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  • WWE Fast Lane 2016 Preview and Predictions

    The biggest news of the last few weeks seems to not really revolve around WWE Fast Lane, taking place this Sunday. Titus O’Neil being suspended, Daniel Bryan retiring and a whole bunch of other news seems to have put this show in the back burner. On paper, this looks like a fun card. But in terms of presentation and execution, it feels a bit lackluster. There’s big stipulations on the line, but it seems clear who will be taking on Triple H at WrestleMania. The February PPV is always aimed to kick off the buildup towards WrestleMania. Will this card do that, or will we simply see a bunch of matches that will eventually lead us towards that build in the last few weeks before WrestleMania?

    Staff roundtable for this month (along with their current Pickem stats!):

    Bryan Rose (New Japan reporter) (4 points)

    Alan O’Brien (WWE Main Event reporter) (5 points)

    PeachMachine (Violoncelloist / Kremenologist) (0 points)

    James Cox (WWE Superstars reporter and WWE DVD reviewer) (0 points)

    Kyle S. Johnson (Columnist) (6 points)

    Steve Khan (WWE Smackdown reporter) (3 points)

    United States Championship: Kallisto vs. Alberto del Rio (2 out of 3 Falls Match)

    Bryan Rose: This feels like a nothing feud. I think Alberto del Rio has won the last two weeks in generic tags, including pinning Kallisto. For Kallisto, it’s one of these pushes where they had something, but then because he’s small, “has to fight for every win”, which is WWE code for he loses a lot. When Kallisto initially won the title it was a really cool moment because it was something WWE almost never does, and gave Kallisto instant credibility as a new guy they can move towards. A month later, Kallisto is back to feeling like just another guy on the roster. And now that Sin Cara is back teaming with him, most likely this is the match where Alberto regains the championship.

    Winner: Alberto del Rio

    Alan O’Brien: This is the toughest match on the card to call, for me. With the feud already 50/50ed at two apiece, the only booking hint one can point to is the string of losses The Lucha Dragons have sustained at the hands of Del Rio’s League of Nations in recent weeks. Beating Kalisto with this regularity might ordinarily indicate that he’s keeping the strap, given they way they think; but he’s only taken the fall himself on a single occasion. As such, I’m taking a shot in the dark here really; Del Rio to win by nefarious means, potentially leading into the Wrestlemania rematch nobody wanted. Let’s face it, he’s got nothing going on at the minute, while Kalisto has the fallback of his newly returned tag team partner.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    PeachMachine: I’m taking Kalisto. I just don’t think Al of the River will have what it takes to keep the young spry luchador at bay. Plus my guess is that they are disbanding the League of Nations, and hopefully changing it to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. They’ve already got the Beast (Rusev), the Scientist (technically chemist if you look at Del Rio’s bod), and the Invisible Man (Sheamus).

    Winner: The man under Kalisto’s mask

    James Cox: Who knows what they are planning to do with any of these League of Nations guys. It’s been enough of a ‘push’ to make Wade Barrett give notice. Does that mean they change things up? Probably not. I think they need to blow this feud off and keep the title on Kalisto for a while. 2 out of 3 falls matches tend to be a bit pointless and this one feels the same: it means they can keep Del Rio strong by having Kalisto steal a win – the ideal way to book a champion, right?

    Winner: Kalisto

    Kyle S. Johnson: I had, honest to god, completely forgotten these two were having a match until I started writing my predictions. Kalisto has already started teaming with Sin Cara again, and he’s done almost nothing of note since getting the U.S. Championship back at the Rumble, so he’s already cooled off quite a bit from the buzz he built for himself at TLC. The fact that there is at least a fallback direction for Kalisto while Del Rio suddenly feels completely without purpose leads me to believe that Alberto is just going to win the belt back here and take it into Wrestlemania. Neither guy seems to be angled to do anything different moving forward, so I wouldn’t be shocked if they just wind up wrestling again in Dallas, perhaps in a in a luchas de apuestas.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Steve Khan: I thought Del Rio would retain at the Rumble since it seemed like the long-term plan was to have the belt on him. Kalisto’s win was likely just to stretch this out until Sin Cara got back. I’m not sure why Kalisto can’t be U.S. Champion and in a good tag-team at the same time, but apparently he can’t.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Diva’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Brie Bella

    Bryan Rose: I’ve actually kind of liked the build towards this. I mean yeah, alright, it’s basically piggybacking off the Daniel Bryan stuff from a week ago. But the interview segment they had on Raw was one of the better angles they’ve done in this division as of late, and it does give Brie Bella some babyface credibility at a time when she’s probably needed it the most since her character as a whole is largely inconsistent. I don’t see Bella winning since she has intentions on leaving, though they could do the swerve win to honor Daniel Bryan. I think they have plans for what’s going down at WrestleMania,  however, and I don’t think Brie fits into them.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Alan O’Brien: While it’s possible they may give Brie her pre-retirement “moment”, I think it’s far more likely that they will opt to stretch Charlotte’s reign ahead of her inevitable ‘Mania triple threat match against Sasha and Becky. Giving the strap to Brie for a cup of coffee doesn’t really do anyone any favours.

    Winner: Charlotte

    PeachMachine: I think Brie Bella will win. WWE wants to capitalize on the D. Bryan momentum. Even though Charlotte’s abs look similar to Lesnar’s, I like B. Danielson to take home the Labia title.

    Winner: Sweet D.

    James Cox: It makes sense to put the title on Brie here. They can take it off her before she leaves but her and Daniel Bryan to celebrate in the ring together seems like a good way to go. She has won it before, but they can still make it look like a big deal – especially with Nikki out injured and Bryan having just retired. If they wanted, I guess they could even build this up to a retirement match/angle at WrestleMania or this summer.

    Winner: Brie Bella

    Kyle S. Johnson: This has been an unusual month or so for the women of the WWE. All signs seemed to be pointing to building Sasha vs. Charlotte at Wrestlemania while possibly keeping Becky Lynch in the picture at the same time, and then the next thing you know, Becky and Sasha are buddying up and Charlotte is wrestling Brie on a one-week build. Giving a suddenly-face Brie a championship match out of nowhere after being beaten constantly for three months would be a mind-boggling (if not completely unsurprising) development were it not for the retirement of Daniel Bryan, but having Charlotte beat Brie and then move on to a three-way with Becky and Sasha at Mania seems like the logical end-game here.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Steve Khan: This worked out nicely as a quick program for Charlotte, who can successfully defend her belt while they set up Banks and/or Lynch for a Mania title match. There’s no reason for Brie to win. The match itself should be ok, and all the Yes chants should help.

    Winner: Charlotte

    AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

    Bryan Rose: This is going to be pretty good. Presentation wise I’ve kind of hated this feud as they keep calling him the “Rookie Redneck” and “the Pitbull” because he’s a) short and has to fight for everything he has (sound familiar?), b) from Georgia and c) has wrestled everywhere but WWE. Aside from all that, AJ has been good, not great in his WWE run so far. Maybe with more time and a PPV atmosphere, AJ and Styles can go out there and have a fantastic match. I don’t think Jericho needs the win in this series, so I’m giving it to Styles.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    Alan O’Brien: Possible show-stealer here, given how much of an upgrade the second match was on the disappointing first. The result is in no doubt, however; Styles victory all the way, with the added potential of a post-match Jericho heel turn.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    PeachMachine: Jericho. AJ is getting over too fast. WWE hates success and money.

    Winner: The fans (sniiiiiiffffffffffff)

    James Cox: I don’t really mind what they do, this and the main event make this show worth watching. I assume that they are going to spin this feud out to WrestleMania – and so they should. 50/50 booking ‘logic’ says that Jericho gets a win here. Styles should win at WrestleMania to keep the fans happy.

    Winner: Chris Jericho

    Kyle S. Johnson: This should be great. Say what you will about the build, with the ridiculous sub-branding of AJ Styles as a “pitbull” and a “redneck rookie” and the involvement of The Miz, but this could very well be the match of the show by a wide margin if given the right amount of time and the right approach. Beating AJ doesn’t make any sense here unless the plan is to have these two wrestle again at Wrestlemania, and while I would have no complaints if that would be the ultimate direction, it would still make more sense to have Styles win and Jericho make a full heel turn after the fact to lead into their next match. I expect these two to go in with the goal of having the best match on the show, and if that’s what they have in mind, there’s no reason to suspect they won’t deliver.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    Steve Khan: Whatever the plan is with Jericho, Styles has to win this match.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    Ryback, Kane and Big Show vs. The Wyatt Family (Erik Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman)

    Bryan Rose: I fell asleep during the main event from Raw. And from what I’ve heard, I didn’t miss much. This is just not very compelling in the least bit. It’s all designed for Vince McMahon’s latest pet project, Braun Strowman. He’s tall. That’s all you need to know about why Vince likes the guy. I’m sure he’ll develop into something good, as it does seem like he has a ton of potential and has a good look, but I just think out of everyone you signed, you pushed this guy because…he’s tall. Well, whatever. I don’t have any other thoughts on this match other than I hope it’s short because as a match, it looks like it has zero potential to be anything but plodding. Wyatts win.

    Winners: Wyatts

    Alan O’Brien: The only winner here is Vince, with these six hosses bound to “set a methodical pace”, as Good Ol’ JR used to say. I cannot possibly fathom anything other than a victory for Strowman et al. Only the Edge/Christian/New Day segment could possibly be more “bowling shoe ugly” than this one is sure to be.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    PeachMachine: Uh, BIG SHOW! He’s got the Knock Out Punch! It’s literally the best finisher ever. He’s super big and strong and hits you super hard and knocks people out. He should be all the champions.

    Winner: The Impressive Spectacle, Kane, and Growth Hormone or whatever his name is

    James Cox: So Big Show said on the Stone Cold Podcast that he reckoned he had another two years left. What about Kane? I figure he’s only back due to all the injuries on the roster. I could see him bowing out at WrestleMania, but I don’t know who against. Wyatts don’t need to win here because they’re going to interfere in the main event, but I’ll say that they do because otherwise there are too many babyface wins on this card.

    Winner: Wyatts

    Kyle S. Johnson: Big Show was pretty great on Austin’s podcast on Monday. This feud, on the other hand, has not been great. At all. There has been absolutely nothing done in the past four weeks to make me care about anyone involved in this match, apart perhaps from Ryback’s ridiculous sunset flip thing on Luke Harper last Monday. Kane, Show, and The Big Guy have no direction whatsoever leading into Wrestlemania, so having them go over here makes no sense. I presume that the Wyatts will come out looking strong so that Bray can ultimately lose to somebody (probably Brock) at Wrestlemania.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Steve Khan: This show seems awfully predictable, and with Bray not in this match, I could see this as an opening for the good guys to win and surprise everyone. That would be pretty dumb though, and this is the time of year the company does fewer dumb things than usual.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

    Bryan Rose: On paper, this sounds great. Owens is a really special performer. Ziggler is great. But here is the problem: I’ve seen this. They’ve had two very long, pretty great matches on Raw in the last two weeks. Ziggler won both of those cleanly. Now, I understand all of that was build towards this match. But it doesn’t forego the fact that I’ve seen this. A lot of times. I’m sure it’ll be great, but the build towards this has been lackluster, and they haven’t given me much reason why I should care about a third outing when Ziggler’s beaten him twice. I say Owens retains, but who knows.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Alan O’Brien: Ziggler has beaten Owens twice; that alone, in 50/50 land, is evidence enough that Owens will be getting one of his wins back on Sunday. Add to that the fact that he will have held the strap for less than a week and you’ve got yourself a lock.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    PeachMachine: I like Ziggler here. I feel like they put the belt on KO just because they want him to drop it to Zigs and do the double turn and the rematch at mania.

    Winner: The Z-man jr.

    James Cox: Kevin Owens to retain. Longer term, it would be good to see Owens and Styles go at it. Ziggler doesn’t need a title, but if they do give it to him, they ought to turn him heel. Owens at Ziggler at Mania would be fine but there are more exciting options. I hope they are creative with the finish; Owens’ PPV matches have always seemed to offer something fresh since he started with the company.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Kyle S. Johnson: These two are probably going to have a really fun match, but having seen this so many times already in the span of a month kills a lot of the intrigue, even if those matches were also a lot of fun. This match certainly would have a bigger air about it if Ziggler was booked better, but he hasn’t been, so it doesn’t. Owens just won the belt on Monday, and he’s not going to lose it here. Here’s hoping that this feud ends with the quickness and the next weeks lead to Owens vs. Zayn at ‘Mania.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Steve Khan: Owens should win and he probably will.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs. Naomi & Tamina

    Bryan Rose: I don’t really have much to say about this. Just seems like filler in between whatever the real Diva’s title match is going to be at WrestleMania. Sasha and Becky as the team that doesn’t always get along is so tired, especially after they’ve broken up all the teams they set up in the summer over the last few months. They get the win, maybe leading to a three way with Charlotte for the Diva’s title at WrestleMania. That’d be a nice story, to see the NXT women from last year headline their division at WrestleMania a year later.

    Winners: Lynch and Banks

    Alan O’Brien: This match surely only exists to build Sasha and Becky for their slated triple threat match at ‘Mania with champion, Charlotte. Anything other than a victory for the babyfaces would be a bafflingly strange outcome.

    Winner: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

    PeachMachine: Banks. I hate Lynch. She’s disgusting and terrible. Sasha’s entrance music is the greatest thing since declaring that you rule in 6th grade. “I’m on top of the playground! I rule!” Yes you do, Billy. You rule.

    Winner: Sasha Banks only

    James Cox: I think that Naomi and Tamina should win this to finally break up this on-again, off-again nonsense between Banks and Lynch. Banks ought to be involved at WrestleMania, in front of that kind of crowd she’ll be beloved.

    Winners: Naomi & Tamina

    Kyle S. Johnson: What can you say about this cobbled together placeholder match? Banks and Lynch should be primed for a three-way Divas Championship match at Wrestlemania, so I expect them to tease dissention as a team but ultimately get a convincing win to put them into position.

    Winners: Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch

    Steve Khan: A threeway at Mania seems likely, but even if it isn’t, Lynch and Banks should both go over strong. I can see a double submission spot as the finish (Lynch with the Disarmer, Sasha with the Bank Statement).

    Winner: Lynch & Banks

    Winner Goes to Headline WrestleMania: Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

    Bryan Rose: This is supposed to be a match that causes a lot of intrigue, but for me it’s more along the lines of…well, this is predictable. Not that predictable is bad, because when WWE is unpredictable things could be worse. But I think I mostly know how this’ll go. Wyatt will come out and allow Reigns to get the win, probably over Ambrose. What they do with Ambrose after this will be the most interesting thing coming out of this match, as they’ve been teasing a turn between him and Reigns forever. It’ll be interesting to see if it actually happens. Even though the intrigue of the match isn’t completely there, I think if they go all out this could actually steal the show.  If that actually happens or not, we’ll have to wait and see! Roman wins, though, as HHH/Reigns is the only match I see headlining WrestleMania at this point.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    Alan O’Brien: Gotta go with the predictable outcome here, I’m afraid. Dean is in the match to take the fall. Lesnar may also be further protected by finding himself taken out of the equation by the Wyatts. Roman’s pinfall victory over his “brother” will both propel him to ‘Mania and fuel Ambrose’s future heel turn. Finally, HHH’s receipt of the Legacy of Excellence Award on Monday night will serve to restart he and Roman’s oh-so-thrilling program. Yay. Looking forward to six weeks of the insecure nerd telling Reigns he should have a bone through his nose, before hitting him with the Pedigree and pinning him after lying around for five minutes. Or not, whatever.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    PeachMachine: Trips comes to the ring, tosses Lesnar the belt, he drills Romanowski with it for the KO and the win, and Lesnar joins the Authority and is expected to lay down for the game at Mania. And he does with no qualms. HHH is champion forever. Winner: No one.

    James Cox: WWE generally do what is obvious every year en route to WrestleMania. No difference here. Wyatts take out Lesnar and Reigns beats Ambrose. I think the tease an Ambrose/Reigns turn but save it for later. Before the interruptions and post-match shenanigans, I think this will be a great match. All I’ll say, is thank god for Brock Lesnar.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    Kyle S. Johnson: I have to give credit where it’s due in that WWE would be doing a great job of convincing the audience that Brock or Dean might win this match…were it not for the fact that Roman winning is the only possible outcome. Granted, that’s not a bad thing: the story demands Roman against Triple H at Wrestlemania, and so that’s what we’re going to get. What will be interesting is to see how this match is constructed, and how much it teases Ambrose potentially turning heel. Roman’s win will likely be set up by The Wyatts laying out Lesnar as he is primed to win (even if that completely disregards the endless months of Bray’s “anyone but you” mantra), and it makes sense for Dean to take the pin and use the loss as fuel for a vendetta against his former partner after he takes the title back at Wrestlemania.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    Steve Khan: So this should be interesting. They’ve done a good job of focusing on the two guys not named Roman Reigns, leading us to think maybe he won’t win. But he probably will. They’ve changed plans before, but at this point they might as well go with Reigns and Triple H. If the Wyatts cost Lesnar the match, that will cheapen Reigns’ win, so they have to be careful. The Wyatts could abduct Lesnar near the end of the match, leaving it down to Reigns and Ambrose. Reigns can pin Ambrose again, leading to Ambrose’s turn down the line.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

  • Daily pro wrestling history (02/21): Chris Jericho wins World Title; Barry Windham wins NWA World Title

    1951

    Sioux City, Iowa:
    – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated Mike DiBiase

    1961

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Gene Kiniski by countout
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Hard Boiled Haggerty & Len Montana beat Stan Kowalski & Tiny Mills
    – Wilbur Snyder beat Nick Roberts 
    – Jim Hady drew Bob Geigel 

    1974

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Ronnie Etchison defeated Taro Kabayoshi
    – Bull Bullinski defeated Billy Howard
    – Jim Brunzell defeated Bob Orton
    – Reggie Parks defeated Baron Scicluna
    – Tokyo Joe defeated Kit Conway
    – Don Fargo fought Omar Atlas to a double-DQ
    – Texas Death Match: The Viking defeated Lord Alfred Hayes
    – Harley Race defeated Bob Brown via DQ in three falls

    1982

    Denver, Colorado:
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan
    – Hulk Hogan beat Bobby Duncum
    – Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Heenan
    – Ken Patera beat Baron Von Raschke

    1983

    Memphis, Tennessee: 
    – Jerry Lawler won by forfeit over AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel when Nick failed to show
    – No dq Match: Austin Idol beat Jerry Lawler
    – Sheepherders beat Bill Dundee & Steve O
    – Southern Champion Terry Taylor beat Austin Idol
    – Sweet Brown Sugar beat Bobby Eaton to win Mid American Title
    – Adrian Street & Jesse Barr beat Fabulous Ones to win Southern Tag Title
    – Jacques Rougeau beat Dutch Mantel dq

    1993

    WCW SuperBrawl: Ashville, North Carolina:
    – Barry Windham defeated The Great Muta to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title
    – WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Sting in a non -title Leather Strap match
    – Brian Pillman & Steve Austin defeated Erik Watts & Marcus Alexander Bagwell
    – 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Chris Benoit 
    – Davey Boy Smith defeated Bill Irwin 
    – Cactus Jack defeated Paul Orndorff in a Falls Count Anywhere match
    – The Rock N’ Roll Express defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Pritchard & Stan Lane) via disqualification
    – United States Champion Dustin Rhodes defeated Maxx Payne via disqualification

    1999

    WCW SuperBrawl: Oakland, California:
    – Barry Windham & Curt Hennig defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko to win the WCW World Tag Team Titles 
    – Scott Hall defeated Roddy Piper to win the United States Title 
    – Booker T defeated Disco Inferno
    – Chris Jericho defeated Perry Saturn via countout
    – WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr
    – Kevin Nash & Scott Hall (subbing for Lex Luger) defeated Konnan & Rey Mysterio Jr
    – WCW World Television Champion Scott Steiner defeated Diamond Dallas Page
    – Bill Goldberg defeated Bam Bam Bigelow
    – WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair

    2010 

    WWE Elimination Chamber: St. Louis, Missouri:
    – John Cena won the WWE Championship in the Raw Chamber match, but lost the title in an impromptu match against Batista
    – Chris Jericho won the Smackdown Chamber match to win the World Title

    2013

    – Velvet Sky defeated Brooke Tessmacher, Tara and Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts Title
    – Rob Van Dam defeated Kenny King to retain the TNA X Division Title

    2014

    ROH 12th Anniversary Show: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
    – The Decade defeated Adam Page & Mark Briscoe & Cedric Alexander
    – Matt Taven beate Silas Young
    – ROH TV Tomasso Ciampa beat Hanson to retain the title
    – Michael Elgin defeated Rowe
    – Jay Briscoe beat Michael Bennett
    – ROH Tag Team champions ReDragon defeated ACH & Tadarious Thomas to retain the titles
    – AJ Styles defeated Jay Lethal
    – ROH champion Adam Cole beat Chris Hero to retain the title
    – Streetfight: Kevin Steen defeated Cliff Compton

  • Joey Ryan proposes for real in the middle of wrestling match

    There have been a number of wrestlers over the years who have gotten married in a wrestling ring, most notably Uncle Elmer (Stan Frazier) on NBC in the 80s and the iconic Hawaiian cultural moment involving Johnny Barend in Hawaii in the 60s.

    But Joey Ryan of Lucha Underground, coming off pioneering using his penis as an offensive wrestling attacking move, may have done another first last night.

    Ryan was wrestling Laura James in a singles match  last night in San Diego, and in the middle of a match, after a ref bump, Ryan went to a bag for a presumed foreign object, but instead pulled out a ring and got on his knees and asked James to marry him.  She said yes.  They hugged, everyone clapped and cheered, and then Ryan surprised her again, with a small package to pin her.  He explained on the mic after the match that they were married now and he needed “the winner’s half of the purse.”  They are still getting married.

    Congratulations to the happy couple.

    Video of the proposal and the end of the match is here.

  • NXT Albany, NY, live results: Finn Balor & Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin & Samoa Joe

    Report by Jonathan Leung, thank you also to John Gugarty and Jim Caldwell.

    I attended tonight’s NXT show in Albany. Crowd size, at least visually, seemed significantly bigger than their show last May. The wait to get into the Armory was wrapped around at least a few blocks.

    Both the merchandise and food stands were immediately packed upon entry, which pushed the scheduled 7:30 PM belltime back a few minutes. Ring announcer Dasha Fuentes talked with a few fans and held a contest to see who knew the most NXT trivia.

    Asuka beat Eva Marie with the Asuka Lock

    Asuka got a good reaction while Eva Marie got her usual big time heat. Eva Marie looked a bit lost at times and her timing wasn’t the greatest, but it was a fine opener.

    Apollo Crews beat Alex Riley with the Backdrop Powerbomb

    Decent to good match. The crowd liked Crews and his impressive moves, but he seems to be missing that special something right now.

    Carmella beat Peyton Royce with the Headscissors Choke

    Carmella was over, but the match was pretty subpar to be honest. Royce’s offense was very basic.

    Enzo & Big Cass beat the Vaudevillains with the Rocket Launcher on Aiden English

    Really good tag match that got the “This is Awesome” chant towards the end. Enzo & Big Cass were over huge and the Vaudevillains played good heels. Both teams should get a shot on the main roster.

    Intermission

    Sami Zayn beat Elias Samson with the Helluva Kick

    Samson is not good at all. Crowd didn’t like him, his offense was basic, and he blew an over-the-top-rope spot pretty badly. On the other hand, Zayn did everything he could to make it watchable and keep the crowd engaged. A one man show in every sense of the word. Probably the best performance of the night.

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Alexa Bliss with the Bayley-to-Bayley to retain

    Good match. Bayley was unsurprisingly super over and the crowd sang some of the usual support songs for her. Bliss had some nice moments in the match, including a backflip double knee drop and a sunset flip bomb out of the corner that got nice applause. Bayley though was the star and just connects with the crowd like almost nobody in NXT.

    NXT Champion Finn Balor & Austin Aries beat Baron Corbin & Samoa Joe when Balor pinned Corbin with the Bloody Sunday.

    Big reactions for all four. Corbin got good heel heat and not the “You can’t wrestle” heat he had last time in Albany. A methodical pace to start, but things picked up towards the end. Aries seemed on a mission to impress from the get go. Balor sold the ankle after a double stop, but overall seemed like he was close to 100%.

    Fun post main event ending as Balor gave props to Aries, Zayn, Carmella, Enzo, and Big Cass. He then said he was looking for someone and went around ringside and the entrance way, then to the back. Over the mic, he asked Enzo, Big Cass, Carmella, and Zayn if they saw the person he was looking for and they all said no in their own unique ways…

    …which led to a spotlight being shown on Bayley at the entrance way. Balor then came out in Bayley gear to her entrance music and inflatable tube men theatrics. They both got in the ring where Bayley took off her jacket to reveal a Balor Club shirt. Bayley jokingly told Balor how cute he was and asked him what Finn 3:16 was. Balor said that Finn 3:16 says that I just hugged your ass and he proceeded to hug tackle Bayley to the ground to a big pop. The two then greeted fans at ringside to end things.

    Overall, a good show and a really cool way to end things. I’ve been a number of WWE live events around NY in the past few years and there hasn’t been any of the post-match antics that have occured in the past or in other cities. It was basically all business and drive home safely. You can’t help but notice that NXT is such a different and fun environment.

  • WWE Main Event results: More dreadful “comedy” from The New Day and The Social Outcasts

    Neville and Zack Ryder def. Stardust and Tyler Breeze by pinfall

    Jerry Lawler takes his opportunity, during the entrances, to drop his new nickname for his announcing partnership with Rich Brennan: “The King and The Thing”. Lawler reckons that this new moniker is likely to trend far better than #woowoowoo. No arguments here.

    Briefer opening match than usual here, with six-and-a-half minutes aired either side of a commercial break. The heels got the heat on Neville for a while, during which Lawler denigrated the Englishman’s appearance, comparing it unfavourably to Breeze’s good looks. Brennan questions the relevance of such matters, to which King replies that a man with a “face for radio” is always likely to sympathise with those of his own kind.

    Hot tag to Ryder leads into an unusual spot, where Stardust appears to set Zack up for the Queen’s Crossbow, only to hit a reverse DDT instead. Perhaps he momentarily forgot the finish, which saw Neville tag in, hit him with a superkick and land a Red Arrow for the victory.

    Nothing much to this one. Brennan wraps it up by saying that “ the week gets worse” for Stardust and Breeze, who both failed to win the Fatal-5-Way match for the Intercontinental Title on RAW. The fact that both men were booked in that match in the first place, despite their respective win/loss records, is, of course, completely ridiculous.

    Paige def. Summer Rae by submission

    50/50 time! Both women got promo time before this RAW rematch, as Summer bizarrely claimed that as the Divas Revolution has been going on, she’s been “beating them all”, including the people’s “goth goddess”. In reality, her last televised victory before Monday’s win over Paige was an April 2015 defeat of Emma on this very show.

    Paige responds by listing her title credentials, adding that she “didn’t have to dance to do that”. Sick burn. Paige attacks Summer viciously early on, following up by mocking Summer’s entrance dance as her opponent flees to the ramp. Paige chases her down and throws her back in the ring, only for Summer to gain the advantage with a leg lariat, which she follows up with a loooooong headlock. The King alleviates the boredom here by continuing to push #TheKingAndTheThing.

    Paige’s comeback includes her running knee that looks like it will inevitably do some serious damage at some stage. The finish sees her block another leg lariat attempt, before hitting a superkick and locking on the PTO for the tap.

    – The Social Outcasts are out for an in-ring promo, complaining about their omission from the Fastlane card; specifically the absence of a New Day title defence. Adam Rose lists off all the tag teams that the champs will not defend against on Sunday, including “Radwolf” and “The MadHappy Connection”.

    Heath Slater, who is apparently the Moron Whisperer, divines from this that “Radwolf” refers to the Radical Mongoose (Rose) and the Crimson Werewolf (Slater), while the “MadHappy Connection” refers to Axel and Bo. Because one is mad and one is happy. Meanwhile, I am raging to Alex Riley level proportions that I have agreed to document total and complete bilge of this magnitude.

    The New Day then interrupt to inflict more terrible “comedy” upon me. Big E reckons that no-one cares about the Outcasts’ nicknames (he’s right there) and calls them “booty”. Bo responds that he’s “a booty”, which results in an argument about removing the article from the insult. Kofi then does a completely terrible bit decrying the idea of babies teaching adults to walk and caterpillars teaching butterflies to fly, which mercifully ends in Slater finally extending a challenge. Jesus, that was terrible. Like, honestly, from a company that has no earthly idea how to write comedy in 2016 (see the Truth/Goldust skits), that segment might have been the worst yet.

    The New Day def. Curtis Axel, Heath Slater and Adam Rose w/Bo Dallas on commentary by pinfall

    Bo politely greets “Mr. Rich” and “Mr. King” as he takes his place at the announce desk, happily declaring that he’s delighted to be working with “The King and The Thing”. Lawler practically bubbles over with pride that his nickname is getting over.

    The match was about what you’d expect from 15 minutes of two heel teams taking turns to get the heat. Very dull. I’m sure Mr. Belding, who Lawler pointed out in the crowd early on, was far from impressed.

    It’s Xavier Woods’ turn to get beat on in the early part of the match. The Outcasts dodge interference from his buddies before the break, prompting a slow-motion, Chariots of Fire style, Bo Train, which Bo himself leaves the desk to join. After the break, Bo bemoans the fact that he forgot to high five Belding on the way. King helpfully recommends that he high five Rich in the face instead to compensate.

    Woods eventually “hot” tags Big E, which leads to the second heat portion of the match; Adam Rose the victim this time. Eventually, Big E misses an apron splash to Rose, allowing the…ahem….”Radical Mongoose” to spinebuster Woods. The chains are then very much removed, as Axel gets another “hot” tag and cleans house. A Perfect Plex gets two before the bewildering finishing sequence kicks into gear.

    Kofi hits a dropkick to Axel, before going to the top as legal man Woods places a prone Ax-Man back-first on his knee. Bo then feels it necessary to distract the ref, while Rose pushes Kofi off the top, despite the fact that interference has been ongoing throughout the match with no consequences. Axel then looks to finish Woods with an O’Connor Roll, but Woods reverses it, grabbing a handful of tights to secure the victory. What a mess.

    Final Thoughts

    The first half of the show was inoffensive, but the second half – particularly the Outcasts/New Day promo exchange – was dreadful. I have no earthly idea how anyone can write this kind of material down on paper and think it’s funny. Nor do I see any sense in booking a 15 minute heel vs. heel tag team featured contest. Mind boggling stuff.

  • NXT Asbury Park, NJ live results: Samoa Joe & Baron Corbin vs Finn Balor & Sami Zayn

    Submitted by Brandon Cornett

    Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss

    Good opening match. Back and forth at the start, with Asuka obviously being the unstoppable force in the ring. Bliss would roll out of the ring, however, and eventually catch Asuka. She then began to get the heat for the match. As Asuka’s comeback began, Alexa slapped her much like Diana Pirazzo did this past week on the show. The crowd responded with a “You F*cked Up Chant”. Asuka eventually hooked the Asuka Lock and won.

    Apollo Crews vs. Alex Riley

    Perhaps the match that the crowd was least interested in. It went on for a bit, and while it wasn’t a bad match, it did not do much to captures the attention of the crowd. Apollo defeated Riley with his Powerbomb finisher.

    Carmella vs. Peyton Royce

    Carmella came out to a huge ovation from the crowd. As she began her usual mic entrance, she made to correct herself from “the princess of Staten Island” to “the princess of New Jersey”. Peyton Royce came out with her flower gimmick, and as soon as the match started she would hit a move and then sniff the flower.  This happened a couple of times before the ref took away the flower and put it in the corner. This led to Carmella eventually taking the flower and taunting Peyton with it. Carmella won with her headscissors submission.

    Enzo & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillians

    Biggest pop of the night definitely went to Enzo and Big Cass. These guys are massively over in both NY and NJ, and they should definitely be brought to the main roster in front of one of those crowds. The match was any other Enzo and Big Cass match. Enzo took most of the match, tagged in Cass, and then pinned Aiden with the Rocket launcher.

    Austin Aries vs. Elias Sampson

    Sampson came out to perform a song for the crowd in Asbury about how New Jersey sucked. The hatred that fans possess for Sampson is similar to the way they hate Eva Marie. After a couple of minutes, Austin Aries name appeared on the set as his music hit. The crowd went nuts for Aries. The match was definitely Sampson’s best. Aries had many spots where he could show off his athleticism and ultimately won the match using his discus elbow smash.

    NXT Champion Bayley vs. Eva Marie

    Eva came out first, obviously to very heavy boos. A lot of “you can’t wrestle” chants before the match even started. Bayley came out to another huge reaction from this crowd. This match was a lot better than I expected, which could be credited to Bayley or Eva simply getting better. There were no spots that seemed obviously botched, and it seemed very well thought-out. Bayley hit a Bayley-to-belly out of nowhere for the win.

    Samoa Joe & Baron Corbin vs. NXT Champion Finn Balor & Sami Zayn

    Definitely the best match of the night, which is no shock given the talent involved. A lot of the match involved the heels distracting the ref so the other heel could cheat. Sami had a great spot where the heels were both outside of the ring and he was about to dive onto them, but they both dove out of the way so Sami did a flip back into the center of the ring. The crowd was very happy that Finn was there and wrestling. The finish of the match was interesting. Finn does a blind tag as Sami helluva kicks Corbin (non-legal man) while he’s on the apron. Sami then gives another helluva kick to Joe and Finn gives him the Bloody Sunday for the pin.

    The match was followed by a cute segment where Sami put on Finn’s jacket and acted like him. Then Finn put on Sami’s hoodie and hat. Finn made a subtle dig at Sami by saying in order to dress like him he would need the NXT Championship.

  • WWE Youngstown, NY live results: Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus streetfight

    By Matthew Houser

    Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler

    Slow paced for much of first half picked up in second half after close to 20 min of ring time.  Ziggler wins via pin after hitting zig zag.

    WWE Tag Champions The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Usos.

    The New Day retains via pin after Dudleyz hit 3D on an Uso and clear Dudleyz of the ring. Pretty solid 11+ min match.

    Rusev w/Lana vs. Neville

    Lana cuts pre-match promo of basically nothing. Nothing special here. Rusev wins via submission with the accolade after 9 mins.

    The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt ringside) vs. Big Show, Ryback, & Kane 

    Big Show gets big pop after a hot tag. Ryback, Kane, and Big Show win via pin after Big Show choke slam on Erick Rowan. Luke Harper walked off to back right before end of match. Possible injury? Could be nothing.

    Team B.A.D. vs. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks with special guest referee Alicia Fox

    Sasha and Becky win via submission after Naomi taps out to banks statement. Solid 8 min match. Good ring work from Sasha here.

    I-C Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

    Ambrose gets biggest pop of night so far. Ambrose wins by DQ after chair shot after 11 mins. Owens retains. Owens cuts promo about “losers from Ohio” and Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds to send Owens packing.

    Street fight: Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns

    Big pop for Reigns though not sure it beat out Ambrose (because Ambrose from Ohio possibly?). Kendo stick, chair, and tables involved. Each man goes through table. Reigns wins via pin after spearing Sheamus through table. Good 23+ min
    match. 

  • Dada 5000 in stable condition after serious hospitalization

    Dhafir Harris, who fought Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson) as Dada 5000, is now in stable condition after a scary night last night.

    Harris had to be rushed to the hospital last night after collapsing, more out of exhaustion than punishment, in last nigtht’s fight that was stopped in the third round.

    The Harris family released this statement:

    The Harris Family would like to inform Dada’s friends and fans that Dada is ok and resting comfortably in a Houston area Hospital under the care of an incredible staff of doctors and nurses.

    The doctors have now informed us that Dada had accumulated extremely high levels of potassium in his blood which led to severe dehydration, fatigue and renal failure. The high potassium levels were likely caused by his 40lbs weight loss in preparation for the fight.

    Thanks to the EMTs and doctors, Dada is now recovering nicely.

    Dada showed the heart of a lion in the cage- not backing down throughout. He worked extremely hard preparing for the fight and stepped forward for 3 rounds against a tough veteran. He kept digging through the adversity- leaving it all in the cage for his fans and supporters. You can never take that away from him.

    We’d like to thank all those who have supported Dada as well as express our sincere appreciation to Scott Coker, and the good people at BELLATOR and Spike who have been on-site to visit Dada and support the family.

    We ask for the public and media to respect Dada’s privacy as he recovers.

  • Daily pro wrestling history (02/20): Ricky Steamboat wins NWA Title; Bob Backlund wins WWWF Title

    1962

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – Pat O’Connor wrestled AWA Champion Mr. M to a 1 hour time limit draw
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Bob Geigel & Stan Kowalski beat Joe Scarpello & Tiny Mills
    – Nikita Kalmikoff beat Roy Collins
    – Duke Hoffman beat Jack Daniels

    1964

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Bill Miller & Bob Geigel defeated Pat O’Connor & Sonny Myers in three falls
    – The Stomper defeated Fritz Von Erich via DQ

    1965

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat The Crusher
    – Mighty Igor Vodik beat Larry Hennig dq
    – Billy Red Cloud beat Bill Green
    – Ivan Kalmikoff beat Jack Allen
    – Bob Boyer drew Sid Freeman

    1967

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Verne Gagne dq
    – Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher no contest Devils Duo, Angelo Poffo & Chris Markoff
    – Wilbur Snyder beat El Mongol
    – Jack Lanza drew Moose Cholak
    – Mitsu Arakawa beat Reggie Parks

    1973

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Florida Title: Buddy Colt defeated Jack Brisco to win the title
    – Lights Out Match: Mark Lewin defeated Hans Schmidt 
    – Florida Tag Titles: Mike Graham & Kevin Sullivan defeated Bobby Shane & Gorgeous George, Jr. to win the titles
    – Johnny Walker defeated Black Jack Slade 
    – Great Malenko defeated John Wolfman Smith

    1974

    Miami Beach Florida:
    – Canadian Death Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Jos LeDuc 
    – Paul Jones defeated The Texan by dq
    – Florida Title: Buddy Colt no contest Ron Fuller 
    – Cowboy Bill Watts defeated The Jackal 
    – Kevin Sullivan & Haystacks Calhoun defeated Skull Von Stroheim & Tony Romano 
    – The Psycho defeated Tom Jones 

    1975

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Oki Shikina & Chuck O’Connor defeated Tony Russo & Omar Atlas
    – Mike George defeated Bobby Jaggers
    – Central States Women’s Champion Jean Antone defeated Betty Niccoli via DQ in two straight falls
    – The Interns (w/ Dr. Ken Ramey) fought Lord Alfred Hayes & Bob Brown to a double-DQ
    – Jerry Oates & Ted Oates defeated Terry Martin & Tommy Martin in three falls

    1977

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – Andre the Giant ddq AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
    – Ray Stevens beat Bobby Duncum
    – Chris Taylor beat Super Destroyer dq
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Roger Kirby & Blackjack Lanza (sub Bobby Heenan)
    – Pedro Morales beat Blackjack Lanza
    – Angelo Mosca beat Bill Francis

    1978 

    Madison Square Garden: New York City:
    – Bob Backlund defeated Superstar Billy Graham to win the WWWF World Heavyweight Title

    1981

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Nick Bockwinkel
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & John Studd
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Tito Santana & Ray Stevens
    – Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
    – Buck Zumhofe beat Bill Howard
    – Curt Hennig beat Kenny Jay

    1986

    AWA/NWA Star Wars: Baltimore, Maryland:
    – Cage match: Road Warriors beat Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff
    – NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Dusty Rhodes dq
    – Sgt. Slaughter beat AWA Champion Stan Hansen dq
    – Midnight Express beat Rock & Roll Express
    – Magnum TA beat Baron Von Raschke
    – Nick Bockwinkel no contest Larry Zbyszko
    – Tully Blanchard beat Jimmy Valiant
    – Scott Hall beat Boris Zhukov

    1989

    WCW Chi-Town Rumble: Chicago, Illinois:
    – Mike Rotundo defeated Rick Steiner to win the NWA Television Title
    – Lex Luger defeated Barry Windham to win the United States Title
    – NWA World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors defeated Steve Williams & Kevin Sullivan 
    – Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title

    1992

    Niagara Falls, New York:
    – WWF Intercontinental Champion Rowdy Roddy Piper defeated WWF World Champion Ric Flair in a non-title, steel cage match

    2005

    WWE No Way Out: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
    – Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Doug and Danny Basham to win the titles
    – Chavo Guerrero Jr. won the Cruiserweight Title in a gauntlet match
    – John Cena defeated Kurt Angle

    2011 

    WWE Elimination Chamber: Oakland, California:
    – Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel defeated WWE Tag Team champions Vladimir Kozlov & Santino Marella to win the titles
    – WWE Champion the Miz retained the title over Jerry Lawler
    – John Cena won the Raw Elimination Chamber over CM Punk, Randy Orton, R-Truth, John Morrison and Sheamus

  • NJPW/ROH Honor Rising: Jay Lethal defends ROH title against Honma

    On last night’s Honor Rising event, Tomohiro Ishii shocked everyone by beating Roderick Strong for the ROH Television championship. It’s one thing for a title to switch hands, but is it possible for both ROH singles titles to change hands on the same tour two nights in a row? It’s entirely possible as this morning, ROH World champion Jay Lethal faces off against perrenial underdog Tomoaki Honma. While Honma is known for getting the occasional big win when it matters, Lethal not only has been very strong as champion, but his manager Truth Martini is known for getting involved in matches. Will the same happen here tonight, or will Honma reign supreme as a double champion?

    David Finlay vs. Jay White

    Really nice back and forth match. These two will probably be facing off in singles bouts just like Komatsu and Tanaka, and those two always had nice, solid matches. Lots of back and forth with some nice uppercuts by Finlay. White continues to look very good as well. He gets the submission with the Boston crab.

    Jushin Thunder Liger and Matt Sydal vs. Gedo and Delirious

    Not really much of a match but there were some funny antics by the heels. There was a funny moment before the bell where everyone was wondering why Delirious turtled up in the corner. The bell rang, he went crazy…then promptly tagged in Gedo. Gedo was all nice and wanted to shake Liger’s hand twice. Everything was cool the first time, then he jumped him after the second. Babyfaces always seem to fall for that in New Japan. Delirious took a lady’s purse from the front row and used it as a weapon. That’s a new one. Matt Sydal won with the shooting star press on Gedo.

    Delirious mentioned Stokely Hathaway and Cheeseburger (who should have totally been on these cards) after the match.

    Frankie Kazarian vs. Dalton Castle

    Nice match. It was a slow build kind of match, given a lot of time, but things got going pretty well towards the end. People liked Castle but there wasn’t a ton of heat for this which hurt it. There was some comedy to be had here as Castle did a lot of antics to start off the match, including posing with the boys as well as doing a bit with Tiger Hattori where he leaned all the way down to the floor and Hattori counted his shoulders. Fans tried to start some American chants, rooting for Castle, but they never lasted really long. Castle unleashed some great offense towards the end and pinned Kazarian after a tilt a whirl reverse facebuster.

    Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. reDragon, Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto

    Bullet Club were all wearing new shirts. They had their usual eight man tag. They continued teasing something with Goto as he argued with Shibata at one point in the match. He’s had offers from Okada to join Chaos since losing the IWGP title match. Gallows and Anderson teased the Magic Killer but Goto came back and he and Anderson had some good comebacks. Gallows gave Shibata the Gallows Poll for a great near fall. Shibata came back, put him to sleep and hit the penalty kick for the win. Last few minutes were really good.

    Bullet Club all got together and hugged after the match as it’s Anderson and Gallows last match with the company (I’m pretty sure, anyway). Tonga and Fale bowed to them and made their exit. Gallows and Anderson then bowed to all four corners of the ring, then knelt down at the last one. Fans were emotional and so were they. Anderson’s music then hit as they made their exit.

    Moose and Kushida vs. Tetsuya Naito and Bushi

    Fine tag team match. Again, this was to showcase Moose, who is very much over with the crowd in doing his chant. Evil accompanied Naito and Bushi on the outside and aided them in beating up the faces whenever possible. Moose looked really great on offense, especially when having to do the hot top. He even did the Okada dropkick to Naito, who tumbled out of the ring. He pinned Bushi with the spear.

    Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi and Kazuchika Okada

    Pretty good six man bout. It was shaped like a lot of New Japan tags as everyone worked with their rival (Tanahashi/Okada, Strong/Ishii, etc.). A lot of the focus was on Ishii and Strong. Everyone looked pretty good and worked well with one another. Crowd was here and there, but were really into the last few minutes of the match where Yoshi-Hashi got some near falls on Elgin. He overcame them and got the win for his team, pinning Yoshi-Hashi with the buckle bomb and spinning power bomb.

    Ishii and Strong got pulled apart several times after the bell rang, making it clear that there’s probably going to be a rematch down the line for the title. Maybe at the TV tapings at the end of the month?

    NEVER Six Man Tag Team titles: Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes and Toru Yano (c)

    Good match. Omega and the Bucks gel really well togther and helped make the match stand out. Kenny Omega came out wearing a New Day t-shirt saying he’s going to get Austin Creed (Xavier Woods). They have a rivalry going on for the Up Up Down Down show.Cody Hall accompanied the heels and freely interfere in the match, giving the Bullet Club the advantage. Lots of cool tandem work. Yano at one point undid the turnbuckle and laid out Omega with it. It played a part later in the match as all the heels ended up taking the turnbuckle spot.

    Omega went for the hairspray but Yano rolled him up for a very close two count. Eventually the Bucks came back and laid out the Briscoes with a double Indytaker. They laid out Yano and gave him an extra More Bang for Your Buck (with Omega also hitting a swanton bomb) to win the titles. Makes sense as they’ve been building them as The Elite as of late.

    These NEVER titles seem to be like the Hardcore title of New Japan at this point – we’re already on the fourth champions and the belt’s only existed for over a month!

    ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Tomoaki Honma

    Good main event. Not great. Honma looked really good. Lethal looked good in places but the finish was kind of lame considering it happens in every Lethal match in Japan. Started off kinda slow. Good action, but nothing extraordinary. Lethal had him laid out and went for the Lethal Injection but Honma countered with a kokeshi. He took him to the floor and hit another one off the top rope. Honma hit all kinds of kokeshis but missed one off the top rope. Ref bump. In a surprise, suddenly Evil and Bushi came out and helped Martini lay him out with the Book of Truth…only to no sell it! He took out Martini but the distraction was enough as Lethal came back and laid him out with the Lethal Injection to retain the title.

    Lethal wanted to shake Honma’s hand. There seems to be a theme to never trust the heels when it comes to shaking hands, but the babyfaces fall for it every time anyway. Of course, Honma obliged, and immediately Bushi sprayed him with the mist, leaving him a mess on the outside. Seems obvious the next tag title program is GBH and Naito/Evil.

    Truth has the mic and says that Los Ingobernables and Lethal together are unstoppable. Naito then cuts a promo putting over Lethal, calling him his amigo, to end the show.

    Pretty good show. There’s nothing absolutely you need to see, but for a live show this was pretty fun to watch. Hope ROH and New Japan do more shows together in the future as they both have some great talent that really shone on these last two shows.