For the first time since October 2015, TNA Wrestling returns to world of pay-per-view with Slammiversary, the 12th such event in company history and the sixth held in Orlando, FL. The show is available on most major cable providers, as well as FITE.tv.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
For the second straight year, Drew Galloway finds himself in the main event as last year, he was involved in the King of the Mountain title five way. This year, he defends his title against a game challenger in Bobby Lashley who is looking to regain the title. Also on the show, the Hardy brothers do battle in a Full Metal Mayhem match and all of the organization’s titles are on the line.
X-DIVISION CHAMPION TREVOR LEE VS. EDDIE EDWARDS VS. DJ ZEMA ION VS. ANDREW EVERETT
This match was one big move after another — too much for the crowd at some times and getting them back in it for others. The finish saw Edwards win the title pinning Lee with an inside cradle as Lee went for his fisherman buster. Good opener. Gregory Helms was kicked out from ringside at the beginning after coming out with both Lee and Everett. Everett did a springboard twisting dive, took a backdrop onto the ring steps, and also did a super Frankensteiner off the top rope.
– EC 3 interview. He put over that Bennett was the first guy to pin him but that was a catalyst for becoming the best wrestler. Carter tried to get the fans to sing his song and only a few did.
– They showed a clip of Dixie Carter announcing Sting for the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012. They announced that the 2016 inductee would be on TV Tuesday night.
BARON DAX & BASILLE BARACKA (w/AL SNOW) VS. MAHABALI SHERA & GRADO
The match was really bad. The finish saw Dax have Shera over his knee like a backbreaker, and Baracka coming off the middle rope with a Bret Hart forearm. Snow uses a whistle as his gimmick which didn’t work 26 years ago with John Tolos and is only slightly better now. Snow’s gimmick is he wants wrestling to be great again. This match wasn’t a good example of that. Dax & Baracka are the former Marcus Louis & Sylvester Lefort from NXT with Lefort now sporting a shaved head.
– Gail Kim and Maria Kanellis are going back-and-forth in the back as they were supposed to wrestle but Kanellis has a broken hand. Kim said Kanellis is a liar, and said she’s wrestling with a bad knee. Billy Corgan is out as William Corgan. He said he’s got the X-rays and the hand was broken. Corgan, at first, seemed to be playing heel as he was wearing sunglasses. He showed the X-ray and said that the minute Maria is cleared, Gail will get the match. Maria said her hand may never heal and she may never be able. Corgan announced a triple-threat match with Sienna vs. Jade vs. Gail Kim for the Knockouts title and it’s starting…right now.
JADE VS. GAIL KIM VS. SIENNA FOR THE KNOCKOUTS TITLE
Another bad match. Gail had Sienna pinned with Eat Defeat but Allie pulled Kim’s leg. Kim attacked Allie and then went after Maria. Allie threw the belt in to Sienna but Marti Bell jumped in. Bell then turned on Jade and hit her with a cane, leading to Sienna pinning her. They did more than the prior match but the crowd wasn’t much into it and they tried cool moves but most of the stuff didn’t look crisp.
Jeremy Borash interviewed Bobby Lashley. He made Borash announce him as the new world champion.
JAMES STORM VS. BRAXTON SUTTER
Storm did an interview saying he’s been at every Slammiversary. He said 14 years ago a man gave punk kids like he, Abyss and A.J. Styles a chance. Storm said that people said he’d never make it. Fans were chanting Orlando. He said there’s a lot of guys who need an opportunity because 14 years ago, nobody knew James Storm.
This was a short and perfectly professional match that the crowd didn’t care about because they don’t know Sutter (the former Pepper Parks). Sutter survived both a backstabber and codebreaker, but was pinned after a superkick which was the one move that didn’t look good. Storm then drank beer with Sutter after the match. It felt like Storm was going to take him under his wing and then, one will turn on the other.
– Eli Drake interview with Borash. Drake is a really good promo. He called Bram a cross-eyed halfwit, and that Eli Drake is perpetual bad assery.
– They showed a clip of Dixie Carter inducting Kurt Angle into the Hall of Fame. With the exception of Earl Hebner, everyone in their Hall of Fame is gone from the company.
KING OF THE MOUNTAIN CHAMPION ELI DRAKE VS. BRAM
Not much to this at all. They did a few countout teases. The big spot was Drake giving Bram a backdrop on the floor after Bram had taken the mats off previously. Bram used a DDT, which they call the Brighter Side Of Suffering, but Drake rolled out of the ring. Drake got back in, hit a clothesline and got the pin.
– Mike Bennett interview. He said he was the best wrestler on the planet and has the hottest wife in TNA. At least the second one, you can make a good argument for.
ETHAN CARTER III VS. MIKE BENNETT
Carter won with a TKO on a chair and the One Percenter. The crowd was into it at the end, but this was a tough crowd for obvious reasons and also because most are people who don’t watch the TV and don’t know the stories. They both worked hard. Bennett kicked out of the first One Percenter. The second time, Maria threw in a chair, which distracted ref Brian Hebner so he didn’t start the count for several seconds. Bennett used his Miracle In Progress (Michinoku driver on a chair), but the ref was distracted and slow in counting. Carter kicked out of a piledriver. Not a great match, but easily the best since the opener.
– Matt Hardy did his preacher interview.
MATT HARDY VS. JEFF HARDY IN A FULL METAL MAYHEM MATCH
They did a ton of weapons. Both worked real hard. The match story is that the new Matt kept kicking out of everything including a Twist of Fate and senton as well as a Twist of Fate through a table. The finish saw Jeff come off the top rope, jumping over the post, and put Matt through a table, pinning him on the floor as it was falls count anywhere rules. Lots of ladder spots. Jeff opened a ladder that stretched from one side of the rope to the other, and Jeff put Matt through the ladder off the top. Matt powerbombed Jeff through a keyboard set up bridging the apron to the guard rail. The problem was there was little reaction to some of the insane kickouts.
– Decay interview.
TNA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS DECAY (ABYSS & CRAZZY STEVE) VS. BROMANS (ROBBIE E & JESSIE GODDERZ)
Rosemary is in the Decay corner and Raquel in the BroMans corner. Abyss & Steve retained as Abyss gave Jessie a Black Hole Slam and then powerbombed Steve on top of him. All action, good match. Robbie & Jessie are very underrated as a team, particularly with Jessie’s athletic ability. He had Steve in the Boston crab/Adonis crab twice and Steve tapped, but the ref had mist blown in his eyes the first time and missed the tap. The second time, Abyss saved him. The women also got involved for a spot.
– Drew Galloway said he’s worked 16 years to be the world champion in the main event on PPV. He said he’s been defending this title in multiple companies, and said he tapped out Kurt Angle so he sure as hell can beat Bobby Lashley.
TNA WORLD CHAMPION DREW GALLOWAY VS. BOBBY LASHLEY — KNOCKOUT OR SUBMISSION ENDS IT
Real good match. Lashley won the title clean in the middle when Galloway passed out from a head and arm choke. They kept the shenanigans out of this one. Galloway was bleeding afer missing a running flip dive and crashing through a table. Galloway came back and used a tombstone piledriver, but he missed the running kick and Lashley hit a big punch that led to him putting on the choke. Galloway used moves like an Emerald Fusion and a sharpshooter — both on the ring steps.
We’ll talk more about this show tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio.
While it might not be “The End” of NXT, tonight’s TakeOver show from Full Sail University in Florida will likely be the end of one of the longest and most entertaining rivalries in NXT history as Samoa Joe and Finn Balor will battle in a first for NXT: a steel cage match.
Also on the show, Nakamura and Austin Aries look to advance to the next step in their respective NXT runs while NXT tag champions American Alpha are hoping this will be the end of their multi-month run against The Revival. NXT women’s champion Asuka looks to make a statement as she battles Nia Jax for the first time with the belt on the line, and Andrade Cien Almas finally makes his TV debut after months working NXT house shows, winning over crowds.
Almas won his debut in a hot five minute match. This was similar to Apollo Crews’ debut last August in that it was a more competitive match than most NXT debuts have been over the years. The fans at one point did dueling chants of “He’s 100” and “Perfect 10” as it was mentioned that Cien means one hundred in Spanish.
There was a hot move where Andrade went for a moonsault, but Dillinger rolled out of the way. However, Andrade landed on his feet and immediately hit a standing moonsault to Dillinger. Dillinger got several near falls, including one after a superkick when Andrade was upside down on the top rope. In the end, Almas won with a running double knees in the corner while Dillinger was sitting in the corner.
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NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs. The Revival
Revival became the first team to become two-time NXT Tag Team Champions as they won clean with Shatter Machine on Jordan. This was different than the usual American Alpha match as it didn’t start with several minutes of Gable and Jordan suplexing their opponents all over the place. Instead, it was more of a fight than a wrestling match.
At one point, the fight broke down into a 4-way with Jordan and Gable doing simultaneous takedowns and then using a double ankle lock, which made the fans go bananas.
Dawson hit a Spinebuster which looked nicer than Triple H’s. Dash and Dawson clipped Gable’s knee out during the heat and used a real nice double team combination legdrop for a near fall. Jordan made the hot tag and went all Full Suplex University on both men. Revival got many near falls before the finish, making you believe that they would lose at the end, but alas, they did not.
The fans were legitimately shocked by the finish and then they were shocked further when The Authors of Pain (Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani) attacked American Alpha after the match was over! They laid out Gable and Jordan before WWE Hall of Famer and Road Warriors manager Paul Ellering appeared on the ramp nodding his approval. The fans chanted “Who are you?” at Ellering.
The Authors of Pain have been working the Florida NXT house shows for a few months.
Asuka was warming up with Seth Petruzelli backstage and Bayley walked in, offering a handshake.
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Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries
Nakamura won with his second attempt at the Kinshasa. As expected, this was an excellent match. Aries had his ribs taped for some unknown reason, but that didn’t really play into the match. The fans sang Nakamura’s theme song, which, if you recall, is completely instrumental. It was pushed in commentary that no one had ever controlled Nakamura the way Aries was, while Aries stretched Nakamura on the mat. The story told was every time Nakamura would go for one of his moves, and Aries would have the counter.
Nakamura kicked Aries seven ways from sideways when he was on offense. Nakamura, at one point, went for the Kinshasa, but Aries blocked it and suplexed Nakamura before locking on the Last Chancery. Aries gave Nakamura a death valley driver on the ring apron, which looked like it killed him. The crowd did that annoying thing where they count one number ahead of the referee during a countout. Aries went for a Suicide Dive, but Nakamura moved causing Aries to crash into the barricade. Nakamura threw him back in the ring for the finish.
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Tickets are on sale this Saturday at 12Noon for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
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NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax
A much better match than expected. This built similar to the Nia-Bayley match from a few weeks ago where Jax just completely dominated Asuka from the bell. Every time Asuka went for a move, Nia would either block it or power out of it. Asuka’s biggest move was a kneebar, but Nia was right near the ropes.
Asuka made her comeback using a series of spinning back fists that Nia was blocking with her face. Nia used a power bomb like during the contract signing last week, but Asuka somehow turned a pinfall attempt into an armbar. Asuka won with several hard kicks to the face and head.
Not at the level of the great TakeOver matches, but still really really good.
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Earlier today, Mr. William Regal was talking to Cathy Kelly when Bobby Roode entered, walked past Mr. Regal, and entered the locker room.
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NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor in a steel cage match with pinfall, submission or escape rules
Joe retained the title with a Muscle Buster off the middle rope in yet another excellent match. This was exactly the physical match you expect from these two and at least this time Joe didn’t accidentally bleed in the first 30 seconds of the match. Joe on two occasions hip tossed Balor into the cage.
There was an amazing spot where both men were on the top rope and Finn went to hoist himself over the top of the cage, but Joe did his jumping Inzigiri to the back of Finn’s head, causing both men to crash onto the mat.
Joe at one time was caught between the ropes and the cage. Balor was on the top rope and kicked Joe in the face, causing Joe to hunch over on the top rope, crotching Balor on the ropes. Later on in the match they were back on the top rope and Balor gave Joe a Slingblade off the top rope and then one normal one. Balor kicked out of a Muscle Buster and Joe kicked out of a Coup de Grace before the finish.
With 13 days until Money in the Bank, Raw originates tonight from Oklahoma City. The WWE is promoting the Club as its new top heel group, which is new considering its a pushed faction that has no connection to the Authority. At least, not yet. A.J. Styles, as the group’s mouthpiece, will likely be relied upon to give a promo explaining his attack on John Cena last week.
It could also be another night of returns. Bray Wyatt has been rumored to return imminently. With only two weeks to go before the show, there’s only three matches announced for Money in the Bank, and even the Money in the Bank match itself is unclear. Originally, there were seven participants announced, but only six are currently listed.
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The Big Takeaway:
This was a show that was full of talking and not much action. John Cena and A.J. Styles had a verbal joust full of inside references. Cena said wrestling Styles at Money in the Bank was a dream match (and was promoted that way throughout the show), then called Styles a bust because he lost to Roman Reigns twice. Teddy Long made a surprise return, booked to look like a out of touch goof who had no idea what the current fans want to see. The only match officially made for Money in the Bank is a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE tag team titles with The New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows vs. Enzo & Big Cass vs. the Vaudevillains.
Show Recap:
The show started with the six men involved in the Money in the Bank match already in the ring hovering on top of their own ladders.
Kevin Owens put down Sami Zayn as being less famous than the other five. Chris Jericho said he was more famous than any of them. Owens said he would be more famous than any of them because he will be the one who will take the Money in the Bank briefcase and the other five will be in his shadow. Dean Ambrose wanted to skip the talking and get to fighting. Owens talked him down and said he would get the briefcase some more and said he would take on all comers as champion. Owens said he wouldn’t defend the title against any of the men in the ring, but he would face anyone else, including the Nation of Domination, Waylon Mercy or the Four Horsemen.
Alberto Del Rio ignored Ambrose’s pleas to start fighting and said Zayn was a dog covered in fleas compared to him. Crowd actually started chanting “Si, si, si.” Cesaro spoke up before Jericho shouted him down and reminded everyone he created the Money in the Bank match. Cesaro then asked “How come you’ve never won a Money in the Bank match?” Jericho said he had. Zayn asked which one? Jericho mumbled something about the first one. Then he said the sixth one in Appleton, Wisconsin. Cesaro acted like had no idea what Jericho was talking about and called him a stupid idiot.
Jericho did his new “Gift of Jericho, Drink it in, man” catchphrase. Ambrose climbed up and punched Jericho. They all started brawling.
Then, out of nowhere, Teddy Long made a surprise return to “Teddy” chants. Long heard that SmackDown was heading to Tuesdays live. Teddy was all over the place on the mic. He said SmackDown was the longest running network wrestling show. Michael Cole had to issue a correction afterwards saying SmackDown was the 2nd longest weekly episodic series in television history. Cole had to explain the entire purpose of the Long cameo afterwards. Ordinarily, Long said he would arrange a disqualification match (that’s what he said), a six-way match and various other stipulation matches. Everyone looked confused.
Stephanie McMahon came out acting like she had no idea Long was going to be there. She asked what Long was doing. Long said he wanted to run SmackDown. Stephanie said a decision on who would run SmackDown hasn’t been decided yet. Teddy asked to see Shane McMahon. Stephanie said Shane was on vacation and asked him to get to stepping. Long wanted to dance off the stage, but Stephanie ordered that his music not be played.
Stephanie said Zayn would face Del Rio; Ambrose would take on Owens, and Cesaro takes on Jericho immediately. Then Stephanie ordered Long’s music to be played and she danced to the back. This was a really weird segment that Stephanie actually had to save.
Cesaro defeated Chris Jericho via submission (12:05)
Cesaro used a 13-rep Giant Swing then used a Boston Crab to get the tapout. Earlier, Jericho blocked an attempt at the Giant Swing and turned it into a small cradle. Some spots were mistimed, including Cesaro going for a springboard uppercut but Jericho catching him with a Codebreaker. Overall, a solid match.
– Anybody else notice the Money in the Bank music is also Donald Trump’s WWE music from WrestleMania 23?
– They honored Muhammad Ali by showing tribute tweets from HHH, Bret Hart, Shane McMahon and Steve Austin.
An amazing but perplexing video package aired focusing on Seth Rollins.
It was basically a five-minute version of the documentary that’s airing on the WWE Network. They showed the debut of the Shield at Survivor Series 2012, where they jumped Ryback. Rollins said, in or out of the Shield, he always wanted to be the best, not one of the best. Rollins said people misunderstand his relationship with Roman Reigns. He doesn’t dislike Reigns, it’s just that Reigns is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rollins said when he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, it was his moment, not Reigns.
They replayed his injury in Dublin, Ireland. There were even videos of Rollins as an infant playing with a Hulk Hogan stuffed action figure, pinning it to win the championship. When the video of Rollins’ surgery aired, he was shown cutting a promo from his bed, slurring his speech, saying he was coming back for his championship on day one. Cameras caught him watching Reigns beat HHH at WrestleMania from a luxury suite. Rollins said Reigns was a placeholder, not a real world champion.
Reigns is just sitting on Rollins’ throne, keeping it warm for him. Rollins said Reigns has never beaten him. It was such a good piece…so how are fans supposed to treat Rollins as a heel now? This is something straight out of Florida Championship Wrestling in the 1970s if an injured babyface sidelined for six months was rehabbing for a run against Dory Funk Jr for the NWA strap.
U.S. Champion Rusev defeated Jack Swagger via countout in a nontitle match (3:36)
Rusev and Jack Swagger did a double clothesline spot on the floor that looked still as hell. Titus O’Neal was on commentary. As the referee got closer to a 10 count, Rusev kicked Swagger into O’Neal and got back in the ring for the win. Postmatch, Swagger and O’Neal sent Rusev packing. Odd to see two babyfaces send one heel out of the ring. Swagger was over in his home state.
John Cena came out.
He said you don’t know what you got until its gone. Last week, there was energy and excitement when A.J. Styles and Cena was in the ring together. He called it a once in a generation moment. He tried to get it over like it was the 2002 staredown between the Rock and Hulk Hogan, then started doing his own dueling chants to mimmick what the crowd was doing. Cena said he’s only had electricity like that with one other Superstar, the Rock. Cena said for 15 years, people had been curious to see Styles vs. Cena. But Cena wanted to know why Styles chose the easy way out.
Cena wanted Styles to come out and explain himself. Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came out. Crowd had more dueling chants. Styles said he took the easy way out because he had a plan to punch Cena right in the face. And it worked perfectly. Styles said Cena insults him. He said Cena was great on his morning shows and his movies. But Cena insults him when the bell rings. And Cena knows deep inside that “You can’t beat me.” Styles says his kids ask him all the time why doesn’t he wrestle Cena. He answers because if he did, he would run rings around Cena.
Cena said Styles’ jokes are as outdating as his jorts. Cena said he looks at Styles as someone who worked two decades to get to the Royal Rumble, and failed. He failed twice against Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Cena said Styles was a bust. Styles said attacking him was desperate. Cena said Styles didn’t know who he was dealing with because he failed twice against Reigns, and now he was going after him?
Styles shot back that he could go back to Japan tomorrow and sell it out tomorrow. He said he nothing else to prove because he has nothing left to lose, so that makes him dangerous. Styles said after someone wrestles Cena, they get out the shovels and bury Cena’s opponent. Styles said Cena didn’t know who he was dealing with.
The Club went to the ring and surrounded Cena. The New Day ran down to join Cena and chase them away and it ended. A trios match between the three was announced for later tonight. A strange promo by Cena. On one hand, he compared Styles to the Rock. Then minutes later, he called him a bust. Styles did a promo straight from the heart of every Internet fan, or anyone else who has paid attention over the last 11 years. It was the time for Styles to give the best promo of his life, and it was very good.
The Vaudevillains defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass by DQ (2:22)
Aidan English teased throwing out Enzo Amore over the top rope the same way he did at Payback. He threw Amore to the ropes, but Amore slid under the ropes and still sold it like he suffered a concussion. Big Cass went nuts, pounding English in the corner. The referee called for the bell when Cass refused to back off. Fans booed the DQ. Cass gave Simon Gotch the East River Crossing. Enzo got back in the ring. It’s clear they want Cass to break out of the singles pack because he’s tall, but he doesn’t have the charisma that Enzo has. Big Cass quoted Ali. Enzo Amore brought up the Vaudevillains knocking him out and said he could blow a bubble with a Now-A-Later.
Zayn did an interview saying he would have to consider himself an underdog against Del Rio tonight because ADR has captured the World Heavyweight Championship. Del Rio showed up and said if Zayn won the Money in the Bank briefcase, it would prove all those people who Zayn could never win wrong. But Del Rio said Zayn’s dream is his reality and Zayn was destined to stay in the same spot he’s in now.
– More tribute tweets to Ali from Cena, Stephanie, Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley.
Long walked up to Stephanie dancing to his music, which was the ring tone on his phone. Long said if he was running SmackDown, he would take Enzo & Cass, the Vaudevillains, Anderson and Gallows and the New Day in a four-way for the tag team titles. Stephanie blew off that idea and asked Long how he got back security. Long pulled out a dollar bill and said “it makes you go holla holla.” Stephanie just glared at him. Teddy showed himself out. First thing Stephanie did was arrange the Fatal Four-Way tag team match that Long suggested for Money in the Bank.
Alberto Del Rio pinned Sami Zayn (8:18)
Surprisingly one-sided match where Del Rio won with the diving double foot stomp off the top rope. Zayn didn’t get much of a comeback after the heat. In fact, he didn’t even get a ring entrance. Del Rio’s first attempt at the double foot stop led to Zayn throwing him off the top rope. But Del Rio was back up in no time for the finish.
Ambrose walked backstage with Owens laughing at him. Owens said he was concerned for Ambrose, not just because of the Money in the Bank match, but because Ambrose has been more off the deep end than usual. Ambrose asked if Owens thought he was off when he beat him for the Intercontinental Championship. Owens said Ambrose needed help. Ambrose said Owens is the one who needs help.
Reigns got a video package just like Rollins from earlier.
They showed Reigns pinning Daniel Bryan to win the tag team titles. Reigns said Rollins thinks he’s the smartest guy on Earth. Reigns said he felt betrayed when Rollins broke up the Shield. He said being in the main event of WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar was a roller coaster by itself. When Rollins cashed in the Money in the Bank contract, Rollins took away his WrestleMania moment. His wife, father and daughter were all there.
He felt anger, but sometimes anger is the best motivator a man can have. Reigns said Rollins has always attacked him from behind because Rollins is scared of him. Reigns said there will be a big fight feel (Cole used those exact words earlier) at Money in the Bank since it will be in Las Vegas. Reigns said he’s expecting a better Seth Rollins, and he will beat a better Seth Rollins.
Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens (6:33)
Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds. Before the finish, Ambrose went for a tope, but Owens caught him and rammed his back into the apron. Owens followed with a Bullfrog splash. Crowd was quiet for much of the match until Ambrose did a superplex. After the match, Ambrose pulled out a ladder and climbed to the top. Why did he do that? To show he could climb a ladder? The answer, of course, was to give Owens a chance to recover and throw Ambrose off the ladder and scream how he would win Money in the Bank.
– Life Lessons with Bob Backlund had Darren Young saying he’s been running. Backlund said Young should always be walking and that he hasn’t run since 1978. Young said that was long before he was born. Backlund said he had Young’s car keys and he wanted him to walk eight hours to Backlund’s house. Young just walked off unhappy about walking eight hours.
Charlotte and Dana Brooke came out.
Cole said the world was still reeling about what Charlotte said to Ric Flair two weeks ago. I’m still reeling from Stephanie stealing her heat last week. Charlotte acted like she was going to apologize for saying what she said to her father. Charlotte said when she said Flair was dead to her, she meant professionally. She still wants to spend the holidays with her father, work out with her father, etc. But she didn’t want Flair stealing her spotlight.
Natalya and Dana Brooke came out laughing over Charlotte’s acting routine. Charlotte said Natalya had a trainwreck of a family and they should have their own reality show on E! Lynch said Brooke would eventually get stabbed in the back by Charlotte. Natalya warned Brooke that Charlotte was a master manipulator, something she and Lynch learned the hard way. Brooke looked at Charlotte like she was concerned and started to walk over towards Charlotte and Natalya. Then Brooke punched Natalya, who fell over Lynch. Brooke gave Lynch a Samoan Driver whie Charlotte held Natalya in a Dragon Sleeper and they posed over the babyfaces bodies.
Primo and Epico did a promo about how great drinks in Puerto Rico are.
Tyler Breeze and R-Truth went to a no contest (:53)
Goldust and Fandango brawled into the ring for a quick DQ. Long came out and ordered the rematch restarted. Everyone just glared at him like he was crazy. Security ordered Long out with no more action between these four, and not a moment too soon. Breeze and Fandango did an inset promo where Breeze shaved Fandango’s back. Fandango said something about how having the right lotion on your body makes your muscles aerogigantic.
– Long walked out before we got our weekly “Stephanie chews someone out” moment. Stephanie scolded Long and said Raw was going to be in the hands of someone young, vivacious and strong, and it was going to be her, not her brother Shane. She said Raw wasn’t going to be in the hands of old, incompetent, out of touch geezer. The irony alert was instantly activated from the local Emergency Alert System. Then she ordered Long to get the hell out of her building.
– Ali tribute tweets from Vince McMahon, Booker T and Flair were shown. Cole introduced a tribute package to Ali, showing his knockouts of Sonny Liston and George Foreman. They showed Ali talking about how much Gorgeous George and Freddie Blassie influenced him. There was rare footage of Vince interviewing him with Blassie managing him, I assume for the buildup that aired on ABC’s Wide World of Sports that built up his match with Antonio Inoki. Plus, there was the angle with Gorilla Monsoon. Of course, there was also his appearance at WrestleMania I. Crowd gave the video package a standing ovation.
– They announced the Ambrose Asylum next week would return with Reigns and Rollins as the guest. So it’s a Shield reunion, even though Stephanie cancelled the Ambrose Asylum a month ago. We didn’t even get Shane texting in an order to revive the show, they just advertised it with no warning.
– New Day came out and compared The Club with the Mickey Mouse Club. Kofi Kingston said they were the WWE World Tag Team Champions, and that was the only club that mattered. It all started as a three-on-three fight that ended with Styles giving Xavier Woods the Styles Clash on the floor. Woods was carried to the back and they carried on with the bout now a 2-on-3 handicap match.
The Club defeated The New Day in a handicap match (5:12)
Styles pinned Kingston after the Phenomenal Firearm. Kingston got a near fall earlier after the SOS. Afterwards, Anderson and Gallows threw Big E. into the dasheboards. Cena ran out for the save and he decked Anderson and Gallows. Styles retreated. Anderson and Gallows jumped back on the apron, and Styles wallopped Cena from behind. Kingston gave Styles a missile dropkick. Big E. gave Anderson the Big Ending, and Cena gave Gallows the AA.
During the match, Styles gave Big E the Pele Kick on the floor, and Gallows followed with the Yakuza kick. The crowd actually chanted for Cena after that. Cole mentioned it’s been 288 days since the New Day recaptured the WWE World Tag Team Titles.
SUMMARY:
The highlight of the show was the video package for Rollins. It was almost as good as the documentary made about him on the network. The timing of the video is the lingering question. Why didn’t they show that in the month preceding his return, then have him come back as a babyface to feud with Reigns? Rest of the show was ordinary in front of the deadest Raw crowd since WrestleMania.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, just outside of Los Angeles. The event is headlined by two title fights involving two heated rivalries. UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold makes his first title defense against Michael Bisping, who gets his first title shot after almost ten years of fighting for the UFC after he replaced Chris Weidman in the bout. In the co-main event, it is UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz making his first defense since regaining the championship when he defends against long-time rival Urijah Faber, who looks to finally capture UFC gold. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:15 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
This weekend we’ll be doing polls on this show, as well as Monday and Tuesday’s New Japan show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle and best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
LIGHTWEIGHTS- POLO REYES (5-2, 1-0 UFC) VS. DONG HYUN “MAESTRO” KIM (13-7-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: The place is pretty empty starting out the show. I wonder what the odds are of having two Dong Hyun Kim’s in the same promotion. Both coming out swinging. Kim hurt him. Both landing big shots. Kim now working for a takedown. Torres powered Kim down and now punching on the ground. Hard knee by Torres and he’s landing big punches. Kim up and landed a left. Head kick by Reyes. Reyes dropped him with a left. Mexico chants. Knee by Reyes. Knee by Reyes. Trading punches some more. Knee by Kim. Another knee by Kim. Left by Reyes. Spin kick by Reyes. Kim got a takedown into side control. Reyes back up. Kim with punches and knees. Reyes back. 10-9 Reyes. This was a round of the year candidate. Just incedible.
Second round: Kim landing jabs. Reyes in with punches. Spin kick by Reyes missed. Both back swinging. Both are continuing to land solid shots. Head kick by Reyes. Kim hurt him with a left. Reyes with knees. Both landing big shots. Knee and left by Kim. Reyes landed solid shots. Defense does not exist in this world. Hard left by Kim. Reyes with a big right. Reyes now has him hurt. Kim trying for a takedown and got him down. Kim got his back. Reyes back up. Knee by Reyes. Kim bleeding from the nose and mouth. Reyes bleeding as well. Kim tried for a takedown and pretty much went down almost due to exhaustion and Reyes ended on top. Reyes 20-18.
Third round: The doctor is checking on Kim. Elbow by Reyes. Reyes dropped him and ref Mike Beltran stopped the fight. A right staggered him and a second right as Kim was falling finished it. Beltran jumped in after one more punch on the ground.
Joe Rogan just called this one of the most entertaining fights he’s ever seen in his life. It was incredible.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- KEVIN CASEY (9-4 2 NC, 1-1 2 NC UFC) VS. ELVIS MUTAPCIC (15-4, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Casey’s father-in-law was Muhammad Ali. Body kick by Casey. Mutapcic landing body kicks. Casey with an uppercut. Casey with a body kick. Casey took him down. Casey landing body shots from the top. Casey with more body punches from the top. Casey moved to side control. Casey got behind him in a scramble. Mutapcic back to his feet. Mutapcic with a flying knee. Casey 10-9
Second round: Casey winged a few punches. Hard body kick by Mutapcic. Casey with a takedown but Mutapcic right back up and landed punches and knees. Casey with another takedown into full mount. Elbows by Casey. Mutapcic rolled out of it and back to his feet. Mutapcic throwing elbows. Hard knees by Mutapcic. Mutapcic with a lot of knees. Mutapcic landing knees and threw an elbow late. Close round. 10-9 Casey
Third round: Head kick by Mutapcic and jumping knee and more elbows. Casey with a right. Casey poked him in the eye. Mutapcic kicked him in the jaw. Mutapcic kicked to the body. Knee by Mutapcic. Casey went for a takedown but Mutapcic landed on top in the mount. Mutapcic landing a lot of elbows at the end. Almost a 10-8 round but I’d go 10-9 Mutapcic so 29-28 Casey. But the second round could easily go to Mutapcic and he could take it, or you could go 10-8 and have it a draw.
Scores: 29-28 Mutapcic 29-28 Casey 28-28 draw. You can’t fault the judges on any of those scores.
Mutapcic said he wanted to dedicate the fight to Ali. Casey kind of said the same thing.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- JONATHAN WILSON (7-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. LUIS HENRIQUE DA SILVA (10-0, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Da Silva. Wilson with uppercuts. Trading kicks. Hard body kick by Da Siva. Both landing. Hard knee by Da Silva. Da Silva with an uppercut and a knee. Another uppercut by Da Silva. Body shot by Wilson. Wilson with a left. Another body kick by Da Silva. Elbow by Wilson and a right . Wilson landing hard shots. Wilson now landing hard shots. Knees by Da Silva. Da Silva 10-9
Second round: Da Silva landing knees. Da Silva with knees and a lot punches. Takedown by Wilson. Wilson landing lard lefts and rights and dropped Da Silva with a left. Wilson is on top. Wilson with lefts on the ground. Da Silva reversed to the top into full mount. Da Silva landing hard punches and elbows. Da Silva with a lot of punches. He kept landing punches until ref Mike Beltran waved it off. This was a really good fight.
WELTERWEIGHTS- SEAN STRICKLAND (17-1, 4-1) VS. TOM BREESE (10-0)
First round: Hard body kick by Breese. Another body kick by Breese. They are trading low kicks. Some booing because it’s starting slow. Breese moving forward and landed a left. Body kick by Strickland. Breese with more body kicks. 10-9 Breese
Second round: Body kick by Strickland. Nice right by Strickland. Breese coming back. Low kick by Strickland. Crowd booing and restless. Strickland landing punches. Body kick by Strickland. Strickland’s round 19-19. Crowd booed both guys when the round was over
Third round: Nothing much to this fight. Fans booing loudly now. Takedown by Breese with one minute left but Strickland right back up. He tried another takedown but Strickland blocked it. Strickland got a takedown and landed punches when it was over. I Gave it to Strickland so he won 29-28. Crowd booed this finish heavily.
Scores: 29-28 Breese 29-28 Strickland 29-28 Strickland. Crowd heavily booed the decision but . Strickland apologized for the fight and said Breese kept backing up.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- COLE MILLER (21-9 1 NC, 10-7 1 NC UFC) VS. ALEX CACERES (11-8 1 NC, 6-6 1 NC UFC)
First round: Caceres dropped him with a left right away. Miller right back up. Miller hip tossed him down. Miller dragged him down a second time. Caceres reversed to the top. Caceres let him back up. Body kick by Caceres. Head kick by Caceres. Caceres with punches. Spinning backfist by Caceres. Caceres landed a hard left. Caceres took him down. Caceres let him up. Body kick by Caceres. Punches and a head kick by Caceres. Miller tried a takedown, Caceres ended up on top and let him up. 10-9 Caceres.
Second round: Jumping kick by Caceres. Caceres landing several punches. Miller with a head kick. Caceres hurt him with a left and landed several more punches. Caceres threw him down. Caceres threw him down a second time. Miller back up. Body kick by Caceres. Caceres landing a lot of punches. Caceres threw him down a third time. Caceres continuing to land. He landed a left and a high kick and then a right. Good right by Miller. Caceres 20-18.
Third round: Caceres did a marital arts pose to stat the round which popped the crowd. Cesares back landing punches. Left and a takedown by Caceres. Head kick by Caceres. Miller with a takedown. Miller working for an armbar. Caceres out into side control. Great sequence. Crowd went bananas as he escaped. Leroy chants. Caceres threw him down again. Miller with a left. Knee by Miller. Caceres with punches and took him down again. Miller reversed to the top. Miller now working for a choke with 25 seconds left. Miller punching from back position but Miller needed a finish and didn’t get it. Miller’s round 29-28 Caceres overall.
Scores: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 Caceres. Not sure about that 30-27 because Miller won that third round.
First round: Andade came out strong landing a ton of punches. Andarde in with another flurry. Andrade firing away again. Andade in with another flurry. Adnrade landing a ton of punches and Penne is in a lot of trouble. Penne went down from punches just as the round ended. 10-8 Andrade for sure.
Second round: Andrade landed a ton of punches and Penne went down and Andrade let her back up. Andrade killing her with punches. It’s really time to stop this one. Jason Herzog stopped it.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#10) BENEIL DARIUSH (12-2, 6-2 UFC) VS. JAMES VICK (9-0, 5-0 UFC)
First round: Dariush got poked in the right eye. Vick poked him in the right eye again. Hard body kick by Dariush . Dariush decked him and his pounding him on the ground. Dariush with hard elbows on the ground. Dariush with hard punches but Vick up. Dariush with a right. Vick with a body kick. Dariush landed a right and Vick lost his legs. Dariush with punches and dropped him with a left and it’s over. The place came unglued with that finish.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#12) BRIAN ORTEGA (10-0 1 NC, 2-0 1 NC UFC) VS. CLAY GUIDA (32-16, 12-10 UFC)
First round: Guida dropped him with a left. Guida chants even though Ortega is from Los Angeles. Guida connected with a right. Guida moving forward. Loud Guida chants. Guida landing lefts in a clinch. Both trading now. Guida landing a number of punches. Guida even tried a head kick. Body kick by Ortega. 10-9 Guida.
Second round: Guida went for a takedown but Ortega sprawled. Body kick by Ortega. Left by Ortega. Guida tried a takedown but Ortega blocked it again. Ortega with a right. Spin kick by Ortega. Ortega’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Ortega with a jab. Guida with a right. Ortega landed some. Spin kick by Ortega. Guida can’t get inside to land. Knee by Ortega and another knee. Guida with left. Ortega dropped him with a knee and it’s over.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#11) DUSTIN POIRIER (19-4, 11-3 UFC) VS. (#13) BOBBY GREEN (23-6, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Poirier with some low kicks. Green landed some punches and Poirier came back and decked Green. Body kick by Poirier. Left by Poirier. Poirier landing big punches. Another left landed by Poirier. Poirier with another left. Poirier decked him again with a left and after a few punches on the ground referee Jason Herzog stopped it.
They just aired a wonderful tribute to Muhammad Ali narrated by Dana White. One of the best videos they’ve done, particuarly on such short notice.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#15) DAN HENDERSON (31-14, 8-8 UFC) VS. (#14 WW) HECTOR L
First round: This place will come unglued if Henderson wins. Super loud Hendo chants. Henderson clocked him and Lombard clocked him back and took Henderson down into side control. Lombard went for a straight armbar. Henderson out. Henderson back to his feet and the place exploded. They were trading big shots and Lombard decked him. Lombard is all over him and Henderson back up. This fight is insane. Lombard took him down again and held him there until the end of the round. Lombard 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Lombard. Both landed big shots. Lombard landed a right after Henderson missed. Crowd chanting for Henderson. Henderson landed a head kick and a hard side elbow and Lombard went down hard. After two more elbows on the ground it was over. This place is going insane. This was one of the loudest pops you’ll ever hear. Lombard is still down. 1:27
Lombard is now sitting up. Henderson thanked the fans for their reaction. The place is going so nuts for Henderson it isn’t funny. All of his kids were at ringside for the first time. He said he’s not sure what’s going to happen but that may have been the last fight of his career.
Henderson’s kids were all in the ring with him after along with other family members.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#4) MAX HOLLOWAY (15-3, 11-3 UFC) VS. (#5) RICARDO LAMAS (16-4, 7-2 UFC)
First round: Holloway landing some early. Spin kick by Lamas landed short. Holloway landed some punches. Hollloway all over him with punches and a knee. Lamas went for the takedown and Holloway blocked it. Lamas short on a spin kick. Body kick. Lamas fighting for the takedown and couldn’t get it. Holloway landed several punches and a spin kick. Holloway 10-9.
Second round: Lamas threw a kick that was blocked. Lamas with a low kick. Both landing a lot of punches but Holloway getting the better of it. Lamas now back with hard punches. Lamas went for a takedown. Holloway blocked and on top. Holloway for a split second had a dragon sleeper. Holloway with a body kick as Lamas got up. Lamas shot in and Holloway got a choke. He didn’t have it fully in and let go. Holloway threw punches from back position as the round ended. Holloway 20-18
Third round: Holloway landing punches. Lamas back with a kick. Head kick by Lamas. Holloway landing punches and kicks. Spinning elbow by Lamas. Both threw for all they were worth in the last ten seconds to elicit a standing ovation. 30-27 Holloway although the third round was closer than the first two.
Scores: All three had it 30-27 for Holloway.
Holloway asked for a $50,000 check for best fight. He’s not getting it. He also asked for a title shot.
First round: Cruz booed a lot. Analysts are not getting over with this audience. Faber chants. Faber threw a knee and Cruz took him down. Faber scrambled but Cruz up and got behind him. Cruz took him down and Faber scrambled. As he got up, Cruz hit him. Body kick by Cruz. Faber moved in and slammed Cruz but Cruz reversed to the top immediately. Faber out and landed a left. Faber landed a right. Cruz with a low kick. Cruz went for a takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz landed few shots Cruz 10-9.
Second round: Cruz dropped him with a left. Faber back up. Cruz missed a kick and Faber is in trouble. Knee by Cruz. Cruz landing jabs. The crowd is turning toward Cruz. Cruz with a low kick. Another low kick by Cruz. Back to chants for Faber. Cruz landed a left. Cruz with a left. Low kick by Cruz. Faber missed a big shot. Faber with a right. Head kick by Cruz. Cruz landed a body shot. Cruz 20-18.
Third round: Cruz with a low kick. Cruz slipped and Faber landed a punch but Cruz hurt him with a counter. Cruz landed a good left. Cruz landed more shots. Low kick by Cruz. Left by Cruz. Cruz went for a takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz went for another takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz missing a lot but Faber couldn’t land. Cruz said something to him after the round and Faber shoved him. Cruz 30-27.
Fourth round: Faber missed on punches. Cruz with a left. Faber clipped him with a punch. Cruz with a left. Both are missing a lot now. Cruz dropped him with a left and landed a head kick. Faber back up. Cruz with a right. Now crowd chanting for Cruz. Faber with a right. Both missing more. Cruz 40-36.
Fifth round: Cruz landed two head kicks. Cruz landed punches as Faber moved in. Cruz with lefts. Cruz took him down as Faber went for a big shot. Body kick by Cruz as Faber got up. Cruz with another takedown. He moved into side control. Faber back up. Faber tried the guillotine but he’s not getting that tonight. Cruz 50-45.
They did have a short sorta hug after.
Scores: 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 Cruz
Cruz again said ring rust wasn’t real.
Faber was booed after and said he can’t say anything other then pushing that Cruz had power but nothing like Cody Garbrandt. He priased Cruz’s wrestling. By the time Faber was done fans wer cheering him. He said he wants to be at the top, he wasn’t at the top tonight and talked about supporting Gardbrandt and his guys.
WWE has already starting promoting Lesnar at UFC 200.
UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) LUKE ROCKHOLD (15-2, 5-1 UFC) VS. (#4) MICHAEL BISPING (28-7, 18-7 UFC)
First round: Bisping got a mixed reaction. He doesn’t have that veteran sympathy thing going for him. Rockhold also got a mixed reaction. And he’s from California. Both were mouthing off before it started. Rockhold with a push kick. Bisping landed a punch to the face. Bisping with a low kick. USA chant. Rockhold with a left and Bisping back. Body kick by Rockhold. Bisping with a body kick. Bisping landing more. Low kick by Roickhold. Rockhold landing body kicks now. Bisping dropped him with a left and dropped him a second time with a left and landed two punches on the ground and it was stopped. This was very much like the GSP vs. Serra fight. 3:36
Bisping’s family is in the ring celebrating with him. Bisping said I have to be humble, thanked everyone for being here. I stated fighting when I came out of my mother. Priased his wife and parents. I’m an average guy this is my dream, two weeks notice, two hours two minutes I’ll fight anyone. Thanked people in the UK.
Rockhold was booed. Congratulations to Michael, he caught me. I took it for granted. Admitted he was overconfident. I didn’t fight my fight. He’s a tough guy and he’s a warrior.
After sitting on the sidelines since January recovering from shoulder surgery, the Memorial Day edition of Raw from Green Bay, WI, will feature the return of former WWE Champion and top draw John Cena to action.
Unlike the return of Seth Rollins last week, Cena’s reemergence has been hyped for weeks with vignettes and an appearance on the Today show this morning. (Also, remember that we just saw him do a run-it at Wrestlemania.) With the brand split coming up in July, it will be interesting to see if they will start the buildup to the July 11th draft show tonight, or give it time to build and wait after the Money in the Bank PPV.
If this show does a poor rating, expect blame to be placed on Game 7 of the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff series. There is also Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between San Jose and Pittsburgh that kicks off tonight — more of a regional ratings hit.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET. Join us!
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The Big Takeaway: A.J. Styles reunited with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in what may be the angle of the year. It happened during John Cena’s return. Styles came out to put over Cena and welcome him back to Raw. Anderson and Gallows came out to accuse Styles of kissing Cena’s ass. Just when it seemed they were gearing up for a tag team match, Styles jumped Cena, and the Club joined together for a collective beatdown. Styles repeatedly left the ring, then ran back in to beat up Cena some more. Only other news of note was Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon acknowledging Smackdown’s move to Tuesdays starting in July and the upcoming brand extension.
Shane & Steph Open The Show
They opened with a 10-bell salute in tribute to the soldiers for Memorial Day with all of the roster’s superstars lined up on the ramp. Vince, Stephanie and Shane McMahon were out there, but there was no HHH. They replayed a speech that Ronald Reagan gave on Memorial Day in 1982 with various personalities reciting the address.
Shane came out, but was cut off by Stephanie. They were more antagonistic towards each other this week. Stephanie was wearing shorts so brief, they wouldn’t have been able to wipe up a small amount of milk spilled on your kitchen floor. Shane announced that Smackdown would go live every Tuesday in July. Stephanie announced John Cena’s return, which got mostly cheers.
The New Day showed up. They all put over Smackdown going live. Then they mentioned the brand extension, showing mainstream news publications about the looming split. Kofi Kingston said he was new era, which Big E. and Xavier Woods laughed at. Woods said Kingston was his favorite wrestler in middle school. Kingston asked where is the New Era going?
Stephanie said they didn’t know yet. Kofi accused her of dodging the question. New Day asked to not be split up. Shane said nothing is off the table. Big E. was worried. Woods didn’t want Francesca the Trombone to be raised without her three fathers, and said trombones raised without a father don’t have as good a track record.
Kingston said Shane and Stephanie hadn’t decided who will run which brand, but Big E. sensed there was a sibling rivalry brewing. So Big E. called for a dance contest. Shane started dancing to the New Day’s music while Stephanie stood back in the corner and laughed at him. Stephanie acted like she was going to dance, which she did to the New Day’s music last year with HHH watching on. Before she could begin, the Vaudevillains came out for a match with the New Day. Michael Cole said going into the break that Smackdown live would return. JBL busted his chops over later.
WWE Tag Champs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E.) defeated the Vaudevillains by DQ in a non-title match (8:50)
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows came through the crowd and jumped New Day for the DQ. Gallows threw Woods into the dasherboards, then Anderson gave Kingston a Yakuza Kick. While this was going on, Simon Gotch kicked Big E. from behind. Vaudevillains left Big E laying so Gallows and Anderson could deliver the Magic Killer on him. Crowd is already dead and we’re only 35 minutes in.
Anderson and Gallows were backstage. Renee Young asked them what that was all about. Anderson said that was to show they could inflict as much damage without A.J. Styles than with him. He said they were just getting started.
Apollo Crews met with Big Show backstage. Show said he liked Crews and told him Sheamus was a bully. Show said he didn’t mind the New Era because he’s been knocking out guys since the Jurassic Era and it didn’t matter to him. Show said Sheamus is in desperation mode and he jumped Crews last week because he wanted to see if Crews would back down. Show told Crews the question is whether Crews will back down.
The Usos defeated Breezango (1:43)
Jey Uso pinned Fandango with a crucifix. Goldust and R-Truth were at ringside. Truth was all the place, calling Byron Saxton “Coach.” To which JBL shouted “Byron’s not Coach. Coach has talent!” Tyler Breeze and Fandango started jawing off to the Golden Truth and the two sides brawled. Truth threw Fandango into the barricade. Goldust gave Breeze a powerslam on the floor. The gimmick with the Golden Truth is they’ve lost both matches to Breezango so far, and JBL makes fun of them for being a babyface tag team that loses.
Roman Reigns came out before the Warriors-Thunder game could tip off.
He got his usual reception. He talked about how Seth Rollins sold out two years ago when he broke up the Shield. Rolins said he was calling himself “The Man”, but how can he be The Man when he’s running from The Guy? He challenged Rollins to come out.
Rollins came out to noticeably more cheers, even after his heel promo last week. He teased getting into the ring, came down the ramp, then went back up the ramp. He acted like he was going to speak for about a minute, but stopped before he could utter a word. He threw the mic down like he was going to fight, but then held up. He kept starting and stopping. I was getting flashbacks to the Sheamus-Reigns angle from last December. Some fans chanted “boring.” Then he picked up the microphone again, threw it down and left. Reigns music played. Rollins ran down again, but stopped when Reigns turned his back and caught his eye. Not a great segment.
The most newsworthy thing of the night happened during the commercial after this for 2K17. In an ad you can see here, Goldberg appeared walking with security to his WCW theme music, looking in great shape for a 49-year-old. The setting, scenery and placement after that abysmal Reigns-Rollins angle made him look like more of a star than anyone so far tonight.
U.S. Champion Rusev defeated Zack Ryder via submission in a non-title match (2:33)
Rusev won with the Accolade, which looks more like a rear naked choke now than a Camel Clutch. Ryder had just hit the Broski Boot and went for the Rough Ryder, but Rusev tossed him over and Ryder landed on his ass. Lana’s outfits get skimpier by the week. She’s now relegated to just introducing Rusev, but didn’t even get in the ring for his postmatch promo.
Rusev cut an anti-American interview afterwards where he called the Green Bay fans “Cheese gobbling cheese…whatever you call yourselves.” Titus O’Neal walked out and did a robotic promo about the nerve of Rusev running down America on Memorial Day. O’Neal said he comes from America, where they fight. O’Neal decked Rusev with one forearm to send him out of the ring.
Primo and Epico did another interview putting over Puerto Rico.
There was a piece reviewing the Charlotte-Ric Flair breakup from last week. Various wrestlers weighed in on Charlotte. Dean Ambrose said he felt Charlotte wanted to humiliate her father. Dolph Ziggler said he felt Charlotte kind of told the truth. What? Becky Lynch said Ric always wanted the best for him. Ambrose got another quip saying Flair may have taught Charlotte everything she knows, but not everything he knows. Cole, JBL and Saxton read off various tweets. Then they showed an angle from earlier today where Stephanie dressed down Charlotte, saying she was embarrassed to have her as champion and screamed how Charlotte was spoiled and privileged. Basically, the entire segment was to get Charlotte over as a heel. Then in the last minute of said angle, they made the entire thing moot by having Stephanie berate her and she came off as another wounded pup under the Authority’s rule.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass came out to the biggest pop of the show. Enzo said since they were in Green Bay, they reeled off a list of cheeses. Cass scrolled them off one by one while making a double entendre about you know what.
Enzo and Cass defeated The Dudley Boyz (9:16)
Third tag team match in two hours. I thought the Jim Crockett Cup had broken out. Enzo pinned Devon Dudley after the Rocket Launcher. Just a month after suffering the concussion at Payback, Enzo got the heat after falling off the top rope. Bubba Ray got slammed off the top rope by Cass, but had to wait forever for him to get up. Match had the most heat of the night.
The main event will be a six-man tag involving the known participants in the Money in the Bank match, with Ambrose, Cesaro and Sami Zayn facing Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho. Ambrose, Cesaro and Zayn talked privately backstage. Ambrose said you couldn’t trust Owens because he was a Canadian. Zayn started to point out he was a Canadian, then Cesaro said Jericho was also dangerous. Ambrose derided Jericho as also being Canadian. Zayn spoke up and asked Ambrose if he knew he was Canadian. Ambrose looked like that was a revelation and said “That explains everything.” Zayn looked confused.
John Cena Returns
John Cena returned to a nice pop. He got a short “welcome back” chant, but it was surprisingly very brief. Of course, he got his usual share of boos. He started very serious reciting the Ronald Reagan speech earlier, then said there were many brave heroes who had fallen. Memorial Day was a celebration of that sacrifice and he was very thankful to be back home. On this day, it was with the utmost respect that he honored the heroes who helped keep liberty intact. Cena said liberty was freedom, and freedom was our lifeblood. It enabled pople to dress how you want, listen to whatever music you wanted, stand on your chair and scream at the top of your lungs.
Now, the question was whether he still belonged on Monday Night Raw? Cena said a new era arrived in his absence. That means new names and new faces. All of those people had the same thought: that Cena’s best days were over. Cena said he wouldn’t go quietly into the night. And if the future is upon us, then the future must go through him.
Styles came out. Cole put over seeing Styles and Cena in the same building was something many thought we would never see. At first, the crowd seemed quiet. Then it turned into a lengthy battle of dueling chants. Styles and Cena just let the fans take over the show for a few minutes. It built and built to where it was really loud and made this potential program feel like something special.
Styles said he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Cena said, judging by this crowd, so has everyone else. Styles said Cena has kind of a bad rep. Styles said he always heard Cena was the first guy to get to the building and the last to leave. Styles said they have been in two different worlds, but he respected Cena’s hard work. Styles said he wanted to be the first one to say “Welcome back.” They shook hands.
Gallows and Anderson then walked out. Gallows told Styles they agreed to go their separate ways, and he saw what they did with the New Day. He accused Styles of sucking up to Cena. Anderson said he thought that was beneath Styles, but apparently not. Anderson said, unlike Styles, they were not there to kiss ass, but to kick it. That included Styles.
Just as Anderson and Gallows were ready to square off and an impromptu tag match was about to take place, Styles jumped Cena. Anderson and Gallows then jumped in and they all put the boots to Cena. Styles, Gallows and Anderson stood over Cena and gave each other Clique signs to some real heat. A fantastic angle to turn Styles heel. Styles ran back in to pound on Cena some more while Anderson said that’s the A.J. they love. Styles left, then ran back in again to lay the punches in some more. Crowd was incensed. After the referees came in, Styles came back in to pummel Cena some more. Styles screamed he was doing the world a favor and “You’re welcome, world.”
Dana Brooke defeated Natalya (1:20)
Brooke won after Charlotte distracted Natalya, which led to Brooke winning with a Samoan Driver. Cole called it a Michinoku Driver. Charlotte and Brooke put the boots to Natalya. Lynch ran down for the save. For someone who was supposed to be a heavy heel after last week, Charlotte got a disappointing response, probably because the star of the show stole her heat last hour.
Ziggler did a promo saying he was going to outwrestle Baron Corbin tonight. He brought up Jericho’s 1004 holds promo from 1998 Nitro. To show how badly it bombed, Ziggler bragged he had 1006 holds and starting naming them just like Jericho did 18 years ago. He listed armbar 3 times. He stopped after seven and said “He’s Dolph Ziggler and Corbin isn’t.”
Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler by DQ (:33)
The announcers built up Ziggler’s amateur record, including a school record 121 wins at Kent State University. When the bell sounded, Ziggler put on amateur wrestling headgear. So the first thing he did was kick Corbin in the balls for an immediate DQ. Ziggler announced he had been disqualified, but the loser of the match was still Corbin. JBL mentioned the original man of “1,000 holds” was Earl Caddock, who wrestled Joe Stecher in 1920 in the oldest known pro wrestling match that has footage.
Maryse introduced the Miz, who is on location shooting the Marine 5. He talked about how he’ll return soon to his adoring public to defend his Intercontinental Championship.
Jericho, Del Rio and Owens argued in the back over who should start their match tonight. Jericho finally got them to agree they should make sure Zayn, Ambrose and Cesaro don’t make it to Money in the Bank. After they left, Jericho called his teammates “idiots.”
Cesaro, Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn defeated Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio (17:51)
Good match with an excellent finishing sequence ending with Ambrose pinning Owens after Dirty Deeds. Jericho hit a codebreaker on Ambrose, but Owens made a blind tag trying to get the pin. That led to Owens and Jericho arguing, which they had done throughout the match. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick on Del Rio, moments after Del Rio caught Cesaro with the Back Stabber.
Earlier, Ambrose hit a tope as the heels bickered with each other some more. Felt like a house show match just thrown out on live TV because the company knew they were going to get creamed by the NBA Finals, but the main event slot hasn’t felt like the true main event of the show lately.
SUMMARY:
It says a lot for Cena’s presence that frequently has memorable swerve angles. Mark Henry’s career highlight was the angle in 2013 where he teased a retirement speech, but jumped Cena instead. Styles’ heel turn tonight could be every bit as memorable. It was extremely well done and the only thing worthwhile in an otherwise forgettable 3 hours.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs. Garbrandt from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC’s annual Memorial Day Weekend event in Las Vegas is headlined by a bout between undefeated bantamweight prospects as 21-0 Thomas Almeida takes on 8-0 Cody Garbrandt. The co-main event features former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao moving up to the featherweight division as he takes on Jeremy Stephens. Also on the card, in a pivotal bout on UFC Fight Pass, it will be undefeated Aljamain Sterling taking on Bryan Caraway in bantamweight action. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- CHRIS DE LA ROCHA (4-1, 0-1 UFC) VS. ADAM MILSTEAD (7-1, 0-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- Milstead is making his UFC debut. They start swinging wildly to start. Milstead with a big right hand and de la Rocha pulls guard. They scramble up and Milstead lands a knee. They trade right hands. Milsread with another big right hand. de la Rocha lands one and then gets a takedown but they scramble up against the cage. Milstead with an elbow against the fence. Not much happening in the clinch. They break. de la Rocha is cut. They trade big punches and both are starting to tire early. Milstead with a big right hand and then two more. Milstead with a combo and a big right hand. Milstead landing punches and de la Rocha initiates a clinch against the fence. They break and Milstead with a solid left hand. de la Rocha scores a sloppy takedown but they get to their feet. Milstead with a big elbow in the clinch. They break. Milstead with a big left hook and a right hand and misses a head kick. 10-9 Milstead.
ROUND 2- They trade punches to start to second. Milstead with a big uppercut followed by a right hand. They trade punches in a scramble. de la Rocha with a right hand. They trade big punches. de la Rocha has a large cheering section in the arena. de la Rocha shoots for a takedown against the fence. He’s working for it but eats a big elbow from Milstead. They are broken up with not much going on in the clinch. de la Rocha goes for a kick but Milstead catches the leg and lands a big right hand. Milstead starting to tee off and has de la Rocha in trouble. de la Rocha is bleeding very badly. Milstead with two big right hands. Two more big right hands and another couple shots and the referee steps in and stops this fight. Milstead with a big TKO win in his UFC debut.
Official Result: Adam Milstead def. Chris de la Rocha by TKO (punches) at 4:01 of Round 2
ROUND 1- This is a big fight in the bantamweight division. Sterling with a quick front kick and another. They trade punches. Sterling with a jumping kick that misses but lands a spin kick. Sterling grabs a single leg but Caraway defends. They trade punches in the clinch. Sterling grabs the back and drags Caraway to the ground and has the hooks in and is looking for the choke. Sterling with punches from the back. Sterling has an arm over the neck. Caraway escapes but Sterling with big punches from the back and he tries to set up the choke again. Sterling still has the back and landing big punches from the back. Sterling has a modified choke in looking for the finish. Caraway survives. Big round for Sterling. 10-8 Sterling.
ROUND 2- Caraway looks to land a right hand quickly. Sterling shoots for a takedown but Caraway sprawls and has the neck of Sterling looking for a choke. Sterling escapes to his feet. Sterling with a body kick and then another. Sterling lands a big right hand and a big leg kick. Caraway lands a right hand. Sterling with a leg kick. They trade strikes and clinch against the fence. Not much happening but they break the clinch. Sterling just misses a spinning back fist. Caraway shoots for the takedown but Sterling defends against the cage. Caraway gets him down though. Caraway with punches from the top. Caraway looking for the back. Caraway transitions to the back and is landing punches. Caraway gets into half-guard. Caraway looking for a choke but the round ends. 10-9 Caraway, 19-18 Sterling.
ROUND 3- This round will decide it and its interesting how the judges scored the first. Sterling with a leg kick. Caraway looks the fresher of the two. They trade and Caraway misses a takedown. Sterling with a front kick followed by a right hand. Caraway gets a takedown but Sterling has the neck. Not much happening on the ground. They scramble to the feet but Caraway looking for another takedown. He gets it after Sterling lands a big knee. Caraway in the half-guard. Sterling has an inverted triangle locked in but Caraway escapes. Caraway not doing much and Sterling looking for the ref to stand them up. Caraway gets to the back of Sterling and looking for a choke. Sterling stands up and Caraway is on his back. Caraway with punches from the back. They go back to the mat and the fight ends. Real interesting decision coming up. 10-9 Caraway, 28-28.
Official Result: Bryan Caraway def. Aljamain Sterling by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ERIK KOCH (14-4, 3-3 UFC) VS. SHANE CAMPBELL (12-4, 1-2 UFC)
ROUND 1- Campbell with two leg kicks to start and he slips on a third. Koch with a left hand. They trade leg kicks. Koch lands a left hand and then another. Koch with a head kick followed by a left hand. They trade punches. Koch with a head kick that stuns Campbell and they trade against the fence before a clinch. Koch with some knees in the tie-up. They trade knees. Both still battling in the clunch and landing knees and they finally break. Koch with a high kick. They trade and Campbell goes for a takedown but it is defended against the fence. Koch gets a takedown after eating an elbow. Koch takes the back and transitions to another takedown. Koch gets the back again. 10-9 Koch.
ROUND 2- Campbell lands a big punch and Koch immediately scores a takedown and is in the half-guard. Koch working to get into the mount but Campbell defending well on the bottom. Koch still working from the top and is setting up position but transitions to the back. Koch has the back and is looking to get the arm under the neck. Koch landing punches from the back and he locks a choke in and Campbell taps out! Big win for Koch in his first fight in over two years.
Official Result: Erik Koch def. Shane Campbell by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of Round 2
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JAKE COLLIER (9-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ALBERTO UDA (9-0, 0-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- Uda makes his UFC debut. They clinch right away and Uda looks to land the knees. They break and Collier lands a left hook. They clinch again and trade knees and push the fight against the fence. Uda with a big knee as they break. Collier with a body kick. Uda with a big knee and a head kick and he has Collier in trouble. Uda grabs the back and lands punches and they go to the mat for a moment but scramble right back up. Uda has the body locked but misses a takedown and gives his back up to Collier.They clinch and land knees. They break and Collier with a spinning back fist. They clinch again. Each with a knee. They trade knees again. Collier scores a takedown. Collier in the full guard of Uda and lands a big left hand. Collier gets to his feet and it allows Uda to take his back and Uda looks for a choke. Uda ends on top landing punches as the round ends. 10-9 Uda.
ROUND 2- They come out punching and clinch right up. Collier grabs the body looking for a takedown but Uda is defending. Collier with some solid punches as they break. They trade body kicks and Collier seemed to hurt Uda with his. Collier with some big punches and a spin kick and Uda goes down and Collier finishes him off with a couple more punches from the top. Big win for Collier as he hands Uda his first career loss.
Official Result: Jake Collier def. Alberto Uda by TKO (strikes) at 1:06 of Round 2
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ABEL TRUJILLO (14-6 1 NC, 5-2 1 NC UFC) VS. JORDAN RINALDI (12-4, 0-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- Rinaldi is making his UFC debut on short notice against a tough opponent in Trujillo. Rinaldi with a leg kick. Trujillo lands a big right hand. Trujillo gets a takedown and is in the full guard of Rinaldi. Trujillo with a body punch from the top. Trujillo gets to his feet and Rinaldi stays on the mat until ordered up by Herb Dean. Trujillo with a big right hand and then stuffs a takedown attempt from Rinaldi. Rinaldi ducks under a left hand from Trujillo and they clinch against the fence. They trade punches and Trujillo lands big with a right hand. Left hook by Trujillo. Front kick by Trujillo. Trujillo lands a big right hand as they exchange punches. They trade left hands as the round ends. 10-9 Trujillo.
ROUND 2- Trujillo gets a takedown to start the second round. Rinaldi grabs the arm looking for the armbar but Trujillo defends it well. Trujillo now in the full guard of Rinaldi. Trujillo stands up and Rinaldi gets to his feet. They trade punches and Rinaldi grabs the back of Trujillo and scores a takedown along the fence. Rinaldi has the back and the hooks in and is looking for the choke. Rinaldi with punches from the back. Rinaldi has an arm under the neck. Trujillo escapes the attack and they start to each land punches on the mat. Rinaldi still working for the choke. He has Trujillo flattened out but no choke in. Trujillo staying out of the choke but eating punches from Rinaldi. Trujillo scrambes out to the top but the round ends before he is able to do anything. 10-9 Rinaldi, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Trujillo quickly goes for a takedown and lands a big right hand. They trade punches and each man connects. They scramble on the mat and to the feet and Rinaldi lands a knee. They trade and Trujillo defends a takedown and they clinch against the fence. They break. Rinaldi goes for a takedown but eats a knee from Trujillo. Trujillo with a big right hand. Rinaldi with a head kick. Trujillo with a right hand and he looks the fresher of the two with two minutes left. Trujillo throwing bombs at Rinaldi and some are landing. Trujillo with a left hook and another and he has Rinaldi rocked. Trujillo gets a takedown in what will probably guarantee him the win. Trujillo with punches from inside the guard. Neither man doing much on the mat. Rinaldi tries to scramble but eats a hammerfist from Trujillo, who gets to his feet. Herb Dean orders Rinaldi up. Trujillo with a left hook. 10-9 Trujillo, 29-28 Trujillo.
Official Result: Abel Trujillo def. Jordan Rinaldi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#6) SARA MCMANN (8-3, 2-3 UFC) VS. (#7) JESSICA EYE (11-4 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC)
ROUND 1- Both women are in desperate need of a win here. Eye with a right hand. They trade and McMann goes for a takedown and they clinch against the fence. McMann with a couple of knees. McMann just holding on and not doing much. McMann with a knee. Another knee by McMann. They trade right hands. McMann misses a right hand. Eye lands a right hand. Both miss punche attempts. Eye with a missed body kick. Not much happened. 10-9 McMann.
ROUND 2- They trade punches. Eye with a right hand. McMann slips after getting hit by Eye. They trade punches and Eye lands as she circles away. McMann goes for a takedown but it is defended by Eye who lands a punch. They trade punches and McMann goes for a takedown and gets it. McMann with some hammerfists from the top. Eye throws up the leg to defend. McMann moves to side control and scrambles to the back. McMann with punches from the back and a knee to the body. 10-9 McMann, 20-18 McMann.
ROUND 3- McMann with a leg kick and Eye fires back with a combo and a leg kick. Eye with a leg kick and a right hand. McMann gets a takedown and is in side control. Eye looking to scramble out. McMann lands punches from the back. McMann has the back. Back elbow from Eye. McMann still has the back. McMann with punches from the back. Eye tries to scramble out but McMann still has the back and is landing punches. McMann looking for a north-south choke. She gets into the half-guard of Eye. McMann with some punches from the top and Eye starts to land from bottom but the fight ends. 10-9 McMann, 30-27 McMann.
Official Result: Sara McMann def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 9 PM ET/6 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOSH BURKMAN (28-12 1 NC, 6-7 1 NC UFC) VS. PAUL FELDER (11-2, 3-2 UFC)
ROUND 1- Burkman going for side kicks. Each land leg kicks. Burkman with a head kick. Burkman with a leg kick. Felder with a head kick. Felder with a body kick. Burkman misses a right hand. They trade punches. Felder with a head kick. They trade punches and Burkman lands a right hand. Burkman with a leg kick. Each mand lands big and they are throwing bombs at each other. Burkman gets the takedown and is in side control. They get to the fence and Felder wall walks up. Burkman with a leg trip and they go down for a moment but get right back up. Burkman with a knee to the body. 10-9 Burkman.
ROUND 2- Burkman with a body kick and Felder fires back a leg kick. Burkman with a right hand. Felder with a leg kick. They trade punches. Felder with a leg kick.They trade and Felder lands a right hand. Felder with a combo. Burkman with a body kick. Felder with a hard both kick. They trade and then clinch. Burkman with a knee to the body and switches position. They break the clinch with just over a minute left in the round. Felder with a right hand. Felder rocks Burkman with a left and they trade against the fence. Felder clinches and lands a knee. Felder with an elbow. Felder gets the back of Burkman and lands a knee. 10-9 Felder, 19-19.
ROUND 3- They trade nice combinations to start the final round as this one likely decides it.Felder with a spin kick and slips for a moment. Felder with a big right hand. Felder lands a right hand. Burkman just misses a right hand. Felder with a leg kick and then another. Burkman with a knee kick and Felder counters with a leg kick. Felder just misses a head kick. Burkman with a left hand. They clinch and Felder lands a big knee as Burkman pushes the fight against the fence. Burkman has the body lock looking for a takedown and he gets it, Felder gets right back to his feet. They battle for position. They battle for underhooks. Burkman is bleeding pretty good right now. They are broken up from the clinch. Burkman with a late takedown as the fight ends. 10-9 Felder, 29-28 Felder.
Official Result: Paul Felder def. Josh Burkman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ROUND 1- Larkin with a left hand. They trade punches and Larkin lands a leg kick. Larkin with a big body kick. They trade punches and Larkin lands a leg kick and then a right hand. Masvidal lands a right hand following a leg kick. Larkin with the jab and then a leg kick. Masvidal with a leg kick. They each fire off punches at the other. They clinch against the fence. Each with some knees in the clinch. Larkin lands on the break and lands a leg kick. They trade punches and Larkin just misses an uppercut. Masvidal gets poked in the eye and is in a lot of pain. This could end the fight. Replay shows it was a bad eye poke and the doctor is checking on Masvidal. Masvidal is able to continue and lands a leg kick. 10-9 Larkin.
ROUND 2- Larkin with a huge leg kick in the opening minute of the round. Masvidal with a leg kick of his own. They trade leg kicks. Larkin just misses an uppercut. They trade punches and Larkin clinches with Masvidal against the fence. They battle for underhooks but break. Masvidal with a soft head kick. Larkin with a body punch. Larkin with a leg kick. Masvidal lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence. Larkin lands a big punch. They are firing away at each other. Masvidal with a leg kick but Larkin counters with a solid combo. They trade punches and Larkin with a knee. Larkin gets a late takedown at the end of the round. 10-9 Larkin, 20-18 Larkin.
ROUND 3- Larkin with a huge leg kick. Larkin with a big uppercut and they clinch. Both men throwing bombs at each other against the fence. Masvidal just misses a flying knee. Masvidal grabs the neck and pulls Larkin to the ground and they scramble back to their feet. Masvidal is deep on a takedown attempt against the fence. Masvidal gets a brief takedown as Larkin bounces right back to his feet. They thrown wild punches at each other and then clinch again. Larkin with some short punches as Masvidal is in on a takedown and then lets go. Masvidal going for another takedown but it is again defended. Larkin going for the takedown and lands a spinning elbow as the fight ends. 10-9 Larkin, 30-27 Larkin.
Official Result: Lorenz Larkin def. Jorge Masvidal by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- CHRIS CAMOZZI (23-10, 8-7 UFC) VS. VITOR MIRANDA (12-4, 3-1 UFC)
ROUND 1- Camozzi with a leg kick. Miranda with a body kick and Camozzi lands a leg kick. They trade kicks again. Miranda with a leg kick. Camozzi with a left hand. Miranda with a leg kick and then a body punch. Camozzi with a nice combo that backs Miranda against the fence. Camozzi with a leg kick. Miranda with a body kick. Camozzi goes for a head kick but Miranda grabs the leg and they scramble to the mat. They each land punches on the mat as they have their legs all tied up. Camozzi with some punches and Moranda isn’t doing much. 10-9 Camozzi.
ROUND 2- Camozzi with a nice combo to start off the second round. Miranda with a body punch. Miranda with a high kick. Miranda with a body kick. Camozzi catches the leg and gets a takedown and is in the guard of Miranda. Camozzi with some body punches from the top. Miranda tries to scramble out and it allows Camozzi to take his back. Camozzi looking to flatten Miranda out but Miranda is working to get to his feet. Camozzi in the half-guard and landing punches from the position. Other than that, not much action. Camozzi with some big elbows as the round ends. 10-9 Camozzi, 20-18 Camozzi.
ROUND 3- Miranda has a cut and it was checked on before the round. They trade punches and Camozzi scores the takedown and is looking to take the back. Camozzi is on top looking to improve position but not much action going on. Miranda scrambles to his feet. Miranda is bleeding pretty badly. Miranda lands a head kick but Camozzi comes back with a combo. They trade punches. They clinch and Camozzi lands a knee. Miranda with a high kick. Miranda lands a right hand. Miranda with a big high kick. Camozzi lands a left hand. Camozzi with a solid combo. Miranda misses a big left hand. Miranda with a leg kick. Camozzi with the short jab. Miranda lands a left uppercut. Camozzi should take this fight pretty easily. 10-9 Camozzi, 30-27 Camozzi.
Official Result: Chris Camozzi def. Vitor Miranda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
WELTERWEIGHTS- (#10) TAREC SAFFIEDINE (16-4, 2-1 UFC) VS. (#11) RICK STORY (18-8, 11-6 UFC)
ROUND 1- Story with a leg kick to start. Story misses on some left hands. Saffiedine with a leg kick. They trade punches and clinch and Story pushes against the fence. They scramble on the mat for a moment but end up clinched back against the fence. Story with some body punches as Saffiedine has ahold of him. Neither man can separate from the other. Story with a right hand and they clinch against the fence again. Story with some big body punches at the close and Saffiedine lands a knee and a kick that was clearly after the bell. 10-9 Story.
ROUND 2- Saffiedine with a high kick and then a leg kick. Saffiedine with a front kick. Story slips after a leg kick and Saffiedine gets on top but they get right back to their feet. They clinch but notjing happens. Story with a leg kick and Saffiedine fires back with his own leg kick. Saffiedine shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Story pushes Saffiedine against the fence. They try to break but Story again pushes Saffiedine against the fence in a clinch. Story lands some punches against the fence and back to the clinch. They break for a moment and Saffiedine lands a punch and Story goes back in the clinch and lands some short knees. 10-9 Story, 20-18 Story.
ROUND 3- Saffiedine with a leg kick. Story with his own leg kick. Story with some big body punches as he gets in close range and they clinch. They break. Story with a leg kick but Saffiedine counters with a left hand. Story lands a left hand. They clinch again against the fence. Story with some body punches against the fence. They trade punches and Story again with the clinch against the fence. They each land punches as they break. This fight is on repeat with all the clinch, break and clinch again action. Story with a leg kick and Saffiedine fires back his own leg kick. They trade punches. They exchange again. Story with body punches. Story goes for a takedown but it is defended. 10-9 Story, 30-27 Story.
Official Result: Rick Story def. Tarec Saffiedine by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#2 BW) RENAN BARAO (33-3 1 NC, 8-2 UFC) VS. (#9) JEREMY STEPHENS (24-12, 11-11 UFC)
ROUND 1- Barao making his debut at 145 pounds. Barao with a quick leg kick. Barao with a body kick. Stephens with a leg kick. Barao lands a right hand. Stephens with a leg kick but Barao catches it and fires off a combo. Barao with a leg kick. Barao lands a right hand. Stephens with a body kick. Barao with a leg kick. Barao with a leg kick. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is defended against the fence. Barao with a couple of knees. They break the clinch. They trade punches. Barao with a body kick. They clinch and knee lands from Barao. Barao tries a trip and it breaks the clinch. They trade punches and Barao with a spinning back kick. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Barao has the back but the round ends. 10-9 Barao.
ROUND 2- Stephens lands a big right hand to start. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is stuffed. Stephens with a leg kick. They trade punches and Barao with a quick knee. Stephens with a left hand and then rocks Barao with an uppercut. Barao circling away and Stephens lands two more big uppercuts. Big right hand from Stephens and Barao lands a knee. Big punches from Stephens. Barao is slowing down and he goes for a takedown but it is stuffed. Stephens with a knee to the body and then some foot stomps. They each land short punches in the clinch. They break. Barao with a spinning kick. Stephens with a body kick. Stephens lands a left hand. They trade punches. Barao with a late takedown but Stephens lands a big elbow and is able to get to his feet and reverse position. 10-9 Stephens, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Barao with a leg kick. Barao lands a left hand. Stephens lands a nice combo. Stephens with a left hand. Barao with a leg kick. Barao with a solid combo to the body. Stephens just misses a big left hook. Barao lands a left hand and goes for a takedown against the fence. Stephens with some knees to the legs of Barao. They trade punches. Both men landing big shots. Stephens lands a solid left hand after missing an uppercut. Barao goes for a takedown and gets it. Barao moves to the back of Stephens. They break. Barao just misses the spin kick to the face. Stephens lands a left hand. Stephens lands a big right hand. They trade body kicks. Stephens grabs the body but they break. Stephens lands a big left hand as the fight ends. Close deciding round. 10-9 Stephens, 29-28 Stephens.
Official Result: Jeremy Stephens def. Renan Barao by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#7) THOMAS ALMEIDA (21-0, 4-0 UFC) VS. CODY GARBRANDT (8-0, 3-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- Someone is going to suffer their first career loss. Garbrandt tries a cartwheel kick to start. They trade leg kicks. Garbrandt with a combo and just misses a flying knee. They trade punches. Garbrandt with a right hand. Garbrandt lands some punches and a big right hand. Almeida just misses a right hand. Garbrandt with a leg kick and a combo. Garbrandt with a huge punch and Almeida is in trouble. Almeida fires back though. They trade punches as Almeida looks to have recovered. Both men land big punches. Garbrandt with a big right hand and Almeida is down and out! Garbrandt scores the big knockout win!
Official Result: Cody Garbrandt def. Thomas Almeida by knockout (punches) at 2:53 of Round 1
The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues with A block matches in Osaka.
After the foreigners took center stage on Friday in Tokyo with the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match everyone is talking about, it’s the Japanese in the main event tonight with Kushida (1-2) facing Ryusuke Taguchi (3-0). In addition, we’ve got Matt Sydal (2-1) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (3-0) in what should be a great match, plus Gedo (1-2) vs. David Finlay (0-3) and Rocky Romero (2-1) taking on Los Ingobernables de Japon member Bushi (0-3).
Given the records, you can probably figure out the results but we’ll see how they get there.
WILL OSPREAY & TRENT BARETTA & TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & VOLADOR JR. & MICHAEL ELGIN
Heated crowd tonight. Very good opener but usual rush job with all this talent. Tenzan had one of his better nights. Ospreay and Volador stole the show with some great spots. Ospreay has started to just take over and knows he’s the big deal now and the crowd already treats it like he’s something special when he tags in. The finish saw Elgin pin Baretta. Baretta went for a codebreaker but Elgin blocked it and power bombed him.
JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK &. MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA VS. KATSUYORI SHIBATA & JAY WHITE & BOBBY FISH & JUICE ROBINSON
Another very good match. Nagata and Shibata are going to tear the house down when they come back for their singles match in Osaka on the 19th. They were super hard hitting and solid with everything they did. Nakanishi actually came off the top rope twice in this match and worked surprisingly well with Robinson, who is more animiated. But it was another rush job. Nakanishi and Nagata double-teamed White with a chop off the top by Nakanish and enzuigiri by Nagata at the same time and Nagata put him way with the bridging back suplex.
DAVID FINLAY VS. GEDO
Another good match, very physical. Gedo was on fire here doing all the little things that most don’t do as far as bringing intensity and selling Finlay’s stretch muffler. Early on he used the ring bell hammer, a chair and and rammed Finlay’s head into the table a few times. Finlay’s work and comebacks were solid all the way across. Finlay got a cradle and a big crowd pop for the upset.
ROCKY ROMERO VS. BUSHI
Better match than you’d think largely due to Romero. Again solid wrestling with strong heat. Bushi did a good tope and most of his spots. Good counters and near falls at the end. Bushi blew green mist when the ref was distracted and then came off the top rope with a codebreaker and got the pin.
INTERMISSION
SATOSHI KOJIMA & YOSHITATSU & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & RICOCHET VS. BAD LUCK FALE & KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CHASE OWENS
Another match better than you’d think largely due to Ricochet, Kojima and Omega and even Captain. Omega was the star of the match. Ricochet worked great spots with him including doing a twisting dive over the top. In the end, Captain came in and got great near falls on Omega that the crowd bought including a uranage and frotn rolling cradle. But Fale squashed Captain in the corner and Omega used Hiroshi Tanahashi’s big moves, the sling blade and high fly flow for the pin. After the match Omega hit Captain over the head hard with a garbage can. Even with an object that gives they can lay off the hard head shots.
KAZUCHIKA OKADA & HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO & SEIYA SANADA & EVIL
Great match. Real wild with super heat, paricularly Okada vs. Nito and and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Sanada. Crowd is really into the latter feud. The finish saw hard hitting action with Goto and Evil and Goto scoring the clean pin after a guillotine ino a final cut. Naito threw the belt i the air again. Naito grabbed Milano Collection A.T. after. Okada stomped the hell out of Evil. Goto wanted a singles match with Evil. Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada brawled some after the match.
MATT SYDAL VS. KYLE O’REILLY
This is quite the show. Another great match here showcasing two of the best wrstelers in the world right now. Hard hitting solid, some great moves by Sydal and great submission set ups by O’Reilly. Sydal won when he knocked O’Reilly off the top with a head-butt from superplex position and hit a double kneedrop off the top and followed with the shooting star press.
KUSHIDA VS. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI
Excellent match. I can’t even remember the last time Taguchi was in something this good. He hung wih Kushida for 16 minutes and both were drenched when it was over. What’s interesing is that the super juniors usually means a lot of high flying but this year it’s more solid wrestling for most guys and the high flying was left to Ospreay, Volador and Ricochet. Lots of near fall and submissions. Kushida once did a divoce court off the apron and a running flip dive. Kushdia kicked out of the Dodon and Taguchi escaped the hoverboard lock. The finish was a series of reversals and Kushida went for an armbar but Taguchi cradled him. But Kushida then got the armbar again and Taguchi had to tap out. Kushdia did an interview after.
Overall one of the better shows of the year. Everyone worked hard and the key matches they were building for Dominion all hot had a lot of intensity.
The Big Takeaway: It was a night of Money in the Bank qualfiers, returns and breakups. Of course, the big news was the return of Seth Rollins. Despite the wishes of the fans, he’s going to be a heel in his program with Roman Reigns. Those two will be facing each other in the main event of the Money in the Bank PPV for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Enzo Amore also returned. Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Sami Zayn all qualified for the Money in the Bank match at MITB. Charlotte broke up with Ric Flair, saying that he had been living in her spotlight for months. It was an angle that hit on various points very close to home, but Flair’s performance was fantastic. A.J. Styles also split up with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Shane and Stephanie McMahon were limited to cameos, which was a welcome change.
Show Recap:
Seth Rollins started the show getting a huge ovation, though there were some scattered boos. He was playing up to the crowd as a babyface and got “Welcome back” chants. Rollins said he’s waited 200 days to step inside his ring once again and he’s back. He’s waited for seven months to take back the title he never lost and he fired the first shot last night when he gave Roman Reigns the Pedigree. Crowd chanted “Thank you, Rollins.” Rollins asked if the fans missed him? That got “Yes” chants. Rollins said that was interesting because when he put a chair against Reigns’ back, the fans booed him. Then when he captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, fans said he was the weakest champion in history.
Then something profound happened: his knee buckled from carrying the company for so long. That was supposed to get boos. It got cheers instead. Rollins said he got so much fan mail he didn’t know what to do with it, so he put it all in the garbage can and lit it on fire. So Rollins went heel in the interview, saying he never needed the fans when he was going after the World Championship, and he doesn’t need them now. He said there was only room on the Seth Rollins bandwagon for one dude, and it was him. Rollins claimed the fans were never with him during the process to rehab his knee for seven months, which was harder work than the fans have ever put in in their entire lives.
Rollins said he, and he alone, would take back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That got a mixed response. Reigns’ music hit. Suddenly Rollins’ response seemed like Ric Flair in Charlotte by comparison. Booed beyond belief.
Rollins acted like he wanted to fight, but when Reigns got in the ring, Rollins left, saying he was going to fight on his time. Shane McMahon showed up. Rollins reluctantly got back in the ring and Shane’s request so they could have a conversation. Shane brought up Rollins has had several defining moments, including breaking up the Shield and winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32. Shane said Reigns would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Rollins at Money in the Bank. Both men were content with that announcement. Reigns held up his title to get booed some more.
Later tonight, a series of Money in the Bank qualifying matches: The Miz vs. Cesaro; Chris Jericho vs. Apollo Crews; A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens along with Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn.
Renee Young did an interview with Sheamus, who denounced the “new era” in the WWE. He made fun of Zayn’s name and the fact he was form Canada. That was a weird thing to say since Canadians have been carrying a good portion of the company’s workrate lately. Young started to mention she was from Canada before Sheamus interupted her and instructed parents to get their children out of the room because what he would do to Zayne wouldn’t be suitable for all ages. They brought up Sheamus winning Money in the Bank last year, then cashed it in at the Survivor Series and defeated Reigns for the title after Reigns had just defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final.
Sami Zayn defeated Sheamus in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (10:02)
Zayn won with the Helluva Kick, moments after attempting a tope which Sheamus blocked with a right hand. Lots of selling by Zayn, but the two didn’t click as well as you would think. The announcers played the result up like an upset, explaining Sheamus didn’t even qualify for Money in the Bank one year after winning it. I credit it to lousy booking last June. Sheamus was furious after the match. At one point, Zayn did satellite head scissors, which Michael Cole called a huracanrana.
Crews did an interview with Young. She asked him if he felt like he had an advantage after the damage Jericho suffered against Ambrose last night. For some reason, Sheamus jumped Crews from behind. Sheamus screamed about the new era as he rammed Crews’ head into a truck case.
The New Day came out. They’re up to 274 days as tag team champions. There was a Happy Birthday cake in the ring. Kofi Kingston said the cake was there to celebrate Raw’s 1,200th episode. Xavier Woods said Raw is over 23 years old. Big E. said a WWE ring is never safe from a cake, so they decided to take the cake out of the ring. Woods said they would never want the cake to wind up in anyone’s face. Big E. teased throwing it in someone’s face at ringside, then JBL, then Byron Saxton. Then Social Outcasts (sans Adam Rose, of course) jumped Woods and Kingston. The Vaudevillains are out of a tag team title program after one PPV.
The New Day defeated Social Outcasts (1:50)
Kingston pinned Heath Slater after the Midnight Hour. Highlight was Slater taking the Unicorn Stampede. He rolled out of the ring barely able to stand, so Bo Dallas called for a Bo Train. Slater made it about three steps before collapsing. Of course, the cake had to end up in somebody’s face before the segment could end. So Kingston and Woods threw Slater into the cake, which splattered everywhere. They showed three highlights of the cake spot.
Miz and Maryse came out. Miz said he was still the Intercontinential Champion and a future Money in the Bank winner. He compared himself to the movie “Rudy” by overcoming overwhelming odds to retain the championship at Extreme Rules against Zayne, Owens and Cesaro. He wondered who could play him in an underdog movie, and brought up Brad Pitt and Dwayne Johnson. Maryse pulled in for a kiss, but Cesaro came out before they could get it on. Saxton said Cesaro looked like someone from “The Professional,” a weird reference to a 1994 film featuring a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. JBL then compared Cesaro to Roger Federer because they both have genetic superiority. Roger Federer pulled out of the French Open last week because of injuries.
Cesaro defeated the Miz (C) in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match, as well as a nontitle match (11:16)
Another solid match with these two, ending when Miz jumped off the top rope into a Cesaro uppercut, leading to the Gotch Neutralizer. Miz did the usual spots working over Cesaro’s injured left shoulder. Cesaro tried the Giant Swing, but couldn’t complete it because of the shoulder. Maryse has totally revitalized Miz’s career. He’s working better than he has in years, his promos are entertaining, and it has even helped the Intercontinental Championship, which really seemed on the backburner again after WrestleMania.
Rollins did an interview with Young. He said it would be fitting if he defeated Reigns for the Money in the Bank championship since he won it 2 years ago, leading to him cashing it in. Rollins walked up to Stephanie McMahon. Rollins wanted to hug her, but she said things have changed around here. She just wanted a handshake, and a confused Rollins complied.
Chris Jericho defeated Apollo Crews in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (7:37)
There was a mixup near the finish. Jericho went for the Lionsault. Crews did a nip-up while Jericho was in midair, but didn’t get out of the way. Jericho’s knees hit Crews on the head and they both fell to the mat. Looked like the rest of the match had to be ad-libbed from that point. Jericho won with a codebreaker. Finish kind of buried Crews since Jericho was supposed to be less than 100% after the Ambrose match last night. Jericho was all taped up from last night’s thumbtacks bump. Crews came out without selling anything from the Sheamus beating. Crews didn’t get much of a reaction and looked disappointed.
The latest from Darren Young and Bob Backlund, who chastized Young for taking notes. Then Backlund ordered him to recite all the presidents in honor. Young said he couldn’t do that. Backlund started to do it, and Young said “Damn, coach!” in a way to put Backlund over. Backlund got mad at him for swearing and ordered him to do 100 jumping jacks.
Baron Corbin did an interview with JoJo. They showed Corbin delivering a Draymond Green-caliber low blow to beat Dolph Ziggler last night. Ziggler walked in and said Corbin couldn’t beat him in a technical wrestling match. Corbin said he wasn’t worried about technical wrestling, he was worried about handing out beatings. You haven’t heard mechanical delivery of promos until you’ve heard Corbin. Ziggler said he was going to face Ambrose tonight and do something Corbin could never do: steal the show.
Big Cass came out. Then he waved toward the entrance and Enzo Amore made his return to a huge pop. They did the usual routine with the fans singing along. Amore had Michael Jackson’s jacket from the Thriller video on. Amore claimed he forgot to pay his electric bill and they cut his lights out. The doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, which he calls a hard sneeze. Amore said if he had a dime for every time he got knocked down and didn’t get back up, he would have ZERO DIMES! Amore said as for Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley, “do us a favor and don’t do us no favors.” Cass said throwing his size-17 boot was going to be like throwing a basketball into a swimming pool, because he wasn’t going to miss. If 10% of Amore’s interview ability could somehow transform over to Crews, he’d headline WrestleMania before 2020.
Big Cass defeated Bubba Ray Dudley (2:46)
Devon hit Amore from behind at ringside. This led to Cass’ comeback, which spilled out on the floor. Cass threw Amore into Devon. In the ring, Bubba Ray took the Ric Flair slam off the top rope, and Cass pinned him after the Empire Elbow.
Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Ric Flair came out for a “State of the WWE Women’s Championship Address.” JBL talked about how the Fabulous Moolah started her championship reign in 1956 in Baltimore. Flair took the mic and how proud he was of her. Flair looked emotional, which signaled something was up since this was suppsed to be a heel promo. Some fans started to chant boring. Flair compared Brooke to “Charlotte’s Uncle Arn.” Charlotte said she wanted to thank one person, “and it was obviously me.” She also thanked Brooke, who thanked Charlotte and put over Flair as the “dirtiest player in the game.” Charlotte brought up what she remembered growing up. She remembered various holidays and birthdays where her father wasn’t around for her. She had to watch him on television. Fans chanted “What” at Charlotte and she was getting really mad and appeared to lose her train of thought. Charlotte said she understood why her father missed those holidays because she was the champion. She then turned to her father and ordered him to get out of her ring. Flair didn’t understand what she was talking about. Charlotte said everyone from Flair’s generation was the same because they never wanted to leave the spotlight. Charlotte said Flair never understood how it felt to walk into a room and hear people say “There’s Ric Flair’s daughter.” She said now Flair was Charlotte’s father. Flair started to cry. Charlotte said Flair was “the 2nd dirtiest player in the game” and she doesn’t have time for people who come in 2nd place. She said she doesn’t need him anymore.
Charlotte accused Flair of neglecting her. Flair was in tears. Charlotte said Flair was an immortal to everyone in Baltimore, but to her he was dead. Now, Flair can watch Charlotte on TV just like she watched him through her childhood. She ordered him to leave the ring, which Flair did with remorse. Flair walked to the back and Charlotte crowed about how she was the champ. Flair’s facials were excellent. Charlotte had to work hard to get through this despite al the hecklers, but she’s very skilled on the microphone and did a good job getting this breakup over. JBL, Cole and Saxton sold this heavy, speaking in hushed tones wearing long faces like they had just seen a career-threatening injury angle.
For those who complain that this angle hit too close to home and was uncomfortable to watch, this isn’t the first time Flair’s parenting skills have been used in an angle. One of the few good segments of WCW Thunder in 2000 featured Flair and Arn Anderson in a microphone dual that centered around their personal lives and children. Not to mention Flair wrestling his son David in 1999 & 2000. Granted, that was among the worst booked programs in history, but it was still a subject. Flair himself, as a shoot, called that program “a nightmare.”
Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (12:10)
Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds after blocking the Zig Zag. It was a scientific match to get over Ziggler facing Corbin in a “scientific match” next week. During an Ambrose comeback, JBL said “Can you imagine what it would be like to have two former members of the Shield fight for the championship?” How many times did we see that last year? Then Ambrose did his ricochet off the ropes into the clothesline spot and Cole belted out “How in the world did he do that?” We see that spot every week.
A distraught Flair walked back stage where he came across Arn Anderson, who consoled him and said he was sorry. Young walked up and asked if he had anything he wanted to say. Flair, who tried to smile, declined and left the building.
The Shining Stars put over their debut last week and invited everyone to Puerto Rico, “The Shining Star of the Carribbean.”
Styles came out and said you never know how good someone is until you get in the ring with them. Styles said Reigns is every bit the man he says he is, which got him roundly booed. Styles said Reigns was one of the best he ever got in the ring with, but he still wasn’t phenomenal. Then Styles did another subtle heel dig, saying if it wasn’t for the Usos, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, you would be looking at the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This brought out Anderson and Gallows. Anderson was upset that Styles would say they cost him a chance to beat Reigns. Anderson accused Styles of changing since their days in Japan. Gallows said if he and Anderson hadn’t dropped every person that wanted to fight Styles, there would be a lot of bars that Styles would have never made it out of. Styles tried to be amicable and said they needed to seperate. Styles said, for now, they were done as a team. But nothing can seperate them from being brothers. Gallows wasn’t going for it, saying they weren’t brothers anymore. Anderson said they weren’t friends anymore. Styles said if that’s the case, they don’t need to be in the ring together anymore. He said, as of right now, this was his ring. Anderson and Gallows took the cue to leave and did without shaking hands. Another breakup angle.
Kevin Owens defeated A.J. Styles in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (16:30)
Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb after Styles attempted a springboard move, but Owens kicked Styles’ legs out from under him. Styles hit the Pele Kick after escaping an attempt at the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Earlier, Owens missed a moonsault and Styles nailed a springboard 450 splash for a near fall. One night after bumping all over the place for Reigns, Styles wasn’t having an off night. Biggest spot came outside the ring when Styles ran up the steps, but Owens caught him over his shoulders and slammed him across the top of the steps. Later, Styles ran towards Owens, who power bombed Styles on the steps, leading to a countout tease. It was like Styles was 30 again and was in TNA putting over Kevin Nash. And yes, that really happened. Clean. Crowd seemed to be waiting for the near falls, but got more involved towards the end. Finish seemed to catch them by surprise.
SUMMARY: Very solid wrestling show. Frankly, this should be a pattern for the summer because the roster is going to be as deep as ever once John Cena, Randy Orton and Neville return. It’s just a question of which programs are made and how to gain the most from them. The Reigns-Rollins program isn’t really unique. Fans have booed Cena for years and cheered various heels against him. Rather than make a new superstar out of Reigns, the WWE has just made him a Cena clone. And the fans will treat him as such, as well as whoever is in a program with him. the good news is there’s plenty of guys he can have quality matches with that won’t expose him.
Just three weeks after Payback, we’re right back into the big event mix for WWE with Extreme Rules, their annual WWE Network show where nearly every match has a stipulation or twist added onto it. This year’s show emanates from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — the second time the event has been hosted in the Garden State.
This is the eighth Extreme Rules show in company history as they began back in 2009, headlined by Edge vs. Jeff Hardy in a ladder match. Last year’s show featured then-WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton in a steel cage match.
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.
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There was an angle where Big Cass laid out both Dudleys in the ring. He gave Devon the East River Crossing.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. BARON CORBIN — NO DQ
A basic match with Ziggler getting a series of near falls until Corbin did a blatant low blow (legal in a no DQ match) and got the pin with the End of Days. Not as good as their match last month.
DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON VS. USOS IN A TORNADO MATCH
Fast paced match, fairly short. It was all four in the ring at the same time and no DQ. The crowd was totally behind Gallows & Anderson and booed the Usos. Gallows & Anderson got the clean win. Gallows brought in the ring bell, but Jimmy superkicked him. Jimmy went to the top rope and Gallows moved, so Jimmy landed on the ring bell. Gallows & Anderson then used the Magic Killer on Jimmy for the pin and win.
US CHAMPION KALISTO VS. RUSEV
Good match. Rusev won the title after slamming him off the top rope onto the apron. They sold it like Kalisto reinjured his back from Raw on Monday and they were checking on him. Rusev then jumped in and put the Accolade on for the submission. Kalisto had gone to the top rope after delivering a moonsault to the floor. They were pushing like Kalisto was injured at the end, and was coming into the match injured. The EMTs came out after the match.
WWE TAG CHAMPIONS THE NEW DAY (Big E & Xavier Woods) VS. VAUDEVILLAINS
Another short match: 6:00. Match was okay for the time it had. The Vaudevillains used the Whirling Dervish on Woods but he kicked out. For the finish, Big E tackled English to the floor. Kofi Kingston hit Gotch with an enzuigiri which led to Woods pinning Gotch with the shining wizard.
– A.J. Styles interview vowed to walk out as champion.
I-C CHAMPION THE MIZ VS. CESARO VS. SAMI ZAYN VS. KEVIN OWENS
This was a super match with tons of near falls and saves. Cesaro and Zayn, in particular, were great. Michael Cole called it a match of the year candidate, a previously banned Vince McMahon term. The finish saw Zayn hit Cesaro with the Helleva Kick, but Owens pulled Zayn out of the ring when he went for the pin. Zayn threw Miz into the barricade, and then Miz crawled into the ring and pinned Cesaro.They did everything in their arsenals including Cesaro doing a 16-rep swing on Miz. Cesaro had Miz in the Sharpshooter and he tapped but ref Dan Engler was distracted by Maryse. Owens did cannonballs on everyone. Cesaro did running uppercuts on everyone three times on each guy alternating.
DEAN AMBROSE VS. CHRIS JERICHO — ASYLUM CAGE MATCH
The short matches earlier led to this match running more than 26:00 in the cage. It was a weird match that didn’t have much heat for a long time as they traded climbing up and getting the different weapons. They were also hurt following a great match. It was just too long with too many weapons although they did pick it up at the end with Ambrose pulled down a bucket that had thumbtacks. They wrestled for along time after with Jericho using a codebreaker for a near fall. Ambrose came off the top of the cage with an elbow for a near fall.
Jericho used the Walls of Jericho but Ambrose used a kendo stick to break it. They also used a leather strap, fire extinguisher, and then saved a barbed wire board until late with Jericho using it. The match ended Jericho going for a Codebeaker, Ambrose blocking it and slamming Jericho into the thumbtacks, then giving him the Dirty Deeds into the tacks. Jericho’s body had thumb tacks sticking to him everywhere and he was selling it tremendously, bleeding from his triceps.
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPION CHARLOTTE VS. NATALYA — SUBMISSIONS MATCH
Dana Brooke came out dressed as Ric Flair (wig, robe) and distracted Natalya when she had Charlotte in the sharpshooter. This allowed Charlotte to get Natalya from behind and put her in the figure eight for the submission. During the match, they traded submissions but were just getting the crowd just as the match was ending. Match wasn’t as good as last month. The crowd has never recovered since the four-way which tore down the house. Ric Flair, Brooke and Charlotte celebrated together at the end. So, the story of this match was to elevate Brooke into the top mix. It’s clear they are putting Charlotte and Brooke into a duo to eventually set them up as rivals.
WWE CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS VS. A.J. STYLES IN AN EXTREME RULES MATCH
The big spot at the end was after Reigns won, Seth Rollins jumped in and hit the Pedigree. The crowd went totally nuts for him as a babyface and chanted “Thank you Seth.” He posed with the belt so Reigns vs. Rollins is the probable Money in the Bank main event.
The match ended with Styles going for the phenomenal forearm but Reigns nailed him with the spear for the pin. Styles had a death wish, taking some crazy (and I mean crazy) bumps including a high backdrop through a table where he landed on his tailbone. Anderson & Gallows interfered first and laid out Reigns but he still kicked out of the pin. The Usos came out and laid out Styles with superkicks and a splash off the top but he kicked out.
Reigns hit Anderson and Gallows with Superman punches. Reigns kicked out of a Styles clash, and Styles used a Styles Clash on a chair but Jey Uso pulled Styles off him. Styles got a chair and destroyed Reigns and the Usos with more than a dozen chair shots before going for the spingboard forearm. Another super match.
Bellator returns to Spike TV with a show headlined by what should be a fun middleweight title fight between two striking specialists. Champion Rafael Carvalho defends his belt against Melvin Manhoef, who also fights for Bellator’s kickboxing division.
The co-main features 2-time featherweight champion Pat Curran against former WSOF champ Georgi Karakhanyan, with the winner hoping to earn a title shot down the line. The show also features the return of Joey Beltran to the heavyweight division, the last person to go more than a round with Cris Cyborg – former Strikeforce bantamweight champ Marloes Coenen – and unbeaten heavyweight Augusto Sakai staking his claim to the vacant strap in that division.
Vince Morales (4-1) TKO (punches) over Hamilton Ash (3-2)
Joe Hamilton (4-0) submisssion (RNC) over Tyler Freeland (4-1)
Casey Johnson (5-0) submission (RNC) over Brendan Raftery (4-3)
Jesse Brock (22-8) submission (RNC) over Olly Badstreet (39-13)
Marcin Held (21-4) vs Dave Jansen (21-3) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Held all over Jansen with punches early and they clinch on the cage. Quick separation but Held lands a hard punch combo at 1:00. Jansen with a takedown and working for a neck crank. Held is a wizard on the ground so this is risky. Held landing punches from his back and opens up a cut over Jansen’s left eye. Jansen lets the choke go and attempts to move into mount but Held grabs his feet, attemping a foot lock. Jansen escapes but Held sweeps into top position. Jansen takes his neck and tries to wall walk to his feet. He makes it up at 3:30 and Held follows. Held with a takedown at 3:45. Held landing punches from the top and scoring with elbows to the head as well. Jansen to his feet just before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Held
Jansen advancing early. Held nails a spinning back head kick and then gets a takedown at 1:00. Held landing punches and elbows to the head and Jansen bleeding all over the place from a cut behind his ear. Held continuing to land punches and elbows while looking for a sub. Ref stands them up to look at the cut on Jansen. Jansen gets a takedown on the restart but Held quickly sweeps into top position and into side control at 3:45. Held with an inverted heel hook at 4:00 and then transition to a straight foot look. Jansen escaps but Held right back into top position, dropping punches and elbows. Jansen’s face is a bloody mess and Jimmy Smith gets in references to Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher. 10-8 Held, 20-17
Both guys trading punches to start. Jansen initiates a cage clinch at 45 seconds. Held takes control and gets the takedown at 1:00. Jansen manages to sweep into top postion at 1:15. Jansen briefly takes his back but Held rolls into a leglock position and then a kneebar. Jansen escapes but Held still working the leg and landing punches from his back. Jansen to his feet and Held follows and they end up back in a cage clinch. Jansen with a standing headlock and tries for a takedown but Held sweeps to his back and then captures an arm. Held also landing elbows to the body. Jansen escapes and ends up on top. Jansen landing punches and elbows from the top. Held to his feet and then takes Jansen down when he tries for a guillotine. Held landing elbows and punches from the top. Jansen trying to get to his feet but eating punches and Held holds him down. Jansen bleediing profusely again. Held continuing to land punches as the fight ends. 10-9 Held, 30-26 Held
WINNER – MARCIN HELD (22-4) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
Beltran is back to heavyweight after fighting as low as middleweight. He’s giving up a lot of size here as Gormley cuts to make 265. Gormley opens up with leg kicks and quickly takes cage control. Beltran landing leg kicks from distance. Gormley landing 3 kicks to every 1 for Beltran through the first half of the round and controlling the cage. Sean Grande promising some big news later on tonight, which seems like an every show occurence. Beltran with a nice punch combo at 4:00. Gormley retreating for the first time in the fight. Beltran again chasing him down with punches at 4:45. 10-9 Gormley
Beltran opening up with punches. Gormley still throwing mainly kicks. Fight is mainly in the centre for the first half of the round with the activity about even. Beltran landing more punches this round. Neither guy able to mount any kind of sustained offence through 4 minutes. Beltran starting to control the pace in the last minute and starting to land some combos. Very close round, 10-9 Beltran, all tied up after 2.
Beltran rocks Gormley with a punch early and Gormley responds with a takedown attempt that Beltran defends well at 45 seconds. Punch combo from Beltran at 1:15. Beltran pushing the pace pretty clearly now. Gormley barely even landing kicks any more, just trying to avoid Beltran’s strikes. Gormley starting to land leg kicks again at 4:00. Beltran still advancing, throwing single strikes. Another very close round, 10-9 Beltran but could go either way. 29-28 Beltran
WINNER – CHASE GORMLEY (13-5) by split decision (28-29; 29-28 x 2)
Dufresne clinches up right away and scores a takedown. Coenen working for an armbar from her back. Dufresne escapes and landing punches from guard. Coenen working for a neck crank. Dufresne escapes again. Coenen with a guillotine attempts that she gives up on quickly. Coenen far more active from her back as Dufresne is just trying to hold her down. Coenen sweeps into top position at 2:45. Dufresne still has her arms tied up. Dufresne working for a triangle from her back and also landing kicks to the body and punches to the head. Dufresne gets the triangle at 4:00 and also landing punches to the head. It’s essentially Undertaker’s Hell’s gate and then she gets the armbar for the finish
WINNER – ALEXIS DUFRESNE (6-2) by submission at 4:33
That was one of the biggest upsets of the year and Dufresne claims that Coenen disrespected her at the weigh-ins and that’s what fueled her. She dedicated the win to her daughter who she gave birth to last Thanksgiving. She joins Meisha Tate as the only two women to ever submit Coenen.
DAN CHARLES (10-3) VS AUGUSTO SAKAI (9-0) HEAVYWEIGHTS (John McCarthy – ref)
Sakai is just a massive heavyweight at 6 ft 4 and is another who cuts to 265. He’s 4-0 with 3 KOs in Bellator. Charles is one of the guys whose lost to Lashley in Bellator. Charles initiates a cage clinch 30 seconds in. Sakai powers out of it. Charles pushing the pace early. Charles landing leg kicks from distance. Sakai throwing hard front kicks that are just missing. Sakai nails a head kick and then kicks Charles HARD in the groin and he goes down like he’s been shot, screaming in pain. Charles shakes it off after about 90 seconds, which is impressive cause that’s one of the worst nut shots you’ll ever see. Charles landing body kicks on the restart. Sakai hits him again with one of the first kicks he threw and Charles goes down instantly, almost as bad as the first one. Charles threw a kick at the same time that almost hit Sakai in the groin. Sakai basically pleading with McCarthy not to dock him a point but to no avail. That could be huge because this round is close. Sakai continuing to throw kicks and almost no punches. Charles not doing much after the restart and Sakai just landing a couple of kicks. 10-8 Charles but it easily could be 9-9
Big announcements coming for Dynamite 2 later tonight. Charles opening with kicks to the body and legs again. Sakai scoring the occasional single kick. Charles grazes Sakai with a low kick but Sakai shakes it off without stopping the fight. Sakai may not have landed a punch through the first half of the fight. Sakai starting to take over cage control at 3:00. Sakai starting to land with more frequency at 4:00, all with kicks. This is a boring fight. Charles lands a hard punch to the head at 4:30. Close round, maybe to Sakai 10-9, 19-18 Charles after 2
Charles with a takedown to start the round that wakes the crowd up but Sakai up quickly and they’re back to sleep. Sakai landing his kicks a little more frequently, landing mostly to the body and head. Seems hesitant to throw the leg kick after the point deduction. Sakai is not getting a title shot after this, whether he wins or not. Charles doing almost nothing, Sakai very slightly more than nothing, which may be enough to take the round. Sakai actually landing a few hard leg kicks in the last minute and stalking Charles. Sakai even throws a couple of punches that looked like they missed. 10-9 Sakai so I’ve got it as a draw
NO WINNER – MAJORITY DRAW (scores 30-26 Charles, 28-28 x 2)
The two big announcements were Joe Schilling facing Kato in a kickboxing match immediately following Dynamite 2 on Spike and Ilemi-Lei Macfarlane facing Rebecca Ruth in what I’m assuming will be a Spike.com prelim fight. That was underwhelming.
PAT CURRAN (21-7) VS GEORGI KARAKHANYAN (24-5-1) FEATHERWEIGHTS (Jason Herzog – ref)
Both guys really tentative for the first 90 seconds. Curran starting land leg kicks at 1:45. Karakhanyan controllign the cage. Curran with a punch combo at 2:00. Curran knocks Karakhanyan down with a punch to the head and pounces on him. After an initial flurry, he lets up and Karakhanyan gets some time to recover. Curran slowly starting to advance while also looking for a choke at 3:30. Curran into mount at 4:15 but Karakhanyan escapes quickly and briefly to his feet but goes to his back and brings Curran into his guard. Nothing happened for the rest of the round. 10-9 Curran
Karakhanyan shoots for a takedown to start round 2 and Curran stuffs it and ends up on top. Karakhanyan tying up the arms of Curran and then briefly tries a guillotine at 1:15. Curran takes his back at 1:30. Curran trying to secure a body lock and gets it at 2:00. Karakhanyan nailed him with punches as Curran lies on his back, still controlling the back. Karakhanyan escapes at 3:00 and works Curran back to guard. Karakhanyan with a guillotine attempt at 3:15 and uses it to get to his feet and then sweep to top position. Neither guy doing much on the ground with Karakhanyan in Curran’s guard. Ref stands them up at 4:30. Karakhanyan controlling things and lands a couple of kicks before the round ends. Very close, 10-9 Curran, 20-18
Karakhanyan misses on a takedown attempt to start the round. Karakhanyan advancing and Curran landing leg kicks and punches while retreating. Curran takes his back standing at 1:45 but Karakhanyan works him to the front and takes him down at 2:15. Curran with a guillotine attempt from his back. Karakhanyan escapes but not doing anything from up top. Crowd starting to boo. Curran landing some elbows to the head from the bottom. Karakhanyan working for a triangle from half-guard but Curran works him back to full guard. Karakhanyan with some light punches to the body just before the round ends. 10-9 Karakhanyan, 29-28 Curran overall but it all depends how they score round 2.
WINNER – PAT CURRAN (22-7) by unanimous decision (scores 29-28 x 3)
MAIN EVENT FOR THE BELLATOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE:
CHAMPION RAFAEL CARVALHO (12-1) VS MELVIN MANHOEF (30-12-1) (John McCarthy – ref)
Both guys keeping their distance early. Crowd starting to boo at 1:15 as neither guy has landed a strike. Carvalho controlling the pace and lands a kick from distance at 2:30 that may be the first strike landed. Jimmy Smith calls it a “regrettably cautious start from both fighters” . Boos are getting really loud at 3:15. McCarthy stops the fight and warns them to fight. What? I mean, what’s he going to do? This is like the MR Wrestling 3 counter gimmick with the Young Bucks last weekend. 4:30 in and still nothing. Manhoef lands a kick at 4:45. Grande says it was the first strike landed. 10-10, no question.
Manhoef pushing the pace early. Manhoef throws a punch and follows up with a kick at 45 seconds, the most sustained “action” of the fight. Manhoef with a hard kick to the body at 1:30. Official stats for round 1 were Manhoef 1/6 in strikes landed, Carvalho 1/13 in strikes landed. Crowd booing again at 2:30 as they’ve slowed down. Carvalho starting to advance now. Crowd getting really loud again with the booing at 3:45. Manhoef lands two leg kicks and follows up with punches at 4:00. Carvalho still advancing. Carvalho with a knee to the body and they clinch up. Carvalho with a knee that looked low and McCarthy steps in but Carvalho wants to keep fighting. Carvalho with 2 elbows to the head after McCarthy stopped it. Replay looked like it might have hit the gut. 10-9 Manhoef
Manhoef with a punch combo to open. Carvalho with an eye poke 15 seconds in. McCarthy had warned him earlier in the fight but didn’t dock a point. On the restart, he had his fingers out again and McCarthy stopped it again and warned Carvalho. Carvalho with a takedown attempt at 1:30 and they end up in a cage clinch. Manhoef gets control and then throws Carvalho off, landing a hard punch on the way out. Carvalho clinches right back up again and takes Manhoef down. Manhoef to his feet at 2:30. Carvalho with another low blow. I dont know if this is eligible for the Wrestling Observer awards but this is the worst show of the year, bar none. McCarthy calls the corner over and warns the corner to control their fighter. No pont deduction, though. Carvalho shoots for a takedown again at 3:45 but Manhoef defends it. Crowd booing heavily again as they’re clinched on the cage with nothing happening. Manhoef punches his way out of it at 4:45. This could be Carvalho’s round. 10-9 Carvalho, 29-29 so far
Carvalho shoots for a takedown 30 seconds in but stuffed by Manhoef. Manhoef lands a hard kick on the way out. Carvalho lands a knee to the body and then gets a takedown at 1:15. Carvalho right into side control. Carvalho just holding him down, nothing even attempting anything from side control and the crowd booing heavily. And then he just lets Manhoef up. This is awful. Terrible. No good. Just really, really bad. Announcers are talking like Manhoef’s up three rounds. He could be. I don’t care. Carvalho just waving his arms around at 3:30 and Manhoef just standing there. Crowd booing heavily. McCarthy warning them to fight again. Booing is getting ridiculously loud. Carvalho walking away from Manhoef with his hands on his hips and Manhoef just doing nothing. They walked back to their corners before the bell even rang. “Beyond my comprehension”, Jimmy Smith said as the round ended. Another 10-10
Crowd starting to do random chants to entertain themselves now. Manhoef with a superman punch landing and the crowd like that. Manhoef with a nice punch combo at 1:00. Hard body kick from Manhoef at 1:15. Carvalho shoots for a takedown at 1:45. Manhoef defends it but Carvalho holds onto him in a cage clinch. Ref warning them to work. Manhoef landing light punches to the head. Manhoef ends up falling on top of him and into mount briefly but Carvalho just stands up. Manhoef takes him right back down. And nothing happening again. Ref warns them to work again. Manhoef up at 3:30 and Carvalho follows him. Carvalho back to walking around with his hands on his hips. Crowd booing louds and McCarthy steps in between them and tells them to fight. Manhoef lands a couple of single strikes from distance. Crowd booing heavily at the end. 10-9 Manhoef, 49-48 overall
WINNER – RAFAEL CARVALHO (13-1) by split decision (47-48-29; 48-47 x 2)
Sean Grande said that the only thing worse than that fight was the decision. Jimmy Smith that he is “DISGUSTED that this fight went this way for Rafael Carvalho” and that he’s disgusted for this sport right now. And followed up by saying that’s all he can say on TV. Wow.
I mean, that was a bad decision but far from the worst you’ll ever see. It was just a really bad fight and I don’t know how you pick a winner in the 2 rounds I scored 10-10. It sounded like Jimmy dropped his headset while Grande was talking as the show went off the air.
This was easily the worst MMA card I’ve ever seen topped off by what may have been the worst fight in this century.
