Couldn’t even hear what Sampson tried singing he had so much heat. Mid match a “You like Nickelback” chant broke out which was hilarious. Jose won with his full nelson slam.
– Mojo Rawley vs Murphy
Pretty much blah but I’m not a big fan of either. Murphy’s prematch antics were like old school HHH. Mojo won, missed the finisher, crowd wasn’t too into it either.
– Bayley vs Nia Jax
Really good. Crowd was nuts for Bayley. Jax mid-match pranced around mocking Bayley which was a funny sight. Was close to being as good as their Takeover match. Bayley won with a roll up after Jax missed a tackle in the corner.
– Nakamura and Finn Balor vs The Revival
Good match. Crowd was way hot for Balor and Nakamura. Hard to tell who was more over. Nakamura must be being protected because he mainly did his big spots. Balor won hitting his finisher on both men.
– After intermission, William Regal came out to our joy saying thank you.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs Alexa Bliss
Surprisingly really good and the crowd bought a couple of Alexa’s near falls. Asuka ended up winning with the chicken wing.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs Tino and Tucker
Decent. Tino is a physical specimen but that’s about it. Gable is crazy over as well. They won with their usual finisher that I forget the name of.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs Austin Aries
Best match by far. Duel chants for both throughout the match. Aries had a nice near fall hitting the 450 but Joe got his foot on the rope. Joe won with the muscle buster. After it was over Aries scooted to the ropes and put his foot on one. Then as he left, he somehow got a banana and was eating it.
UFC is back on PPV tonight with the biggest show to ever take place in Brazil. This show took a hit with the loss of Anderson Silva but is still a very deep card with big names all the way down to the Fight Pass prelims: Werdum, Souza, Belfort, Shogun, Cyborg, Maia, Little Nog and much more. Even the future of Brazilian MMA is on hand with Warlley Alves and Renato Carneiro (both unbeaten) on the card.
Our panel weighs in with picks from four of the main card fights, along with the featured FS 1 prelim.
Here’s our panel with the 2016 records in parenthesis. We’ve also added a running tally of the records of the favorites going into the fights and the panel consensus picks
John Pollock (28-12; .700) – Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Josh Nason (27-13; .675) – Host of Josh Nason’s Punch Out; writer/editor WrestlingObserver.com , WON Twitter guy
Mike Sawyer (25-15; .625) – Tough Talk MMA
David Bixenspan (25-15; .562) – Figure Four Weekly writer, podcast host
Consensus picks (23-14; .622)
Mike Sempervive (24-16; .600) – Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Ryan Frederick (24-16; .600) – WrestlingObserver.com UFC reporter, WON Twitter guy
Favorites (24-16; .600)
Dave Meltzer (23-17; .575)– Wrestling Observer founder
Steve Juon (23-17; .575) – MMA Mania/Wrestling Observer writer. Angry Marks founder
Front Row Brian (21-19; .525) – MMA newsbreaker, Beloved internet personality, Podcast host
Paul Fontaine (19-21; .475) – MMADraws.com founder, WrestlingObserver.com writer
UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum (20-5-1) vs Stipe Miocic (14-2)
Werdum is thought by many to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, and his last eight years stack up against just about anyone in the history of the division. Since a first round KO at the hands of Junior Dos Santos at UFC 90, he’s only suffered one loss, a decision defeat to Alistair Overeem. Along the way, he’s beaten Fedor Emilianenko, Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, all by finish.
Miocic earned the shot by scoring a KO over former champion Andrei Arlovski and also holds wins over Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson, among others. This should favor Miocic slightly if it stays on the feet but should it go to the ground, Werdum will have the huge advantage. This is the best fight that can be currently made in the division. Our panel is split right down the middle for this one.
Jacare Souza (22-4) vs Vitor Belfort (25-11) MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Souza was expecting his next fight to be his long-awaited title shot but he suffered a controversial decision loss to Yoel Romero in December which stopped that. He’s up against a true legend that’s been around since UFC 12 and both Brazilian favorites hope to impress enough to face whomever emerges from the Luke Rockhold-Chris Weidman match at UFC 199 for the belt.
Prior to the Romeo loss, Souza had 8 straight wins, with 7 coming by stoppage. Belfort, meanwhile, is a big question mark due to the fact that he can no longer use TRT and at the weigh-ins yesterday, he did not look the same as he had in the past. Still, he’s shows the kind of power that can knock out anyone.
Cris Cyborg (15-1) vs Leslie Smith (8-6-1) CATCHWEIGHT 140 LBS
Cyborg makes her long-awaited UFC debut in her hometown and Smith seems to be the lamb being led to slaughter. Nothing short of a quick KO win for the former Mrs. Santos would please the fans in attendance. Her management has already indicated that a further 5 lb weight cut is impossible for Cyborg so it’s hard to see where she goes from here unless a top bantamweight is willing to come up in weight to fight her and UFC is willing to sanction it. She did make the 140 lb catchweight with one pound to square and looked just as muscular as ever.
Shogun Rua (23-10) vs Corey Anderson (8-1) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Rua is the former champion and another Brazilian legend who will be a big favorite. Years of tough fights have made him a shell of his former self but he is coming off a win against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – who also fights on this card – last August at UFC 190. Prior to that, he’d lost 5 of his previous 7 fights and looked progressively worse in each one. Anderson is a rising contender in the division but was the beneficiary of what many thought was a gift decision over Tom Lawlor in his last fight. He will solidify his place in the top 10 with a win here, which would be the biggest of his young career.
Demian Maia (22-6) vs Matt Brown (20-13) WELTERWEIGHTS
This is the featured prelim on FS 1 and to show the depth of this card, it would not be out of place as a Fight Night Main event or 3rd from the top on a big PPV. Maia has been very vocal about wanting a title shot and has four straight wins since losing a tough decision to Rory McDonald in 2014. Brown asked for this fight on enemy soil and will probably be the biggest heel on the entire show, especially after flipping the double bird to the fans during yesterday’s weigh-ins.
He seems to relish in the negative heat and this should be a great fight. It’s Maia’s submission grappling skills against the power and determination of Brown. It’s notable that the only two losses that Brown has since 2011 were decisions against Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks, the current and former champions in the division.
Despite recovering from a high fever and hospitalization Friday and a bum elbow, IWGP heavyweight champion Tetsuya Naito rallied Saturday and will be in action against ACH as part of the ROH/NJPW Global Wars event at New York City’s Terminal Five.
It was unclear yesterday and today if he would be able to wrestle on tonight’s show due to his many ailments.
As one of the most popular of the New Japan wrestlers on the current tour, he had noted long autograph lines for him this year when last year on this same ROH/NJPW tour that wasn’t the case in the U.S. and Canada.
Naito beat Kazuchika Okada at the Invasion Attack PPV in Sumo Hall in Tokyo in April, and will make his next defense against Okada in the main event of Dominion on June 19th in Osaka Jo Hall.
Tonight’s show was already revamped due to storyline changes as well as a rib injury to The Young Bucks’ Nick Jackson. There are a number of other injuries to talent performing tonight including Young Buck Matt Jackson (swollen and bruised hand) and Hiroshi Tanahashi, who was banged up in matches earlier in the week.
Here’s your lineup:
Bullet Club (Adam Cole & Matt Jackson) vs “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs ROH World Champion Jay Lethal & Roderick Strong
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito vs ACH — non-title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Reborn Matt Sydal
ROH Tag Team Champs The Addiction vs War Machine
Cedric Alexander vs Donovan Dijak w/ Prince Nana
Jushin “Thunder” Liger & the Briscoes vs Guerrillas of Destiny & “Hangman” Adam Page
CHOAS (Beretta & Gedo) w/ Rocky Romero vs Motor City Machine Guns
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs “Pro Wrestling’s Last Real Man” Silas Young – non-title
Michael Elgin vs Moose w/ Stokely Hathaway vs Dalton Castle w/ the Boys vs Lio Rush
I’m here in Largo FL for NXT Live in front of approximately 250 people.
– Mikey Nicholls and Shane Veryzer beat The Authors Of Pain
Early power work by Dhinsa and Selmani with bearhugs, stomps, and overall destroying Mikey. The finish was a flash pin as Shane dropkicked one of the big men which allowed Mikey to get a roll up for the win.
– Adrienne Reese beat Peyton Royce
Early lock-up and mat work before Reese took to the ropes for a big cross body. She hit lots of speed moves and finished Royce off with the top rope jumping stunner.
– Alexander Wolfe beat Josh Woods
Wolfe and tag partner Fulton are out together. Wolfe puts a beating on Woods before the hope spot of Woods catching an ankle lock on Wolfe. Wolfe then hit a big boot for the win. Post match, Fulton and Wolfe cut a promo but were completely drowned out. The gist: Fulton challenged anyone in the back which leads to…
– Angelo Dawkins beat Sawyer Fulton
Hoss match; two large men just throwing each other around. The finish came out of nowhere when Dawkins rocked Fulton with a big punch.
– Chris Girard beat Patrick Clark
Hard-hitting action with Chris taking the attack to Patrick. The finish was a vicious running uppercut by Girard to lay Patrick out.
– Daria and Carmella beat Mandy Rose and Lana
Pre-match promo by Lana saying she is excited to be back in this poor village. This was a safe and basic match. Lana did headlocks when she was in, and Mandy did most of the selling for her team. Carmella ran wild on Mandy and then tagged out to allow Daria the win via submission.
– Tye Dillinger beat Manny Andrade
Great match and they added even more from last night. Early grappling followed by flashy rope running and one upsmanship. Tye had Manny up for an apparent GTS yet it was countered in to a front roll pin attempt and near fall. Big slingshot dive over the top by Manny onto Tye. Action really picked up towards the finish when Tye had Manny up for a powerbomb yet again it was reversed into a forward roll. Yet, Tye countered and kept rolling through and scored the pin. Post-match, the two shook hands and their live event series is 1-1.
Everyone made weight and Cris Cyborg did so with two pounds to spare at 139. She obviously looked smaller at that weight. Vitor Belfort looked like a different person, like an early 40s tennis player while Jacare Souza looked the same as he always does. The weigh-ins took place at the soccer stadium. It wasn’t full. They were talking about 20,000 people beforehand but on television were saying 15,000. Given the set up the 15,000 number looked legit, as there were a lot of people in the upper deck and the bottom section looked full. The only real note was Matt Brown decided to play American heel and Stone Cold, flipping the audience off on at least two occasions, leading chants of “You’re gonna die” that were directed at him from the Brazilians, and turning his back on the crowd while weighing in.
UFC 198 FROM THE ARENA DA BAIXADA IN CURITIBA, BRAZIL – WEIGH-IN RESULTS
FIGHT PASS AT 6:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Renato Moicano (9-0-1, 146) vs. Zubaira Tukhugov (18-3, 146)
Luan Chagas (14-1, 169) vs. Sergio Moraes (8-2, 171)
Patrick Cummins (8-3, 206) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-7, 205)
FS 1 AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Rob Font (13-1, 135) vs. John Lineker (26-7, 135)
Yancy Medeiros (12-3, 156) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (19-4, 156)
Nate Marquardt (34-15-2, 186) vs. Thiago Santos (12-3, 185)
Matt Brown (20-13, 171) vs. Demian Maia (22-6, 171)
PPV AT 10 P.M. EASTERN
Warlley Alves (10-0, 170) vs. Bryan Barbarena (11-3, 170)
Corey Anderson (8-1, 204) vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua (23-10, 205)
Cris Cyborg Justino (15-1, 139) vs. Leslie Smith (8-6-1, 139)
Vitor Belfort (25-11) vs. Renato Jacare Souza (22-4, 186)
Fabricio Werdum (20-5-1, 240) vs. Stipe Miocic (14-2, 241)
This is a big weekend of events with a full WWE lineup of shows including four events tomorrow night, one of UFC’s deepest PPV shows in a long time going head-to-head with Bellator and ROH in New York.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Greenville, NC (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Miz, Zayn, Owens, Cesaro, Dudleys, Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya) as well as tonight’s NXT shows in Spokane and Largo, FL to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Our only weekend poll will be for UFC 198.
One of the best one-hour wrestling television shows you’ll ever see, the English language version of the Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly Best of the Super Juniors final from 2015, will be replayed tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on AXS.
LEGACY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS TONIGHT ON AXS TV FROM HOUSTON AT 10 P.M. EASTERN
Humberto DeLeon (132.5) vs. David Acosta (135.1)
Jeremiah Jones (171.3) vs. Jason Langellier (172.1)
Blue Panther & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Titan vs. Dragon Rojo & Polvora & Bobby Z
Stuka Jr. vs. Cavernario
Mistico & Valiente & Volador Jr. vs. Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero
La Mascara & Pierroth & Rush vs. El Terrible & Rey Bucanero & Shocker
Saturday we’re looking for reports from WWE in Raleigh (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Miz, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya), WWE in Roanoke (Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, New Day, Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Kalisto), NXT in Portland and Jacksonville, the Lucha Libre show in San Jose at the Civic Auditorium headlined by Mil Mascaras and ROH in New York.
BELLATOR LIVE ON SPIKE TV AT 8 P.M. (ONE HOUR EARLIER THAN USUAL) FROM THE SAP CENTER IN SAN JOSE
Saad Awad vs Evangelista Cyborg Santos
Andre Fialho vs. Rick Reger
Adam Piccolotti vs. Ray Wood
Phil Davis vs. King Mo Lawal
Sunday has WWE house shows in Columbia, SC (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Miz, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya) and Charlottesville, VA (Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, New Day, Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Kalisto. We’re looking for reports on those shows as well.
Raw will be Monday in Greensboro. The only thing announced for Raw is that The Shining Stars will debut as a tag team.
Smackdown will be Tuesday night in Greenville, SC.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.
Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.
There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity. Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.
An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.
There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.
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 to moonsault@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.
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.
Happy birthday today to Danny Hodge, who was one of the greatest amateur wrestlers in U.S. history and the best junior heavyweight in U.S. history who turned 84 today.
Lots of people banged up on the ROH tour. The card in New York at Terminal Five has changed somewhat. As noted yesterday, Nick Jackson is injured and won’t be wrestling tomorrow. He has what is believed to be a rib injury and will be getting it checked on Sunday. Matt Jackson is wrestling tomorrow but he injured his hand taking a super power falcon arrow from Michael Elgin on Wednesday, just seconds after Nick was injured. The hand is swollen and bruised. here are others banged up as well but as of right now, only Nick Jackson is off the show. This is the new lineup:
Adam Cole & Matt Jackson vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay Lethal & Roderick Strong
Tetsuya Naito vs. ACH in a non-title match (this may be questionable)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Matt Sydal
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson for the ROH tag titles
Cedric Alexander vs Donovan Dijak
Jushin Liger & Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa & Adam Page
Trent Baretta & Gedo vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley
Kushida vs. Silas Young non-title
Michael Elgin vs. Moose vs Dalton Castle vs.. Lio Rush
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King
New Japan made an announcement today regarding the Super J Cup, which is not the same as the Super Juniors tournament. The Super Juniors starts 5/21 and is a round-robin tournament. The Super J Cup will be a 16-man multi-promotional single elimination tournament. The first round matches will be 7/18 at Korakuen Hall, which will be eight bouts. The final eight move into a one-night tournament, similar to the old K-1 Grand Prix, on 8/21 at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. They announced there would be four wrestlers from New Japan, (three regulars and one from Chaos, likely Will Ospreay), five from NOAH (three from NOAH and two from the Suzuki-gun side), plus one wrestler each from All Japan, Okinawa Pro, CMLL, ROH, K-Dojo, Dragon Gate and one more participant.
In a major mainstream news story in Japan, the Japanese Sports Agency has requested the national Olympic Committee and Tokyo government to investigate allegations of payoffs that may have been used to get Tokyo the 2020 Summer Olympics. Hiroshi Hase, a pro wrestling Hall of Famer who is the Sports Minister in the government held a press conference today saying that they would cooperate and want a thorough examination. Hase said their intent was to submit a bid that would have no wrongdoing associated with it, but he has doubts that happened. The prosecutors have found a check of $2 million from a Japanese bank to a Singapore bank related to Papa Massata Diack, the son of IAAF President Lamine Diack in July and October listed as “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games bid.” A good rule of thumb for all prospective bribers going forward is not to write what you are bribing on the check itself.
A clarification from this week’s Observer regarding Court Bauer and his leaving AAA/Lucha Underground. While it was true that Lucha Underground attempted to get him to sign an addendum to where he’d have no affiliation with Konnan, he said that he was able to negotiate around it and that was not a major part of the reason he left working for the promotions. He said he just felt it was time to move on and he’s spending more and more time working for Combate Americas.
WWE & Pro Wrestling
Lana will be wrestling on tonight’s NXT show in Largo, FL.
Rolling Stone talks to Damien Sandow about his release, saying he wasn’t surprised,. had nothing bad to say about WWE and talked about studying Shakespearean acting now
WWE stock was up 14 cents per share today to $17.93.
Jimmy Snuka was to be in court today for a hearing to see if he is mentally competent enough to stand trial in the case involving the death of Nancy Argentino in 1983.
Pop TV has, effective immediately, dropped the Saturday replay of Impact, so Impact now only airs at 9 p.m. on Thursday night. This is the same pattern that Destination America did with the cutting of shows.
UFC & MMA
UFC announced today that USADA had contacted them regarding a potential Anti-Doping policy violation by Carlos Diego Ferriera from an out of competition test. Because of this, Ferreira is provisionally suspended and is off his scheduled fight with Abel Trujillo on 5/29 in Las Vegas. UFC is looking for a new opponent for Trujillo.
EA Sports announced the launch of live event competitions, a brand new competitive experience in the EA Sports UFC 2 live event mode in the game. Starting tomorrow, fans can play the qualifiers in the live event competition to compete for a chance to earn Ultimate Team rewards and a trip to the live finals coinciding with the UFC Fan Expo in July. The winner of the grand slam final match on 7/8 at Fan Expo will win $10,000 and a belt signifying them as the EA Sports UFC 2 world champion.
The next Evolve seminar an training session will be 6/10 in Ybor City, FL, with WWE coach Norman Smiley giving a lecture on what WWE is looking for and helping evaluate talent. For more info go to go DGUSA.tv and look for the WWN Seminar/Tryout section.
Fight Club OC on 6/9 at the Hanger in Orange County features both boxing and MMA fights. Former UFC and Strikeforce fighter Mike Kyle will be boxing on the show. They are 180 tickets shy of capacity and are working on their ninth straight sellout.
Tetsuya Naito will be in Singapore at a press conference for Bushiroad’s Chara Expo on 7/9 and 7/10 at the Sony PlayStation Stage.
River City Wrestling on 6/3 at Retama Park in San Antonio features Warlord, Barbarian, Hernandez and Lance Hoyt (Archer).
There was a Lucha Libre show on Sunday in Raleigh as part of a Mothers Day Festival which drew 1,500 to the North Carolina State Fairgrounds: Canek Jr won Battle Royal, Seiya b Beau James, Cristal b Misty James, Tzuki b Papa Smurf, Canek Jr. b Huracan Ramirez Jr. (thanks to Todd Goss). This was only part of the festival, which included big name singers and bands from Mexican television, rodeo, and games for kids. There will be another event like this in June in Winston-Salem.
National Fighting Championships on 6/11 at Center Stage in Atlanta for a show headlined by Jared Gooden vs. Amir Dadovic. They are also running 7/22 in Kennesaw, GA at Electric Cowboy with Chazz Walton vs. Warren Smith for the Georgia lightweight title.
Johnny Devine will headline for CWE in Calgary on 5/21 teaming with Danny Duggan against Frankie Kazarian and Silas Young. Kazarian will be in Canada for CWE touring from 5/19 to 5/28.
Maryland Championship Wrestling and GFW have a doing show tomorrow night in Joppa, MD with Sonjay Dutt vs. Lio Rush vs. DJ Zema Ion for the Gen X title plus Jeff Jarrett & Punk Rock All-Stars vs. Eric Chapel & Dirty Money & Ken Dixon, Kevin Matthews vs. Brandon Scott, Pat Sick vs Drolix plus GFW champion Nick Aldis defends against Brian Meyers.
Note: you can get a live recap of the show by our Bryan Alvarez, Craig Proper, and Vincent Q. Verhei here.
Balor and Bayley shirts everywhere. Probably 90% males in their 20’s-40’s, 10% girlfriends and kids.
– No Way Jose vs Murphy
No Way Jose wins with his finish. Jose came out with a Russell Wilson jersey to cheers, led a “Sea-Hawks” chant. Great energy.
– Tucker Knight vs Tino Sabatelli
Sabatelli wins via pinfall. Never seen him before but he’s a good athlete for sure.
– Alexa Bliss vs Bayley
The crowd went with every move Bayley made. She picks up the win with the belly to Bayley.
– Austin Aries vs Mojo Rawley
Aries is the solid favorite but Mojo had his fans. The crowd began a “Mojo’s butt” chant which gave me a good laugh. Aries wins with a submission after a fun match.
– The Revival vs NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha
This was match of the night. So many great sequences that felt organic. AA hit a dual ankle lock spot that got a standing ovation. Gable got another standing ovation when he hit a series of moves on Dawson that I can’t begin to describe. Awesome match.
Intermission
– William Regal addressed the crowd. That was a pleasant surprise.
– Elias Sampson vs Shinsuke Nakamura
The Paramount exploded when Nakamura did that taunt he does on the rope during his entrance. Shinsuke wins with Kinsasha in a basic, short match.
– Nia Jax vs NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
Asuka had Jax in a submission before Alexa Bliss ran in to break it up. Both Alexa and Nia attack Asuka until Bayley runs in for the save.
– Finn Balor vs NXT Champion Samoa Joe
Balor enters to many Clique and Bullet Club taunts. After a good back and forth match, Joe wins with the muscle buster.
Buffalo, New York: – Vic Christy defeated Don McIntyre to win the Montreal and Toronto World Heavyweight Titles
1940
Boston, Massachusetts: – The French Angel defeated Steve Casey for the Boston AWA World Heavyweight Title
1954
Amarillo, Texas: – Dory Funk defeated Roy Shire for the Southwest Junior Heavyweight Title
Stockton, California: – Ben and Mike Sharpe won the San Francisco NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Titles by defeating Ron Etchison and Enrique Torres
1959
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Ed Francis defeated Al Lolotai for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1960
Tokyo, Japan: – Rikidozan defeated Leo Nomellini to win the second-annual JWA World League Tournament
St. Joseph, Missouri: – George and Sandy Scott defeated Emil and Ernie Dusek to win the Central States NWA World Tag Team Titles
1963
Memphis, Tennessee: – Karl and Skull Von Stroheim defeated Gino and Tony Calza to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1964
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Robert Duranton and Shag Thomas defeated Cowboy Cassidy and Curtis Iaukea for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Titles
1965
Los Angeles, California: – The Assassins defeated Karl and Kurt Von Stroheim for the World Wrestling Association World Tag Team Titles
1966
Tokyo, Japan: – Giant Baba defeated Wilbur Snyder to win the eighth-annual JWA World League Tournament
1968
Memphis, Tennessee: – Don Carson and The Red Shadow defeated Dennis Hall and Ken Lucas to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1969
Portland, Oregon: – Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne defeated Karl and Kurt Von Steiger to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1971
Hattiesburg, Mississippi: – Eddie Sullivan defeated Bob Kelly for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1972
San Francisco, California: – Lars Anderson and Paul DeMarco defeated Pepper Gomez and Rocky Johnson for the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles
1973
Sydney, Australia: – Hiro Tojo and Waldo Von Erich defeated Ron Miller and Larry O’Day to win the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Titles
1975
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Dominic DeNucci and Victor Rivera defeated The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) for the WWWF World Tag Team Titles
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada: – Mike DuBois and Lord Alfred Hayes defeated The Beast and Johnny Weaver for the Eastern Sports Association International Tag Team Titles
Mobile, Alabama: – Dr. X defeated Ken Lucas for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1976
Kansas City, Kansas: – Bob Geigel & Akio Sato defeated Ed Wiskoski & Roger Kirby – In a Texas Bull Rope Match: Mike George defeated Dusty Rhodes – Bob Brown & Mike York defeated Ray Candy & Ronnie Etchison – Tank Patton fought Omar Atlas to a draw – Pat O’Connor defeated Mr. Seki
1978
Portland, Oregon: – Jerry Oates defeated Ed Wiskoski to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
Omaha, Nebraska: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson – Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat Rufus R Jones & Pat O’Connor – Steve Olsonoski beat Super Destroyer Mark II dq – Lord Alfred Hayes drew Joe Scarpello – Kay Noble beat Brenda Hoffman
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – The Crusher beat Angelo Mosca in a chain match – Verne Gagne beat Johnny Valiant – Blackjack Lanza & Bob Orton Jr beat AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell dq – Evan Johnson beat Spike Huber – Frank Hill beat Vito Martino
1979
Green Bay, Wisconsin: – Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat Nick Bockwinkel & Pat Patterson. – Super Destroyer Mark II beat Billy Robinson dq – Greg Gagne beat Bobby Duncum dq – Doug Gilbert drew Paul Ellering – Jesse Ventura beat Dick Reynolds (sub Paul Ellering)
Houston, Texas: – Wahoo McDaniel defeated The Spoiler for the NWA American Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas
1982
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Tito Santana – Greg Gagne beat Jerry Blackwell – Sheik Adnan beat Baron Von Raschke – Ken Patera beat Brad Rheingans – Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Duncum
1983
St. Louis, Missouri: – Harley Race defeated Jerry Blackwell to win the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Velvet McIntyre and Penny Mitchell defeated Joyce Grable and Wendi Richter to win the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Title
Beckley, West Virginia: – The Great Tio defeated The Masked Miser (Angelo Poffo) to win the International Championship Wrestling Television Title
1984
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Rick Martel defeated Jumbo Tsuruta to win the AWA World Heavyweight Title – Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza no contest Abdullah The Butcher & Jerry Blackwell – The Crusher beat Sheik Adnan – Princess Victoria & Velvet McIntyre beat Leilani Kai & Despina Montagus – Fabulous Ones beat Jesse Ventura & Steve Regal – Larry Zbyszko beat Curt Hennig dq
1985
Memphis, Tennessee: – Randy Savage to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title by defeating Jerry Oske
1988
Houston, Texas: – Barry Windham defeated Nikita Koloff to win the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Title in a tournament final
1991
Memphis, Tennessee: – Robert Fuller and Jeff Jarrett defeated The Texas Hangmen (Killer and Psycho) for the USWA Tag Team Titles – Bill Dundee defeated Eric Embry to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1995
Memphis, Tennessee: – Doug Gilbert won the USWA Heavyweight Title by defeating Brian Lee
1996
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico: – Pimpinela Escarlata defeated La Parka for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title
2005
Irondale, Alabama: – Tom Prichard defeated Rick Steiner to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
2007
TNA Sacrifice: Orlando, Florida: – TNA X Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt in a triple threat match to retain the title – Robert Roode (with Ms. Brooks) pinned Jeff Jarrett – Christopher Daniels pinned Rhino – Basham and Damaja (with Christy Hemme) defeated Kip James in a handicap match – Chris Harris defeated James Storm in a Texas death match – Jerry Lynn defeated Senshi, Alex Shelley and Tiger Mask IV in a four corners match – TNA World Tag Team Champions Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) defeated Scott Steiner & Tomko and The Latin American Exchange (Homicide & Hernandez) in a triple threat match to retain the title – Kurt Angle defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage and Sting in a three-way match to win the title
2010
– Scott Hall and Kevin Nash defeated Matt Morgan to win the TNA Tag Team Title
2012
TNA Sacrifice: Orlando, Florida: – Gail Kim defeated Brooke Tessmacher to retain the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship – Devon defeated Robbie E and Robbie T to retain the TNA Television Championship – Mr. Anderson defeated Jeff Hardy – Crimson defeated Eric Young (with ODB) – Austin Aries defeated Bully Ray – Kurt Angle defeated A.J. Styles – Bobby Roode defeated Rob Van Dam in a Ladder match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship – Kazarian & Christopher Daniels defeated Samoa Joe & Magnus to win the TNA Tag Team Titles
– Air Date: May 12, 2016 – Location: Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA
– The Big News:
Chris Jericho laid out Dean Ambrose, Rusev laid out the Lucha Dragons, Gallows and Anderson laid out The Usos, and Fandango and Tyler Breeze laid out Goldust and R-Truth. Also, the main event ended with some guys getting laid out.
– Show Recap:
They announced The Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for tonight, with Roman Reigns and AJ Styles banned from ringside.
Dean Ambrose came out to start the show.
Ambrose said he has owed a lot people money before, but Jericho wanted $15,000 for his jacket and he’s not getting it. They’re even as far as Ambrose is concerned after Jericho destroyed his plant.
More importantly, Ambrose was pissed about Jericho trying to take his career away. Ambrose’s wrestling career is all he has because he won’t be interviewing Carrot Top on some podcast. Ambrose wondered if he should destroy more of Jericho’s clothes or shave his hair, but instead would destroy his ego. When Ambrose is done with him, Jericho is going to wonder if wrestling is even for him anymore.
Jericho’s music hit and the lights went out for his entrance, but when they came back on, Ambrose was laid out as Jericho stood over him. Jericho pulled a straight jacket out of a bag and strapped on Ambrose. Ambrose tried struggling out of it as Jericho mocked him for being “crazy.”
Jericho then beat down a helpless Ambrose as the crowd booed. Ambrose tried fighting back, but Jericho resorted to an eye poke and hit a Codebreaker. Officials finally ran down to assist, but as Ambrose slowly got to his feet, Jericho gave him another Codebreaker.
Jericho stood on the announce table and gave the crowd the gift of Jericho. Really good angle. My only nitpick was that Ambrose suddenly being laid out when the lights turned on felt pretty fake.
Backstage, Rusev yelled and pushed stuff over, and Lana yelled too while following behind.
Rusev (w/Lana) beat Sin Cara via submission
Lana did Rusev’s introduction, and Kalisto was on commentary. As they showed a replay of Sin Cara defeating Rusev on Raw, Kalisto said Rusev is always relying on Lana and he’s tired of it. Oh really? Kalisto continued about Rusev’s anger and was just awful. It was beyond stupid putting him back on commentary.
As Sin Cara made his comeback, Lana chucked water in Kalisto’s face, so Kalisto got up to confront her. Rusev (the hero) left the ring, ran up behind Kalisto and kicked him, jumped back in the ring, hit a side kick on Sin Cara, and applied the Accolade for the win. Rusev single-handedly picked apart the Lucha Dragons. The match itself was over in about 2 minutes. Rusev stood over Kalisto with the US title.
Backstage, Renee Young asked Emma about Dana Brooke, who suddenly showed up. Brooke said Renee obviously doesn’t watch the Network and called herself a bodybuilding champion. Renee wanted to know why she attacked Becky Lynch. Brooke basically said the fans don’t appreciate Emma even though they adore Lynch. Brooke told Renee that after tonight, she wouldn’t be asking who Dana Brooke was, but would be asking “Whatever happened to Becky Lynch?” This was fine.
Dana Brooke (w/Emma) beat Becky Lynch via pinfall
Jerry Lawler was happy to hear that Brooke is from Cleveland. With Lynch draped over the bottom rope, Brooke distracted the referee, allowing Emma to poke Lynch right in the eye. Brooke followed with a jackknife cover for the win after about 3-4 minutes. This wasn’t good, and the finish was weak even with Lynch’s eye injury. Still, Emma deliberately poking Lynch in her bad eye was pretty damn funny.
Backstage, Styles told Gallows and Anderson that he’ll be out there if Reigns decided to show up at ringside. He told them to take care of club business.
New Day came out for a promo. Kofi Kingston said the Vaudevillains put their noses where they didn’t belong on Monday. Big E was about to say they put their noses up their asses, but Kingston and Woods stopped him from swearing. He tried to swear later and they stopped him again.
New Day tried to make jokes about Kanye West and the crowd was dead silent. They were interrupted by the Vaudevillains who said they would outsmart their loudmouth opponents, and Aiden English sang that they would be the new champions. This came off really poorly for New Day, and this has to be the least a crowd was into them in a long time.
Aiden English (w/Simon Gotch) beat Kofi Kingston (w/Big E & Xavier Woods) via pinfall
As Kingston made a comeback, there were some light “New Day rocks” chants. Big E and Woods stopped Gotch from interfering, so the referee tossed them all out. Moments later, Kingston tried a sunset flip, but English dropped down for the cover while grabbing the rope for the pinfall win. Lame.
Backstage, Roman Reigns told the Usos to represent the “bloodline” and said he would be there if Styles showed up.
The Usos beat Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson via DQ
As they worked over Jimmy Uso, Mauro Ranallo did a terrific job putting over Gallows and Anderson and their accolades. Jey made a hot tag and ran wild, but was cut off by a Gallows big boot outside the ring as Anderson distracted the referee.
After a break, the Club worked over Jey as some young fans chanted “Let’s go Usos,” which was met with an “Usos suck” chant by a different segment of the audience. Jey caught Gallows with a superkick and made the hot tag.
Jimmy ran wild on Anderson and hit a superkick and splash. He had the match won but Gallows pulled him out of the ring (just barely on time). Gallows tossed him over the announce table for the DQ, so the Jey hit him with a dive.
Anderson tossed Jey into the steps and followed with a rocket kick. Jimmy jumped him from behind, but Gallows nailed him with a chair. Anderson followed by hitting Jey with the chair. With both Usos down, the Club posed and Gallows yelled, “This is what the club is all about!”
There was no explanation for Reigns not coming out here to save his family. It didn’t matter that he was banned because the the match was over. Otherwise, this was good for Gallows and Anderson.
There was a new vignette with Darren Young and Bob Backlund.
Backlund asked Young what time it says on his watch. Young pulled out his smartphone to get the time, which Backlund couldn’t comprehend.
Young said he has everything on his phone (email, alerts, calendar) and nobody wears watches anymore. Oh, come on. Backlund said Young should put his mail in the mailbox and his calendar on the wall. Young reiterated he has it all on his phone, so Backlund made him do squats. This is still really bizarre, but Backlund yelling about the mail was amusing.
Tyler Breeze & R-Truth beat Goldust & Fandango via pinfall
A few sad fans still do the Fandango dance during his entrance. Truth tagged in immediately, so Fandango tagged in Goldust. Goldust reluctantly got in the ring as the crowd chanted “Golden Truth.” They faced off but didn’t touch, as Tyler Breeze yelled at Truth to hit Goldust.
Truth tagged in Breeze, who pushed Truth out of the ring. Breeze was about to go after Goldust, who had his back turned, but Fandango saved him. It was a swerve though, as Fandango blindsided Goldust with a clothesline. Breeze seemed surprised, but smiled and covered Goldust for the pinfall win.
Afterwards, Fandango and Breeze beat down Goldust. Truth tried to make a save, but they cut him off immediately and beat him down too. Goldust tried to cover Truth to take the brunt of the beating. Fandango and Breeze stood tall as the crowd booed. This was a perfectly acceptable low-card angle.
They announced “The Shining Stars,” Primo and Epico, would debut on Raw.
Backstage, Charlotte told Renee that what they did to her father (Ric Flair) on Raw was a travesty. Flair said he’s taught Charlotte everything she knows, that he would be there in spirit (at Extreme Rules), and she would go on to another Flair victory. Flair was perfect here, reminding us this match is to be taken seriously.
Kevin Owens & IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) beat Cesaro & Sami Zayn
The Miz came out last. Lawler really hates Zayn’s hat. Also, Lawler quipped that Owens hates to lose so much that he doesn’t even want to lose weight. As Miz made his entrance, Owens grabbed Byron Saxton’s headset and said he was giving Miz one last chance to be a good tag partner, but at Extreme Rules, he was taking his title back. He then demanded Saxton talk good about him.
Cesaro and Zayn both wanted to start the match. Cesaro got his wish and immediately used some impressive offense on Miz. Owens told Miz he could do better, so he tagged in, but Cesaro tagged in Zayn. Owens tried to tag out but Miz jumped down and told him to do better.
Zayn hit punches in the corner but Miz tagged himself in. Zayn got the better of him too so Miz escaped the ring. Owens and Miz argued, so Cesaro hit Owens with a cannonball off the apron and Zayn nailed Miz with a dive.
After a break, Zayn went after Miz on the outside but Maryse got in his way, allowing Owens to knock him down from behind. They worked over Zayn until he came back with a big clothesline and blue thunder bomb on Miz.
Cesaro made the hot tag and hit Owens with uppercuts, uppercuts, a dropkick and crossbody for two. Miz jumped in to attack Cesaro. Zayn tried to hit Miz with the Helluva kick, but Miz moved and Zayn caught Cesaro instead. Miz pulled Zayn out of the ring, and Owens hit Cesaro with a Frog Splash for the win. Good match and I liked the finish.
Afterwards, Owens gave Zayn the pop-up powerbomb and Miz gave Owens the skull crushing finale. Miz stood tall with the Intercontinental title to end the show.
– Final Thoughts:
Not a bad show. It reminded me a bit of Raw in that there was good action but the angles were repetitive, just in a different way.
On Thursday, WWE announced its two annual shows in Japan at Sumo Hall in Tokyo which have already sold out with Shinsuke Nakamura as the primary reason.
The most notable aspect of the announcement is that WWE did not at all cater the shows for the Japanese audience, but instead just did a regular show with Nakamura and fellow NXT star — women’s champion Asuka — working down on the card instead.
In particular, Asuka is not working at all with WWE women’s champ Charlotte on the tour even though Asuka would be the lead babyface to the audience in the women’s division. Instead, both women will be defending their respective belts.
July 1st lineup
WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho
WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs. Usos vs. Vaudevillains vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
