The new WWE WrestleMania 32 magazine in the list of the 2016 Hall of Fame class confirmed Jacqueline Moore and Stan Hansen as the final two inductees for this year.
Moore had been on the list that had leaked several months back. Hansen was not. Hansen had two runs in WWF, once challenging Bruno Sammartino in 1976, including the match where he broke Sammartino’s neck by dropping him on his head on a bodyslam, which inadvertently ended up making his career when the return match saved the Ali vs. Inoki show at Shea Stadium.
He also had a run with Bob Backlund as champion.
Hansen is generally considered the greatest foreign star in Japan, for his long tenure as a fixture for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Moore was in as the female inductee that they want in every year.
This would mean that plans for John Layfield were changed, which had been obvious when they announced he would be helping induct The Godfather.
It is now official that WrestleMania 33 will be on April 2, 2017, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
WWE will hold a press conference tomorrow morning in Orlando to make the announcement.
The Orlando Sentinel and Brian Fritz were given the story to break including quotes from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who is expected to attend the press conference along with Florida Governor Rick Scott and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. John Saboor of WWE credited the improvements in the Citrus Bowl as a key reason for Orlando getting the show for the second time in ten years.
Orlando won out over more than a dozen other locations when the decision was made not to go with Minneapolis.
Also announced is that the Hall of Fame ceremony and the post Mania Raw will take place at the Amway Arena, while Fan Axxess will take place at the Orange County Convention Center.
Dyer was part of the team that went to Stamford in December to clinch the deal and said the city would like to get WrestleMania every five years.
Ring of Honor announced that Kenny Omega has been pulled from Saturday’s show in Philadelphia, but that to make up for it, Kushida would be defending the IWGP jr. heavyweight title on the show.
“Due to circumstances out of his or Ring of Honor’s control, `The Cleaner,’ Kenny Omega, will not be in Philadelphia on Saturday, March 12 to compete at The Conquest Tour event,” the company announced ths morning.
Later an announcement was made that Kushida would defend his title against ACH.
The lineup for the show is:
Jay Lethal vs. Matt Sydal for the ROH title Kushida vs. ACH for the IWGP jr. title Adam Cole & Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly Briscoes & Cheeseburger vs. War Machine & Moose Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin Mandy Leon & Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose vs. Kyoko Kimura & Veda Scott & Taeler Hendrix B.J. Whitmer & Cedric Alexander vs. Adam Page & Jonathan Gresham Will Ferrara vs. Joey Daddiego
WWE through CBS Sports today announced that Ray Taylor, better known as the Big Bossman, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on 4/2 in Dallas.
Traylor, who really was a prison guard in Cobb County, GA who got his break as an enhancement talent for Jim Crockett, was a surprise and likely a late addition as on the various lists that had gotten out his name wasn’t mentioned. It’s also a surprise since the company likes to not have too many wrestlers who passed away young on the same docket due to wrestling’s issues with young deaths, and this year’s class included Terry Gordy, who passed away at 40.
Traylor was a 350 pound plus prison guard who impressed Dusty Rhodes and others because of how agile he was and how he got up for Tully Blanchard’s slingshot suplex and was hired as Big Bubba Rogers, the huge bodyguard for Jim Cornette.
He left Crockett Promotions in 1988 for the WWF, and had a major feud with Hulk Hogan that was one of the best drawing programs of Hogan’s run on top, as well as frequently headlined against then-WWF champion Randy Savage. The Hogan vs. Bossman feud was blown off in a number of cage matches, including on a Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC, where Hogan superplexed Bossman off the top of the cage.
He then turned babyface after turning on Ted DiBiase and became Hogan’s tag team partner at times, and then had a run against various members of the Bobby Heenan family. His most memorable match was a jailhouse match at the 1991 SummerSlam card as the key match of his feud with The Mountie, played by Jacques Rougeau Jr.
He left the WWF in 1993, and had a brief run with All Japan, before signing with WCW later that year. He started as The Boss, but WWE legal sent threatening letters to WCW, so he became The Guardian Angel, a gimmick that didn’t fly, before reverting back to Big Bubba Rogers and at the end was using the name Ray Traylor. He wasn’t being used well, and returned to WWF in 1998 and worked there until being let go in 2002.
He briefly worked as a trainer for WWF, and passed away from a heart attack on September 22, 2004, at the age of 41.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Henry Ordemann beat Eugene Sampson – Jess Westergaard beat Julius Nelson
1939
San Francisco, California: – Dean Detton defeated Lou Plummer for the San Francisco Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1940
St. Louis, Missouri: – Ray Steele defeated Bronko Nagurski to win the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
1953
Atlanta, Georgia: – Gorgeous George defeated Don McIntyre for the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1958
St. Joseph, Missouri: – Bob Geigel beat Ronnie Etchison in 2 out of 3 falls – Larry Hamilton beat Otto Von Krupp by a third DQ – Don Curtis and Sonny Myers beat Joe Dusek and Rip Hawk
1961
Tampa, Florida: – Eddie Graham defeated Buddy Austin for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1963
Washington, DC: – Buddy Austin and Great Scott defeated Johnny Barend and Buddy Rogers to win the Northeast NWA United States Tag Team Titles
St. Paul, Minnesota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Mitsu Arakawa in 2 out of 3 fall match – Fight To The Finish Lumberjack Match: The Crusher beat Moose Evans – Wilbur Snyder beat Tiny Mills – Rene Goulet beat George Drake – Kay Noble beat Mars Monroe – Gene Anderson beat Lee Mattson
1967
Tokyo, Japan: – NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba fought WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino to a draw in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain his title
1969
Madison Square Garden: – WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Killer Kowalski by countout to retain the title
Sydney, Australia: – Mario Milano and The Spoiler (Don Jardine) defeated Don Leo Jonathan and Antonio Pugiliese to win the International Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles
1970
Chicago, Illinois: – Baron Von Raschke won the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title from Dick the Bruiser
1973
Honolulu, Hawaii: – The Sheik beat NWA Champion Dory Funk Jr by countout – Billy Robinson & Don Muraco beat Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch in a 2 out of 3 fall match – Jimmy Snuka beat Ripper Collins – Ken Patera beat Tony Borne – Ed Francis beat Haru Sasaki – Sam Steamboat drew Masked Executioner
1975
Dothan, Alabama: – Terry Latham and Ron Starr defeated The Hell’s Angels for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title
1977
Madison Square Garden: – WWWF World Tag Team Champions Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf defeated Tor Kamata and Stan Stasiak to retain the titles – WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Ken Patera to retain the title
1978
Miami, Florida: – Mike Graham and Steve Keirn won the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Titles by defeating Jack and Jerry Brisco
1982
Toronto, Canada, Ontario: – Jimmy Valiant defeated Jesse Ventura to win the Cadillac Tournament
1983
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – Dino Bravo defeated Billy Robinson to win the International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title
1983
Memphis, Tennessee: – Stagger Lee (Koko B. Ware) defeated Bobby Eaton for the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title – Jerry Lawler defeated Austin Idol to win the AWA International Heavyweight Title
1984
Spartanburg, South Carolina: – Mark Youngblood defeated Dick Slater in a tournament final to win the NWA Television Title
1985
Kansas City, Kansas: – Gary Royal defeated Marty Jannetty to win the NWA Central States Television Title
1986
Fajardo, Puerto Rico: – Al Perez defeated Jos LeDuc for the WWC North American Heavyweight Title
1987
Boston, Massachusetts: – Billy Jack Haynes, WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper defeated Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart), Hercules and Paul Orndorff (with Bobby Heenan) in an Elimination match
Atlanta, Georgia: – Lazer Tron (Hector Guerrero) defeated Denny Brown to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
1988
Memphis, Tennessee – Max Pain and Gary Young defeated The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don) for the Championship (formerly Continental) Wrestling Association Tag Team Titles – AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis – Billy Wicks beat Sputnik Monroe
1993
Baltimore, Maryland: – Nick Tarentino defeated The Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) to win the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation Maryland Title
1994
USWA Memphis Memories: Memphis, Tennessee: – USWA Tag Team Champions, The Moondogs (Rex and Spot) defeated Frankenstein and Leatherface – Austin Idol, Jerry Lawler and USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher defeated Terry Funk, Doug Gilbert and USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gilbert by disqualification – Tommy Gilbert, Al Greene, Don Greene, Jerry Jarrett, Sputnik Monroe and Lance Russell were inducted to the Memphis Hall of Fame – Jerry Lawler defeated USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher, Terry Funk, Doug Gilbert, USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gilbert, Austin Idol, Moondog Spot, Tommy Rich, Jimmy Valiant and Koko B. Ware in a 10-man Four Corners Elimination match
Dungannon, Virginia: – Mike Furnas defeated Killer Kyle for the SMW Television Title
1998
Hope Mills, North Carolina: – The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt) are awarded the NWA 2000 Tag Team Titles – Eddie Brown defeated The Iron Sheik for the NWA 2000 American Heritage Heavyweight Title
1999
Jonesboro, Arkansas: – Michael Hayes pinned champion Baldo (Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard) in a tag team match with Hayes and Brandon Baxter against Baldo and Randy Hales, to win the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title – Derrick King and Kid Wikkid won a tournament for the vacant PPW Tag Team Titles
2001
Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada: – Tommy Dreamer defeated Scott D’Amore and Rhino in a three-way match to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title – Otis Apollo and Johnny Swinger defeat Geza Kalman, Jr. and Dyson Pryce for the BCW Can-Am Tag Team Titles
After a lot of concern given the already taped TV was running out and nothing had been said, TNA finally announced today five days of tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando.
The current set of television taped at the end of January in the U.K. expires with tomorrow night’s show on Pop TV. The tapings were announced for five days, from 3/15 to 3/19. Talent had been told about the dates a few weeks ago but there were still concerns over the lack of announcement and lack of travel itinerary.
TNA announced today that over the five days they will be taping episodes of Impact, Xplosion and One Night Only PPV shows.
They will run 3/15 to 3/19 with all shows starting at 7 p.m. There will also be a 3/17 at 1 p.m. show, a Thursday afternoon event.
Tickets, as always, are free, although they are selling $99 VIP tickets or premium seating and meet and greets.
The names being pushed for the tapings are Matt & Jeff Hardy, Ethan Carter III, Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, James Storm, Gail Kim and Tigre Uno.
Submitted by Jared Walsh from the iWireless Center in Moline, IL
– Show opened with a video package promoting Wrestlemania. Eden Stiles was on the mic as the ring announcer.
– AJ Styles defeated the Miz via pinfall
Solid match to start the show. Miz opened the match by cutting a promo on the Quad City fans, letting them know how fat and sweaty they were. He then proceeded to beg off, complaining that AJ had previously knocked out his teeth and claiming he was getting recompense in this match. Miz drew a lot of heat after tearing up an AJ Styles sign held by a child in the front row. Lots of good action: Pele kick, AJ kicking out of the Skull-Crushing Finale, and AJ winning with the flying forearm.
– Darren Young and Jack Swagger defeated Curtis Axel and Adam Rose via submission
Rose and Axel opened with a promo stating that they’d be going viral and the fans were morons. Good back and forth action. Axel’s heel tactics were probably the highlight, as he interacted well with the crowd. He even told me to sit down and shut up on a few occasions. Swagger submitted Axel with the Patriot Lock after hitting the Swagger Bomb on both Rose and Axel.
– Kalisto defeated Wade Barrett via pinfall to retain the U.S. Championship
Barrett dictated the pace for much of the match with all sorts of unsavory tactics. Barrett worked the referee very well, holding until the five count on holds and refusing to break until then. Kalisto stole a victory after hitting the Salida del Sol as he dodged a Bullhammer.
– The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods with Big E at ringside) defeated the Usos and the Dudley Boys via pinfall in a triple threat tag match to retain the Tag Team Championship.
New Day opened with a scathing promo on the citizens of Moline, calling them the “butthole of the Midwest” and commenting on the unwashed nature of Midwest females. Lots of shenanigans before this bout began, as New Day and the Dudleyz really played to the crowd. Match was mostly shouting back and forth between the teams, but very entertaining nonetheless. The Usos stood tall after the match, as New Day quickly retreated and the Dudleyz sought to inflict punishment on the Samoans, but dual superkicks sent Bubba and D-Von from the ring.
INTERMISSION
– Charlotte (without Ric) defeated Becky Lynch via pinfall to retain the Divas’ Championship
Lots of good wrestling early in the match, highlighted by deep, Steamboat-like arm drags from Becky. Charlotte attempted to walk out on the match, but was chased down and dragged back by Becky. Very good action in this match throughout, and the fans were very into Becky during the course of this bout. Charlotte won the match with a school boy while pulling the tights after escaping from the Dis-arm-her. Glad to see no lasting effects from Charlotte’s injury scare last week.
– Sheamus defeated Neville via pinfall
This match was back and forth, and Sheamus was kind enough to respond to the multitude of “You Look Stupid” chants by telling the fans that they, in fact, were the ones who looked stupid. Neville hit a few high spots, including a flying crossbody to the outside and a standing shooting star press, but failed to capitalize on his opportunity to hit the Red Arrow. Sheamus won with a Brogue Kick after kicking out of a school boy.
– Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens via disqualification in a match for the Intercontinental Championship
Very physical match between these two competitors. Owens worked Ambrose’s knee from the onset of the match after an awkward landing from the top turnbuckle by Ambrose. Dean sold it well throughout the match, earning a lot of sympathy from the fans and was probably the most over wrestler of the night. Owens attempted to hit Dean with a chair, but was stopped by the official and kicked out of a near fall after a quick roll up. Owens then tried to exit the match, but was pulled back in by Ambrose.
Owens was disqualified shorty after for not breaking after the five count while Ambrose was hung up on the turnbuckle. Owens got on the mic to let everyone know he was still the champion and is the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, but was interrupted by a Dirty Deeds from Dean to send the fans home happy. I was exceedingly impressed as Dean continued to sell the knee even after the match as he celebrated with fans at ringside.
Final Thoughts:
An enjoyable, entertaining show overall in Moline. The house show atmosphere is quite different than that of televised shows, as the wrestlers are afforded more of an opportunity to be themselves, interact with the crowd in unique ways, and put on a great show.
Paige, Natalya and Brie Bella def. Summer Rae and Team B.A.D. by submission
Some rare six-diva tag action to kick off this week’s Main Event. Jerry Lawler, the star of the show most weeks, responds to a Rich Brennan call by asking “Basement dropkick!? Who do you think you are, Mauro Ranallo?!”
The entrance music of Lana interrupts this match early on, as her new-found foe Brie goes at it with Summer Rae. Lana sits on the announce desk to take in proceedings; Lawler accuses Brennan of being “sweaty” in response.
The heel divas get the heat on Nattie (who else?), before she makes a quick, and therefore underwhelming, lukewarm tag to Brie. Brie delivers her husband’s kicks to Naomi to piped in “Yes!” chants, before Tamina interferes and the match breaks down. All the girls hit various moves on each other, before the fog clears and Brie reverses a Naomi high cross into the Yes Lock for the submission victory. Is there anything else of Daniel’s she can co-opt to compensate for being the worst babyface ever?
After the match, the victors stare at Lana, who just stands there and applauds. Well, at least we didn’t get any shitty, Oscars reference-laden dialogue. Small mercies.
Ryback def. Heath Slater w/ Social Outcasts by pinfall
The Outcasts get in-ring promo time before the match, in which they acknowledge Adam Rose’s mauling at the hands of Big Guy (thanks, Granny!) on RAW. Rose says that tonight it’s going to be Legends with The Crimson Werewolf, instead of JBL. Hilarious. Axel cuts in, admonishing Rose for his nicknaming. He says he knows Ryback and that it’s time to get serious. He then goes insane, chopping the air and screaming. The other three join in. Jerry Lawler: “Well, I’m glad we were all part of that little experience!”. Quite.
The actual match is wrapped inside three minutes. Ryback repeated the spot from RAW where he grounds and pounds his opponent; although this time the ref’s credibility was spared as Slater made the ropes. Slater ate the Shellshock moments later.
Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension by pinfall
At this point, I noticed that NXT’s Greg Hamilton was announcing in Eden Stiles’ stead. I also noticed that Kalisto was STILL the US Champion, despite being slotted back into tags and completely de-emphasised on television since Fastlane.
This was another three minute match. The heels got the heat on Sin Cara, leading into the usual Kalisto hot tag stuff. Finish was cool however, with Sin Cara doing a suicide dive through Kalisto’s legs. Kalisto then reversed Viktor’s electric chair into a ‘rana, before hitting the SDS. Sin Cara followed up with the Swanton Bomb for the pin.
– Stardust is backstage in the Star Room, rambling about dealing with Zack Ryder on the road to Wrestlemania. I think. Presumably he’s comfortable cutting promos in the ol’ Star Room again now that Vince’s roughhouser has been suspended.
Stardust def. Zack Ryder by pinfall
These guys have been feuding on Superstars of late, with Cody up 2-1 thus far. This win-loss record was not mentioned on commentary, of course. Perish the thought.
Good match here, eight minutes of which was televised either side of the commercial break. The nearfall segment of it was particularly good, with some nice reversals; including Ryder smoothly countering a suplex into a neckbreaker for two. Ryder also hit a nice looking top rope elbow for two after foiling a Stardust superplex attempt.
The finish saw Ryder attempt the go-behind off a whip to the corner, only for Stardust to scout him, take a step back, and grab him for the Queen’s Crossbow. 3-1 to Stardust!
After the match, Stardust stood on the desk and stared at the crowd to celebrate, prompting Lawler to quip “Can we get Lana back out here!?” as the show went off the air. Heh.
Final Thoughts
Featured contest between Stardust and Ryder was worth watching; some nice chemistry has developed between the two after their recent series. Other than that, there’s not much to see here. The confirmation that we are in fact getting a Lana/Brie feud is probably the biggest news to come out of this week’s edition.
– Darren Young & Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose & Curtis Axel
– U.S. Champion Kalisto def. Bad News Barrett
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day def. The Usos and The Dudleys in a three-way
*Intermission
– Divas Champion Charlotte def. Becky Lynch
– Sheamus def. Neville
– Dean Ambrose def. I-C Champion Kevin Owens by DQ in a street fight when Owens was DQ’d for not letting go of a hold in time.
Notes:
– Lot of Owens and Ambrose merch being sold before the show.
– Leading up to the event, the match with Kalisto was advertised as against Alberto Del Rio for the U.S. championship. Right before the match was supposed to start, Barrett appeared on the arena screens and did a small promo which I imagine was him explaining why he would be facing Kalisto instead of Del Rio, but it was really hard to hear.
– “Let’s go Barrett/Barrett sucks” chants during his match. Interesting that he seemed to be the most polarizing guy there last night just based on crowd reaction.
– New Day cut a pretty good promo before their match. Basically a typical heel promo talking about how Big E was smart to get out of Iowa and that the Hawkeyes football team sucks now, referencing their loss in the Big 10 Championship game last December and the Rose Bowl. Got them good heat. Big E was covering his ears the entire time Kofi and Xavier were badmouthing the Hawks.
– Crowd popped huge for Dean. Not really unexpected, but it was the one guy everybody cheered for pretty unanimously.
