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  • Lion’s Gate Project 1 results: Nagata vs. Kitamiya; NJPW and NOAH rookies shine

    Announced last year, this morning’s Lion’s Gate event was the first in what is to be a regular series of events highlighting rookies from New Japan, NOAH, and other associated promotions with New Japan. Tonight’s card is a mixture of NOAH and New Japan rookies and veterans squaring off in a nice mix of singles and tag matches.

    Takumi Honjo vs. Shuhei Taniguchi

    Taniguchi is the former Maybach Taniguchi who I guess has taken off his mask in recent weeks and has sided in NOAH in their battle against Suzuki-gun. This is Honjo’s debut match, graduating from the New Japan dojo. The former Maybach isn’t the best first match to have. Honjo looked like someone in his first match and Taniguchi wasn’t that good. Honjo got some chants going for him at least. Taniguchi got the win quickly with a Boston crab.

    Kawato Hirato vs. Hitoshi Kumano

    Kawato is the really young NJPW lion, only 18 years old. He looked good here and showed some fire with his offense, and his strikes look good. This didn’t last long either. Kuwato him have some offense, cut him off and pinned him with a fisherman’s suplex.

    Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    Kiyomiya is a NOAH rookie, wearing green tights as I guess that’s the rule over in that promotion. He has a good dropkick and handled basics pretty well. It was very much in the same formula as the previous two matches. Taguchi eventually cut him off and got the win with the dodon.

    David Finlay vs. Taiji Ishimori

    Pretty good while it lasted. Ishimori came off looking really good, doing some great dynamic spots throughout the match. I wonder why he didn’t get a spot in the Super Juniors tournament last year. Finlay got some great near falls and submissions, including the stretch muffler. Ishimori gave him a lot. ishimori gave him a uranage then followed with a 450 for the win.

    Jay White vs. Yoshinari Ogawa

    Another good match. White looked good here too. He’s the best out of the current crop of the young lions in terms of overall athleticism and ability. He would have been my rookie of the year if Chad Gable hadn’t come along. He took a lot of this match and people were behind him big time. He even handled some mat wrestling with Ogawa well. He cut him off with an eye poke and tried to go for a superplex but White stopped him. Ogawa avoided him, gave him a dragon screw and put him in a figure four, submitting him.

    Lion’s Gate Project 2 was announced for 5/19.

    Quiet Storm vs. Manabu Nakanishi

    I haven’t seen a singles bout from Nakanishi in forever. There’s a good reason for that. Storm is an interesting story as he wrestled in the very early era of Ring of Honor, was mostly a small independent level guy, then went to Japan in the mid 2000s and has pretty much found consistent work there ever since. They did a lot of big guy spots even though Nakanishi is about a head taller than Storm. Wasn’t bad. Nakanishi can only do so much, but he got all of this spots in and was fine. After Storm teased putting the Rack on Nakanishi, he cut him off and put him in the rack, with Storm quickly submitting.

    Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Captain NOAH

    Genba was billed as Captain Genba as he was wearing a mask like Captain NOAH’s. Kojima & Tenzan dominated a lot of the match. Genba got heat momentarily by cutting off Kojima with a testicular claw. That’s one way of halting a comeback. The masked duo got double submissions on Tencozy but they didn’t submit. Kojima came back with a diamond cutter and a brainbuster but NOAH broke it up, only to get a 3D. Genba tried to get a cheap win with the claw again and a roll up, but Kojima hit the ropes and scored a lariat for the win. Perfectly fine match.

    Juice Robinson vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

    This was pretty good. Robinson was given a lot and has improved a lot in his time here with New Japan. He’s that weird situation where it doesn’t seem like he’s a young lion, but not really a pushed guy either in New Japan, so he was given a lot more here than other young lions in previous matches. Nakajima is riding a big wave of momentum as he’s pinned Minoru Suzuki and is probably next in line for the GHC Heavyweight title. Robinson also got over big time with the crowd as they were with him from the start. Lots of back and forth great action. Nothing too fancy, but a really well worked match that people got into. Nakajima picked up the win after a brainbuster.

    Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya

    Kitamiya looked good against Nagata, who did a good job in this match. There’s the occasional showing his age signs here and there, but he’s still a tremendous preformer and looked great here. He gave Kitamiya a lot and they had a pretty good back and forth match, as was the theme for many of tonight’s matches. Nagata hit the backdrop driver but Kitamiya kicked out. Kitamiya laid into Nagata with some slaps but Nagata no sold them and fired back with another backdrop driver for the win. Very nice main event with a great finish.

    Nagata said a few things to close out the show.

    Overall, this was a solid show. Quality wise, maybe about your average New Japan house show, maybe a little less. Nothing really bad, mostly solid to good. The unique matches really added a lot to the show and made it a fun watch.

  • WWE Smackdown results: Triple H promo, Styles/Jericho/Henry vs. New Day

    – Air Date: February 25, 2016 (Feb 24 in Canada)
    – Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

    – The Big News:

    Unless Chris Jericho is swerving us, he and AJ Styles appear to be headed for a tag title match at WrestleMania. Also, Triple H had some words for Roman Reigns.

    – Show Recap:

    Triple H came out wearing a suit, holding the WWE Title, to plenty of fake booing. The ring was covered in black carpet and there was a podium for WWE Title so the champion doesn’t have to hold the belt for too long. He quoted the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil,” saying he stole many a man’s soul. (Don’t give me any credit for picking up on the song – he proudly told us the reference.)

    Triple H called his beat down of Roman Reigns retribution for Reigns’ attack months ago, and they replayed the video from Raw. He mentioned Reigns’ surgery and showed the “post-surgery” photo on the screen. Triple H called himself the law and rambled on about bowing to authority.

    He said he had to step over a lot of people to get where he is, spilling a lot of blood, sweat and tears. He said Reigns has the sweat part of that down, because he does work hard. Triple H then pulled out his wrist tape which was covered in Roman’s blood, so he’s got the blood part down too. Finally, he said he would get Reigns’ tears at WrestleMania, because he’s the king of kings, game of games, etc.

    This was pretty boring and the crowd didn’t seem to care. He’s also forgetting that we’ve seen Roman’s tears before. More than once. Mauro Ranallo said there was no timetable for Reigns’ recovery. For a busted nose?

    8-Man Tag Match: League of Nations beat Lucha Dragons, Neville & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall

    This was only about 8 minutes and was almost all action. Neville really shined here, but Sheamus hit him with a Brogue kick for the win. Wade Barrett finally worked and looked fine.

    Renee Young had Kevin Owens backstage because he asked for the time to speak. Owens told her to stop rambling so he could talk. Owens was inspired by Dean Ambrose on Raw and wanted to give Ambrose his rematch for the Intercontinental title. Renee told Owens that Ambrose wasn’t there.

    Owens acted surprised, but figured he has the night off since Ambrose is the only one who deserves a title shot since he’s defeated everyone else. Big Show appeared and said Owens hasn’t beaten him. Owens said he’s on the road to KO-Mania, but Show was on the road to retirement. Show grabbed Owens and said maybe he would “K.O. K.O.” (knockout Kevin Owens). This was good.

    D-Von Dudley (w/Bubba Ray Dudley) beat Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso) via pinfall

    Bubba repeated, again, that the Dudleys are not a nostalgia act. D-Von said they’re the best tag-team ever, and Bubba told the fans to shove it. Jimmy Uso hit a superkick almost immediately and went to the top rope. Bubba grabbed a table so Jey chased after him. As the referee stopped Jey, Bubba tripped Jimmy off the top rope. D-Von clumsily picked Jimmy up to his feet just so he could pull him back down with a school boy for the very quick win. This was lame.

    They aired a video package for the Shane McMahon angle, and announced the return of Undertaker to Raw in Nashville.

    Backstage, Chris Jericho (wearing an Usos t-shirt) told AJ Styles, again, that he didn’t like him at first, but he does now, and they even became a team on Raw. Jericho said he’s been WWE Tag-Team champion five times with five different guys. He called the New Day clowns and said beating them tonight could get them a title shot and lead to a WrestleMania moment for Styles.

    Styles said that’s why he came here, to be in a meaningless match the best. Styles said they needed a partner tonight for the six-man. Jericho asked if he got Funaki’s number while he was in Japan. Mark Henry showed up and thought WSM should join Y2AJ. That’s what he said.

    Henry doesn’t like New Day either and firmly shook Jericho’s hand. Jericho was in pain and comically asked him to lighten up on the handshake. Henry didn’t like Jericho joking around like New Day. Jericho got in his face and said it would be an honour to have a former world champion on their team. Henry agreed, let go of Jericho’s hand, smacked Styles on the chest, and left. The stuff with Jericho and Henry was good, but Styles felt a little out of place.

    Non-title: I.C. Champion Kevin Owens beat Big Show via countout

    Owens looked small next to Big Show, which was quite a visual. Owens got some offense but it didn’t have much of an effect on Show, who followed with a chokeslam. Show tried to do a chokeslam off the top, but Owens slipped out and crotched him on the rope. Show fell to the outside and referee Mike Chioda did the fastest 10-count ever for the countout. The match was only 4 minutes long. Regardless of how Owens won, this should eliminate Show from title contention. (It won’t.)

    Becky Lynch NC Natalya

    Ranallo and Byron Saxton talked about Natalya and Lynch, but Jerry Lawler wanted to talk about Charlotte, to which Ranallo responded, “She’s not involved in the match, King. I like to focus on the action in the ring.” After about 2 minutes, Natalya hit a German suplex, sending Lynch to the outside. At this point, Naomi and Tamina ran out and attacked Natalya for the DQ/no contest.

    Sasha Banks made the save, and she cleared the ring with help from Lynch. Charlotte came out and announced that the Lynch vs. Banks match for the number one contendership will be this Monday, and she will be at ringside. Natalya disappeared and was totally forgotten about. This sucked.

    R-Truth beat Heath Slater (w/Social Outcasts) via pinfall

    Truth came out alone, but Goldust came out as soon as the bell rang. He told Truth he just wanted to watch from ringside, and fans chanted “Golden Truth.” The Social Outcasts tried to interfere, but the distraction allowed Goldust to smack Slater, allowing Truth to use a backslide for the win. Truth was pleased and was smiling until Goldust winked at him. This was… fine, but it was another crap finish and another short match.

    They aired a long video package for the Brock Lesnar/Dean Ambrose stuff from Raw, and officially announced their No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania.

    New Day came out. Big E questioned Mark Henry’s claim as world’s strongest man, and Kofi Kingston wondered how he can still call himself that. They cackled like hyenas. And then they kept cackling. Kingston said there was someone in the ring who was stronger than Henry – Xavier Woods.

    Woods said Jericho and Styles aren’t a real team. New Day travel together, they eat together, they take baths together. Big E and Kingston acted alarmed, and then they quickly chanted New Day rocks. Like most New Day segments, there was some funny stuff in here, but a lot of unfunny stuff too.

    6-Man Tag Match: AJ Styles, Chris Jericho & Mark Henry beat The New Day via submission

    Mark Henry came out last, if that sort of thing matters to you. The good guys sent New Day to the outside, so Mark Henry did Big E’s hip swivel dance. Jericho decided to join him and did a dance of his own… and so did AJ Styles. Yes, Styles danced. It was something else.

    After a break, New Day gained the heat on Jericho. There was a nice spot where Kingston hit a seated Jericho with a kick, Woods followed with a low dropkick, then he and Big E hit a combination leg drop and splash. Jericho came back with an enziguri and made the hot tag to Styles, who hit Woods with a clothesline, forearm and springboard moonsault inverted DDT.

    Kingston took out Mark Henry with a Trouble in Paradise. He almost got Styles with one too, but Jericho pushed Styles out of the way and ate Kingston’s kick instead. Styles clotheslined Kingston and applied the Calf Crusher on Woods, who tapped out immediately. Good match. The announcers played up Jericho saving Styles from Kingston’s kick.

    – Final Thoughts:

    Despite a fun opener and main event, this was probably the worst Smackdown since they switched networks. The Triple H promo was terribly uninteresting, and the middle of the show was pretty dreadful, full of short matches and bad finishes. Sometimes when they shoot a big angle on Raw, they seem to have no immediate plan beyond that show, and Smackdown tends to suffer as a result.

  • WWE NXT results: Great matches made for the future, okay matches happen in the present

    It’s a show where the future sounded so much better than the present. Bayley and Carmella team up to battle Eva Marie and Nia Jax. Plus, what will Mr. William Regal have to say about the controversial finish to the #1 contender’s match last week?

    • The Big News: Samoa Joe will wrestle Sami Zayn in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match in 2 weeks.
    • The Medium News: Finn Balor will wrestle Neville next week
    • The Little Beaver Sized News: A brand new star will also debut next week.
    • The News Even Smaller Than Little Beaver: On the show that actually aired this week, Eva Marie won the tag team main event, pinning Carmella.

    American Alpha defeated Blake & Murphy

    38 days away from NXT Takeover and we kick things off with American Alpha. We are still at the CFE Arena in the University of Central Florida, for the third week here. The fans still liked Jordan & Gable, but this was already the second time they saw them, so it wasn’t as much love as before. Plus this was minutes after the Samoa Joe-Sami Zayn match that aired last week, so the fans were kind of tired.

    Gable was single handedly destroying both Blake and Murphy. Jordan tagged in long enough for a double dropkick, but other than that the first half of the match was just Gable schooling both men. We went to commercial and came back with Jordan in control. It took almost 7 minutes, but the heels finally cut off Gable for the heat after using double team shenanigans.

    Blake and Murphy continue to work good together. Jordan got the hot tag and hit several suplexes on both men. The good guys picked up the win with Grand Amplitude.

    – After the double pin finish from last week, Mr. William Regal announced a 2 out of 3 Falls match with Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn in 2 weeks. He also announced that a brand new talent would debut next week.

    – Sawyer Fulton sang while “highlights” of his matches aired. He can still be boring even in highlight form.

    Apollo Crews pinned Christopher Girard

    Apollo Crews is back. He has become so directionless since losing at Takeover: London. That loss was such a big deal. Girard looked good in his NXT debut, but the announcers were pointing out his size (or lack thereof) as they said he wasn’t much bigger than Gillberg.

    This was not just a squash match, as Girard got a full entrance and had a competitive match with Crews before going down in defeat. Crews hit his toss Powerbomb to pick up the win.

    – Bayley and Carmella were backstage with Alex, who called them “Baymella”, which was gag worthy. Bayley put over her partner and Carmella said one day she is coming back for the championship. Bayley was happy Asuka helped out, but it’s obvious she’s coming after the championship.

    – Earlier this week, Enzo Amore arrived at the WWE Performance Center when he was attacked by Dash & Dawson. It was shot purely with security cameras, so it looked grainy and definitely not HD, but it looked more real.

    Tommaso Ciampa submitted Bull Dempsey in a Loser Goes To WrestleCon Match

    Actually the winner may be there too, I haven’t checked the list lately.

    Bull needed the referee’s help to get his shirt off because it was so tight. Ciampa was not amused. Dempsey was content to do jumping jacks, as opposed to sports entertaining, so Ciampa made him pay for it. At one point it looked like Dempsey hit the Bossman Slam, but Bull was the one selling, so they sold it like Bull’s shoulder was hurt. It reminds me of Spike Dudley’s Acid Drop where you didn’t know if he hit the move half the time until someone sold it.

    Ciampa won with a rolling armbar. At least Bull lost. You might recall Kassius Ohno started getting a pretty good push after he was released.

    – Samoa Joe cut a promo saying he made NXT hot just by being here. It’s a shame for Sami Zayn to get beaten on for 2 falls instead of 1. Alex then asked Sami Zayn about it. Zayn said he’s been in plenty of 2 out of 3 Falls matches and he’s ready to do what he’s gotta do to become a 2-time NXT Champion.

    Nia Jax & Eva Marie defeated NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & Carmella

    Main event time! These four ladies have been in each others way going back to November when Bayley wrestled Eva Marie for the first time ever. This continued through Takeover, into the battle royal last month and Carmella’s title match 2 weeks ago.

    For everyone that has such high hopes that WWE’s Diva Division is going to get a total makeover, just remember that Eva Marie is still pegged as the next breakout Diva.

    The faces schooled Eva, who screamed for Nia’s help. I want to point out, in the interest of fairness, that Eva has improved ever so slightly. She used to show absolutely no expression during the match and at least now she yells in pain while selling. That’s a step up..

    Nia stayed in the match as much as possible, tagging Eva in for very specific spots and moments, things she couldn’t mess up. Bayley got the hot tag, which woke the crow up and did her entire comeback on Eva.

    Bayley had the match won with the Belly to Bayley, but Nia dragged Bayley off and headbutted her. Carmella tagged in and it became the Nia Jax Show. Nia attacked Carmella, gave a body attack to Bayley and dragged Eva over to her corner for the tag. Nia hit three legdrops on Carmella before Eva tagged herself in and got the pin!

    – The show ended with Rich Brennan interviewing William Regal and Finn Balor. Mr. Regal told Finn that he is closing in on the record for longest reigning NXT Champion. mr. regal finished the show by telling Finn that next week he will face the longest reigning NXT Champion ever….Neville! That should be one amazing match and we have two straight weeks of amazing matches coming up.

    But until next time, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • Lucha Underground results: Johnny Mundo vs. Cage; Taya Valkyrie debuts

    The show opens with a recap of Mundo and Cage talking smack last week before transitioning to Texano beating up Chavo. The recap ends with Cage kicking Mundo’s ass and hitting Weapon X. We hear a monologue about how “Ian just thought Vampiro was a voice in the head” and how Vampiro would be freed from Ian’s mind thanks to using Pentagon Jr. So basically, “Vampiro” is like the alien symbiote in Spider-Man.

    Striker and black rimmed glasses Vamp welcome us to the show. Jack Evans interrupts Melissa Santos and tells the crowd to be quiet – the hero they didn’t know they had was trying to speak.

    PJ Black vs. Jack Evans

    Striker gets in his second “Dr. Black” reference in regards to PJ Black, and Evans gets a cheapshot to the gut off a handshake. PJ lands some shots, but gets crotched up top briefly. German suplex gets 2, and Black lands a suplex after Evans goes for a spinning headscissors. Striker gets off a wacky line and Vamp threatens to take away his notes. Drago is in the crowd looking “Lucifer-iffic” according to Striker.  Evans talks smack and tosses a water bottle at Drago, so he comes down. This distraction lets PJ hit the Black Diamond lifting cutter for 2.5, but a mist attempt misses, hits Black and the bridging backslide wins for Evans.

    Famous B gets a wacky ’80s used car salesman ad saying that if you call his number, he’ll make ya famous! This was hilarious, and had a VHS filter on that is perfect for El Rey. King Cuerno is just in the ring for a match, against Killshot.

    King Cuerno vs. Killshot

    Lots of chops and kicks to start this off. Killshot sends him to the floor with a nasty chop and gets a flip dive. Cuerno recovers and goes for a Thrill of the Hunt off the apron to the floor, but it gets countered into a cutter off the apron instead. We get a boo/yay punch exchange that turns into a chop exchange. A nasty single leg dropkick hits from Cuerno! Killshot goes for a middle rope moonsault, but eats a kick to the gut. They go for tombstones and counters before Killshot decides “no, the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER isn’t enough – and gets a gutbuster”. Cuerno recovers and hits the Thrill of the Hunt to win. Cuerno goes for the Thrill of the Kill piledriver, but Fenix saves Killshot. Next, Taxano faces Chavo and the Crew in a gauntlet match.

    Texano vs. The Crew and Chavo Guerrero – Gauntlet Match

    Chavo sends Mr. Cisco out first. Texano superkicks him while Striker says that Lt. Loco is losing it. Chavo distracts him, so Castro can attack – but he eats a back elbow. Corner lariats hit for Texano, but he then eats a high kick in the corner. Tornado DDT gets 2 for Castro. Castro goes for a La Magistrol, but Texano gets one of his own after a wacky lucha setup. Discus elbow by Castro leads to him running in and eating a powerbomb for the win. Chavo jumps Texano and gets 2. Shortarm lariat hits for Chavo, and Striker calls him a man who was at one point one of the best in the world. Vamp rightfully buries him for this. Texano runs wild with a big forearm smash in the corner. Big backdrop hits for Texano. Texano goes for a suplex on the apron, but Castro uses the bullrope to hold the foot down ala Heenan doing so to Warrior to give Rude the win at WrestleMania V.

    375 miles from Boyle Heights, Matanza kills some dudes inside the warehouse. Dario tells Black Lotus that she started a war, and that their mother hurt Dario and Matanza. One day, he stood up to her and he wasn’t strong enough then to back up his words. Matanza saved him from a hot iron, but Matanza hit her with the red bull decoration until he killed her. For Dario, it was a happy memory and he leaned how much he loved violence that day. Catrina saunters around the Temple and Pentagon Jr. tells her that the needs to go teach Prince Puma a lesson.

    She tells him that she has no reason to give him the match, and as is customary, a wacky kung fu movie fight broke out. Pentagon wins and gets her in the arm snapper position – so she gives him his match, disappears, reappears in the other corner and tells him he’s got his match, but he has made the biggest mistake he could ever make. Johnny Mundo comes out to face Cage. Cage is still a machine.

    Johnny Mundo vs. Cage

    Mundo slaps him to start and takes him down for some mounted punches. They get up and Mundo gets some gut punches and then eats a hopefully low-carb lariat. Hiptoss into a neckbreaker lands for Cage. They fight up top and Johnny hops down the apron to kick Cage. They go to the floor and Mundo gets a step-up dive using the ringpost! Mundo grinds him down with a chinlock. Mundo avoids a pumphandle and Mundo lands a calf kick. Cage lands a backdrop and hits a lariat. Cage gets 2 off a sitout Albama slam-style powerbomb. 

    Mundo gets his back/neckbreaker combo and goes for the End of the World, but gets stopped and chopped for 2. Mundo lands a superkick on the apron and slides through for a sunset flip for 2. Mundo’s foot is caught and hits a flip kick, but eats a Lucha Destroyer for 2. Flying Chuck hits for Mundo, but the End of the World misses. Discus lariat hits and he stares at Mil. Weapon X hits before Taya Valkyrie comes out. Mundo cracks him in the head with a lead pipe to win. Taya and Johnny put the furry boots to Cage. Taya saunters into the corner and lands a pair of shotgun knees to the face.

    Cuerno goes to Catrina’s office and says that Fenix won’t die and he’s tired of carrying the title around – he wants his title match. Catrina tells him that he’ll get a match – against Fenix for the Gift of the Gods Title. Catrina says that Fenix can fly, and she hopes Cuerno can too because it’s a ladder match.

    To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.

  • TNA ratings drop for all-cage Lockdown special

    Despite being the heavily promoted Lockdown episode of Impact last night, the TNA audience dropped 23 percent from last week to 210,000 for the first run episode, easily the lowest in the modern history of the show.

    The replay did 87,000, identical to the previous week, but still tied for second to the lowest number since moving to Pop TV with first-run shows.

    The 297,000 total was the lowest as well, by a significant margin as the previous low was 345,000 on the debut show.

    Matt Hardy retained the TNA World Heavyweight Title over former champion EC3 in the main event after Spud turned on EC3 and cost him the match.

    EC3 was a guest on Wrestling Observer Live yesterday talking Lockdown, his babyface turn, his dive on Impact last week that went horribly awry, and more.  

    The Doll House also beat Gail Kim and Velvet Sky in the first-ever women’s Lethal Lockdown match (essentially War Games), which ended up being two-on-three after Maria teased teaming up with Kim and Sky but then walked out on them.

    You can read our full TNA Impact TV report here.

  • UFC 196: Watch Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz’s first face-to-face presser

    Two words signaled the beginning of a quick two week-ish build to what should be a fun tilt to headline UFC 196 in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor taking on Nate Diaz in a welterweight affair: It’s On.

    Confirmed late Tuesday night, the UFC moved quickly in getting the two in front of reporters Wednesday for a 4 PM EST/1 PM PST press conference at the UFC Gym in Torranca, CA.

    McGregor was hoping to fight lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and become the first man to hold two UFC titles at the same time, but a broken foot by RDA prevented that. Diaz, Donald Cerrone, and others were considered but Diaz’s resurgence, unique charisma, and ability to sell fan interest just on being himself made him the man to go with.

    Even though there’s disappointment at McGregor/RDA being put off for a while, there’s still a lot to be excited for in this one.

    Grab a snack and watch the video along with us:

  • Daily pro wrestling history (02/24): JCP/AWA Star Wars; Freebirds win WCW World Tag Team Titles

    1967

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
    – No Time Limit, No dq Match: Killer Kowalski beat Verne Gagne
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Doug Gilbert & Reggie Parks in 2 out of 3 falls
    – The Alaskan beat Billy Red Cloud
    – Kurt Von Steiger drew Bob Boyer

    1971

    Honolulu, Hawaii:
    – Sam Steamboat beat King Curtis
    – Lonnie Mayne beat Frankie Laine to win Hawaiian title
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon beat Billy Robinson & Verne Gagne
    – Dale Lewis drew Don Muraco
    – Ripper Collins beat Beauregard

    1973

    Omaha, Nebraska:
    – Billy Robinson & Don Muraco beat Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch 2 out of 3 falls
    – Reggie Parks beat Larry Hennig 2 out of 3 falls
    – Superstar Billy Graham beat Rene Goulet 
    – Ken Patera beat Johnny Heidman

    1977

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Bulldog Bob Brown downed Jan Nelson 
    – Bobby Jaggers & Benny Ramirez defeated Big Red & Dave Nevins 
    – Akio Sato & Mike George wrestled to a draw 
    – Andre the Giant & Ted Oates beat D.I. Bob (later Sgt.) Slaughter & Mitsuo Hata 
    – NWA World Title: Champion Harley Race defeated big Ernie “The Cat” Ladd, 2 out of 3 falls to retain the title

    1978

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Mr. Wrestling II beat Stan Hansen dq
    – Tony Atlas & Andre the Giant beat Ole Anderson & Lars Anderson
    – No dq Match, No Time Limit: Tommy Rich beat Abdullah the Butcher
    – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Bob Armstrong
    – Adrian Adonis beat Butch Malone
    – Raymond Rougeau beat Jim Dalton
    – Mighty Zulu beat the Invader

    1983

    Sioux City, Iowa:
    – Hulk Hogan beat Ken Patera dq
    – Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan beat Mad Dog Vachon & Jim Brunzell
    – Rick Martel beat John Tolos
    – Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Heenan

    1985

    JCP/AWA Star Wars: East Rutherford, New Jersey:
    – Sgt. Slaughter & Jerry Blackwell won tag team battle royal
    – NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Harley Race
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Jerry Lawler & Baron Von Raschke
    – Jim Garvin beat AWA Champion Rick Martel dq
    – Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff beat Steve Keirn & Jimmy Valiant
    – Bob Backlund beat Billy Robinson
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell drew Mr. Saito & Masked Superstar
    – Handicap match: Kamala beat Mark Pole & Lou Fabiano
    – Mark Youngblood & Jay Youngblood & Jimmy Valiant drew Larry Zbyszko & Nick Bockwinkel & Dory Funk Jr

    1987

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Sir Oliver Humperdink defeated Bad News Allen to win the Florida Heavyweight Title

    1991

    WCW WrestleWar: Phoenix, Arizona:
    – The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) defeated Doom (Butch Reed & Ron Simmons) to win the World Tag Team Titles 
    – Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious & Larry Zbyszko (subbing for Arn Anderson) defeated Sting, Brian Pillman, Rick & Scott Steiner in a War Games match 
    – Terry Taylor defeated Tom Zenk
    – Stan Hansen vs. Big Van Vader ended in a double disqualification
    – United States Champion Lex Luger defeated Danny Spivey

    1992 

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Koko B. Ware defeated Kamala to win the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title 

    1995 

    Erlanger, Kentucky:
    – Dan Severn defeated Chris Candido it win the NWA World Heavyweight Title

    2002 

    Las Vegas, Nevada:
    – Eddie Guerrero defeated Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera to win the WWA International Cruiserweight Title 
    – Devon Storm defeated Sabu 
    – Rick Steiner & Ernest Miller defeated Lodi & Lenny Lane 
    – WWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett defeated Brian Christopher 

    2009 

    Nashville, Tennessee:
    – Jack Swagger defeated Christian to win the ECW Title

  • Total Divastation: a review of WWE Total Divas, episode 6

    By Kevin LaRose for WrestlingObserver.com

    Brie and Nikki are in a historic hotel in Buffalo. Nikki says she is going to stay in Phoenix but Brie says she can’t stay with her because Nikki is too needy. John Cena, in a flashback, calls her a “needy monster.” Nikki has to stay alone in her mom’s giant house.

    Backstage, everyone is touching Rosa. She is distressed that Bobby, the father of her unborn child, is an atheist. She hasn’t told her Christian mom yet. They’ve been dating for six months. Paige burps and apologizes to Rosa. Rosa says its ok, it smells good. Paige is worried because something bad happened on social media. Fox is upset, too.

    Carrano is going to be pissed. Everyone is watching John Cena’s match. Nikki is freaking out because Cena broke his nose. Cena is still wrestling. Fox is talking to Rosa about Carrano who has been doing damage control for the social media problem. After all the fuss, Fox thinks it’s time for a lifestyle change.

    Nattie is worried about Cena so she comes over to his house to drink wine with Nikki. Nikki tells Nattie that even though she’s fearless in the ring she has a lot of fear outside the ring.

    *****

    In Tulsa, OK, Fox tells everyone they are going to start a lifestyle change this weekend. She forces Paige to swear that they are not going to get into trouble.

    At a red carpet event for WWE 2k16, a British journalist asks Nikki about John Cena’s nose.

    In a car, Rosa is with Bobby the atheist. She tells him she is going to make pasta primavera, and he says that’s too much. She reminds him that he asked for a crazy girl. He’s excited to be a father. They’ve named the baby Jordan. Bobby says not to buy kale. His father doesn’t like kale. Rosa asks Bobby to pretend not to be an atheist. He won’t pretend. Bobby doesn’t want Jordan to get baptized and Rosa does.

    I’m starting to worry that the Divas aren’t going to any nice restaurants this episode.

    In a car, Fox and Paige are going to a furniture store. Paige asks to get food. Finally, they make it to a nice restaurant. Paige orders some drinks and Fox is upset because she wants to have a lifestyle change this weekend. Paige orders more drinks and tells the waiter she likes to go to karaoke and she wants to play bingo. The waiter tells her about dirty bingo. Fox is pissed but doesn’t say anything because she enjoys being self-righteously angry.

    Meanwhile in Rosa’s life, she asks Bobby to baby proof the house. He reminds her that the baby isn’t coming for another 5 months. She wants to baby proof the house to impress Bobby the atheist’s dad. She hired a caterer to make dinner so she can pretend she did it.

    Paige arrives at dirty bingo, but it’s just regular bingo. All the old guys are hitting on Paige and Fox. Paige is having fun flirting with all the old guys. Fox is not. At all. She’s frustrated because the furniture store is closing.

    Brie and Nikki are checking into a nice hotel. Nikki wants to stay in the same room, but Brie needs some personal space. Nikki does not react well to the boundaries that Brie is attempting to set.

    Bobby and his dad arrive at Rosa’s house and everything is going great with the parents. They make small talk, but then Rosa’s mom asks Bobby to pray. He tells her that he doesn’t pray. Everyone looks around the room nervously.

    *****

    Rosa says a prayer, while everyone but Bobby touches hands.

    In a Florida bar, Fox complains that they didn’t go to the furniture store. She’s fed up and leaves the bar.

    Back in Rosa’s apartment, Rosa asks Bobby’s dad if he likes fajitas. He doesn’t. Please also remember that Bobby’s dad also doesn’t like kale. Hopefully you will be able to use this information at some point in your life. Rosa’s mom wants the baby to be baptized. Bobby tries to explain that he doesn’t. He leaves the room. Rosa calms Bobby down and they come back in the house Rosa’s mom leaves. Bobby’s dad tells Rosa everything is going to be ok.

    Nikki barges into Brie’s hotel room. Brie is pissed. She kicks the cameras out. She kicks Nikki out. Nikki doesn’t understand boundaries and tells Brie she hates her.

    Back in Orlando, Paige returns home. Fox is mad. She tells Paige she’s mad because she is taking this lifestyle change seriously, and she needs support. Paige is sorry, she’s not ready to settle down, but she should have gone to the furniture store and not bingo.

    In the hotel, Nikki asks Nattie if she can sleep with her. Nattie is lying in bed in full make-up. Nikki talks about how she is so frightened at night and has nightmares. Nikki admits she is terrified of death. Nattie thinks it’s because she didn’t have a father figure after her grandfather died. All this Cena injury stuff is triggering her old fears.

    *****

    To make up for yesterday, Paige decides to take Fox to a taxidermy stuff. Fox loves taxidermy stuff. They buy a horned animal skull and Fox is so stoked.

    Backstage, Nattie tells Brie she got a psychic reading. Mr. Belding from “Saved By The Bell” comes up and gives Nattie a hug. Nattie tells Brie about all the dark stuff Nikki was saying last night She’s worried. Brie tells her it’s nothing. Nattie doesn’t think it’s nothing. Now Brie is worried.

    In Phoenix, Brie invites Nikki over. She ask, “Why are you so anxious?” Nikki tells her she’s worried about death because of her grandfather dying. Brie had no idea Nikki was hurting so much. Brie feels bad, Nikki says she should feel bad. Brie realizes she’s been unfair to her sister. They talk about the Disney Channel.

    And that’s all! I’ll leave it to greater philosophers than I to break down the very rich symbolic depictions of life and death as represented in this episode by Nikki’s fear of death, the taxidermy skull bought by Paige and Fox, and the coming birth of Rosa’s child, the baby Jordan. The brightest minds of this generation received an intellectual gift tonight, one whose magnificence will not be fully understood for several lifetimes.

    Spoiler alert…

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Lockdown: Hardy vs. EC3, Knockouts Lethal Lockdown

    Last Week on Impact:

    On last week’s episode of TNA Impact, Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud reunited to defeat the team of TNA World Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus.

    Tonight on Impact:

    Tonight is a special edition of Impact! It features a Pay-Per-View caliber line-up. The one, the only… TNA Impact Wrestling: Lockdown! All the matches are taking place inside the infernal and devilish Six Sides of Steel Cage.

    In the huge main event, TNA World Champion Matt Hardy will defend his title against the deadly, Ethan Carter III. For the first time in TNA history, the Knockouts will compete in Lethal Lockdown when The Dollhouse battles it out with The Beautiful People and Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Additionally, X Division Champion, Trevor Lee puts his title on the line against Tigre Uno. In tag action, Beer Money takes on Eric Young and Bram.

    Show Recap:

    Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to the Wembley Arena in London, England. The Six Sides of Steel is already set up and ready for our first match.

    Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode) vs. Eric Young & Bram

    James Storm rides down to ring on the Boozer Cruiser, with of course his Boozer Cruiser Cam. While Beer Money, EY and Bram brawl on the outside, Storm takes a beer from someone in the crowd and spits it in Bram’s face. This gets a “TNA” chant from this hot crowd in London. EY and Bram took out Storm on the outside and then locked the cage door with Storm on the outside still. They get the advantage on Roode by isolating him with double team moves. James Strom recovers on the outside and climbs the cage to get in, and then takes down both men on his own. EY countered out of the DWI in a cool spot, and then got hit with a violent super kick from Storm. Beer Money hits the DWI on Bram for the pin and the win!

    This was a really strong opening tag team match and a great way to start Lockdown. Beer Money continues to be one of the highlights each week on Impact.

    -Earlier today Matt Hardy, Reby Sky and Tyrus arrived in the arena.

    -Backstage, EC3 meanders around the halls alone before heading to the ring.

    -Back from commercial, we start backstage on Brian Hebner as he frantically runs down the steps and finds an injured Madison Rayne screaming in pain.

    -The Catchiest music in wrestling history hits and EC3 makes his way down to the Six Sides of Steel. He does his promo sitting on the steps and the electric crowd breaks out into a huge “EC3” chant while he talks about his feud with Matt Hardy and his match later. EC3 enters the cage and calls out Rockstar Spud. Josh mentions that last week EC3 wanted to face Hardy and Tyrus alone, but Rockstar Spud came out to be EC3’s partner. EC3 thanks Spud for helping him last week and extends his hand for a handshake. The crowd breaks out into a “shake his hand” chant. Spud shakes his hand and says “handshakes aside, I always does the ring thing.” Matt Hardy, Reby and Tyrus interrupt EC3 and Spud. Hardy says everyone should fear him. The crowd chants “We want Jeff”. For legal reasons Jeff can’t come to the U.K. for this tour, but Matt failed to mention that.

    -Backstage, Jermey Borash interviews Trevor Lee and Shane Helms.

    -Back from commercial, the Unnamed Man from last week (who is identified as Jimmy Havoc) talks about Rosemary of Decay. He mentions that she’s dangerous and he brings that out in her. He’s going to get her back from Crazy Steve and Abyss.

    TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee w/ Gregory Shane Helms vs. Tigre Uno

    This was a really good match with lots of intense and fast paced action throughout. Lee gains the advantage on Uno and uses his power moves to dominate. Tigre makes a comeback and the pace quickens. In an awesome spot, Uno climbs to the top of the cage, but instead of escaping and winning, he hits a sick cross body onto Lee inside the ring to a massive pop. That might have been a mistake as Lee hits the Fishermen Buster for the win. Trevor Lee retains the X Division Title.

    -Backstage, “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis runs into a stressed out Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Maria mentions that it’s bad luck for Gail that Madison got injured. Gail tells Maria to stop criticizing and instead prove herself by taking Madison’s place in the Lethal Lockdown match.

    -Back from commercial, Rosemary is creepily singing alone when the Unnamed Man (Jimmy Havoc) approaches her. He gives her a token of his affection as a way for her to remember him fondly. Crazy Steve enters and that’s when things get weird.

    Lethal Lockdown: TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim and Velvet Sky vs. The Dollhouse (Jade, Marti Bell & Rebel)

    The Six Sides of Steel has several chairs, trashcans and various other weapons hanging from the sides. Josh explains the rules for the match: Two knockouts start the match. At intervals, another knockout joins the match, and the match can only end after all participants enter the ring.

    Jade and Gail Kim start the match off. Gail Kim and Velvet are already at a disadvantage because Madison was mysteriously injured earlier.  

    Back from commercial, Jade and Gail Kim are trading shots. The first entrant out is from the Dollhouse, Marti Bell. The Dollhouse work over Gail with double team moves. The Next entrant is Velvet Sky who runs wild on The Dollhouse. Josh and Pope mention that Gail and Velvet don’t have a partner unless Maria steps up. Rebel comes out next and The Dollhouse has a three on two advantage. Weapons are introduced to the match with all the Knockouts taking each other out. The final entrant comes out and it’s Maria Kanellis. She teases entering the match and teaming with Gail and Velvet but doesn’t. Maria locks the door and walks away leaving Gail and Velvet to fight on their own, Gail and Velvet hit a double flapjack from the top rope on Jade to huge pop. Gail hits eat defeat on Rebel, but Jade breaks up the pin. Jade hits the package piledriver on Gail onto the steel chair and pins Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. The Dollhouse wins Lethal Lockdown! 

    -Backstage, EC3 meets Kurt Angle, who wishes him good luck in his match later.

    -Next we see a creepy music video of Decay (Crazy Steve, Abyss & Rosemary). It ends with them spitting into the camera.

    -Back from commercial, we get a video for the Kurt Angle and Lashley match. They show clips from their second meeting where Kurt was victorious.

    -Back in the arena, The Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle makes his way down to the ring. Josh mentions that Kurt as two matches left in his career (In TNA). In two weeks, Kurt faces Lashley and next week Kurt takes on Bobby Roode. Kurt talks about the Farewell Tour. Lashley interrupts and comes down to the ring. Lashley mentions that he’s been waiting a year to get revenge on Kurt. This enrages Kurt, prompting him to tell Lashley he wants to fight, and he wants to do it right now. Lashley teases fighting, but doesn’t and leaves the ring. Lashley was really good here playing a very subtle heel. TNA is doing a decent job building up to this Kurt Angle vs. Lashley match.

    -Back from commercial, Eli Drake is in the ring talking about Odarg The Great and how it’s Grado. Eli points out that Grado was fired from TNA. Eli promises to take Odarg’s mask off.

    Eli Drake vs. Odarg The Great

    Total comedy match. Eli dominates Odarg. Eli tries to escape through the door and Odarg pulls Eli’s tights nearly off trying to keep him in the ring. Eli wrestles for a bit with his tights half way down. Odarg climbs to the top of the cage to escape. Odarg is hanging off the side of the cage. Eli pulls the mask off and Odarg falls to the ground, and wins the match. Odarg is revealed as Grado and Jeremy Borash was very surprised that it was Grado. He was the only one.

    -Backstage, Decay approaches Jimmy Havoc and they tell him that Rosemary is with them. Decay beats down Jimmy Havoc and leaves him there to rot.

    -Back from commercial, Grado is trying to plead his case to Billy Corgan, but security throws him out.

    -Next we get a cool video from “Miracle” Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis.

    TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy w/ Tyrus vs. Ethan Carter III

    We get the ring introductions for EC3 and TNA World Champion Matt Hardy. Both are shown walking backstage and out to the ring. The crowd is buzzing in anticipation of this match. The crowd sings along with EC3’s theme music.

    Josh tells us that there are no more commercial breaks and we’ll get this match without interruption. Tyrus throws two steel chairs in the ring. Hardy sets the chairs up in the corner, but gets sent head first into the chairs instead of EC3. Matt takes the lock and chain off the cage door and tries to use it. EC3 takes Matt down. EC3 tries to walk out the door, however Tyrus blocks the way. EC3 flips off Tyrus and says something that is bleeped out. Tyrus enters the cage and beats down EC3. Tyrus tries to use the chain and lock to tie EC3 to the rope, instead EC3 ends up tying Tyrus up. Matt hits the twist of fate with EC3 trapped in the chair, but only gets a near fall. Both EC3 and Hardy crawl towards the door. Reby comes down to ringside and teases using a hammer. Rockstar Spud comes out to stop Reby. Shockingly, Rockstar Spud turns on EC3 by slamming the cage door on EC3’s head. Spud helps Matt escape and win the match.

    After the match, Spud hits EC3 with a vicious chair shot while the crowd chants “You Sold Out” at Spud. As Rockstar Spud leaves he tells an unconscious EC3, “I always do the right thing.”

    Final Thoughts:

    TNA delivered a really good edition of Impact this week. There were several entertaining matches including, Beer Money vs. EY & Bram. The Knockouts Lethal Lockdown was also a jaw dropping event, and the night was capped off by an enticing main event. TNA continues to produce fun and exciting Impact’s since arriving on POP TV.

    Next Week on Impact:

    Next week, we’re still in London for Impact. The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour is nearing its end as Kurt wrestles his second to last match against one half of Beer Money, Bobby Roode.

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: AJ Styles/Chris Jericho/Mark Henry vs. New Day

    For this week’s show from Indianapolis, airing in Canada on Wednesday and in the U.S. on Thursday:

    – WWE Champion HHH came out to significant cheers. There was a podium with the title belt. They played the Reigns injury angle from RAW, and said he’d beat Reigns at WrestleMania.

    Sheamus & Wade Barrett & Rusev & Alberto Del Rio beat Kalisto & Sin Cara & Neville & Dolph Ziggler

    Barrett wrestled for the first time in months. Sheamus pinned Neville with the Brogue kick.

    – Kevin Owens was being interviewed by Renee Young. He offered Dean Ambrose an I-C title rematch tonight. The idea was it was a grandstand challenge since Ambrose was “injured” from the Lesnar angle. Owens said that he wanted to wrestle Ambrose, but if he’s not there, he’s taking the night off.  Big Show came out. This set up a title match for later in the show.

    – Devon Dudley beat Jimmy Uso quickly with a roll-up.

    – They did a video where they announced that Undertaker would be at Raw on Monday night in Nashville.

    – They aired a Godfather Hall of Fame video.

    WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens beat Big Show via countout

    The finish came when Show was crotched on the top rope, fell to the floor, and couldn’t get back in the ring. Owens grabbed his belt and left as quick as he could before Show recovered.

    Becky Lynch NC Natalya when Naomi and Tamina attacked both of them

    Sasha Banks made the save. Charlotte came out and said the Lynch vs. Banks match for the title shot at WrestleMania will be on Raw on Monday night.

    R-Truth beat Heath Slater

    The finish saw Goldust punch Slater behind the ref’s back. R-Truth didn’t see it either, but when he saw it on the replay, he got mad at Goldust.

    – New Day did an interview prior to the main event.

    A.J. Styles & Chris Jericho & Mark Henry beat WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E/Kofi/Xavier Woods)

    Styles made Woods tap to the calf crusher. There was a spot where Jericho jumped in the way of a kick by Kingston aimed at Styles and Jericho sold it big.

    – Notes from tonight’s tapings:

    They announced that Night of Champions would be taking place at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on 9/25 with the code WWEPRE for pre-sale tickets.