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  • UFC On FOX 18 Newark live results: Anthony Johnson vs. Ryan Bader

    Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On FOX 18: Johnson vs. Bader from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event is headlined by a title elminator bout in the UFC’s light heavyweight division as former title challenger Anthony Johnson takes on Ryan Bader, winner of five straight fights. In the co-main event, it will be former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett taking on Ben Rothwell. Also on the main card is the FOX network debut of rising lightweight star Sage Northcutt. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 3:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

    We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so send whether you think the show was a thumbs up, a thumbs down, or a thumb in the middle as well as a best fight and a worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer.

    UFC On FOX 18 Weigh-In Results
    UFC On FOX 18 DFS Playbook
    UFC On FOX 18 Observer Picks & Preview

    Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 3:30 PM ET/12:30 PM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- TONY MARTIN (9-3, 1-3 UFC) VS. FELIPE OLIVIERI (14-4 1 NC, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Olivieri starts off with a leg kick. Another big kicks from Olivieri drops Martin for a second. Big leg kick from Olivieri and Martin clinches them up against the fence. Martin lifts him up and takes him down but Olivieri back to his feet. Martin takes him back down. Olivieri gets to the fence and wall walks up to his feet. Olivieri with an elbow as Martin looks for another takedown. Olivieri defends and lands another elbow and a couple more. They are broken up by the ref. Olivieri lands a leg kick that hurts Martin and Martin grabs the leg. Olivieri with some hard elbows. Martin working for the takedown against the fence. Olivieri with some knees to the body. Olivieri with another series of leg kicks. Back fist from Olivieri. 10-9 Olivieri.

    ROUND 2- Olivieri with another leg kick to start. Olivieri with an overhand right and a high kick. More leg kicks from Olivieri and Martin isn’t checking them. Martin lands a leg kick of his own. Leg kicks from Olivieri but Martin lands a straight right hand. Martin lands a combo. Olivieri lands another leg kick. Martin lands a right. They trade punches and Olivieri lands a high kick. Martin lands a nice combo. They trade right hands. They trade punches and Martin stuns him with a right hand. Martin with a nice combo that hurts Olivieri. Olivieri looks for a desperate takedown but Martin defends as the round ends. 10-9 Martin, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Olivieri lands a combo and ends with a leg kick. Martin with a nice combo. Olivieri lands a right hand. Olivieri lands a body kick. Martin shoots for a takedown and pushes Olivieri against the fence. Martin gets a trip and takes Olivieri down to the mat. Martin looking for control on the ground. Olivieri gives up his back and Martin looks to get the hooks in. Martin looking for the choke and has it locked in. Olivieri is out cold and Martin wins by submission!

    Official Result- Tony Martin def. Felipe Olivieri by technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of Round 3

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- DAMON JACKSON (9-1 1 NC, 0-1 1 NC UFC) VS. LEVAN MAKASHVILI (7-2, 1-1 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Jackson comes out swinging. Jackson lands a right hand. Makashvili lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence. They battle for position. They trade knees against the fence. They are broken up by the referee. Makashvili lands a nice combo. Jackson shoots for a takedown but it is defended. They battle for underhooks against the fence. Jackson is cut. Makashvili with some left hands in the clinch. Jackson works hard for the takedown. It is defended. 10-9 Makashvili.

    ROUND 2- Jackson with the jab. They trade strikes. Jackson lands a right hand. They trade kicks. Makashvili lands a left hook. They trade punches. Jackson lands a combo. Jackson lands a knee but eats some punches in the clinch. They clinch and Makashvili lands a knee. They battle in the clinch against the fence. They are broken up by the ref. They trade punches. Makashvili grabs the right leg off a kick and lands some punches. Jackson goes back for a takedown. They clinch against the fence again. Jackson lands an elbow on the break and they clinch up again. 10-9 Makashvili, 20-18 Makashvili.

    ROUND 3- Jackson comes out swinging. Jackson with a knee to the body. Makashvili goes for a takedown but Jackson reverses the clinch against the fence. They trade knees against the fence. They are broken up again by the ref. Makashvili with a head kick and gets a takedown. Jackson grabs the neck looking for a choke. They scramble to their feet. Makashvili with a high kick. They clinch against the fence. Makashvili gets a takedown. Jackson looks to scramble out. They get to their feet and Makashvili lands an illegal knee and we have a timeout. Back to action with no point taken away. No we have an eye poke by Makashvili and another timeout. Makashvili has a point taken away due to the two fouls in five seconds. That could play a big difference in the outcome. Jackson misses a head kick as we get back to action. Both come out swinging as the fight ends. 9-9 Makashvili with the deduction, 29-27 Makashvili.

    Official Result- Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili declared a majority draw (29-27 Jackson, 28-28, 28-28)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- MATT DWYER (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. RANDY BROWN (6-0, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Brown is from Dana White’s new television show. Dwyer with a leg kick. Brown lands a left hand. Dwyer with a leg kick. Dwyer with another. Dwyer lands a big right hand. Brown with a high body kick. Dwyer lands another right hand. Brown with a front side kick. Brown with a front body kick. Dwyer lands a punch but eats a jab from Brown. Brown misses a spinning kick. Dwyer with a leg kick. Brown with a leg kick. 10-9 Dwyer.

    ROUND 2- Dwyer with two leg kicks. They clinch and switch around. Not much happens and they are broken up. Brown with a right hand. Dwyer lands a right hand. They each land right hands. Brown with a big throw takedown and he is looking for a choke. Brown had it deep but lets go and they get to their feet. Dwyer pushing for a takedown. Brown defends but Dwyer is able to score the takedown. They get back to their feet and Brown lands a series of big elbows. Brown with a knee. 10-9 Brown, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Brown may have poked the eye but he is landing punches as Dwyer is backing up. The fight goes down and Dwyer takes the back of Brown and they get to their feet. Brown transitions and takes the back of Dwyer. Brown with an elbow and Dwyer lands a right hand. They are trading and Brown lands a low knee and we have a break in action. They go back to the mat and Brown has the neck but lets go. They get to their feet and Dwyer looking for another takedown. Dwyer tries to drag it down but Brown ends on top and they scramble to their feet. Brown with some elbows and a knee. Close fight. 10-9 Brown, 29-28 Brown.

    Official Result- Randy Brown def. Matt Dwyer by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 5 PM ET/2 PM PT)

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- ALEX CACERES (10-8 1 NC, 5-6 1 NC UFC) VS. MASIO FULLEN (10-5, 1-1 UFC)

    ROUND 1- They trade kicks. Caceres with a leg kick and then one to the body. Fullen lands a short right hand. Caceres with a jumping head kick and misses a spin kick. They trade punches. Caceres with a head kick and then lands a left hand. They trade punches and Caceres lands a 360 roundhouse kick. Fullen is rocked and Caceres clinches them up against the fence and lands a knee. They battle for position and Caceres trips Fullen to the mat. They get back up. Caceres with a high knee. Knee to the body on the break by Caceres. Fullen with a right hand. 10-9 Caceres.

    ROUND 2- Caceres with some kicks but Fullen lands a right hand. Fullen with a spin kick to the body of Caceres and then lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence. Caceres lands a left hand. Each lands a combo and Caceres lands a nice body kick. Caceres with a leg kick and then one to the head and then another. Caceres keeps going high then low then back high again. They each land a punch. Caceres with a flying knee. Some nice combos landed by Caceres. 10-9 Caceres, 20-18 Caceres.

    ROUND 3- Fullen may need a finish and he comes out swinging. Each lands a leg kick. Short uppercut by Caceres and then a left hand. Fullen with a side kick to the body. Caceres with some more combos. Fullen with a leg kick. Fullen lands a left hand as Caceres lands a leg kick. Caceres with a leg kick. Caceres with a left hand and a knee to the body and then a high kick. Caceres looks good with his footwork and combos. Caceres with two left hands but Fullen catches him with a left hook. Caceres tags Fullen with an uppercut and lands some punches. Caceres goes to the body and back to the head. Fullen with a spin kick. Caceres with a combo to end. 10-9 Caceres, 30-27 Caceres.

    Official Result- Alex Caceres def. Masio Fullen by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- GEORGE SULLIVAN (17-4 1 NC, 3-1 UFC) VS. ALEXANDER YAKOVLEV (22-6-1, 1-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Sullivan starts off with a couple of leg kicks. Yakovlev comes back with some leg kicks of his own and then scores a takedown. Sullivan gets back to his feet. Sullivan with a leg kick and Yakovlev is able to counter with a takedown. Yakovlev gets full mount and Sullivan gives up his back. Sullivan gets to his feet but Yakovlev still has the back and lands a knee to the head. Sullivan with a body kick. They trade kicks. Yakovlev drops Sullivan with a right hand and three more punches on the ground and the fight is stopped. Yakovlev with the big knockout.

    Official Result- Alexander Yakovlev def. George Sullivan by knockout (punch) at 3:59 of Round 1

    FLYWEIGHTS- (#9) DUSTIN ORTIZ (15-4, 4-2 UFC) VS. (#12) WILSON REIS (19-6, 3-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- They trade some punches. Ortiz lands a right hand. Reis with an inside leg kick and Ortiz counters with a combo. They clinch up and each lands a punch on the break. They trade punches. Reis with a leg kick. Reis goes for a takedown and they go to the mat but Ortiz lands some elbows. Reis still has the body locked and gets Ortiz down and takes the back. Ortiz shakes him off and they get to their feet and Reis lands a right hand. Reis lands a solid left hand. Reis with a body kick and Ortiz returns a head kick. Ortiz with a knee to the body as he defends a takedown. Reis has Ortiz pushed against the fence. Reis defends a takedown attempt from Ortiz and grabs the back. Ortiz was a back elbow. Ortiz with a right hand and Reis gets a takedown as the round ends. 10-9 Reis.

    ROUND 2- They exchange and Reis lands a left hand. Ortiz with a body kick. Ortiz goes for a takedown but Reis scrambles. Ortiz with a Superman Punch and Reis counters with a right hand. Reis shoots for a takedown and has Ortiz against the cage. They break and Ortiz lands a body kick. They trade kicks. Reis with a leg kick. Ortiz lands a solid right hand. Ortiz goes for a takedown but it is defended. Reis with a brief takedown. Ortiz with a deep shot but Reis sprawls. Reis lands a left hand after they break a clinch. Reis gets a takedown and takes the back and has full back mount. Reis looks for a choke but Ortiz is defending. Reis looks to switch to an armbar and works for it but the round ends. 10-9 Reis, 20-18 Reis.

    ROUND 3- Ortiz with a head kick attempt but Reis checks it. They trade punches and Reis goes for a takedown but it is defended. Reis gets the fight down and takes the back of Ortiz. They get to their feet and Reis gets a trip takedown. Reis gets the back and looks for the choke. They get back to their feet. They trade punches. Ortiz lands a left hand. Reis grabs the body and looks for the back. Reis trips Ortiz down and has the back. Ortiz with a back elbow. They get up and Reis with a solid takedown. Reis with some knees to the body. Ortiz gets a quick takedown but they get up. Ortiz with a short elbow and some punches but Reis is able to get a takedown and goes into full mount. Reis is landing big punches from the back as Ortiz tries to scramble up. They get to their feet. Reis has the back and lands some punches. 10-9 Reis, 30-27 Reis.

    Official Result- Wilson Reis def. Dustin Ortiz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#15) RAFAEL NATAL (20-6-1, 8-4-1 UFC) VS. KEVIN CASEY (9-3 2 NC, 1-1 2 NC UFC)

    ROUND 1- They trade punches and Casey lands a head kick. Natal with a leg kick. They clinch against the fence as both battle for underhooks. Natal lands a punch on the break. Natal with a right hand. Casey with a left hand and uppercut. Natal gets a takedown and is in the full guard of Casey. Natal with some punches from the top. They scramble to their feet. Natal goes for a takedown but Casey reverses and grabs the back. They get to their feet. Casey lands a left hand on the break. Casey lands a good combo and Natal drops Casey right as the round ends. 10-9 Casey.

    ROUND 2- Natal with a kick that hits the groin and we have a timeout. We get back to action. Natal lands a big right hand and then gets a takedown and is in the full guard of Casey. Natal with some punches from the top. Natal goes into the half-guard and lands some hard punches. They get to their feet but Natal grabs the body and lands a knee. Natal with some hard knees to the body against the fence. They break and Natal lands a big leg kick. Natal ducks under a punch and gets a takedown into the guard of Casey. Natal with a big hammerfist. More hammerfists from Natal. Natal with more control and punches from the top. Natal with big hammerfists as he looks to finish the fight late. Casey able to sweep Natal away as the round ends. 10-9 Natal, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Natal with a big leg kick and lands a hard right hand. Natal with a leg kick. Natal with the jab. Casey lands a right hand but Natal comes back with a takedown. Natal passes to half-guard. Natal with punches from the top. Natal looking to set up a choke as Natal moves to full mount. Natal has an arm-triangle attempt but lost it. Natal just smothering. Natal landing big punches from the top and Casey is bleeding. This fight is close to being finished and it is. TKO win by Natal.

    Official Result- Rafael Natal def. Kevin Casey by TKO (punches) at 3:37 of Round 3

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- OLIVIER AUBIN-MERCIER (7-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. CARLOS DIEGO FERREIRA (11-2, 2-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Ferreira had to shave his head to make weight. Aubin-Mercier with two nice body kicks. Ferreira with a right hand. They trade punches. They trade kicks. Aubin-Mercier with a head kick but Ferreira tags him with a big punch. Ferreira with a kick and Aubin-Mercier catches it and lands some punches and then a body kick. Aubin-Mercier with a head kick. They clinch and move up against the fence. Ferreira lands a punch on the break. Aubin-Mercier with a body kick. Ferreira just misses a head kick. 10-9 Ferreira.

    ROUND 2- Ferreira with a body kick. They trade punches and Aubin-Mercier lands an uppercut. Aubin-Mercier with a high kick and Ferreira pushes him down but they get back to their feet. Aubin-Mercier pins him against the fence but they break and Ferreira sprints away. Aubin-Mercier with a solid combo. They trade punches and Ferreira lands a flush head kick. They clinch for a moment but break. Ferreira with a body kick. They trade some solid punches. Aubin-Mercier with a short uppercut. Ferreira with a quick takedown and lands a knee on the way up. Aubin-Mercier with a body kick and then a head kick. Short uppercut lands by Aubin-Mercier and then a body kick and then a head kick. Ferreira with a head kick. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier, 19-19.

    ROUND 3-Ferreira with an inside leg kick. Aubin-Mercier with a body kick followed by a head kick and lands an uppercut. They scramble to the mat but get right back up. Aubin-Mercier gets a takedown but Ferreira scrambles to the top in the half-guard. Ferreira transitions and takes the back and has the hooks in. Ferreira with some punches from the back. Ferreira looking for the choke. Ferreira had it over the chin but Aubin-Mercier escapes and scrambles to half-guard. Ferreira with some elbows. Ferreira has the back again and looking for the choke. Ferreira with big punches and elbows from the back. Aubin-Mercier survives but clear round for Ferreira. 10-9 Ferreira, 29-28 Ferreira.

    Official Result- Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- (#11) TAREC SAFFIEDINE (15-4, 1-1 UFC) VS. JAKE ELLENBERGER (30-10, 9-6 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Saffiedine with a leg kick. Ellenberger with some dirty boxing. They trade leg kicks. Ellenberger connects with some punches. Saffiedine with a front kick to the face. Saffiedine with a leg kick and then a high kick. Ellenberger lands a big right hand that stuns Saffiedine. Saffiedine recovered and missed a head kick. Saffiedine with a high kick. Saffiedine with a high kick again and then lands a left hand. 10-9 Ellenberger.

    ROUND 2- They trade punches as both look for the slightest opening. Both miss on punches. Saffiedine with a high kick. Ellenberger lands a left hand. Saffiedine with a high kick and then lands a leg kick. Saffiedine looks for a takedown but Ellenberger defends. Saffiedine lands a knee to the groin and we have a timeout. Saffiedine with two high kicks that land to the forearms of Ellenberger. Saffiedine lands a left jab. Ellenberger lands a late takedown but Saffiedine gets right back up. 10-9 Saffiedine, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Saffiedine with a high kick. He lands another but hits the forearms. Ellenberger clinches up against the fence. They break. Neither are initiating that much and the crowd is booing. Saffiedine lands a right hand and a leg kick. Ellenberger misses a big right hand. Saffiedine lands two leg kicks. Saffiedine lands another left hand and Ellenberger is bleeding. They clinch and Saffiedine with a knee to the body. Saffiedine lands another and Ellenberger lands one as well. Ellenberger goes for a desperate takedown and Saffiedine grabs the back and looks for the choke. Ellenberger defending and is out. They get up in the final seconds. Ellenberger lands a combo as the fight ends. Not much of a fight. 10-9 Saffiedine, 29-28 Saffiedine.

    Official Result- Tarec Saffiedine def. Jake Ellenberger by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    MAIN CARD (FOX- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- SAGE NORTHCUTT (7-0, 2-0 UFC) VS. BRYAN BARBERENA (10-3, 1-1 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Northcutt with some right hands and clinches but they break. They kick each other at the same time and Barberena slips. Northcutt drops Barberena with a right but they get right back up and clinch. Northcutt with a takedown and takes the back. Barberena on his feet but Northcutt on his back. Northcutt lets go and they clinch along the cage. They trade punches on the break. Northcutt with some big right hands and Barberena nailed him with a right. Northcutt with a takedown and looks for the back. Barberena is cut. Northcutt with a body kick. Barberena gets a takedown and is on top. They get up. They trade. Barberena lands a nice right hand. They trade again. 10-9 Northcutt.

    ROUND 2- Northcutt with a leg kick. Northcutt misses a punch and Barberena is able to get in his guard on the ground. Barberena with some punches and elbows from the top. Barberena steps over looking to go to side control from half-guard. Barberena with short elbows and still looking to pass to side control and lands another hard elbow. Barberena looking for an arm-triangle. Northcutt taps out! It didn’t even look that deep but Barberena taps Northcutt out with the arm-triangle from half-guard.

    Official Result- Bryan Barberena def. Sage Northcutt by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:06 of Round 2

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#14) IURI ALCANTARA (33-6 1 NC, 7-3 1 NC UFC) VS. JIMMIE RIVERA (18-1, 2-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Rivera has won 17 straight fights and is another good prospect at 135 pounds. They come out swinging. Alcantara with a knee to the body. Rivera counters with a right hand. Big chants for Rivera, who is from New Jersey. Alcantara lands a left hand and Rivera counters with a big right hand. Rivera with a nice combo on Alcantara up against the fence. Rivera lands to the body and goes to the head. Alcantara looking to counter and lands a body kick and left hand. Alcantara pokes Rivera in the eye and quick timeout. Back to action. They trade punches. Rivera gets a big takedown slam right at the end of the round. 10-9 Rivera.

    ROUND 2- Alcantara with a body kick and Rivera lands a crisp combination. Alcantara faked a jumping knee and Rivera tagged him with a left hand. Alcantara with a body kick. Rivera with a right hand. Rivera with a side kick. Rivera with a combo and initates a clinch against the fence. Rivera with a knee to the body and then to the legs. Rivera with some short left hands. They break. Alcantara lands a body kick and stuffs a takedown attempt from Rivera. Alcantara with a straight left and Rivera goes down for a moment. Rivera gets up and scores a takedown. Rivera takes the back but they get up. 10-9 Rivera, 20-18 Rivera.

    ROUND 3- Alcantara comes out with a head kick. They trade punches. Alcantara with a leg kick and then a body kick. Rivera gets Alcantara down to the mat for a moment but they get right back up. Alcantara with a body kick and Rivera fires back a body kick. Alcantara with a leg kick and then a front kick to the body. Rivera with a big leg kick. Alcantara lands a left hand and Rivera drops for a moment. Rivera gets up and lands a takedown but they get right back up. Alcantara with a front kick to the body. Rivera grabs the leg and pushes up against the fence. They trade punches as the fight ends. 10-9 Rivera, 30-27 Rivera.

    Official Result- Jimmie Rivera def. Iuri Alcantara by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#8) JOSH BARNETT (34-7, 6-2 UFC) VS. (#7) BEN ROTHWELL (35-9, 5-3 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Rothwell with a low kick. Barnett with a right hand. Rothwell with a leg kick. Barnett with a leg kick and then a punch to the body. Rothwell with a leg kick. Barnett lands a stiff jab. Barnett with a short elbow. They clinch and Rothwell pushes against the fence but they break. Rothwell bleeding from the nose. Barnett connects with a left hand. Barnett with a stiff jab. Rothwell lands a right hand. Barnett with a punch and elbow and Rothwell counters with a leg kick. Barnett with a straight left hand. 10-9 Barnett.

    ROUND 2- They clinch against the fence. Rothwell lands some uppercuts. They break. Rothwell with an uppercut. They trade punches. Not a lot of action going on. Rothwell misses a head kick. Barnett with a body kick. They trade punches. Barnett looking for a takedown. Rothwell has the neck as he drops to the mat. Rothwell has the guillotine choke and Barnett taps! That was a completely unexpected result.

    Official Result- Ben Rothwell def. Josh Barnett by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:48 of Round 2

    LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#2) ANTHONY JOHNSON (20-5, 11-5 UFC) VS. (#4) RYAN BADER (20-4, 13-4 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Bader goes for a quick takedown but Johnson stuffs and takes the back. Bader looking for a kimura from the bottom. Johnson is able to mount Bader. Bader lets go of the arm and is stuck against the cage. Johnson dropping punches from the top and it is already over! Johnson knocked Bader out cold from the back mount.

    Official Result- Anthony Johnson def. Ryan Bader by knockout (punches) at 1:26 of Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Bader – Front Row Brian, Fontaine, Bixenspan

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

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

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

    Rothwell – Nason, Front Row Brian, Pollock, Meltzer

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

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

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

    Alcantara – Pollock

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

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

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

    Barberena – Bixenspan

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

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

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

    Ellenberger – Front Row Brian, Fontaine

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

    UFC on FOX 18 Draft Kings Playbook

    UFC on FOX 18 weigh-ins results and video

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Kevin Owens def. Jack Swagger via pinfall

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The Dudley Boyz def. The Ascension via pinfall

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

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

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

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

    Rusev w/Lana def. Ryback by submission

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

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

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

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

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

    Final Thoughts

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

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

    1904 

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

    1947

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

    1948

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

    1951

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

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

    1959

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

    1963

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

    1964

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

    1967

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

    1968 

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

    1970

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

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

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

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

    1972

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

    1976

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

    1977

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

    1980

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

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

    1981

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

    1982

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

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

    1983

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

    1984 

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

    1985

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

    1993 

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

  • NJPW Road to New Beginning report: Nakamura bids farewell to New Japan

    This morning literally marks the road to a New Beginning as Shinsuke Nakamura is set to make his final appearance in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

    Nakamura’s career has always gone in different paths than normal wrestlers who made their way through the New Japan system. He won the IWGP championship within his first year of wrestling, which is something that almost never happens, be it New Japan or anywhere else in the world. He was alright in his role as a main eventer, but came across as bland and uninteresting, perhaps due to the fact he was put in the spotlight very quickly and wasn’t able to find himself. It wasn’t until his return from an excursion in Mexico where he became known for his charismatic style that made him into a bona fide star in New Japan, not just a guy headlining cards.

    But now he’s leaving the promotion that made him  to test new waters – the WWE. Personally, I think he’ll do fine as you need to be charismatic in the WWE to truly succeed, and Nakamura has that down pat. It’s also up to creative and luck of the draw. But at least here, tonight, we’ll be able to see him one last time as a true headliner and top star of one of the biggest promotions in the world.

    They’re treating this as a bigger deal than most “Road To” shows as there is commentary and a multiple camera setup tonight.

    Hirai Kawato vs. David Finlay

    Finlay’s titantron respectfully gives his birth year and stats. That’s kinda plain…then again, I guess that’s the goal of a young lion. Kawato seems very tiny, even by young lion standards. Finlay, who is also a junior heavyweight, dwarfed him. He’s the eighteen year old straight out of the dojo. He looked fine, a bit green but that’s expected in his second match ever. Finlay looked great. Its these kind of matches that make you feel like you’re seeing great results from the New Japan young lion system as you see noticeable improvements a year in. Finlay submitted him with a Boston crab.

    Jay White vs. Yoshi-Hashi

    It’s so rare to see a Yoshi-Hashi singles match…I think I can count on one hand how many televised singles matches he’s had in the last year! White also looked very good here. If it wasn’t for Chad Gable being a bit more colorful I think he would have gotten more votes for rookie of the year. People were into him and he got a few near close calls, including a crossface. YH eventually powerbombed him then bridged him for the win.

    Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask vs. Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger and Hiroyoshi Tenzan

    I wonder if Liger and Tiger Mask are still feuding over the NWA Junior Heavyweight title. They kept pushing Nakanishi out of the ring as they worked over Tiger Mask and Nagata. He finally got a tag and Nakanishi looked slightly more mobile than usual in making a comeback, which isn’t saying a lot. He ran roughshod on everyone. Tencozy made their comeback with the 3D and Kojima pinned Nakanishi with a lariat. Solid bout given the participants.

    Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi

    This seems to be a continuation of a feud that’s been going on lately between Yano and Bad Luck Fale, but now it’s also over Yano’s six man tag titles. Not much of a match, just some back and forth with added Yano antics. He did his taunt as Fale was going to the grenade but Yano caught him. Yano tried to use the ref as a distraction, but not only did it not work, Takahashi low blowed him. Fale followed that with the grenade and pinned Yano.

    They showed the press conference where Nakamura relinquished the Intercontinental title during intermission.

    Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida & Captain New Japan vs. Evil, Bushi and Tetsuya Naito

    This tour, Taguchi decided he’s going to dress like Dr. Doom: green cape, mask, everything. As usual, Taguchi & Kushida did most of the work and didn’t seem interested in tagging in CNJ. I don’t blame them since he takes the pin in literally every match he’s ever been in. Regardless, I guess because he hasn’t been around most of this month Korakuen Hall were into his comeback. Kushida tried to do a run in but Bushi sprayed him and did a suicide dive. The rest of Los Ingobernables left Taguchi lying with their finish, then Evil laid out CNJ with the STO for the win. The finish was hot, everything else was just okay.

    After the match, Bushi cut a promo saying he hopes he’s looking forward to his last title defense.

    Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and Cody Hall vs. Michael Elgin, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma and Juice Robinson

    Typical multi man NJPW tag match with all the usual tropes. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, actually the last few minutes were pretty great. Elgin powerbombed Anderson into the rest of the Bullet Club. Omega came back in and hit a reverse rana, which was pretty damn amazing. He hit a running knee to the corner, taking out Robinson, then pinned him with a knee strike very similar to the boma ye, I guess to mock Nakamura. Another solid match.

    They aired a fantastic video highlighting all the big moments of Nakamura’s career, from his debut match to winning the IWGP championship for the first time in 2003, the arrival of Chaos, winning the G1 Climax in 2011, winning the Intercontinental championship for the first time, and much more.

    Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura

    Korakuen became lit when Nakamura’s music hit. Signs were everywhere. They teased Nakamura and Tanahashi squaring off but Goto came in instead and he and Okada started. He’s been acting way more heelish since the title callout earlier this month, but that’s probably just through the title match. Mostly a straightforward match where everyone worked each other’s rivals. Fans were into whenever Nakamura did his trademark spots. Nakamura has Tanahashi down at one point and motioned for the boma ye but Shibata and Goto laid him out. Tanahashi went for the high fly flow but got the knees up. Nakamura went for the boma ye, but Tanahashi countered with the slingblade. Shibata and Ishii closed out the match. After a good back and forth sequence, Ishii pinned him with a brainbuster. Just a tag match, but a good one.

    Omega hit the ring. He said that Nakamura calls this a graduation, but he’s just scared of facing him. Tanahashi then appears. After saying a few lines, he makes it clear that he is X, and will face him at New Beginning. Omega leaves, unamused.

    Nakamura takes the mic and says he won’t say goodbye, but thanks everyone. The rest of Chaos come out to celebrate with him as they posed for pictures. Both Okada and Nakamura were emotional as Okada put Nakamura on his shoulders and they left the arena.

    Very memorable show for the ending and main event, obviously. Usual solid action up and down the card.

  • UFC On FOX 18 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    The Octagon returns to Newark, New Jersey on Saturday night for UFC On FOX 18. The event is headlined by a five-round light heavyweight bout between Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid for UFC On FOX 18 to help you fill out your line-ups for your daily fantasy games.

    STUDS

    Sage Northcutt ($11,000)

    Sage Northcutt has the highest salary of all 26 fighters on the card, and for good reason. He enters Saturday night with a perfect 7-0 record, with all wins by finish, and five in the first round. He fights a short-notice replacement, and is up a weight class due to the late switch, meaning no need to cut as much weight. He should be plenty fresh, which is good coming six weeks after his most recent fight. He has a real opponent in this bout in Bryan Barberena, who is 10-3 and has won seven of his last eight fights. This is Northcutt’s biggest test, but he has passed them all so far, and Barberena is taking the fight on short notice after starting preparations to fight in a month. If Northcutt is as good as he has been, he should get a finish here.

    Randy Brown ($10,500)

    Randy Brown is coming into his UFC debut with a little bit of fame after being featured on the first episode of Dana White’s “Looking For A Fight” television show. He has a perfect 6-0 record in less than two years as a professional fighter, and all six wins have come by stoppage. He is a very solid prospect, but he may be in the UFC just a little quick, but that is to be expected within the next several months. He gets a lower-level opponent in Matt Dwyer, who is tough but is just 1-2 inside the Octagon. Brown is a good bet to score some solid points and get a finish, and he is one of our top plays on an action-packed card.

    VALUE PLAYS

    Jake Ellenberger ($8,800)

    There is zero question that Jake Ellenberger is struggling in the Octagon. He has just one win in his last five fights, and that was over a past his prime Josh Koscheck. Worst of all, Ellenberger has been finished in his last three losses. It’s a skid like that which makes Ellenberger an underdog on Saturday against Tarec Saffiedine. Saffiedine hasn’t fought since October 2014, and big injury issues have limited him to just two fights in the last three years. Ring rust could be a pivotal factor for Saffiedine, but Ellenberger’s chin, or perhaps lack of, could be a major factor as well. If you’re looking to spend up and need a cheap option, Ellenberger has good value at his salary.

    Ryan Bader ($8,500)

    It is crazy to think that Ryan Bader has the second lowest salary of the fighters on the card even though he has a five-fight win streak. He is getting greatly undervalued, especially considering he is in a five-round bout, which gives him more of an edge when it comes to scoring points with the extra ten minutes. He has a tough opponent in Anthony Johnson, who has knockout power. Johnson also tends to crumble when he is pressured by a wrestler, and Bader has a style to grind the fight out. Bader can also find submissions if there are openings, and Johnson leaves himself open a lot if he is being dominated on the mat. Bader is definitely worth looking at with his salary, and he has a good chance at scoring the upset.

    FIGHTERS TO AVOID

    Olivier Aubin-Mercier ($10,400)

    Let’s start this off by saying that odds are pretty good that Olivier Aubin-Mercier walks away with a win. He is fighting a short notice opponent, has looked good in winning three straight, and is a solid prospect. Here is why I would avoid him. I see the fight going like his last bout, a win over Tony Sims. He won by a decision and scored six takedowns, all getting solid points. However, he landed just three significant strikes in that fight, good for 1.5 points. There are a lot better options with a similar salary. I don’t see him finishing Ferreira, but a grinding win is likely here. Being the case, I’m avoiding him on my rosters.

    Kevin Casey ($9,500)

    Kevin Casey has a middle of the road salary for Saturday night, and he is unbeaten since returning to the UFC. Granted, two of his three fights have been no contests- one, which was a win that was overturned after a failed drug test, and his most recent fight ended in a no contest after just 11 seconds after he was poked in the eyes. That happened just six weeks ago, and it remains to be seen if there will be any lingering damage. He has a tough opponent in Rafael Natal who is climbing up the middleweight rankings. Casey has a tough matchup, is coming back from tough circumstances, and is unlikely to finish Natal, even if he may get a win. I suggest avoiding him in your lineups.

    OUR LINE-UPS

    RYAN FREDERICK- Sage Northcutt ($11,000), Randy Brown ($10,500), Josh Barnett ($10,100), Rafael Natal ($9,900), Ryan Bader ($8,500)

    I like Sage Northcutt to continue his undefeated streak and score a finish against a late replacement. Bryan Barberena will be tough but Northcutt really is a skilled fighter. It’ll get tougher from here for sure. I see Randy Brown getting a finish in his UFC debut. He has a good skillset and is a good prospect. Josh Barnett is another pick as I have him winning over Ben Rothwell, and I think a submission win is a good bet as he should be able to take Rothwell down. Rafael Natal is a pick I had to think about. I have him winning, but I don’t know if it’ll be by decision or a finish. I think he has a good shot at submitting Kevin Casey, but not overly confident he will finish him. I just see him as the best option with what I had left. Lastly, I’m going with Ryan Bader. His salary helped pick some higher-priced fighters, and I think if he can push a grinding fight, he has a good shot at submitting Anthony Johnson, or at worst, getting a decision win, and the extra ten minutes would add to the point totals.

    PAUL FONTAINE- Sage Northcutt ($11,000), Olivier Aubin-Mercier ($10,400), Dustin Ortiz ($10,300), Felipe Olivieri ($9,400), Jake Ellenberger ($8,800)

    Sage Northcutt is going to finish Bryan Barbarena. Everyone watching this show knows this and he’s a no-brainer for the team. Fighting at 170 could be to his advantage as he should have more power at that weight and his frame can certainly sustain it. Barbarena is taking the biggest fight of his life on short notice here and it should be a quick win for Zach Morris 2.0. Aubin-Mercier has been constantly improving since losing to Chad Laprise in his official UFC debut by split decision at the TUF Nations finale. He should grind out a late submission or possibly a dominant decision win here as he continues his rise up the lightweight rankings. Ortiz is one of the few flyweights with KO power and I like him to finish Wilson Reis. Ortiz’ only two UFC losses were to Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga and Reis isn’t in the class of either of those two. Ellenberger-Saffiedine is interesting. Ellenberger has been the more active fighter recently but he’s also on a slide. Saffiedine hasn’t fought in 15 months since suffering a KO loss to Rory McDonald. I like Ellenberger to rebound with a KO but I am going on a bit of a limb here as you sometimes have to do to get everyone in under the $50,000 cap. My last pick is someone making his UFC debut in Felipe Oliveri. He’s a finisher, having ran up 4 first round KO’s in his last 5 fights. His opponent Tony Martin has been finished in two of his 3 UFC losses. Oliveri scores another quick win here and probably sends Martin packing from UFC.

    PEACH MACHINE- Anthony Johnson ($10,900), Alex Caceres ($10,800), Jimmie Rivera ($10,200), Jake Ellenberger ($8,800), Bryan Barberena ($8,400)

    I like Johnson to KO Bader. As in, I’d love it. Bader has been such a disappointment. That said, I could see him exposing Rumble if he can make this a grinder. I don’t think he will though… Barbarena is tough and I was thoroughly unimpressed by Northcutt’s most recent outing… Bruce Leroy Caceres should be able to handle the guy on Sherdog who doesn’t have a profile pic. He has to, as he’s lost 3 in a row and needs a win badly here… I really like Jimmie Rivera. He’s on a 16 fight win streak, and Alcantara is not that good… I’m taking Ellenberger because I’m low on cash and don’t really like anyone else I can afford. 

  • NXT Pittsburgh live results: Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe; Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Gargano

    Submitted by Ryan Dunch w/additional notes from Joe Kazmer

    Stage AE was sompletely sold out, with a substantial amount of a standing room tickets sold.

    – The night started with a pre-taped intro from Triple H thanking the fans for making NXT.

    NXT Tag Champions Dawson & Wilder def. Big Cass and Enzo Amore

    People were really excited and chanted along with the whole Enzo/Cass intro. Lots of How You Doin and other chants. Wilder and Dawson won after hitting their finisher on Enzo. Enzo and Cass got a standing ovation after they were left alone in the ring. This was a theme for the night anytime someone the crowd liked lost a match.

    Nia Jax pinned Carmella after the big leg drop

    Wasn’t very good but not as bad as I was expecting. Poor Nia was cat called early on when the crowd was otherwise pretty silent. 

    Elias Sampson def. Tye Dillinger

    Sampson, who is from Pittsburgh, claimed that he wrote a special song about returning to Pittsburgh​ which was comically bad:

    “Back in my hometown of Pittsburgh for the sold out show tonight
    and I’d say it’s nice to be here but that would be a lie,
    You can all tip me money for playing my guitar
    cuz I’ll never turn it down,
    In fact I should get a lot of money for even coming back to this crappy town!”

    Met with boos and an inaudible chant, and actually was worse than it looks on paper. Dillinger was cheered, mostly just people having fun with the 10 chants. Sampson defeated Tye Dillinger after raking Tye’s eyes while the re​f was distracted, and pinned him following a swinging neckbreaker. Then he kissed his guitar and carried it over his shoulder as he exited. 

    Baron Corbin pinned Apollo Crews after the End of Days

    Baron out to good heel reaction, Apollo got a decent pop. “Boring Corbin” chants. Mostly an anti-Corbin crowd as opposed to a pro-Crews crowd.  Corbin looked strong for a lot of the match and Crews got a lukewarm response for his comeback. People were into some of his athletic spots and did react to those – including a plancha to the floor. Crowd got into the last bit with trading shots and some near falls. 

    Sami Zayn pinned Johnny Gargano

    They had a lively match, and both men were over with the crowd. A lot of singing for Zayn, and “Johnny Wrestling” chants for Gargano. Really a great final few minutes which led to Sami pinning Johnny with a Heluva Kick. After the match was over, Sami helped Johnny up and embraced him and raised his hand. The crowd gave Gargano a really nice standing ovation after the match while Zayn hopped out of the ring and applauded him on the outside. Really loud sustained “Johnny Wrestling” chant here as well.

    > Intermission

    Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss with the Bayley to Belly suplex

    Bayley is very beloved by this audience. Little girls with Bayley shirts in attendance, Bayley made sure to give them hugs. There was a lot of stalling at the beginning with lots of people in the crowd screaming for hugs and Bayley hopping out to give some. There was a fun spot where she popped out and hugged a guy in the front row for a big pop and as she ran back in Alexa gave her a cheap shot. They did some mat wrestling and traded near falls in the final sequence which ended with Bayley catching Alexa with a sudden Bayley-to-Belly for the pin.

    American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) def. The Vaudevillians

    Gable pinned English with their back suplex finisher. Jordan and especially Gable were over huge. Good technical stuff here early on. Both teams looked sharp, all of the stuff was tight. Jordan and Gable are really impressive to see live, lots of spots I’ve never seen anyone do, and it all looked great. Big this is Wrestling chant for the earlier mat wrestling. 

    NXT Champion Finn Balor def. Samoa Joe

    They had a good match. It was quiet early. When the match went on, the show had been on for a solid 2 hours 30 minutes if you include the intermission. But they pulled the crowd in after some mat wrestling when Joe bailed to the outside. This led to brawling on the floor. Joe got some solid heel heat. He made a comeback and hit his flying kick thing in the corner. Crowd started with a “Joe Joe Joe” chant after all the boos and Joe just looked at the crowd and shook his head.

    Finn threw Joe back outside and his a baseball slide. He hit the footstomp to Joe while Joe was still standing and hunched over for a nearfall. This is Awesome chants. Joe hit a bad ass clothesline for a 2 count. Dueling punches, Joe catches Balor in a rear naked, Balor escapes, misses a corner kick. Joe went for the Buster and Balor countered it into a sunset flip pin for another near fall. Final sequence was really good. Balor ended up hitting his kick to the corner and the Coup de Grace for the win.

  • TNA Impact TV taping results: Kurt Angle’s farewell tour, Will Ospreay wrestles for 5 minutes

    Submitted by Stephen Lyon from Manchester, England, UK

    – TNA returned to Manchester, England, for night one of their three night annual U.K. tour. Two episodes of IMPACT WRESTLING were taped this evening, said to air on February 2nd and 9th. 

    – The 20,000 capacity Manchester Arena appeared to be greatly cut down and curtained off for a 5000 capacity (only a small part of the lower tier only open), and I’d estimate a crowd of 3000 (possibly less). It wasn’t full for what they set up and there were lots of empty seats. The crowd were very hot at key points in the show, but it was a long show (a 4 hour taping) and a lot of people left during the 4th hour, presumably to catch the last bus or train home. I think there was only 1500 fans left for the main event of the taping, and the show started at 7pm and finished at 10:50pm.

    TNA XPlosion:

    Mark Andrews beat Will Ospreay

    Match went 5 minutes. After they made such a big deal about featuring British wrestlers on the taping, not only did Big Damo & Jimmy Havoc not appear tonight (despite tweeting earlier that they were both in Manchester), Will Ospreay was only featured in a five minute opening match spotfest that’s not even going to air on IMPACT. Match was okay but not a patch on their PWG stuff. This was a huge disappointment in many respects, and a waste of Ospreay’s talents.

    February 2nd (February 7th in the UK) IMPACT:

    – They aired an Ethan Carter 3 pretaped promo in his mansion, taped ‘earlier in the week’, where Carter cut a terrific babyface promo, acknowledging he’s been an jerk in the past, but saying the defeat to Hardy had been a wake up call, and that he was flying to England to get his revenge. I’m guessing they aired this to condition the live crowd as to him being a babyface during the show, to ensure the ‘right reactions’ occurred. This was really well done.   

    – IMPACT opened with a Matt Hardy interview. The TNA Champion was accompanied by Reby Sky, and Tyrus was carrying little Maxel. Hardy was heavily booed and cut a great heel promo, demanding that Dixie Carter fire EC3 later in the show.

    Bobby Lashley beat Bram

    Eric Young accompanied Bram to the ring, and his interference backfired when he tried to hit Lashley with a chair and hit Bram instead. Lashley speared both and pinned Bram.

    – Kurt Angle came out to a huge pop for a farewell interview. Mike Bennett & Maria interrupted and insulted him. Bennett challenged Angle, but Angle decked him, saying he’d only wrestle people he respected, and said his opponent tonight was Drew Galloway. Galloway then appeared on the entrance ramp before returning to the back.

    X Division Champion Trevor Lee beat Tigre Uno to retain

    Lee was accompanied by Shane Helms.

    Beer Money beat Decay by D.Q.

    Beer Money came out for an interview to a big pop. James Storm rode a scooter-like vehicle called a ‘Bruiser Cruiser’ to the ring. They mentioned their Feast or Fired Tag Title shot briefcase and challenged the Wolves to a title match tonight. Decay came out instead and challenged Beer Money to a fight. To the match, Storm had Crazzy Stevie pinned, only for Abyss to pull the ref out for the D.Q. Decay put the boots to both Roode & Storm afterwards, with the Wolves running in for the save. Wolves cut a promo on Decay, demanding their belts back, which Decay had stolen. Wolves offered Decay a tag title match. Abyss agreed, as long as it was a Monsters Ball match ‘next week’ (taped later).

    – Grado came out of the crowd in his wrestling gear, acknowledging he’d been fired and was disappointed he couldn’t wrestle tonight. He then claimed that he’d been screwed, and had proof, pulling out an envelope. Eli Drake interrupted him and both Drake and two security guys chased Grado out of the ring and to the back, Benny Hill-style. It was fairly amusing and the crowd ate it up. Grado got a good reaction.

    Jade beat Madison Rayne

    Rebel & Marti attacked Rayne afterwards, and Gail Kim ran out for the save.

    Drew Galloway beat Kurt Angle

    This turned into a pretty good 15 minute match. Finish saw Galloway escape from the ankle lock and apply his own submission move for the win. Afterwards, the pair embraced. Angle looked choked up afterwards, looking at the crowd.

    Finish of the first show saw Hardy, Reby and Tyrus in the ring (no Maxel this time), confronting Dixie Carter who came out. Hardy pleaded with Dixie to fire EC3, bringing up all the terrible things EC3 had done in the past. Rockstar Spud came out to a big pop. Spud was wearing a bright red suit with the POP TV logo on the back. Spud told Hardy that EC3 had done most of the terrible things to him, Spud, but that EC3 shouldn’t be fired because he can back it up in the ring, and claimed EC3 was still undefeated, unpinned and unsubmitted. Tyrus decked Spud. As the heels were about to attack Dixie, EC3 came out to the biggest reaction of the night. He stood at the top of the ramp, ripped off his suit then ran down the aisle. He nailed 2 security guards, then Tyrus, but once he made it to the ring, Hardy ran away. Crowd loved EC3, singing along to his music and waving their arms in the air.

    Taped for the February 9th (February 14th in the UK) IMPACT:

    Mike Bennett beat Mark Andrews

    Good match. Bennett was beating on Andrews after the match and Galloway ran out for the save.

    Eric Young went to double countout with James Storm

    Nothing match. Afterwards, Young & Bram brawled with Roode & Storm into the crowd and into the concourses.

    Mahabili Shera & ‘ODARG The Great’ beat Eli Drake & Jesse Godderz

    ‘ODARG The Great’ was the ‘fired’ Grado under a mask, ‘Odarg’ obviously being ‘Grado’ spelt backwards. Odarg came out to the same Madonna ‘Like A Prayer’ theme song, with ‘ODARG’ written across his singlet like Grado’s regular singlet. Everyone in the crowd knew it was Grado, not that it wasn’t obvious anyway. On the surface this seems dumb, but it was played for comedy and the crowd ate it up. Odarg pinned Drake, but his mask came off at one point during the match.

    – EC3 came out for an interview, and ended up brawling with both Matt Hardy and Tyrus. Hardy & Tyrus challenged EC3 to a tag match later.

    TNA Tag Champions The Wolves beat Decay in a Monsters Ball match to retain (and regain physical possession of the belts).

    This was a wild hardcore match, with chairs, tables, ladders, thumb tacks, a barbed wire bat and barbed wire board used. A key spot was the Wolves caught Rosemary trying to interfere, and with Edwards holding her, Richards at first teased using a cheesegrater on her (seriously), then even better, forced a big kiss on her (similar to the Ric Flair/Becky Lynch spot at the Rumble that people raised their eyebrows over, given it’s now 2016). Finish saw Richards give Crazzy Stevie a brainbuster on a chair covered in tacks for the win.

    – Jeremy Borash brought out Josh Matthews to wave to the crowd, and also later, Billy Corgan. Corgan did some brief mic work, thanking the crowd.

    Gail Kim & Madison Rayne beat Jade & Marti

    Afterwards, Rebel beat down the faces, with Velvet Sky making the save. Sky then cut a promo, challenging the Dollhouse to a 3 on 3 ‘Lethal Lockdown’ match, to be taped in London tomorrow.   

    Ethan Carter 3 & Rockstar Spud beat TNA World Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus

    Spud came out mid-way through the match as Carter’s partner. Afterwards, Spud simply glared at EC3 then left. The storyline is that although both are now babyfaces, Spud hasn’t forgiven EC3 for the way he mistreated him in the past.

    Then in a dark segment to close the show, EC3 brought Spud out again, and told the crowd it was Spud’s birthday tomorrow, leading the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to him. Spud seemed happy, then said, “By the way, I still hate you’” and left.

    Notes:

    Overall an entertaining show. It did drag a lot towards the end of the third hour and into the fourth hour. The crowd were enthusiastic at the key moments. It was just sad to see the crowd smaller than it was last year (and the crowd size has decreased every year for the past 2-3 years), with plenty of empty seats visible on all 3 sides of the arena. The main event angle is strong, and they did a terrific job getting EC3 over as the top babyface to the point he was the most over babyface on the show by the end (with the possible exception of Kurt Angle).