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  • Figure Four Weekly 2/1/2016: Weekly Hogan/Gawker update

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    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • Daily Update: Chris Leben signs with Bellator, AJ Styles gimmick, Hendricks vs Thompson

    UFC Fight Night on FS1

    The show tonight scheduled for Fox Sports 1 started out as UFC 196 with current heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum against Cain Valezquez in a PPV.  A rematch from a first fight that saw Cain handily beaten by Werdum with a guillotine choke in the 3rd round.  They changed to Werdum against Stipe Miocic and then quickly scratched that out completely when Werdum also claimed an injury.  After a few days the whole show was switched from a PPV to UFC Fight Night to air on Fox Sports 1.  

    Which brings us to the current and final main event of Stephen Thompson vs Johny Hendricks.  Leading into this fight Hendricks fought current welterweight champ twice, beating him in the first and losing the second, both 5 round decisions.  Hendricks then bested Matt Brown in a 3 round decision which was almost a year ago.  Thompson is on a 5 fight win streak since losing a decision to Matt Brown.  He last fought last July against Jake Ellenburger knocking him out with a spinning hook kick!  This should be a good one.

    Also, on the card is Roy Nelson vs Jared Rosholt and Ovince Saint Preux vs Rafael Cavalcante.  This is also the show that has Mickey Gall, who is the potentional opponent for CM Punk for this June or July.  If Gall beats Mike Jackson he will most likely face CM Punk.  This is a near PPV level event and features a lot more talent than most Fox Sports 1 UFC Fight Nights.  It is definitely worth a look.

    Follow along with F4WOnline.com’s live coverage with Dave Meltzer.

    UFC TONIGHT ON FS 1 FROM THE MGM GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS

    Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

    Arten Lobov vs. Alex White

    Mike Jackson vs. Mickey Gall – winner to face C.M. Punk in June

    FS 1 at 8 p.m.

    Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas

    Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins

    Damian Grabowski vs. Derrick Lewis

    K.J. Noons vs. Josh Burkman

    Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer

    Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson

    Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky

    Rafael Feijao Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux

    Jared Rosholt vs. Roy Nelson

    Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson

    WWE has only one show on Sunday, from Abbotsford, BC (Roman Reigns vs. Rusev).

    Raw will be Monday in Seattle.  Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR.  Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 2/1/2016: Weekly Hogan/Gawker update
    A look at the past weeks developments in the Hulk Hogan and Gawker lawsuit.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 8, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Bret Hart diagnosed with cancer, Nakamura’s final NJPW match

    The new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter looks at Bret Hart’s battle with cancer, his discussions about it, and updates on the situation. The most detailed coverage of the last month of Lucha Underground’s second season, backstage news, season three, lots of business notes.  Full coverage of all the Ultima Lucha 2 matches and direction. Nakamura’s final day with NJPW, where Nakamura and New Japan go now, his background and building the IC title, the next two New Japan PPV shows to this weekend’s biggest event.

    Fast Lane and WrestleMania, what’s up with Undertaker, WWE injury updates, the next WWE Network special, Licensing issue with new WWE signees, notes on the next NXT Takeover show, a look at all the TV building the next Takeover show, who led to a huge increase in demand for WWE tickets, next WWE show in Madison Square Garden update, Nakamura updates, WWE performer wants to compete in the Olympics and what former pro wrestler went back to the Olympics to medal, Lesnar’s schedule, Tough Enough winner starts out, Other Tough Enough competitors start out, change in Rumble plans, New WWE Network series based on wrestling matches, new WWE movie, WWE’s tour of Germany this coming week, more on The Rock’s segment on Raw.

    A detailed look at the Awesome Kong-Reby Hardy situation in Manchester, England. Benson Henderson’s decision to leave UFC for Bellator and take a championship fight, why he made the decision, what both Dana White and Henderson said. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s last major event and where it’s storylines are going.

    A huge look at the life and career of Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie, one of the most memorable wrestling characters of his generation, stories about him, his gimmick, how big a star he was in his heyday, his incredibly long career title history, how he was two very different successful characters, and his most famous angles and biggest bouts. We also have a lot of comments from people who knew him, including how he changed the life and career of J.J. Dillon. The life and career of the original Espectrito, the best heel mini of his generation including when he main evented the Los Angeles Sports Arena, a rarity for a mini.

    We also look at Saturday’s UFC , what’s next for the winners, thoughts on Sage Northcutt, as well as business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

    If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. 

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE – February 15, 1988 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A Tale of Two Hebners: All the details on Hulk Hogan losing the WWF title to Andre the Giant in a historic angle, plus tons of news and notes.

    SATURDAY UPDATE

    In case you missed it, former UFC star and the once-retired Chris Leben (22-11) has signed with Bellator, joining fellow TUF 1 cast member Josh Koscheck. No fight or weight class was announced, however. Leben holds the UFC record for most fights in the middleweight division (22) and retired after being KO’d by Uriah Hall in 2013. Fights with Koscheck or even Stephan Bonnar are possibilities. While Leben is now under contract, Bellator reportedly has no interest in free agent and highly ranked UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling.

    WWE/Pro Wrestling

    • Mattel, WWE’s action figure licensee, is reportedly in merger talks with Hasbro, who held the license in the first half of the ‘90s. This would be a pretty huge development in the toy world.
    • AJ Styles confirmed on Chris Jericho’s podcast what was pretty obvious from watching Smackdown, that being that the calf killer will be renamed the calf crusher in WWE, which actually would be the legitimate name for the hold.  He also said Vince McMahon’s idea for his character is The Pitbull, a smaller guy who has to fight for everything he gets.
    • Tough Enough alumnus Patrick Clark made his NXT debut last night in Lakeland.

    UFC/MMA

    MISC

    • It looks like ROH has a new lighting grid that they will start using at tonight’s TV taping at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, which is probably the biggest and nicest arena they’ve shot at to date.
    • A happy go lucky Jim Cornette is back for the latest episode of 6:05 Superpodcast with David Bixenspan and Brian Last talking about a ton of different old-school topics including Randy Savage’s early years, knowing Eddie Gilbert from their teens and then being the last promoter to book him in the continental United States, Stan Lane’s wig, bad audition videos, and much more. As a preview, you can check out Jim doing commentary on one memorably bad audition video on YouTube.
    • At Fightland, Jack Slack goes over some of pro wrestling’s most legitimate techniques.
    • Raymond Rougeau talks about his dealings with the Ultimate Warrior in this video.

    ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: Daily pro wrestling history (02/06): Harley Race wins the NWA World Title

  • WWE Calgary…Alberta, Canada, live results: Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

    Submitted by Dan Thompson

    – The show was held in The Stampede Coral instead of The Saddledome. Much louder crowd than previous visits.

    The Dudleys/Titus O’Neil def Fandango/Adam Rose/Heath Slater

    Fun opener. Dudleys won with a 3D

    Goldust def. Darren Young

    Young attacked Goldust before the bell. Once the bell rang, Goldust pinned Young rather quickly. Match didn’t last longer then 2 minutes if that.

    Natalya/Paige def. Tamina/Naomi

    Natalya got a good hometown pop. Match was really good. Natalya won with the Sharpshooter. After the match, Tamina and Naomi attacked the faces from behind, but Sasha Banks came out to make the save.

    Kane/Big Show/Jericho def The Wyatt Family

    Good match. Jericho always gets a good reception here. Jericho won with the Codebreaker, but I’m not sure if it was Rowan or Harper he pinned.

    > Intermission

    R-Truth def Stardust

    Good comedy match. Lots of “Cody” chants.

    Dolph Ziggler def Tyler Breeze

    Great match. By far, match of the night. Lots of near falls. The crowd was very split lots of Let’s Go Ziggler/ Let’s Go Tyler chants. Ziggler won with the Zigzag by far better then any of the tv matches these two have had.

    Dean Ambrose def Bray Wyatt

    Not a bad match. Crowd was down a bit from the hot Ziggler/Breeze match. Ambrose reversed the sister Abigail for the win.

    Overall, this was a really fun show that worked well in the smaller venue for the house show.

  • UFC Fight Night 82 Hendricks vs Thompson: Wrestling Observer Panel Picks

    If I’ve learned one thing in the world of UFC in 2016, it’s that UFC thinks that the value of a Fabricio Werdum fight is about $60. I say this because tonight’s card was originally scheduled for PPV and when the Werdum heavyweight title defence was pulled from the card, it became a free television show. As a PPV, this show would’ve been a tough sell but as a free card, it’s pretty damned good.

    Former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks returns to the Octagon on his road back to the title, a rising heavyweight takes on a fan favorite but fading contender in Roy Nelson, two former Strikeforce fighters square off with title contention or irrelevancy on line, and two top 10 flyweights will meet in what is perhaps the most relevant fight on the show in terms of an immediate title contender. In the last of our panel picks, two former welterweights move down a weight class in an effort to jumpstart their careers. All of this AND Mickey Gall facing the King of Pop to get a chance to face former WWE Champion CM Punk in the summer!

    Here’s our panel with the 2016 records in parenthesis. We’ve also added a running tally of the records of the favorites going into the fights and the panel consensus picks:

    • John Pollock (11-4; .733) – Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
    • Mike Sawyer (10-5; .667) – Tough Talk MMA
    • Josh Nason (10-5; .667) – Host of Josh Nason’s Punch Out; writer/editor WrestlingObserver.com , WON Twitter guy
    • Steve Juon (9-6; .600) – MMA Mania/Wrestling Observer writer. Angry Marks founder
    • Mike Sempervive (9-6; .600) – Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
    • Ryan Frederick (9-6; .600) – WrestlingObserver.com UFC reporter, WON Twitter guy
    • Consensus picks (8-6; .571)
    • Favorites (8-7; .533)
    • Dave Meltzer (8-7; .533)– Wrestling Observer founder
    • Front Row Brian (7-8; .467) – MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, Podcast host
    • Paul Fontaine (7-8; .467) – MMADraws.com founder, WrestlingObserver.com writer
    • David Bixenspan (7-8; .467) – Figure Four Weekly writer, podcast host

    Johny Hendricks (17-3) vs Steven Thompson (11-1)
    Welterweights

    Remember Johny Hendricks? The guy who’s struggled the last couple of years with his weight? The guy who took GSP to the limit in his final fight, with many believing he actually won the fight? The guy who had a 2 fight, 10 round series with Robbie Lawler that was as even as it could possibly be, coming out of the end of it without his title? Ya, that guy. He’s back and taking on a Karate fighter with a lot of hype and an impressive record and he’s out to prove that he should get the next shot at the 170 lb title. Thompson can knock out anyone with his kicks out of nowhere and this should be a great main event. It’s the first time Hendricks has fought on free TV in almost four years in an interesting note. Our panel does not think there’s much of a doubt in this one.

    Hendricks (sizable favorite): Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Pollock, Front Row Brian, Frederick, Juon, Fontaine, Bix, Meltzer

    Roy Nelson (20-12) vs Jared Rosholt (14-2)
    Heavyweights

    For the 2nd straight week, we have Heavyweights squaring off in the co-main event. Nelson was the TUF 10 champion, which seems like eons ago. In more recent times, he’s lost 6 of his last 7 fights but he’s also fought guys ranked ahead of him for the most part. Rosholt has the exact opposite UFC record, going 6-1 against mostly guys at or below his level although he did score a win over big Stefan Struve in his last fight. But he’s done so in non-typical Heavyweight fashion, grinding out decision wins in all but one of those fights. With a win over Nelson, he’ll likely move into the top 10 and start facing guys at the top of the division.

    Nelson (moderate favorite): Sempervive, Sawyer, Pollock, Frederick, Meltzer
    Rosholt: Nason, Front Row Brian, Juon, Fontaine, Bix

    Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (12-6) vs Ovince St Preux (18-7)
    Light Heavyweights

    Feijao has struggled since coming over from Strikeforce when UFC absorbed the company in 2013. He’s got just one win in 4 UFC fights and this won’t get any easier for him tonight. OSP has fought twice as many times in the same time frame and has a 6-2 record, which propelled him into the top 10. His last 5 wins have all been by finish, with 4 of them coming in the first round. It’s unlikely that either of these guys will ever contend for a title but there should be some great action here. Once  again, there’s no doubt amongst our panel that OSP will emerge victorious. 

    OSP (big favorite): Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Pollock, Front Row Brian, Frederick, Juon, Fontaine, Bix, Meltzer

    Joseph Benavidez (23-4) vs Zach Makovsky (19-6)
    Flyweights

    If flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson didn’t exist, Benavidez would be unbeaten in the UFC and in fact going back to a split decision loss to current Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz in WEC in 2010. Sandwiched around his 11 wins in that time are two losses to Johnson. It’s tough to justify giving him a third shot at the belt but Benavidez is doing what he can to make that happen. His opponent, Makosvsky, should be someone he can handle as he comes in with losses in 2 of his last 3 fights. Benavidez really has almost nothing to gain here with a win but everything to lose.

    Benavidez (huge favorite): Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Pollock, Front Row Brian, Frederick, Juon, Bix, Meltzer
    Makovsky: Fontaine

    Josh Burkman (27-12) vs KJ Noons (13-8)
    Lightweights

    Burkman has had some fun fights since returning to UFC but unfortunately for him, he’s failed to score a victory and has been finished his last two times out. This has led him to make the drop to 155 lbs for the first time in his career as he hopes to get back on the winning track. In fact, his last UFC win was in 2007 and since that time, he’s lost 6 times in the Octagon (with one later being changed to a no-contest). Noons has fought 2 of his last 3 fights at Welterweight but returns to his more familiar weight class here. The former Elite XC Lightweight Champion is one of only two fighters to have KO’d Nick Diaz and has the power to stop anyone in the division.

    Burkman (moderate favorite) – Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Pollock, Front Row Brian, Frederick, Juon, Bix, Meltzer
    Noons: Fontaine

    Two unanimous picks and two near-unanimous picks here and we’re split right down the middle in the co-main event.

    *****

  • Daily pro wrestling history (02/06): Harley Race wins the NWA World Title

    1876 

    Boston, Massachusetts:
    – William Muldoon defeated American Collar-and-Elbow Champion James Owens to win the title

    1911

    Sioux City, Iowa:
    – World Heavyweight Champion Frank Gotch beat Kara Osman 2 falls to 0

    1930

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg beat John Freberg 2 falls to 0

    1958

    Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
    – Lee Fields and Lester Welch defeated The Corsicans (Jean and Joe) to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1964

    Honolulu, Hawaii:
    – Hard Boiled Haggerty defeated Neff Maivia to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title 

    1965

    Detroit, Michigan:
    – The Sheik defeated Johnny Valentine for the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title 

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – Verne Gagne beat AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon dq
    – The Crusher beat Tiny Mills 
    – Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge beat Bob Boyer
    – Reggie Parks beat Nicoli Volkoff

    1967

    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
    – Don Jardine and Dutch Savage defeated Chris and John Tolos to win the Vancouver NWA World Tag Team Titles

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Professor Ito and Tojo Yamamoto defeated Jackie Fargo and Herb Welch for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1968

    Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
    – Bobby Fields won the NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Title from defeating Frank Dalton

    1970

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
    – Abdullah the Butcher defeated Billy Robinson to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Shozo “Strong” Kobayashi 2 out of 3 falls
    – Great Kusatsu & Thunder Sukiyama beat Quasimodo & Monster Roussimoff (Andre the Giant)
    – Michael Nador beat Mighty Inoue
    – Bad Boy Shields beat Tadaharu Tanaka

    Denver, Colorado:
    – The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon 2 out of 3 falls
    – Pepper Gomez beat Butcher Vachon 2 out of 3 falls
    – Harley Race beat Reggie Parks
    – Bob Windham beat Buddy Smith
    – Joe Scarpello drew Jack Pesek

    1971

    Honolulu, Hawaii:
    – King Curtis drew AWA Champion Verne Gagne
    – Frankie Laine beat Ripper Collins to win NWA Hawaiian Title
    – Lonnie Mayne beat Beauregard
    – Don Muraco beat Mr. Fujiwara
    – Dale Lewis beat Pierre Duranton

    1973

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Buddy Colt defeated Mark Lewin to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title

    1975

    Kansas City, Kansas

    – Rufus R. Jones & Haystack Calhoun & The Viking defeated Lord Alfred Hayes & Oki Shikina & Billy Howard
    – Terry Martin defeated Bobby Jaggers
    – Jerry Oates defeated Tommy Martin
    – Mike George defeated Chuck O’Connor (Big John Studd) via DQ
    – The Interns defeated Tony Russo & Ted Oates
    – PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba defeated Dick the Bruiser via DQ
    – World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco defeated Omar Atlas in three falls

    1977

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
    – Harley Race defeated Terry Funk to win the NWA World Title
    – Bobo Brazil defeated The Sheik to win the Toronto NWA United States Heavyweight Title
    – Chief Jay Strongbow and Stan Stasiak defeated Ivan Koloff and The Wolfman
    – Edouard Carpentier and Gino Brito won by disqualification over Tarzan Tyler and Reginald Love 

    1981

    Denver, Colorado:
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura dq 
    – Nick Bockwinkel beat Tito Santana 
    – Bobby Heenan beat Buck Zumhofe
    – Jerry Blackwell drew Billy Robinson
    – Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal

    1983

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) are awarded the AWA Southern Tag Team Title after the title was stripped from The Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd and Luke Williams)

    1984 

    Fort Worth, Texas:
    – Iceman King Parsons defeated The Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) to win the World Class Television Title 

    West Palm Beach, Florida:
    – Black Bart and Ron Bass defeated Mike Davis and Mike Rotundo for the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Titles

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – The Pretty Young Things (Norvell Austin and Sweet Brown Sugar) defeated The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammad) for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles

    1985

    Tampa, Florida:
    -Norvell Austin defeated Jay Youngblood
    -Koko Ware defeated Mark Youngblood
    -Brian Blair defeated Jesse Barr
    -Dutch Mantell defeated Missing Link by disqualification
    -Pez Whatley defeated Southern champ Rick Rude by countout
    -Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy defeated the Assassins

    1988

    St. Joseph, Missouri:
    – Bob Brown and The Cuban Assassin defeated Rick Patterson and Stevie Ray in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Central States Tag Team Titles  

    1990

    Clash of Champions: Corpus Christi, Texas:
    – NWA World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) defeated Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) in a Title vs. Masks match to retain the titles
    – The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Skyscrapers (Dan Spivey and Mark Callous) by disqualification
    – The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson) defeated Gary Hart International (The Dragonmaster, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta) (with Gary Hart)

    Louisville, Kentucky:
    – Robert Fuller and Brian Lee won the USWA Tag Team Titles from The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll and Rex King) 

    1995 

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jerry Lawler defeated Sid Vicious to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title 

    1999

    Nashville, Tennessee:
    – The Tennessee Volunteerz (Steven Dunn and Reno Riggins) defeated The Australians (Bill Dundee and Ashley Hudson) to win the held-up NWA North American Tag Team Titles

    2002

    Jeffersonville, Indiana:
    – Doug Basham and Damaja defeated The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) for the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles

  • NXT Nashville, Tennessee, results: Finn Balor ankle injury

    Editor’s Note: Finn Balor suffered an ankle injury in doing the double foot stomp finisher against Samoa Joe. There is no update past that he left the arena on crutches.

    Submitted by Lou Pickney

    Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss

    Asuka won by submission with the Asuka Lock. Asuka received a strong ovation, and Bliss plays the heel role really well.  Bliss got most of the offense in what was a slow-paced but fun opener, though at one point Asuka slapped her hard across the face.  Asuka has amazing natural charisma, connecting with the crowd without saying a word.

    Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Blake/Murphy

    Blake and Murphy won with the combo suplex/top rope frog splash on Gargano. The crowd cheered Gargano and Ciampa wildly and really didn’t like Blake and Murphy, including the poodle braids or whatever it was in Blake’s hair.  Gargano and Ciampa got most of the offense before the finish.  Solid match.

    Nia Jax vs. Billie Kay

    Nia Jax won with a leg drop in a nothing match. Kay is gorgeous and athletic, but with the lumbering, plodding Jax in there, you couldn’t hope for much from this match.  Luckily they at least kept it short.

    Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn

    Zayn pinned Corbin after hitting the Helluva Kick.  The fans popped big-time for Zayn, who carried Corbin to an excellent match.  And, to his credit, Corbin took a couple of bumps over the top rope that were impressive.  After teasing a pair of planchas early, Zayn hit Corbin outside the ring off the stage area (where the entrance was) with a flip dive to the floor.  Corbin had several great near falls on Zayn and played the heel role well.

    Intermission — Eden Stiles plugged the merchandise, not that she needed to as fans were crowded around it wanting to buy to an almost comical level.

    NXT Tag Champions Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan

    Gable and Jordan won via DQ when one of the D&D team pulled the ref out of the ring as he was about to make a three count.  Gable is as great as advertised, but I was really impressed by Jordan, who is showing considerable improvement.  This ended up being the longest match of the night, and the crowd loved American Alpha and didn’t need much convincing to boo Dash and Dawson. One of D&D screwed up a move early and landed ass-first on Jordan’s head as he laid prone on the mat.  Luckily he seemed to be okay after it, not looking groggy or whatever, but it was the lone legit scare of
    the night.  I would have noted which one landed on him if I hadn’t immediately been more concerned with Jordan’s well-being. Gable and Jordan doing the Rockers/Rock and Roll Express double dropkick is a great spot, by the way.

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Emma

    It’s Bayley (as they actually called her in the ring introduction) won by pinfall after the Belly to Bayley.  As the match began, the smarks in the section next to mine went from tolerably amusing to annoying, cheering for Emma and yelling things like “Bubbles” loud enough to distract the crowd from the match. One especially really loud guy screamed for Emma to “burst her bubble” and a bemused Bayley looked over in the crowd.  I shook my head and pointed at the guy who shouted it, lest she think it was me being disrespectful. On the upside of crowd stuff, the balcony started singing “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie (a song from 1989), replacing baby with Bayley in the chorus. After the match, Bayley did her best to hug the handful of young kids at ringside.

    NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe

    Balor retained his title, pinning Joe after the Coup de Grace.  Balor was doing the Too Sweet thing like crazy as he approached ringside from the stage, then did the gun hand motion that had seemingly the entire house chanting “Bullet Club” very loudly. The annoying smarks tried to start a TNA chant that was quickly booed down.  Match was fine, solid execution as you would expect. After the match, Finn got on the house mic and mentioned that he had wrestled around the world, including spending “a few weeks” in Japan which was clever.  He said he wasn’t kissing ass, but that he’s proudest of what he has done in NXT. He then did the New Age Outlaws gimmick “If you’re not down with that…” and even did the DX-style crotch chop.

    – Eden then plugged Raw on 2/29 one last time and wished the fans a good evening.

    OVERALL:

    – Before the show, ring announcer Dasha Fuentes played a trivia game with two kids for tickets to the 2/29 Raw show in Nashville. The answers were all NXT wrestlers. Some jerk in the balcony yelled out “Chris Benoit” as an answer and got summarily booed and shouted down by the audience. One of the kids hilariously guessed Bull Dempsey on one of the questions, which popped those in the crowd who knew he had been released today.  Another guessed Ultimate Warrior on a question, which amusingly led Eden to remind them that they were talking about NXT wrestlers. In the end, both kids ended up with tickets.

    – Most of the audience was young males, some families and kids but not many. There were a good amount of women there too.

    – Fun show, definitely got my $65 worth for my seventh row seat.  That actually was my first time at the War Memorial Auditorium ever, and it’s amazing that it isn’t used for non-WWE TV tapings of some sort since it has an ideal capacity for a mid-major promotion, a great setup with the balcony area like the Manhattan Center in some ways, and an overall awesome vibe.

  • Holly Holm strikes it big at World MMA Awards

    Holly Holm won four different awards at tonight’s World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. Holm was awarded Female Fighter of the Year, Upset of the Year, Knockout of the Year and Breakthrough Fighter of the Year.  The show was taped in Las Vegas for TV on FS 2 .  We’ll see if Ariel Helwani’s nice speech about me makes the cut.

    Award winners:

    Knockout of the Year: Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey

    Media Source of the Year: MMAFighting.com

    Submission of the Year: Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano

    Fight of the Year: Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald

    Coach of the Year: Rafael Cordeiro

    Reporter of the Year: Ariel Helwani

    Gym of the Year: Jackson/Winkeljohn

    Leading Man: Dana White

    Comeback of the Year: Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez

    Trainer of the Year: Mike Dolce

    Lifetime Achievement Award: Bruce Buffer

    Promotion of the Year: UFC

    Analyst of the Year: Dominick Cruz

    Referee of the Year: John McCarthy

    Upset of the Year: Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey

    Best program: UFC Embedded

    Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Holly Holm

    Ringcard Girl of the Year: Arianny Celeste (who in her speech said this was the silliest award)

    Male Fighter of the Year: Conor McGregor, who cut a taped heel promo

    Female Fighter of the Year: Holly Holm

  • UFC Fight Night 82 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    Another week, another UFC fight card, this time coming from Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC Fight Night 82 is headlined by a welterweight bout between Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson, and below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when making your DraftKings line-up for the event.

    STUDS

    Mickey Gall ($10,900)

    It seems odd that putting a fighter with a 1-0 record making his UFC debut as a top play for fantasy, but Mickey Gall is a top play on this card. He’s fighting Mike Jackson, who is making his professional debut and hasn’t had an amateur MMA fight in some time (he has done boxing and kickboxing bouts though). Gall has a date set against C.M. Punk should he get past Jackson, and he should. Gall doesn’t have the technical skills that make him ready for UFC competition, which is why he gets a debut opponent. This fight is set up for Gall to get a win and move onto Punk, and he probably score a finish as well. Gall is a solid play on the day.

    Ovince Saint Preux ($10,700)

    Ovince Saint Preux is looking to rebound from a disappointing loss to Glover Teixeira in August, and he has a perfect match-up against Rafael Cavalcante on Saturday night. Cavalcante has seemed to regress over the years due to drug suspensions and injuries, and he either knocks his opponent out or gets knocked out. Saint Preux hasn’t suffered a knockout loss in over six years, and he’s much more talented now. Saint Preux is a finisher, winning his last five fights by finish, and he’s got the reach, height and overall advantage over Cavalcante. He likely finishes him inside of two rounds, so he is a very good play on the night.

    VALUE PLAYS

    Stephen Thompson ($9,000)

    Stephen Thompson is rising in the welterweight division, winning five straight fights and looking very impressive in them. He gets the biggest test of his career against Johny Hendricks in the main event, and he has some good value at his salary. That has to do with the bout going five rounds, and I see it going the full 25 minutes. Whether he can win is the big question as Hendricks will likely do enough on the feet and get takedowns to win. Thompson can win the fight if he can keep it on the feet, but that’s a question. I see him as a risk, but he has excellent value in a fight that can go 25 minutes.

    Justin Scoggins ($8,900)

    Justin Scoggins has a tough fight against Ray Borg, but both are solid prospects in the flyweight division who have exciting fights. Scoggins has been a finisher in his career, scoring seven of his ten wins by finish. He only has one UFC win by finish, and Borg is a tough fighter to finish. The difference in salaries between the two seems a little long, but Borg has been on a solid streak lately while Scoggins is just 1-2 in his last three. His salary makes him a good value pick as he has a good chance at scoring an upset over Borg and it will allow you to spend bigger for your roster.

    FIGHTERS TO AVOID

    Artem Lobov ($9,800)

    Artem Lobov scored a whopping one point in his UFC debut against Ryan Hall. Over the course of 15 minutes, he landed two significant strikes. That is it. He is not a UFC caliber fighter, but he gets a second chance against Alex White. It is less than two months after the bout against Hall and in a lower weight class. White is just 1-2 in the UFC, but won his first ten career fights and nine came by stoppage. Lobov is durable and likely won’t be finished, but I don’t see much upside in him or him even getting the win. I recommend avoiding him at all costs.

    Mike Pyle ($9,400)

    Mike Pyle is a veteran fighter, but as he has just turned 40-years-old, it is likely that his career has seen better days. He has lost three of his last four fights, and he was finished quickly in two of those losses. He faces Sean Spencer on Saturday night, and Spencer is a grinder type fighter who can be a sneaky finisher. He hasn’t finished anyone inside the Octagon yet, though, but Pyle’s chin may not be what is used to be. At worst, it will be a grinding affair and Spencer will have the advantage if it goes to the scorecards. Pyle will be a fighter we will be avoiding in our line-ups.

    OUR LINE-UPS

    RYAN FREDERICK- Mickey Gall ($10,900), Ovince Saint Preux ($10,700), Johny Hendricks ($10,400), K.J. Noons ($9,300), Zach Makovsky ($8,600)

    I’m going with Mickey Gall to finish Mike Jackson. There isn’t a lot of research you can do one a guy with one professional bout and two amateur bouts, but the fight is what it is, and I think he gets the finish of Jackson. Ovince Saint Preux has huge upside in his fight against Rafael Cavalcante. Saint Preux is a finisher and he should get one against a fading opponent. Johny Hendricks was a tough choice, but I think the main event goes the distance and he gets the decision on a lot of takedowns, and those score points. K.J. Noons hits hard and with a lot of volume, and Josh Burkman has been a huge disappointment in his UFC return. Noons has a very good chance of getting a finish of Burkman, who has been finished in his last two fights. With my remaining salary, I’m going with Zach Makovsky. Honestly, I don’t think he will beat Joseph Benavidez, but I don’t see him getting finished, which says a lot about the rest of the fighters left with the remaining salary I had. Just going 15 minutes, however the fight goes, should get me more than the rest of the bunch.

    PAUL FONTAINE- Ray Borg ($10,500), Johny Hendricks ($10,400), Damian Grabowski ($9,700), Artem Lobov ($9,800), KJ Noons ($9,300)

    If last week is any indication, your best bet is probably to pick the opponents of everyone on my team. That said, it’s a new week so let’s try this again. Hendricks has lost two fights in the last 5 years and both of those were questionable. He’s a lock in my book to either score an early KO or win a grinding decision in which he lands a lot of strikes.  Grabowski is making his UFC debut but is very experienced and a submission expert. I like him to score a quick stoppage win over Derrick Lewis. Ray Borg has finishing ability at 125, rare for the division. At just 22, he’s a future title challenger and this could be his coming out party. Lobov has a lot of power for the featherweight division and his opponent, Alex White, is susceptible to the KO. After his embarrassing performance at the TUF finale, I like Lobov to rebound here. Noons is a KO specialist and I think the weight cut is going to affect his opponent Josh Burkman more. Burkman hasn’t won since returning to UFC and I don’t think that will change here. 

    PEACH MACHINE- Ovince Saint Preux ($10,700), Johny Hendricks ($10,400), Artem Lobov ($9,800), Derrick Lewis ($9,700), Jared Rosholt ($9,200)

    Another 4-1 week last week. I like my picks again, but this time I went with a couple of heavyweights from which I usually shy away. Derrick Lewis is a monster and I’m banking on an early KO… Same thing with Rosholt. Nelson has lost three in a row and while his heart will still be there, his chin won’t… OSP should be able to take Cavalcante down and beat him that way. That’s the template to win. Should OSP decide to make this a stand up battle, that’s trouble for him… Hendricks better be on his game or he’s done at 170. I’m thinking he’ll get inside and touch Thompson’s chin and get the finish at some point in five rounds… The template to beat Lobov is Ryan Hall. Alex White is not Ryan Hall. Lobov by KO.

  • New Japan on AXS TV results: Okada and Fale battle it out; Gallows & Anderson vs. Bennett & Taven

    This week, we get more matches from Invasion Attack 2015, which took place on April 5 of that year.

    IWGP Tag Team Champions Gallows and Anderson vs. Mike Bennett and Matt Taven

    I should mention that the latter team is mostly just two entities to wrestle while the New Japan cameras oogle over Maria Kanellis.. Not that the Kingdom suck, because they don’t, but really the focus and the draw of the team was always made clear to be Maria.

    I wasn’t into these series of matches. Nothing wrong with them technically, but it never went beyond a certain level and felt like they dragged at times. The big pop or climax of the match always revolved around Anderson being into Maria, and she’d jiggle as the Kingdom made their comeback. The finish of the match was exactly that, with Bennett getting the win on Anderson after hitting their spike piledriver finish. It wasn’t bad, like I said, just utterly fine and acceptable, nothing more.

    Karl said Maria and him were this close to kissing. Doc Gallows came in and said Maria was one dead bitch. Well, that was really nice of him.

    Taven cut a promo saying that winners go home and BLEEP with the prom queens (play Scrabble with?) and made fun of the marks in the back and on Twitter. Bennett said this was the end of the Bullet Club and the start of the Kingdom. I guess Bennett isn’t Nostradamus.

    Next up, no New Japan card is complete without a six man!

    Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Yoshi-Hashi & Tomohiro Ishii

    The focus of this match was on Goto and Nakamura. Everything was really well done. Nothing in here that would be considered truly awesome but everyone did their job well. That’s a core definition of a New Japan six man tag. Nakamura kept doing a binoculars gesture throughout the match as he was “looking for Goto” as he didn’t see him near the Intercontinental title. What he also didn’t see was Goto pinning him with the shouten kai.

    Makabe after the match talked about Ishii, told him not to run away as they’re set to tango for at least the next year over the NEVER title. Goto names himself next in line for an IC title show and says he’ll regret that he picked a fight with him. Nakamura says he still can’t see anything, but Goto is the one not seeing straight as he accepts his challenge.

    It’s Okada in the hot seat this week as he talks about Fale, and how he lost to him quickly in the New Japan Cup. He says he’s very skillful, but not a monster, as he is the monster. He mentions that the appeal of slamming the giant is still something, as he recalls Hogan slamming Andre the Giant. There were a number of factors that ended up playing into this match.

    The main event of this week’s show is up next.

    Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale

    Ranallo is really good, and he totally deserves the Announcer of the Year award, but he need to not repeat himself so often. He keeps talking about “Okada’s failed tenure in a promotion that won’t be named” even though I’ve heard that story many times since watching this show, namely through him. Not a huge deal, but just something worth noting.

    As far as the match goes, it was fine. Okada looked excellent here in laying out the match and being in control. In matches like these, Fale works really well. He’s not what I would call good, but he’s good enough that he can be carried when it comes to high profile matches like these. The match came off very well as this battle between one of New Japan’s best against a dominant opponent who meant business like Fale. They built up the big spot where Okada finally tombstoned Bad Luck Fale, then pinned him with the Rainmaker for the win. Not an all time awesome match, but pretty good thanks to Okada.

    Okada says it was too easy, he felt nothing. Gedo says Okada will move up even further now in the cards. In his reflective interview, he mentions that now that he hit the tombstone on Fale, he feels that momentum is on his side.

    Nice show this week. Nothing off the charts, but plenty of good action throughout.

  • NXT Lakeland, FL, live results: Hype Bros vs. Vaudevillains, Tough Enough Patrick debuts

    – They’re expecting about 250 for this event.

    – Hugo Knox beat Tucker Knight with the split leg moonsault after an evenly fought match. Early on, they allowed the fans to decide who the favorite would be, and tonight, it was Hugo. Tucker wore Hugo down before a hot comeback and the flashy moonsault for the win.

    – Adrian Reese and Mandy beat Aliyah and Daria. Reese controlled most of the match, and picked up the win in a pretty quick match.

    – Riddick Moss beat Patrick from Tough Enough, making his NXT debut. Quick match. The crowd was behind Patrick for his comeback before Moss put him away.

    – Elias Samson beat Chris Girard. Intense action by the former Biff Busick, grunting and laying in his holds. Elias took control and heckled the crowd. Samson picks up the win with his neckbreaker. Before the matc, Tom Phillips interviewed Samson who sings a song about how awful Lakeland is.

    – Apollo Crews beat Tino Sabbateli with the standing moonsault. This is the match of the night thus far. Tino was impressive and was able to keep up with Apollo’s athletic ability. They traded reversals early on with Tino following up by taunting the crowd. By far, this is Tino’s best match which says a lot about Crews.

    – Manny Andrade beat Steve Cutler with the running knees. Manny is winning over the locals with great moves and action.

    – Tom Phillips interviewed Dallas Harper, the 6’9″ signee who was brought in last October. He was wearing classy attire with suspenders and a bowtie. He put down the fans and the town, saying he would not be shucking and jiving.

    – Peyton Royce beat Liv Morgan. Royce took most of this match other than a few Morgan hope spots. These two worked well together.

    – The Hype Bros beat The Vaudevillains in our main event with the Hype Ryder. This featured a lot of Mojo comedy including kicking a field goal out of Aiden English. Vaudevillains broke up one Hype Ryder attempt and almost stole the victory before the Hype Bros hit it and scored the win.