Submitted by Nicholas Gronos from the Civic Center
– Dolph Ziggler def. Baron Corbin
Dolph wins via pinfall after a superkick. Dolph gets crowd into it right away.
– Gallows & Anderson def. Mark Henry & Darren Young
Heels win via pinfall after hitting the Magic Killer.
– Titus O’Neil def. Fandango
The crowd got quieter as the match went on. Titus was dominant, and got a big pop coming out.
– Sami Zayn def. Stardust
There were lots of “Cody” chants, and many Olé chants. Stardust kicks out of Blue Thunder Bomb, but Sami won via pinfall. Zayn hit the Exploder Suplex to set up the Helluva Kick.
– Intercontinental Champion The Miz (w/ Maryse) def. Cesaro
Miz and Maryse cut a promo to start. Cesaro uppercuts Miz into barricade, and big swings Miz. He puts him in the Sharpshooter, but Maryse distracts the ref while Miz taps out. Miz wins via pinfall after hitting the Skull Crushing Finale. After the match, Miz attempts to hit Cesaro with his belt. Cesaro ducks and puts him into the swing again, then hits the Neutralizer.
– Women’s Champion Charlotte def. Natalya
Charlotte won via roll-up with her feet on the ropes. Earlier in the match, Charlotte puts Nattie in the Figure 8, and Nattie put Charlotte in the Sharpshooter. Charlotte attempts back flip on Nattie, but Nattie rallies and power bombs Charlotte.
– Big Cass def. Diego
Big Cass wins via pinfall after hitting the East River Crossing. Pre-match Cass cuts promo dissing Diego and threatened to give him a “Bismarck beatdown”. Lots of “How you doin” chants throughout the match.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
All three got a huge reaction, and more cheers for Reigns than I expected. Reigns and Styles go after KO to start Roman attempts to suplex AJ off the top rope, KO runs up underneath and powerbombs them both. Lots of near falls. AJ does the Phenomenal Forearm to Roman, KO pulls the ref out of the ring, Roman kicks out of a frog splash from Owens. Roman hits the Superman Punch to knock AJ out of the ring, spears KO to win via pin.
He attempted a springboard maneuver but didn’t make it all the way onto the ropes, slipped, and fell hard into the ring. Noah rolled him up and the ref threw the X up pretty quickly afterwards. He was tended to in the ring for a few minutes before being carried out on a stretcher. From what it appeared, his arms and legs were not moving although he was able to talk to those in the ring who were assisting him.
A fan in attendance noted on Twitter that he was told by EMTs that Crawford was flown out for medical attention, but that wasn’t confirmed. Our JJ Williams was there and noted that Crawford didn’t appear to be awake on the way to the back.
The Miami Herald had a big story on Crawford, 24, last year, who got into NXT by submitting photos and a resume through their online submission process.
New York City, New York:
– Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated Ed “Strangler” Lewis to win the World Heavyweight Title
1938
Buffalo, New York:
– Don McIntyre defeated Vic Christy for the Montreal World Heavyweight Title
1946
Portland, Oregon:
– Al Szasz defeated Paavo Ketonnen to win the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title
1953
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
– Killer Kowalski defeated Verne Gagne to win the Montreal World Heavyweight Title
San Francisco, California:
– Leo Nomellini and Enrique Torres defeated Ben and Mike Sharpe for the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles
1958
– Black Hawk and Nelson Royal defeated Doug Donovan and Bill Savage for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title
1960
– Ed Francis and Bill Savage defeated Tony Borne and Shag Thomas to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title
1965
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Dick the Bruiser beat Pat O’Connor 2 falls to 1
– Johnny Valentine beat Mike York
– Steve Bolus drew Doug Gilbert
– Bob Brown and Missouri Mauler beat Ron Reed and Claude Patterson
1966
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated The Mysterious Medics to win the vacant Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title in a one night tournament final
1967
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne wrestled to a no contest with Danny Hodge
– The Crusher & Lou Thesz wrestled to a no contest with AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race
– Johnny Powers beat Ernie Ladd
– Johnny Valentine beat The Alaskan
– Rene Goulet beat Blackjack Daniels
1969
Little Rock, Arkansas:
– Alberto and Ramon Torres defeated Treach Phillips and Karl Von Stroheim for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1971
Kansas City, Kansas:
– The Viking defeated Harley Race via DQ
– The Stomper defeated Baron Von Raschke
– Bob Orton defeated Ben Justice
– Steve Bolus fought Buddy Austin to a draw
– Rufus R. Jones defeated Baron Von Heisinger
1974
Shreveport, Louisiana:
– Rip Tyler defeated Bob Sweetan to win the NWA Tri-State Brass Knuckles Title
1976
Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
– Bob Kelly defeated Duke Miller for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1977
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Missouri State Champion Jack Brisco beat Ivan Koloff
– Dick the Bruiser went to a no contest with WWWF Champion Superstar Billy Graham
– AWA Tag Team Champions Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum beat Pat O’Connor & Rocky Johnson
– Billy Robinson beat Bulldog Bob Brown via dq
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Lord Alfred Hayes & Bull Bullinski
– Bulldog Bob Brown beat Jerry Kozak
1978
Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colón defeated Ox Baker to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
– The Hollywood Blondes (Jack Evans and Larry Sharpe) defeated Victor Jovica and Chief Thundercloud for the WWC North American Tag Team Titles
– Hurácan Castillo and Pierre Martel win the WWC World Tag Team Title from Invader I and José Rivera
1979
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Non Title Cage match: Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat AWA Tag Team Champions Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens
– Super Destroyer Mark II beat Billy Robinson dq
– Greg Gagne beat Cecil Dubois
– Bobby Duncum beat Steve Olsonoski
– Jesse Ventura no contest Paul Ellering
– Doug Gilbert drew Buddy Wolff
1980
Tampa, Florida:
– Masa Saito defeated Steve Keirn for the NWA Florida Television Title
1982
Fukuoka, Japan:
– Black Tiger (Marc Rocco) defeated Gran Hamada for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Title
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Joyce Grable and Wendi Richter defeated Princess Victoria and Sabrina to win the NWA Women’s World Tag Team Titles
Auckland, New Zealand:
– King Kamaka and Baron Von Krupp defeated Mark Lewin and Steve Rickard for the NWA Australian Tag Team Titles
1984
WCCW Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions: Dallas, Texas:
– Rock ‘n’ Soul (King Parsons and Buck Zumhofe) defeated WCCW American Tag Team Champions The Super Destoyers I and II, (Bill and Scott Irwin)
– Fritz, Kevin and Mike Von Erich defeated WCCW Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts), to win the titles
– Kerry Von Erich defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair to win the title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– King Kong Bundy and The Masked Superstar defeated The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) to win the NWA National Tag Team Titles
1984
Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– Crusher and Baron Von Raschke defeated The Sheiks (Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera) to win the AWA World Tag Team Titles
– Nick Bockwinkel beat AWA Champion Jumbo Tsuruta dq in 15:12
– Princess Victoria & Velvet McIntyre (sub Despina Montagus) beat Wendi Richter & Donna Christentello
– Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
– Billy Robinson beat Larry Zbyszko
– Curt Hennig beat Jake Milliman (sub Tom Stone)
1988
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Makhan Singh defeated Owen Hart to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
1990
Barron, Wisconsin:
– Matt Derringer defeated The Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) for the Pro Wrestling America Light Heavyweight Title
1994
North Bay, Ontario:
– Jack Steel defeated Scott D’Amore to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title
Fall Branch, Tennessee:
– The Mongolian Stomper defeated Mike Samson for the Southern States Wrestling Heavyweight Title
2002
Hartford, Connecticut:
– William Regal defeated Spike Dudley to capture the European Title
Bobby Roode was briefly advertised for the NXT UK tour by the WWE’s Twitter this morning, but the tweet was later pulled.
While not official, the belief is that both Roode and Eric Young will be signed and officially part of the NXT roster soon.
Roode and Young were TNA stars from the very beginning as part of Team Canada. Both left the company earlier this year. Roode appeared in the crowd and was shown on-screen at the NXT Takeover Dallas event. Young wrestled Samoa Joe on this week’s NXT TV show, losing clean in the middle to Joe’s choke sleeper. He hadn’t signed a deal but the feeling was it was a tryout of sorts, and he did well enough in the match and on the microphone that it was expected he’d end up with a deal.
Young had done an interview with Niagara This Week claiming that he was working on a deal, but that it wasn’t signed and sealed yet.
In a day of housecleaning not seen in years, there are a few more WWE departures to report after the three that were made public earlier this morning. The most notable would be Stu Bennett (Wade Barrett), who posted this on Twitter at 12:40 pm eastern:
After almost 9 years, today was my final day with WWE. I made a decision back in August last year not to re-sign once my current contract expired in June 2016, and I’ve now reached an agreement with management to dissolve the contract a few weeks early. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, especially the guys I’ve shared a ring & locker room with. I will miss them tremendously.
As planned, I am now taking a well-earned break from the wrestling industry in order to expand my horizons, but I’ll be back in the ring when the time is right.
Thanks for the support everyone, I’l see you all down the road.
Barrett was the first-ever winner of the NXT reality to earn a main roster spot. He and the other cast members of that show debuted in a memorable angle in a 2010 edition of Monday Night RAW where they laid out John Cena and destroyed the ring. Barrett had several stop and start pushes over the year and injuries derailed him on several occasions when it appeared he was ready to break through. He had expressed interest in the past in an acting career and had a role in the 2013 film “Dead Man Down”
El Torito (aka Mascarita Dorada) has been with WWE since 2013, debuting as the costumed bull mascot of Los Matadores, after a long career in Mexico with CMLL and AAA. After feuding with Hornswoggle (who was also released today) for a couple of years, he broke off with Los Matadores in September of last year after being put through a table by the Dudleyz. Aside from a few comedy backstage segments he had not been seen on TV since then.
Arianne Andrew (Cameron) was a cast member in the 2011 version of Tough Enough, hosted by Steve Austin. She was the first elimination on the show but was the only cast member to make it to the main roster. She started as a “Funkadactyl” with partner Naomi as they accomponied Brodus Clay and later Tensai (Matt Bloom) to the ring. She was also an original cast member of E’s “Total Divas“. She and Naomi competed as a tag team off and on after Clay was released and Tensai transitioned into a commentary roll on NXT. She did a mini-feud with then champion Paige, losing three consecutive title matches in early 2015. Later that year she surfaced on NXT, facing Asuka in one of the current NXT women’s champion’s first bouts with the company. She has made a couple of appearances since then but was not featured prominently and her release was announced today. It was figured she was on the chopping block after Ryback posted a message on Tumblr essentially demanding equal pay for everyone on the roster and Cameron tweeted out that she was in support of Ryback before quickly pulling it. She later posted a long tirade about cyberbullying.
UPDATES:
Also just announced was the release of Aaron Haddad (Damien Sandow). Sandow was a popular undercard wrestler who always got bigger crowd reactions than his push. He competed on RAW just this past Monday and his elimination was one of the louder reactions in the match. He is a former Money in the Bank winner with the distinction of being one of only two wrestlers to not cash in his briefcace successfully (the other being, of all people, John Cena). He’d started with the company in 2002, starting as Aaron “The Idol” Stevens in OVW and was later called up to Smackdown as Idol Stevens, teaming with KC James as Michelle McCool’s “Teacher’s Pets”. That run was short-lived and he was released in 2007 after a return to OVW. He was re-signed in 2010 and assigned to FCW, the WWE’s developmental territory at the time, and made his return to the main roster in 2012 as Sandow. He teamed with Cody Rhodes as the “Rhodes Scholars” as they feuded with Team Hell No over the WWE Tag Team titles. He later did a gimmick where he impersonated characters from both inside and outside wrestling, such as Bruce Springsteen, Abraham Lincoln, Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. That morphed into a memorable sting where he played Macho Sandow, along with Curtis Axel’s character of “Axel Mania”, a Hulk Hogan parody. The two feuded and then teams for several months before Hulk Hogan’s falling out with the company led to the dissolution of the team. Sandow had been used sparingly since then, usually in an enhancement role or in battle royals.
WWE just announced the release of Santino. He had underwent neck surgery and the belief was he probably wasn’t ever wrestling again. He had made occasional appearances here and there on WWE TV. Of late, he has been running his own mixed martial arts school, the BattleArts Academy, in Ontario. He started out in Ohio Valley Wrestling in the mid-2000s as Johnny Geo Basco and Boris Alexiev, basically your standard Rusev foreign heel character. An incident occured at a TV taping where the Boogeyman came down to the ring and the idea what that he was supposed to be a terrifying character, but Santino (real name Anthony Carelli) was sitting in the crowd and started laughing. Jim Cornette was furious and slapped him around, which snowballed into the deparature of Cornette from WWE developmental. He debuted on the main roster in April of 2007 on a show in Milan, Italy. His new gimmick was that he was an Italian babyface, so he was signed to face Umaga for the Intercontinental Title and he won it his first night in. He lost the belt back to Umaga a few months later and soon began to morph into a full-fledged comedy figure. The irony is that he was so great at the character that they ran with it full-bore, probably to the detriment of his career since they never really pushed him as a serious character afterwards.
WWE today confirmed the releases of Kevin Kiley Jr (Alex Riley), Dylan Postl (Hornswoggle) and Wayne Keown (Zeb Colter).
Riley has had the most prominent role of the three recently, as he had an interview on NXT TV this week to promote an upcoming (already taped) match with Nakamura. He had recently returned from a long-term injury layoff and had been doing a bitter veteran gimmick where he would lash out against recent NXT signings that he didn’t feel were the calibre of athlete he is. He had gained a lot of muscle mass in his time off. He had been with the company since 2007 and was most prominently the sidekick of The Miz when he had his World title run and headlined WrestleMania 27 against John Cena. He won season 2 of the NXT reality show after being mentored by Miz on that show. After floundering on the main roster following his breakup with Miz, he resurfaced as a color commentator on NXT in 2013 before leaving the booth for a short-term feud with Kevin Owens in early 2015. He was injured shortly after and just recently returned to NXT TV.
Hornswoggle has been virtually non-existent on TV since a 30 day wellness violation on September 28th of last year. He’s been with the company almost exactly 10 years, having debuted in May of 2006. After starting out as Fit Finley’s sidekick (later revealed to be his “son”), he had featured roles as Mr McMahon’s illegitimate son and later as a sidekick to the DX team of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. He was also revealed to be the person behind the “anonymous GM” when WWE wanted a quick way out of that storyline. His last featured role was a feud with Torito, the costumed bull mascot of The Matadores (Primo and Epico Colon) tag team. The two had a WeeLC match at Payback in 2014 that was an entertaining spectacle but after that feud fizzled out, it was clear there were no plans for him.
Colter, also known for many years as Dutch Mantel, had been with WWE since 2013, which was second stint with the company. In the mid-90’s he managed the Blu Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) and Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw (JBL) as Uncle Zedekiah. He returned in 2013 to manage Jack Swagger. He received a lot of press as an outspoken pro-American xenophobic mouthpiece, even getting mentions from mainstream sources such as Glenn Beck and FOX News. WWE toned down the character after a couple of months while of course led to the Swagger character cooling off as well. He later added Cesaro to his stable as “The Ream Americans”. That pairing was short-lived as Cesaro broke off from the team to align with Paul Heyman. Shortly after that, Colter and Swagger turned face to feud with Rusev and Lana in Rusev’s first main roster feud. Colter was written out of WWE storylines after Rusev broke his leg in a backstage segment. He resurfaced last year in a short-lived run as Alberto Del Rio’s manager and feuding with his former protégé Swagger. After just a few weeks, Del Rio “fired” Colter on RAW and he had not been seen since.
The Octagon makes a stop for the first time in The Netherlands for a fight card on Mothers’ Day as UFC Fight Night 87 rolls into Rotterdam, airing on FOX Sports 1 as an afternoon event in the United States. Headlining the event is a heavyweight bout as Alistair Overeem puts his three-fight win streak on the line against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when setting your line-ups for Sunday’s event.
STUDS
Magnus Cedenblad ($10,600)
Magnus Cedenblad hasn’t fought since October 2014 yet he remains one of our top plays on this slate of fighters for UFC Fight Night 87 on Sunday. He has won three straight fights, and eleven of his thirteen professional wins have come by stoppage. He is a huge middleweight and has some real good talent. He is a solid grappler, and that is the area his opponent, Garreth McLellan, has some trouble. McLellan has a tendency of getting taken down, and with a bigger opponent in Cedenblad who has excellent grappling, it is going to be hard for McLellan to avoid getting taken down. Cedenblad should be looking to utilize his size and grappling advantages, and a finish early should be in line. He has good hands, but a submission early seems more likely. Cedenblad is an excellent pick to start your roster off with.
Alistair Overeem ($10,300)
I am honestly surprised that Alistair Overeem is coming as cheap as he is for his main event bout against Andrei Arlovski. Overeem has won three straight and has looked excellent in doing so, and his last win over Junior Dos Santos was arguably his most impressive inside the Octagon, making Dos Santos look like a finished fighter, which is amazing considering how impressive Dos Santos looked in his last fight a month ago. He also faces an opponent known for a glass jaw in Arlovski, who is coming off being knocked out in 54 seconds in his last fight against Stipe Miocic. Yes, Overeem has suffered nine knockout losses of his own, but his style should be able to keep Arlovski from getting on the inside. Arlovski did look like a rejuvenated fighter up until his smashing at the hands of Miocic, and I expect to see more of that Arlovski than the one who had an impressive win streak leading into the Miocic bout. Overeem’s salary makes him an easy play for your roster, and I expect him to be widely owned.
VALUE PLAYS
Chris Wade ($9,000)
Chris Wade is an interesting play for a $9,000 salary. He is undefeated inside the Octagon, but he takes on his stiffest test to date when he meets Rustam Khabliov on Saturday night. Khabilov is an injury replacement, but he had a good amount of notice for the bout and likely got as close to a full training camp as you can get. Khabilov hasn’t looked the same in his most recent fights, and while he got the win over Norman Parke in his last fight, he didn’t look overly impressive, and Wade is a sneaky rising prospect. Wade has good wrestling and some solid submissions, and he may overpower Khabilov to the mat. Khabliov had shown some great throws and takedowns, but that has seemingly gone out the window lately. I’m not sure if he regressed or if the having to stay overseas to train due to visa issues have hurt him, but he just hasn’t looked the same. Wade is a sneaky play to score a lot of takedowns and grind out a decision win.
Gunnar Nelson ($8,900)
Gunnar Nelson is going to be the most debated fighter on the card at his $8,900 salary. It’s hard to predict what is going to happen when he takes on Albert Tumenov on Sunday. Tumenov has shown to be an explosive striker so Nelson will be looking to take it to the mat. If Nelson can get the fight down, Tumenov is going to be in a lot of trouble on the ground. Nelson is still world class on the mat, but he did get embarassed by Demian Maia in his last fight. He needs a big rebound if he is ever going to be in the title picture at 170 pounds, and Tumenov is a beast with a five-fight win streak and has explosive finishes. Nelson has yet to be finished, and he could grind the fight out for three rounds and find a submission on the mat. He has good value if he can turn the fight with Tumenov into his kind of fight. It may be a challenge, but I see Nelson having some very good value.
FIGHTERS TO AVOID
Yan Cabral ($10,200)
Yan Cabral has a decently high salary on Sunday’s event, but he is an easy pass for me. He is just 2-2 in his UFC career and hasn’t been overly impressive in his bouts. He has one finish in the two wins, but that was over Naoyuki Kotani, who was 0-5 inside the Octagon. He has a tough match-up against Reza Madadi, a fighter who is very tough to finish, and one that has a good shot at scoring an upset win. Madadi lost his last bout to Norman Parke, but it was his first fight in two-and-a-half years, and the ring rust was certainly evident. Madadi has a very good chance in finishing Cabral, but this looks to be a fight that will go the distance. I don’t expect much from either man, and I actually think Madadi picks up the victory. It makes Cabral an easy fighter for me to avoid.
Ulka Sasaki ($9,100)
Ulka Sasaki is the other fighter on my avoid list. He is coming into his bout against Willie Gates as a late replacement for the now-retired Paddy Holohan and enters the fight on a two-fight losing skid. He is in a must-win situation if he intends on having a UFC future, but Gates is a tough foe to go against, especially when he has a full camp. Gates is just 1-2 in his UFC tenure, like Sasaki, but both of his losses came in short-notice situations. When he had a full camp, he won in 96 seconds. Sasaki’s last two losses have come by finish, and Gates is a finisher himself. Sasaki is an easy fighter to avoid, even though his low salary is tempting if you are looking for cheap options.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK- Magnus Cedenblad ($10,600), Alistair Overeem ($10,300), Nikita Krylov ($10,100), Willie Gates ($9,600), Chris Wade ($9,000)
I have Magnus Cedenblad and Alistair Overeem as my top plays for this week, and thus they will be on my roster this week. I love Cedenblad’s chances against an overmatched Garreth McLellan and Cedenblad’s grappling will be the big difference. Overeem is on a roll and has looked good-to-great in his three-fight win streak. Andrei Arlovski has a real suspect chin, and against a heavy kickboxer like Overeem, it is looking good for Overeem to get an early win. I like Nikita Krylov against Francimar Barroso. Barroso does just enough to win fights by decision, but he hasn’t been overly impressive, and Krylov has against lesser competition. I like Krylov to win by submission. Willie Gates gets a short-notice opponent who has been finished in his last two, and Gates is impressive with a full camp. I’m taking a chance on him. I’m also taking a chance on Chris Wade. I think he wins and he is cheap and of great value. Takedowns and significant strikes will lead him to the win.
“Reem” is fighting in his home country and is on the verge of a title shot. He’s my lock of the week. A must for any DK team and at a reasonable salary. Nikita Krylov has the best nickname in MMA, “Al Capone” and his last 5 wins have been first round finishes. KK is unbeaten and that shouldn’t change against TUF 20 alumnus Heather Clark. The women on that show have not faired well in UFC competition for the most part against fighters that weren’t on the show. I expect KK to get her UFC finish here as the biggest favorite on the card. Garreth McLellan is a darkhorse for sure but when he wins, he finishes. Magnus Cedenblad was finished by Francis Carmont. ’nuff said. I’m going with Willie Gates for my last pick. KO power in the flyweight division is rare but Gates has it. Yuta Sasaki has been finished in two straight fights and Willie is going to make it three on Sunday morning.
PEACH MACHINE- Kyoji Horiguchi ($10,700), Albert Tumenov ($10,500), Yan Cabral ($10,200), Anna Elmose ($9,400), Chris Wade ($9,000)
I will always take Kyoji. He will be a champion someday and I’ll always put him on my team. He’ll get the finish, or a ton of points. Tumenov has a really tough opponent across the cage but he’s game as hell and maybe he saw the blueprint for beating Nelson. Wade is as tough as Khabilov. I’m sure Wade is there to lose, but I don’t think he cares what UFC has planned. Nor should he. Yan Cabral is going against Madadi who I’ve never liked. Elmose is a newcomer but looks tough and de Randamie has been out of action for a while. I like the upset here. I’m not as confident in these picks as I’ve been in the last couple but as usual, my advice is to never play it safe.
Crowd loved chanting with Jose and popped for his antics. Match itself was tame, with lots of stalling and wristlocks. Jose won with a half nelson slam.
– Chris Girard vs Manny Andrade
Crowd didn’t react at all to their entrances, but got into it as it went along. Manny faked a moonsault from the top, then immediately hit a standing moonsault as Girard tried to roll out of the way for a huge reaction. Manny won with a running double knees to a sitting Girard in the corner.
– Tye Dillinger vs Austin Aries
Crowd was hot for both guys, with lots of dueling “Austin Aries/Perfect 10!” chants. They did a lot of mat wrestling, with a bunch of counters. The match was really good, and Austin eventually won with a roaring elbow.
– Triple Threat NXT Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs Bayley vs Asuka (c)
This was a change from the online card, as it was supposed to be Bliss vs Asuka and Bayley vs Eva Marie. Pretty standard triple threat match, with one girl out of the ring most the time. Bayley hit Asuka with the Bayley to Belly, but Bliss threw her out, and got caught by the Asuka Lock for the finish.
– There was an intermission, where Tom Phillips came back out and pronounced the name of the town wrong. There was much booing.
– Tyler Breeze vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Before the match, Tyler cut a promo, essentially reminding us of his status as NXT gatekeeper. He’s fought everyone in NXT, and any new faces have to get through him. Cue the Nakamura chants. Nakamura got a huge reaction for everything he did, but the crowd loved both guys. They did pure comedy at first, with Nakamura trying to mock Breeze’s corner pose, and unable to get to the top rope, doing it on the bottom rope instead. Breeze tried to do Nakamura’s entrance pose on the rope, but couldn’t lean back far enough, so Nakamura gave him a hand. Later, Nakamura got a hold of Breeze’s camera and took a selfie. Nakamura kicked out of the Beauty Shot, and Tyler went for a chair. When the ref took it from him, Nakamura threw Breeze with the reverse powerslam and hit the Kinshasha for the win.
– Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton vs. NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan)
Wolfe and Fulton look like Mad Max characters. They overpowered Gable until he finally got the hot tag to Jordan. Alphas are fun to watch, but the crowd was a bit out of it after the Nakamura match, and Wolfe/Fulton didn’t do much interesting to get us back. American Alpha won with their assisted suplex.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
Another split crowd here. Finn got a huge “Bullet Club” chant before the match. The match itself was good, with a lot of their signature stuff being countered by each other. Joe won with the muscle buster.
After he recovered from the match, Balor had Phillips come back out and apologize for pronouncing “Salina” wrong, doing his best Stone Cold and The Rock impersonations to send Phillips packing, then finished with the “We Are NXT” slogan.
New Japan announced on Friday the top three matches for the next major PPV event, a 6/19 show at Osaka Jo Hall. This is one of the company’s big three events of the year.
The big matches are all as expected, with Kazuchika Okada as the challenger for IWGP champion Tetsuya Naito in a rematch from Invasion Attack where Naito won the title. Hiroshi Tanahashi will challenge for the IC title in a ladder match against Kenny Omega. The third main match has Katsuyori Shibata getting a rematch for the Never title against new champion Yuji Nagata.
New Japan World will have a NOAH vs. New Japan themed show on 5/19.
The next Korakuen Hall show live on New Japan World will be 5/21 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time, the first night of the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament:
Satoshi Kojima & Volador Jr. & Bobby Fish vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Will Ospreay & Trent Baretta
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson & Jay White & David Finlay
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Nick Jackson
– Air Date: May 5, 2016 – Location: Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO
– The Big News:
Roman Reigns and the Usos got some revenge over AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Also, The Vaudevillains vs. The New Day was made official for Extreme Rules.
– Show Recap:
Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel. He said Dean Ambrose thought he could be funny and zany when tangling with him, but it got serious when Jericho smashed the 20-pound pot over Ambrose. Jericho claimed that Ambrose spent the night in a St. Louis hospital with contusions, whiplash and bulging discs.
Jericho said Ambrose wasn’t here tonight, wasn’t going to run out to make a surprise appearance, and he should stay home for good. Jericho said it is a new era in WWE – his era. The crowd chanted “You suck” at Jericho, who introduced his guest Sami Zayn.
Jericho said his good friend Kevin Owens beat Zayn fair and square but Zayn continues to attack him, which makes him a sore loser. He also called Zayn a thief for posing with The Miz’s Intercontinental title. Jericho asked Zayn what kind of human being he is, and Zayn responded, “Actually, I think I’m a pretty good human being, honestly.” Zayn thought people would agree, just like they would agree that Jericho’s scarf makes him look stupid.
Zayn said he didn’t have a problem with Owens beating him, he had a problem with Owens slapping him in the face after the match and tossing him out of the ring like garbage. He also wasn’t trying to steal the IC Title. Miz interrupted.
Miz said he’s the only one who’s earned the right to hold the IC title belt and called Zayn a serial coattail rider. Miz warned Zayn not to lay a finger on the title again, so Zayn repeatedly touched the title with his finger, which was funny. The crowd chanted for Zayn. Jericho said if someone laid a hand on his $15,000 jacket, he would do something about it, and told Miz he should do something about it.
Zayn couldn’t believe Jericho spent $15,000 on his jacket. Jericho started raging, tossed his stools down and left. Zayn called them jackasses. Miz said Zayn has no respect and called himself the biggest, baddest shark in WWE. Zayn touched the title again and challenged Miz to a fight, but Maryse got in his face. Zayn challenged him to a fight again but Miz bailed.
This segment was good enough. The biggest positive was that Sami Zayn, surprise surprise, came off very likable.
Non-title: Sami Zayn beat IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) via DQ
Miz tried tossing Zayn into the barricade, but Zayn leapt onto the barricade and nailed a moonsault. The highlight of that spot was the reaction of a girl in the front row. Kevin Owens came out (to his music) and joined commentary after a break.
Mauro Ranallo asked Owens what brought him to ringside and Jerry Lawler responded, “Obviously his legs brought him down here Mauro, don’t be an idiot!” Owens enjoyed that. Owens then mocked Miz for hitting an axe-handle off the top, calling him a great “athlete.” Zayn hit a dive to Miz on the outside, then got in Owens’ face.
Zayn went back after Miz, but Owens jumped Zayn from behind for the DQ. Miz and Owens double teamed him but Cesaro made the save (he stripped off his suit as he ran to the ring). Cesaro did the uppercut parade to both Miz and Owens, while still wearing sunglasses. Cesaro also caught Zayn with one by accident, which knocked him out of the ring. Cesaro tried to swing Miz but both Maryse and Owens got in the way and all the heels bailed. Cesaro posed with the title.
They showed a replay of the main event angle from Raw. Backstage, AJ Styles asked Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson if they were ready for round two. Anderson said Styles would have broken the chair over Roman Reigns if this was back in the day. Styles said it wasn’t, and reminded them he beat Reigns twice at Payback before Reigns beat him.
Styles said he would become champion, but would do it his way. Gallows and Anderson said Reigns may not see it that way after he put Styles through a table. Styles decided to go have a chat with Reigns. Anderson and Gallows were happy to hear it.
Promo for Primo and Epico. They also replayed the footage of Enzo Amore being knocked out, and announced The Vaudevillains vs. The New Day at Extreme Rules for the Tag-Team titles.
The Vaudevillains beat Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas via pinfall
The Vaudevillains did an inset promo, calling the New Day clowns and called themselves real men. They won in under two minutes with the Whirling Dervish.
Afterwards, Big Cass came out to tell the Vaudevillains they look like they came off the set of Sherlock Holmes. He said he was going to give them a whooping and called them soft. He knocked both guys out of the ring, when Axel jumped in and called them soft too. He tried to buddy up to Cass, but Cass hit him with the swinging side slam. Axel was pretty amusing here.
Natalya & Becky Lynch beat Emma & Women’s Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) via submission
They worked over Natalya until she made the hot tag to Lynch, who ran wild on Emma until she was pulled out of the ring by Charlotte. They double teamed Lynch to gain control and worked her over until she made the hot tag to Natalya, who hit Charlotte with clotheslines, a low dropkick, and discus clothesline.
Natalya applied the Sharpshooter but Charlotte crawled to her corner and Emma tagged in. Emma knocked down Natalya and hit a running crossbody. Lynch broke up the cover and knocked Charlotte off the ring. Natalya applied the Sharpshooter to Emma who tapped. Average match that went about 10 minutes. Emma didn’t need to be in this match.
Backstage, Reigns and the Usos were chatting when they were interrupted by AJ Styles. Reigns told Styles he had guts coming in there. Styles told Reigns he had him dead to rights on Raw. He took the high road, but he won’t next time. Styles asked if Reigns was going to be in the Usos’ corner in the main event. Reigns called himself the champ, called the Usos family, and he would be wherever he wanted to be. Styles said he would see them out there.
There was a really bizarre vignette with Darren Young. Young spoke about searching for a life coach. He said the answer was right in front of him, when the screen split and Bob Backlund appeared. Young asked Backlund if he would be his life coach.
Backlund said yes, he would be his “wrestling coach.” Young was glad, but he wanted a life coach, not a wrestling coach. Backlund screamed that the first lesson was “wrestling is life.” The segment ended with the words “Make Darren Young Great Again” on the screen. No idea what to make of this.
Rusev (w/Lana) beat Zack Ryder via submission
Ryder didn’t get an entrance. Also, Charles Robinson was the referee. Ranallo said Rusev claimed he would eat Kalisto’s big heart, and Rusev beat Ryder in just over a minute with the Accolade. The only thing to note was Rusev developed a hematoma after being sent face-first into the steel post. Lana wasn’t happy about that.
Afterwards, Kalisto ran in and attacked Rusev for basically no reason. They claimed it was because Lana was mocking the Lucha chants. He hit Rusev with a few kicks, springboard corkscrew crossbody, and then he left to pose with his title on the stage. Rusev vs. Kalisto should be pretty great.
The announcers plugged Camp WWE by reading the same script the announcers did on Raw.
Backstage, Fandango taught Goldust some new dance moves. After some “comedy,” Fandango challenged Truth and Tyler Breeze to a tag match next week. This is so dumb.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (w/AJ Styles) beat The Usos (w/Roman Reigns) via DQ
As Gallows and Anderson made their entrance, Ranallo put them over as one of the best teams in Japan and Lawler responded, “Who cares about Japanese wrestling?” After Jey Uso was sent outside a couple minutes into the match, Reigns went to check on him, at which point Anderson used his boot to face-wash Reigns. Reigns jumped in the ring and attacked Anderson for the DQ, which led to a big brawl.
A bunch of officials ran down to break it up. Styles grabbed a mic and said, “I thought this was a new era – or his that just for Raw? This is Smackdown, and we’re going to finish what we started, now!” Normally these setups to turn a singles match into a tag match (or a tag match into a six-man in this case) feels really phony, but this was done well and the crowd was into it. It was chaotic and the fans just wanted to see them fight.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns & The Usos beat AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson via pinfall
Reigns and Styles started as they did on Raw, and there were dueling chants from the crowd. Reigns seemed to be getting the better of it until Styles backed him into the corner for Anderson to make a tag. Reigns and the Usos triple-teamed Anderson but he eventually backed Jey Uso into the corner for Gallows to make a tag. The Usos double teamed him, but Gallows gained control with a big boot on Jimmy Uso.
Reigns made a hot tag and hit Anderson with a jumping clothesline and clotheslines in the corner. He knocked Styles off the apron with a right hand as well. Reigns superman punched Gallows off the apron. He tried to hit Styles with one as well, but Styles hung him over the top rope, and Anderson followed with a school boy for a near fall.
An Uso hit Gallows with a suicide dive and Reigns hit Anderson with a superman punch. Reigns went for a spear but Styles cut him off with forearm. An Uso dragged Styles out of the ring and Anderson made a cover on Reigns for a close near fall. Anderson followed with a spinebuster for another near fall, but Reigns popped back with a spear for the pinfall win.
Styles tried to make the save before the pinfall, but was held back by an Uso. As soon as Reigns got the 3 count, he and Styles stared at each other, perhaps acknowledging how close this was. After they showed a replay of the finish, Styles and Reigns were still in a staredown. Styles pointed at the title saying “That’s mine” and Reigns held it up to end the show.
– Final Thoughts:
This was a mostly mundane show again until the main event stuff, which I thought was really good. Not a fan of Gallows/Anderson losing already, but at least it was to the champ.
