho Mandow. Each team took time cutting promos before the match started up. This match was filled with blind tags, humor and a lot of chaos, but was good fun for the crowd. New Day took the win after Adam Rose took the pin.

    – U.S. Champion John Cena defeated Kane in a cage match for the U.S. Title. Standard cage match. Cena was in much better spirits on this visit as last year he spent very little time interacting with the crowd. This time around, he was happy to speak with kids, sign autographs and shake hands. He won after kicking the door in Kane’s face and dropping to the floor. He took a moment to note my Kevin Owens shirt and said, “He better be ready.” I assured him KO was.

    Overall, it was a good show with a decent crowd. Definitely worth the money!

  • New Japan on AXS June 12 TV results & recap: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week, the team of Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi failed to win the titles from Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. But there was still a chance on this Dominion card to get a win over the Bullet Club, with the giant Bad Luck Fale challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental championship. Will Nakamura score one for the New Japan originals, or will the Bullet Club take out all of their competition in a clean sweep?

    We continue looking at the NJPW Dominion card from June 21, 2014 at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka.

    Yuji Nagata and Tomoaki Honma vs. Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata

    This was a good match. Whenever Honma and Shibata were in the ring, it got really awesome. These two would go on to have a tremendous match during the G1 finals. The real story was the feud between Nagata and Shibata, as they had been teasing tension between one another on recent shows leading to this match. This was a pretty good match; I don’t know if this was edited for time or not, but I remember liking it more live than I do rewatching it now. It’s definitely a good match, regardless. Goto picks up the win with his neckbreaker on the knee on Honma.

    After the match, Shibata and Nagata were already making their way to the back, brawling in front of people and eventually disappearing behind an oddly placed makeshift wall. These two would also go on to have a tremendous match in the G1 tournament. As far as building towards the tournament, this match was great.

    Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale

    Bad Luck Fale talks about his upcoming match against Nakamura. He realized when he lost the New Japan Cup that year, he wanted to beat him. His motivation wasn’t winning the belt originally, but he understands it’s a prestigious title and realizes it’s significance.

    The match aired. A lot of people say that Fale isn’t good. And technically, he isn’t. But the thing that makes his run valuable here is that he’s working with some of the best workers on the planet. It also helps he’s still mobile and isn’t that bad in the ring. Also keep in mind that the booking they’ve done with him to establish him as a threat was very well done. Instead of exposing his weaknesses, New Japan hid them and accentuated his positives. This match is a great example of that.

    Nakamura and Fale had a great match, filled with drama. Nakamura kicked out of a grenade and hit two boma yes but Fale kicked out and gave him a spear after a third attempt failed. Bad Luck Fale finally landed the Bad Luck Fall to win the title. Say what you want about Fale winning a championship and getting a push to this level, but it was a part of the Bullet Club storyline they were doing in 2014. A lot of long time New Japan fans weren’t happy with this development at the time, but it’s clear there was a storyline reason for this.

    Anderson promoted his guys after the matches, pointing out how now Fale, Styles, and Anderson and Gallows have titles, and soon everyone in Bullet Club will be wearing gold. They reiterate this in the back, with Fale saying he’s taking the title back to Tonga.

    After the match, Fale says he realized that he had beaten someone great, who had great wrestling skills. He realized how important it was to win the belt, though he had no real emotional response to winning the belt initially. But the next day, he felt the weight and importance of the belt and the prestige it carries.  He says that now he feels the pressure of being a top guy, and it’s something daunting. His outlook for 2015 is to either challenge for the Intercontinental championship again (he would go on to lose it back to Nakamura later that year) or to challenge the IWGP champion.

    Overall, another solid show. Both matches were pretty good, with the former being good build towards the G1 and the latter furthering the story of the Bullet Club winning all the titles and gaining momentum. I think the storyline kind of faltered towards the end of the year when Styles lost the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi out of nowhere, but that’s another story for another time.