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  • Glory 22 report 6-5 Lille, France, Verhoeven defend title plus lightweight tournament

    By Jeremy Wall

    Glory 22 took place Friday, June 5th at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, France. It was headlined by Rico Verhoeven (46-10-1, 11KO) beating Benjamin Adegbuyi (19-3, 13KO) via unanimous decision to retain the Glory Heavyweighth title. Also, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (97-27-5) won a one-night, four-man lightweight tournament by defeating Josh Jauncey via unanimous decision in the finals.

    Also on the main card, Zack Mwekassa knocked out Carlos Brooks in 1:58 at light-heavyweight and in the two opening matches for the lightweight tournament, Sitsongpeenong upset Davit Kiria, knocking Kiria out and Jauncey stopped Djime Coulibaly at 2:59 of the third round. Commentary for the show was provided by the omnipresent Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock, the latter replacing usual colour commentator Stephen Quadros.

    Romania’s Adegbuyi, 30, had won a heavyweight title eliminator fight against Hesdy Gerges via unanimous decision at Glory 18 in Oklahoma on November 7th, 2014. He was unbeaten in three fights in Glory heading into his title challenge. Against Verhoeven, Adegbuyi came out throwing hard in the first round, looking to quickly finish the 26-year-old Verhoeven. Adegbuyi spent a lot of his energy in the first round and Verhoeven was able to win come back strong after the first and win the middle rounds. Adegbuyi came back late in the fight, but Verhoeven used his better cardio and better overall kickboxing to win the decision. Former K-1 champions Semmy Schilt, Remy Bonjasky, and “Mr Perfect” Ernesto Hoost were in attendance for the show and after the bout presented Verhoeven with the Glory Heavyweight title.

    The Netherlands’ Verhoeven is somewhat of an interesting case because a lot of people in kickboxing see him leading the future of heayweight kickboxing stars. He is young, handsome, and a good fighter. I don’t find him to be particularly charismatic, though, and he has bad losses on his record, including one to relatively unknown Andrey Gerasimchuk via unanimous decision for Kunlun Fight in China on January 3rd. He also lost by unanimous decision to Semmy Schilt at Glory 4 on New Year’s Eve 2012 in Japan. Schilt retired not long after. I don’t see Verhoeven as being a breakout star, but rather the guy who is a minor star in a popular promotion, somewhat of the equivalent of the current star power for most of the heavyweights in the UFC.

    The one-night, four-man lightweight tournament was won by Thailand’s Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, 23, who has 129 fights already on his pro record. Winning the tournament earns him a shot at Glory Lightweight champion Robin van Roosmalen. It will be an interesting fight, but not one that will draw television ratings beyond what Glory regularly draws on Spike. Sitthichai won a one-night tournament for Kunlun Fight in China on January 3rd by beating former K-1 Max fighter Andy Souwer via decision in the finals. He has a ton of experience fighting in Thailand and throughout Europe. Sittichai upset Davit Kiria in the first round of the Glory 22 tournament, knocking Kiria out with a knee to the body at 2:09 of the second round. Kiria is a former Glory Lightweight champion and the favourite to win the tournament before being knocked out by Sitthichai.

    Glory’s matchmaker Cor Hemmers is an obvious proponent of the tournament format for creating new title contenders. Glory will sometimes use the single-match format title eliminator to create a new challenger, as they did with Adegbuyi. But most of the time the promotion sticks to using the tournament. The tournament format is fine for a pure sport that does not have to worry about drawing money, but for a television product that needs to draw ratings to survive (and possibly even thrive), using the tournament format to create title contenders does not necessarily lead to the biggest fights at the box office. I’ve said this many times, but Glory would be better off scrapping the tournament format.

    Glory doesn’t have any genuine stars, and an argument in favour of tournaments is that the winner becomes someone with a bit of star power who people may not have cared about otherwise. That’s a good argument if a promotion only holds a rare tournament that creates new stars because the tournament is prestigious. But holding quick one-night tournaments on nearly every card means the tournaments are common and winning one doesn’t mean much.

    For instance, the real fight that Glory ought to put together for the Lightweight title is van Roosmalen defending against Giorgio Petrosyan. Petrosyan is considered arguably the best pound-for-pound kickboxer of his generation. He also holds a win over van Roosmalen before the latter won the Lightweight title, as Petrosyan beat van Roosmalen by unanimous decision at Glory 3 in November 2012. Petrosyan, 29, was knocked out by Andy Ristie in a shocking upset in November 2013 at Glory 12 in New York, but returned this year to win a couple of fights in Italy. Van Roosmalen lost to Ristie in November 2013 by knockout, but came back to beat Ristie in a rematch via unanimous decision in April.

    Since Petrosyan is considered one of the best of all-time and holds a win over van Roosmalen in Glory, he is the obvious choice to face van Roosmalen rather than the winner of another tournament. But I’m guessing that Glory’s budget for talent is tight and Petrosyan may currently be out of the promotion’s price range.

    That may be the real reason why Glory sticks with the tournament format despite it not working out for Bellator. It is cheaper to hire unknown fighters to fight one another in a tournament and try and create star power that way than it is to sign fighters who are already big names in kickboxing. And the ratings for a van Roosmalen-Petrosyan fight probably wouldn’t draw any better than the ratings for a van Roosmalen-Sitsongpeenong fight because Petrosyan has little name value in the American mainstream. But he does have that win over van Roosmalen and is considered one of the best, so if Glory wants to become a breakout promotion on American TV then they have to book using the most logical opponents. And Petrosyan is the most logical contender to van Roosmalen’s title.

    Glory 22 aired live on Spike TV in the US in the unfortunate time slot of 4pm ET. Spike didn’t run a replay of the event later in the night, which I assumed they would because 4pm on a weekday afternoon (1pm on the west coast) is a terrible timeslot. But instead Spike ran reruns of Cops in prime time and late in the night aired shoulder programming for Premier Boxing. A weekday afternoon timeslot is particularly egregious for a kickboxing promotion because Glory has to overcome the idea in the minds of Americans that kickboxing is afternoon filler material after so many years of K-1 and other smaller promotions airing in terrible timeslots on US television.

    “Previously we have aired non-U.S. events via tape delay, but for June 5 there was space in the timetable to allow for a live broadcast so we took the opportunity,” said Glory CEO Jon Franklin. “Certainly it will be the earliest we have aired a show in America and commencing at 4pm on a Friday means some fans may still be in work or traffic, but there will also be others who will be better placed to tune in at that time. College students, for example, will often be out socializing on a Friday night.

    “There is a certain element of experiment to airing this live at 4pm but Spike TV felt that going live was optimum and we also prefer to be live wherever possible, so it will be interesting to see the viewership data after the broadcast.”

    Airing a show live is great, but not if it results in a terrible timeslot with no prime time replay. Another point I’ve made many times before is that Glory needs to decide whether it wants to be an international kickboxing promotion or an American television product. I don’t think it can be both because of the time zone differences when running Europe, the Middle East, or Asia. College students aren’t going to be sitting around Friday afternoon watching television, either, so Franklin’s point makes little sense. College students are usually out socializing on Saturday nights, but UFC doesn’t have a problem drawing in that demo on Saturday nights.

    It was also Glory’s debut on the UK version of Spike TV. It aired Saturday night at 10pm in the UK. Glory also has a deal with CBS Sports Network to air the undercard matches they tape before the live Spike TV event. The Glory undercard fights have the ostentatious name of “Superfight Series”, but rather than being super fights the matches feature lesser known fighters.

    This was the twelfth Glory event to air on Spike TV. The first eleven events have averaged 462,000 viewers. This is the lowest compared to Spike’s two other combat sports properties, Bellator and Premier Boxing. Glory has ranged in average viewership between an all-time high of 659,000 viewers for Glory 13 to an all-time low of 352,000 viewers.

    The average viewership for Friday afternoon’s show will be interesting because of both the timeslot and because Glory is heavily recorded by DVR. Glory 21 saw a 245-percent uplift via DVR.

    “I think the big takeaway from the increased DVR numbers is that they indicate the continual growth of a core fan base in the US which does not want to miss the action and is recording the show if they are unable to watch the live broadcast,” said Franklin.

    The problem is that DVR numbers don’t really do much for ad rates. Advertisers are looking for shows that people watch live and have to sit through the ads rather than shows that get recorded via DVR and people just skip the ads. But the late afternoon live start for Glory 22 was probably done with the thinking that some people will watch it live, but many more will DVR it and increase the overall Live+ ratings.

    “That is true, traditionally,” said Franklin regarding shows taking place outside the US hurting television ratings on US television. “But GLORY is an international organization and there has been a lot of demand for a show in Northern Europe for some time now, so we couldn’t really ignore that any longer.

    “We’re hopeful the momentum continues although we are of course aware that a certain percentage of fans may well use the internet to follow the event in real-time rather than wait for the tape-delay broadcast on Spike TV. Such is the nature of international sports event programming. It’s a factor in every sport, not just ours.”

    An unfortunate situation also occured earlier in the week when Glory Welterweight champion “Bazooka” Joe Valtellini announced that he had to vacate his title due to lingering symptoms of post-concussion syndrome.

    “After winning the title at GLORY 17/LAST MAN STANDING I went straight back into hard training. I was chasing a rematch with Nieky Holzken and wanted that fight to come around soon,” said Valtellini. “The doctors have diagnosed me with Post-Concussion Syndrome. It was something that occurred from training but I thought it would get better and I didn’t take that time to recover, which just made it worse. As a result neither the doctors nor GLORY will clear me to fight until I am symptom-free.”

    “This is of course incredibly sad news and I know I speak for everybody at GLORY when I say that we share Joe’s pain in seeing him vacate a championship title which means so much to him. At the same time, I can only salute the selflessness and fortitude he has shown in making what must have been the hardest decision of his professional career,” said Jon Franklin.

    Glory 23 takes place August 7th at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It airs live on Spike. Nieky Holzken faces Raymond Daniels for the vacant Welterweight title. There is also a four-man middleweight tournament to create a new challenger for that belt.

    Jeremy Wall can be emailed at jeremywall1984@gmail.com and found on Twitter @jeremydalewall.

  • MMA Friday Night Wars: WSOF 21, RFA 26 results and notes

    By Paul Fontaine, WrestlingObserver.com

    MMA’s version of the Wednesday night wars tonight as RFA aired on AXS TV from Broomfield, CO and WSOF was in Edmonton, AB and aired on NBC Sports Network. First up, RFA 26:

    Bantamweights Boston Salmon (4-0) UD over Danny Mainus (3-4)

    Salmon is a product of Extreme Couture in Vegas while Mainus was the local here in Broomfield, CO. Salmon dominated the first round with his boxing, landing nothing but combos. Second round was more even and Mainus even got a takedown. Mainus with hit with a really hard low blow in the third and took almost the full five minutes to recover. Salmon controlled most of the third round as well. Pat Miletich scored it 30-27 for Salmon. 2 of the judges agreed and a third gave it 29-28 for him.

    Heavyweights Ashley Gooch (8-4) TKO at 3:16 over Brandon Griffin (4-1)

    Gooch was on a five fight win streak, all finishes and Griffin had finished all his opponents as well. Gooch is from the Fight Lab in Glendale, AZ and Griffin was the local. This was a slobberknocker and bowling show ugly. Griffin almost finished Gooch seconds in but gassed himself out. Gooch took him down and went into mount immediately. He was gassed as well but got the TKO as Griffin actually called the ref over to stop the fight. It took Griffin almost five minutes to get to his feet after the fight was over.

    Middleweights Andrew Sanchez (6-2) 2nd round TKO at 1:17 over Clinton Williams (6-2)

    Sanchez’ two losses coming in were both to fighters who have fought in UFC in Kevin Casey and Dustin Jacoby. Williams looks a WWE wrestler coming back from injury. In other words, he’d have a tough time with UFC’s version of a Wellness Policy. Boring first round as Sanchez took Williams down 30 seconds in and just kept him down with ground and pound the whole round, never advancing from guard. Sanchez took him down 30 seconds into the second and finished him with ground and pound shortly after. Sanchez looked really good and is definitely someone to keep an eye on.

    Bantamweights Bruno Frazatto (7-2) submitted Jarred Mercado (12-3) with a RNC at 2:28 of the 2nd.

    Mercado missed weight by over 5 lbs, coming in at 140.6. Frazatto is member of Team Nogueira at Blackhouse MMA. Mercado is the local. First round was uneventful, all on the feet with a couple of cage clinches. Mercado attempted a takedown at 1:30 of the second and Frazatto ended up taking his back in the process and quickly got a figure body lock. He got the tap with a rear naked choke about a minute later.

    Lightweights Marcus Edwards (10-3) UD over Thiago Alves (8-3) vs Marcus Edwards (9-3)

    No, not THAT Thiago Alves but he is a submission specialist, with submission wins in 4 of last 5 fights. Edwards is vet on the regional scene, having competed for MFC in the past as well. First round was incredible. Edwards dominated the first 4 minutes, nearly finishing Alves. He dropped him with a flying knee with a minute left and Alves ended up scrambling into top position when Edwards went to the ground. He nearly finished him with a choke before the round ended. Edwards dominated the second, dropping Alves several times with punches but not really wanting to engage on the ground too much. Alves looked completely gassed by the end of the round. Third round was terrible. Edwards just dominated and Alves looked out on his feet several times with Michael Schiavello saying he looked like a drunk stumbling around. He last until the end though. Miletich gave it 30-27. I might have thrown one or two 10-8’s in there. All three judges had the same score at Pat.

    Main event for the RFA Welterweight Title: Gilbert Smith (11-4) submitted Champion Ben Smith (14-3) with an armbar at 3:27 of the third to win the title.

    Gilbert got the title shot coming off a loss in a title fight against Chidi Njokuani. Lot of that going around in MMA these days. Ben came in with a five fight win streak and is another product of Extreme Couture, out of Minneapolis. Nothing happening first round with both guys getting takedown and spending significant time on top but not doing any damage. Pat actually gave it a 10-10. Second round was shaping up to be more the of the same until Ben got a takedown off a clinch and almost finished Gilbert with a key lock but he got out of it. Ben spent most of the rest of the round on top. 3rd was shaping up to be a carbon copy of the first when Gilbert got a takedown and just laid there forever. Eventually he worked his way into mount somehow and while Ben was trying to escape, Gilbert caught him in an armbar to win the fight and the title.

    Now on to WSOF 21 from Edmonton:

    Renzo Gracie replaced Bas Rutten on colour tonight, as Rutten does Inside MMA on the “other channel”. God bless him but he’s really not very good.

    Featherweights Hakeem Dawodu (5-0) TKO at 2:55 of the 2nd over Chuka Willis (4-1)

    Willis fights for American Top Team in Kansas City and Dawodu is an Alberta prospect who has fought all of his career fights in WSOF and had won all by stoppage coming in. First round was fun with Willis coming out like gangbusters but Dawodu came back in the last half and dominated Willis, nearly getting a finish with seconds left. Dawodu was all over him in the second, just killing him with vicious knees to the body. Willis had enough and verbally tapped about 3:00 in. Dawodu is someone to watch for sure.

    WSOF Heavyweight Title Fight – Blagoi Ivanov (12-1) submitted Champion Smealinho Rama (9-2) with a guillotine to become the new WSOF Heavyweight Champion

    Ivanov is the guy you might remember from Bellator who had a near death experience following a stabbing incident and fought his way back all the way to a tournament final at their PPV last year, losing to Alexander Volkov. Facially and body wise, he looks a lot like Rusev of WWE and he’s also from Bulgaria. Rama won the title in 51 seconds in his last fight and is the first heavyweight champion for WSOF. He’d finished all but one of his career wins coming in.

    First round was kind of slow. Rama pushed the pace the whole round but Ivanov landed more strikes. They went to the ground briefly after an Ivanov takedown but nothing happened there. Second round was similar although Ivanov did much more damage, opening up a cut under Rama’s left eye that was bleeding heavily by the end of the round. Ivanov dropped Rama early in the third and secured a guillotine for the tap.

    Main Event for the WSOF Featherweight Title – Champion Lance Palmer (10-1) submitted Chris Horodecki (21-6-1) at 4:28 to retain his title

    Hard to believe Horodecki is only 27 as it feels like he’s been around forever, having competed previously in Bellator, WEC and the IFL. Palmer is the Team Alpha Male product who won the title from Rick Glenn last December.

    Palmer got a takedown 3:00 in and quickly took the back of Horodecki, trying to finish him with a rear naked choke but Horodecki escaped. Another Palmer takedown at 4:00 and he quickly got back mount, softening him up with punches and securing the RNC to defend the title.

    Bonus fight:

    Welterweights Michael Hill (8-3) SD over Mark Drummond (7-3)

    A couple Canadians here that are veterans of the regional scene in their native country. Round 1 was kind of boring. Hill got a takedown and controlled the last couple minutes. Round 2 was on the feet with kickboxing for the most part until Hill Drummond down late. Third round was even worse. Hill came on a bit at the end but this was just a bad boxing match for the most part.

    Ray Sefo closed the show by mentioning the two fights that they had been promoting all night, which are coming up on August 1st. The one that will garner the most interest is between Rousimar Palhares and Jake Shields for the group’s Welterweight title. Tyrone Spong will also make his WSOF return on that night when they are next on NBC Sports Network.  

  • WWE June 5 Jackson, MS, house show report: John Cena vs. Wade Barrett, Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins cage match

    Submitted By Wilson Capps

    Jimmy Uso over Bo Dallas

    Dallas cut a promo before the match to get some early heat.  Uso went over in a fairly quick match.

    Fandango over Adam Rose

    We had to witness a few Rose/Rosa make out sessions.  Rosa did a lot to taunt the crowd.  Didn’t realize how good of a valet she was until watching live.  She could be used better.

    Jack Swagger over Miz with the Ankle Lock

    Miz cut a promo before the match asking everyone if they missed him.  His current act is great.  Swagger got a good reaction, huge USA chants with Miz screaming back at the crowd that he is from the US.  After the match, Miz argued with the ref that he wasn’t tapping out.  Crowd with loud you tapped out chant.  Miz said he wanted another opponent that isn’t Swagger. Out came Sandow as Macho Mandow.  Quick and painless with Mandow winning with the Figure Four.

    Divas Champion Nikki over Paige and Naomi

    Divas were up next. Twitter vote to determine singles or triple threat match.  Obviously triple threat was the winner. Naomi took the fall.  They got a decent amount of time.  The match was much better than their chamber match last Sunday.

    U.S. Champion John Cena beat King Barett

    Cena’s open challenge was next.  He did his little speil about the champ is here and what not.  Crowd really wanted Owens, but got King Barrett instead.  Match wasn’t anything special.  Nobody expected Barrett to have a chance.  It was disappointing with no Kevin Owens.  He was advertised until today.  His merchandise was being sold at the vendor too.

    Intermission.  Jojo gave some stuff away.

    Tag Champions New Day over Prime Time Players & Ascension

    After the break, we got the New Day.  They are the best act on TV, no questions asked.  Before the match, they cut a promo, ripping Jackson, but commending them for staying positive for being trash.  After that, they sang ‘We are the Champions’ and that might be the best thing ever.  I got it on video.  As for the match, it was a triple threat between the Prime Time Players and the Ascension.  Good reaction for PTP.  Nothing much for Ascension.  Loud New Day sucks chants.  Finish came when Titus had one of the Ascension beat, but Kofi pushed him out of the ring and scored the win.  After the match, PTP beat down New Day and stood tall with the gold.

    Ryback over Bray Wyatt

    Such  a shame to see Wyatt where he is now.  His entrance is amazing though.  ‘Fireflies’ everywhere.  Great reaction for Ryback.  Loud ‘Feed Me More’ chants.  Ryback went over in a decent match with Shellshock.

    WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton cage match (non-title)

    Earlier in the show Rollins said it wasn’t for the title because he didn’t have it because of Ambrose.  It was a great match, probably the best of the night.  Orton won with a great RKO off the cage.  It’s amazing how good he makes it look.  Kudos to Rollins to for great selling.

    Overall, it was a great show.  It was my first live event in a few years.  The only disappoint was no Kevin Owens, but he’s just beginning, they’ll be plenty of time to see him in the future.  WWE works hard with their house show matches, wish it could reflect more on TV, especially with the divas.

  • ROH June 5 Collinsville, IL, house show results: Jay Briscoe & Roderick Strong vs. Michael Elgin & Moose

    From Collinsville, IL, – Gateway Center

    – Brandon Espinosa, Mike Sydal, & Paco Gonzalez defeated Jake Dirden, Kevin Lee Davidson, & Everett Connors

    – Mark Briscoe pinned Adam Page (w/ B.J. Whitmer)

    – Silas Young beat Cheeseburger

    – Michael Bennett (w/ Maria Kanellis & Matt Taven) defeated Dalton Castle (w/ his boys)

    – Matt Sydal & Delirious beat Tag Team Champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match

    – B.J. Whitmer (w/ Adam Page) pinned The Romantic Touch

    – Hanson defeated Matt Taven (w/ Michael Bennett)

    – Television Champion Jay Lethal (w/ Truth Martini) beat Raymond Rowe in a non-title match

    – Michael Elgin & Moose defeated Heavyweight Champion Jay Briscoe & Roderick Strong

    — From Patrick Brandmeyer

  • Invicita News: Cris Cyborg and International Fight Week

    Invicta Fighting Championships will be asking for approval this week from the Nevada Athletic Commission to run a Thursday, July 9, event at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas during International Fight Week, headlined by Cris Cyborg Justino.

    Originally, the show was announced for July 10, but because there are both boxing and kickboxing shows that night in Vegas, the decision was made to go a day earlier. On a side note, the WO/FFO convention banquet will now no longer go head-to-head with Invicta. 

    Assuming the show is approved, it will be a UFC Fight Pass event. 

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors final lineup announced

    The lineup has been released for the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finale on Sunday early morning at 4 a.m. Eastern and 1 a.m. Pacific time on New Japan World. This is essentially New Japan’s version of the June PPV event.

    • Jushin Liger & Sho Tanaka vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu
    • Tiger Mask vs. Chase Owens
    • Mascara Dorada vs. Barbaro Cavenario (first-ever singles match)
    • Bobby Fish vs. Barreta
    • Nick Jackson vs. Rocky Romero
    • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & David Finlay
    • Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Togi Makabe & Katsuyori Shibata & Captain New Japan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi
    • BOSJ Finals: Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly

  • ICYMI: Evolve Wrestling May 31 results: Drew Galloway vs. Strong, Richards vs. Gulak

    From Queens, NY & submitted anonymously  

    Ethan Page defeated Johnny Gargano by referee stoppage when Page chocked out Gargano with the “GargaNoEscape” along with a string a round Gargano’s throat. 

    The entire Johnny Gargano-Ethan Page program has been underwhelming.  After the two month build up, they basically had a just a regular match.   The art of a grudge match is something that is lost on the indies today.  Though workers today are more athletic, they are way behind the workers of the past in how to tell a proper story when it comes to being a grudge match. They should have made this match look like a fight.  Page clowned around in the beginning which didn’t put me in the mindset that this was a grudge match.   It was just a regular match it would have been good, but since they are trying to sell this as a grudge it made this a poor match.

    Trevor Lee pinned Rich Swan in 10:48 with a flipping belly to belly duplex 

    Solid match by both.  The more and more I watch Rich Swann, the more I become a fan of this guy.  The guy is talented all around. My gut feeling it won’t be long until the WWE signs him up for NXT.   Trevor Lee is definitely an up and coming talent on the indies who is getting a lot of hype.  He deserves it as he is good, but he just needs to work on connecting with the crowd.  His lack of facial expressions stands out.  He is still young, so it should come over time if he wants to step up his game.    Ten minutes of action was perfect as the match did not drag.

    Rey Horus pinned Tracy Williams with a huracarana in 5:11

    Way too short to develop into anything other then a quick TV match.  The more I see of Rey Horus, the more it stands out how green he is.  He definitely needs a veteran or a dance partner who is also good at the Lucha Libre style in the ring with him.  I am a fan of style clashes, so seeing Tracy Williams catch style countering Horus’s lucha style was entertaining while it lasted.

    After the match, the Premier Athlete Brand of Anthony Nese and Caleb Konely attacked Horus.   Tracy Williams and Drew Gulak (Williams’s second) just left without helping Horus.  Which was weird since Williams and Horus shook hands before the match and Gulak worked as a babyface later on in the night.   TJ Perkins made the save and it set up…….

    Premier Athlete Brand of Anthony Nese & Caleb Konely w/ SoCal Val defeated TJ Perkins & Rey Horus in 9:52 when Konely pinned Horus after a moonsault off the top rope. 

    I hate impromptu matches.  They never make any sense.  TJP helped Horus because back at the Evolve shows in San Jose, CA in March,  PAB turned on TJP after a six-man tag.   They match was okay, choppy most of the match.  Horus took the heat, but later looked lost many of times as they worked towards the finish.  The standout again was Caleb Konely.  As I keep saying, he is one of the only guys on this roster who understands how to work heel.  Konely pinned Horus for the second time (he pinned him in a singles match at EVOLVE 41), so they maybe building to Horus beating Konely down the line. 

    Biff Busick defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey in 10:04 with a bulldog choke. 

    At this point, Evolve 44 had been a so-so card, but these last three matches really made the show.  Biff Busick and Mike Bailey was a lot of fun.  Love how Bailey has created his style around his Tai Kwon Do or Karate style.   On the indies today, everyone works damn nearly the same, but this kid is standing out.  Busick is one of the top indies workers on the planet today and showed it here guiding Bailey through a great match.   They have worked together many of times in the past, so they have their story down.  Bailey at one point did a standing moonsault into a double knee drop that did not look fun for Busick.  He also did a top rope shooting star double knee drop as Busick was hunched over.  First time I had ever seen that and it was nasty.   Busick got the win with the bulldog choke and Bailey sold the choke perfectly.  I really hope Bailey works on his body and gear because he has so much potential.  Until then, he reminds of Mikey Whipwreck .

    Davey Richards pinned Drew Gulak in 18:48 with a roundhouse kick. 

    Loved this match, but the crowd didn’t seem educated on the submissions both men put on each other.  The crowd respectfully clapped during the match, but there was no real heat.  Both understand submissions and how to sell them, so for me this was a lot of fun.  I always liked Davey Richards, but stopped paying attention to him when he went to TNA.  Seeing him back with Evolve has been a real pleasure and I look forward to seeing him versus Drew Galloway, Timothy Thatcher and Biff Busick in the future.  Gulak is always solid all the way around with his ring work.  He can do it all.   There was a fun little moment in the opening when both had leg locks on each other in the middle.  Each kept cranking on it, but neither would submit.  Both shook hands while still in the hold and agreed to release each other and start back up on their feet.  Gulak kept focusing in locking on the ankle lock for the submission throughout the match.  He always went back for that hold and told a great story.   The crowd picked up more towards the end with the bigger moves and Davey Richards won with his running roundhouse kick as Gulak was seated.   Richards has won four straight since returning to Evolve,  so a title shot should go to him in the near future.  Really looking forward to that title match with Galloway.

    EVOLVE Champion Drew Galloway pinned Rodrick Strong in 22:55 with five double arm DDT’s 

    Another great match between these two.  The Galloway vs Strong program has been fun and each time they put on a great match.   Only thing I found weird was they did the cage match the meeting before instead of the final meeting.   Cage match used in a middle of the program always is ass backwards booking.  Galloway and Strong delivered another hard hitting match.   It was a lot of strikes with punches, knees, elbows and big clotheslines.   They made it look like a grueling fight unlike Gargano-Page did in their “grudge match”.    Galloway finally put Strong away with five double arm DDT’s.   It was a bit overkill, but Galloway’s facial expressions and Strong’s selling made it work.

    After the match Galloway cut his usual rally cry for Evolve and pro wrestling.   He does it every show and honestly and I never get tired of hearing it.   I really hope he gets recognition in the upcoming WON Year End Awards for Wrestler Of The Year and even Comeback Of The Year.   Galloway put over Strong after defeating him.   During his promo the Premier Athlete Brand came out with their manager SoCal Val and attacked Galloway.   SoCal Val earlier said if Galloway retains the title, he should give a title shot to one of her Premier Athlete Brand stable members and Galloway agreed.  SoCal Val told Galloway that in July that Galloway will face Trent Baretta for the title in July.    I was hoping she would say Caleb Konely, but the announcement of Baretta was a letdown for me personally.  I think Konely should get the title shot based on his work over the last four shows for Evolve with his great heel work.

    Overall Thoughts:

    This was a good show . The last three matches are worth the price of the IPPV alone, especially if you are into submission wrestling matches as Richards-Gulak was great. I hated the location of the event as it was some fire station in New York.  It was weird seeing the fire fighter uniforms hanging in the background and some motor home in the background.   I would love see Evolve spend a little more on production.  They have a really good product and they should present it better.   You pay to watch this IPPV and then you see this low rent building they are in and you question what did youI just buy.  Luckily for me, I know the talent on the card and I know the effort in the ring will be great.  But, for a new fan, it could be a turn off.  I understand the struggles of the indy scene and venue’s are tough to get, but they could have done better.

  • After Dark Radio for tonight — Benjamin Radford taking a skeptical look at ghost hunting, Bigfoot, chupacabra, more!

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  • UFC Fight Night 68 Picks From The Secret Psychic Spy~!

    By the Secret Psychic Spy (secretpsychicspy@yahoo.com)

    Starting Bankroll: $1,500

    Current Bankroll: $544.99

    Last week: 2/5 Overall 51/90 (57%)

    Slightly better last week but still in the red, it’s time to turn things around. Although I have to admit that if I were you the reader, I’d be tailing these picks at this point. I do think there’s a lot of value on this card even if it is mostly in the betting favorites. There are no real longshots on this card so it is worth betting on some of the surer things. Fight Night 68 marks the UFC’s return to the Cajun State and features a battle of two hard-hitting Middleweight veterans in the main event and in fact I will be picking a winner in that main event.

    Pick 1 – Dan Henderson (30-13) +175 over Tim Boetsch (18-8) I’m betting $100 to win $175

    A lot of people are thinking that Hendo is done after a glorious MMA career that has seen him at or near the top since his debut almost 20 years ago. His career has certainly seen better times. But his opponent hasn’t been much better of late. I think Henderson’s got one more big fight left in him and we see the return of Decision Dan on Saturday as he grinds out a win over the Barbarian.

    Pick 2 – Joe Soto (15-3) -175 over Anthony Birchak (11-2) I’m betting $100 to win $57.14

    You might remember Soto from his impromptu title challenge against TJ Dillashaw last summer. Or maybe you don’t because you’re one of the many MMA fans that chose to skip that show. In any event, Soto gave the champion everything he could handle for five rounds and proved he belongs. He’s a former Bellator champion as well. Birchak didn’t put up much of a fight in his UFC debut earlier this year against Ian Entwhistle and I think he goes 0-2 here.

    Pick 3 – Thiago Tavares (19-5-1) over Brian Ortega (8-0) I’m betting $100 to win $58.82

    Ortega looked great in his UFC debut and then we found out why as he was popped for PEDs in his post-fight drug test. Even with the use of PEDs, he’d be in tough against the veteran Tavares, who was a real contender at Lightweight and looked great in his Featherweight debut. Pretty sure this fight’s going to end in a submission and also fairly confident that Tavares will hand Ortega his first career loss.

    Pick 4 – Joe Proctor (10-3) -210 over Justin Edwards (8-4) I’m betting $100 to win $47.62

    Edwards has been out for well over a year and didn’t look particularly when we last saw him, including a loss in his Lightweight debut against Ramsey Nijem. Proctor is 2-1 since Edwards last fought and I think that the cage rust is going to get the better of Edwards and Proctor scores a knockout win.

    Pick 5 – Dustin Poirier (17-4) -185 over Yancy Medeiros (11-2) I’m betting $100 to win $54.05

    I’m most confident of all in this bet. From literally the second his last fight ended, Poirier has been looking forward to climbing into the Octagon in his home state. Poirier has looked like an absolute destroyer in his last 3 wins, with the only blemish in that time being the first round KO against Conor McGregor that helped make the decision to move up in weight classes for him. Poirier didn’t lose any power or speed in the higher class by all accounts and I think he takes this one quick and decisively and then celebrates Cajun style.

    All told, I’m betting $500 with a chance to win $392.64

    On with the betting game.

    2015 Betting Game: Secret Psychic Spy vs Ryan Frederick

    Current Standings:

    Ryan Frederick: $176.92 (Picked Noons, Browne, Magny, Matthews)

    Secret Psychic Spy: $152.63 (Picked Breese, Pyle, Wee, Andrews)

    I won and Freddy lost last week (get used to that one) and we’re in a virtual dead heat. I’m picking the underdog to try and take the lead here and going with my main man Hendo. I usually put Freddy’s picks over but he’s dead wrong this week and making this pretty easy for me.

    Freddy’s pick and analysis:

    Brian Ortega +150 over Thiago Tavares

    I’m going with a bit of an upset here as Ortega is undefeated but the underdog to the UFC veteran Tavares. Tavares has looked impressive in his two fights at featherweight, but injuries have hampered him over the past few years. Yes, Ortega is coming off a drug suspension, something Tavares is familiar with, but both have been out of action since roughly the same time. Ortega is very skilled and I think he will be a solid contender who will rise up the featherweight rankings, and I like him in a close fight on Saturday night.

    Good luck, enjoy the fights and above all else remember, Freddy’s going down!

    –

  • FRI. UPDATE: UFC vs. WWE, Ric Flair on NXT, New Japan tourney, PWG, Top NOAH team at WWE camp

    By Dave Meltzer
    dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Jackson, MS (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, King Barrett), ROH in Collinsville, IL (Jay Briscoe & Roderick Strong vs. Moose & Michael Elgin, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Matt Sydal & Delirious non-title, Jay Lethal vs. Raymond Rowe non-title, Matt Taven vs. Hanson, Michael Bennett vs. Dalton Castle, Adam Page vs. Mark Briscoe, Silas Young vs. Cheeseburger) and NXT in Fort Pierce, FL at dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’ll be doing one poll this weekend, which will be for Sunday’s New Japan Best of the Super Juniors final show.

    World Series of Fighting at 9 p.m. on NBC Sports Network

    Hakeem Dawodu vs. Chuka Willis

    Mark Drummond vs. Michael Hill

    Smealinho Rama vs. Blagoi Ivanov for heavyweight title

    Lance Palmer vs. Chris Horodecki for featherweight title

    New Japan on AXS at 9 p.m.

    Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe

    Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan

    RFA on AXS at 10 p.m.

    Danny Mainus vs. Boston Salmon

    Ashley Gooch vs. Brandon Griffin

    Andrew Sanchez vs. Clinton Williams

    Bruno Fazatto vs Jarred Mercado

    Thiago Rodrigues vs. Marcus Edwards

    Benjamin Smith vs. Gilbert Smith for welterweight title

    Saturday we’re looking for reports from:

    WWE in Baton Rouge (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, King Barrett).

    WWE in Salt Lake City (Roman Reigns, Kane, Dean Ambrose, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus)

    ROH in Nashville at the Fairgrounds Arena (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Raymond Rowe & Hanson vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe non-title, Michael Elgin vs. Matt Sydal, Roderick Strong vs. Dalton Castle, Moose vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young, Adam Page vs. Will Ferrara)

    NXT in Largo, FL

    UFC on Saturday from New Orleans

    Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

    Leonardo Morales vs. Jose Quinonez

    Ricardo Abreu vs. Jake Collier

    FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

    Justin Edwards vs. Joe Proctor

    Christos Giagos vs. Chris Wade

    Omari Akhmedov vs. Brian Ebersole

    Derrick Lewis vs. Shawn Jordan

    Alex Caceres vs. Francisco Rivera

    Joe Soto vs. Anthony Birchak

    Brian Ortega vs. Thiago Tavares

    Yancey Medeiros vs. Dustin Poirier

    Matt Mitrione vs. Ben Rothwell

    Dan Henderson vs. Tim Boetsch

    New Japan World live from Tokyo Yoyogi Gym at 4 a.m. Eastern time Sunday

    Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the 2015 Best of the Super Junior championship

    Sunday we’re looking for reports from:

    WWE in Lake Charles, LA (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, King Barrett)

    WWE in Pensacola, FL (Roman Reigns, Big Show, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus)

    Raw is Monday in New Orleans.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Lafayette, LA.

    In a busy news week, we’ve full coverage of all of UFC’s changes when it comes to drug testing, as well as other things the company is doing for fighters, looking at the pluses, the minuses, and the loopholes in the new system of drug testing.  We also look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Samoa Joe in WWE and how it’s changed, Destination America and wrestling, we’ve got a look at Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, the death of Tommy Rogers, UFC in Brazil, Dwayne Johnson’s latest projects and the retirement of Masashi Aoyagi.

    The new issue is up on the site at June 8, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Tommy Rogers bio, Austin-Lesnar notes, WWE signs Samoa Joe full-time

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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.

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    We’ve got full coverage of the Elimination Chamber show, as well as a look at Money in the Bank, burning out programs, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

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    We also look at Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE, the 7/4 show in Tokyo, Sami Zayn injury update, Rusev injury update, Kevin Owens new changes, Lots of Dwayne Johnson career notes, why WWE won’t tape TV in Kentucky, Lots of WWE acting notes, WWE hiring, NXT updates, Stephanie McMahon looking at selling more stock, Finn Balor talks career, lots of notes about people at the training camp, Nelson Frazier lawsuit and annual income for Mabel and Viscera.

    We also note Kevin Owens talking his career, Ric Flair talk show,who Flair wants to manage, WWE stock updates, notes on all the WWE and NXT house shows plus business notes from the past week.

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    We also have our monthly WWE & TNA business breakdowns.

    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.

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    Also in this week’s issue:

    –Update on this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament

    –Latest big matches from Arena Mexico

    –Former star from more than 20 years ago returns to Arena Mexico for the first time in decades

    –More on the AAA World Cup show

    –Notes from the last two sets of AAA TV tapings

    –Wrestle-1 world tour notes

    –Road to Keiji Muto tournament

    –Dragon Gate King of Gate tournament

    –Next big Dragon Gate matches

    –Cryptic tweet by an American who wrestles in Japan

    –An interesting what if regarding New Japan bookings

    –Politics of wrestling regarding New Japan

    –What New Japan may have to change

    –Notes on the Super Juniors tournament and all the results

    –Benefit show for cancer-striken star

    –Genichiro Tenryu’s final match in Osaka

    –Update on GFW

    –Mid Atlantic wrestling reunion

    –Update on Terry Funk

    –Update on Lucha Underground and Alberto Del Rio

    –More on NESN deal

    –What wrestling star has a 3.83 GPA in collage right now

    –ROH notes from the weekend shows

    –Really weird stuff in TNA

    –Contract singing announcements

    –Notes from a second TNA conference call with talent

    –What happened with Tyrus and GFW

    –GFW reaction

    –TNA 2015 Hall of Fame plan that fell through

    –Notes on TNA arena events

    –Update on legislation to get UFC in Madison Square Garden

    –Looking at Sara McMann’s complaints about he Reebok deal

    –The business and income of Ronda Rousey

    –UFC boosts minimum

    –UFC lawsuit update

    –Upcoming UFC title matches

    –What happened with the Leslie Smith street fight on Saturday night

    –UFC makes a number of cuts

    –Update on T.J. Grant

    –Update on Rashad Evans

    –Lots of new UFC fights

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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)

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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)

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    FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • UFC and WWE are both running the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans within two days of each other.  While both sides will claim there is no competition and they attract different audiences, Raw coming after a UFC in the same market is usually way down from usual levels.  In this case, however, I think both will probably be hurt by the other but UFC will be hurt worse given the lack of star power in the lineup.
    • The AAA Verano de Escandalo show on 6/14 from Arena Monterrey will be on iPPV in both English and Spanish.  The show will go head-to-head with WWE’s Money i the Bank show.
    • Ric Flair will be working the NXT show in Columbus, OH on 6/13.  Zack Ryder is booked on the NXT tour next weekend as well, which runs Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Columbus.
    • New Japan hasn’t released the card yet for Sunday’s show in Tokyo at the second Yoyogi Gym.  We’ll update when the card is out, which should be later today.
    • The 6/26 PWG show in Reseda, CA, sold out in six minutes last night.
    • Add Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste from Pro Wrestling NOAH to those at the current WWE tryout camp.  They were doing cardio and fundamentals yesterday.
    • I’m told to set my DVR tomorrow for the CMLL show on Azteca America as apparently the Dragon Lee vs. Negro Casas match is worth seeing.
    • The first-ever Rush vs. L.A. Park match was announced for 6/27 in Tlalnepantla (thanks to Robert Bihari) 
    • Bellator has released eight fighters:  Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Razak Al-Hassan, Alejandro Villalobos, Curtis Millender, Jesse Juarez, Rafael Silva, Antonio Duarte and Julio Cesar Nevez.
    • Premier Wrestling on Sunday at the IFDES Lodge-Portuguese Hall in Gilroy, CA at 5 p.m.

    JR Kratos (7-2) vs. Dylan Drake (4-3) for the Premier heavyweight title

    Timothy Thatcher (2-2-1) vs. Marcus Lewis (4-3)

    Jeff Cobb (5-2-1) vs. Kaimana (1-2)

    Gabriel Gallo (2-0) vs. Sledge (4-4)

    Joe Graves (1-0-1) vs. Buddy Royal (2-3)

    Will Cuevas (1-2) vs. Dom Vitalli (0-3)

    Tickets are on sale at www.premierwretle.com

    • EWF tonight in Covina, CA at 4315 N. Vincent Ave.
    • TSW Night of Champions on 6/20 in Vincennes, IN at the Eagles Lodge.
    • Capital City Championship Combat on 6/19 in Ottawa at the Vanier Columbus Club.
    • CMLL from Tuesday night in Guadalajara:  Furia Roja & Thunder Boy b Metatron & Tapatio, Magnum & Robin & Sensei b Camorra & Cholo & Rafaga, Astral & Electrico & Shockercito b Demus 3:16 & Nitrito & Pequeno Olimpico, El Terrible & Rey Bucanero & Vangellys b Atlantis & Delta & Guerrero Maya Jr., Mistico & Valiente & Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero & Niebla Roja & Ultimo Guerrero (thanks to Kris Zellner)
    • Laredo Brother & Laredo Kid & Valiente  vs. Guerrero Negro Jr. & Teddy Hart & Mascara Maligna Jr. headlines 6/13 in Houston at Plaza Garibaldi.
    • Misterioso Jr. & Rush vs. Brian Cage & Steve Pain headlines Sunday in Cudahy, CA at the Potrero Night Club.
    • Volador Jr. & Misterioso Jr. & Mistico vs. Blood Eagle & Histeria & Mr. Niebla headlines 6/19 in Tijuana at Gimnasio Independence. 
    • One of our readers who subscribes to the WWE Network got an e-mail yesterday offering them June free. 
    • Rock Solid Wrestling on 7/9 in Sudbury, ONT for a benefit show for the Playground Hockey League.
    • Raymond Rowe of ROH in a music video
    • A stunner performed at a high school graduation
    • A show on movies with wrestlers
    • The CFL is the latest league to have a concussion lawsuit against it.  Every league of any size in a combat sport is going to get one of these 
    • The Miami Herald talks to Jerry Lawler about his DVD release, which includes an interview with his 89-year-old high school art teacher as well as Lance Russell
    • The definition of the word Flair includes Ric Flair

    ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

    1965 – Killer Kowalski beat Hercules Cortez in Melbourne to win the IWA title

    1971 – Mark Lewin & King Curtis Iaukea beat Tiger Jeet Singh & Mr. Fuji in Sydney to win the IWA tag titles

    1974 – Mariko Akagi & Junko Sasaki beat Jean Antone & Sandy Parker in Nagoya to win the WWWA tag title

    1980 – Antonio Inoki beat Stan Hansen in Tokyo to win the Madison Square Garden tournament

    1986 – Johnny Saint beat Jon Cortez in Bristol to win the world lightweight title

    1990 – Terry Gordy beat Jumbo Tsuruta in Chiba to win the Triple Crown and Akira Taue & Shinichi Nakano beat Davey Boy Smith & Johnny Smith to win the All-Asia tag titles.  I was in Japan and supposed to go to that show and ended up at a business meeting in Tokyo that went long and you can just imagine my reaction later that night when I found out I missed a Triple Crown title change.  And yes, the Tsuruta vs. Misawa match three nights later at Budokan Hall was originally to be a Triple Crown title match, and if the title was at stake, I doubt Baba would have done the last minute switching of the finish and it wouldn’t have been one of the most famous matches of the last 50 years in Japan.

    1992 – Kyoko Inoue beat Bison Kimura in Asahikawa to win the All-Pacific womens’ title

    1997 – El Samurai beat Koji Kanemoto in Tokyo to win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament

    2004 – Kazuyuki Fujita beat Hiroshi Tanahashi in Osaka to win the vacant IWGP heavyweight title

    2005 – Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita in Tokyo to win the GHC jr. title

    TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE

    12:00 AM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!

    1:30 AM ET
    FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

    2:00 AM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

    3:00 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.

    4:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.

    5:00 AM ET
    WCW MONDAY NITRO On this episode of WCW Monday Nitro Hulk Hogan meets Sting in a huge main event match up.

    6:00 AM ET
    WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

    9:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.

    10:00 AM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!

    11:30 AM ET
    FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

    12:00 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!

    1:00 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    2:00 PM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    2:30 PM ET
    WWE QUICK HITS WWE Quick Hits 4 brings you some of the most unique, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous clips, unearthed from the depths of WWE Network!

    3:00 PM ET
    SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Featuring a huge battle royal with Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect and more. Ultimate Warrior faces Sgt. Slaughter. Ted DiBiase battles Bret Hart.

    4:30 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!

    5:30 PM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    6:00 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    7:00 PM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR A controversial group of superstars set out to better sports entertainment and would rely on one another to do so.

    8:00 PM ET
    SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Featuring a huge battle royal with Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect and more. Ultimate Warrior faces Sgt. Slaughter. Ted DiBiase battles Bret Hart.

    9:30 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!

    10:30 PM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    11:00 PM ET
    SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Featuring a huge battle royal with Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect and more. Ultimate Warrior faces Sgt. Slaughter. Ted DiBiase battles Bret Hart.