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  • UFC 196 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    The biggest UFC show thus far in the year 2016 comes our way on Saturday night with UFC 196 taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the event is the biggest star in the sport, UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor, as he moves up two weight classes to take on Nate Diaz in a short-notice situation. Also on the card is UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm defending her championship for the first time against Miesha Tate. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when making your daily fantasy line-ups for Saturday night’s event.

    STUDS

    Conor McGregor ($11,000)

    Conor McGregor is the biggest star in the sport of MMA right now and he is the top play this weekend in fantasy MMA. He has won 15 straight fights, and all but one of his seven wins inside the Octagon have come by finish. He won’t have the distraction of a big weight cut this week, and he is fighting a short-notice replacement. Nate Diaz is good, but he hasn’t had a camp. McGregor has shown amazing skills, and due to his mouth and how he presents himself, there are a lot of cases where fans just don’t wanna give him the credit he deserves. This fight is a style fight that is great for him as Diaz is a slow volume striker. McGregor is light on his feet, has great footwork, is an excellent counterpuncher, and is a power striker. He says he is finishing Diaz inside the first round, and it is hard to argue against him with his track record. He is the top play this week. Use him in your line-ups.

    Brandon Thatch ($10,900)

    Brandon Thatch has struggled recently, dropping his last two fights. However, those losses came to Benson Henderson and Gunnar Nelson, who are top fighters. Before that, Thatch had won eleven of his twelve professional fights, and was a rising prospect. Now, he fights with his potential UFC future on the line. He gets a step back in fighting Siyar Bahadurzada, who is 1-2 inside the Octagon and hasn’t fought since December 2013. Bahadurzada is a tough opponent, but he hasn’t shown much that can convince me he will be a tough challenge for Thatch, and that is without factoring in the long layoff. Thatch has scored all of his wins by stoppage, and all in the first round. He is a big favorite and has a high salary, but he is an excellent play on Saturday night.

    VALUE PLAYS

    Gian Villante ($9,200)

    Gian Villante is looking to score his second straight win after a brutal knockout win over Anthony Perosh in November. He definitely goes all out in his fights and the knockout is always prevelant in his bouts, whether he is on the winning or losing end. Villante has struggled to get a solid run going since coming over to the UFC, but he has a favorable bout in his hands on Saturday night. He is taking on Ilir Latifi, who is a knockout artist himself. However, Latifi struggles with heavy hitters, which is what Villante is. Latifi also fought just six weeks ago, so this is a quick turnaround even though he won in just 28 seconds. Villante is worth a look at his salary and a knockout win is always in the cards when he steps inside the Octagon.

    Tom Lawlor ($8,800)

    Tom Lawlor fights for the second time since making the move back up to 205 pounds when he takes on Corey Anderson, and it is a real mystery why he is such a big underdog, which makes his salary an interesting one for this card. Lawlor has won three of his last four fights, with the three wins coming by stoppage, and the loss to Francis Carmont was a fight that should have gone in his favor. Anderson has scored some good wins in the UFC, but hasn’t had a finish in his last three wins, and Lawlor is the best fighter he has fought so far in the UFC. Lawlor has a strong wrestling game, good submissions and showed off his underrated knockout power in his finish of Gian Villante in his last fight. Best of all, he is cheap, and he is the best bet for an underdog win on Saturday. He has extremely solid value.

    FIGHTERS TO AVOID

    Valentina Shevchenko ($9,500)

    Valentina Shevchenko had an impressive UFC debut, defeating Sarah Kaufman by split decision on very short notice. She is 12-1 in her MMA career and had a 56-2 record in her kickboxing career. However, she gets a huge step up in competition when she takes on Amanda Nunes on Saturday night. It may be too early in her UFC career for Shevchenko to be taking on a top-five opponent, and Nunes has shown to be a finisher. All of her wins have come by finish, but she has been finished in three of her four losses. Shevchenko is a live underdog, but it is going to be a tough match-up for her. I don’t think she wins, which makes her a fighter to avoid on Saturday night.

    Darren Elkins ($9,300)

    Darren Elkins has been rotating wins-and-losses in his last six UFC bouts, a far cry from when he was on the brink of title contention having a five-fight win streak. History says he is set for a loss on Saturday night when he takes on Chas Skelly. Skelly himself is a quality fighter, with a 15-1 record in his career. Elkins is also known as a grinding fighter, preferring to take opponents down and smother them. He will have trouble doing that with Skelly, who is a strong wrestler himself. Elkins has also scored just one true stoppage in the UFC, and that was three years ago. His history makes him an easy fighter to avoid and he will have all sorts of trouble getting the win on Saturday.

    OUR LINE-UPS

    RYAN FREDERICK- Conor McGregor ($11,000), Brandon Thatch ($10,900), Amanda Nunes ($9,900), Gian Villante ($9,200), Tom Lawlor ($8,800)

    Everyone I have on my team has been mentioned in some form above. It is hard to bet against proven track records with finishers, and I feel all five of these fighters are going to score big finishes on Saturday. Conor McGregor has been nothing short of amazing in his UFC career, and the fight against Nate Diaz is favorable for him. Brandon Thatch has won all of his professional fights by finish in the first round, and his opponent hasn’t fought in over two years. Amanda Nunes has also won all of her fights by stoppage, and she is on quite a tear inside the Octagon. Gian Villante and Tom Lawlor are big punches with exciting fights, and they fight opponents who have been finished in the past. I see all of them scoring stoppage wins on Saturday night in what should be a fun event.

    PAUL FONTAINE- Julian Erosa ($10,500), Erick Silva ($10,300), Ilir Latifi ($10,200), Jim Miller ($10,000), Tom Lawlor ($8,800)

    Erick Silva fights are usually quick and violent so the question is whether Silva will be the one to go down or the one to put someone out. I’m betting on the latter. Ilir Latifi is one of the strongest guys in his division outside of Rumble Johnson and I like him to put away Gian Villante early. Julian Erosa looked impressive on the most recent season of the The Ultimate Fighter and even better in his official UFC debut in December. He should continue that here. My lineup wouldn’t be complete without our very own Tom Lawlor who I think is a steal at $8,800. My final pick is Jim Miller. His opponent Diego Sanchez, is tough to put away but will take a lot of shot from the tenacious Miller, earning me a lot of points.  

    PEACH MACHINE- Conor McGregor ($11,000), Brandon Thatch ($10,900), Gian Villante ($9,200), Tom Lawlor ($8,800), Miesha Tate ($8,600)

    McGregor will murder Diaz. We will see the first Octagon death… I don’t understand why everyone is favoring Holm wildly. I expect a long match with a lot of ground work where Tate comes out on top… Villante looked great before getting unexpectedly KO’d by Filthy Tom. I don’t think ol stubby arms Latifi can snatch a win, or a purse (lol), from the hands of big Gian… I like Lawlor. I haven’t been impressed by Anderson. He wins, but Lawlor fights FILTHY!… Thatch is going to rebound from his loss to Gunnar Nelson. He’s on a two fight skid, but I’m predicting his turn around here. 

  • NJPW New Japan Cup results: Big announcements, first round of matches

    The stream started with the announcements that New Japan promised earlier in the week. The first was something called “Lion’s Gate Trial”. From what it sounds like, it’s the initiative to find new young lions no matter

    Takaaki Kidani then announced that Michael Elgin has officially signed a two year deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He comes to the ring wearing the lion mark t-shirt. He says that he had two goals growing up – one was to be the very best, and the second was to wrestle in NJPW. He has accomplished the latter, but since NJPW has the best wrestlers, he still needs to accomplish the former.

    The third announcement involved Katsuyori Shibata. He’s officially signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He’d been a freelancer since making his return in 2012. He officially signed his contract in the ring.

    The next announcement was that the Super J Cup would be coming back for the first time since 2009. Promotions from all around the world would be involved, including NJPW, CMLL, ROH, Kaientai Dojo, NOAH, Zero One, Dragon Gate, Suzuki-Gun (they do hold their own shows every now and then) and Ryuku Dragon. KUSHIDA, Naomichi Marufuji and Taka Michinoku came to the ring and said a few words. Very interesting as the Global Cruiserweight tournament is scheduled around the same time.

    Following that, Kidani announced that the Tiger Mask anime would be revived. It featured an image of Okada staring down Tiger Mask.

    Aside from the tag match, All matches tonight are the opening round of the New Japan Cup.

    Yujiro Takahashi vs. Toru Yano

    This didn’t last long. Yujiro jumped him at the bell and beat him up with a steel chair on the outside. The referee was counting as Yujiro posed. As the referee approached 18, Yano got up, low blowed him, and entered right at 20 to win by count out. Clever finish.

    Michael Elgin vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

    Good little match while it lasted. Hard hitting and basically what you would expect from these two. Elgin took control of the match. Tenzan cut him off, hit a uranage and went for the anaconda vise but Elgin escaped. Tenzan went for a moonsault, but Elgin grabbed him and gave him a buckle bomb, then pinned him with a spiral powerbomb.

    Tama Tonga vs. Togi Makabe

    Tonga came out wearing new gear, which included a chest protector and camo pants. Tonga jumped Makabe at the bell, but Makabe started no selling his offense and made a comeback. He missed the king kong knee drop and Tonga took advantage. He cut off Makabe with a gun stun then pinned him with his waistlock DDT in a big surprise. Match itself was solid but nothing special.

    Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomoaki Honma

    This was a really good match. They had a back and forth stiff kind of match as you’d expect. The finish was really good as Honma does a great job of making you believe he’s about to get the big win, only for something to stop him right before he can get it. Kojima did his comeback and even DDT’d Honma on the apron outside. Honma got up rather quickly from that and teased a double count out spot.

    Kojima went for the lariat but Honma kokeshi’d this arm. Honma followed with two more, then went for his top rope kokeshi finish but Kojima rolled out of the way. Honma tried for a sitout piledriver but Kojima blocked it and hit a lariat, but Honma kicked out. He hit one more and got the win.

    Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida vs. Kazushi Sakuraba and IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada

    This was pretty good while it lasted. They all did different things, and felt like there was a different dynamic with Kushida being in here as he doesn’t do heavyweight tags all that often. Shibata and Okada worked together, while Sakuraba and Kushida grappled on the mat. Kushida and Okada had some fun interactions near the end. Okada eventually got the win with the Rainmaker.

    Okada grabbed a mic after the match and talked about the new member of Chaos they had been hyping for a while. They showed a video of Will Ospreay, who said he was the newest member of Chaos. He officially challenged Kushida for the IWGP Jr. title at Invasion Attack. He promised to be the first champion from the United Kingdom and also said he would defend the title all over the world. That should be one hell of a match.

    Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata

    Pretty good match. They worked stiff and the dynamic of Goto’s new edge worked well here. The last few minutes were pretty good. Goto came out wearing all white, which I guess is the next step in whatever direction he’s taking. Goto was working a more subtle heel style as he’s been doing a bit more recently. People were totally behind Nagata. They pelted each other with a lot of kicks. Nagata got him in the white eyes armbar but Goto escaped. Nagata nailed Goto with a high kick to the head and Goto sold it like he was nearly knocked out. Nagata missed an enziguri which allowed Goto to grab him and roll him up in a unique way to win the match.

    Tetsuya Naito vs. Yoshi-Hashi

    Very good match. Yoshi-Hashi is one of the more underrated guys on the roster and he and Naito had a good back and forth contest. Yoshi-Hashi shows a lot of fire as a babyface.They brawled around the ring, then eventually found themselves back in the ring as they had a decent back and forth contest. YH at one point gave Naito a clothesline that sent him to the floor. Naito made a comeback and hit some high impact moves but YH kicked out of them.

    YH waffled him with a clothesline and hit a tombstone and a powerbomb into a bridge but Naito kicked out of all of that. He went for the swanton bomb but Naito moved. Yoshi Hashi and Naito traded some great back and forth slaps and YH even had Naito in a new submission. Naito cut him off with a big spinebuster then hit the Destino for the win.

    Tomohiro Ishii vs. Evil

    Really good match, the last few minutes are great. They brawled around and out of the ring to start. Evil got the heat by grabbing a steel chair, placing it on Ishii’s head then smacking him with a steel chair shot, sending the other chair flying in a cool spot. This is Evil’s first big time singles match and looked really good. He has a ton of potential with matches like these.

    He scored a nearfall with a nice looking clothesline from the top rope. He went for the STO but Ishii headbutted him. Ishii actually hit and STO of his own and smacked Evil with a lariat but he kicked out. Ishii hit a Dragon suplex and another lariat but Evil still kicked out. Ishii followed that with the brainbuster and that’s it.

    Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

    Pretty solid match as Tanahashi did a great job in carrying Fale and worked a pretty good match with him. They worked this match like you would expect – Fale dominated early while Tanahashi sold and tried to rally a comeback. Big time high fly flow from the top rope to the floor. Fale came back with a big splash and tried for the grenade but Tanahashi blocked it and gave him a big time German suplex. Fale came back and tried for the Bad Luck Fall but Tanahashi countered.

    He went to charge at him in the corner but Tanahashi countered. Tanahashi went for a high fly flow but Fale grabbed him in mid air and hit the grenade, then followed that with the Bad Luck Fall and won the match in a upset, though they push him strong every year in this tournament so it’s not a gigantic surprise.

    Fale takes a mic and says the Bullet Club is still here, and this is a new era.

    Matches for the next round are Fale vs. Elgin, Tama Tonga vs. Hirooki Goto, Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito.

  • New Japan Pro Wrestling brings back the Super J Cup

    In an effort to compete with WWE, New Japan owner Takaaki Kidani announced Thursday that the company will be bringing back the Super J Cup this year, a one-night junior heavyweight tournament that is clearly the company’s shot at WWE’s cruiserweight tournament on the WWE Network.

    The Super J  Cup, which has occurred five times previously, the most recent being in 2009, will take place on 8/21 at the Ariake Coliseum. New Japan, Ring of Honor, CMLL, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Dragon Gate, Suzuki-Gun, Zero-One and K-Dojo all will participate.

    At today’s New Japan show at the Ota Ward Gym, NOAH president Naomichi Marufuji and K-Dojo’s Taka Michinoku appeared to say wrestlers from their companies would be competing.

    They also announced the revival of the Tiger Mask television cartoon, which was a famous series in Japan during the 1970s. New Japan wrestlers will be characters in the new series which the company hopes will open up their audience more to kids. When making the annoucement, Kidani even made a remark that this is something WWE won’t be able to do.

  • WWE books NXT tag title match for Roadblock Network special

    On tonight’s episode of NXT on WWE Network, it was announced that NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) will defend their titles against Enzo Amore & Big Cass on Saturday, March 12th at the Roadblock Network show from Toronto, Canada.

    The match had been rumored for a few weeks, and would be the main roster major show debut for both teams. (Enzo and Cass have been appearing on WWE house shows recently.)

    The two teams have wrestled numerous times and done a number of angles with the latest being a parking lot attack by Dash & Dawson that aired last week on NXT television. Dash and Dawson have held the titles since October when they beat the Vaudevillians to become the company’s eighth tag team champions.

    The Roadblock show will be headlined by WWE Champion HHH vs. Dean Ambrose, and will be the company’s final major show before Wrestlemania weekend which also features a big Friday night NXT Takeover show in Dallas, TX.

  • Lucha Underground results: Fenix vs. Cuerno in a ladder match; more Rey & Dragon Azteca Jr

    The show starts with a recap of the Sexy Star-Marty the Moth feud. We see Catrina’s issues with Puma and her closing the casket on Konnan at the end of Ultima Lucha.  Catrina’s vignette with Pentagon Jr. is shown as well, while her issues with Cuerno are recapped since he lost to Fenix. Tonight, Cuerno battles Fenix once again – in a ladder match for the Gift of the Gods Title. In a temple, Mil Muertes prays and says that he listened to Catrina and she says that she’s known him since he was a little boy.

    She says he’s a scared little boy and if it wasn’t for her, he’d have never had been removed from the tomb the gods put him in. If he could bury her, he would – but he’ll settle for Puma and Pentagon. She denies his request and disappears while he bellows in anguish. Mil’s acting here was dreadful, but Catrina was good. Mil should stick to staring at people from a giant throne to make his point. Vamp notices that Mil isn’t in his throne and Melissa Santos introduces the first match. Sexy Star is back to her regular ring gear and looks fine – so that whole kidnapping didn’t do much to her. She’ll face Kobra Moon here.

    Sexy Star vs. Kobra Moon

    Striker talks about how Sexy influenced an entire generation – of who and in what way, he does not say. Moon slaps Sexy, while The Mack comes down to watch the action and presumably protect Sexy from Marty the Moth. Striker name-drops Selena to put over Sexy Star. Kick to the back from Moon and then an awful forearm to the face. Sexy gets a wacky lucha cradle into a wackier lucha submission. Marty the Moth stands in the crowd and claps, distracting Sexy and leading to a loss via the dragon sleeper with a bodyscissor.

    Famous B’s ad tells us that he’s famous because he has dominated the world of underground fighting. Pick up “yo fone” and get fame – in keeping with tradition on this show, he does beat up at least one masked man lurking around the world. Dragon Azteca Jr. is watching the ad and interrupted by Rey. The two luchadors have another kung-fu fight and have a staredown. King Cuerno says he is a hunter, but he’s not out to kill. However, as a hunter – he has to kill. We get slick shots of Cuerno hitting moves and a great one of him sitting in a chair with his hat and title slung over his shoulder.

    A Fenix highlight video airs during the break. Melissa Santons introduces Prince Puma as the former Lucha Underground Champion – which really does make even holding that title seem important. Pentagon Jr. comes down in his one other cooler-looking shirts – a white and black variant of a shirt with his mask on it.

    Prince Puma vs. Pentagon Jr.

    Puma gets a running elbow smash, but eats a Slingblade. Puma is sent to the floor and responds with a springboard lariat. Puma sends him to the floor and lands a moonsault to the floor. Puma goes for a Tajiri-style handspring elbow, but Pentagon dropkicks the ribs for a 2 count. Pentagon revs up his chop and Striker says it’s time to just be silent and we hear the nasty THWACK. Puma lands the northern lights into the brainbuster and gets 2. Puma goes up top, but comes down and runs into Pentagon in the corner. He is lifted up and Mil comes back to his throne. Canadian Destroyer hits for Pentagon Jr. and gets 2.

    Mil takes the sling off! Pentagon showboats and sets up the package piledriver, but Mil comes in and lands a corkscrew chokeslam to Pentagon! Punch and a spear to each man. Double Flatliner by the champ takes out his top two contenders. Backstage, Mil and Catrina meet and he says he will defend his title against both men and no one can stop him. This statement clearly pisses her off. Striker announces Aztec Warfare II – and that should be amazing.

    The winner gets a shot at Mil’s title, and it’s coming in three weeks. Fenix comes down to face King Cuerno in the ladder match main event. Cuerno comes down and Vamp ponders that he just might kill someone. Mil Muertes resumes his spot on his throne.

    Fenix vs. King Cuerno – Gift of the Gods Title Ladder Match

    Cuerno tosses him into the ropes, but Fenix evades and flips onto him for a brief edge. Fenix sends him to the floor and he climbs the ladder briefly, but is pulled down by Cuerno. Cuerno leans the ladder against the ropes and lands a nasty powerbomb where the ladder doesn’t bend at all. Cuerno sets up a double ladder bridge on the floor. Cuerno hoists him up and just drops him over the top with his face smacking the apron. Fireman’s carry facebuster into the ladder bridge on the floor. Cuerno sets up another ladder next to Catrina’s office – just like he did in the last man standing match. Fenix prevents him from doing anything there, but gets chucked into the post.

    Fenix gets up and eats a punt to the ribs. Fenix tosses Cuerno into the office-leaned ladder, but Cuerno hops up and clotheslines him on the floor. Cuerno and Fenix fight on a ladder, with Cuerno wanting to suplex him to his demise. Fenix forearms his way out of danger. Fenix climbs the office ladder, gets on top of the office and does a swanton dive off the top of the office, over the ladder and onto a standing Cuerno! Fenix smacks him into the barricade, but he tosses Fenix into the crowd afterwards.

    They fight in the crowd and Fenix kneedrops him over a chair. They fight into a higher deck of the Temple and Fenix hits a superkick that snaps Cuerno’s head back. Fenix goes for a dive, but Cuerno shoves him off and onto the ladder bridge. Vamp’s “HE BROKE HIS ASS” is rather fitting since hid land hip-first. Cuerno goes for a headshot with the ladder, but Cuerno misses and his arm is hit by the ladder. Fenix gets another superkick! They play hot potato with the ladder, but Cuerno just shoves it in his face. Cuerno climbs the ladder, but eats a dropkick – sending him to the mat once again.

    They each climb the ladder once again and hang off of the belt-holding structure. They knock each other off as Vamp leaves to join the fans. Vamp comes back right as Cuerno hits the Thrill of the Hunt. Running punt to the gut in the corner once again from Cuerno. Cuerno gets a table and goes up for a Super Thrill of the Hunt. Fenix escapes and gets a wacky pop-up palm strike before hitting a wackier rana and climbing the ladder to win and regain his title. Fenix stares at Mil in his throne and get a giant staredown. For the first time this season, we don’t get a post-credits scene.

    This was a super-fun video game match, and easily the best part of the show that didn’t involve Famous B or Mil Muertes destroying two dudes in rapid succession.

    Here’s the full image gallery.

  • TNA Impact rating up from last week, Kurt Angle’s farewell tour

    Tuesday night Impact wrestling on Pop TV, with a main event of Kurt Angle continuing his retirement tour against Bobby Roode, saw the rating increase from last week’s record low but it was still the third lowest number since Impact’s move to Pop TV.

    The first airing of the show, at 9 pm, did 258,000 viewers, up 23% from the Lockdown show last Tuesday and 1% from the Pop TV debut on January 5th.

    The midnight replay was down to 68,000 viewers, the lowest replay number to date and the combined total of 326,000 was up 10% from last week’s record low.

    The 2016 average is now 282,500 for the first run shows, down 14.4% from the 330,320 the show averaged during it’s run on Destination America in 2015. This was the fifth straight week that the show has done under 300,000 viewers after a high water mark of 339,000 on January 25th.

    The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour and Kurt Angle’s TNA career comes to an end next week.  The main event and Kurt’s final match in TNA will see him face “The Destroyer”, Lashley.  TNA Tag Champs The Wolves will also defend their title against Beer Money.    

  • Figure Four Weekly 2/29/2016: Examining the test that influenced Daniel Bryan’s retirement decision

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  • Figure Four Weekly 2/22/2016: All the latest on the Hulk Hogan Lawsuit

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  • Total Divastation: A Recap of WWE Total Divas episode 7

    By Kevin LaRose for WrestlingObserver.com

    Neidhart makes fun of Nattie for saying “golly.” Ain’t gonna stop me now. Welcome to Total Divas. 

    Outside a live event in Baltimore, Nattie gives advice to a young girl.

    Kevin traveled to be with Paige at the live events. Things aren’t going so great in their relationship. Kevin watches Paige’s match on the monitor, he looks miserable. Paige loses her match. They play Sasha Banks’ music as the cast goes to Corpus Christi. Kevin kisses Paige goodbye. Maybe next season we can get Banks on here so she can learn lessons, too. It might put her at a disadvantage if she can’t be put in the same position to learn the life lessons that the cast is learning on a weekly basis. 

    Nattie touches Naomi’s hair. A giant bouquet of flowers arrive. They’re for Brie from Bryan. Everybody awws that Bryan is so sweet. Then they make Brie feel bad for not getting him any presents. Everyone tells Brie that she has to buy Bryan more presents. Brie agrees. 

    ***

    The Bellas and Nattie check into a nice hotel. The Bellas asks Nattie why she hasn’t taken TJ’s name yet. She doesn’t want to. The Bellas giver her shit for not putting over the patriarchy.

    Backstage now, Rosa is worried because she has to talk to Carrano. She wants to start doing backstage interviews. She asks Nattie if she can practice interviewing her. Rosa does a horrible job. 

    Nikki talks about her “Bellabration” on Raw. Nikki throws a cake on Fox and Brie. Brie and Fox walk around backstage covered in cake. Brie thinks they need to do more things like that. The other divas taste the cake.

    Rosa talks to Carrano. Rosa does a horrible job. Carrano doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

    Paige gets a text from Kevin. She’s feeling a ton of pressure. The one thing Paige hates is pressure. Paige goes to Jacksonville to hang out with Fox at her house. They go on social media and drink Starbucks together. 

    Bryan comes in and gives Brie a shirt that he and his niece made. Brie loves it. He cuts her off at the knees with a shot about how one of them “has to be romantic.” Brie says she’s romantic in the bedroom. Bryan laughs, and talks about how he likes foreplay and she just wants to get right to it. Bryan asks Brie what he got him for their Wedding, Christmas, and his birthday… All IOUs. Uh oh, Brie. Brie says she’s like the man in the relationship. Bryan agrees, if by the man she means the one who forgets everything. Bryan keeps laughing at her. This is passive aggressive and it is awkward to watch. 

    It’s now time for Night of Champions. Nikki has a big fight with Charlotte. Backstage, Nikki touches Rosa. Rosa is upset because she doesn’t have anything to do. Nikki tells her to do social media. Rosa thinks that is a great idea.

    Nattie shows everyone her cat. Carrano comes and sits down with them. Fox asks Nattie why she hasn’t changed her name yet. Everyone starts arguing. Nattie doesn’t want to change. Titus come by and makes a joke. 

    Backstage, Renee Young and Nattie sing the Bellas’ theme song. Everyone talks about how important Nikki’s match is. Nikki taps out, and she is sad but proud of herself. Everyone cries. Nikki has to take time off now to heal. 

    Back in Florida, I am so excited because Nattie, TJ, and her parents are finally going to a restaurant. This one looks a little small, but there are pictures of cityscapes on the wall so you can rest assured that it’s hip. The walls are a green color, and the wood accents are a mahogany hue. Nattie brings up the vacation they are all going on. Everyone gives Nattie shit about not changing her name.

    Paige is in a car with Kevin. Nothing happens.

    In Phoenix, Brie and Nikki are at a glass object store. Nikki decides she’s going to set up a date night for the Brie and Bryan. 

    Back in Florida, in a car, Nattie and TJ are arguing about changing Nattie’s last name. Nattie keeps telling him the world has changed. Nattie worries about how emasculated TJ must feel. 

    Back in Phoenix, Brie is all dressed up which surprises Bryan. Bryan is now in a limo and he feels so strange in it. Bryan thinks he looks like a Hobbit in a suit. Bryan is not having a good time. Bryan tells her she doesn’t need to dress up for him. Brie thinks she is a romance failure. Bryan is not happy.

    ***

    Now they are in Texas. Nattie is excited because she gets to wrestle Naomi. Rosa goes to talk to a man about social media. The dude says she might be able to do social media. Rosa is stoked. She tells Big Show the big news and he acts excited. Nattie is nervous to wrestle.

    Back from commercial, Nattie is about to wrestle. The crowd chants for Nattie. They don’t show the ending, so I guess she lost. 

    Rosa is about do her first social media. Rosa does a horrible job. The crew is visibly upset. Heath Slater interrupts, and Rosa thinks she did a great job.

    Fox and Paige both have flowers. Paige doesn’t want to go home. She doesn’t want to deal with Kevin. They argue all the time and they stopped having sex. Fox thinks Paige is being ridiculous. Paige and Fox have a flower fight. 

    Back in Florida, Nattie announces to everyone that she is going to change her name to Neidhart-Wilson. Everyone thinks it’s great but they give her shit anyway.

    Back in Phoenix, Bryan is excited about how nice Brie looks. Brie tells him to go start the car. Bryan yells excitedly. She rented him a Tesla. Bryan is having such a great time. He looks so happy. She takes him to a farm and gives him a koala statue. Bryan is so happy.

  • Daily pro wrestling history 03/02: Hollywood Blonds win WCW World Tag Team Titles

    1936

    – Dick Shikat defeated Danny O’Mahony for the NWA Heavyweight Wrestling Title

    1939

    – Marv Westenberg defeated Steve Casey for the AWA World Heavyweight Title 

    1950

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
    – Yukon Eric beat Nanjo Singh and “Strangler” Bob Wagner
    – Warren Bockwinkel beat Wee Willie Davis
    – Johnny Barend and Steve Stable drew
    – Barney Bernard beat Bobby Nelson
    – Tom Collins and Tiger Tasker drew 

    1966

    Denver, Colorado:
    – The Crusher beat Mitsu Arakawa
    – AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Mighty Igor Vodik
    – Danny Hodge beat Chris Markoff
    – Chris Tolos beat Bill Melby

    1967

    Denver, Colorado:
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Wilbur Snyder beat Waldo Von Erich in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Dory Funk beat The Alaskan
    – Danny Hodge beat Harley Race dq
    – Terry Funk beat Silento Rodriguez via pin in 19:19

    1974

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – Dick the Bruiser & Bruno Sammartino no contest Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant
    – Superstar Billy Graham beat Ken Patera
    – Nick Bockwinkel beat Red Bastien
    – Moose Cholak drew Big K
    – Bob Ellis beat Bob Remus
    – Pepper Gomez beat Ric Flair

    1975

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
    – Abdullah the Butcher defeated the Mighty Igor
    – Killer Kowalski beat Tex McKenzie 
    – Waldo von Erich defeated Nick DeCarlo
    – Pampero Firpo beat Pretty Boy Anthony by submission
    – Stan Stasiak defeated The Beast on a count out
    – Duncan MacTavish beat Terry Yorkston 
    – Sweet Daddy Siki and Crusader Billy Red Lyons defeated The Love Brothers on a disqualification 
    – Edouard Carpentier teamed with nephew Jackie Wiecz to wrestle to a draw against The Wildman and Lee Henning

    1987

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Tommy Rich & Austin Idol beat Jerry Lawler & Bam Bam Bigelow dq
    – Jimmy Snuka & JT Southern beat Mr. Rising Sun & Tarzan Goto to win International tag belts
    – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Soul Train Jones
    – Big Bubba & Goliath beat Billy Travis & Jeff Jarrett
    – Boy Tony drew Paul Diamond
    – Pat Tanaka & Alan West beat The Hunter & Johnny Boyd
    – Lord Humongous beat The Patriot  

    1993

    Macon, Georgia:
    – Paul Orndorff defeated Erik Watts in a tournament final for the WCW World Television Title
    – Steve Austin & Brian Pillman defeated Shane Douglas & Ricky Steamboat for the WCW World Tag Team Championship

    2002

    Wilmington, Delaware:
    – Donovan Morgan defeated AJ Styles to win the Super 8 Tournament 

    2008

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – Takeshi Morishima captured the Pro Wrestling NOAH Global Honored Crown, defeating Mitsuharu Misawa 

    2013

    ROH 11th Anniversary: Chicago, Illinois:
    – Matt Taven defeated Adam Cole to win the ROH World TV Title 
    – Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Riley defeated The Briscoes to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles
    – The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) defeated The Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero)
    – Michael Elgin defeated Roderick Strong in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Kevin Steen defeated Jay Lethal to retain the ROH World Title

    2014

    TNA One Night Only Outbreak PPV: Tokyo, Japan 
    – The Bromans defeated The Wolves and Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo to capture the TNA Tag Team championship 
    – Seiya Sanada defeated Austin Aries to win the TNA X-Division championship