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  • WWE NXT Starke, FL, house show report 5-23-15: Finn Balor & Solomon Crowe vs. Tye Dillinger & Tyler Breeze

    Submitted By Aaron Whitehead

    Mike Rallis d. Chad Gable

    Gable was doing an Olympic wrestling gimmick. Basic match. Rollins won with a modified powerbomb.

    Bayley & Devin Taylor d. Jessie & KC

    Taylor did a Sex and the City sort of gimmick with a big handbag and a fashionista sort of attitude. Jessie is, I think, Jessie McKay, but I didn’t catch the name of her partner. I’m sure you’re hearing this from a lot of people, but Bayley is crazy over. Out of a crowd of 200-300 (I suck at estimating crowd size), there were four or five little girls all dressed up as Bayley. The “I’m a Hugger” shirt was one of the more visible ones in the crowd. I really think they’re onto something big with her. She’s got great charisma but manages to come off as sincere and real unlike any other woman I’ve seen in the business. She’ll never be a “superstar” like Charlotte or Sasha, but I think she might make a more genuine emotional impact among the fans than any of them if they just let her be herself.

    They interviewed Braun Stowman who looks like an absolute beast. Perfect name for him, as he is big and brawny. Promo was lacking, but he’s obviously developing. He was interrupted by someone doing a rich kid gimmick. He was pretty decent, and then Braun laid him out.

    Angelo Dawkins d. Silver Knight

    Decent match. Dawkins showed some flashes of interesting. Both guys still developing, which is fine. As I recall, Dawkins won with a fall-away slam and Razor’s Edge

    Baron Corbin d. Jason Jordan

    Not bad at all. In fact, a better match than anything I’ve seen Corbin do. He was totally playing the heel and had some nice subtleties that surprised me after seeing him look so bland on TV. Jordan also looks pretty good, like he’s a good athlete that’s really getting a handle on the in-ring stuff. Corbin won with his finisher.

    Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady & Carmella d. Tag Champions Blake & Murphy & Alexa Bliss

    This was fine. The whole “How You Doin’” routine is a big hit, obviously, and both guys were about as over as anyone on the card. Lots of signs and t-shirts for Sawft. Blake & Murphy seem to be solid performers, but I’m not sure what their gimmick is. Babyfaces won with the Rocket Launcher.

    Vaudevillains DQ Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder

    Very fun. Dawson’s partner was the same guy who showed up on TV with him a few weeks ago. They were scheduled to face Amore & Cass before Blake & Murphy ambushed them. Both guys were good. I’m surprised the Vaudevillains haven’t been called up, since they seem ready-made for backstage segments and a few cheap laughs, which seems to be what Raw is all about. And they seem to have actual talent, which helps I guess. Bad guys were DQ’ed for double-teaming, which I haven’t seen in 20 years or so.

    Becky Lynch d. Lina

    Don’t know the name of Becky Lynch’s opponent, but she was massive and very impressive-looking. She’s going to get comped to Awesome Kong, which is unfortunate, but she is a plus-sized black woman wearing black leather. She is actually attractive; in fact, she looks like a badass Eartha Kitt. She also has a real ease in the ring as far as her presentation goes; she seems to be a natural at that aspect. The wrestling is a work in progress, but she was doing the giant/power style that’s a good fit for her size. Becky Lynch was excellent and did a great job of working a David-and-Goliath match, very different than any match she’s wrestled on TV. She made the other woman look good, probably better than she actually is. Her steampunk look is a real hit with me and makes her really stand out.

    Finn Balor & Solomon Crowe d. Tye Dillinger & Tyler Breeze

    Balor was super over, not surprisingly. My brother leaned over to me during the match and repeated Jim Cornette’s old line about the guys not working enough county fairs anymore. While I’m too young to have been to a spot show during the territory days, this reminded me of what the Rock & Rolls and Midnights might have done in Osceola, Arkansas. They did some hilarious spots that came off as a little too well-planned at times but still drove the audience crazy. No highspots at all, other than Balor’s double foot-stomp as the finish. That didn’t bother me, as I don’t mind guys saving those for the big shows. I don’t think anybody was disappointed.

    Dillinger is the most naturally funny guy I’ve seen in quite a while, and he’s a great fit for what wrestling is now (didn’t see enough of his work in the ring to judge him there). Breeze also has great natural instincts as a performer. Balor was Balor and played the total babyface, doing a round of handshakes and photo ops after the match. I got a better sense of Crowe’s personality than from anything I’ve seen on TV and actually liked what I saw. I feel like his gimmick is a little too specific for him to make it his own, but if they let him be he could do some good stuff.

    Notes

    All in all, it was a very entertaining show, and I think everybody had a really good time. There weren’t many big spots at all and there was much more working the crowd than super-fast wrestling. It did really strike me as more of a “let’s not kill ourselves” spot show from the territory days than what you’d expect from a lot of indie shows.

    The crowd seemed to really enjoy it. The matches with the developmental talent that was really green didn’t seem to bother them or disappoint them, which was nice. There were no ‘boring’ chants, although they did start chanting “what” during Braun’s promo. I was surprised at how many young kids were there. It was more of a Raw audience – with kids and families – than a bunch of guys in their 20s and 30s, which is what I expected. The Starke Armory is small, but they said it was sold out, SRO only.

    My only big gripe is that they advertised several names who weren’t there. When I bought the tickets about a week and a half ago, they were advertising Owens, Zayn, Itami, and Charlotte, none of whom were on the show. I understand if one person doesn’t make it, but I was disappointed that there were so many changes. And as far as I know, Owens and Charlotte aren’t suffering storyline injuries.

    Best match was the main event tag with Balor and Crowe winning. Most over performer was probably Amore and Cass, although Bayley and Balor were close. Sorry I couldn’t be more specific on the names of the talent, but I was seeing a lot of these wrestlers for the first time.

  • The full details of TNA’s television situation, The battle for No. 2, Drug testing punishment in MMA, ROH viewership, MMA changes upcoming, NXT Norheast tour

    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.

    The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/42649-may-25-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-state-of-tna-nsacs-new-doping-penalties-and-more

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

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

    The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling.  We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2.  We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday. 

    We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.

    We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.

    We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand.  We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.

    We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back. 

    We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.

    We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE.  We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.

    We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.

    We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.

    We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.

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

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

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings

    –Full details on how this went down

    –Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance

    –Big tournament coming up

    –New Japan star headed to CMLL

    –Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other

    –Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament

    –Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup

    –King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week

    –One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month

    –A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows

    –Update on health of one of 80s biggest names

    –More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows

    –Who are newcomers that they have added

    –Who was pulled from the promotion

    –An update on Scott Hall

    –Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event

    –Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved

    –Notes on ROH Final Battle

    –More on ROH signing of Moose

    –Who else had made a play for him

    –Main events for the next few ROH shows

    –A look at ROH television over the next month

    –Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.

    –A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change

    –TNA’s U.K. tour notes

    –More on Billy Corgan in TNA

    –Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction

    –TNA loses anther time slot

    –A look at this coming week’s UFC show

    –Lots of UFC card changes and why

    –UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall

    –Who are the biggest stars from there

    –Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit

    –UFC expected to sign WSOF champion

    –A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –A look at Bellator’s last show and next show

    –Former Pride star put in jail

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

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  • SUN. UPDATE: More from UFC last night, Today’s World Cup, Scott Hall, new faces on WWE road tour, Super Juniors, Dwayne Johnson

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

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

    *WWE last night in Worcester, MA

    *WWE today in White Plains, NY (John Cena, Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Luke Harper, Neville)

    *WWE today in Binghamton (Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Sheamus). 

    AAA LUCHA WORLD CUP IPPV AT www.LuchaWorldCup.com starting at 6 p.m. Eastern time from Los Palacios de los Deportes in Mexico City 

    Tournament first round matches

    • Alberto El Patron & Rey Mysterio Jr. & Myzteziz vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge & Yoshihiro Takayama
    • El Hijo del Fantasma (King Cuerno) & El Texano Jr. & Psycho Clown vs. ACH & Brian Cage & Moose
    • Blue Demon Jr. & Dr. Wagner Jr. & Solar vs. Masamnune & Kenzo Suzuki & Tiger Mask (Koji Kanemoto)
    • Angelico & Drew Galloway & Mesias (Mil Muertes) vs. Ken Anderson & Matt Hardy & Johnny  Mundo 

    – Raw is Monday night at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.  The cast of Entourage will be guest stars on the show. 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.

    The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/42649-may-25-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-state-of-tna-nsacs-new-doping-penalties-and-more

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

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

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

    Rates are:

    For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending tomoonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

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

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

    The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling.  We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2.  We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday. 

    We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.

    We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.

    We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand.  We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.

    We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back. 

    We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.

    We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE.  We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.

    We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.

    We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.

    We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.

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

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

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings

    –Full details on how this went down

    –Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance

    –Big tournament coming up

    –New Japan star headed to CMLL

    –Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other

    –Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament

    –Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup

    –King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week

    –One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month

    –A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows

    –Update on health of one of 80s biggest names

    –More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows

    –Who are newcomers that they have added

    –Who was pulled from the promotion

    –An update on Scott Hall

    –Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event

    –Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved

    –Notes on ROH Final Battle

    –More on ROH signing of Moose

    –Who else had made a play for him

    –Main events for the next few ROH shows

    –A look at ROH television over the next month

    –Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.

    –A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change

    –TNA’s U.K. tour notes

    –More on Billy Corgan in TNA

    –Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction

    –TNA loses anther time slot

    –A look at this coming week’s UFC show

    –Lots of UFC card changes and why

    –UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall

    –Who are the biggest stars from there

    –Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit

    –UFC expected to sign WSOF champion

    –A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –A look at Bellator’s last show and next show

    –Former Pride star put in jail

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

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

    Our most requested issues in our history are:

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

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

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

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

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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)

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

    *January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

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    *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)

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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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    *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)

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    *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)

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

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

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

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

    * 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.

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    –Besides the coverage of last night’s UFC, I talked a lot about the TNA/Destination America story on the show with Bryan last night.  There’s a lot in there about TNA and its reactions.  TNA hurt itself badly the last few weeks on how it handled the situation.   

    –Pretty amazing UFC main card last night.  The undercard was nothing special but Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski was a potential match of the year.  A lot of talk it was the best main card of a PPV since UFC 139 in San Jose, which was more than three years ago.

    –UFC 187 was the single most searched item yesterday on the Internet in the U.S. at more than 200,000.  But a show of that caliber would be expected to do considerably more than that.

    –We got a lot of sports bar reports and they were at a very strong level.  I don’t think sports bar attendance would be impacted much by being three weeks after Mayweather-Pacquiao.  PPV may be.  That was a topic of conversation last night.

    –UFC 189 has supposedly already broken the UFC’s all-time U.S. live gate record.  Dana White said they’d be opening up closed-circuit locations in Las Vegas for the overflow, figuring a ton of people are coming in from the UK, Ireland and Brazil for the fight.

    –Ryan Bader had a big confrontation with Daniel Cormier at the press conference last night, and showed some fire.  Cormier is always the main with the mic.  

    –Big Show was back on the road last night at the WWE show in Utica, as was Brad Maddox and Layla.  All three were on the Orton tour, in Utica last night and Binghamton today.

    –Scott Hall was pulled from the GFW shows that he was booked for due to the TMZ coverage of the incident where he was allegedly drinking.  The decision was made when the story made the news.  There are reports gong around from people who thought he was pulled due to WWE, and that’s not the case. 

    –There will be a preview of the Daniel Bryan new video on the WWE Network tomorrow night after Raw.

    –There is a claim that Dwayne Johnson broke a Guinness World Record for most selfies (105) taken in a three minute period.

    –The Best of the Super Juniors matches tomorrow (late night tonight) in Niigata are:

    • Jushin Liger vs. Kyle O’Reilly
    • Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish
    • Mascara Dorada vs. David Finlay III
    • Baretta vs. Chase Owens

    –For Tuesday in Yamagata

    • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Baretta
    • Rocky Romero vs. Nick Jackson
    • Kushida vs. David Finlay III
    • Gedo vs. Barbaro Cavernario

    –For Wednesday in Aomori

    • Jushin Liger vs. Chase Owens
    • Tiger Mask vs. Mascara Dorada
    • Alex Shelley vs. Bobby Fish
    • Yohei Komatsu vs. Kyle O’Reilly 

    –Both the ROH shows from Philadelphia with the New Japan talent are available on VOD for $19.99, night 1 and night 2.

    –A story on Trish Stratus and her wrestling career.

    –A story on Owen Hart.

    —NPR did a story on Lucha Underground and Mexican wrestling in Los Angeles.

    –The Ultimate (Bryce) Harper

    –Fan reaction to Samoa Joe in NXT

    –Samoa Joe interview.

    –Honky Tonk Man interview.

    —Ric Flair on WWE being afraid to put him on live TV (thanks to Johnny Kramer)

    –Story in the New York Times Magazine on Dwayne Johnson.

    –Kevin Eck relives how the Daniel Bryan/ AJ Lee storyline happened.

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

    • 1969 – Waldo Von Erich & The Spoiler beat Tex McKenzie & Billy White Wolf (Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie) in Sydney to win the IWA tag titles
    • 1984 – Ric Flair beat Kerry Von Erich in Yokosuka to win the NWA world title
    • 1988 – Johnny Saint beat Mike Jordan in Wolverhampton to win the world lightweight title
    • 1992 – Atsushi Onita beat Leon Spinks in Tokyo to win the WWA martial arts title and Tarzan Goto & Gregori Veritchev (Olympic judoka) beat Sabu & Horace Boulder to win the tag titles
    • 1993 – Ultimo Dragon beat El Samurai in Osaka to win the UWA middleweight title
    • 1996 – Akira Taue beat Mitsuharu Misawa in Sapporo to win the Triple Crown
    • 1997 – Minoru Tanaka beat Shoichi Funaki in Nagoya to win he UWA middleweight title

    –Today is the 42nd anniversary of the night Harley Race beat Dory Funk Jr. in Kansas City to win the NWA title, which Funk held for four years.  I remember as a kid how huge of a story that was at the time.

    –Shinya Aoki retained the One lightweight title beating Koji Ando via unanimous decision in Kallang, Singapore on Friday.  The other title fight saw Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichok beat Roy Doliguez to win the strawweight title, which is the men’s 115 pound division.

    –There was a fight with Angela Lee vs. Aya Sabier on that show that Lee won via submission in one minute.  I’m told she has a good look and cut a great promo (thanks to Paul Fontaine)

    –A show called Ladies Night takes place on 6/19 in Glen Burnie, MD at Michael’s Eighth Avenue with Melina Perez, Mickie James, Tessa Blanchard, Renee Michelle, Amber Rodriguez, Lisa Marie Varon, Kimber Lee and Mick Foley.   

    –Jessica Havok and Santana Garrett were extras backstage at the NXT tapings on Wednesday and Thursday night. 

    –Aaron Solo sent in a Tough Enough video, saying he was more than just Bayley’s boyfriend.  

    –All of the Busca de un Idolo tournament marches will stream like at Terra.com  The first day of the tournament is Tuesday night.

    –RF Video has a 25% off sale for Memorial Day.

    –The WWE’s Samoa Joe T-shirts are all sold out.

    –To clarify something from last week’s TNA show.  The second Austin Aries & Bobby Roode vs. Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards match of the seres will be airing this Friday.  It didn’t air this past Friday on the show that wasn’t seen in the U.S.  On the international version, they were pushing that match, which I was told was great, for “next week’s show.” (thanks to John Pollock)

    –TMZ reported a funny story where Roman Reigns, R-Truth and Jimmy Uso attended a wedding last night.  This was after last night’s house show in Utica.  The three were at the bar and heard that there was a wedding reception.  They went to check it out an found out that the couple were both wrestling fans and asked them to stay.  The funny thing is, the couple were such fans they sent an e-mail to WWE, knowing talent was in the area, if they could have some wrestlers attend.  The e-mail was never answered and the guys had no clue the new wife, Beth Samuels, had sent the letter.

    –CWF from last night in St. Catherines, ONT at the Haig Bowl Arena on 6/6 including Yusuke Kodama from Wrestle-1, Brian Christopher, Scotty 2 Hotty, Paul London, Rene Dupree, Cody Deaner, plus a ladder match.

    –Masters of Wrestling did a women’s wrestling tribute in Wilmington, NC last night.  Among those attending were Trish Stratus, Lita, Lisa Marie Varon, Terri Runnels, Lisa Moretti (Ivory), Missy Hyatt and Litttle Egypt.  Results from the show:  Le’D Tapa b Candy Cartwright, Kacee Carlisle b Devyn Nicole, Roni Niclle b Aramanda Rodriguez, Santana Garrett b Nikki Adams, Kacee Carlisle b Le’D Tapa, Santana Garrett b Roni Nicole, Santana Garrett b Roni Nichole to win tournament.  Lisa Moretti presented the trophy to Garrett. Here’s some pictures.

    –The Winter Palace podcast debuted  a discussion onthe recent Chikara UK tour, recent comics and –Tfilms. There will be lots of wrestling content, especially lucha, in upcoming episodes. 

    –Florida J Cup tournament on 5/30 at the Team Vision Dojo in Orlando.

    –Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling on 6/20 in East Carondelet, IL at the Community Center. 

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (May 24): Harley Race wins NWA title due to interesting circumstances, Ric Flair beats Kerry Von Erich in Japan

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1961 – In Duluth, Minnesota; Verne Gagne & Wilbur Snyder beat Hard Boiled Haggerty & Gene Kiniski.

    1963 – In Omaha, Nebraska; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Duke Hoffman, Bill Miller went to a double DQ with Waldo Von Erich and AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Doug Gilbert & Guy Mitchell.

    1967 – In Fargo, ND; Verne Gagne & Bob Geigel beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race by dq and The Crusher beat Chris Markoff

    1973 – Harley Race defeated Dory Funk, Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in Kansas City, Kansas. This was the title change that was supposed to go to Jack Brisco, but Funk suffered an auto accident and couldn’t defend against Brisco so a change with Race in Kansas City was planned. Also on the card, Danny Little Bear fought Bob Brown to a draw and Bob Geigel & Bobo Brazil defeated Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe; In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Superstar Billy Graham & Ivan Koloff beat Wahoo McDaniel & Angelo Mosca in 2 out of 3 falls and AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch when Stevens pinned Murdoch after using brass knuckles in a no DQ match.

    1976 – Ric Flair defeated Wahoo McDaniel for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title in Charlotte, North Carolina in a title vs. hair match.

    1984 – Ric Flair defeats Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Yokosuka, Japan in the third fall of their title match on an All Japan Pro Wrestling show.

    1985 – Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura defeated International Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch via count-out to win the titles in Kobe, Japan; In Denver, Colorado; Jim Brunzell & Baron Von Raschke & Larry Hennig beat Road Warriors & Paul Ellering, Butch Reed beat Baron Von Raschke, Greg Gagne beat Nick Bockwinkel and Fabulous Freebirds Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts beat Brad Rheingans & Jim Brunzell.

    1987 – Jim Crockett Promotions debuted in Chicago, Illinois; headlined by The Rock N’ Roll Express defeating NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions Midnight Express in a non-title Best 2 out of 3 falls match.

  • UFC 187 Fan Feedback

    UFC 187

    Thumbs Up! Excellent show top to bottom. The last four fights were all great. Cerrone needs to get a title shoot. No excuses. Weidman proved that he is more than legit. Belfort has nothing left except an Anderson Silva in Brazil. He didn’t look like he was on something and was pushed around like a rag doll. Coincidence? I think not! Johnson looked great when allowed. Needs to work on cardio. Cormier style is kind of boring but that’s his thing. His post-fight promo was just perfect.

    Jon Jones situation…
    Mike Tyson was convicted for rape. Floyd Mayweather for domestic violence. And even De La Hoya had some weird scandals. Jon Jones and UFC can pretend all they want, deep inside they know that they just hit the lottery. It’s a shame but is the way our society (and this business) works. Cormier’s promo just made it official.

    Best Fight: Arlovski vs Browne.

    Leonardo Mendez Toledo

    Dave,

    UFC 187 was the first UFC show I’ve bought since Weidman vs. Machida. Pretty much I only buy Weidman cards since they are guaranteed to be good, and they usually offer a good double-bill with Rousey, but this time we got a light-heavyweight title fight sans Jones, which to me is must see since I never cared for him and was looking forward to change. My money was well spent. What a great show, especially the main card. Wall-to-wall action, and for my tastes everyone that I wanted to win did.

    Not enough can be said about Arlovski’s comeback in recent years. About five years ago it pretty much looked like he would have to retire, and you can’t fix a glass-jaw. Yet, somehow his stint in the WSOF, and working with Greg Jackson not only fixed him, it also made him a much better fighter than before. He destroyed Travis Browne; if you told me that was going to be a possibility just a year ago I would have probably laughed at you.

    Cowboy put on a showcase against a much-better-than-expected replacement, ending the fight it classic fashion. I can’t think of anyone else that wins this many fights against anyone thrown at him, and still has to wait and see if he gets the title shot. If he were in almost any other division he would have had the shot about midway through his current streak.

    Weidman showed why he is one of the best with a quick destruction of Belfort. Vitor used to be one of my favorites until it became clearly evident that TRT was why he was so good in recent years. His statements of aggression against media did nothing to help curb the stereotype of a juicer. I was glad to see him get folded like an accordion like the rest of his Brazilian counterparts at the hands of the current champ. Rockhold vs. Weidman awaits.

    Johnson vs. Cormier showed the resiliency it takes that separates a champ from an also-ran. Johnson’s muscled frame, and excessive early striking did him in. That works for a few minutes against chumps, but Cormier did what it takes to be a champ. People may have booed the slowdown in action, but it was all setting up a clear dismantling of the Johnson Scud Missile. Two Blackzilians entered title fights, and two walked out empty-handed with their asses handed to them.

    Thumbs up
    Best Fight: Arlovski vs. Browne
    Worst Fight: None -Every match on the televised undercard was also good, although I disagreed with Natal getting the nod.
    Performance: Weidman, Arlovski, Cormier
    KO: Arlovski
    Sub: Cormier

    -Matt Wright

    UFC 187

    Thumbs up. Not much to bitch about here. Maybe some of the judging. The top card came through big time.
    Best fight: Arlovski vs. Browne
    Worst fight: nothing really
    Best performance: Arlovski for the upset
    Worst performance: Uriah Hall, not that it was that bad and I thought he got mildly robbed, but still so far below his potenital
    KO: Cerrone
    Sub: gonna call this an across the board draw. Islam, Kim & Cormier.

    Justin Scoggins does a 30-27 X 3 karate paint job on Josh Sampo in the opener. Islam walks through Kuntz (hee hee hee) finishing in the 2nd with RNC (seriously this is a guy to keep an eye on).

    Colby Covington grounds the veteran Mike Pyle for most of the fight and escapes a very tight last 30 seconds RNC for the UD with one 29-28. After drama at the weigh in, Rafael Natal opens the fight with a groin kick and goes on to edge Uriah Hall via dubious 29-28 split. Dong Hyun Kim too much for Josh Burkman and secures the arm tri tap in the 3rd. A rusty, slower John Dodson gets a highly dubious 29-28 UD over Zach Makovsky.

    Joey Benavides also not ultra impressive taking a far more competitive than the scores indicate 30-27 UD over John Moraga. I don’t see either him or Dodson staking a claim on the next title shot off this. Good fight though.

    Andrei Arlovski flipped the script, stunning Travis Browne early and not letting him off the hook, finally dropping him with a backfist. Browne gets up and drops Arlovski with a Hail Mary but Arlovski flips the script again by not getting knocked out, gets up, and finishes Browne with more punches and somehow is in title contention again in 2015.

    John Makdessi steps in way over his head late and saves the fight vs. Donald Cerrone and lands enough to keep it interesting until Cerrone lands a head kick in the 2nd that breaks Makdessi’s jaw and Makdessi obviously knows it and steps back making the TO sign and the fight is over.

    A very skinny looking Vitor Belfort busts up Chris Weidman in the opening seconds but Weidman takes him down and the fight is pretty much over, getting the TKO off 40+ undefended strikes and retaining the MW title.

    Anthony Johnson lands a right in the opening seconds that probably would have finished anybody else but Daniel Cormier is up quickly and grinds Rumble down and wears him out, really wrecking him with G&P in the 2nd, and finishing him in the 3rd with RNC and winning the vacant ‘undisputed’ LHW title. Every time Rumble got any distance he landed something heavy with either fists or feet and rocked Cormier several times but just couldn’t keep Cormier off. Cormier’s whole promo was ‘Jon Jones, get your shit together, I’m waiting for you,’ and he just walked out of the cage.
    Crimson Mask

    Hi Dave, Big Thumbs UpWas really looking forward to this card. Wish I was there. Even more miraculous was that there were not a lot of changes due to injury, unlike Montreal. I didn’t mind too much that the Cerrone vs Nurmagomedov was changed although I would have liked to see it. Makdessi was a great substitute going in for a battle of strikers who like to throw down.  Best Fight: Browne vs ArlovskiWorst Fight: Pyle vs Covington – wasn’t horrible but everything else was betterBest Performances: Weidman, Cormier Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier – Cormier’s fight plan to a T. Survive Rumble’s early attack until he gasses, then take him down and grind him out. Cormier looked good here but not sure if this Cormier could still beat Jones and get inside his crazy reach.
    Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort – Weidman was a beast surviving Vitor’s early barrage before coming back to just decimate him. Dominant performance and looking forward to Weidman vs Rockhold. Loved how Weidman’s winning scream kind of scared Herb Dean, watch Dean’s facial expression during it then after as he kind of jokes about it.
    Donald Cerrone vs. John Makdessi –  Loved how they both stayed in the pocket and let fly. Can’t wait to see Cerrone get his much deserved title shot.
    Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski – What a slobberknocker. Just what we love from watching the heavyweights throw down. Not sure if I would call it the greatest heavyweight fight of all time though Joe. Although he is kind of like Jimmy Hart with “This is the greatest day of my life baby” with the most recent fight being the best. I still think Big Foot vs Hunt tops this one.
    Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga – This fight was OK, Benavidez wasn’t as dominant as he usually is but he deserved the decision.

    John Dodson vs. Zach Makovsky – I want to like Dodson but I just can’t. I respect his talent but there is something about his personality that turns me off. I’d rather watch Uncle Creepy, Ian McCall any day.Grant Zwarych
    Hi Dave,

    I watched the PPV card today at the pub here in Melbourne.  the crowd was about double what it was for Pettis & Dos Anjos, which was the last one I watched there.

    Great card.  Easy thumbs up.

    Best Fight – Arlovski & Browne
    Worst Fight – Benavediz & Moraga
    Best Performance – DC

    No surprise Belfort was dangerous early and then folded, but surprised how quickly that happened.  A great setup for a Middleweight Title fight with Rockhold.  Rumble is still terrifying, so outstanding performance by DC to implement a ‘weather and grind’ strategy to take the title.  Lastly Arlovski looked sharp and I expected he would go down first round, so that fight was quite the spectacle.

    Daniel Anerphy

  • Premier Boxing Championships on NBC report – James DeGale vs. Andre Dirrell as British gold medalist goes for world title

    By Jeremy Wall

    James DeGale defeated Andre Dirrell by unanimous decision on Saturday, May 23rd to become the first British boxer to win both an Olympic gold medal and a major world championship, in this case the vacant IBF Super World Middleweight title (168 pounds). The fight took place at Agganis Arena in Boston and aired in the late afternoon as the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions broadcast on NBC. Scores were 114-112, 117-109, and 114-112.

    “I am world champ. I made history – the first British Olympic gold medalist to become world champion,” DeGale told Skysports.com. “I am back now and injury free. I will take on any super-middleweight in the world. I am hard to beat when I am at my best.”

    DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs) went into the fight having won ten fights in a row. The only loss of his career was by majority decision to George Groves in May 2011 in a fight that one judge scored 115-115 and the other two scored 115-114 for Groves. Dirrell (24-2, 16 KOs), on the other hand, went into the bout riding a six-fight winning streak. Before facing DeGale, the only loss of Dirrell’s career was by split-decision to Carl Froch in October 2009. Both DeGale and Dirrell were making their debut for Al Haymon’s PBC and it was also DeGale’s debut in the United States. Both also prefer fighting southpaw, although DeGale switched between stances late in the fight.

    It was a close fight. Dirrell began solid in the first round and was also winning the second round when DeGale scored a flash knockdown with a left hook. Dirrell immediately got back up, but DeGale dropped him again with another hook. It was a strange round because Dirrell was winning the round until he got knocked down twice. Dirrell’s poor defense, though, allowed DeGale to get ahead on the scorecards early in the fight.

    Degale, however, faded somewhat as the fight went on. Dirrell never had DeGale in any real danger in the later rounds, but appeared to win a serious of close rounds late in the match. DeGale was cut above his right eye about halfway through the bout from big left hands by Dirrell.

    There were a number of close rounds late in the bout that could have gone either way, which explains how two judges saw the fight as 114-112 for DeGale, but another saw it as 117-109. If DeGale hadn’t scored those two knockdowns in the second, though, the result may have been completely different as the rest of the fight was much closer.

    “They said I ran from Carl Froch and they took that fight from me. He ran tonight and they gave it to him. All he did was run, no way I lost this fight,” said Dirrell.

    The win establishes DeGale as one of the best boxers at 168 pounds. Of the four major boxing titles, PBC now has control over two as DeGale holds the IBF version and Badou Jack holds the WBC version, which he won by defeating Dirrell’s brother Anthony on a PBC show in April.

    It was recently announced that terms have been reached for Jack to defend his belt against George Groves, one of Britain’s top boxers. The fight will take place in the US, likely as part of a PBC broadcast. The agreement between both sides prevented a purse bid from happening on Friday, which likely would have been won by PBC since Haymon (through intermediary promotions) uses his hedge fund money to win every purse bid by a wide margin.

    The other super middleweight champions are Art Abraham (WBO), Fedor Chudinov (WBA regular), and Andre Ward (WBA super). Abraham defends his title against Robert Stieglitz in Germany on July 18th. Ward is facing Paul Smith in a non-title bout on June 20th as part of a time buy on BET by Jay Z’s boxing promotion Roc Nation. Chudinov just won the vacant WBA regular title against Felix Sturm in Germany on May 9th.

    The biggest names that DeGale could face at super middleweight are either Carl Froch or Andre Ward and neither fight is likely to happen. Froch is talking about retiring, or possibly fighting Gennady Golovkin and then retiring. He already holds a win over Dirrell.  Ward, on the other hand, is promoted by Jay Z, who is a rival to Haymon’s PBC.

    The winner of Jack-Groves is a possible opponent for DeGale. This would be especially interesting if Jack won because both Jack and DeGale are under contract to Haymon (Groves isn’t) and that would give Haymon two of the five major champions at super middleweight. There has been a rumour since PBC began that the promotion is looking to create its own titles, much in the same way as the UFC. If PBC did a champion versus champion fight with Jack and DeGale, it would be interesting to see if they used that fight as a springboard to create their own promotional titles.

    PBC is careful on all of its broadcasts not to refer to the alphabet name of whatever belt is being fought for. For instance, commentator Kenny Rice only referred to DeGale as the new Super Middleweight champion, rather than specifying that he was the IBF champion. Ring announcer Michael C. Williams also announced DeGale as the new Super Middleweight champion and never specified which alphabet title DeGale won. PBC has been vague about these titles since the promotion began in March.

    I personally like the idea of one major boxing promotion handling its own titles. The UFC title situation isn’t perfect, but it is significantly less confusing than the title situation in boxing. To paraphrase John L. Sullivan, most boxing titles aren’t worth hanging around the neck of a goddam dog. Boxing has way too many titles in way too many weight divisions, including things like Super titles, Diamond titles, Silver titles, and so on. Having too many confusing titles and no real linear champions in most weight divisions means that these titles are worthless in the eyes of the casual fan, which is the opposite of what world titles are meant to accomplish.

    The fight between Dirrell and DeGale was promoted by Warriors Boxing promoter Leon Margules on behalf of Al Haymon’s PBC. On March 10th Margules won the purse bid for the fight, using Haymon’s hedge fund money to outbid DeGale’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing. If Hearn had won then the fight likely would have taken place in Britain. DeGale and Dirrell each received $1.55 million.

    The NBC broadcast of PBC also featured the first two rounds of a bout between Edwin Rodriguez (26-1, 17 KOs) and Craig Baker (16-1, 12 KOs). Neither round was particularly exciting. The NBC broadcast ended at 6pm ET sharp and the bout between Rodriguez, 30, and Baker, 31, continued on NBC Sports Network. Rodriguez was the hometown favourite. Rodriguez stopped Baker in the third round. The stoppage was premature, as Rodriguez had Baker against the ropes and was pummeling him, but Baker still seemed in the fight when the referee stepped in and called the match.

    PBC made changes to the broadcast team for the third show. Many of the big name sports broadcasters from the first two PBC shows on NBC weren’t back, probably because this was an afternoon show and the other two PBC shows on NBC were in prime time. Kenny Rice of Inside MMA provided play-by-play. Rice had previously worked as a backstage interviewer on the first two PBC shows on NBC. He has also worked as a play-by-play broadcaster for WSOF on NBC Sports Network. Rice is often criticized for his work on Inside MMA, but he does a good job as a play-by-play man and did well on this show. Sugar Ray Leonard was back as a colour commentator and the third man was BJ Flores.

    It was PBC’s third broadcast on NBC, but the first on NBC that aired on a Saturday afternoon rather than Saturday night. The show started at 4:30pm ET and ran until 6. At that point, the bout between Rodriguez and Baker continued on NBC Sports Network. It was a strange time slot, not just the late afternoon start, but also airing at half past the hour rather than at the top of the hour.

    This was only PBC’s second broadcast after the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on May 2nd. The first PBC broadcaster after the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was the Figueora-Burns match on May 9th, which was an afternoon broadcast on CBS. That means PBC has yet to air a show in prime time since the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. PBC probably dropped the ball, because this show took place 21 days after Mayweather-Pacquiao. PBC should have had a prime time broadcast within a week of Mayweather-Pacquiao to take advantage of the short amount of time that boxing had a higher profile in mainstream media.

    HBO has aired a couple of fights since Mayweather-Pacquiao that have drawn well. Canelo Alvarez’s fight against James Kirkland a week after Mayweather-Pacquiao drew 2.146 million viewers on average, the highest rated fight on HBO since 2006. The week after, HBO drew 1.338 million viewers on average for Gennady Golovkin putting on drama show against Willie Monroe Jr. That was the third highest rated fight on HBO of the year, behind the Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight title defense that took place at Madison Square Garden a week before Mayweather-Pacquiao.

    PBC’s third broadcast on NBC was an important show to determine the longevity of ratings for PBC on network television. The first PBC show on NBC drew 3.4 million viewers on average in March, peaking at 4.2 million. The second PBC show on NBC drew 2.9 million viewers on average, peaking at 3.4 million. The second show had a drop in average viewership of approximately 15-percent.

    The afternoon timeslot prevented PBC from going up against the prelims for UFC 187 on Fox Sports 1, as well as the UFC pay per view broadcast. The show was over well before UFC began. Also, Saturday night is a major night for both the NHL and NBA playoffs, as well as MLB.

    The change in time slot, however, will make it difficult to compare the ratings for this show with the ratings for the two previous PBC shows on NBC. A better comparison might be the ratings PBC drew for its two Saturday afternoon shows on CBS. The debut of PBC on CBS drew 1.4 million viewers on average for a 1.0 rating. The second PBC show on CBS drew 1.3 million viewers on average for a 0.9 rating, down 8-percent from the debut.

    PBC has also run two shows on Spike on Friday nights. The first drew 869,000 viewers on average and the second drew 569,000 viewers on average. That was a 35-percent drop in viewership.

    If I were to guess as to why the viewership on Spike dropped more sharply than the viewership on NBC or CBS, I would say that it is because Spike‘s audience consists of males 18-34 in higher concentration than either NBC or CBS, the latter two of which probably have a higher cross-section of different people in their respective audiences. Boxing viewership skews older, so maintaining ratings with males 18-34 is going to be much harder for PBC and the sharp decline in ratings on Spike is an example of that. Getting young men to watch boxing is one of the major obstacles PBC has to overcome in order to be successful because males 18-34 are highly coveted by advertisers because that demographic has such high disposable income. PBC needs to make money by selling ad space and the more males 18-34 that watch PBC, the more money PBC can make off ads.

    There will be a major decline in ratings from the second PBC show on NBC compared to the third show that aired this past weekend because of the change in timeslot. A show that airs Saturday night is obviously going to draw better ratings than a show that airs Saturday afternoon. The real comparison will be whether this Saturday’s show sees a substantial drop from the ratings PBC has garnered for their two Saturday afternoon shows on CBS. Another comparison would be the 0.8 rating that NBC average for boxing that aired on Saturday afternoons from 2012 to 2014. So, this weekend’s show should see an average viewership of about 1.3 million people, or so. Anything significantly under that number would be a failure.

    A few major television executives have recently been interviewed in regards to Haymon’s promotion of PBC. In a private media conference, Sean McManus, Chairman of CBS Sports, and Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBC Sports, were asked about the success of PBC by Richard Sandomir of The New York Times.

    “I think Al looks at what’s happened with UFC and the explosive growth in that product and says to himself, ‘Why can’t I create that kind of excitement around the boxing world? Why can’t I take unknown boxers, put them on NBC and CBS and Spike and as many networks as I possibly can, and why can’t I create the kind of stars that boxing used to see in the 70s and 80s’,” said McManus. “The other obstacle I think he’s got to overcome is that the advertising support for boxing has been pretty weak throughout the years and I think he’s got to sell his case to the advertising community that the demographics are good and that the sale makes sense because the way it’s now being structured to a large extent on advertiser supported networks he’s counting on that as being the major part of his revenue and I think that’s one of the obstacles he has to overcome.”

    “The roadblock he’s got to come over is building some names and getting them to fight regularly to continue to heighten their exposure and fan appeal,” said Lazarus. “For us, being involved with it, as well as Sean is, I admire his courage and business planning. In success, it’s going to be good for the sport and good for sports in general.”

    Stephen Espinoza of Showtime was also recently interviewed by R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News in regards to the future of Floyd Mayweather and the possibility of a rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

    “It far exceeded our expectations, even what we were expecting late in the week. We were monitoring pre-buys all week but there was nothing in the ballpark to compare it to … they were so high we couldn’t use it to extrapolate any numbers. We were largely flying blind,” Espinoza said in regards to the buy rate for Mayweather-Pacquiao.

    “One of the elements that made it hard to predict was that we did message so heavily on early buying by the viewer to avoid technical difficulties, so we weren’t sure how much of the early activity was in response to that messaging and how much was genuine overall excitement and enthusiasm for the fight,” Espinoza continued. “I guess our first real indication that there was a huge expansion of the audience was during the telecast itself when we starting getting some reports that some operators were experiencing technical difficulties processing the huge volume of orders that were coming in on Saturday evening. Ultimately we were able to buy some time by stalling the main event and that hopefully that allowed everything to get cleared up in time for a successful main event telecast.”

    Espinoza continued by discussing the future of boxing’s popularity in mainstream media. “What it means for the fight and the sport is sort of a new measuring stick for mainstream appeal of boxing. It’s been decades since the sport has received this level of attention and maybe not even then,” he said. “To be able to capture the imagination and attention of the mainstream audience in such a short period of time on a very, very busy sports weekend speaks volumes about the continued appeal of this sport. Having said that, not every fight is going to be Mayweather/Pacquiao, but for the right matchups there’s still tremendous appeal and demand for boxing.

    Regarding Mayweather’s next fight in September, Espinoza said “Floyd has continued to tell us that he intends to fight Sept. 12 and that it will be the last fight of his career. So we are beginning the very preliminary preparations for exactly that. We will be getting into discussions about an opponent for him very quickly. We will look to ride the momentum of this event and capitalize on the fact that Floyd has now distinguished himself as the fighter of his era.”

    Regarding a rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao, Espinoza sounded more optimistic about its possibility compared with Mayweather in the latter’s interview with Showtime a week after the fight took place. “I think we have to remain open to it,” said Espinoza. “There’s a lot of chatter on both sides about the possibility – once Manny successfully recovers from [shoulder] surgery, if there a demand and if Floyd is still active or would consider coming back to being active then it would be a topic of conversation. But it will be driven by demand.”

    Next week, PBC returns to Spike with Amir Khan versus Chris Algieri on Friday night from New York. If Khan gets past Algieri (likely to happen), then he is rumoured to be on the short list of possible opponents for Mayweather in September.

    On June 6th, Miguel Cotto faces Daniel Geale on HBO in New York in a fight that should setup Cotto vs Canelo Alvarez later this year on pay per view. PBC also has another Saturday afternoon show on June 6th in Carson, CA, with Robert Guerrero vs Aron Martinez. Guerrero is coming off a loss to Keith Thurman in the debut of PBC back in March.

    June 12h PBC is back on Spike again with Erislandy Lara versus Delvin Rodriguez for the WBA regular Junior Middleweight title. June 13th HBO has Nicholas Walters versus Miguel Marriaga for the WBA Featherweight title in New York and the same night Showtime has Deontay Wilder defending the WBC Heavyweight title against Eric Molina. Wilder is a Haymon fighter and is super charismatic and they are making a mistake by putting him on premium cable instead of network TV, although maybe Wilder has a contract with Showtime and they have to do it that way.

    On June 20th PBC returns to prime time on NBC with Adrian Broner versus Shawn Porter. That will be the most important PBC show during the promotion’s first few months because it will be the fifth show on NBC, but the third on NBC in prime time. Also, Broner and Porter are both coming off wins on previous PBC shows with Broner beating John Molina Jr on PBC’s debut on NBC back in March and Porter beating Erick  Bone on PBC’s debut on Spike, also in March. When Broner and Porter meet in prime time on NBC we will see if PBC was able to turn the two into stars with their high profile wins on American television, as the rating for that fight will be an important indicator of PBC’s success going forward.

    The Broner-Porter fight goes up against Andre Ward debuting on BET against Paul Smith. Ward is promoted by Jay-Z, who has terrible bad blood with Al Haymon dating back to Haymon’s days as the preeminent R&B promoter in the US. The Ward fight is part of a time buy that Jay-Z is doing on BET and that he is putting Ward’s fight against an important PBC fight is not an accident.

    And if that isn’t all, on June 20th David Lemieux faces Hassan N’Dam in Montreal for the vacant IBF Middleweight title. The fight is being promoted by Golden Boy. It will air on pay per view in Quebec, but Golden Boy doesn’t have a broadcaster in the US yet. De La Hoya said he is trying to work something out and that the fight will air in the US, which will make for three major boxing matches in one night on American TV. I would say it probably ends up on HBO, since De La Hoya has been working with HBO recently and Haymon works with Showtime and probably wouldn’t be pleased with Showtime putting a major fight against his important PBC show on NBC that night.

    Then, believe it or not, the next day on June 21st PBC is back for another CBS show, this time on a Sunday afternoon with Rances Barthelemy versus Antonio DeMarco. That means PBC has back-to-back network television shows on June 20th and June 21st.

    On Friday, June 26th is another boxing ratings war with four different broadcasters airing boxing the same night. Showtime has Dominic Wade vs Sam Soliman on ShoBox (their show for featuring up-and-coming fighters) as part of a triple header on that station that I believe is promoted by Haymon. TruTV has a Top Rank broadcast. Fox Sports 1 has a Golden Boy broadcast. And CBS Sports Net has minor league boxing. Then, the next night on June 27th HBO has Timothy Bradley versus Jessie Vargas for the vacant WBO Welterweight title.

    On July 11th, PBC debuts on ESPN, replacing Friday Night Fights, which recently had its final broadcast.

  • Another WWE house show detailed report 5/23 Utica

    By Steve Wameling

    First time in a few years that WWE has run a show in Utica. It was a pretty fun night.

    1. Ziggler pinned Sheamus in a very good opening match that went about 12 minutes. The crowd chanted ‘you look stupid’ at Sheamus. Sheamus got on the mike and said that he didn’t look stupid. The crowd was hot to start and was super into the near falls, but I’m afraid they went on series of them too many. 

    2. Jimmy Uso pinned Brad Maddox. Brad Maddox came out on the mic and asked the crowd if anyone knew who he was. Not many people seemed to recognize him. Maddox said he was recently one of the greatest GMs in Raw history. Jimmy Uso came out to some cheers. There was a lot of hot-dogging in this match, which should be expected.

    Stardust came out and started promoting the network, the WWE twitter, and wwe.com. He said that if we followed the WWE twitter we would have known already the big announcement that Survivor Series was coming to Utica this fall. Stardust then said he was lying and that everyone in Utica was a fat pig. R Truth came out.

    3. R Truth pinned Stardust. Both guys were really entertaining in this match. It was a lot of fun to watch.

    4. Lucha Dragons pinned Los Matadors. There was heavy teasing of Torrito joining the Lucha Dragons. The crowd wasn’t as into this match. Many people left their seats to go do something else. The match itself was fine.

    5. Roman Reigns pinned Big Show in a Steel Cage Match. Roman Reigns got a mixed reaction upon his entrance. The highlight of the night was an older woman fan that got too close to Reigns and got speared by a security guard during his entrance. The steel cage match was what you would expect it to be. Reigns got cheered more during the match. He was not, however, the most over guy on the show.

    Intermission. 

    6. Emma and Charlotte beat Alicia Fox and Layla via submission by way of the figure four leg-lock. Having Charlotte on the show was cool. This match was nothing special, but it was not horrible by any means.

    7. Ryback pinned Bray Wyatt. Both guys got decent pops from the crowd. In the words of Vinny V; “It was a match”.

    8. Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins via DQ by way of interference by J and J security for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. This match was great. The ending was a letdown to the crowd after all of the near falls. At one point during the match Rollins grabbed a mic and said that he was the greatest champion that Utica has ever seen, better than both Bruno Samartino, Hulk Hogan and Randy Orton. Randy Orton was the most over guy on the show. Rollins was an awesome heel. I wish the Authority (HHH, Stephanie, and Kane) would get the hell out of the spotlight and let Rollins do his own thing more often with J and J. 

    All in all, a fun night. Thanks 

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Saitama report 5-23-15: Kushida vs. Nick Jackson

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Day 2 of the Best of the Super Juniors has been uploaded on New Japan World’s website. The full show didn’t air; rather it was just the three BOTSJ matches that took place on the show. It was a hard camera, no frills sort of setup.

    Alex Shelley was scheduled to face Rocky Romero on this card, but suffered what appears to be an injury to his heel during his bout with David Finlay and thus wasn’t able to compete here. It seems like they’re postponing the match until they can determine if Shelley will be able to compete or not.

    Gedo vs. Yohei Komatsu

    This was fine, nothing noteworthy. Gedo took control of most of the match and threw Komatsu around the outside. Komatsu made a comeback, including sinking in the rolling boston crab, but Gedo was able to escape. Gedo caught Komatsu off guard with the complete shot out of nowhere and pinned him with the Gedo clutch. This got enough time and the pacing was good enough for it to be the best match on the card, though it wasn’t anything blow away.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Barbaro Cavernario

    Comedy spots start this one out, with Taguchi coming to the ring wearing Cavernario’s bone on his head and both of them doing Taguchi’s poses. Cavernario took out one of the turnbuckles and did Sami Zayn’s suicide dive through the corner. Taguchi comes back with a big tope con hilo. Then he just picked up a win out of nowhere with a seated butt attack. You heard me right. Not that good, just goofy comedy with one or two good spots.

    Nick Jackson vs. Kushida

    Decent back and forth match. Nothing wrong with it all, but wasn’t there much in terms of heat, though eventually they got into Kushida. He was in control until Jackson kicked him and landed a 450 splash for the win. Not much else to it and the finish felt pretty anticlimatic.

  • WWE Utica, NY, 5-24-15 house show report: Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton, Roman Reigns vs. Big Show steel cage match

    From Utica, NY:

    – Dolph Ziggler pinned Sheamus
    – Jimmy Uso pinned Brad Maddox
    – R-Truth beat Stardust
    – The Lucha Dragons defeated Los Matadores when Sin Cara pinned Diego
    – Roman Reigns pinned The Big Show in a Steel Cage Match
    – Charlotte & Emma beat Alicia Fox & Layla when Charlotte submitted Fox
    – Ryback pinned Bray Wyatt
    – Randy Orton beat WWE World Champion Seth Rollins by DQ in a World Title Match when J & J Security interfered. Rollins kicked out of the RKO

  • UFC 187 live results & recap: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson, Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort

    By Dave Meltzer & Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event, headlined by two title fights, airs on pay-per-view, with preliminary card action on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. We have a preview for the event HERE and coverage of the weigh-ins HERE. We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s fight card, so you can send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    As noted, a women’s strawweight bout between Rose Namajunas and Nina Ansaroff has been scratched from the card due to Ansaroff falling ill.

    PRELIMS:

    JUSTIN SCOGGINS VS. JOSH SAMPO, FLYWEIGHTS

    First round: Nice spinning head kick by Scoggins.  Front kick by Scoggins.  Nice left landed by Scoggins and a spin kick to the body.  Nice spin kick to the head by Scoggins.  Sampo tried for a takedown but couldn’t get it.  Left by Scoggins.  Body kick by Scoggins.  Body kick back by Sampo.  Another body kick by Scoggins.  Knee by Scoggins 10-9 Scoggins. Pretty one-sided.

    Second round: More kicks by Scoggins.  Spin kick by Scoggins.  Hook kick by Scoggins.  Front kick by Scoggins.  Right by Sampo.  Sampo got the takedown.  Scoggins right back up.  Hard body kick by Scoggins.  Left jab put Sampo down momentarily.  Body kick by Scoggins.  Sampo with a right.  Sampo tried for a takedown but didn’t get it.  20-18 Scoggins.

    Third round: Spin kick to the body.  Sampo took him down.  Scoggins back up.  Body kick by Scoggins.  Scoggins got the takedown late in the round.  Close round, Scoggins won the fight easily.  Scoggins, this round was close and you could almost give it to Sampo.  30-27 Scoggins.

    Official Result: Justin Scoggins def. Josh Sampo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    ISLAM MAKHACHEV VS. LEO KUNTZ LIGHTWEIGHTS

    First round: Makhachev with a judo throw and now has his back.  He’s working for a choke.  Kuntz out and got back to his feet.  Makhachev with short range uppercuts.  Head kick by Makhachev.  Makhachv with uppercuts and got a hip toss into side control.  Makhachev 10-9

    Second round: Right by Makhahev.  Makhachev gt his back afer a takedown and is agin working for a choke.  He’s got the choke now and it’s over.  2:38

    Official Result: Islam Makhachev def. Leo Kuntz by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:38 of Round 2

    MIKE PYLE VS. COLBY COVINGTON, WELTERWEIGHTS

    Round 1: Covington is undefeated and was a college roommate of Jon Jones. Pyle is a big-time veteran. Covington took this fight on short notice. Pyle misses a front kick to start. Covington misses a left hand but lands a combo and shoots in for a takedown against the fence. They battle against the fence as Covington works to take it to the mat but Pyle has solid defense. They battle for the underhooks and Pyle spins out and makes a takedown attempt. They remain clinched against the fence and Covington lands a low knee that gets a little too low and we have a break. We get back to action. Covington with a head kick. Covington lands a nice left hand and then a combo. Pyle lands a right hand counter and Covington shoots for the takedown and they battle against the fence.

    Covington with some short right hands but Pyle breaks it. Covington lands a left and clinches back up with Pyle. Knee to the body from Pyle against the fence. Covington grabs a leg as Pyle rolls for a kimura and they go to the mat for a second but get right back up. Covington grabs the back and Pyle grabs the fence to defend. Covington gets the takedown and goes into half-guard. Pyle looking to throw his legs up and looks for the neck. Covington with a left elbow. Covington with some left hands from the top. Covington postures up and goes back into Pyle’s guard. Covington with more left hands to the body from the top and then some right hands to the body. Pyle looks to set up a triangle but abandons it. Covington rides the round out on top with left hands to the body. 10-9 Covington.

    Round 2: Covington goes right for the takedown against the fence but Pyle defends it and they break. Pyle with a front kick to the face. Covington lands a right hook but Pyle clips him coming forward. Covington lands a combo and then grabs the back of Pyle. Pyle grabs the wrist and looks to set a kimura up but lets go. Covington looks to take it down but Pyle grabs the fence again. Covington gets the fight to the ground and gets on top. Covington moves to side control against the fence. Pyle looks for the armbar but doesn’t have it and Covington goes into the guard. Pyle with an elbow from the bottom. Covington with a big elbow from the guard. Covington with body shots from the top. Covington with an elbow from the top as he postures up. Covington just dominant from the top position right now. Covington with two more short elbows and then another. Covington with a big left hand from the top. Covington with some punches. They are stood up by referee Herb Dean. Covington with a left hand. Covington misses badly on a high kick but lands a left hand and then lands another. Pyle is cut under his eye. Covington with a big overhand right. The round concludes. 10-9 Covington, 20-18 Covington.

    Round 3: Pyle probably needs a finish to win barring some weird judging scores. Pyle with a leg kick. Pyle with a flying knee and Covington grabs the legs looking for a takedown. Pyle grabs the neck and looks for the choke but Covington shakes him off and they scramble and Covington ends up on top. Pyle with an elbow from the bottom and then another. Covington with a big elbow from the top and then some body punches. Covington with a left hand from the top. More body punches from the top by Covington. Right hand from the top by Covington. Covington with more punches from the top. Covington is bleeding but dominant. Covington looks to transition to side control but remains in the guard. More body punches from Covington.

    Pyle tries to use the fence to wall walk to his feet but Covington has him grasped. Pyle looking for a kimura from the bottom. Covington defending and he gets out but Pyle reverses positions and is in full mount over Covington. Pyle tries to break the grip of Covington. Pyle transitions to the back and is looking for the choke as he lands punches. Pyle has the neck and the choke but Covington scrambles out and gets into the guard. That was close as Pyle went for the finish to win. Covington in top position and he will ride the fight out there and finish with punches. 10-9 Covington, 30-27 Covington.

    Official Result: Colby Covington def. Mike Pyle by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS: URIAH HALL VS. RAFAEL NATAL

    Round 1: These two got into it a little bit at the weigh-ins and Hall is anxious to get the fight started as he got in the face of Natal after entering the Octagon. Natal kicked Hall right in the groin as they got to action. It definitely looked intentional. Natal with a leg kick. Natal with a leg kick and then a combo. Natal lands a leg kick but Hall counters with a right hand. Hall with a spin kick to the body. Natal with a leg kick from the southpaw position. Natal with a right hand. Natal misses a right hand. Hall with a head kick. Hall with a leg kick and a left hook. Hall with a front kick to the body. Natal with an inside leg kick. Hall with a switch kick to the body. Natal with a combo and an inside leg kick. Natal with a right hand. Hall lands a solid jab. Natal with another leg kick and then a short left. Natal goes for a takedown but it is stuffed by Hall. Hall just misses a spinning wheel kick. Hall blocks a head kick from Natal. Natal misses an overhand right. Hall lands a big head kick and then another as he countered an inside leg kick from Natal. Hall with a spinning back kick to the body. Natal misses a spinning back fist. Natal with a body kick and then lands a combo. Hall with a straight left hand and then a head kick. Hall moving around nicely. Natal has a takedown stuffed and gets it for a moment against the fence and grabs the back and lands some knees. He fights for the takedown against the fence as the round ends. Close round. 10-9 Hall.

    Round 2: They trade punches. Hall with an inside leg kick. Natal is smiling at Hall as Hall is on the attack. Hall lands a jab. Natal with a leg kick. Hall with a body kick. Natal misses a big right hand. Natal with a leg kick and they exchange punches. Natal ducks under a punch from Hall and scores a takedown and is in half-guard. Natal looks to pin down the arm. Natal moves into the full guard of Hall. Natal with some short punches from the top. Natal with some body punches. Both with punches on the ground. Natal pushes Hall to the fence and steps over to half-guard. Hall gets to his feet and looks to break. Natal has Hall’s back against the fence and lands some knees to the thigh. Natal has the body lock and looks for the takedown but Hall gets free and they go to the center. Hall with a knee to the body and a head kick. Hall misses a head kick and Natal misses one. Natal with an inside leg kick. Hall shoots for the takedown against the fence but Natal defends. Hall picks Natal up and slams him but Natal gets right back up. Hall has the back. Hall with a suplex to the mat and they battle to end the round. 10-9 Natal, 19-19.

    Round 3: We have a close fight heading to the final round. Hall looks for a quick jab. Hall with an inside leg kick. Hall with a jab to the body. Natal with a leg kick. Hall with a leg kick. Hall just misses a wheel kick to the body. Hall with an inside leg kick. Natal with a jab. Hall with a knee to the body. Natal lands a nice right hand. Hall with a head kick and then stuffs a takedown attempt from Natal. Natal lands a right hand. Natal with a weak right hand. Hall with a leg kick and then a high kick. Natal lands a leg kick. Hall with a leg kick. Hall lands a nice jab and Natal misses a wild overhand right. Natal with a right hand as the pace has slowed down. Natal with a couple of right hands. Natal with a body kick. Natal grabs the leg and pushes Hall to the fence looking to get the fight down to the mat. They get warned to work. Natal just holding the leg. Hall defending well. They are broken up by the referee. They trade punches. Hall with a spin kick to the arms. Natal misses a takedown but lands a left on the break. Hall misses a high kick as the fight ends. 10-9 Hall, 29-28 Hall.

    Official Result: Rafael Natal def. Uriah Hall by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

    WELTERWEIGHTS: DONG HYUN KIM VS. JOSH BURKMAN

    Round 1: Both men look to rebound from losses (though Burkman’s was later changed to a no contest). Burkman with a leg kick to start and he blocks a takedown attempt from Kim. Kim with a front kick. Burkman with a right hand and then a high kick. Burkman with a combo and then a leg kick and a right hand that follows. Burkman with a nice combo and they clinch against the fence. Kim looks to grab the neck against the fence but Burkman defends. They scramble against the fence and Kim has the body lock. Kim has the back and is trying to drag the fight to the ground.

    Kim with a knee and they go to the mat for a moment but get back up and Burkman has the body lock on Kim. Burkman with a knee to the body. Kim switches and lands a knee to the body and spins to the back. Kim climbs on the back of Burkman. Kim with some left hands as he has standing full back mount. Kim with more left hands from the back. Kim looks for the choke with just over a minute left. Burkman has a hand in the way and Kim gives it up. Kim looking to trip Burkman to the mat as he rides the back. Burkman with a back left hand and Kim lands a knee as the round ends. 10-9 Kim.

    Round 2: Kim with a body kick and a high kick. Burkman with a leg kick. Kim with a high kick and slips to the mat and Burkman lands a left. Burkman lands a series of punches to Kim against the fence but they separate. Kim with a right hand and a body punch and Burkman drags the fight to the mat. Kim with some elbows to the side of Burkman. They scramble and Kim looks for a takedown. Kim looking to set up a choke as he ties the legs up. Kim with some punches from the back. Kim tying up the arm and looking for the crucifix. Kim with some left hands. Kim with more left hands and Burkman isn’t doing much. Kim with lots of short punches. Burkman tries to sneak out but Kim still has the arm trapped. Fans booing as Kim continues to land a lot of punches. Kim switches to an elbow. Kim with more punches as he has the arm of Burkman trapped. Kim with more punches and hard elbows. Burkman looks to roll over. Kim with more punches and lands big shots. Kim gets up and lands a knee to the body as the round ends. Big round for Kim. 10-8 Kim, 20-17 Kim.

    Round 3: Burkman needs a finish in the final round. Burkman with a body kick and an uppercut and right hand a knee. Burkman with a flying knee and he has Kim hurt and is looking for a finish. Big combo from Burkman but he steps away and Kim is recovering. Kim with a front kick. Kim with a left hand and he grabs the body and drags the fight down. Burkman grabs the neck for a guillotine but Kim moves to side control. Burkman lets go of the neck. Kim in side control and looking for the arm-triangle. Kim has a knee to the belly and looks to step over and work for the choke. Kim has it locked a little but is still in the wrong position. He needs to hop over but has pressure on. Kim steps over and has it locked in and Burkman taps out! Kim winner by submission with the arm-triangle in a dominant performace.

    Official Result: Dong Hyun Kim def. Josh Burkman by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:13 of Round 3

    FLYWEIGHTS: JOHN DODSON VS. ZACH MAKOVSKY

    Round 1: Dodson returns from a knee injury and could get a title shot at Demetrious Johnson with a win here. They trade leg kicks. Dodson tags Makovsky with a short left hand as he circles around. They clinch for a moment. Dodson lands a left hand. Makovsky lands a left hand. Makovsky with a straight left hand that gets a smile from Dodson. Makovsky misses a takedown. They trade punches in the clinch. Dodson with a right hand to the body and they tie up for a moment. Both men fighting as southpaws. Makovsky goes for a takedown but it is defended. Makovsky misses a head kick. Makovsky lands a nice right hand. Makovsky lands a left and a knee as they clinch for a moment. They trade punches. Makovsky with an inside leg kick but Dodson returns a leg kick of his own. Makovsky misses a shoot at a takedown. Dodson with a leg kick and Makovsky lands a kick of his own. Dodson with a left hand. Dodson with a knee to the body in a brief clinch. The round ends with a clinch. 10-9 Makovsky.

    Round 2: Makovsky with a right hand to the body. Makovsky with a left hand and a leg kick. They tie up and Dodson lands a kick to the body and a knee. Makovsky has a high kick checked by Dodson. Makovsky lands a nice combination. Makovsky with an eye poke but they continue. Dodson with a leg kick and they scramble against the fence. They tie up but break. Makovski with a left hand. Makovsky with a leg kick. Dodson lands an overhand left and then a combo to the body as he misses a right hand over the top. Makovsky with an inside leg kick and misses a high kick. Makovsky goes for a takedown but it is defended and Dodson lands a combo.

    Makovsky with an inside leg kick. Dodson with a short uppercut. Both still somewhat tentative. Dodson misses a big left hand. Makovsky lands a head kick. They trade punches. They each land leg kicks and Makovsky takes Dodson down but gets right back up. Dodson gets a big slam and has Makovsky down and is on top. Makovsky grabs the leg but Dodson steps over and stays on top. Dodson helps Makovsky up and they go to the center to end the round. Close round. 10-9 Dodson, 19-19.

    Round 3: This round will decide it. They hug to start. Dodson just misses a big left hand and Makovsky just misses an inside leg kick. Makovsky with an inside leg kick. They trade punches. Makovsky with a body kick. Neither man is able to land and the crowd begins to boo. Makovsky misses a takedown attempt. Dodson has a combo that Makovsky ducks under. Dodson misses an uppercut. Makovsky shoots in and Dodson stuffs the takedown and they clinch. Dodson with some knees to the body in the clinch and they break. They trade punches and Dodson lands a short uppercut. Makovsky with a right hook. Dodson with a combination. Dodson lands a left hand and a knee to the body followed by a short left. Makovsky goes for a takedown but eats a knee from Dodson. Makovsky with a body kick and Dodson counters with a quick takedown. Back to their feet. Dodson with a knee to the body to defend a takedown. Makovsky misses a left hand. A late takedown attempt misses from Makovsky. They trade punches and the fight ends. Boring last round and close. 10-9 Dodson, 29-28 Dodson.

    Official Result: John Dodson def. Zach Makovsky by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT):

    FLYWEIGHTS: JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ VS. JOHN MORAGA

    Round 1: Both men have 2-fight win streaks and have fought for the flyweight title. Moraga with a right hand and they trade early. Moraga with a leg kick. Moraga with a head kick and Benavidez tags Moraga and he goes to the mat. Benavidez with a bunch of punches and he gets on top and in side control. They scramble and Benavidez has the neck of Moraga. Benavidez is looking for the guillotine choke but Moraga is trying to hip escape. Benavidez in side control and looking to mount. Benavidez went for the choke but Moraga scrambled out and looked for the neck as he dropped to the mat but Benavidez ends on top against the fence.

    Moraga gets to the feet against the fence and they are clinched. Moraga with knees to the body. Moraga looks for the takedown but it is defended. They trade knees against the fence as both look for the takedown in the clinch. They trade knees again. Benavidez with an elbow and Moraga drops down for a takedown and gets a takedown and Moraga takes the back in a wild scramble. Moraga has the body lock against the fence. Moraga with knee to the body and grabs the neck. Big slam from Benavidez and he is on top with 30 seconds left. Benavidez grabs the neck and looks for the choke but the round is going to end. 10-9 Benavidez.

    Round 2: Moraga with a body kick and Benavidez comes back with a leg kick. Moraga with an inside leg kick. They trade punches in an exchange. Benavidez lands a combo and a leg kick but Moraga comes back with an uppercut. Moraga with a leg kick. Benavidez comes back with a leg kick and Moraga counters with one. Benavidez with a leg kick and they exchange punches. Moraga with a big body kick and then another one. Moraga misses a big left hook but lands a right hand. Moraga with a straight right hand. They clinch and Benavidez looks for a takedown. Moraga is cut on the top of his head, likely as they collided heads. Benavidez gets the takedown against the fence and Moraga is looking for the guillotine. Moraga has the neck but Benavidez gets his head free. Benavidez gets into side control and grinds an elbow in the face of Moraga. Benavidez with a knee to the body and finishes the round in side control. 10-9 Benavidez, 20-18 Benavidez.

    Round 3: Benavidez misses a leg kick to start the final round. Moraga with a combo and they are trading big exchanges. Moraga lands a knee and just misses a right hand. Moraga backs Benavidez against the fence and tries for a flying knee but Benavidez stops it with a front kick. They change punches. Benavidez with a body kick. Benavidez gets the takedown and goes right back into side control. Benavidez with some short elbows. Moraga gets back to full guard. Benavidez with some punches from the top. Benavidez postures up and lands an elbow. Benavidez wth another elbow from the top. Benavidez with more punches from the top. Moraga not doing much from the bottom. Benavidez with more short punches from the top. More punches from the top by Benavidez. Benavidez with a big right hand from the top. Moraga has the body lock from the bottom and Benavidez rides the fight out with punches from the top. 10-9 Benavidez, 30-27 Benavidez.

    Official Result: Joseph Benavidez def. John Moraga by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    HEAVYWEIGHTS: TRAVIS BROWNE VS. ANDREI ARLOVSKI

    Round 1: These two have trained  and lived together in the past and are looking for a title shot. Arlovski with an inside leg kick. Arlovski with a combo. Browne with a right hand to the body. Browne with a right hand and Arlovski lands a right hand that rocks Browne and Browne is in trouble. Arlovski with a combo against the fence but Browne survives and they break. Arlovski with more punches and Browne is still in trouble. They separate and Browne has recovered for now. They trade right hands. Arlovski misses a big right hand. Browne with a left hook that lands. Arlovski with another big punch that rocks Browne.

    Arlovski rocks Browne again and Browne is in all sorts of trouble. Arlovski with more punches and he tags Browne again. Browne is still up. Browne with a leg kick. Browne with another leg kick. They trade punches. Arlovski with a combo and just misses a big right hand. Arlovski drops Browne with a right hand and Browne is in trouble again. Browne is on wobbly legs and Arlovski is landing again. Browne then lands a big right hand that drops Arlovski. They are both swinging for the fences and both are hurt. Arlovski with a big right hand and an elbow. They break. What an amazing right. They trade punches and Browne is wobbling bad. Arlovski with a big right hand and Browne is hurt and the referee stops it! Arlovski gets the TKO win after finishing it against the fence. Go out of your way to watch this fight, it was an amazing and crazy fight.

    Official Result: Andrei Arlovski def. Travis Browne by TKO (punches) at 4:41 of Round 1

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: DONALD CERRONE VS. JOHN MAKDESSI

    Round 1: Cerrone has seven straight wins and gets a title shot with another win here. Cerrone with a switch kick early and a big inside leg kick. Cerrone with a leg kick and then a body kick. Makdessi lands a left hand. Cerrone with a leg kick. They exchange punches. Cerrone rocks Makdessi with a head kick and then lands another head kick and a leg kick. Cerrone with a jab but misses a head kick. Cerrone with another head kick. Cerrone with a leg kick. Cerrone with a quick knee. Cerrone with a leg kick and then a big body kick. Makdessi with a right hand. Cerrone with a nice combo. Cerrone just misses a head kick. He misses another but lands a leg kick. Makdessi with a jab. Cerrone with a combo. Cerrone with a leg kick. Makdessi with a spin kick that lands. Cerrone with a leg kick. Both land right hands. 10-9 Cerrone.

    Round 2: They trade punches and leg kicks. Big knee from Cerrone followed by a solid combo has Makdessi in trouble and bleeding. Leg kick from Cerrone. Cerrone with a jab. Makdessi lands a combo. They trade punches again and Makdessi lands a left hook. Cerrone with a big uppercut and a combo. Cerrone with a combo and a leg kick but Makdessi lands a counter left hand. Cerrone with another combo. They trade punches. Cerrone misses a head kick. Cerrone with an elbow and a leg kick. Cerrone controlling the action here. Makdessi lands a punch. Cerrone a leg kick. Makdessi misses a spin kick. Cerrone lands a head kick and Makdessi quits! Makdessi verbally quits while standing. He looked to call timeout. He has a broken jaw and is done due to injury and Cerrone wins.

    Official Result: Donald Cerrone def. John Makdessi by TKO (kick) at 4:44 of Round 2

    UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: CHRIS WEIDMAN (C) VS. VITOR BELFORT

    Round 1: The long-awaited title fight is here. Belfort looks noticeably smaller. Weidman with an early head kick. Weidman with another head kick that just misses. Weidman misses a right hand. Wediman misses a takedown. Belfort stumbles and Weidman goes after Belfort and Belfort has Weidman in trouble. Belfort with some big punches in the clinch but Weidman covers up. Belfort with the big flurry. Weidman gets the takedown and is on top and in half-guard. Weidman is cut open. Weidman with posture and big punches from the top. Weidman goes to the mount and is reigning down hammerfists. Belfort gives up his back but is in a lot of trouble. Big punches from the top as Weidman looks to finish. Lots of punches from Weidman and big elbows. Big trouble and this is over! Weidman finishes Belfort from the mount in the first round. Weidman remains the champion with a first-round TKO and a big statement win.

    Official Result: Chris Weidman def. Vitor Belfort by TKO (strikes) at 2:53 of Round 1 to remain UFC Middleweight Champion

    UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: ANTHONY JOHNSON VS. DANIEL CORMIER 

    Round 1: This decides the new champion at 205 pounds. Johnson with a leg kick after an eye poke. Johnson drops Cormier with a right hand right away but Cormier gets right back up after Johnson misses a right hand and Cormier has the back. Cormier with a slam on Johnson and looks to grab the neck as he has the back. Cormier looking for the takedown against the fence. Johnson with big punches as Cormier has his leg. Johnson spins out but Cormier still has the neck. Cormier with the pressure. They are on the feet but Cormier still has Johnson’s head trapped. Johnson with a head kick on the break. They swing wildly. Johnson with a head kick. Cormier with the jab. Cormier initiates a clinch against the fence. Johnson with a but punch and they have a wild exchange to end the round. 10-9 Johnson

    Round 2: Johnson with a leg kick and then a big right hand. Johnson with a head kick and an overhand right. Johnson with a kick but Cormier grabs the leg and looks for the takedown. Cormier picks Johnson up and slams him down and goes into half-guard. Cormier with punches from the top. Cormier with a hard elbow. Cormier grabbing the arm and looking for the kimura from the side. Cormier grabs it again and is going for it. He lets go. Cormier with more left hands from the half-guard. Cormier going for the kimura again. He lets go again. Cormier with punches from the top. Johnson tries to hip escape out from the bottom but can’t get out from under Cormier. They trade punches on the mat. Cormier with short elbows from the top. Johnson is cut open and gives up the back. He survives the round. Dominant round from Cormier. 10-8 Cormier, 19-18 Cormier. 

    Round 3: Cormier with a leg kick. They exchange wildly and Johnson lands a head kick. Johnson goes for a takedown but Cormier stuffs it. Cormier with hammerfists against the fence. Johnson gets Cormier down for a moment but Cormier gets back up. They switch and Johnson is breathing heavily. Cormier gets the back of Johnson against the fence. Johnson reverses and grabs the leg but isn’t doing much with it. Cormier spins around and takes the back and starts to land punches. Cormier gets the full back and has the neck and looks for the choke. Cormier gets the rear-naked choke in and Johnson taps out! Cormier is the new light heavyweight champion as he submits a gassed out Johnson.

    Official Result: Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:39 of Round 3 to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

    The main card was one heck of a show and worth seeing.