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  • UFC Fight Night 76 Dublin live results: Paddy Holohan vs. Louis Smolka

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 76: Holohan vs. Smolka from the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The event has undergone some major last-minute changes, losing the original main event earlier this week when Joseph Duffy was forced out of his bout against Dustin Poirier. The card is now headlined by a three-round flyweight bout as Paddy Holohan takes on Louis Smolka in the first flyweight main event bout not featuring Demetrious Johnson. The entire event will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 1:15 PM eastern time before the main card kicks off at 4 PM eastern time.

    UFC Fight Night 76 Weigh-In Results
    UFC Fight Night 76: 5 Storylines To Watch
    UFC Fight Night 76 DFS Playbook

    Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer

    Real quick thank you to everyone for all their nice messages today.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 1:15 PM ET/10:15 AM ET)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- BUBBA BUSH (8-2 1 NC, 0-0 1 NC UFC) VS. GARRETH MCLELLAN (12-3, 0-1 UFC)

    First round: McLellan is the top star from South Africa.  A regular Jan Wilkens.  Bush looks like Matt Brown’s face on Anthony Nese’s body.  Bush is trying to take him down.  McLellan blocked the early takedown attempts.  Bush tripped him down.  McLellan back up.  Another takedown by Bush.  Bush in side control.  Super hot crowd already.  McLellan trying a Kimura from the bottom but Bush out and has his back.  Bush now punching.  McLellan back to his feet and went for a gullotine.  Bush popped out.  10-9 Bush.

    Second round: McLellan kicked to the body. Bush took him right down.  Bush tried another takedown but McLellan, held onto the fence and landed on top.  The ref should have reset them but didn’t.  McLellan landed in the mount.  He worked for an arm triangle.  McLellan landing some punches from the top.   McLellan landing a lot of punches now.  Now he’s landing elbows and punches.  More punches and elbows by McLellan.  I’d go 10-8 McLelland but I think the judges will have it even 19-19 right now.

    Third round: Crowd hot.  McLellan with an uppercut and now McLellan going for a takedown.  McLellan was able to slam him down.  McLellan working for a choke.  Bush got up and wants a takedown.  Bush took him down.  McLellan back up.  Takedown by McLellan.  McLellan landing punches from the top.  McLellan dropping elbows.  McLellan landing a ton of punches late.  It was stopped with seconds left from ground and pound.  If anything, should have been stopped a second or two earlier.  4:58

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#14) DARREN ELKINS (18-5, 8-4 UFC) VS. ROB WHITEFORD (12-2, 2-1 UFC)

    First round: Elkins landed some punches.  Whiteford landed a left.  Left by Elkins.  Whiteford landing good punches.  Elkins took him down.  Whiteford back up.  Elkins with an uppercut and takedown.  Whiteford bleeding fro under the right eye.  Whiteford back up.  Whiteford hurt him with a right.  Elkins 10-9.

    Second round: Elkins took him down.  Whiteford bleeding near the left eye.  Elkins got his back.  Elkins working for a choke but Whiteford out of trouble.  Whiteford tried to get up but Elkins took him back down with a single leg.  Whiteford back up with 1:33 left.  Whiteford with a cool judo throw and landed elbows but Elkins took him down again.  Elkins landing punches.  Elkins 20-18.

    Third round: Left by Whiteford.  Left and right by Whiteford.  Elkins took him down.  Whiteford with a left.  Elkins landed some punches and took him down.  Whiteford bleeding bad from the left ear.  Elkins has his back.  Whiteford working for a choke.  Elkins 30-27.

    Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Elkins.

    WELTERWEIGHTS- CATHAL PENDRED (17-3-1, 4-1 UFC) VS. TOM BREESE (8-0, 1-0 UFC)

    First round: Breeze from England, but trains in Montreal at Tri-Star.  Place going insane for Pendred.  Big left by Breese and Pendred went down to a knee.  Left by Breese.  Pendred’s nose bleeding badly.  Right and knee by Pendred.  Breese wth a left to the face and another left to the body.  High kick by Breese.  Breese landing big punches.  Body kick by Breese.  Breese dropped him with a series of punches and it’s over.  Three lefts put Pendred down and he threw punches on the ground when it was stopped.

    Breese asked Dana White for 50Gs.  Some advice for guys.  Don’t do that.  Instead, challenge somebody.  He asked to be put on the February card in London.

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- SCOTT ASKHAM (13-1, 1-1 UFC) VS. KRZYSZTOF JOTKO (15-1, 2-1 UFC)

    First round: Jotko took him down.  Fans chanting for Jotko.  Askham bleeding from above the left eye.  Jotko took him down a second time.  Ashkam with elbows from the bottom and looking for an armbar.  Jotko escaped. Ashkam bleeding badly now.  Jotko 10-9.

    Second round: Ashkam missed a high kick.  Jotko now bleeding from the nose.  Jotko got poked in the eye.  Ashkam landed a front kick.  Ax kick by Ashkam.  Ashkam’s round so 19-19 after two.

    Third round: Jotko with a knee.  Ashkham went for a judo throw but Jotko landed on top and landed a punch as Ashkam got up.  Left and right and kick by Ashkam.  Right by Jotko.   Jotko bleeding from the nose and right ear.  Ashkam covered in blood.  Left and body kick by Jotko.  Close fight I’ve got Ashkam 29-28.  Could go either way.

    Scores: 29-28 Jotko 29-28 Ashkam 29-28 Jotko

    Jotko did the spinaroonie of all spinnaroonies.

    WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS- (#15) AISLING DALY (15-6, 1-1 UFC) VS. ERICKA ALMEIDA (7-1, 0-1 UFC)

    First round: Daly out with punches early.  Almeida with an elbow.  Almeida with knees to the body.  They are in a clinch on the fence.  Daly got the takedown.  Daly landing punches from the top.  Daly 10-9.

    Second round: Daly pushed her into the fence.  Daly with a takedown.  Daly landing punches. Almeida looked for a triangle.  Almeida up and took Daly down.  Almeida in side control.  Almeida got her back.  Close round, Almeida so 19-19 into the third.

    Third round:    Daly out throwing punches. Daly with a hip toss but on the way over Almeida blocked it with a body scissors.   Daly throwing punches.  Crowd going to ridiculously nuts for this fight.  Daly with elbows to the thigh as she got Almeida down.  Daly landing a ton of punches.  Daly landing all kinds of punches.  Daly clearly won the third.  The place is going crazy 29-28 Daly.  She climbed to the top of the cage and was crying because the crowd was cheering so loudly.

    Scores: 30-27, 29-27 and 29-28 Daly.  
    She’s crying like crazy.  What a freaking great babyface promo.  This was one of the best undercard crowd reactions in UFC history. 

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- STEVIE RAY (18-5, 2-0 UFC) VS. MICKAEL LEBOUT (14-4-1, 1-1 UFC)

    First round: Big left by Ray.  Left by Ray.  Body kick by Ray.  Left by Ray.  Body kick by Ray.  Hard left by Ray.  Ray 10-9

    Second round: Ray landing punches.  Left high kick by Ray.  Jumping kick by Ray.  Ray 20-18.

    Third round: Lebout landed a right.  Body kick by Ray.  High kick by Ray.  Lebout landed a hard right.  Body kick by Lebout.  Spinning elbow by Lebout.  Ray picked him up and spun him and threw him down, almost like an F-5 right as the match ended.   This round was closer. 30-27 Ray.

    Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 Ray

    MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT)

    FLYWEIGHTS- NEIL SEERY (15-11, 2-2 UFC) VS. JON DELOS REYES (8-4, 1-2 UFC)

    First round:   Seery landing punches.  Crowd going crazy since Seery is from Dublin.  Knee by Delos Reyes.  Serry landed a nice right to the side of the head.  Delos Reyes took him down.  Knee by Delos Reyes.  Both landing punches.  Seery landing a lot of rights.  Seery wrestled him to the round.  Delos Reyes got a takedown but Serry back up.  Seery landing punches and a low kick.  Both trading.  Seery 10-9.

    Second round: Seery with punches, Delos Reyes took him down but Seery grabbed a guillotine.  Delos Reyes escaped and got Seery’s back.  Seery escaped and took Delos Reyes down.  Dels Reye sbakc up.  Both landing hard shos. Both swinging.  Really good round.  Delos Reyes slammed him down but Serry grabbed him in a guillotine for the submission.  Easily the best fight of the show so far.

    WELTERWEIGHTS- NICOLAS DALBY (14-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. DARREN TILL (13-0, 1-0 UFC)

    First round: Dalby is from Denmark, Till is from the U.K. but trains in Brazil.  Both tying up. Till with knees.  Left by Till.  Till with body kicks.  Another body kick by Till.  Dalby with a body kick.  Till with a kick, knee and elbow.  Low kick by Dalby.  Left to the jaw by Till.  Body kick by Till.  Till landed an upppercut and had Dalby in trouble as the round ended.  10-9 Till.

    Second round: Good body kick by Till.  Takedown by Dalby but Till right back up.  Knee to the head by Dalby.  Till knocked him off balance at the end of the round.  Close round, 10-9 slightly for Till so he’s up 20-18.

    Third round: Dalby landed a head kick.  Till went for a takedown but Dalby escaped.  Dalby landed a punch to the nose.  Dalby working for a takedown.  Dalby got the takedown.  Till got up.  Till bleeding from the nose.  Another head kick by Dalby and some punches.  Dalby landing solid punches and a  knee.  Dalby with a kick to the body and punches.  Dalby took him down with 2:20 left  Dalby got mount and is pounding on him.  Till is in a lot of trouble.  Dalby landing all kinds of lefts on the ground.  Till back up but he’s wobbly and worried.  Dalby threw him down but Till immediately got back up.  Till with a knee and a punch.  Dalby with punches and he landed a head kick.  Dalby with knees to the head.  Dalby’s round for sure.  Great fight.  Really comes down to round two, I’ve got 29-28 for Till, but it could even be a 28-28 draw if you gave a 10-8 third.

    Scores: 29-28 Till 28-28 28-28 draw.  So they gave Dalby 10-8 third which is not bad scoring at all.  Till’s shoulder went out in the second round but he came out and survived the third round.  Dan Hardy was pushing the idea of a rematch.

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- NORMAN PARKE (20-4-1, 4-2-1 UFC) VS. REZA MADADI (13-3, 2-1 UFC)

    First round: Madadi working for a takedown.  Parke defending.  Madadi shot and Parke sprawled.  Parke landed a few lefts.  Another left landed by Parke.  Crowd booed, not much happened.  Parke 10-9.

    Second round: Parke throwing kicks.  Parke landing a few punches.  Madadi got the takedown but Parke back to his feet.  Head kick by Parke.  They are in a clinch against the fence.  Body kick by Parke.  Parke landed several punches.  Parke going for a takedown but didn’t get it.  Parke with some uppercuts.  Parke’s round, up 20-18.

    Third round: Madadi going for a single leg.  Madadi started to land.  Madadi landing more and working for a takedown.  Parke took him down.  Close third round, Parke 30-27.

    Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Parke.

    FLYWEIGHTS- PADDY HOLOHAN (12-1-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. LOUIS SMOLKA (9-1, 3-1 UFC)

    First round: Holohan took him down and moved into side control.  Smolka working for a D’arce choke from the bottom.  Holohan tried to get his back.  Smolka up but Holohan took him down again.  Smolka moved to the top.  Holohan went for a heel hook.  Smolka worked for an ankle lock  Holohan took him down again.  Smolka up and landed a kick.  Holohan trying for a takedown but this one was blocked.  Front kick by Smolka.  Two more front kicks by Smolka.  Holohan went for another takedown but doesn’t have it.  Smolka landing punches and Holohan back.  Great first round.  Holohan 10-9.

    Second round: Both trading.  Smolka’s punches are crisper.  Holohan landed a nice left.  Holohan jumped on his back.  Crowd going crazy for Holohan.  Holohan has his back and working for a choke with a body triangle.  Smolka trying to spin to the top but Holohan holding a body triangle.  Holohan throwing punches.  Smolka turned to the top with 2:45 left in the round.  Smolka with elbows to the body.  Smolka has a guillotine standing.  Smolka used it to take him down.  Smolka with elbows.  Holohan tried an umpa plata but Smolka blocked and landing punches.  Smoka landing a lot of punches for the top.  Holohan is in a lot of trouble.  Smolka pounding him from the mount.  Smolka working for  a choke.  He’s got it. It’s over.  Great fight. 

    The crowd loved Holohan even after losing.  His left eye is swollen.  Smolka said the people may not like him but this was a great crowd.  Fans ended up cheering him. 

  • Bellator MMA 144 Live coverage and results: Middleweight Title Brandon Halsey vs Rafael Carvalho

    Bellator MMA returns to Spike TV tonight at 9 pm eastern/6 pacific with Bellator 144: Halsey vs Carvalho. In addition to the main event fight for the Middleweight Championship which Halsey was stripped off earlier this year for missing weight, the show will also feature the return of MVP, Michael Venom Page. He puts his unbeaten record on the line as he works his way toward a title shot. A brash exciting fighter who could be on a collision course with Page, Brennan Ward, takes on Dennis Olson and in the other main card fight, it’s Japan vs Brazil as the debuting Isao Kobayashi goes up against Goiti Yamauchi in a Featherweight bout.

    We’ll have live coverage of the main card here starting right after the opening bell. The prelims are available for free at SpikeTV.com and we’ll also have results of those fights after they happen.

    Welterweights Michael Page (8-0) vs Charlie Ontiveros (6-3)

    Dan Miragliotta draws the reffing assignment for the opener. Page has 3 first round KO’s in 4 Bellator fights. Ontiveros had lost all 3 of his Bellator fights. This should be quick. The fighters are wearing pink wraps above their gloves. MVP dancing around to start as he always does and the fans are booing less than a minute in. Page with a takedown off of a clinch at 2:15. Page quickly into full mount and then takes his back. Ontiveros works him back to front and Page dropping elbows from side control and Ontiveros is out.

    WINNER – MICHAEL PAGE (9-0) by TKO (elbows) at 3:20

    The announcers speculate that it may have been a verbal submission as one of the elbows broke Ontiveros’ jaw. Official decision was a TKO. Sakuraba got some screen time in the pre-match video package for the next fight as Kobayashi grew up idolizing him. Jimmy Smith promises something exciting is happening in the first minute of the fight. I hope so, I have the under.

    Featerweights Isao Kobayashi (18-2-4) vs Goiti Yamauchi (18-2)

    Kobayashi is identified as a former King of Pancrase. I guess you can see his fights on UFC Fight Pass but the announcers don’t bring that up for some reason. They go the ground right away. Yamauchi may have pulled  guard. He goes for a heel hook from the bottom but Kobayashi gets to his feet. Yamauchi definitely pulled guard at 1:15. Yamauchi going for all kinds of whacky submissions and ends up taking his back against the cage. He gets a body triangle and then starts working for a rear naked choke. He locks it in at 3:45 with a Gable grip. Kobayashi fights out of it. Yamauchi landing heel strikes to the body and Kobayashi gets out of it with 15 seconds left and to his feet. Yamauchi stays on his back as the round ends. 10-9 Yamauchi

    Bellator champions Liam McGeary and Marcos Galvao are in attendance. Kobayashi with a trip takedown 1:15 in. Ground strikes in the first were 16-8 for Yamauchi. Yamauchi locks in a body triangle from the bottom but Kobayashi landing head strikes from the top. Yamauchi working for an armbar and gets the Kimura at 2:30. Kobayashi rolls out of it but gives up top position. Yamauchi opens up a cut on Kobayashi’s forehead with elbows from the top. Yamauchi into side control at 4:30 and then quickly into mount. Yamauchi takes his back and gets a neck crank with 10 seconds left but the bell saves Kobayashi. 10-9 Yamauchi

    Jimmy Smith thinks Round 1 was a 10-8. I’d be very surprised as Kobayashi came back at the end and was never in that much danger of being finished. Yamauchi drops Kobayashi with a left hook 1:00 in and goes to the ground. He goes right to the Kimura again and transitions to the back. Yamauchi with the body triangle and working for a rear naked choke at 2:00. Kobayashi works out of it but still in all kinds of trouble. Yamauchi with the rear naked choke again at 3:45 and gets the tap.

    WINNER – GOITI YAMAUCHI (19-2) by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:50 of the third round

    Kimbo Slice in da hizzouse. Yamauchi calls out Patricio Pitbull after the fight. They did a segment called “Quick Hits” with Michael Chandler. It was fun. A female interviewer asked him quick easy questions while he sparred. Apparently Chandler is a big fan of Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball. They showed clips from the weigh-ins and Ward and Olson got into it. A fan yelled out “you’re a good actor, Ward” and it made air.

    Welterweights Brennan Ward (11-3) vs Dennis Olson (14-9)

    They showed the walkouts since they’re running well ahead of schedule. Olson was heavily booed coming out and gave the fans the double-finger salute. They’re barely even hiding the fact that this is basically a squash match. All but one of Ward’s wins have come by finish. Big John gets the dukes for this one. Olson goes for a takedown right off the bat and Ward grabs a guillotine. Olson ends up having to pull guard to get out of it and Ward’s on top on the ground. Ward postures up to improve position and then goes into side control rather easily at 1:30. Ward to his feet at 1:45 and Olson is forced to follow. Ward drops Olson with a punch at 2:15 and goes  to the ground with him. Ward into mount at 2:45 and dropping punches and elbows to the head. Olson works him back to guard. Ward with elbows to  the head and body, just swarming Olson. Ward stands up again at 4:30 and Olson has to follow. Ward drops im again and follows up with ground and pound and McCarthy stops it.

    WINNER – BRENNAN WARD (12-3) by TKO (punches)

    After the fight, Ward put over Olson as a tough opponent and also put over the crowd. Ward falls short of calling out the champion Andrey Koreshkov, even though Jimmy was egging him on to. He just said that if he did get the chance, it would be a great fight.

    A prelim bout between Matt Bessette and Kevin Roddy aired next. If you peeked below, you know that Bessette won by submission. What you didn’t know is that he won with an inverted heel hook and Sakuraba got another mention. Bessette has been kicking around the indies for a while now and looked really good here.

    Main Event for the Bellator Middleweight Championship Brandon Halsey (9-0) vs Rafael Carvalho (11-1)

    Brandon Halsey out to Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider, one of my personal favorite songs of all  time. Dan Miragliotta gets the reffing duties for the main event. Carvalho’s “notable wins” are 1-4 Joe Schilling and everyone’s favorite punching bag Brett Rogers. This may not be much of a contest. Halsey gets a taekdown 10 seconds in. Halsey into mount and an arm triangle choke at 1:15. Carvalho escapes and goes for an inverted triangle but Halsey escapes. Carvalho to his feet and tries to take Halsey down but Halsey ends up on top. Crowd booing 2:30 in. Carvalho to his feet but gets brought right back down at 3:15 and Halsey right into mount. Halsey landing light punches to the head but basically just holding Carvalho down. 10-8 Halsey

    Jimmy Smith just mentioned that they’d talked about relaxed 10-8 rules but he “doesn’t know if they’re in effect tonight”. What? Either way, That was a pretty dominant round for Halsey. Cage clinch early in the round and Halsey holds him for over a minute, trying to force a takedown. Halsey backs off at 1:30. Carvalho drops him with a liver kick and follows up with ground and pound but the ref stops  it quickly.

    WINNER – RAFAEL CARVALHO (12-1) by KO (liver kick) at 1:42 of the 2nd round

    Ward was still down 3 minutes later but got up for the winner’s announcement and seemed okay. 

    Prelims results:

    Sam Watford dec TJ Hepburn

    Marius Enache sub Pete Rogers

    Matt Secor sub Jeremie Holloway

    Kevin Haley dec Mike Zichelle

    Matt Bessette sub Kevin Roddy

    Billy Giovanella sub Brandon Polcare

  • WWE Raw Live Results 10-19: The First Steps Towards WrestleMania

    The Big Takeaway: An unusual show, but a good one. The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair all appeared. Neither guise of Kane, who is wrestling the WWE World Heavyweight Champion on Sunday, showed up. There was an impromptu Shield reunion in the main event. Plus, the company had its top babyface appear in the opening segment, and never showed up again. And said babyface was treated as a heel. 

    Show Recap: 

    Steve Austin is out first. He talked about growing up in Texas going to the Sportatorium, where he got his start. Then he introduced the Undertaker. 

    Michael Cole and JBL billed the Undertaker’s match with Brock Lesnar as the final ever battle between the two men. Austin vanished as Undertaker made his entrance. The Dallas fans made the Undertaker the babyface, even though he’s been treated as a heel in the program. Undertaker said the depths of hell will look like the gates of heaven compared to where he’s going to take Brock Lesnar this Sunday. 

    Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out. Heyman cut his promo from the ramp. Heyman said his client wanted to gain revenge for the Undertaker’s tainted win at SummerSlam. He said after Undertaker losses this weekend, he’ll have to wonder what it’s like to live a legacy where he defeated everyone but Brock Lesnar. 

    Undertaker replied that when you take everything from a man, that man ends up fighting with nothing to lose. Undertaker motioned for Lesnar to come to the ring. Lesnar went to the ring despite the objections of Heyman. Lesnar jumped on the apron, laughed at the Undertaker, then jumped off. Heyman told Lesnar he did the right thing because now he’s in the Undertaker’s head. Crowd treated Lesnar as the heel and this was really good. 

    The rest of this show is going to be tough to live up to the opening segment because it will mainly feature characters we’ve seen for three hours every Monday night. Perhaps that’s why this segment opened the show, to sell the main event for this weekend before thousands of viewers switch to Monday Night Football. 

    The New Day’s promo included Big E. saying Everything is Booty in Texas, mentioning Dez Bryant’s foot and Tony Romo’s clavicle. Xavier Woods’ trombone was broken based on an angle on Smackdown where he used it against the Dudley Boyz. 

    The New Day defeated The Dudley Boyz and John Cena (8:35) 

    Woods pinned Devon Dudley with a schoolboy cradle while holding the trunks. John Cena did a rare plancha onto Big E., which distracted Devon. In the midst of all that, Kofi Kingston and Big E. rammed Bubba Ray Dudley into the post. Pretty good match where Big E. shook his ass several times while Cena was getting the heat. 

    Cole announced Randy Orton missed the tour of Mexico due to injury and wasn’t in the building tonight. They announced that Orton wouldn’t be at Hell in a Cell on Sunday, leaving Dean Ambrose without a partner for his tag team match against Braun Strowman and Luke Harper. Ambrose was shown talking to Dean Malenko and Fit Finley in the back. 

    Renee Young interviewed her boyfriend, who claimed that the Wyatt Family injured Orton and challenged Harper and Strowman to a fight tonight. 

    Nikki Bella and Alicia Fox defeated Naomi and Sasha Banks (8:48)

    Nikki Bella pinned Naomi after the Rack Attack. Alicia Fox looked pretty good, including a spinning backbreaker on Naomi. Sasha Banks and Nikki had some rough spots during the hot tag sequence. Match was just there. 

    On an interview on Smackdown, Nikki Bella apparently said “Divas Revolution? No. It’s the Bellas’ Evolution.” You know things are bad when they’re lifting catchphrases from 1999 WCW factions that failed (I know, that’s being redundant). One that included Malenko and Shane Douglas, no less. 

    They announced that Corporate Kane has been suspended after a closed door meeting with the Authority for tonight’s show after his actions last week. This was an announcement made on the company website. 

    Shawn Michaels came out to a surprisingly tepid reaction. Michaels took a bite from a kid’s pizza on the way to the ring. Apparently, it went down the wrong way because he coughed throughout the interview. He brought up being in the first Hell in a Cell match against the Undertaker, and the 18th anniversary of that match will be this Sunday. Then he brought up Roman Reigns also being in a Hell in a Cell match against Bray Wyatt, and he believed those two matches will tear the house down. 

    Seth Rollins came out. The two went nose-to-nose and the crowd chanted for a match against them. Rollins said Michaels was supposed to introduce him. Michaels said he’s been getting instructions from the back for 20 years, then he forgets them once he gets to the ring. Rollins said Michaels got the order from his best friend, HHH. Rollins said he was the one who was going to stop the show this Sunday. Rollins billed himself as Shawn Michaels 2.0, but he was better than the original. 

    Michaels said if he had a nickel for every time he heard that he heard that someone was going to be the second coming of Shawn Michaels, he would be a billionaire. Michaels cut a promo that seemed aimed at various people that said he never once wanted to be the second coming of someone else when he was the greatest wrestler who ever lived. 

    Michaels brought up Kane. Rollins cut a promo on Kane, then requested to have his music played so he could leave. Michaels said the problem with being the second coming of anyone is they never listen to anything you say compared to an original. Michaels told Rollins that he had an match coming up next against Ryback, then asked to hit his music. Which they did. Great segment by Michaels. 

    Seth Rollins defeated Ryback (4:02)

    Rollins worked over Ryback’s ribs, including a nice tope where Ryback landed against the announcers table. Ryback made a comeback, but Rollins kicked him in the ribs and pinned him clean with a pedigree. 

    Members of the Dallas Cowboys were shown at ringside. 

    They showed an angle from Smackdown where Summer Rae was a special referee for a match with Dolph Ziggler and Rusev. Rae helped Ziggler win. Afterwards, Rae came onto him, but Dolph said he wasn’t interested in being used. 

    King Barrett, Rusev and Sheamus defeated Neville, Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro (12:52)

    King Barrett pinned Ziggler after Barrett kicked out of a cradle, and Ziggler wound up against the ropes where Sheamus gave him a Brogue Kick outside the ring. Neville worked almost the entire match, getting the heat after Rusev knocked him off the apron with a forearm into the announce table. At one point, Neville did a somersault plancha onto Rusev and Cesaro. There was nothing at all regarding Rusev’s romantic life, aside from Cole mentioning he’s now engaged. While Neville was getting the heat and Rusev pounded away on him, the fans chanted “USA.” At that moment, the only American in the ring was the referee. 

    Ric Flair didn’t even get a ring entrance for his appearance. He didn’t seem to know he was on camera and waited forever to start his promo. Flair brought up the Von Erichs and the Freebirds. Flair announced that Ambrose had found a tag team partner in Roman Reigns, which was strange since it was announced earlier that Ambrose would face Harper and Strowman alone. 

    Reigns came out. I guess they just used Flair to help Reigns get cheered because he disappeared after the Wyatt Family magically appeared on the ramp. Eric Rowan was back with the Wyatt Family with no explanation as to why he’s back with them, or why he’s even a heel. 

    Reigns pulled out two chairs and sat down in the middle of the ring. Reigns called out Wyatt to sit down in the other empty chair. Wyatt sat down in the chair, and Reigns told him face-to-face that Wyatt was a bully and his digs power by fear. He said Wyatt was afraid of being alone, and he was scared of Reigns. 

    Reigns kept poking at Wyatt until they wound up in fistacuffs. It ended up with Reigns using a chair across Wyatt’s back, and another chair to the shoulder of Rowan. Ambrose ran down to back up his partner. 

    Rollins, Stephanie McMahon and HHH watched this from the back. Michaels walked in. HHH talked about how they didn’t want Reigns and Ambrose to face Harper, Rowan and Strowman in a handicap match tonight. Michaels suggested Rollins be the third partner. Shawn insuinated it may be too heavy a load for Rollins to handle since he already wrestled tonight. Rollins objected to that and said he would join Reigns and Ambrose tonight in the main event. I can’t believe they would give away a Shield reunion on an one-off show.  Wait, when did this become a six-man? 

    Charlotte (C) defeated Brie Bella via submission in a nontitle match (5:31)

    Charlotte won with the Figure Eight. Nikki posed with Charlotte’s Divas title for heat. Probably the deadest match of the night so far.  

    Paige watched the match from the back. Young asked Paige if she was the person if she was the person who attacked Natalya on Smackdown. Paige didn’t answer. Young pressed her for a honest response. Paige said it could have been anyone, bringing up past names like Kaitlyn and Eve Torres, or Lita, Trish Stratus or even Alundra Blaze. Paige heeled on Young saying she was no Erin Andrews and she wasn’t as cute. Actually, Young did a better job asking questions than Andrews ever has. Granted, they were scripted questions, but still. Paige even called her Sally Jesse Raphael at one point. Is this 1985 again? 

    Kevin Owens (C) defeated Mark Henry in a nontitle match (3:38)

    Kevin Owens was very good in getting heat since Mark Henry was in his home state. Henry seemed more animated, at one point screaming at Owens that he had been a bully in this company for 18 years. Owens actually got Henry up for the Pop-Up Power Bomb and the pin. 

    Ryback came out to go after Owens, who slid out of the ring. Henry threw Owens back in, and Ryback power bombed Owens. 

    Young asked Rollins about reuniting with the Shield. Rollins laughed that off and said he just wanted to prove to HHH and Michaels that he was the man. He said if Ambrose and Reigns wanted to relive the past, he would destroy them again. 

    The Wyatt Family defeated Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose by DQ (14:05)

    The match ended when Strowman put the head and arm choke on Regins. Ambrose couldn’t budge Strowman, so he pulled out a kendo stick and repeatedly whacked Strowman with it. Strowman didn’t sell that and broke the stick over his knee. Ambrose tried to give Strowman a tope, but Strowman caught him and rammed his back into the ring apron. Reigns followed with a tope where he cleared the top rope by plenty onto the Wyatts. The final sequence appeared screwed up. Reigns gave Wyatt a spear, but Rowan fell over them. Reigns ended it by giving Rowan a spear. 

    Earlier in the match, Ambrose tried to make a hot tag. Strowman had tripped Reigns off the apron and thrown him into the barricade. That left Rollins, but just as Ambrose got to the corne, Rollins faked a knee injury. Wow, he really does want to be the next Shawn Michaels. Rollins walked out.  

    Crowd was so hungry for a Shield reunion, they chanted “This is Awesome” before the match started. When the Wyatts had a face-to-face staredown with Reigns and Ambrose, Rollins just stayed back and left his teammates hanging. Then he stepped up and stared down Rowan, and the crowd roared. Then Rollins told his teammates to get out of the ring because he was the architect. When Rollins saw Rowan was going to start the match, he tagged out. 

    SUMMARY: A good show, although I sense this was one of those shows where the main event was rewritten several times. Almost all the matches were solid. I still don’t think the Lesnar-Undertaker buildup has the juice it should have going into Hell in a Cell, but it was rushed since it was announced for HIAC to begin with. 

  • WWE Raw live results 10-12: John Cena Open Challenge, Rusev and Lana

    Recorded for Superstars:

    – Jack Swagger went over Adam Rose in about an 8 minute match. Finish saw Rose put on an ankle lock which Swagger countered to an ankle lock of his own.

    – Stardust went over Fandango in a 10 minute match with his finish. Lots of chants for “Cody” and “let’s go Cody”.

    The Big Takeaway: 

    A show that was a little great, a little bad, a little weird and a little surreal. Demon Kane wrestled and defeated Seth Rollins in a lumberjack match in the main event. Corporate Kane booked the match after HHH and Stephanie McMahon, who never got to the arena or appeared on the show due to “transportation issues,” told him he was in command. Later, HHH and Stephanie ordered Corporate Kane not to wrestle Rollins. The strange moment of the night was Rusev getting jobbed out in 3:00 by Ryback, then getting totally buried by Summer Rae days after the news of his very real engagement to Lana gained mainstream publicity. John Cena had his latest great U.S. Open Challenge match with Dolph Ziggler. 

    Show Recap: 

    Corporate Kane was backstage where the Authority was on speakerphone just leaving on a plane. Stephanie could be heard berating an airline attendant. HHH told Kane to handle the show until they arrived. Kane wished them a safe flight, and called over a stage manager. Kane told her to inform Seth Rollins that he would face Kane tonight in a lumberjack match, so they were hot shotting stuff right off the bat. 

    Dean Ambrose came out and said he wanted to fight someone. Randy Orton came out. Crowd reacted strong to him, but also started “Let’s Go Cubs.” Orton said Ambrose that at Hell in a Cell, Ambrose would face Braun Strowman and Luke Harper, and Orton would be his partner. Ambrose said the line to fight the Wyatt Family starts behind him and told Orton to follow his lead and they would be fine. 

    Orton told Amrbose that he should follow Orton’s lead. Ambrose said he wasn’t big on trusting Orton. Orton said he wasn’t big on trusting himself. As they argued off mic, the New Day came out. Xavier Woods reminded Orton and Ambrose that the New Day left Dolph Ziggler, John Cena and the Dudley Boyz laying last week. Woods taunted Ambrose that the Shield never did that, and Big E. said Legacy, the Authority or Evolution never did that. Woods asked Orton how many groups had been in, and said Orton brings new meaning to the term “groupee.” Woods said Ambrose and Orton should make like Derek Rose and go sit on the bench. 

    Kane appeared on the TitonTron and ordered an immediate tag team match. 

    The New Day defeated Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton (17:51)

    Ambrose and Orton argued during the match, including when they took turns stomping Big E. Ambrose got a hot tag and did a tope on Kofi Kingston and Big E. Later, Woods held Orton’s leg, and Ambrose did a tope on him, as well. The finish was Orton gave Kingston the Draping DDT and went for the RKO, but Big E. ran in to prevent it. Ambrose tried to stopped Big E., but Kingston threw Orton into Ambrose, and Kingston pinned Orton with a schoolboy cradle. 

    There was a package for the Undertaker-Brock Lesnar main event. It couldn’t compare to the buildup for SummerSlam. We’re supposed to believe the history between the two started at last year’s WrestleMania, even though their original program was in 2002. 

    Before the Nikki Bella-Naomi match, they showed highlights from the Sasha Banks-Bailey match from NXT Takeover Respect, which included reviews from mainstream media outlets like Rolling Stone and Miami Herald. It was a good idea, but with horrible timing. Crowd chanted “We Want Sasha” during the match, and Michael Cole wondered how Naomi felt about that like Team BAD was going to going to break up. Then they chanted “You can’t wrestle” while the match was going on. it wasn’t that bad. 

    Nikki Bella defeated Naomi (4:56)

    The gimmick is Team Bella is trying to break up Team BAD just like Team PCB fractured because of Paige. After Naomi hit a tope (3rd time already for that move in the first hour) on Nikki and Alisha Fox, Brie Bella got up on the commentator’s table and tried to lead another “We Want Sasha” chant. Sasha tripped Brie off the table. Naomi got distracted. Nikki hit the Rack Attack. Pin. 

    Byron Saxton asked fans who the most unconventional superstar in the WWE is. Everyone said either Paige or Ambrose. This led to Saxton doing a backstage interview with Paige, who grabbed a Payday candy bar out of his jacket and took a bite. This was a product placement bit. 

    John Cena came out. Crowd booed the hell out of him. Cena started dancing beside a fan singing “John Cena Sucks.” Cena said he loved the AllState Arena because his first WWE match was in that building. It came time for the open challenge and this week’s opponent was Ziggler. 

    During the opening minutes of the match, the crowd seemed distracted and popped. Cena grabbed the microphone and acknowledged that a fan proposed to his girlfriend in the crowd, and she said yes. Cena congratulated the new couple as the match was going on and the fans chanted “She said yes.” 

    John Cena (C) defeated Dolph Zigger to retain the U.S. Championship (17:32)

    An excellent match that Cena won wiith the AA. Lots of kicking out of near falls. Ziggler continues to work like Shawn Michaels, this time stomping his leg to tease the Superkick. Plenty of kicking out of finishers. Ziggler hit a superkick and Zig Zag, both for near falls. Cena kicked out of the Zig Zag, the two struggled to their feet, and Cena immediately hit the AA for the pin. After one near fall by Ziggler, JBL started talking about how he felt Ziggler was going to win, which naturally gave away the finish. Vince McMahon used to do that on play-by-play and it always telegraphed the ending. 

    Stephanie and HHH called Kane again to say they were stil far away from the arena. Kane didn’t tell them he had booked his own match against Rollins. 

    The Dudley Boyz defeated the Ascension (2:42) 

    Devon Dudley pinned Viktor after the 3-D. Bubba Ray Dudley held up Viktor for the Doomsday Device since they were in Chicago as a tribute to the Road Warriors. 

    Sheamus and King Barrett defeated Cesaro and Neville (3:48)

    Crowd was hot while it lasted, particularly for Cesaro. Finish came out of nowhere. Neville tried to pin Sheamus with a cradle. Sheamus kicked out so hard, his legs pushed Neville to the ropes, where Cesaro gave him the Bullhammer Elbow, and Sheamus pinned him. 

    Roman Reigns came out for an interview. He basically explained his program with Bray Wyatt from the beginning. Crowd gave him the “what” treatment, and he appeared really annoyed by it. He snapped at them “Can you not hear me?” Then the fans chanted boring. He looked preturbed but stuck to the script. Wyatt came out and said Reigns had a massacre waiting for him at Hell in a Cell. Reigns said he agreed, but when they lock the cell, Wyatt was going to wish he was trapped with anyone but him. The fans booed. And this man is supposed to be the chosen one in six months? As if things couldn’t get any worse, after this interview died he had to wrestle Strowman. They might as well have put a piano on his back and told him to run wind sprints trying to carry Strowman to something decent. 

    Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman by countout (7:50)

    It was a struggle. Laregly a punch-and-kick match until it spilled out to the floor. Reigns hit Harper and Wyatt, then ran off the ring steps to deliver the Superman Punch to Strowman, which knocked him down into the announcer’s table. Strowman got counted out. Two hours into the show and this was the first match all night where the crowd was completely dead.  

    Wyatt looked in Reigns’ face and said “Follow the Buzzards.” Reigns punched him and walked to the back. 

    HHH called Kane to tell them they were getting close to the building. HHH’s cell phone recepton was poor. He repeatedly asked Kane what the main event was. Kane told him Seth Rolllins was in a lumberjack match against Kane. HHH only heard that Rollins was in a lumberjack match, but didn’t hear who he would be facing before his line went dead. 

    Ryback defeated Rusev (3:05) 

    Ths was one of those weird segments where fantasy and reality collide. Only in wrestling could a segment like this happen. It was six minutes of Rusev being punished on live national television for getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend. First, Ryabck pinned him clean with a Shellshock, without question the cleanest job Rusev has ever done. 

     If that wasn’t enough, Summer Rae came into the ring and cut Vince McMahon’s promo for him. She showed the TMZ headline where it was announced that Rusev and Lana had been engaged for over a month, then totally castrated him as a selfish user who manipulated her for months. All Rusev could do was stand there and take it, and then Summer slapped him and walked off. In this age where Kayfabe has been dead and buried, that was surreal television. How they get Rusev back on track as a killer after this segment is beyond me, which may have been the intent. Ziggler was never mentioned by Summer, though Michael Cole mentioned Lana in passing during his match with Cena earlier. I guess that angle where Summer snuck into his shower will have to stand as his storyline breakup. 

    Kevin Owens defeated Kalisto (3:54)

    Crowd sure liked Kevin Owens, who won with the Pop Up Power Bomb. Kalisto bumped all over the palce, including going for a somersault huracanrana outside the ring, only to have Owens dump him on the floor. Kalisto made a good comebck and it was a good match considering the style difference. Of course, Owens has had very good matches with guys of all sizes for years.  

    Brie Bella and Alicia Fox defeated Charlotte and Becky Lynch (3:05) 

    Paige was at ringside on commentary. Natalya is now with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and they’re called Team NBC. Paige, however, says she never left Team PCB. Natalya started arguing with Nikki Bella outside the ring. Paige shoved Natalya. Charlotte got distracted, and Brie pinned her with a dropkick off the second rope. Two distraction finishes in both the Divas matches. And Charlotte does her second job in two weeks. These people have no idea how to get the Divas over. 

    HHH and Stephanie got in touch with Kane again. This time, they were able to hear him explain how he would be wrestling Rollins in the main event. Stephanie hit the ceiling she was so mad. HHH ordered Kane not to wrestle. 

    Rollins, in his first appearance on the show, apparently didn’t see the preceding segmet. He talked with the Big Show about how he could count on Show to have his back against Kane tonight. Show just laughed at him and walked off. Then Kane walked in and told Rollins he’s been ordered not to wrestle him tonight, but he would find a suitable replacement to face Rollins. We were supposed to believe it would be the Demon Kane. 

    It was announced that Michaels and Ric Flair would appear on next week’s Raw in Dallas. Rollins was plugged for an apperance on SportsCenter with Jonathan Coachmen tomorrow night. 

    The Demon Kane defeated Seth Rollins in a nontitle lumberjack match (8:19) 

    The Demon Kane won with a tombstone after lots of interference. The New Day were front and center among the lumberjacks, so it’s clear the company is striking that iron while it’s hot. At one point, the lumberjacks brawled at ringside. The heel lumberjacks left the babyface lumberjacks laying at ringside. So all the heels, including the New Day, Sheamus, Rusev, Stardust and Owens, started putting the boots to Kane. Big E. tried to give Kane a splash, but Kane rose up and cleared the ring by himself. He choke slammed Woods and Stardust before the finish. Earlier, Rollins tried to escape, but Cesaro chased him down and put him back in. 

    SUMMARY: On a night where the Pittsburgh Steelers won on the final play of the game, the Chicago Cubs movd within one win of eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals, Steve Spurrier retired and Steve Sarkisian got fired, the WWE had to work extra hard to produce compelling television. But they did it. The crowd stayed largely interested throughout the show. The most telling segment was Reigns. For all the scorn that Cena receives, people still see him as a top guy. I just don’t sense the fans feel that way about Reigns. That was a problem seven months ago. The time between last WrestleMania and this one was supposed to be his period of being groomed for the top spot. The company sees him as a top guy. The fans still don’t, particularly those in big cities. 

  • NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10-11 results: Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of NJPW King of Pro Wrestling.  The main event features Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito for the Tokyo Dome title shot.  Also on the show are Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    New Japan King of Pro Wrestling at 3 a.m. Eastern and Midnight Pacific late Sunday night on New Japan World – Kevin Kelly & Matt Striker will be doing the announcing in English for the first time on the service.

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & KUSHIDA & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & MASCARA DORADA VS. JUICE ROBINSON & SHO TANAKA & JAY WHITE & DAVID FINLAY & YOHEI KOMATSU

    My stream was down for this match.  On the replay, Dorada pinned Finlay afer a Dorada screwdriver after Taguchi used the running hip attack.

    TOMOAKI HONMA VS. YOSHI-HASHI

    Honma won with a head-butt to the lower back, a shoulderblock and the diving head-butt off the toip rope.  Honma’s lower back is jacked up so this wasn’t as good as most of his matches are.  Matt Striker thought Yoshi-Hashi was a first and last name and kept calling him Hashi. 

    HIROOKI GOTO & KOTA IBUSHI & KATSUYORI SHIBATA & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI

    Kojima pinned Captain after a 3-D and a lariat.  The match was solid, about what you’d think.  Ibushi didn’t do much in this match.  They seemed to focus some on Nagata vs. Shibata, or at least that was the best action but no real clear storylines.

    BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY VS. ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA FOR IWGP JR. TAG TITLES

    Decent match but what a weird finish.  O’Reilly pinned Baretta and it looked like Romero saved but Tiger Hattori said he counted three and called for the bell.  It was an obvious botch.  Romero really looked unhappy and complained to the American announce team.  I was listening to the Japanese team at the time.  The finish really hurt the match which was fine but hadn’t peaked at all.  Nobody really looked happy when it was over.  

    No matter what is announced, there are visible empty seats downsairs

    KENNY OMEGA VS. MATT SYDAL FOR IWGP JR. TITLE

    Omega retained with the One Winged Angel, which is an electric chair dropped into a Michinoku driver.  Omega has all the talent in the world but he overacts badly.  It made it hard to take the match seriously until late.  Sydal is really great, one of these gus whose role it seems to be is have great matches while never getting a big push.  His best spots were a reverse Frankensteiner and a Fosbury flop like dive onto Omega and Cody Hall.

    Intermission time.

    SHINSUKE NAKAMURA & TORU YANO & KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS. KARL ANDERSON & DOC GALLOWS & BAD LUCK FALE

    A nothing match.  Mostly worked on Nakamura  Sakuraba has a brief time in.  Yano hot tagged in.  Fale went for the Bad Luck Fall on Yano, but Sakuraba saved.  Tama Tonga interfered.  Yano used a low blow on Fale and Tonga at the same time and surprisingly pinned Fale with the outside cradle. 

    Very clear this show is all about these final three matches. 

    TOGI MAKABE VS. TOMOHIRO ISHII FOR THE NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    Ishii won the title after a dragon suplex and brainbuster after Makabe had missed the King Kong kneedrop off the top rope.  This was the weakest match these two have had.  So much miscommuniation and botched stuff early, although the crowd was more into it late than anything so far on the show.  The last few minutes were very good  But it’s a big difference between Ishii now and in February.  Honma came out to challenge Ishii after the match but it was quick and almost like a TNA challenge in that he came out and seconds later they were starting the video for Tanahashi vs. Naito.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO FOR THE IWGP TITLE SHOT AT THE TOKYO DOME

    Not a great match.  Match was slow, some stuff with Naito using Tanahashi’s moves.  Naito threw Tanahashi into ref Red Shoes.  There was a guy under a Naito mask the entire match who ran in and it was Takaaki Watanabe.  He was wearing a suit and had eye liner like Kevin Sullivan.  They were beating on Tanahashi until Goto and Shibata came in.  Naito used a low blow but Tanahashi kicked out of the pin.  Tanahashi came back with a sling blade, crossbody off the top and high fly flow for the pin.  After the match, Watanabe laid out Goto with a uranage, so that’s his direction.  Good match but felt very much like a TNA main event with the ref bump and interference.

    KAZCHIKA OKADA VS. A.J. STYLES FOR IWGP TITLEan

    Okada won a long excellent match after three rainmakers.  Okada had the match won with a rainmaker earlier but Karl Anderson pulled the ref out of the ring.  Okada then did a flip dive onto everyone.  There was a great near submission when Styles used the calf killer and Okada was teasing tapping until he made the ropes.  These two proved again they are right at the top of any lis for the best in the world right now.

    Okada cut his post-match promo and Tanahashi came out.  Tanahashi would say champion and point to Okada and called himself ace over and over.  Tanahashi left and Gedo did a promo.  Confetti fell from the sky. 

  • WWE NXT TV taping spoilers (10/8): new & familiar names, Nia Jax, Asuka, Finn Balor

    The big news from Thursday’s WWE NXT tapings at Full Sail University was former TNA Champion and multiple time TNA Tag Team Champion James Storm debuting tonight.

    Storm was at NXT’s weekend show in Nashville and backstage at TakeOver last night. He was given a win over Martin Stone, a former WWE contracted wrestler who worked the tapings as enhancement talent. Due to the TV schedule and even though he has been done with TNA for some time, he will continue to be appearing on TNA television for probably two more months, something discussed on Wrestling Observer Radio Wednesday night.

    *****

    Results submitted by John Carey

    – NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillains over Dawkins & Fulton. The finish had to be reshot because Dawkins botched the sell on the finish. 

    – Nia Jax over Evie in a squash match.

    – Apollo Crews won a #1 contender battle royal match eliminating Baron Corbin to win. Notable entries included Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa & Martin Stone.

    – Asuka over Billie Kay in a squash match.

    – Enzo & Cass over Dawson & Wilder via Enzo roll up. Mechanics beat them down after the match.

    – James Storm over Martin Stone in a squash match.

    – Alexa Bliss over Peyton Royce

    – Emma over Shazza in a squash match

    – Chad Gable/Jason Jordan over Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa. Match went around 10 minutes and was the best match in the tapings to this point.

    – Nia Jax over Kay Lee Ray in a squash match

    – WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor over Tye Dillinger.

  • NXT TakeOver Respect live results: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

    NXT TakeOver: Respect takes place tonight at Full Sail University at 8:00 pm EST. The main event will feature NXT Women’s champion Bayley defending her title against previous champion Sasha Banks in a 30 minute iron man match. Meanwhile, we’ll also see the conclusion of the Dustry Rhodes Tag Team Classic, with semifinals on the show being Finn Balor and Samoa Joe taking on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable against Baron Corbin and Rhyno, and the finals featuring the winners of both semifinals. Asuka will make her in-ring NXT debut taking on Dana Brooke, and Apollo Crews will face off against Tyler Breeze.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    *****

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: NXT CHAMPION FINN BALOR & SAMOA JOE VS. DASH WILDER & SCOTT DAWSON

    Joe & Balor won and advanced in a well-worked match. Joe got the hot tag and set up Wilder for the Muscle Buster. Balor told Joe he wanted to tag in and Joe hit the Muscle Buster, and then Balor used the Coup De Grace on Wilder for the pin. Most of the match saw The Mechanics work over Balor’s knee which he sold after hitting his finisher. Joe & Balor go to the finals with a hint of issues between them and Balor “injured”.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Rhyno & Corbin advanced when Rhyno hit the gore on Jordan, and Corbin pinned Gable after the End of Days  The crowd just loves Gable. He’s got something really special.  Jordan & Gable are such a great babyface team that they really made the match, which had super heat, and overcame the fact that Corbin is, at best, passable at this point. There were all kinds of funny chants like “Save the Gable” and the crowd singing Kurt Angle’s music and chanting “Gable” where people used to sing “You Suck”. Jordan has all the ability in the world and has finally started to come out of his shell in this team.

    They showed Kevin Nash in the crowd.

    ASUKA VS. DANA BROOKE

    As a wrestler, Asuka is a level above every woman wrestler in WWE.  She looked super here with all her submissions, ring confidence, and total superstar presence. Brooke held her own and didn’t look out of place given this level of competition. The crowd was actually a lot hotter for this than the two tag matches. Asuka did an absolutely sweet flying armbar near the finish.  She ended up winning with the Asuka Lock — a chicken wing crossface with a body scissors. After the match, Asuka laid out Brooke with a high kick and then stared down Emma who turned her head like she was backing down. Excellent debut.

    We got the same Nia Jax promo we’ve been seeing recently. She’s debuting next week.

    APOLLO CREWS VS. TYLER BREEZE

    This was another good match that was built around Breeze working over Crews’ back.  Breeze really looked good here. He got a great near fall as Crews did the press slam, went for the standing moonsault, but Breeze hooked the leg.  Crews then broke free and went for the standing moonsault again, but Breeze got his knees up. Crews came back after absorbing two running elbows from Breeze, charging out at the third attempt and hitting a running kick. He then hit an atomic drop into a power bomb for the pin. They tried to tell the story that Crews is showing how much guts he has as he sold most of the way.

    They showed HIdeo Itami and Funaki in the stands.

    They are doing a show-long story as to whether Balor will be able to come out for the finals due to his knee.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: SAMOA JOE & FINN BALOR VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO 

    No angle, but a solid match and the crowd was pretty hot. At one point, Rhyno hit the Gore on Joe, but Balor saved. He went for a second one but Joe kicked him in the face, gave him a Muscle Buster, and Balor used a double foot stomp on Rhyno for the pin.

    Cody, Dustin, Michelle (Dusty’s wife) and his two daughters were all in the ring as well as Eden Stiles. Cody did a promo and talked about how Dusty died on the same day as John Wayne but 36 years later. Cody talked about how Dusty was referred to as “the oak of NXT” but to him, he was known as Dad. “Tonight, we are all Rhodes,” he said. They played Rhodes’ music and fans chanted “Thank you Dusty.”

    They showed Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Lita at ringside. Stephanie even chanted “women’s wrestling” along with the crowd.

    30-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH: NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPION BAYLEY VS. SASHA BANKS

    Baley retained the title with a 3-2 margin by using a Fujiwara armbar at 29:57 to break the tie. 

    Banks won the first fall with an eye poke and schoolgirl using the trunks, Bayley won the second fall with the Belly To Bayley, while the third fall saw Banks win by ramming Bayley into the LED board, causing Bayley to be counted out. The fourth fall saw Bayley use a roll-up out of nowhere. The last few minutes were really dramatic as Banks used the Bank Statement, but because Bayley had worked over her hand during the match, she didn’t have full power. Bayley tried to reverse out once, failed, but then reversed into the armbar and was stomping on Banks’ head. The tap came right before time ran out. 

    It was pretty much what it should have been as far as a really good, well built match. Banks was great here, and Bayley was super over with the crowd so you had a great face/heel dynamic. Izzy at ringside was the other star of this match. They couldn’t create someone that good as her at ringside.

    After the match, they sent everyone on the roster out on the stage to give a round of applause. HHH and Wlliam Regal gave Banks flowers as the fans chanted “Thank you Sasha” as Stephanie and Sara Amato congratulated her with Bayley cheering for her from the ring.  HHH then went into the ring and gave Bayley flowers.  They did a good job of making this feel special with the post-match. 

    This really felt very close to, from an post-match atmosphere and setting, like a G-1 final or Arena Mexico Anniversary match.

  • WWE NXT TakeOver Respect Triple H conference call notes (updated with audio)

    With NXT TakeOver: Respect scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, that means it’s also time for Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s routine of doing a media conference call the day before the event.

    Apologies for the delay in audio (found below) and for some of the background noise as the wrong mic was muted. (At least you heard the debut of my dog.)

    – They reiterated WWE Wrestlemania tickets are now on sale.

    – HHH apologized for being late and said he had to stop and call Bruno Sammartino and wish him well on his 80th birthday.

    – He mentioned the UK tour, put over the WWE 24/7-esque show on the Network, and the Nashville and Louder Than Live music festival events this past weekend.

    – He said the ‘Respect’ name has a lot to do with Dusty Rhodes and his meaning to the business. He put over the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag tourney finals and everyone on the show wanted to do Dusty proud. He talked about the Bayley/Sasha match at length.

    – He talked about Breaking Ground, a show that is being shot right now with all kinds of behind the scenes information that will be coming on the Network soon.

    – He was asked about the makeup of the crowd being younger and the ‘unique demographics’ NXT has brought him. He said there’s some crossover with WWE for young adults, but NXT is “more edgier, underground, niche.” “We’re feeding that niche, but that niche is huge.” He said that if NXT is more punk and hip-hop, WWE is more pop music. “I know who my fanbase is with NXT, and that’s who I’m trying to serve.”

    – He hopes to have a fully functioning third brand that is touring as much as WWE is now. They have interest in doing more things like the L.O.L. music festival. They are getting to the point now where they are running out of bandwidth and have to say ‘maybe next year’ to more things than they did before.

    – He was asked about who took over for Dusty in teaching promos. He said it’s a split right now. They are using a similar format to what Dusty had, but they are using people more geared toward what they are trying to accomplish. William Regal, some guests, and some staffers are filling in until they figure that out.

    – He was asked about Jushin Liger and whether we’d see more like that. He said he’s open to everything but there are “limitations due to business reasons” with WWE. He said he looks at NXT with an open slate and an open mind.

    – He was asked about the rise of female wrestlers and Bayley vs. Sasha Wednesday. He said their Brooklyn match was one of the best he’s ever seen and not just for women. He referenced Ronda Rousey and the U.S. women’s soccer team. He put over their athleticism, passion, etc.

    – He was asked about Bayley’s desire to learn more about the backstage/TV process with recently doing some timekeeping and whether other talents were interested in learning more. He said some talents do, and others don’t. At RAW, there isn’t that much of an opportunity to do that while at NXT, there is more of a chance to do that. He says he encourages talent to learn as much as they can, and how much he was interested in that side of things. He especially mentioned Sami Zayn as wanting to do that as he recovered from injury.

    – He talked about the recent Finn Balor tweets about TNA and with TNA talent, and whether he was concerned at all of that. He taked about how talents take a bus in certain areas and that when they passed the TNA offices, he wanted to stop and take a picture. HHH said Balor hit him up immediately about it, but HHH thought they were funny and didn’t see it as a big deal at all. He thought they were fun.

    – He talked about the difference in ‘IronMan’ match vs. ‘IronWoman’ match, and debating over the name. He referenced how people win the Ironman competition, and that people like Lita mentioned she liked IronMan more, saying she thought it was derogatory to call it otherwise.

    – He was asked about whether it was hard to sell the idea of an IronMan match in NXT to Vince, but HHH said he doesn’t make that final call in NXT. He said Vince “loved it” and takes a bad rap for some of the decisions he makes. He said Vince is all about the fans and that it may take him a while to come around. He said there might be a way that Vince likes to present things that are different. He talked about how Vince hesitated about coming to NXT Brooklyn because he would be just sitting and watching the show. HHH said he was able to sit at gorilla and just enjoy the show. He loved Sasha/Bayley and told HHH he can’t wait for the IronMan match.

    – He was asked about Asuka’s debut against Dana Brooke, and what adjustments she’ll have to make in order to make it in NXT. He brought up how everyone has to adjust including talents like Hideo Itami.

    – He was asked about what the thought process was in having the Divas “Curtain Call” moment at NXT Brooklyn. He joked he wanted to see who would get fired out of the deal. He talked about Vince telling him that if you put yourselves in the seat of a fan, you’ll never go wrong. He talked about the emotion involved in all of that.

    – Final question was on Gabe Sapolsky and the relationship there between Dragon Gate USA & Evolve, specifically Johnny Gargano’s recent appearance, and whether they are a feeder system for NXT. HHH says he sees all of it as a feeder system, he really like what they do, and wants to support their shows. He said if he didn’t have room at the P.C. for talent and wanted them to get additional work, he’d send them to Gabe. He said the indie undercurrents are healthy for the business, and would do anything he could for them. 

    – He said he’s a big fan of Apollo Crews and laughs when he hears references to him being potentially the first black WWE Champion. “Guys like Rock, Booker T…I guess they don’t count?”

    Call ended at 3:17 PM EST.

    Click here to listen to the whole call or just right click & save.

  • WWE Raw live results 10-5: Brock Lesnar and Undertaker build to Hell in a Cell

    The Big Takeaway: Seth Rollins will officially face Kane at Hell in a Cell. Summer Rae asked Rusev to marry him. Rusev said he would, but only until he captures a championship. John Cena was accidentally superkicked by Dolph Ziggler following the main event, which teased a program between the two. Stephanie McMahon shouted down The New Day. Stephanie McMahon shouted down Kane. Stephanie McMahon shouted down Rollins. Twice. To keep the storyline cohesive, HHH later offered support to Rollins. 

    Show Recap: 

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman starts the show. Heyman put over Lesnar’s victory over the Big Show to start the Go to Hell Tour, and now it’s time to focus on the Undertaker. Heyman said the Undertaker considers Hell in a Cell to be the Devil’s Playground, but Lesnar considers it the Lair of the Beast. They replaced highlights from Wrestlemania 31, which got a mixed reaction. 
    Heyman said Undertaker realized at SummerSlam that he wasn’t Dead Man enough to get revenge on Lesnar, then replayed the controversial finish from SummerSlam.

    Heyman promoted Lesnar being on Steve Austin’s podcast later this month, and vowed this would be Lesnar’s last match against the Undertaker. The winner would be the winner of history between Lesnar-Undertaker, and the loser wouldn’t walk out at all. 

    Big Show came out and said he was very close to beating Lesnar. Show extended his hand to Lesnar to shake it, but Lesnar snubbed him and walked out of the ring. Show said it must be nice being as arrogant as he is, but he hopes he loses to the Undertaker again.

    Lesnar took exception to that and got back in the ring, and gave Show a belly-to-belly suplex. Then he got Show up for the F-5 and smiled like it was the 2004 version of Lesnar, acting like the world’s biggest Bob Backland knockoff. 

    Seth Rollins and Stephanie McMahon watched this scene. Rollins was mad because Show was supposed to tag with him later in the show against the Dudley Boyz. Now that Show was laid out by Lesnar, Rollins figured he wouldn’t be available for the match tonight. Rollins asked for Stephanie to cancel the match. Stephanie told him she wouldn’t do any such thing and to figure out the problem for himself. He looked like he was ready to deck her and walked off. 

    Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose defeated Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman (15:53)

    Roman Reigns got the hot tag and gave Luke Harper a power bomb. Randy Orton hit Harper with the RKO, and Regins followed with the spear for the pin. Real good match with Orton being the most over performer. Bruan Strowman got the monster heel treatment again. As Dean Ambrose tried a pescado, Strowman caught him and slammed him on the floor. This led to JBL comparing him to Jeep Swenson and Bill Kazmaier. I can’t wait to see Strowman joining eight other guys to face John Cena and Orton in a triple deck cage match in 10 years. 

    Sheamus defeated Neville (:32)

    King Barett was on commentary. Sheamus ran down the Boston Celtics mascot, saying if they wanted a real leprechaun mascot, they should have used him. Did they have a character who was a leprechaun for years? Sheamus ran down Neville saying he would always be a loser. Neville attacked him with punches. Barrett got up and argued with Neville, allowing Sheamus to hit the Brogue Kick with the pin. Neville didn’t even get a ring entrance and jobbed in 32 seconds.  

    Director of Operations Kane limped into the building. He was in the ring after a commercial and said Rollins got slightly out of control last week. Kane announced himself as Rollins tag team partner tonight against the Dudley Boyz. This brought out Rollins, who said Kane was no Tom Brady, even though they both have deflated balls. 

    Rollins said Kane couldn’t lie, cheat and swindle his way to whatever he wants, implying Brady and the Patriots did that, as well. Kane said his goal was to bring out the best in Rollins, who said the championship brings out the best in him. Kane said Rollins had to face his demons and walk through hell in order to bring out the best in himself. 

    Stephanie came out for the monthy evisceration of talent. She was a complete babyface running down Rollins for making fun of Brady, saying he would lead the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl again this year. That got a huge pop and it was a striaght babyface move. Then she announced the Demon Kane would face Rollins at Hell in a Cell, and added that Corporate Kane could team with Rollins tonight. She also announced that if Demon Kane doesn’t beat Rollins at Hell in a Cell, then Corporate Kane would be relieved of his duties. 

    Rollins pleaded his case with HHH about teaming with Kane tonight. HHH reminded him of the saying “Do unto other before they can do unto you.” So HHH was the heel here. I feel like Johny Hendricks trying to cut weight trying to make sense of the Authority.   

    Natalya defeated Paige via submission (6:03)

    Natalya got the tapout victory with the Sharpshooter, the second time she used that hold. Paige was a rogue heel, which didn’t have much of a reaction. 

    Ryback did a taped promo that was heavily scripted on Kevin Owens. At least it didn’t look he was reading a teleprompter. 

    Kevin Owens defeated Sin Cara (2:35)

    Owens won with the Pop Up Power Bomb. Talk about a random match. Owens jumped Kalisto, but Ryback ran out after Owens, who left through the crowd. 

    Stephanie was checking her iPhone when the New Day walked up chanting “Steph-un-Nee.” Xavier Woods started to play his trombone, but without even looking, Stephanie told Woods that if he played one note on that trombone, she would send the New Day to a place worse than Suplex City. Would that be WWE headquarters on Tuesday afternoons? She forced New Day into another tag title match with the Dudleys at HIAC. Stephanie has scolded the World Champion, the Director of Operations and the Tag Team Champions and we weren’t even 90 minutes into the show. 

    The entire WWE roster came out on the ramp. Cena and Reigns were in the ring with breast cancer survivors for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. They got a standing ovation as the nine women rose their arms together. Reigns did prepared remarks promoting a t-shirt called “Rise About Cancer” The fact Reigns was out there shows he’s still slated as the number two babyface in the company. CM Punk, Paul Lazenby, Lance Storm and others have been vocal on Twitter about breast cancer funds going to other foundations aside from the Koman Foundation, to the point where it’s too complicated to get into here. I would check their Twitter feeds for more information.  

    The Dudleys defeated Seth Rollins and Corportate Kane by DQ (13:23)

    The storyline was Kane has an injured right ankle so he wasn’t 100%, which forced Rollins to practically wrestle the match himself. The doctor told Kane he would have to go to the back. Just as he did on Smackdown last week, Rollins handcuffed Kane to the ringpost so he wouldn’t leave and turned into Demonic Kane. Then Rollins was thrown into Kane by Devon Dudley, and Kane broke free from the handcuffs. Kane left with the doctor. As he went to the back, Kane smiled at Rollins like it was all a ruse. That left Rollins alone against the Dudleys. When the Dudleys left to get the tables, Rollins dropkicked the table into both Dudleys. That led to the DQ, a finish the crowd booed. 

    Rollins went to leave, but Demonic Kane came out. Kane gave Rollins a big boot, but the Dudleys went back in the ring and gave Kane a 3-D. 

    The Dudleys left. Rollins set up a table in the ring while Kane appeared to be laid out. But as Rollins talked trash, Kane grabbed him by the throat. Rollins kicked him away and came off the top rope, but Kane caught him and gave him a choke slam through the table. Not much of a reaction for Demonic Kane until the table spot. 

    In footage from earlier today, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Alicia Fox were shown leaving a limosuine. At the same time, Naomi, Tamina and Sasha Banks got out of another limosuine. Naomi threw Nikki’s Yankees baseball cap away and laughed. This set up a trios match. 

    Banks did a prematch in-ring interview since they were back in her hometown, saying she put the Boss in Boston. Team Bella interrupted her, with Nikki running down the Boston Red Sox. Nikki and Brie traded barbs. 

    Team BAD defeated Team Bella via submission (11:46)

    Banks got Fox to tap out with the Bank Statement in a match that dragged. Good final two minutes leading to the finish. Crowd was lively for Banks. They’re still tossing around the Divas Revolution hashtag like it’s still a thing. At this point, the Miami Dolphins would have better luck launching #TannerhillRevolution. 

    Charlotte did a promo saying the Divas Championship would remain around her waist after her match with Nikki Bella at Hell in a Cell. She and Becky Lynch slapped hands. 

    Summer Rae saying she heard rumors Summer was over. If she paid any attention to the crowd, she would understand that isn’t true. She introduced Rusev. Summer wanted to dedicate the segment to Rusev, who she claimed has done more than any other superstar on the roster. There was a montage of Summer calling Rusev gentle and friendly as replays of him slamming Dolph Ziggler and Fandango were shown. 

    Rusev said when they first started their relationship, he didn’t like her at all. But now that she’s been under his arm, he can’t imagine anyone caring more than her. Summer said there’s been something she’s been meaning to ask him. She dropped to a knee and pulled out a ring under her blouse. She asked him to marry her. Ruseve looked speechless. Summer, who called Rusev “Ru-Ru,” said they could go straight to the top together. Rusev finally said yes and they hugged. Summer looked overjoyed. However, after that embraced, Rusev said “Yes, but not yet.” Rusev said they must prove to each other that they’re worthy. He wanted WWE gold around his waist before she could have gold around her finger. Summer looked confused and angry as Rusev held the ropes for her to leave. 

    Cena came out and wanted the challenger for the U.S. Open Challenge. Ziggler’s music played. However, the New Day showed up with a beaten up Ziggler in their arms. Woods reminded Cena of his warning to New Day last week that they better get serious and asked if this was serious enough for him? Big E. took the challenge. Loved the idea of New Day becoming more serious heels. 

    John Cena (C) defeated Big E. to retain the U.S. Championship (9:54)

    Cena won with the AA after Big E. tried to hit Cena with Woods’ trombone. Moments earlier, Cena lifted Big E. for the AA, but Kofi Kingston and Woods helped Big E. escape, leading to referee Charles Robinson ordering them to the back. During a commercial, Big E. delivered an overhead belly-to-belly suplex where Cena landed on the back of his head. 

    Postmatch, the New Day attacked Cena until Ziggler came out for the save. Ziggler tried to give Woods a superkick, but instead he accidentally kicked Cena. The Dudleys ran out, but the New Day outnumbered them. Kingston gave Devon the Trouble in Paradise. Then they gave Devon the Midnight Hour. This was done to make New Day more aggressive heels. 

    SUMMARY: Another cold show, even with Lesnar in the opening segment. With Cena taking a leave of absence in a month, it’s a major period of rebuilding ahead. The question is can they stop booking for ego and start booking for drawing money? The top two heel acts were berated by the boss’ daughter tonight. Reigns doesn’t feel like he’s hot enough to carry this show. However long Cena’s departure will be, it may be similar to when Bret Hart departed for WCW after the Montreal Screwjob in 1997. It’s hard to believe now, but Bret left behind a company with very little depth and only Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin as true stars. With the company at its breaking point, the WWE responded by making more stars than at any point in its history. Really, Cena is leaving behind a roster that’s even more thin than it was 18 years ago, but the paradigm has changed. However, the company’s mission shouldn’t be any different now than it was back then. 

    Pre-Show notes:

    Only the very top of TD Garden is taped off

    Cesaro comes out to a big cheer. Adam Rose is out to boos. Adam Rose says this must be the lowest point of his career. And by lowest point I mean he literally says “Wrestling Adam Rose on Superstars”. Way to out yourself over Adam.

    Cesaro swings Adam Rose 36 times, and submits him with the Sharpshooter.

    PTP vs Ascension

    PTP get on offense early, but Darren eventually gets isolated gets the face in peril heat. Tides makes the hot tag and wins after a powerbomb

  • TNA Bound for Glory 2015 live results: EC3 vs. Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy

    TNA’s Signature PPV, Bound for Glory, is live on PPV from Concord, North Carolina. Ethan Carter III defends the TNA World Heavyweight title in a 3 way main event against Drew Galloway and Matt Hardy, with Jeff Hardy as the special guest referee. Bobby Roode defends the King of the Mountain title against Lashley. Kurt Angle, in what may be his final match in professional wrestling, faces Eric Young. The card is rounded out by a Gauntlet match for a World title shot, Gail Kim defending the Knockouts title, The Wolves defending the tag team titles and Tigre Uno defending the TNA X Division title in an Ultimate X match.

    The action gets underway at 8PM ET. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, as well as the Madison Square Garden show, the UFC 192 show, and AAA’s Heroies en Mortlaes so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    ULTIMATE X OPENS THE SHOW FOR THE TITLE:  DJ ZEMA ION VS. MANIK VS. ANDREW EVERETT VS. TIGRE UNO

    This was one big move after the other.  It looked like Uno  got hurt doing a 450 off the top rope to the floor on Ion but it was his role to win.  Somehow he gutted himself to climbing the rope and pulling the belt down.  He had to be helped off he cable after he won.  Just a series of big  moves.  Everett looked really good including doing a springboard shooting star press.  Uno and Everett were both on he cable and Uno kicked Everett off and he took a big bump on his back off the cable.

    Shane Helms came out and was called the longest reigning cruiserweight champion in the history of pro wrestling.  He was called  Gregory Shane Helms and he looked like he was Kevin Nash standing next to Uno.  They shook hands. 

    The arena is being kept really dark. 

    Ethan Carter III came out with the belt.  He complained about Dixie making it a three way with Jeff Hardy as referee.  I have no idea why he did this interview.

    Thus far no hint of the secret third announcer.

    GAUNTLET FOR THE GOLD, A ROYAL RUMBLE STYLE MATCH FOR A TITLE SHOT:

    Ken Anderson vs. Jessie Godderz are starting.  The order of entrance after was Eli Drake, Al Snow, Aiden O’Shea, Robbie E, Mahabili Shera, Tyrus, Chris Melendez, Tommy Dreamer, Abyss and  The Pope.  The Pope came in from his announcing desk and then eliminated himself because he was scared of Tyrus and  Abyss.  This match was awful, even worse because a world title shot was at stake and it was total comedy.  At one point everyone in the ring was doing the Shera dance.  Dreamer was pretending he was Dusty Rhodes with polka dots, even though Dusty made it clear he hates the polka dots.  The story was  Tyrus played monster, eliminated a ton of people and then pinned Anderson when they were the last two.  So he can pick whoever he wants to challenge.  EC 3 came out and said how they were challenging for the tag titles but Tyrus said he’s done EC 3 all kinds of favors and wants a world heavyweight title shot.

    EDDIE EDWARDS & DAVEY RICHARDS VS. TREVOR LEE & BRIAN MYERS FOR TAG TITLES

    Real good match as you’d expect.  They got heat on Edwards most of the way.  A lot of good near falls and a strong showing by Lee.  The finish saw Richards use a superplex off the top on Lee and then he and Edwards used Chasing the Dragon on Lee and Richards pinned him.  

    Drew Galloway interview talked about the title match said a Triple Threat is a no DQ match, I’m willing to kill myself.  That was supposed to mean something.  He said he was given curve balls of Matt Hardy being added to the match and Jeff Hardy being made referee.

    BOBBY ROODE VS. BOBBY LASHLEY FOR THE KING OF THE MOUNTAIN TITLE

    Roode retained his title clean with the Roode bomb.  This was a match where they kept kicking out of each others’ moves.  This could have been a great match with a different crowd, but this crowd just wasn’t into it until the very end due to no face vs. heel dynamic.  Roode used the Roode bomb and Lashley kicked out.  Lashley used a spear but Roode kicked out.  Roode used a spear and Lashley kicked out and Lashley used a Roode bomb and Lashley kicked out.

    Matt Hardy out for an interview.  Put over how big the night is, grew up in Cameron, we wanted to be world tag team champions just once, then we both wanted to be world champions and Jeff has done it a few times.  Tonight is my night.  Can’t think of a better place to do it than tonight, said his father, his wife and baby are all here and Jeff is the referee.

    They showed the Earl Hebner Hall of Fame thing.  They showed maybe 20 seconds of it.  Billy Corgan came out and wanted to show highlights of Earl Hebner’s career.  Claimed Earl was a household name.  Called him the greatest referee in history.  He came out to the ring to a nice reaction.

    GAIL KIM VS. AWESOME KONG FOR KNOCKOUTS TITLE

    Bad match.  Kong is just hurting so bad she can’t do much of anything.  Kim retained with eat defeat and a small package.  They did a spot where Kong went for a chair but Chef Robert Irvine grabbed the chair from her.  Earl Hebner argued with Irvine and Kong gave her an implant buster on the floor onto chairs but Kim still kicked out of the pin. 

    ERIC YOUNG VS. KURT ANGLE

    Kurt came out and announced it was a no DQ match.  Young piledrove Angle and they sold it like Angle was injured.  The doctor came out and stopped the match but the bell never rang.  They were helping Angle out but Young attacked the doctor and Pat Kenney who were helping Angle out.  Young attacked Angle and Angle told him the match was over.  But the match continued.  Angle made a comeback and escaped from an attempted piledriver off the middle rope and reversed out of a sunset flip and grabbed the ankle lock.  Young made the ropes, but since it was no DQ, Angle never broke the hold and pulled him to the center and got the tap.  So Angle won even though it was stopped nine minutes earlier.

    EC 3 VS. DREW GALLOWAY VS. MATT HARDY FOR THE TNA TITLE

    Matt won the title by pinning Galloway.  Thne he brought his son and wife in the ring.  Then the Hardys brought their dad into the ring.  The match had its moments and Matt and Kurt were really the only guys to get strong reactions on the show.  They did a lot of near falls.  EC 3 complained to Dixie Carter and John Gaburick and threw Gaburck over a table.

    Matt kicked out of the one percenter.  Then EC 3 wanted to get DQ’d so he kicked Galloway low right in front of Jeff, but it was no DQ to begin with.  EC 3 got a chair but Jeff took it away.  EC 3 thne told Jeff to hit Matt with a chair which made no sense.  EC 3 slapped Jeff in the face.  Jeff hit EC 3 with a chair and Matt hit the twist of fate on EC 3.  Galloway then hit EC 3 with a running kick and Hardy used the twist of fate on Galloway for the pin.