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  • WWE Macon, GA, live results: Roman Reigns super over versus Rusev

    Submitted by Maconga Bacon

    I just got back from the house show tonight in Macon, Georgia. It was a pretty damn good show. Overall, the crowd was pretty non-smarky, very old-school when it came to heel/face alignments.

    WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs. Usos & Ryback

    The New Day, with the first second generation trombone in WWE history opened the show. Unfortunately, they didn’t open the door until 7:15 for a 7:30 show, so most of the crowd was still coming in when they came out. A lot of “NEW DAY SUCKS” chants got going. The finish came when Ryback hit the Shellshock on Xavier Woods and tagged in Jey Uso for the top rope splash. Overall it was a very good match to start with a lot of back and forth action.

    Stardust vs. Titus O’Neil

    Stardust is incredibly charismatic. Fun fact, the Macon Centreplex where the event took place is where Cody Rhodes won some big high school wrestling championship, maybe even the state championship, I didn’t hear the people beside me clearly. Cody came out first and after he finished humping a security guard’s face, he got int he ring and laid down with his chin on his knuckles. When he heard Titus’ music, he just went limp and looked incredibly defeated. That was exactly what happened. Titus pretty much squashed Stardust. Crowd had a lot of “CODY” chants and cheered Titus, although it was a very generic face cheer out of obligation.

    – Kevin Owens promo: Good quick promo by KO. He pointed out that he had wrestled in Macon before, and hated the city. He said he was going to win back his Intercontinental Championship and and get the hell out of the city.

    Los Matadors vs. Hype Bros

    The Hype Bros were not advertised, so this was a surprise. Honestly, the Hype Bros music is so freaking loud it was hard to gauge the reaction, but I was marking out. Mojo is a freak of nature and is charismatic. Ryder seemed bored. He did his stuff, and did most of the ring work, but Mojo was the real star. Hype Bros quickly won and Mojo was amazing, taking photographs at ringside with all the fans. Seemed like an awesome dude, and I can’t wait to see what he does in WWE.

    Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens

    Dean was over with the crowd and the crowd hated Kevin Owens. This match was glorious. These two are so amazing in the ring. After some good back and forth, KO hit the pop-up powerbomb, but Dean kicked out. After that, they had some more back and forth until Dean pulled off the Dirty Deed for the pinfall. Dean Ambrose is a class act. As soon as the match was over, he walked around taking selfies and ringside with the fans and signed a ton of autographs. Dean was OVER with the crowd. I’d say his reaction was #3 of the night.

    Social Outcasts vs. R-Truth & Sandizzle

    Heath Slater and Curtis Axel came out after a quick intermission to pimp autographed merchandise and Wrestlemania. Curtis Axel cut a pretty cool promo about being sick because he ate Bacon…in Macon…He went back and forth with Slater about Macon Bacon, Macon food, Macon in general, and then culminated it by saying it wasn’t the food that made him sick, it was the people. R-Truth was out next to say WHAT’S UP and get the crowd up and going again after the break. His partner, Damien Sandow, worked as Sandizzle, wearing sunglasses and a black doo-rag. I guess Golden Truth is still on the way. Sandizzle used WHOMP THERE IT IS as his catchphrase. He wrestled in his sunglasses the whole match, which was pretty funny. After a lot of crowd hype, and a Bo run around the ring from hashtag Social Outcasts (sans Bo), R-Truth and Sandizzle got the victory.

    – Rusev Promo: Rusev cut a promo from the back stating that when this match was booked, Reigns was the champion, but he robbed him of it at Royal Rumble by putting him through a table. He put over Lana as beautiful, hot, etc.

    Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Paige

    I will say this…. Becky Lynch was OVER! I don’t mean kind of over. I mean, she was #2 pop of the night, and that was constant through the match. The crowd loved her. Paige worked as a face. At this point, she’s reaching Big Show levels of face/heel turns. Charlotte is pretty damn big in real life. I was surprised by how amazing she looked in person compared to how she looks on television. Paige pushed her “THIS IS MY HOUSE” which got a big reaction since she was working as a face. For a triple threat, they didn’t do much with that aspect. Charlotte got a figure four headlock on Becky and it just dragged on for way too long. Most of the time, one diva was outside of the ring recovering. While Becky was out of the ring, Paige locked in the PTO. Becky got back in and broke it up. Becky slapped on the Disarmer and the crowd went crazy, but Paige broke it up. Becky was out of the ring and Charlotte rolled Paige up with tights for the pin. BECKY. WAS. OVER. It was magical. After the match, Paige pulled Becky into the ring and told the crowd it was her birthday. Paige sang Happy Birthday to her with the crowd. Great moment. I uploaded a video of it, but potato quality, so sadface.

    Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

    Man, the place came UNGLUED when Roman came through the crowd. Easily pop #1 by an incredible margin. He got a quick upper hand and then Rusev walked out on the match. He took a microphone and said that since Roman was no longer champion, and it wasn’t a championship match, he was done. Roman ran up the stage and brought him back. Crowd loved that. Roman and Rusev went back and forth until Rusev got the Accolade on. (Remember when that move was incredible?) Roman quickly powered out, got the superman punch, got the spear, and it was over.

  • WWE Chattanooga, TN, live results: KANE VERSUS BRAY WYATT headlines

    Submitted anonymously

    U.S. Champion Kalisto def. Miz 

    Kalisto was really over and the match went really smooth. Miz was a good heel, jawing back and forth with a typical Tennessee wrasslin fan.

    Darren Young def. Fandango

    Literally ended in under 2 minutes.

    Jack Swagger def. Fandango

    Fandango grabs the mic and asks for another opponent and out comes Swagger. Also ended in under two minutes.

    Adam Rose & Bo Dallas def. The Ascension

    Weird match, but Bo was really over just as he was in ATL.

    Big Show/Dudleyz def. Wyatts

    Big match, really fun. Harper was really having fun with the crowd, and Rowan . . . is Rowan.

    Sasha Banks & Tamina def. Alicia Fox & Brie Bella

    Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze

    Fun match they went out and put on a show as expected for a Ziggler match.

    Kane defeated Bray Wyatt via DQ

    Nothing special. Bray was really eccentric and being over the top. DQ ending coming was pretty obvious.

  • NXT Royal Oak, MI, live results: Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews vs Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor

    From the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, MI | Submitted anonymously

    Enzo and Big Cass vs the Vaudevillians

    Enzo did a rap before the match. Vaudevillians have a new heel theme. Lots of comedy spots. Crowd LOVES Enzo. Vaudevillians were pretty over and got cheered until they got the heat on Enzo, Cass got the hot tag, and they won with the rocket launcher move. Fun tag match, crowd was into it.

    Carmella vs Alexa Bliss

    Carmella did her speech before the match. Crowd loved her. Alexa got heat for being from Ohio. Alexa did a really good job of getting the heat and Carmella did a quick comeback and won with her submission. Surprisingly good match that the crowd was pretty into, Alexa had good heat and Carmella got her chants.

    Elias Sampson vs Johnny Gargano

    Elias got a lot of heat early on for some reason. He played a song for Detroit before the match to solid boos and Johnny interrupted him. Johnny was over despite being from Cleveland, even got a “Johnny Wrestling” chant. Back and forth match. Crowd was into the heat spots. Crowd blew up for a dive from Johnny to the outside where there was almost no floor space. There was some near falls and Elias won with his neckbreaker. Crowd booed like hell. Great match. Crowd gave a standing ovation to Johnny after the match.

    Tye Dillinger vs Sami Zayn

    Crowd was into Tye’s entrance. Sami was SUPER over. The story at the beginning of the match was that Sami’s reaction made Tye jealous. The worked heel only to the extent that he wasn’t cheered. Back and forth match where the crowd was into everything Sami did. Some comedy spots with the 10 sign. Tye got the heat, Sami did a comeback and Tye got injured and carried off to the back and they rang the bell. Sami lead a 10 chant and did a speech thanking the fans. Sampson interrupted and beat up Sami and Sami fought him off with a Helluva kick.

    Intermission

    Women’s Champion Bayley vs Nia Jax

    Crowd loved everything Bayley did. The match was similar to their Takeover match. Bayley won with the Belly to Bayley. A fan threw her a Bayley Club shirt and she put it on and celebrated with the crowd afterwards.

    American Alpha vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson

    Gable and Jordan got a huge reaction. Dash and Dawson were also there. Crowd loved Jordan and Gable. Match was back and forth at the beginning and then Dash and Dawson got the heat on Jordan. Gable got the heat and American Alpha did some double team stuff and then Dawson started getting the heat on Gable. Jordan exploded with the hot tag. American Alpha hit their finisher and dash pulled the ref out of the ring and got DQ’ed. Chorus of boos. American Alpha got a standing ovation after the match.

    Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews vs Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor

    All guys got a great reception and Corbin got plenty of boos. Joe and Corbin disposed of Crews and Balor and then Balor turned on Joe. Balor and Crews disposed of Corbin and Joe and shook hands and went back and forth. Now came in and went one and one with Crews. Then Corbin and Crews. Then Corbin and Balor. Then Joe and Balor. Then Joe and Crews. Corbin and Joe double teamed Balor. Corbin turned on Joe again and then put the beat down on Balor. Joe disposed of Balor and put the beat down on Balor and them Balor got a comeback in on everyone and did the stomp to Crews’ back. Match broke down into a four way brawl. Joe had the clutch on Baron, Crews hit the standing moonsault on him and went for a pin, Balor jumped off the top and hit Crews with the Coup de Grace and pinned Corbin for the win and celebrated after the match. Great back and forth match. Crowd was into it the whole time.

    Great show with no real lowlights. Most over was probably Balor or Sami.

  • TNA Impact TV taping results: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode, Matt Hardy vs. EC3

    Submitted by Joe Towner

    For February 28th Impact

    Note that all of these matches were in the Lockdown cage

    Beer Money beat Eric Young and Bram in a cage match with the DWI.

    Decent match. Crowd were hot for Beer Money.

    – Spud and EC3 did a promo, EC3 called Spud the most passionate person he’s ever met and they shook hands. Both guys got very good reactions. Matt Hardy came out with Reby and Tyrus, said ‘this’ was his house, etc. and he would win tonight.

    X Division Champion Trevor Lee (w/Shane Helms) def. Tigre Uno in a cage match

    Lee won with a pin. Another decent match, Uno hit a bit splash off the top of the cage, one of the spots of the night.

    First ever Knockouts Lethal Lockdown match

    The Dollhouse (Jade, Marti Belle and Rebel) vs. Gail Kim (who got one of the bigger pops of the night), Velvet Sky and a mystery partner – it looked like Maria, but they never announced who it was, so not actually sure. She was a redhead. Whoever it was came out last, teased getting in the ring and then locked the door, leaving the faces outnumbered. Dollhouse won. Not a bad match, they had a bunch of weapons in the cage that were used liberally.

    – Kurt Angle did a brief promo, was interrupted by Lashley, Angle challenged him to a fight, Lashley walked away.

    Eli Drake vs. Odarg the Great in a cage match

    Comedy match that was a lot of fun. Grado did a bunch of funny spots, like failing to climb over the cage. Drake did the old Flair bare-ass spot, which got some laughs. Mahabali Shera came out to stop Jesse Godderz interfering. Grado escaped the cage after Drake grabbed his ‘Odarg’ mask and it came off as he fell to the floor.

    TNA Champion Matt Hardy vs. EC3 in a cage match

    Decent match with lots of weapons. Tyrus interfered. Funny spot where EC3 chained Tyrus to the ropes and was poised to hit him with a chair, but Tyrus did the Brodus Clay claw dance while pleading with EC3 not to hit him. Reby then came out with a hammer. Spud stopped her before turning heel on EC3 by slamming his head with the cage door which killed the crowd a little bit.

    For TNA Xplosion! 

    Will Ospreay and Mandrews vs. TNA Tag Champions The Wolves

    Decent match, but only went 6-7 minutes, Mandrews took a nasty bump and was pretty shaken up. Wolves pinned Ospreay with their finisher. Was good while it lasted.

    For March 7th Impact

    Jimmy Havoc vs Abyss – Monsters Ball match

    Abyss wins with the Black Hole Slam into a barbed wire board. Was typical Abyss match. Havoc got a few chants and looked pretty good.

    Mike “The Miracle” Bennett vs Drew Galloway

    Crowd didn’t really know how to react to Mike Bennett, Galloway got a big pop however. Pretty decent TV match, they brawled outside a lot and Bennett won with a roll-up after Maria got involved and distracted Drew.

    Eric Young vs Big Damo

    Bram and Young cut a promo – calling out any challenger. Big Damo responded. He got a similar reaction to Ospreay and Havoc – pretty good, not huge. There were pockets of British indie fans, but many fans probably didn’t know them. Young wins with a piledriver. Okay match.

    Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode

    Angle wins via tap out with ankle lock. Good match, the usual Angle stuff, crowd was really into it. Angle got the biggest pop of the night for his entrance and win. Roode put over Kurt on the mic, James Storm came out and did the same. Storm pulled two beers out of a bag for himself and Roode and then a half gallon of milk for Kurt, that got a nice pop. Kurt drank the milk like Austin drinking a beer. The Wolves’ entrance music played at the wrong time, Kurt covered for it on the mic, Wolves then came out and set up a tag title match with Beer Money for the next show.

    One Night Only PPV matches

    Both were ‘Jokers Wild’ tag matches.

    Tyrus/Jade vs. Bobby Roode and Gail Kim

    Comedy match that the crowd enjoyed. Jade ended up pinning Gail with roll up.

    Eli Drake and James Storm vs. Will Ospreay and Matt Hardy

    Another fun match. Storm superkicked Drake for stealing his beer and then left, at which point Ospreay hit his 450 splash off the top. Hardy tagged himself in and took the pin.

    – Overall, this was a fun show. They packed a lot into four hours, but the crowd stayed pretty hot the whole way. No great matches, but nothing bad either.

  • Daily Update: UFC on FOX, Ronda Rousey body paint!

    UFC on FOX tonight!

    Ryan Bader vs Anthony Johnson will be fighting later tonight in Newark, NJ.  Bader will need this win to keep his title shot hopes alive.  Like all Anthony Johnson fights the plan should be to take him into the later rounds and pick him apart then look to take him down and either submit Johnson or grind out a decision.  If Bader can survive Johnson’s power in the first round or two then he has a chance though he is certainly an underdog.

    Josh Barnett will take on Ben Rothwell.  With the ever changing injury situation and shallow talent pool with the heavy weights either one of these men could earn a possible title shot with a win.  This is an intruiging fight in that they are both long time vets and there isn’t much either one of them hasn’t seen before.  We also get to see if the Sage Northcutt hype train can keep a chuggin’ against Bryan Barbarena, who was a late replacement for Andrew Holbrook.  Northcutt in 3 months with the UFC is already having his third fight.  This next fight seems to be a step up in competition for the talented Northcutt but UFC is certianly bringing him along slowly.  Northcutt is a must see at the post-fight press conference.

    UFC ON FOX ON SATURDAY FROM THE PRUDENTIAL CENTER IN NEWARK, NJ  – Follow along live with F4WOnline.com’s Ryan Frederick.

    Fight Pass at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time

    Randy Brown vs. Matt Dwyer

    Tony Martin vs. Felipe Olivieri

    Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili

    FS 1 at 5 p.m.

    Alex Bruce Leroy Caceres vs. Masio Fullen

    George Sullivan vs. Alexander Yakovlev

    Wilson Reis vs. Dustin Ortiz

    Kevin Casey vs. Rafael Natal

    Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Diego Ferreira

    Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine

    FOX at 10 p.m.

    Sage Northcutt vs. Bryan Barbarena

    Iuri Alcantara vs. Jimmie Rivera

    Ben Rothwell vs. Josh Barnett

    Anthony Rumble Johnson vs. Ryan Bader

    PRO WRESTLING NOAH SUNDAY FROM YOKOHAMA BUNKA GYM

    Yoshihiro Takayama & Quiet Storm & Hajime Ohara & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Akitoshi Saito & Hitoshi Kumano & Kaito Kiyomiya

    Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

    Shelton Benjamin vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya

    Maybach Taniguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka

    Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Taka Michinoku & Taichi for GHC jr. tag titles

    Taiji Ishimori vs. Kenou for GHC jr. title 

    Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Mohammed Yone & Katsuhiko Nakajima for GHC tag titles

    Minoru Suzuki vs. Go Shiozaki

    Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura for GHC heavyweight title

    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!  The latest video is “Kill that Mole”.  A silent film we created a few years ago starring Bryan and Vince.

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 1/18/2016: Gawker’s motion to dismiss Hulk Hogan lawsuit denied
    Gawker’s motion to dismiss the Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit is denied, plus news and notes

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 1, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2016 Royal Rumble, Road to Wrestlemania, more

    Coverage of the Royal Rumble and where things lead to WrestleMania is the lead story in a jam-packed news issue of the Wrestling Observer.  TNA’s statements regarding A.J. Styles, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, the timing, what is accurate, and a lot that wasn’t in those statements as to why the deal didn’t happen. The process that led the stars from New Japan and more. The Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum injuries and title match cancellation and what directions UFC took to try and save it.  More on the injury to Hiroshi Tanahashi, the death of Archie “Mongolian Stomper” Gouldie, some stories about his life and career.  WWE Hall of Fame class of 2016, New Japan Fantatstica Mania tour with full rundowns and stories behind it, Nikki Bella injury and what led to the increase in ratings for Raw and Smackdown.

    The story behind why HHH won the title, why it was the right booking decision given the destination, questions about the execution, the confusing Fast Lane main event, what the original booking plan was behind Roman Reigns ascension to the top and why it was so hard for Vince McMahon to decide against his winning at last year’s WrestleMania, and questions about the crowds at Fast Lane and Mania for the main events. Update WrestleMania, chart out the Royal Rumble with how long everyone was in, eliminations, and news, Rumble business, poll results and match-by-match results with star ratings. 

    The situation with New Japan losing talent, and how the CMLL stars did on the tour.

    The arrival of Shinsuke Nakamura to WWE and why he’s in NXT, an update on Daniel Bryan, NXT finances for talent, another endorsement deal for Dwayne Johnson, notes on the next WWE network live special, updates on NXT talent coming to the main roster, lots of WWE injury notes, WWE plans for post-Mania and the European tour, Lesnar dates, details on NXT tapings as well as details on all the weekend WWE events.

    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

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    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: December 28, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Bischoff gets historic NBC deal, WCW files lawsuit against WWF over Wrestling With Shadows, more  Eric Bischoff and NBC work out a historic deal to air WCW on NBC, WCW files a lawsuit against WWF over Wrestling With Shadows, plus tons of news.

    SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

    WWE/Pro Wrestling

    UFC/MMA

    • Ronda Rousey got bodypainted again for a second Sports Illustrated photo shoot.
    • Despite spending all of his time before, during and after his main event fight last night for Bellator talking about Josh Koscheck, Paul Daley apparently wants a fight with Wanderlei Silva as he told reporters following last night’s Bellator 148. Scott Coker later commented that he’s not interested in signing the former UFC fighter and former Pride Grand Prix Champion and doesn’t think the fight will happen.
    • ONE Championships main card results from Malaysia on Friday – Ev Ting 3rd round sub over Eric Kelly; Eduard Foloyang dec over Tetsuya Yamada; Jake Butler 1st round KO over Tatsuya Mizuno; Geje Eustaquio 1st round KO over Saiful Merican; Samir Mrabet 2nd round sub over Sami Amin; Keanu Subba 1st round KO over Rayner Kinsiong
    • Victory FC 47 on UFC Fight Pass main card results from Omaha on Friday – Anthony Smith 1st round KO over Josh Neer; Jarred Mercado 2nd round sub over Alonzo Martinez; Dakota Cochrane 3rd round sub over Jake Lindsey; Cody Carrillo 1st round sub over Sean Wilson; Yuri Villefort 1st round KO over Kenneth Glenn; Grant Dawson 2nd round TKO over Bryce Logan

    ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: Daily pro wrestling history (01/30): Williams & Gordy win AJPW Tag Team Titles

    If you’re planning on attending Wrestlemania 32 and would like to be part of the Empire fun, please contact our self appointed Executive Director of events, Eddie Loredo for more information. You can contact him directly at f4wfan@hotmail.com – Or check out our Empire Get-Together section on the BOARD~! 

  • TNA confirms Awesome Kong’s backstage incident with Reby Sky

    Awesome Kong was sent home yesterday from the TNA tapings in the U.K. after a backstage incident involving Reby Hardy, the wife of Matt Hardy.

    TNA confirmed the incident with a statement by John Gaburick, stating, “Prior to the Impact Wrestling TV tapings at the Manchester Arena, Kia Stevens (Awesome Kong) was involved in an incident involving Rebecca Hardy (Reby Sky).  Subsequently, Kia was removed from the tour and returned to the United States.  The matter is being reviewed to determine if additional disciplinary action will be taken.”

    According to sources in TNA, an argument had started between the two over some things that happened several years ago.  PW Insider reported that as being a 2013 Kayfabe Commentaries DVD during a segment labeled “The Ho Bag,” where Kong knocked Hardy, which was taken from Sky making comments on Twitter about Sid Vicious missing an independent date. Hardy later had words about Kong in a Q&A when asked about Kong’s statements on the DVD, saying they even texted back and forth and if she still has a problem, she labeled it as being fake to her face and talking behind her back.

    Kong then got mad at Hardy for dressing in the womens’ dressing room. Kong wanted her to apologize.  She left, and that Kong went after her and was restrained.

    Kong has had a number of incidents including an attack of Bubba the Love Sponge when Bubba said “F*** Haiti” on a radio broadcast, and a social media video where Kong compared working in TNA to slavery.  She was eventually one of the first major signings of Paul Levesque in WWE, but got pregnant very quickly after debuting on television.  She had publicly talked about giving birth, although later admitted it was a hoax and she had lost the child.  After being let go by WWE, which was not aware of the hoax at the time, she returned to TNA.

  • UFC on FOX 18 Observer Panel Picks Anthony Johnson vs Ryan Bader

    UFC on FOX 18 airs Saturday evening, or afternoon depending on where you are. The first big FOX show of 2016 brings us a #1 contender’s bout at Light Heavyweight between former title challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and perennial contender Ryan Bader. Two interesting bouts in the Heavyweight and Bantamweight division involving fighters just outside of title contention are also featured. In the opener of the main card, it should be the coming out party for “Super” Sage Northcutt, as he has his first fight on TV in the UFC after his first two aired on Fight Pass.

    It should be fun card with title implications  both in the near and distant future. The show kicks off on Fight Pass at 3:30 pm eastern with 3 fights. The action moves over to FS 1 at 5 with that portion of the prelims and the main card kicks off on FOX at 8.  

    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 (8-2; .800) – Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
    • Mike Sawyer (7-3; .700) – Tough Talk MMA
    • Josh Nason (6-4; .600) – Host of Josh Nason’s Punch Out; writer/editor WrestlingObserver.com , WON Twitter guy
    • Steve Juon (6-4; .600) – MMA Mania/Wrestling Observer writer. Angry Marks founder
    • Mike Sempervive (6-4; .600) – Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
    • Ryan Frederick (6-4; .600) – WrestlingObserver.com UFC reporter, WON Twitter guy
    • Consensus picks (5-4; .556)
    • Front Row Brian (5-5; .500) – MMA newsbreaker, Beloved internet personality, Podcast host
    • Paul Fontaine (5-5; .500) – MMADraws.com founder, WrestlingObserver.com writer
    • Favorites (5-5; .500)
    • Dave Meltzer (4-6; .400)– Wrestling Observer founder
    • David Bixenspan (4-6; .400) – Figure Four Weekly writer, podcast host

    Light Heavyweights Anthony Johnson (20-5) vs Ryan Bader (20-4)

    Ryan Bader has been on a tear, running up 5 straight wins as he works his way toward the title shot that’s eluded him his entire career. He hasn’t looked terribly impressive in doing so, however. Should he get past Rumble, there’s no way he can be denied that shot though. Johnson has perhaps the best power of anyone in all of MMA and has competed in every weight class from Welterweight all the way up to Heavyweight. He’s found his sweet spot at 205 and while making weight has been an issue in the past, he weight in yesterday with his jeans on so he obviously felt confident he’d make it with no issues.

    Johnson (big favorite) – Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Juon, Frederick, Pollock, Meltzer

    Bader – Front Row Brian, Fontaine, Bixenspan

    Heavyweights Josh Barnett (34-7) vs Ben Rothwell (35-9)

    Barnett is a former UFC champion who is coming off a very impressive win over top 10 fighter Roy Nelson. It would’ve seemed unlikely that Barnett would ever get back into title contention but with the combination of a weak heavyweight division and the impressive wins he’s had, he could get there with a win over Rothwell. Rothwell has 3 straight wins over top competition and got a lot of attention with his post-fight promo last time out. He’s been very vocal about wanting a title shot and, like Barnett, he’s only one or two wins away from getting there. This is a big fight for both guys.

    Barnett (slight favorite) – Sempervive, Sawyer, Juon, Frederick, Fontaine, Bixenspan

    Rothwell – Nason, Front Row Brian, Pollock, Meltzer

    Bantamweights Iuri Alcantara (33-6) vs Jimmie Rivera (18-1)

    These two got some screen time in the “Road to the Octagon” special that aired online as well as on FOX last weekend. Rivera in particular came off extremely likeable. He’s kind of come out of nowhere with that impressive record but he’s a tough veteran who should have the support of the locals in New Jersey. Alcantara’s been a title contender since moving over from WEC in 2011 but a couple of key losses have kept him away from the elite in the division. The title picture at 135 seems pretty tied up with the Dillashaw/Cruz/Faber trio but the winner here could end up right at that next level of contenders once all  of that shakes out.

    Rivera (moderate favorite) – Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Front Row Brian, Juon, Frederick, Fontaine, Meltzer, Bixenspan

    Alcantara – Pollock

    Welterweights Sage Northcutt (7-0) vs Bryan Barberena (10-3)

    Northcutt, aka Zack Morris 2.0, is a future star in case you didn’t know. He’s finished every one of his pro opponents, including both of his UFC fights. He’s starting to get some negative backlash from fans who feel he’s overpushed and also that his squeaky clean image, including quoting bible verses in his promos, may be a little fake. All that aside, he’s relentless in the Octagon and this should be a showcase fight for him. Barbarena took the fight on two weeks notice and as a result, it’s being contested at 170, rather than at 155 where these two normally fight. Barbarena has looked okay in his two previous UFC fights but anything but a stoppage win for Northcutt would be a big surprise and a blow  to the UFC’s future plans.

    Northcutt (big favorite) – Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Front Row Brian, Juon, Frederick, Pollock, Fontaine, Meltzer

    Barberena – Bixenspan

    Welterweights Tarec Saffiedine (15-4) vs Jake Ellenberger (30-10)

    A battle of veteran Welterweights headlines the FS 1 prelims and rounds out our panel picks. Saffiedine is back after nearly 16 months away. He was last seen getting KO’d by Rory McDonald at UFC Halifax and will be in his first non-Main event for UFC here. The former Strikeforce Champion is still just 29 and could be a future title challenger should he rack up a few big wins. Ellenberger is probably fighting for his job tonight. He suffered a brutal first round KO at the hands of Wonderboy Thompson last time out and that was his 4th loss in his last 5  fights. That said, the guys he lost to were all top names in the division in Robbie Lawler, Rory McDonald, Kelvin Gastelum and Thompson. Ellenberger may have lost a step but can he dip into the well and pull out a win here? We’ll have to see, although odds are certainly against it.

    Saffiedine (big favorite) – Sempervive, Nason, Sawyer, Juon, Frederick, Pollock, Meltzer, Bixenspan

    Ellenberger – Front Row Brian, Fontaine

    Ryan Frederick will be providing live coverage of the show starting with the Fight Pass prelims. In the meantime, check out the following content relating to this show:

    UFC on FOX 18 Draft Kings Playbook

    UFC on FOX 18 weigh-ins results and video

  • NJPW-bound Will Ospreay loses planned TNA push – Updated

    Will Ospreay, one of the United Kingdom’s most talked about young wrestlers, debuted tonight with TNA but ended up losing in just five minutes in what was either a dark match or a match taped for Xplosion against Mark “Mandrews” Andrews.

    Apparently, the plan was to push Ospreay but TNA found out that he had signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling and decided not to put him on the main show. It is not certain when Ospreay will debut with New Japan other than he had been scheduled to be in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament in May and June.

    Those in Japan have said that Ospreay has not been signed, but did confirm he would debut with the company at the Invasion Attack PPV on 4/10 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo and is working the Best of the Super Juniors tour.

    Rockstar Spud on Twitter claimed it wasn’t true and that there was just a time cue messed up and the Ospreay vs. Mark Andrews opener (which was not taped for Impact, it was either a dark match or an Xplosion match) was supposed to go longer.  I’m not sure how that’s relevant to the story unless they messed up the finish and he was supposed to win that match.

    The 22-year-old Ospreay has mainly worked in Progress, IPW-UK, and RPW, and competed in the 2015 PWG Battle of Los Angeles, advancing to the semifinals.

    Jimmy Havoc and Big Damo, the other U.K. stars scheduled to debut on this tour, as of right now are expected to be on the Impact shows taped tomorrow at Wembley in London.

    The dates listed in Stephen Lyon’s report for the shows may not be correct.  Jeremy Borash said to the live crowd several times that the shows taped would air on 2/2 and 2/9 in the U.S. and 2/7 and 2/14 in the U.K.

    That may be accurate, except there is still one more week of television taped in Bethlehem, PA that hasn’t aired, which features the Trevor Lee X division title win over Tigre Uno.  If that show does air, then the dates would move to 2/9 and 2/16 in the U.S. and 2/14 and 2/21 in the U.K.

  • WWE Main Event results: Rusev and Ryback renew old acquaintances

    Kevin Owens def. Jack Swagger via pinfall

    Hardly a banner Royal Rumble for either of these guys. Swagger, who according to his ring introduction is still very much “a real American”, suffered the ignominy of the shortest stay in this year’s Rumble match. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens incurred the double blow of losing to Dean Ambrose and getting tossed from the Rumble by arch-rival, Sami Zayn.

    Very good TV match here, that hovered around the 15-minute mark (including commercials). The early exchanges are enlivened by a typically talkative Kevin Owens, who admonishes the referee for not letting him stay in the ropes indefinitely to escape Swagger’s ankle-based intentions: “I’m allowed to do that! What’s your problem!?”

    The mid-match commercial break is also bookended by a “WE ARE IDIOTS!” chant from Owens and a rousing rendition of “Oh Canada!”, as Swagger struggles to escape Chinlock City.

    Great workrate from both men in this one; Owens ate a running clothesline on the outside after taking a powder to avoid Swagger’s comeback, while Swagger took his face-first bump onto the ringsteps after being tossed over the top rope. Both men also nailed a German suplex apiece, with Swagger hitting his after a brilliant reversal of the Pop-Up Powerbomb into a Patriot Lock attempt.

    Owen’s second failed attempt at his finish is also reversed into a roll-up for two, before he finally nails it seconds later when Swagger drives his own shoulder into the ringpost off a dodged corner charge.

    Another excellent showing for Swagger, who has burnished his babyface credentials on this show of late; add this to his two very watchable 10+ minute outings against Stardust and The Miz in the last couple of months. Credit to Owens for giving him so much too.

    The Dudley Boyz def. The Ascension via pinfall

    I’m sure the Dudleys were delighted to see Konnor and Viktor’s names beside theirs on the format sheet; The Ascension were the last team that Bubba and D-Von defeated in a straight tag match on RAW – on November 16th of last year.

    We get the usual five-minute second match here. Very early “hot” tag to Bubba signals an even quicker ending, only for Konnor to save Viktor from the Wassup headbutt by crotching D-Von on the top rope.

    Quick heat segment (featuring Viktor’s awesome-looking STO), before the hot tag to D-Von, who runs through his usual offensive repertoire. Blind tag and a Reverse 3-D to Konnor follows, before a Bubba big boot heads off Konnor’s attempted interference. Viktor eats the regular 3-D to wrap it up for the Dudleys and compensate somewhat for last week’s unfortunate defeat at the hands of the Social Outcasts.

    – Rusev and Be-A-STAR candidate, Lana, are backstage with Jojo, who wonders if the powerbomb Rusev suffered on RAW will affect his performance against Ryback tonight. Lana responds that “nothing affects the super-athlete”, with the Bulgarian Brute adding that he intends to destroy “The Ryback” tonight.

    Rusev w/Lana def. Ryback by submission

    This, of course, is the dumb feud they dropped after Lana’s social media activity made her persona non grata in the company. Lawler briefly references her punishment – Lana’s part in The Rock’s promo on Monday night – at the beginning of the match, only for Rich Brennan to cut him off: “Should we repeat that!?…..is it family friendly?” No, Rich. It’s not.

    Decent 10+ minute match here, that was admittedly pretty boring prior to Ryback’s comeback, but picked up significantly forthwith – the turning point being a back-and-forth battle to suplex each other over the top rope. Ryback wins, bringing Rusev from the apron to the ring, before again busting out Punk’s high knee into the corner.

    The Ryback also hits a top rope missile dropkick and brings back his old backpack stunner maneuver to kick off the nearfalls segment of the match. Ryback appears to be responding to criticism of his work in a similar fashion to John Cena, by expanding his moveset – which, ironically, is arguably the least important element of what makes one a great worker.

    A failed Shellshock sees Ryback almost get pushed into Lana, who had positioned herself on the apron. He gets a slap to the face for his troubles, but the roll-up from Rusev only gets two. Ryback then returns the superkick he received earlier, as if he is now absorbing the signature moves of his opponents. This also gets two.

    A second Shellshock attempt then also fails, as Rusev grabs the ropes. Ryback’s workrate aspirations then finally cost him, as a high knee from the top misses, allowing Rusev to hit another superkick and lock in the Accolade. Ryback doesn’t tap, but is deemed to have passed out by referee, Charles Robinson. Rusev celebrates vigorously in front of the large flag bearing his own visage as the show goes off the air.

    Final Thoughts

    Unquestionably the best outing for Main Event this year, with two good-to-very good 10+ minute matches. It’s particularly worth going out of one’s way to see Kevin Owens’ match with Jack Swagger, who has turned in some truly excellent work on this show over the last couple of months.

  • Daily pro wrestling history (01/30): Williams & Gordy win AJPW Tag Team Titles

    1904 

    London, England:
    – George Hackenschmidt defeated Ahmed Madrali to become the recognized undisputed World Heavyweight Champion

    1947

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – MWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat Everette Marshall in 2 of 3 falls to retain title
    – George Becker beat Ray Schwarz 
    – Tom Zaharias beat Frank Jares 

    1948

    Houston, Texas:
    – Yukon Eric defeated Sonny Myers for the Texas Heavyweight Title 

    1951

    San Francisco, California:
    – Ben and Mike Sharpe defeated Primo Carnera and Sandor Szabo to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – Bronko Nagurski beat Hans Hermann 
    – Al Mills beat Ivan Kalmerkoff 
    – Red Bastien drew Con Bruno (sub for Ole Olsen)

    1959

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
    – Maurice and Paul Vachon defeated George and Sandy Scott to win the Stampede International Tag Team Titles

    1963

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
    – Eduardo Carpentier defeated Killer Kowalski to win Montreal’s World Heavyweight Title

    1964

    Los Angeles, California:
    – Fred Blassie won the WWA World Heavyweight Title by defeating Edouard Carpentier

    1967

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jackie Fargo and Herb Welch defeated Professor Ito (Umanosuke Ueda) and Tojo Yamamoto to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1968 

    Dallas, Texas:
    – Billy Red Lyons and Fritz Von Erich defeated Spiler #1 (Don Jardine) and Gary Hart for the NWA American Tag Team Titles

    1970

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
    – Abdullah the Butcher defeated Dave Ruhl to win the Calgary NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title 

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Nick Bockwinkel defeated Joe Scarpa (Chief Jay Strongbow) for the NWA Georgia Television Title 

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – Danny Hodge won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title by defeating Umanosuke Ueda

    Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
    – The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon
    – Edouard Carpentier beat Blackjack Lanza dq
    – Flying Redheads Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons beat Larry Hennig & Lars Anderson

    1972

    Pensacola, Florida:
    – Eddie Sullivan and Rip Tyler defeated Mike Boyette and Bob Kelly for the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Titles

    1976

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Dusty Rhodes defeated The Spoiler to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title

    1977

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – non title match: Ray Stevens & Larry Hennig beat AWA Tag Team Champions Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum
    – Pedro Morales no contest Super Destroyer
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke
    – Bill Francis drew Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Shiek)
    – Peter Maivia beat Pierre Poisson

    1980

    Miami Stadium Show: Miami, Florida:
    – Bunkhouse Match: Dusty Rhodes & Manny Fernandez defeated Bugsy McGraw & Bad Leroy Brown
    – Special Challenge Match: Mike Graham defeated The Super Destroyer by countout
    – Jack Brisco defeated Nikolai Volkoff by dq
    – Don Diamond & Jim Garvin & Jerry Brisco defeated Frank Monte & Bryan St. John & Stan Lane
    – Hector Guerrero beat Terry Taylor
    – Twin Devils defeated Mike Miller & Gordon Nelson
    – Don Serrano drew Luis Astea

    Omaha, Nebraska:
    – Mad Dog Vachon beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq
    – The Crusher & Lord Alfred Hayes beat Super Destroyer Mark II & Bobby Heenan
    – Adrian Adonis beat Greg Gagne
    – Dino Bravo drew Jesse Ventura
    – Steve Olsonoski beat Jerry Blackwell

    1981

    Orlando, Florida:
    – Loser of fall must leave town for 30 days: Dusty Rhodes & Sweet Brown Sugar defeated Assassin I & Assassin 3 (sub for Dick Murdoch)
    – Florida Title: Barry Windham double count out with The Sheik
    – RT Tyler & Bobby Jaggers defeated Bugsy McGraw & Gerald Finley
    – Florida TV Title: Baron Von Raschke drew Mike Graham
    – Jerry Brisco defeated Chris Markoff
    – NWA Junior Title: Les Thornton defeated Mike Davis
    – Superfly I beat Reggie Parks

    1982

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – Andre The Giant beat Jerry Blackwell
    – Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Hulk Hogan & Tito Santana
    – Sheik Adnan beat Baron Von Raschke
    – Greg Gagne beat Sgt. Goulet
    – Brad Rheingans beat Tom Stone
    – Bobby Heenan beat Buck Zumhofe dq
    – Andre won a battle royal

    Fuchu, Japan:
    – Stan Hansen & Kelly Kiniski & Nikolai Volkoff beat Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta & Rocky Hata
    – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Ashura Hara
    – Pat O’Connor beat Prince Tonga
    – Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras beat Genichiro Tenryu & Mighty Inoue
    – Gypsy Joe beat Sugawara
    – Alfonso Dantes beat Mr. Hayashi

    1983

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jacques Rougeau defeated Terry Taylor for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title 

    1984 

     WCCW Star Wars: Fort Worth, Texas:
    – The Super Destroyers (Bill and WCCW Television Champion Scott Irwin) defeated WCCW American Tag Team Champions Brian Adias and Iceman King Parsons to win the titles
    – WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Champion Chris Adams defeated WCCW American Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Garvin to win the Heavyweight title

    1985

    Miami Beach, Florida:
    – Steel Cage Match (Loser of the fall leaves town)-Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy defeated Boris Zhukov & The Saint & Krusher Khruschev
    – Butch Reed & Sweet Brown Sugar defeated PYTs
    – Southern Title: Pistol Pez Whatley defeated Rick Rude by dq
    – First Blood Match: Brian Blair defeated Jesse Barr
    – Dutch Mantell beat King Cobra
    – Missing Link defeated Jack Hart
    – “Wild” Bill Irwin defeated Mike Golden

    1993 

    Chiba, Japan:
    – Terry Gordy and Steve Williams won the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title by defeating Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa