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  • WWE RAW 5-25-15 TV Report: Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Kane, John Cena vs. Zack Ryder

    Photo: WWE.com

    by Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com 

    The Big News:

    The entire show was built around a storyline where Dean Ambrose had to sign a contract in order to receive his title shot against Seth Rollins. Ambrose got arrested on trumped up charges in the first hour. If you bet on Ambrose returning in the final segment in a police van to beat up the heels, give yourself a gold star. Kevin Owens showed up again, which was the only thing of value tonight. 

    The Show:

    HHH, Stephanie McMahon, Seth Rollins and J&J Security opened the show. Rollins said Dean Ambrose made the decision to give Ambrose the shot at the WWE Heavyweight title shot under duress and the Authority could take away that title shot from Ambrose, or even fire him. However, Rollins said he asked them not to fire him because Ambrose isn’t a threat to him. Who talked Rollins into burying an opponent before a title mat…oh, yeah… 

    HHH said if Ambrose wanted the title shot against Rollins, he would have to come out and sign a contract. Ambrose came out and delivered some Cena-like line about going to sleep by counting how many times he gets to punch Rollins in the face. Ambrose joked when he wins the title, J&J Security can walk around barefoot like any other hobbits, Kane could wear a collar like a good lapdog and Rollins could drunk dial Selena Gomez because he’ll always be “our Justin Beiber.” 

    Rollins started comparing himself to Beiber, saying Beiber is the most successful artist of his generation, rich, famous, and has to beat girls off of him with a stick and everyone wishes they could be like him. Rollins called Ambrose a cockroach and said he would merely survive but never thrive. Again, Rollins dared Ambrose to come down to the ring and sign the contract. Ambrose made mention of rather being a cockroach that being on the wrong end of the Authority’s Human Centipede. Somebody on the writing staff likes morbid cinema.

    Ambrose got to ringside when Roman Reigns came out of the crowd to join him. Stephanie said Ambrose had until the end of the night to sign the contract and arranged a match with Reigns and Ambrose vs. Rollins and Kane immediately. 

    Michael Cole made mention of the Nassau Coliseum being one of the buildings that hosted WrestleMania 2. Booker T. chimed in that was one of his favorite WrestleManias. That’s like someone naming their favorite Metallica albums and they start with “St. Anger.” 

    Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Seth Rollins and Kane (12:52)

    Ambrose pinned Rollins after a backslide. It was supposed to be a big deal that the champion got pinned, but Rollins does a job on Raw and Smackdown every few weeks, so it’s hard for it to feel special. Plus, it all but gives away the finish to Sunday’s match. Solid match overall with a good near fall where Ambrose gave Kane a Superman’s punch into the flying elbow from Ambrose, leading to a Rollins’ save. 

    Renee Young interviewed Ambrose and told him that he still needed to sign the contact tonight to face Rollins. J&J Security walked in. It bears mentioning that Jamie Noble took a Superman punch from Reigns just moments before and he wasn’t even selling it. Ambrose and J&J Security started brawling with Ambrose getting the best of it. Then Ambrose felt someone coming up behind him and punched him, but it was the cameraman. J&J bolted while Ambrose checked on the camera guy.

    Cole explained that Rusev has now moved back to Bulgaria so his Russian gimmick is dead. He’s also officially dumped Lana. That’s going to be a tough road for Lana now as a babyface. Is she going to wrestle? Sasha Banks and Charlotte are already light years ahead of her as a worker. Is she going to be a babyface manager? How many successful female babyface managers can you name? The list is: 1. Elizabeth. There is no #2.

    The cast of “Entourage” pulled up in a limo. 

    Rusev defeated R-Truth via tapout (1:00)

    Rusev won with the Accolade. 1 minute submission job for R-Truth and he’s one of the six men in the Intercontinental Elimination Chamber match. 

    Postmatch, Rusev called down Lana saying he owed it to her after they came from Mother Russia. What the hell? Lana came out to new music. Rusev said he understood why Lana kissed Dolph Ziggler, caught him his match against John Cena, because she’s like any other woman, trying to get him to pay attention. That actually got some cheers. Rusev said they can still accomplish the dreams they had together. He asked her to take his hand and all will be forgotten. Lana took Rusev’s hand and they hugged and smiled.

    Then Rusev asked her to say three magical words: “I was wrong.” Lana wasn’t smiling anymore. She left. Rusev objected, but Lana said she wasn’t wrong because he quit. Rusev said he never quit and she needs to know her place. He said he owns her and ordered her to get back in the ring. Lana got back in but called him a liar and a quitter. She said she belongs to no one and she is no longer a victim and would never listen to his thickheaded, moronic, cruel mouth again. She left to a good but not great pop. As she walked own the ramp, Ziggler came out and they kissed again while Rusev raged in the ring.

    HHH and Rollins approached Ambrose in the locker room to sign the contract. The cameraman that Ambrose hit earlier came in with two policeman. The story was HHH and Ambrose forced the cameraman to press charges against Ambrose and he was arrested by the police for simple assault and lead away. So we’re back to 1998 where the babyfaces have to get over by getting arrested. 

    Ambrose was taken away into a police van while HHH, Noble, Joey Mercury and Kane all taunted him. 

    Ryback defeated King Barrett (3:53)

    King Barrett hit Wasteland and tried the Bullhammer Elbow, but Ryback stayed down. Ryback got up and hit the Shellshock. Booker said Ryback was playing possum. 

    HHH said Ambrose was being taken to central booking and he wouldn’t be back in time to get the contract signed. The stars of Entourage came in and greeted Stephanie McMahon and HHH. Kevin Dillion made a crack about Jeremy Piven getting ready for Summer Fest. Jerry Ferrara started talking about doing a scene where Ronda Rousey put him in an armbar and asked Stephanie if she knew what that was like. HHH and Stephanie seethed and told the guys where their dressing room was. Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly and Dillion all scolded Ferrara about saying that. 

    Stephen Ammell from “The Arrow” was at ringside where Stardust taunted him. Oddly, nothing ever came of this. 

    Neville defeated Stardust (3:16)

    Neville won with the Red Arrow. Bo Dallas came out during the bout. Crowd chanted “NXT” early, which was a crowd response that any other match has received so far. 

    Postmatch, Neville sold his injured knee. Dallas taunted him about being able to Bolieve, then drop kicked Neville on his bad knee. 

    The Entourage guys ran into Summer Rae, Alicia Fox, and Eva Marie. Ferrara talked with Zack Ryder and said there was something that Ryder had to do tonight since it was going to be their last time in the Nassau Coliseum. They talked behind closed doors.

    Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler (10:21)

    Sheamus won after a Brogue Kick when Rusev distracted Ziggler. Lana came out midway through the match. Ziggler got a near fall when Rusev came down. Sheamus spent most of the match on offense.

    Afterwards, Rusev put Ziggler in the Accolade while Lana looked right at him. Rusev screamed at Lana as he held Ziggler in the Accolade, basically telling her it was her fault Ziggler was suffering. 

    Cena came out to mostly boos. He based his entire promo based on the divided fan base regarding him over the last ten years. He acknowledged the fans that supported him over the last ten years. Then he turned his attention to the fans who chanted “Cena Sucks” at him, who have watched one hopeful and another lose to him over the past decade. Last week, their newest hopeful arrived in Kevin Owens, who broke the internet with his Raw debut. Cena said when he wrestled Owens on Sunday, the fans chanted against him wouldn’t be saying “Cena Sucks.” They would be saying “Fight, Owens, Fight.” But that doesn’t mean “Win, Owens, Win.” 

    Cena brought up the U.S. Open Challenge. The cast of Entourage came out like one of them was going to wrestle Cena. Instead, Ferrara introduced Ryder as the challenger.

    John Cena defeated Zack Ryder to retain the U.S. Championship (4:05)

    Ryder actually got the biggest babyface pop on the show. Cena was about to hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle when Dillon ran in for a distraction. Cena was about to deck him when Grenier pulled Dillon away. Ryder hit the Killswitch, Broski Boot and Rough Ryder, all for two counts. Ryder missed the 450 splash and Cena won with the AA. Cena raised Ryder’s arm after the match and the rest of the Entourage guys joined them. The Entourage crew was actually very good. 

    After everyone left, Owens ran out of the crowd and gave Cena a Pop-Up Power Bomb to a big pop. Owens stomped on the U.S. Title again and raised the NXT championship.  

    Stephanie talked about how impressive Owens looked and complimented her husband about choosing prospects. Rollins mentioned knowing Owens for years. Young came in and asked about the status of Ambrose. Stephanie said they would abide by their rules if Ambrose showed up to the building tonight and sign the contract, then he would wrestle Rollins on Sunday. Otherwise, Rollins would get a night off at Elimination Chamber.

    Tamina defeated Paige (3:37)

    Nikki and Brie Bella were out on commentary. Brie was asked about going to therapy after the injury to Daniel Bryan. She said it was very enlightening, whatever that meant. Paige tried a series of clotheslines on Tamina and it looked awful. Naomi interferred. Tamina got the pin with a Samoan Drop. Bad match. 

    The Rock was shown on the opening of “San Andreas” where the announcers put it over as his next blockbuster. 

    The New Day came to the ring and complained about defending the tag team titles against five other teams at Elimination Chamber. Big E. took the obligatory shots at the New York Islanders when Kane came out and said New Day would face Los Matadores, Lucha Dragons, the Ascension, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd and the Prime Time Players in a 10-on-3 handicap match. 

    WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Ascension, Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores, Tyson Kidd & Cesaro, The Prime Time Players by DQ (:56 aired)

    Xavier Woods taunted the opposing corner. Everybody ran in and did their finishers on each other. Sin Cara and  Kalisto did dives from oppsite corners on everyone. After New Day was announced as the winners, Cesaro gave Woods an eight-revolution Giant Swing into a Kidd dropkick. A waste of time. 

    The main event segment started with another angle of the Ambrose angle from earlier, where it was shown that Rollins pushed the cameraman from behind into Ambrose. The Authroity, Rollins, Kane, Mercury and Noble came out again. Stephanie said the cameraman was the father of newborn triplets. 

    HHH was about to announce that Ambrose would miss the Elimination Chamber match when Reigns came out. The four heels beat down Reigns, who tried to make a comeback until Kane chokeslammed him. Then the police van was shown driving through backstage. It was Ambrose driving the van carrying two knifesticks, which he used to clean house. Reigns and Ambrose teamed to clear the ring, including a Superman Punch to Kane, followed by Dirty Deeds. Ambrose finally signed the contract to set up the main event.  

    SUMMARY:

    The show didn’t make me interested in seeing Elimination Chamber. The only thing of interest to me is the Cena-Owens match. For years, a program with John Cena is a path that leads potential stars straight to the midcard. Ask Wade Barrett, R-Truth, Bray Wyatt, The Miz and Mark Henry. Right now, this company needs a strong new heel face. Owens fills that role and it’s time for Cena to do the job of a true Champion Emeritus and make a new star.  

  • WWE RAW 5-25-15 non-TV notes: Superstars, Orton vs. Wyatt, Vince makes an appearance

    Submitted by Mike Omansky

    SUPERSTARS (before RAW)

    – Heath Slater W Adam Rose (with Rosa), pin. Decent match.

    – Luke Harper & Erick Rowan W Macho Mandow & Axelmania (Harper pins Axel)

    – Vince McMahon came out on stage to a big pop. He noted that it was the last WWE event ever at Nassau Coliseum. He thanked all of the superstars who have appeared in the past; the fans that have come in the past; and especially the fans that came to the last show.

    AFTER RAW

    – Advertised main event was John Cena, Randy Orton & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, Big Show and Rusev. Instead, it was Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt. Crowd was not burned out, and popped for both men’s entrances.  This was thus the last wrestling match ever at Nassau Coliseum. Orton won in a good match via RKO.

  • WWE 5-23-15 Worcester, MA, house show report: John Cena vs. Rusev cage match, Dean Ambrose vs. Kane

    Submitted By Elliott Marquis

    – Neville beat King Barrett with the Red Arrow. Barrett worked the crowd up for a few minutes beforehand – the “peasants” routine mostly. I was surprised how well the kids seemed to know & like Neville. Good match.

    – Erick Rowan beat Zack Ryder. It wasn’t a squash match; they gave them time and it was what it was. Harper was out with Rowan & that was his only involvement of the night. I think they’re trying a new thing where Rowan raises his sheep mask mid-match to try and get people in the audience to raise theirs with him.

    – Primetime Players beat Bo Dallas & Heath Slater. Slater & Dallas comedy infighting led to Darren Young rolling up Dallas for the win. Slater, wanting a do-over, challenged any team from the back.

    – The New Mega Powers beat Bo Dallas & Heath Slater. Dallas immediately left so this was just a beat down on Slater. I think Sandow had family in the front row. He usually does in Worcester.

    – They played the full Warrior/Connor video and announced bracelets available in the lobby.

    – Dean Ambrose beat Kane with Dirty Deeds. Crowd was super into Ambrose.

    Intermission

    – Nikki Bella beat Tamina. No Brie or Naomi.

    – WWE Tag Team Champions New Day (Kofi & Xavier) beat Cesaro & Kidd after interference from Big E. I thought New Day was great with lots of mic time beforehand. You can tell they’re having fun. Kofi’s mom was in the front row and they mentioned it, telling people not to dare boo Kofi while his mom was there. This was probably the best match, though shorter than I expected.

    – WWE US Champion John Cena beat Rusev in a steel cage match after Lana slammed the door on Rusev’s head. That’s all Lana did – after two ref bumps, she walked down, slammed the door on him, and left. Very pro-Cena crowd. Guy’s a megastar.

    Notes:

    I would call it a mid-sized crowd for the DCU Center. I don’t know that the arena is in its best days right now as our AHL team just left town, not a lot usually going on, and it’s been years since I’ve been to anything here when the top section wasn’t completely covered off. Even with the tarps, there were noticeably empty sections, but the lower seats were all filled. Lots of kids. 

    Biggest reactions:

    1. Cena
    2. Ambrose
    3. Neville

  • MON. UPDATE: Preview of Raw, Final show in arena, Memorial Day ratings, Cena honors, Rock promoting, Bellator signs new deal, ROH action figures

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

    We’re looking for your thoughts on Saturday night’s UFC 187 and Wednesday night’s NXT Takeover Unstoppable show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’re looking for live reports from tonight’s Raw show at the Nassau Coliseum.  Several of the stars of Entourage will appear.  John Cena will issue his open challenge.  Kevin Owens will be there as it’s the go-home show for Elimination Chamber.  We’re looking for Superstars matches, dark matches and anything else that wouldn’t be evident from watching the TV show.

    We’re also looking for reports on these weekend shows:

    *WWE Saturday night in Worcester, MA
    *WWE Sunday in White Plains, NY (John Cena, Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Luke Harper, Neville)
    *WWE Sunday in Binghamton (Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Sheamus).

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

    The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour.  We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.

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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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    –Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Live, covering Raw, and also taking your e-mail questions to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com

    –WWE released its App for the new Tough Enough season, which debuts on 6/23.  The app will be used for the fan voting to eliminate people.

    –Tonight will be the final WWE event at the Nassau Coliseum in this form, since the arena is being closed up.

    –The big thing regarding ratings tonight is they are going head-to-head with the Warriors vs. Rockets game. 

    –For comparisons, the Memorial Day ratings for the past few years were:
    2010 did a 3.22 rating
    2011 did a 3.07 rating
    2012 did a 2.72 rating
    2013 did a 2.80 rating
    2014 did a 2.62 rating

    –Tonight’s Raw open is at
    https://youtu.be/N5lEmkY0kA4

    –John Cena spoke at the graduation of Cushing Academy, which was the private school he went to high school at.  It was the 20th anniversary of his own graduation and the 150th graduating class at the school.

     –Another trivia note regarding Cena related to the Jeff Blatnick UFC Hall of Fame story is that the three most famous sports stars to graduate from Springfield College were Dr. James Naismith (inventor of the sport of basketball), Blatnick (Wrestling & UFC Hall of Famer) and Cena, who was a first team Division III All-American center there.

    –Dwayne Johnson has been all over everywhere promoting San Andreas, his latest movie, nearly every big talk show and tons of major media outlets.

    –Bellator announced a new deal appearing on the American Forces TV Network, meaning the Bellator shows will air all over the world to American servicemen and women as well as on U.S. Navy ships at sea.

    –Ring of Honor and Figures Toy Company will have an announcement later this week regarding the first set of Ring of Honor action figures.  This line will feature the current roster and throwback figures of top names from the past.  There are two other toy lines, a Legend line featuring stars of the past and a new line featuring top free agents today.  There are about a dozen major names who have signed on and some names will be out in upcoming days.  Cliff Compton will be one of the modern indie stars featured.

    –Jim Ross will be the host of the Mid Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fan Fest weekend in Charlotte.  They will be debuting a documentary called “Mid Atlantic Memories” at the event, and Ross will be the narrator.  Ross will also do a two hour speaking show at the convention.

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

    1962 – Rikidozan beat Lou Thesz in Tokyo to win the World League tournament
    1975 – Larry O’Dea & Bobby Hart beat Missouri Mauler & Steve Rackman in Melbourne to win the Austra Asian tag titles
    1980 – Irma Gonzalez beat Vickie Williams to win the UWA women’s title
    1982 – Steve Grey beat Jim Breaks in Bradford to win the British lightweight title
    1982 – Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) beat Les Thornton in Shizuoka to win the NWA jr. title.  This title change wasn’t accepted by the NWA in the U.S., as Thornton was shortly back to being billed as champion in the U.S.
    1987 – Solar beat Blue Panther to win the UWA jr. light heavyweight title
    1989 – Salman Hashimikov beat Vader to win the IWGP title and Jushin Liger beat Hiroshi Hase to win the IWGP jr. title for the first time
    1992 – Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi beat Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas in Miyagi to win the All Asia tag titles
    1994 – El Hijo del Santo beat Karloff Lagarde Jr. in Tlanepantla to win the UWA welterweight title
    2003 – Jeff Jarrett beat Sting in Auckland, New Zealand to unify the NWA & WWAS titles and Chris Sabin beat Jerry Lynn, Johnny Swinger and Frankie Kazarian to unify the TNA X title and the WWAS cruiserweight title
    2011 – KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki in Tokyo to win the GHC jr. title
    2013 – Ricochet beat Shingo Takagi in Tokyo to win the King of Gate tournament 

    –Progress Wrestling Strong Style 16 tournament from Camden, London, before 700 fans:  Will Ospreay b El Ligero, Mark Haskins b Jack Gallagher, Rampage Brown b Big Daddy Walter, Roderick Strong b Tommy End, Marty Scurll b Eddie Dennis, Dave Mastiff b Noam Dar, Tommaso Ciampa b Damo O’Connor, Zack Sabre Jr. b Zack Gibson, James Davis & Rob Lynch b Jimmy Havoc & Paul Robinson.
    Quarterfinals today are Ospreay vs. Haskins, Brown vs. Strong, Scurll vs Mastiff and Sabre Jr. vs. Ciampa, plus Liger & Nathan Cruz defend the tag titles against Michael Dante & Tommy End (thanks to Martin Bentley)

    –High Risk Wrestling from Sunday in Cahokia, IL:  Takaaki Watanabe b Mike Outlaw, Jake Dirden b Keon Option, Dale Patricks won three-way over Tripp Cassidy and Jack Verville, Davey Richards b Tony Kozina, Blake Edward Belakus b Takaaki Watanabe, Bolt Brady won three-way  over Ace Perry and Josh Crane, Nick Iggy & Kerry Awful b Great Akuma & Jun Hado Blake Edward Belakis b Louis Lyndon to win heavyweight title.

    –The Los Angeles Times ran a big obit on Eric Caidin, the owner of the Hollywood Book and Posters store, who died on 5/18.  Caidin was well known around the Southern California scene as a promoter, fan and collector and ran a store from 1977 to 2015. 

    –Infinity Pro Wrestling on 5/30 in Bloomington, IN at the National Guard Armory with GT Vega against a “former ECW, WWE and TNA superstar.”

    –Legacy Pro Wrestling on 6/6 in Palmyra, PA featuring PJ Black, AR Fox, and Shane Strickland (Killshot)

    –Rockstar Wrestling on 6/5 in Dayton at 1106 E. Third St. with Abyss vs. Ron Mathis and Davey Richards vs. Dave Crist 

    –The marriage equality issue (allowing gay marriage), a huge story in Ireland over the past week, had stickers all over town of pro wrestling babyface tag teams like The Rockers and Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware in stickers promoting marriage equality,. (thanks to Lee Daly)

    –Anarchy Wrestling TV tapings from Saturday night in Cornelia, GA:  Azrael & Supernatural b Wade Adams & Chris Spectra, Michael Judas b BJ Hancock, Slim J & Fed Yehi b Corey Hollis & John Skyler, Calista NC Aja Perera, Jacob Ashworth & Shadow Jackson & Jeremy Foster b Kevin Blue & Trever Aeon & Brian Blaze, P Dog b Todd Sexton, BJ Hancock & Lars Manderson NC Billy Buck & Bobby Moore.  Next show is the 10th anniversary card on 5/30 with the Washington Bullets vs. Azrael & Supernatural. (thanks to Bill Behrens)

    –Aberdeen Anarchy on Saturday night in Aberdeen, Scotland before 1,312 fans:  Kenny Williams won three-way over Shawn Johnson and Bingo Ballance, Len Ironside & Bob Holly b Aspen Faith & Johnny Lions, Jack Jester b Bryan Tucker, Chris Archer & Mikey Vega & Lou King Sharp b Devon Dudley & Thunder  Buddies, Crusher Craib b Damien, Chris Masters & Grado & Mr. P b Alan Sterling & Mr. Malice & Jeeves Winchester, Scotty Swift b Jon Coffey to win title

    –A story on ROH/New Japan  in Toronto is at

    https://808sandtheheartbreakkid.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/global-wars/

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

    12:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.

    1:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.

    2:06 AM ET
    WWE NETWORK EXCLUSIVE The action continues live after Raw!

    2:11 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!

    2:41 AM ET
    CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves gets a culture shock immersing himself within the fascinating world of Marvel Comics, from their headquarters in New York City!

    3:00 AM ET
    WCW WRESTLEWAR 1990 Ric Flair defends the NWA World Title against Lex Luger. Arn and Ole Anderson face The Steiner Brothers for the NWA Tag Team Titles.

    6:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.

    7:00 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!

    7:27 AM ET
    WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.

    8:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.

    9:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.

    10:00 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!

    10:27 AM ET
    WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.

    11:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.

    12:00 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.

    1:00 PM ET
    FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

    1:27 PM ET
    WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.

    2:00 PM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH Legendary WWE Superstar The Rock and ‘Psych’ star James Roday give the remaining five contestants a lesson in charisma.

    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
    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!

    4:06 PM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.

    5:06 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!

    6:00 PM ET
    FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

    6:30 PM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Learn about The Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Hear about the past, present, and future of Randy Orton.

    8:00 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.

    9:00 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!

    9:06 PM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.

    10:06 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!

    11:00 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.

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (May 25): Rockers last match in AWA, Tiger Mask wins NWA Jr. Heavyweight gold, Russian amateur wrestler beats Vader

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1957 – Verne Gagne and Edouard Carpentier defeated Nikolai and Boris Volkoff for the Chicago version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; At the National Guard Armory in Kansas City, KS; Bobby Bruns beat Wild Red Berry, Richard Brown (son of Orville Brown) beat Joe Costello and Curtis Reed went to a no contest with Black Panther. Orville Brown was the promoter of record.

    1959 – Kurt Von Poppenheim and Dan Manoukian defeated Nick Kozak and Al Kashey to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

    1962 – In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; AWA Champion Mr. M beat Verne Gagne and Doug Gilbert & Pat O’Connor beat Bob Geigel & Don Leo Jonathan

    1963 – In St. Paul, Minnesota; Crusher beat Rocky Hamilton in a Missouri Rules Match (Tiny Mills was referee) and Verne Gagne & Doug Gilbert & Don McClarty beat Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff & Waldo Von Erich. Rocky Hamilton was also known as the Missouri Mauler and Larry Hamilton.

    1973 – At the International Amphitheater in Chicago, Illinois; Dick the Bruiser & Wahoo McDaniel beat Ernie Ladd & Superstar Billy Graham, Cowboy Bob Ellis beat Blackjack Lanza and Baron Von Raschke beat Sailor Art Thomas.

    1976 – Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Jack Brisco to win the Florida Heavyweight Title; at the Civic Center in Omaha, Nebraska; Larry Hennig & Jos Leduc ddq Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke in 3rd fall; Jim Brunzell went to a draw with Blackjack Lanza and Bobby Duncum beat Bull Bullinski.

    1978 – At the St. Paul Auditorium; Greg Gagne & Verne Gagne & Jim Brunzell went to a no contest with Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza & Bob Orton Jr, Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat Steve Olsonoski & Evan Johnson and Rufus R Jones beat Angela Mosca.

    1979 – In Denver, Colorado; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Greg Gagne, Super Destroyer Mark II (Sgt. Slaughter) beat The Crusher dq when Crusher removed Mark II’s mask, Mad Dog Vachon beat Bobby Duncum and Jesse Ventura went to a double countout with Paul Ellering.

    1980 – Skull Murphy and Gypsy Joe defeated Rocky Johnson and Jimmy Valiant for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee; Mark Lewin defeated Gino Hernandez for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas; Perro Aguayo defeated Gran Hamada in Naucalpan, Mexico to win the UWA World Light Heavyweight Title; The Great Hussan Arab (Iron Sheik) defeated Dewey Robertson (Missing Link) to win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

    1981 – Kevin Sullivan and Wayne Farris (The Honky Tonk Man) won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship by defeating Bill Dundee and Dream Machine in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1982 – Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) defeated Les Thornton to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in Shizuoka, Japan; Steve Grey defeated Jim Breaks for the British Welterweight Title in Croydon, England,

    1985 – In Chicago, Illinois; Jerry Blackwell & Sgt. Slaughter beat Road Warrior Animal & Paul Ellering, AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Buddy Roberts (sub King Tonga), Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Fabulous Freebirds Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts via dq, Butch Reed no contest The Crusher, Nick Bockwinkel beat Brad Rheingans, Larry Zbyszko (sub Jim Garvin) beat Baron Von Raschke, Ray Stevens beat Buck Zumhofe and Steve Regal went to a draw with Steve O. Attendance was 5,000.

    1987 – Soldat Ustinov & Boris Zukhov defeated Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels for the AWA World Tag Team Title in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. This was the Rockers last AWA match before leaving for the WWF.

    1989 – Russian amateur wrestling great Salman Hashimikov defeated Big Van Vader for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Osaka, Japan. On the same show, Jushin Liger defeated Shiro Koshinaka to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.

    1990 – Matt Borne defeated Kerry Von Erich to win the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas

    1992 – Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated The Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas) to win the AJPW All-Asia Tag Team Title in Miyaga, Japan

    1997 – Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith for the WWF World Tag Team Title in Evansville, Indiana.

    1999 – In Moline, Illinois; Jeff Jarrett (w/ Debra) pinned WWF IC Champion the Godfather to win the title

    2002 – Steve Corino defeated Danny Doring in a tournament final for the vacant NWA Florida Heavyweight Title in St. Petersburg, Florida.

  • Samoa Joe talks leaving TNA, the company’s identity

    The following is from a third party:

    Samoa Joe was a guest on The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling this past Sunday and promoting his appearance for Smash Wrestling in Toronto on Saturday June 6th against Chris Hero. The full show is available at www.liveaudiowrestling.com and below are some of the highlights:

    Decision to leave TNA:

    I think the decision was made in the final few weeks. I’ve often been called by people loyal to a fault, and I didn’t feel the mission was accomplished in TNA yet. I’d done my best throughout my career to help try to build the company and bring it into prominence. It’s had its ups and down and pitfalls here and there, and I don’t feel that job was finished yet. Towards the end there, there were some apparent things and incidents that kinda showed me that maybe it was time for me to move on and maybe it was better for me, both personally and professionally, to explore other options and explore other things. I’ve gotta admit, I’m not unhappy with my decision. I’m unhappy that I didn’t get the opportunity to kinda finish out what I wanted to start in TNA, but at the same time, so many great things have popped up since that I’m very, very satisfied with the decision that I made.

    TNA’s identity as a promotion during his tenure:

    I think at times TNA did have a defined identity, but the identity wasn’t really supported, and it was restarted in favor of something else they thought would be somewhat better or was pitched to them as being better. With the X-Division being what it was, the level of athleticism and the guys we had prominent in the company at the time, it very much did have an identity. And then somewhere along the line, that identity was kind of pushed to the background in favor of trying to be something that I feel it never should have gone to be. TNA was unique in that it had a very high-level athletic style, and at times I felt it was trying to be transformed into something more sports entertainment-ish, when we were definitely an alternative to that particular kind of style. As time when on, it ebbed and flowed, and it’ll come to the surface and then it’ll be pushed to the background. Wrestlers were cycled in and out, and creative teams were regularly cycled in and out. That’s I think where the identity started to get muddled.

  • UFC News: Michael Bisping headlining Scotland debut, Ross Pearson in co-main

    The UFC announced Monday that Michael Bisping vs. Thales Leites will headline its debut show in Scotland, taking place on 7/18 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. The event will air on Fox Sports One.

    #10 Bisping is coming off a convincing recent victory over C.B. Dolloway, while #9 Leites has an eight fight winning streak, a perfect 5-0 in his second UFC run. He has finishes in his last three. Bisping is 4-4 in his last eight.

    In a lightweight clash, Ross Pearson vs. Evan Dunham is the co-main event. Pearson has won two of his last three, while Dunham snapped a three-fight losing streak with a decision win over Rodrigo Damm in January. The show will also feature Joanne Calderwood vs. Bec Rawlings.

  • UFC: Frank Trigg talks Hall of Fame, playing heel and creating a feud in UFC

    The following is from a third-party:

    Frank Trigg came on Submission Radio to discuss his UFC Hall of Fame fight induction for his second fight with Matt Hughes.

    Trigg is still yet to get his head around the big news:

    “It hasn’t really set in yet. It’s still kind of surreal. You know, I didn’t know about it until about 4 o’clock on Tuesday night, and then about 5:15 or thereabouts they announced it on Wednesday night. Karen Bryant announced it on UFC Tonight and it still hasn’t set in much.”

    Frank was clear that his animosity with Matt was created by him to sell tickets and nowhere close to being real

    “No, there never really was. It was all made up. It was a rivalry set because when UFC was squared away back then, there was only eight fights a year. Now they’re doing almost four fights a card. So it’s a different ball game. They’d have a face, they’d have a heel. Matt was the champ, he gets to play face. He’s not much of a talker anyway publicly, and I am. So I played the heel and we showed it off. You know it’s, it was a rivalry to set people to want to buy tickets and want to see this fight, and that’s just kind of what’s up”

    Frank also discussed why he thought people needed to stop feeling sorry for Jon Jones

    “People have to stop making excuses for this guy and feeling sorry for this guy. I feel sorry for his Mom and Dad. I feel sorry for his brothers, I feel sorry for his Girlfriend and for their kids. I feel sorry for the team, the team around him. You know the guys at Jackson’s that have to deal with this whole fallout. Don’t feel sorry for Jon Jones. He’s a grown ass man. He’s a man that’s an adult, that pays his own bills and has his own pay cheque, can drive his own car, can make his own decisions. He’s making dumb decisions. So when you make bad decisions you have to pay for them.”

    “I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

    When it came to Conor McGregor, Frank admitted he hasn’t been a fan of some of his antics during the world tour with Jose Aldo

    “I’m just one of those guys that I’m kind of a traditionalist. I know that if you look at how I act you would think that I wouldn’t be that much of a traditionalist, but I’m a traditionalist. You never touch the belt till you’ve earned the belt. You don’t go and grab it away from the champ. That’s just not what you do. You don’t do that. It’s kind of disrespectful to the promotion and it’s disrespectful to what we’re trying to accomplish. I get his antics, I get what he’s doing, but that for me is the line-crosser.”

    Check out the rest of the interview in the transcript below featuring Frank’s thoughts on the Reebok deal, never getting paid 10,000 dollars that Pride owed him and if any of his feuds were ever really real.

    Transcript:

    Reaction to finding out his fight second with Matt Hughes will be inducted into the UFC HOF

    “It hasn’t really set in yet. It’s still kind of surreal. You know, I didn’t know about it until about 4 o’clock on Tuesday night, and then about 5:15 or thereabouts they announced it on Wednesday night. Karen Bryant announced it on UFC Tonight and it still hasn’t set in much. You know and really, it’s just kind of been so much of a whirlwind. But to be honest with you, I don’t really know what’s happening. Like I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve been told that I’m in the Hall of Fame. I’ve been told I’ve got some stuff I have do the week of the fight expo in July, but other than that I don’t really what else is going on.”

    If he expected to ever be inducted into the hall of fame

    “No. No I never thought I would be inducted in. I mean my record obviously shows that I’m not a great champ like a Matt Hughes was, and obviously he’s already been in the hall of fame. He’ll be a double inductee now. He’ll in one as a fighter and for his fight history as being a champ, and now one for this fight. But I never thought it was going to happen. I was completely blindsided when they gave me the phone call that this was going to happen for me.”

    On the animosity towards Matt Hughes never really being real

    “No, there never really was. It was all made up. It was a rivalry set because when UFC was squared away back then, there was only eight fights a year. Now they’re doing almost four fights a card. So it’s a different ball game. They’d have a face, they’d have a heel. Matt was the champ, he gets to play face. He’s not much of a talker anyway publicly, and I am. So I played the heel and we showed it off. You know it’s, it was a rivalry to set people to want to buy tickets and want to see this fight, and that’s just kind of what’s up”

    If Matt knew that the rivalry was made up

    “I have no Idea. I can’t speak for what Matt thought or didn’t think at that time. I have no clue.”

    How it was decided that Frank would play the ‘Bad Guy”

    “I just decided to play the heel and sell the fight. Like I said, he’s not much of a talker. He doesn’t go out publicly and talk trash. It’s not his style. His style is very quiet and very humble and he goes in there and does his job and beats. You know and I had to get people to wanna watch these fights and wanna buy tickets, so one of us had to talk. And so I ended up – you know because I enjoy speaking, I enjoy the public aspect of selling stuff like that – so I went out and chose that role on my own  to do it and it seemed to work.”

    If any of his rivalries with guys such as GSP or Matt Serra were ever real

    “No. To me it’s always been…I’ve never been one of those guys that has to hate my opponent to have to beat them up, you know like have to hate them and have to hate everything about them to fight them. I was always one of those guys where it’s all about business. It’s all about trying to get the next meal on the table for my kids and try to provide for housing and provide for the college fund. So for me it was always business. You know there’s a multitude of fighters that don’t like me, but there’s no fighter that I can really think of off the top of my head that I don’t like. I don’t like some of the things that some of the fighters do outside of the cage. I mean I don’t like some of the things that how they act or how they conduct themselves, but those things don’t really affect me. So I kind of separate myself from that kind of mindset. So there’s no real rivalry between any of those fighters to my knowledge.”

    If it would be tough reliving the losses to Mat Hughes when Frank gets inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

    “Well no because now – like you said, the UFC hall of fame is the most prestigious hall of fame in mixed martial arts. It’s one of the most prestigious hall of fames of all hall of fames. You know of course you go against boxing and football and basketball and hockey, you know you have a longer hall of fame for those. The UFC hall of fame is newer but it’s a very prestigious hall of fame. Now it actually helps take away some of the bitterness of the fight. You know I’ve come to terms with it, it’s a piece of history. I lost the fight, I lost to Matt twice. He was the champ and I couldn’t defeat him either time and that’s the reality of those fights. And now it kind of takes away – for the rest of my life I will always have that on my business card. For the rest of my life, it will always be in my bio page of all my social networks and my bio page on Wikipedia that right now I am a UFC inductee. That I’m in the hall of fame. Come July 11th I will be a UFC hall of fame member. And that will always be on my business card for the rest of my life because that is the reality.”

    Thoughts on the Reebok deal numbers and fighters complaining about losing money through it

    “The fighters can complain all they want. If they don’t like it then leave. Go someplace else. You don’t get what you deserve. Athletes don’t get what they deserve. Every athlete deserves at least two or three times more than they’re actually getting paid from their promotion, or from their team, or from whatever. The reality of it is, you get what you negotiate. And these guys are negotiating, and this is part of the negotiation deal that these Reebok deals will be a part of their deal, a part of their contract now.”

    Frank on if any sponsors never paid him his money

    “That was back in the day. I’ve had, you know Pride still owes me 10,000 dollars and they closed shop and never paid me. It’s always been one of those deals where you can stuff the fighter and all he can do is complain about it and it won’t do him any good. And I’ve had sponsors bail out on me and I’ve called them to task. And I’ve been real lucky that my management team – you know I’ve had different managers throughout my career, but they’ve always been able to hunt down the money and get it for me. And so literally the only time I really didn’t get paid was when Pride walked away and they owe me 10,000 dollars. Other than that, I got the money that I could get and that was how the game was, and when I was in there, there wasn’t that many sponsorships that you could actually have, because people didn’t have money and the game wasn’t that big. And when they finally put a lockdown on them, a lot of sponsors got pulled out and they couldn’t afford to be in as much as they were. So that’s the game. That’s just how it goes. You know and I’ve been very lucky, I haven’t had to worry about sponsorship money and didn’t have to worry about sponsorship deals like that, but of course I wasn’t in the heyday. My payday was not in the heyday.”

    Thoughts on Conor McGregor and they was he carried himself in the press tour with Aldo

    “I’m just one of those guys that I’m kind of a traditionalist. I know that if you look at how I act you would think that I wouldn’t be that much of a traditionalist, but I’m a traditionalist. You never touch the belt till you’ve earned the belt. You don’t go and grab it away from the champ. That’s just not what you do. You don’t do that. It’s kind of disrespectful to the promotion and it’s disrespectful to what we’re trying to accomplish. I get his antics, I get what he’s doing, but that for me is the line-crosser. But then of course you have Chael Sonnen talking about, you know smacking Anderson Silva’s wife on the ass was a line crosser for me as well. Like it’s always been trash talking for you between the fighters. Keep the families out of it. But Chael made a career out of it and I didn’t like it, but I laughed at it. It was funny. The same thing with Conor McGregor. I don’t like it, but I got it. I understand what he’s doing.”

    “Right now honestly, and people ask and ask about it, that he is the number one draw right now for the UFC. Right now, he’s the biggest name the UFC has. Bigger than Ronda Rousey, bigger than Jose Aldo, bigger than – obviously bigger than Jon Jones now that he’s out, bigger than anybody else in the UFC right now. Conor McGregor the challenger is the biggest name we have going on.”

    Reaction to Jon Jones hit and run and him being suspended by the UFC

    Like, I’m on the fence with the Daniel Cormier side, in where people have to stop making excuses for this guy and feeling sorry for this guy. I feel sorry for his Mom and Dad. I feel sorry for his brothers, I feel sorry for his Girlfriend and for their kids. I feel sorry for the team, the team around him. You know the guys at Jackson’s that have to deal with this whole fallout. Don’t feel sorry for Jon Jones. He’s a grown ass man. He’s a man that’s an adult, that pays his own bills and has his own pay cheque, can drive his own car, can make his own decisions. He’s making dumb decisions. So when you make bad decisions you have to pay for them. Sometimes the payment is smaller and easier, and this payment that he’s about to make is going to be huge.

    “It’s going to be crazy for him to try to even think about trying to get out of this. And he’s in a difficult place right now. And you know for the UFC – and I think Dana White came out and said “hey, he’s going to have an immediate title shot when he comes back after everything gets settled”. It’s kind of early to say that. You know, we love Dana and the fact that he says everything that comes to his mind, he holds true to his word and he wears his heart on his sleeve, but the reality of it is that it’s too early to say that because, you know he could be doing six months. You know six months in jail in New Mexico. And then to come out and start training again and try to get ready, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I don’t know if he could pull that off.”

  • WWE NXT: After Banks vs. Lynch, the future of women’s wrestling is now

    Submitted By Paul O’Brien

    I tried writing something directly after NXT TakeOver Unstoppable. I typed and I made sentences, but the piece never came together. It was hard to figure out just what happened. Where were the big changes? What was so different? Why had wrestling become cool again?

    Then, it hit me as I re-watched. NXT is feels so future-leaning because it perfectly blends whats coming with what’s worked in the past. It’s the show that is open to new thinking. It is the show that galvanises tradition.

    If you need evidence of NXT’s nod to its roots, just watch Unstoppable’s opening video and count for yourself how many times the word
    ‘wrestling’ was used. If you need evidence of their stampede towards freshness, just look at their roster, their creative freedoms; just look at Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch.

    And if you need evidence of just how personal it is to everyone involved, then all you have to do is observe them. The passion for what they do just pours out from the wrestlers and the decision makers in every video, interview, tweet, and Instagram. These are a bunch of internationally talented, dedicated people who have something to prove. And that includes those on top too.

    If you needed evidence of all these things together, I suggest you put down your $9.99 (or more in euros) and see for yourself. What’s happening in NXT was perfectly encapsulated by the Women’s title match at Unstoppable. Banks and Lynch emoted artistry and technique and hunger and intensity and spirit. They told a great story, reeled their audience in and made them care.

    It wasn’t just the best WWE womens match of all time for me; it was a classic match featuring any two wrestlers, full stop. With all the talk of Ronda Rousey being the catalyst of dragging women’s combat competition to the main event in other arenas, #GiveDivasAChance now has its own trailblazers. It doesn’t need to ride the wave of outsiders, and it doesnt need to feel inferior or less than. WWE has the best roster of female wrestlers top to bottom that I’ve ever seen in my 30 years as an observer.

    Give them time, give them a spotlight, give them issues of substance, and get out of their way. Let them do what they do best. Let these wrestlers kick ass. Theyve proven they can.

    NXT is WWE’s place to measure, cut, plan and cast, and recast. It’s a laboratory for controlled explosions, and the one thing in particular they should be trying to replicate out in the wild of WWE, is the women wrestlers ability to connect. WWE says they’re all about what their fans want. Take one look at Banks v Lynch and tell me that the reaction in the building and online afterwards isnt transferable to the big stage.

    There’s something new and cool happening in WWE. There’s something new and cool happening, WWE.

  • AAA World Cup report 5-24-15: Rey Mysterio, Alberto El Patron, Johnny Mundo, Matt Hardy, more

    Submitted By Rob Bihari

    Show began with technical issues as audio was too low or non-existent and then both announcing crews were talking over each other but it
    cleared up before the first match. Aside from that everything went smoothly from an iPPV perspective. The only other technical glitch was the pre-match video screen promos had no audio which was disapointing since some of them looked great, especially the one with ACH.

    The show started with everyone around the ring as the Mexican anthem was played & the Mexican army stood on the stage. Felt like a major show immediately.

    The English announce team was Vampiro & Striker who did a great job and I personally thought were very entertaining. They were a bit lost at times when it came to the rules but more than made up for it by being witty & Vampiro going crazy. In fact I would go as far as to say if you are on the fence about ordering, Vamp’s commentary alone is worth your iPPV purchase. Trust me.

    The Spanish announce team was Hugo Savinovich, Arturo Rivera & Leonardo Riano. I didn’t get to hear them except when their feed bled over into the English version but apparently they were not very good with Riano in particular being racist all night long towards the Japanese wrestlers especially.

    Alberto El Patron/Rey Misterio Jr./Myzteziz vs Taiji Ishimori/Atsushi Kotoge/Yoshihiro Takayama

    Huge reactions for all the Mexican team as you’d expect. Rey wore his old school tights & ended up going through 3 outfits before the night was done. The Japanese team didn’t do much while on offense before the Mexican team made the comeback. Rey hit a silla dive as Alberto superkicked Takayama on the floor. Great nearfall where Kotoge/Ishimori did their Tomikaze/450 combo on Myzteziz and looked to break him in half. Finish came when Myzteziz hit La Mistica on Kotoge. Huge pop.

    Texano Jr./Hijo Del Fantasma/Psycho Clown vs Brian Cage/Moose/ACH

    Brian Cage came out with ACH on his shoulders in a cool visual. The Mexican team got a huge reaction with Psycho Clown in particular super over. This was a good back-and-forth match. Crowd went nuts when Psycho Clown took off his belt and started whipping all the Americans and then even his own partners & the cameraman. It built to a dive train spot where ACH did his step-up somersault plancha, Psycho Clown hit a plancha, Fantasma did his tope of death, Cage hit a moonsault & then Moose lept off the ramp leading to the ring with a plancha onto everyone.

    Finish was a trainwreck as they were supposed to draw as Cage pinned Texano but the guest NOAH referee didn’t hold up his count at 3 like he was supposed to. Cage was confused, power bombed Texano again & the ref counted 3 even though the time limit was up. He then raised the hands of Cage/Moose/ACH but the announcers kept screaming the time was up. Konnan came out (off camera but audible) and said it’s a draw so they are going to OT. It was all very confusing. In less than 20 seconds Cage pinned Texano with a power bomb into the turnbuckles. Good match until the mess at the end.

    Dr. Wagner Jr./Solar I/Blue Demon Jr. vs Kenzo Suzuki/Tiger Mask III/Masamune

    This is a recording – Team Mexico got a huge reaction. Wagner was easily the biggest non-Dream Team star here. Tiger Mask did his usual spots with Wagner including the corner bootscrape. They worked the majority of the match together. Solar took out Masamune with a pescado followed by Kenzo taking out Demon with a dive over the top. A bit later Tiger Mask hit a tope suicida at the same time Masamune did a running corkscrew dive. With about 2 minutes to go Demon made Masamune submit to a scorpion deathlock variation which got a big pop.

    Angelico/Mesias/Drew Galloway vs Ken Anderson/Matt Hardy/Johnny Mundo

    Easily the best match of the first round. Angelico & Mundo had a kung-fu style exchange to start off. Galloway looked really good working with Mundo & Hardy. Show was already going long even by this point so the crowd began whistling (a sign of boredom in Mexico) but these guys worked hard to get them back into it. Angelico did a wild somersault dive over the  ringpost. Mundo did a 450 splash to the floor. Mesias did a tope suicida. Galloway did a running somersault plancha. Mundo had his finisher set up but Galloway knocked him to the floor and the time ran out. The same two got picked for OT and in just over 2 minutes Mundo was finally able to knock Galloway off the top rope and hit the Fin de Mundo for the win. Crowd applauded everyone afterwards.

    Jeff Jarrett came out to join Vampiro/Striker for commentary on both semi-final matches.

    Alberto El Patron/Rey Misterio Jr./Myzteziz vs Brian Cage/Moose/ACH

    Pretty good match with ACH in particular standing out due to his natural charisma. Alberto/Cage was one of the main focuses. Alberto took out Cage with a tope suicida out of nowhere during the big comeback. They ended up brawling onto the ramp and Cage suplexed Alberto. This came full circle later in the match when Alberto returned the favor to a huge pop. Then ACH attacked Alberto and got suplexed for a bigger pop. Finally the Mexicans all suplexed Moose on the ramp for the biggest pop. This reaction was fantastic and I imagine the wrestlers were happy to be working in front of such an easy crowd.

    They did a bunch of nearfalls as time ran down. Key spot ended up being when Rey went for his silla off the apron but hit Myzteziz taking them both out. The ROH/LU team couldn’t finish off Alberto inside the ring. Myzteziz/Rey eventually made it back and Myzteziz did a tope suicida through Rey’s legs which was followed by Rey doing an asai moonsault dive onto everyone. With 40 seconds left Alberto ended up using his armbar to tap out Moose. It should be noted during the match Alberto shoved Jarrett and the two had a brief staredown.

    Dr. Wagner Jr./Solar I/Blue Demon Jr. vs Ken Anderson/Matt Hardy/Johnny Mundo

    Very clunky match with the obvious style clashes. It was only a 7 minute match but seemed to drag with nobody doing much of anything until Solar & Wagner did dives. The finish was never in doubt as Solar took the Fin de Mundo from Johnny. Crowd was unhappy to see the legends team lose.

    After the match, Jarrett seperated the two teams who were arguing on the ramp. The Mexicans challenged the TNA/LU team to get back in the ring which they did but then the Mexicans chased them off. 60 year old Solar almost out ran Ken Anderson.

    There was some confusion afterwards with the announcers not knowing if it was time for the finals or 3rd place match and what the rules were. Eventually it was announced the 3rd place match would be automatically sudden death rules.

    ACH & Blue Demon Jr. were chosen as the first representatives to go at it. It was clear they were doing a draw as they weren’t rushing and Demon even grabbed a headlock with 30 seconds left in the 5 minute time limit. It was interesting when the time ran out it was ACH who had the visual pinfall.

    Next up were Brian Cage & Dr. Wagner Jr. who only went about 2 minutes before in a huge shocker – Cage pinned Wagner clean with an F5. Great booking since Cage is headlining the next AAA major show & whoever talked Wagner into doing a clean job should win booker of the year. Wagner did an injury angle afterwards to save face and had to be stretchered out. Cage ended up posing on the ramp to lots of boos.

    Alberto El Patron/Rey Misterio Jr./Myzteziz vs Ken Anderson/Matt Hardy/Johnny Mundo

    Myzteziz came out in a cool shirt that looked like he had bodypaint on. Rey wore his formerly yearly traditional comic book outfit along with a giant Aztec headdress. Very very very slow match early on which telegraphed the draw coming up. A couple of okay nearfalls but nothing noteworthy. For the first overtime Myzteziz squared off with Anderson and they had the longest 5 minutes you will ever experience. They did less than nothing. 2OT featured Alberto vs Matt which was much better. Matt got a great nearfall with the Side Effect. Alberto ended up locking on the armbar with seconds left but Matt refused to give up until AFTER the time expired.

    So 3OT came down to Rey vs Mundo which was a super hot match with great nearfalls. Rey hit the 619/splash combo which everyone
    thought was the finish. Mundo hit the Fin de Mundo which won two matches already but Rey kicked out. Both ended up on top and Rey used
    a cool Victory Roll for the win. Crowd was ballistic. During the celebration they showed the trophies being engraved at that very moment
    rather than being pre-done which was a nice touch.

    Post-show was awards time. Angelico’s dive won Best Move. Dream Team vs Team ROH/LU in the semi-finals got Best Match. Rey Misterio Jr. won MVP. They gave bronze medals to Cage/Moose/ACH for 3rd place & silver medals to Anderson/Hardy/Mundo for 2nd place. Finally the Dream Team got their trophies & celebrated with the Mexican flag as ‘We Are The Champions’ played.

    From a pure wrestling standpoint it wasn’t a blowaway show by any means but there was lots of solid wrestling and nothing was actually bad. But from the standpoint of a major event it completely delivered with the big entrances, huge crowd that stayed into it the entire time & all the drama in the finals. Really felt like a spectacle, even moreso than your typical AAA major show. This is the type of thing you could never do in the U.S. unless it was on a much MUCH smaller scale so kudos to AAA for pulling it off. Hopefully they can do it again next year.