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  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: EC3 vs Spud cage match; Willow returns (sorta)

    Previously on Impact:

    Last week on Impact, Bobby Lashley defeated Jeff Hardy and Mike Bennett in a triple threat match to become the number one contender for the TNA World title. Lashley and World Champion Drew Galloway had two pull apart brawls including one that took place at a gym.

    Tonight on Impact:

    On tonight’s Impact, the feud between Lashley and Galloway kicks into high gear as we enter Slammiversary season. Also, Jeff Hardy has some questions for Tag Champs Decay, whose interference last week cost Hardy the triple threat match. Last but certainly not least, The Miracle has something nefarious planned for Ethan Carter III. Muah ha ha ha!

    Show Recap:

    –Josh Matthews and The Pope stand ringside and welcome us to tonight’s Impact.

    -Jeff Hardy makes his way down to the ring to a roaring reaction from the crowd. He says he does everything for his fans, also known as The Creatures. He brings up Decay and their interference in last week’s main event. Jeff mentions that he had no problem with Decay and even thought they were cool. Jeff is cut off by Decay’s music and the TNA tag champs make their way to the ring.

    Abyss tells Jeff that it was just business and they actually like him. Rosemary lets Jeff know that they were paid to attack him. Abyss mentions that the individual who paid them off will make himself known when the time is right. A brawl breaks out with Decay getting the better of Jeff until James Storm hits the ring for the save. Storm and Hardy challenge Decay to a title match and Josh tells us that we’ll find out if they accept after the break.

    TNA Tag Team Champions Decay (Crazy Steve & Abyss) w/Rosemary vs. Jeff Hardy and James Storm

    Back from commercial and the match is underway. Decay briefly isolate Storm with double team moves including Abyss chokeslamming Steve onto a prone Storm. Storm made the hot tag to Jeff who ran wild on the champs. Jeff laid out Abyss with the Twist of Fate and then went to the top for the Swanton when the lights suddenly went out. When the lights came back on, Willow, Jeff’s alter ego, appeared on the stage and distracted Jeff. Decay spit mist in Jeff eyes and pinned him to retain the tag belts. Willow disappeared and Josh pointed out the obvious: that it wasn’t Jeff dressed up as Willow.

    – Back from commercial, Jeff is in the back and screaming in pain. Jeff wonders who that was dressed up as Willow. Jeff says that he’s Willow but that wasn’t him out there. Jeff promises to reveal who is behind the Willow mask tonight.

    – Next, we get a great video of Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis attending a Smashing Pumpkins concert. They went backstage to visit lead singer and TNA management Billy Corgan. They pitch some ideas to Billy.

    – TNA World Champion Drew Galloway comes out to the ring. Drew cuts a passionate promo about defending the TNA title and making TNA great again. Drew calls out Lashley to the ring and the number one contender joins him in the ring. They argue back and forth until Drew finally challenges Lashley to fight right now. Instead, Lashley is going to take his title shot next week. Lashley walks away leaving Galloway in the ring.

    – Eli Drake comes out with his Feast or Fired briefcase. He challenges Drew to a title match and luckily for Eli, Drew is looking for a fight tonight. They end up brawling and Josh informs us that the title match is official.

    TNA World Champion Drew Galloway vs. Eli Drake

    Drew doesn’t have his ribs taped up this week, but Josh points out that his ribs aren’t fully healed. Eli got in a good majority of offense and was in control for a good portion of the match. Eli tried to use the world title and Feast or Fired briefcase, but got caught by referee Brian Hebner. Drew caught Eli with the Claymore and Future Shock DDT for the win.

    Post match, Lashley snuck up on Drew and caught him with a spear. Lashley posed with the belt.

    – In the back, EC3 is on his way to the ring and is going to call out Mike Bennett. EC3 has been on fire lately with his promos.

    – Backstage, Maria informs Knockouts Champion Jade and Gail Kim that they’ll have a match later with Sienna at ringside.

    – The catchiest music in wrestling hits and EC3 makes his way to the ring. EC3 comes across like a really big star. The crowd loves him and chants his name. He promises to not talk over the chant. EC3 is a man with a vendetta and calls out The Miracle telling him to bring his wife. The Miracle and Maria make their way to the ring and look stunning.

    EC3 said he’s glad that Bennett wore his sunglasses because it’s always sunny in “doucheville.” This was a funny line and gets a “doucheville” chant from the crowd. EC3 challenges Bennett to another match but Bennett refuses him. Bennett will give EC3 a match if he can beat the “demons” from EC3’s past. He accepts and The Miracle informs him that later tonight EC3 will compete in a cage match, but won’t tell him who his opponent is yet.

    TNA Knockouts Champion Jade vs. Gail Kim

    Sienna is ringside for this match. They have a really good back and forth match. Jade scored a close near fall with a German suplex. Gail took over on Jade and they brawled on the outside. Sienna distracted Gail and Jade hits a suicide dive on Gail. Jade sends Gail back in the ring at which point Sienna jumped Jade and knocked her out. Gail and Sienna brawled with Sienna getting the better of Gail.

    – Next, we get a video of Al Snow at the Al Snow Wrestling Academy. Two of his students were competing while Snow cut a passionate promo. Al said that this is how wrestling use to be. He adds that he’s like Donald Trump: he’s not allowing anybody into the wrestling business. He’s going to eliminate Grado and Mahabali Shera.

    Al Snow vs. Mahabali Shera

    Al takes the mic and basically repeats the previous promo from the academy. He tells everyone that he is the Donald Trump of wrestling. Al is going to build a wall around wrestling and will decide who gets in. Al rips the fans as they chant “boring”. There has been a lot of talking on this episode of Impact. Shera comes out and Al quickly gets the advantage. Al uses an illegal object on Shera, but is able to hide it from the referee. Snow went into his tights and pulled out another illegal object, but Grado showed up and distracted Al, giving Shera the chance to pull out the surprise victory.

    – In the back, Jeff is searching for Willow and finally finds him. They brawl around the backstage area as we cut to commercial.

    – Back from commercial, Jeff is beating the life out of Willow when suddenly a second Willow attacks Jeff from behind. The strange new Willow takes out Jeff with the chair. The camera pulls back and it’s revealed that it was three Willows that attacked Jeff.

    – Backstage, Snow cut an insane promo about his loss to Shera. Al points out that it took two guys to beat him. Al calls himself a real athlete and charges off.

    – EC3 comes out for the cage match. Josh reminds us that this is the first match in EC3’s road to redemption. He must win this match to eventually get another match with Mike Bennett. Bennett introduces the first “demon” EC3 must over come is Rockstar Spud.

    Steel Cage Match: Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud

    Spud charges into the cage full of passion and fire. This is short lived as EC3 quickly takes over. EC3 bounces Spud all over the ring. Spud gets the advantage with a low blow. Spud uses his belt and viciously whips EC3 on the back. Spud kept trying to escape the cage, but EC3 prevented him each time. EC3 bounced Spud off the cage. Spud climbed to the top of the cage but EC3 caught him and gave him a press slam from the top. EC3 hit the One Percenter for the pin and the win.

    Post match, Mike Bennett walked out onto the stage and applauded EC3’s victory to end the show.

    Next Time on Impact:

    TNA World Champion Drew Galloway will defend against “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley.

  • WWE Smackdown & Main Event spoilers: Kevin Owens & Miz team up, Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch

    Submitted by David Andersen

    Dark Match:

    – Dolph Ziggler b Viktor

    WWE Main Event:

    • Big Cass b Curtis Axel (w/ Bo Dallas)
    • Apollo Crews b Stardust
    • Baron Corbin b Zack Ryder

    WWE Smackdown:

    – The show opened with a Dean Ambrose promo. He said they were now even as Jericho took out his plant, and Ambrose took out the jacket; “an eye for an eye”. He said he would take away everything from Jericho like his ego. Jericho’s pyro goes off and arena lights go out. Lights come back on and Jericho is in the middle of the ring standing over a fallen Ambrose. Jericho then puts Ambrose in a straight jacket.

    As Ambrose fights to get out and to his feet, Jericho pummels Ambrose with kicks and punches. Dean manages to get a few kicks in before taking a Codebreaker. Refs out to separate them. Jericho gets in the last shot before leaving the ring. He jumps on the announce table, grabs the mic, and says his gift to all of us is “The Gift of Jericho”. He continues to stand atop the table soaking up the boos.

    – Rusev is shown backstage slamming the lids shut on several rolling cases screaming as Lana follows behind.

    Rusev w/ Lana submitted Sin Cara w/ Kalisto with the Accolade

    – Renee interview with Emma. She asked Emma who Dana Brooke is. Dana cut her off and said she’s a fitness champion. She then ran down Becky Lynch.

    Dana Brooke w/ Emma b Becky Lynch

    – Backstage promo with The Club. AJ tells Anderson and Gallows to take out The Usos tonight.

    – New Day in ring promo. They recapped The Vaudevillains interfering on Raw, and said they put their noses in their BootyOOOOOOOOs, that the Vaudevillains “Kanye West’d” them, and interfered when the situation had nothing to do with them. It’s a dated reference but it’s ok because The Vaudevillains are from the 1830s. Out come Vaudevillains who said they are real men from a bygone era. English begins singing Xavier’s WWE Tag Team Champions line. Gotch states the sun will set on The New Day at Extreme Rules and the night belongs to The Vaudevillains.

    – Aiden English b Kofi Kingston

    – Backstage promo with The Family. Roman Reigns told The Usos that if AJ shows his face, he will be out there ASAP.

    – The Usos b Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows via DQ when Gallows hit an Uso with a chair on the outside. Roman Reigns has managed to turn 50% of the audience against The Usos as there were dueling chants of “Let’s Go Usos/Usos Suck”.

    – We got a “Life Lessons with Coach Backlund” segment based on managing time. Bob wants Darren Young to use his watch, calendar, mail, and desktop. Young said he had all that on his phone which upset Bob.

    – The Gorgeous Truth b GoldDango. After the match, Tyler Breeze and Fandango turned on their partners and put the boots to Truth and Goldust.

    – We got a Shining Stars vignette. They arrive next Monday on Raw.

    – We got a Renee interview with Charlotte and Ric Flair. Charlotte said what happened on Monday was a travesty, and how dare the McMahons treat him that way. Ric said he’s the dirtiest player in the game & taught Charlotte everything she knew.

    – Kevin Owens & The Miz w/ Maryse b Cesaro & Sami Zayn when Owens pinned Cesaro after a frog splash.

    No locally advertised main event took place.

  • “New Era” Raw ratings back down to “Really Old Era” levels

    The continuation of the “New Era” of Raw didn’t ended up being a positive factor in the ratings as the Monday, May 9th edition of the show did 3.23 million viewers, down six percent from last week. It was the second lowest rating for a show outside of football season since 1997.

    A week ago, the combination of a post-PPV show and the first Stephanie & Shane McMahon show did 3.43 million viewers. The modern era low for a show outside of football season or a major holiday was 3.12 million viewers which was set two weeks ago.

    Dancing With the Stars, featuring UFC’s Paige VanZant, remained the most-watched show on television with 11.33 million viewers.

    Raw was third on cable for the night, trailing two NBA playoff games on TNT. The first, which went head-to-head with Raw, did 4.01 milliion viewers while the late night game, which started just before Raw ended, did 6.16 million viewers.

    In this week’s case, the culprit was that the audience at the start was lower than usual. The second hour was the high point, although the first two hours were virtually identical. There was a third hour drop, but it wasn’t as bad as some have been. The real story of the low number wasn’t people tuning out, but that they didn’t tune in at their usual levels to begin with.

    The three hours were:

    • 8 p.m. 3.35 million viewers
    • 9 p.m. 3.36 million viewers
    • 10 p.m. 3.01 million viewers

    Subscribers can access Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez’s Wrestling Observer Radio Raw report here.

  • Andre The Giant film in development

    Variety is reporting that Stone Village Productions and Lion Forge Comics are developing an Andre The Giant film based on the 2015 Graphic novel biography, Andre The Giant: Closer to Heaven.

    The biography covers his early farm life in France and his rise to celebrity status through pro wrestling. Andre’s daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, will be involved with the production as a consultant.

    Andre is widely regarded as one of the biggest stars in the wrestling business, and eventually became a household name. He was successful in crossing over into Hollywood and had a major role in the 1987 Rob Reiner film he Princess Bride. In the late 80s, Andre had a memorable feud with Hulk Hogan and they headlined Wrestlemania III in front of one of the largest wrestling audiences of all time.

    Andre died on January 27, 1993, after his health had worsened due to issues related to his gigantism. He was the first person inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, created shortly after his death in 1993. He was the solo inductee that year.

  • Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/10): Gagne retires as AWA Champion; Steamboat & Youngblood win NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1944

    Des Moines, Iowa:
    – MWA World Heavyweight Champion Dave Levin beat Ray Steele to capture the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title 2 out 3 falls
    – Tom Zaharias beat Jack Dillon in 2 out of 3 falls

    1946 

    Houston, Texas:
    – Buddy Rogers defeated Lou Thesz to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title

    1951

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Dennis Clary defeated Sonny Myers to win the Central States Title

    1961 

    Fargo, North Dakota:
    – In a Non Title match; Bob Geigel beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne

    1968

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – The Big O (Johnny Valentine under a mask) defeated Mr. Wrestling to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title

    1969

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – The Crusher & Bill Watts beat Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon 
    – Dr X beat Pampero Firpo

    1973 

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Black Angus defeated Bob Brown 
    – Mike George defeated Argentina Zuma
    – Omar Atlas defeated Jim Dalton
    – Harley Race defeated L.D. Lewis
    – Danny Little Bear defeated Bob Orton via DQ
    – Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe defeated Bob Geigel & Tex McKenzie

    1974

    Rockford, Illinois:
    – The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Heiniemi & Buddy Wolff 
    – Baron Von Raschke beat Geoff Portz

    1975 

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – Superstar Billy Graham & Dusty Rhodes beat Baron Von Raschke & Horst Hoffman in a Loaded Glove Match
    – Ivan Putski beat Bobby Heenan 
    – Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Sheik) beat Rock Riddle
    – Betty Niccoli beat Miss Pamela
    – Jim Brunzell beat Geoff Portz

    1980 

    Greensboro, North Carolina:
    – Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood defeated Ray Stevens & Greg Valentine for the NWA World Tag Team Title 

    1981 

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – AWA World Champion Verne Gagne defeated Nick Bockwinkel (After the match, Verne Gagne announced he was retiring as AWA World Heavyweight Champion. Verne vacated the title and it would later be awarded to number-one contender Nick Bockwinkel)
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell & Buck Zumhofe beat Ray Stevens & Pat Patterson & Bobby Heenan 
    – Posedown: The Crusher beat Jesse Ventura
    – Baron Von Raschke beat John Studd
    – Tito Santana no contest Sheik Adnan
    – Larry Hennig beat Adrian Adonis
    – Brad Rheingans drew Jerry Blackwell

    1982

    Greenville, North Carolina:
    – Jack Brisco defeated Roddy Piper to win the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title 

    1985

    WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event: Uniondale, New York:
    – Barry Windham, Mike Rotundo & Ricky Steamboat defeated The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & George “The Animal” Steele 
    – WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Cowboy Bob Orton via DQ 
    – WWF Women’s Champion Wendi Richter defeated Fabulous Moolah
    – Junkyard Dog defeated Pete Dougherty

    1999 

    Orlando, Florida:
    – Debra defeated Sable for the WWF Women’s Title

  • WWE 2016 Q1 revenue & profit notes, social media relevancy discussion, more

    On Tuesday, WWE announced a profit increase but a revenue decrease from the first quarter of this year as compared to last year.

    Profits are up $13.9 million for Q1 2016 as compared to $9.8 million for Q1 2015 while revenue finished at $171 million for Q1 2016, down from the $176.2 million they did in Q1 2015.

    The decrease in revenue year to year can be completely attributed to WrestleMania being in the first quarter last year and second quarter this year. That significantly decreased live event revenue in taking out the WrestleMania gate, as well as merchandise revenue.

    Given that, actual 2016 Q2 revenue should be up probably $40 million or more as compared to last year, but WWE indicated that second quarter profits would actually be lower than last year. However, they have projected an increase for 2016 as a whole.

    While not factoring in the WWE Network, the first quarter was a break-even proposition based on Wrestlemania. Mania had no impact on the profitability year-to-year, but the event and week itself generated a total of $24.9 million. If you factor that out, the first quarter revenue would have been $151.3 million if you’re doing a fair comparision.

    Other Notes

    There were not a lot of notes coming from the call, since the key figure, network subscribers, was covered in the call after WrestleMania.

    The WWE has greatly changed the way it is reporting data, no longer featuring PPV, home video and web merchandise sales in the key performance indicators, and focusing on social media and global video views, as well as the Network and live attendance. 

    When asked how WrestleMania did on PPV this year, either George Barrios didn’t understand the question or didn’t answer it because he gave numbers of what the show used to do. The person asking ended up moving to the next question instead of following up.

    Questions about tiered network subscriptions or whether Raw or Smackdown would be put on the Network during the same week of airing were vaguely answered, with Barrios and company saying they won’t discuss the nature of TV contracts.

    PPV and home video have been greatly declining categories while merchandise has been greatly increasing.

    Injuries, Shane & New Stars

    Vince McMahon noted that due to injuries, they made chicken salad out of the show, and said that within the next 30 days, many stars will be returning, noting in particular Seth Rollins, John Cena, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. They talked about adding 13 new stars to the main roster and credited NXT, although the new stars are a mix of outside wrestlers like A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows with people like Baron Corbin, Enzo, Cass, and The Vaudevillains who did come via the NXT pipeline.

    McMahon said that the injury rate isn’t any higher than before, and just said that the news gets out more, and most injuries are three to four month injuries.  He said that the game isn’t any more risky and talked about being “well ahead of everyone else” when it comes to concussion treatment.

    Shane McMahon’s name came up and Vince talked of the great job he’s done as talent, but it was made clear he was working only in a talent capacity.

    Barrios talked about long-term strategy such as heavy investments in China that they hope pay off in the long run. He said that while profits were up over last year in the current quarter, a key point was the nature of the video game contract and that more royalties were paid this quarter than at the same time last year.  He
    noted that would even out, and that the second quarter profit margin would be down from last year. He expects after six months, things would be even.  He said they expect growth in profits in quarters three and four.

    The company talked OIBDA expectations of $70-$85 million, and indicated more at the high end of that level. Last year’s total was $69 million.

    Social Media

    What ended up as a key talking point is that when it comes to social media and videos viewed, 70 to 80 percent comes from overseas, while when it comes to revenues, that number is reversed.  They were asked if so much social media and video viewing, metrics they are pushing as the most important, would indicate why overseas isn’t generating revenue like stateside. Laura Martin, who has been a strong company backer, even said she wondered if those statistics are meaningless if they aren’t driving revenue.

    Barrios, in short form, talked about it as a long term strategy, noting in particular huge consumption in India but that the network, for example, hasn’t done big numbers there.

    They indicated, without actually saying it, that 70 to 75 percent of the free subscribers during the WrestleMania ramp up period have been converted to paid subscribers and that they should average 1.5 million paid during the quarter.

  • ROH Dearborn, MI, TV taping results: Bullet Club angle continues; title changes

    Submitted by Brian Young

    – Kamaitachi and Will Ferrara started the night with a web exclusive match

    Crowd didn’t seem to care for Ferrara all that much, but Kamanitachi got a nice reception. Fun opener. Both guys worked quick. Kamaitachi won with a modified Air Raid Crash. Great finisher.

    – They announced that the show was being taped for VOD and DVD, so apparently these matches won’t be featured on ROH TV. Bobby Cruise got the crowd pumped up for the opener.

    – Bullet Club came out, with their newest member Adam Cole, who may have been the most popular American wrestler on the show tonight.

    Standard BC promo work. Called out the Briscoes, MCMG, Cabana, and Lethal. Briscoes and MCMG come out, call off their tag match and challenge Bullet Club. Cole reminds them they need a 5th man. Cue Adam Page who comes out and offers to be the 5th to the ROH team and demands the match start immediately. BC retreats, Nick Jackson says they didn’t come here to curtain jerk, and they’d see each other in the main event. Solid opening segment, crowd seemed to eat it up.

    – Matt Sydal and ACH beat Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser

    Sydal and ACH worked as underdogs while Silas and Bruiser played bullies. Okay stuff overall, but ACH is a much better act in person than he is on TV in my opinion. His dive to the outside using the second rope as a spring is very impressive. ACH gets the pin with a 450, and in the post match announces that he’s learned a lot from Sydal, but has to find his own path now. Sydal and ACH split amicably to a lukewarm reaction.

    – Roddy Strong vs. Lio Rush

    Rush came out, followed by Strong, who got a good pop. Roderick announced that Lio was replacing the injured Jushin Liger, to the displeasure of much of the crowd. Roderick worked as a full blown heel, bullying the smaller Rush. Rush did get some sneaky offense in, and looked impressive throughout. A fun spot had Lio catching Roddy in a rear naked choke, only for Roddy to run back first into the turnbuckle.

    Lio climbed back on and they repeated the spot twice more. Ultimately, Roderick won by turning a guillotine into the End of Heartache, and getting the pin. Roddy added a post match beatdown for good measure, only for Liger to make the save, forcing Roddy to retreat. Liger took a position at the commentary desk for the next couple matches.

    – ROH Champions War Machine beat Kazuchika Okada and Gedo

    Okada with the biggest pop of the night thus far. Seemed like a significant portion of the crowd was there just to see him. War Machine, on the other hand, people seemed indifferent on. Rowe and Hanson got on the mic, and announced they were putting the belts on the line against Okada and Gedo. War Machine worked as heels (kinda), beating down the smaller Gedo before Okada could get a hot tag. In the end, Okada hit the Rainmaker on Rowe but was not the legal man. Hanson cleared Okada out of the ring and hit Gedo with a leg lariat for the win.

    Post match, The Addiction, who were not announced, hit the ring, and challenged War Machine to a title match in NYC Saturday night. War Machine declined, and offered instead to put the belts on the line tonight. Crowd was excited for another title match.

    – Kushida defeated Dalton Castle

    People are really into Castle, and his entrance got big cheers. Kushida was also extremely over with the crowd. Funny spot early had Dalton retreating to the corner and being fanned by the Boys, only for Kushida to do the same moments later. They briefly fought over the Boys’ services before getting serious once again. Good chemistry between these two.

    – Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin beat the All Night Express

    Good match, Elgin seems much less stale with Tanahashi by his side. Tanahashi was by far the most over man in the match. Better than the War Machine/Okada & Gedo match, but not by much. A few miscues by Kenny King that the crowd really got on him for. Finish was dual High Fly Flows by Tanahashi and Elgin, with Elgin getting the pin. Tanahashi was truly the star here. Everything he did looked effortless.

    – Tomohiro Ishii pinned Moose

    Moose was very over, but did attract some rather vocal detractors. Ishii was well liked, and got a decent reaction. The story of this one was Ishii finding ways to chop down Moose. Moose is much larger in person, and towered over Ishii. I’m not the biggest Ishii fan, but this match was very good. Trading chops, standard headbutts from Ishii (much of the crowd was encouraging Moose to engage Ishii in a battle of headbutts). Moose got the crowd going by swinging Ishii back and forth while standing in the corner of the ring barricades. Huge reaction for Ishii nailing Moose with a superplex. Ishii finally got the win with a brainbuster. After the match, Todd Sinclair ran down and grabbed Nigel McGuiness, who had been on commentary, and brought him to the back. No announcement to the crowd as to what was going on.

    – The Addiction defeated War Machine to win the ROH tag titles

    Crowd seemed to be 60/40 for The Addiction from the get go. All out brawl to start. First several minutes were spent on the floor, with the ref unable to gain control. War Machine remained dominant for much of the match, until Kaz was able to slip a title belt in the ring and distract the ref, allowing Daniels to hit Rowe with the belt. Ref was distracted for too long and Rowe kicked out at 2. Kaz tried the same routine, but Daniels got caught. While the ref returned the belt to ringside, Kaz hit Rowe with a chain made of bullets (bandoleer?), allowing Daniels to get the pin. New champs. Crowd was hot for the finish. Nobody in the room seemed to expect it.

    – Nigel returned to commentary after the Tag Title Match

    – ReDragon beat IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito and ROH World Champion Jay Lethal

    All 4 men were great, but Naito in particular stood out from the beginning, starting with a great entrance (including a belt toss). Comedy spot early had O’Reilly stomping Lethal’s fingers repeatedly, prompting Taeler Hendrix to kiss Lethal’s hand to alleviate the pain. O’Reilly gave Naito the same treatment, but when Naito asked Hendrix for the same treatment she gave Lethal, Lethal intervened. Naito eventually had a fan in the front row kiss his hand, to quite the reaction. Naito teased a dive to the outside, only to roll into his signature “I don’t give a sh*t” pose. Both teams went back and forth, lots of great action all around, too much to recount.

    Finish had Lethal and Naito intercommunicating in the ring, allowing O’Reilly to take advantage and make a hot comeback. Bobby Fish took out Naito by running him into the barricade, before hitting Chasing the Dragon with O’Reilly to get the pin on Lethal. Seemed to be setting up a O’Reilly/Lethal title match. After the pin, Naito entered the ring with a chair, only to sit down in it rather than take out ReDragon. Naito treated us to a second belt toss, and seemed very displeased with Lethal. Seeds planted for a match between these too at some point as well. Strongly recommend seeing this match when it becomes available.

    – Bullet Club vs. MCMG/Briscoes/Colt Cabana

    Finally, Bullet Club came out for the main event. Noticeable change in the audio at this point in the night, so this match may have been shot for TV. Bucks and Cole were more over than Guerrillas of Destiny, but the latter seemed to win the crowd over by the end. Briscoes and MCMG out, only for Adam Cole to tell them that the Superkick Party started early in the back, and Adam Page can’t make it to the ring anymore. Cue Bullet Club beat down. The Bucks and Guerrillas divide and conquer, each taking a man to a corner on the outside barricades.

    Adam Cole begins “Story Time with Adam Cole” only to be interrupted by Colt Cabana, who got arguably the biggest pop of the night. 10 man tag was complete chaos, but a lot of fun. Guerrillas and Briscoes seem to click with one another. Bucks taunted MCMG about TNA. Everyone got their signature spots in, except for the Guerrillas who don’t seem to have any yet.

    Ref got taken out by an errant superkick from one of the Bucks. This allowed Adam Page to hit the ring, who immediatly turned on the faces and joined Bullet Club. Page put Jay Bricscoe through the ringside table with a keeling reverse belly to back piledriver. Superkicks for everyone. IndyTaker from the inside to the outside on one of the Machine Guns. Triple Superkick from Cole and the Bucks to Mark Briscoe for the finish. Post match, Page and Bullet Club hung Chris Sabin from the ring with a noose. Got decent heat.

    BC left through the crowd and stood on the bar to celebrate. Cabana cut a defiant promo on the Bullet Club to end the show.

  • Title change at ROH show in Dearborn, MI tonight

    Chhristopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian (aka The Addiction) captured the ROH tag team titles Monday night in Dearborn, MI in an impromptu match with War Machine. The match was part of their latest set of TV tapings.

    The night stared with Machine defending the titles against Kazuchika Okada & Gedo in what was originally a non-title match. They agreed to put the belts on the line, and won when Hanson pinned Gedo, although Okada used the Rainmaker on Rowe at the same time as the finish.

    The Addiction then came out and said that War Machine were fraudulent champions because they were actually the best team in ROH. Daniels claimed they never got a rematch when they lost the titles and were undefeated in ROH — easy heat since they lost Sunday night on PPV. They demanded a title shot on the May 14th show in New York.

    Hanson then said that The Addiction hadn’t won a match in months, and they’ve hurt Lio Rush, Jushin Liger and Cheeseburger. They said The Addiction can get a title shot, but it’s tonight, take it or leave it. Then, they lost the belts.

  • Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/09): SMW Volunteer Slam; Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino

    1940 

    Eugene, Oregon:
    – Herb Parks defeated Prince Ilaki for the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title 

    1950 

    San Fransisco, California:
    – Ben and Mike Sharpe defeated Ray Eckert and Hard Boiled Haggerty to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1951 

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
    – Buddy Rogers defeated Bobby Managoff to win the Montreal Athletic Commission’s World Heavyweight Title 

    1957 

    Stockton, California:
    – Ben and Mike Sharpe defeated Leo Nomellini and Enrique Torres for the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title 

    1957 

    Amarillo, Texas:
    – Bob Geigel defeated Don Curtis to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title 

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
    – Pat O’Connor and Whipper Billy Watson defeated Bill and Ed Miller for the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Title 

    1958

    Houston, Texas:
    – El Medico defeated Pepper Gomez to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title 

    1961 

    Macon, Georgia:
    – Guy Mitchell and Bob Rasmussen defeated Gypsy Joe and Skull Murphy to win the Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title 

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
    – John DePaulo and Stan Mykietowich defeated Frenchy Champagne and Ole Olsen in Winnipeg, Manitoba to win the Madison Wrestling Club Tag Team Title

    1963

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – United States Heavyweight Champion Bob Geigel defeated Pat O’Connor

    1966 

    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
    – Tony Borne and John Tolos defeated Paddy Barrett and Tom Geohagen for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title i

    1967 

    Little Rock, Arkansas:
    – Jack Brisco and Gorgeous George, Jr. defeated The Assassins to win the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title 

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Jose Lothario and Wahoo McDaniel defeated Rocket and Sputnik Monroe for the Florida NWA World Tag Team Title

    1968 

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Jack the Ripper & Baron Von Heisinger defeated Bobby Shane & The Viking
    – Steve Bolus defeated Stan the Moose
    – Carmen Monge & Jean Antone defeated Kay Noble & Betty Niccoli
    – Roger Kirby defeated Klondike Bill
    – Central States Tag Team Title: Ronnie Etchison & Sonny Myers defeated Bob Geigel & Bob Brown in three falls to win the titles

    1969

    Sydney, Australia:
    Mario Milano defeated The Spoiler (Don Jardine) for the International Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title 

    1972 

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Boris Malenko and Bob Roop defeated Bobby Shane and Bearcat Wright for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title 

    Macon, Georgia:
    – The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) defeated NWA Macon Tag Team Champions Bob Armstrong and Bill Dromo to win the title

    Portland, Oregon:
    – The Royal Kangaroos (Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles) won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title by defeating Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne

    1973 

    Nashville, Tennessee:
    – Jerry Lawler and Jim White defeated Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title 

    Rockford, Illinois:
    – Ric Flair went to a time limit draw with Greg Gagne

    1975

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino wrestled to a no contest 

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller defeated NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions Assassin #2 and Toru Tanaka (with Rock Hunter) to win the title 

    Dothan, Alabama:
     J.C. Dykes defeated Dick Dunn for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title 

    Meridian, Mississippi:
    – Big Bad John defeated Rip Tyler to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title 

    Sydney, Australia:
     The Missouri Mauler and Steve Rackman defeated Ron Miller and Larry O’Day for the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title 

    1980

    Denver, Colorado:
    – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Mad Dog Vachon 
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura

    1981 

    Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
    – Carlos Colón defeated Killer Karl Krupp to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title and WWC North American Heavyweight Title 

    1983 

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Dutch Mantel defeated Bill Dundee to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title 

    1984

    Miami, Florida:
    – Dennis Brown defeated Mike Fever in a $2,000 bonus match
    – Kevin Sullivan defeated Mike Davis
    – Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Joe Lightfoot in a no-disqualification match
    – Mike Graham and Mike Rotundo defeated Chavo and Hector Guerrero in a best-of-three falls match
    – Kevin Sullivan defeated Dennis Brown
    – Blackjack Mulligan and Barry Windham defeated NWA Florida United States Tag Team Champions and NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion Ron Bass and NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Champion Black Bart
    – Dusty Rhodes defeated The Purple Haze in 14 seconds in a loser leaves town match

    1987 

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) defeated Steve Keirn and Mark Starr for the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Title 

    St. Petersburg, Florida:
    – Jimmy Valiant defeated Colt Steele
    – Bob & Brad Armstrong defeated the MOD Squad
    – Mke Graham defeated Dory Funk Jr
    – Florida Heavyweight Champion Mike Rotundo defeated Kevin Sullivan
    – Jimmy Garvin defeated Teijo Khan
    – NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Steve Kiern & Stan Lane defeated the MOD Squad
    – Barry Windham & Ed Gantner defeated Dory Funk Jr. & the Tahitian Prince
    – The Road Warriors fought NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick Rude & Manny Fernandez (w/ Paul Jones) to a double disqualification 
    – Dusty Rhodes defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification

    1988

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jerry Lawler defeated AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig to win the title 
    – Brickhouse Brown defeated The Nightmare
    – Mark Starr and Scott Steiner defeated Doug and Tommy Gilbert
    – AWA World Tag Team Champions Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) defeated Tom Brandi and Billy Travis
    – The Cuban Assassins defeated The Bruise Brothers (Don and Ron Harris)
    – Mike Graham and Steve Keirn defeated CWA Heavyweight Champion Max Pain and Gary Young
    – Jerry Jarrett and Robert Fuller fought to a double-disqualification
    – Bill Dundee defeated Eddie Gilbert

    1989 

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Mike Graham and Dustin Rhodes defeated Southern Force (Black Bart and Bobby Jaggers) for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title 

    1992 

    Hamburg, Pennsylvania:
    – The Sioux War Party (Dancing Wolf and White Cloud) defeated The Canadians in the finals of an eight-team tournament to win the vacant IWCCW Tag Team Title

    Cloverdale, British Columbia, Canada:
    – Ole Olson defeated Moondog Moretti to win the West Coast Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title 

    1993 

    Saitama, Japan:
    – The Head Hunters defeated Yukihiro Kanemura and Miguel Pérez, Jr. in the finals of a four-team tournament to win the vacant W*ING World Tag Team Title
    – El Texano won the WWC/W*ING World Junior Heavyweight Title from Masayoshi Motegi

    SMW Volunteer Slam II: Knoxville, Tennessee:
    – Robert Gibson defeated The Tazmaniac
    – Killer Kyle defeated Robert Fuller by disqualification
    – SMW Television Champion Brian Lee defeated SMW Tag Team Champion Stan Lane
    – Kevin Sullivan defeated Jimmy Golden
    – SMW Tag Team Champion Tom Prichard defeated Ricky Morton
    – SMW Heavyweight Champion Tracy Smothers defeated The Dirty White Boy in a “coward waves the flag” match to retain the title
    – Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, SMW Television Champion Brian Lee and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard), Killer Kyle, Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac in a steel cage match

    1994

    Memphis, Tennessee:
     – Brian Christopher defeated Doug Gilbert in a hair vs. title match to win the USWA Heavyweight Title  

    1999

    WCW Slamboree: St. Louis, Missouri:
    – Raven and Saturn defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (with Arn Anderson) and WCW World Tag Team Champions Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio in a three-way match to win the title
    – Konnan pinned Stevie Ray (with Horace Hogan and Vincent) 
    – Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Brian Knobbs in a hardcore match
    – Rick Steiner pinned WCW World Television Champion Booker T after a diving bulldog to win the title
    – Gorgeous George (with Madusa, Miss Madness and Randy Savage) pinned Charles Robinson (with Asya and Ric Flair) 
    – WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner defeated Buff Bagwell 
    – Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson and Asya) by disqualification
    – Sting fought Goldberg to a no-contest 
    – Kevin Nash pinned WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page to win the title

    2003 

    Orlando, Florida:
    – Simon Diamond and CW Anderson defeated PJ Friedman and Steve Williams in a tournament final to become the first MLW Global Crown Tag Team champions

    2006 

    Cincinnati, Ohio:
    – Jon Moxley defeated Pepper Parks for the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title 

    2007

    Louisville, Kentucky:
    – Paul Burchill defeated OVW Heavyweight Champion Idol Stevens to win the title

  • WWE Sioux Falls, SD, live results: Reigns vs. Sheamus, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

    Submitted by James Girouard from the Denny Sanford Premier Center

    – Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin with a superkick and zig zag

    Surprisingly good match. From a mechanical perspective, Corbin is much improved from where he was even a year ago.

    – Titus O’Neil b. Fandango with a powerbomb

    Fandango attacked Titus before the bell. Match itself probably went about a minute. Not much to it.

    – WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte b. Natayla with a rollup after putting her feet on the ropes

    Other than one or two mistimed spots early, the work was very good. However, the ring announcer (Eden Stiles) did ask the crowd before the match if they “wanted to see some beautiful women in the ring” so apparently old stereotypes die hard.

    – Sami Zayn b. Stardust with the Blue Thunder bomb

    Stardust stalled for most of the match and got quite a bit of heat. Zayn had a loyal, vocal minority really into him but Stardust was more over as a heel than Zayn was as a face. Match was fine, nothing special.

    – AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens with the Phenomenal Forearm

    Very good match, best of the night. Owens got a lot of heel heat early but was so great that as the match wore on he was getting as many cheers as boos. AJ’s in-ring timing is even more amazing live than it is on TV.

    – Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows b. Darren Young & Mark Henry with the Magic Killer

    Not much to the match, although it was weird to see Mark Henry as the babyface in peril. For not having been on TV very long Anderson & Gallows did get a decent reaction.

    – Big Cass b. Primo with his East River Crossing sidewalk slam

    Primo jumped Cass as he was cutting a promo before the match, but Cass ended up wiping him out quickly. Crowd was really into the singalong.

    – IC Champion Miz (w/Maryse) b. Cesaro after throwing him into an exposed turnbuckle

    Miz got tremendous heel heat from the second he walked out from the curtain until the match was over. Match was all sorts of overbooked with run-ins and interference from Maryse. 

    – WWE Champion Roman Reigns b. Sheamus with the spear

    Hard hitting but the two have had much better matches. Both men were heavily booed at the start, but as the match wore on the reactions to Roman were probably 50-50. It is interesting because the last time Reigns was in Sioux Falls against Bray Wyatt he was pretty much universally cheered.

    All in all, one of the better house shows I’ve seen from WWE since they started coming back to Sioux Falls regularly about 15 years ago.  None of the matches were bad and the stuff that wasn’t as good was kept short.  A lively crowd that was into the talent helped.