With the WWE spinning its creative wheels until next month’s brand split, Monday night’s edition of RAW felt very much like a time-filler with little happening of any consequence. Given that there are three shows remaining until Battleground, it’s difficult to avoid the suspicion that things aren’t about to get any more interesting in the short-term either!
— The Hits —
The Highlight Reel
Aptly named for once, Chris Jericho’s regular hosting gig was the clear highlight of Monday night’s show. Sami Zayn showed exactly how much his promo delivery has improved since his NXT debut with a fiery polemic against the jealousy and bitterness of Kevin Owens. Owens’ reply was equally strong, proving that heels are always more effective when they can make a convincing argument in their favour.
Jericho, of course, agreed with Owens’ view that Sami was an unsupportive friend, capping a great segment off with his delicious arrogance. Despite a clean Owens victory in their last singles encounter, this is the one match on the Battleground card I can’t wait to see.
New Day Mocks
Regular readers will know that I view the New Day as a more-miss-than-hit act, but Monday’s roast of the Wyatts, complete with fake Erick Rowan booty and unicorn horn lantern, was genuinely hilarious.
What a shame that Bray had to ruin the segment with his usual overlong speechifying. Still, I am mildly intrigued to see where the writers will take the trance-like state that overcomes Xavier Woods whenever the self-styled cult leader is near.
Becky Lynch
As moribund as the so-called Divas Revolution so clearly is, the Irishwoman’s performances continue to be a consistent highlight.
Becky’s attack on newly-minted heel Natalya was surprisingly entertaining with her threats to “smack the head off” the Canadian a delight for Irish viewers like yours truly. It also helps that the nice-but-dim Natalya, with her bountiful levels of misplaced smugness, is way more of a natural heel to me. And, hey, the inevitable match between the two at Battleground should be pretty good too, right?
— The Misses —
Recycling 2013’s awful Daniel Bryan storyline
I know the bearded one is a big recycling mark, but even he must have cringed at the interactions between new WWE champion Dean Ambrose and Stephanie McMahon. Steph declared the “unkempt and unshaven” Dean’s current status as the “face of the company” to be an “absolute embarrassment” in scenes eerily reminiscent of the Authority’s weekly burials of Bryan three years ago.
Given the champ’s relapse into wackiness this week, including mentions of the “New Day’s time machine” and ramblings about parades, telling your audience that he’s not fit to be the company’s figurehead is probably not the greatest idea in the world.
Back to boring basics in the lower card
After an entertaining show of fire from Titus O’Neil last week, his ongoing feud with Rusev returned to the bottom of the barrel on Monday night. Titus “earned” another title match at Battleground in an extremely unconvincing manner, thanks to a lame countout finish.
Later, Apollo Crews pinned Sheamus in a short tag team match to cancel out the latter’s countout victory on last week’s Smackdown. As per usual, no one gets over.
Vince wants the wave for his very own
In what was surely the worst segment Enzo & Cass have been involved in since their main roster promotion, one of the hottest acts in the company was asked to go out in front of the Tampa audience and request a Mexican Wave.
Forcing inorganic crowd reactions is always the worst, as is the underlying suspicion that Vince McMahon wants to disassociate the wave from boredom in the manner of Randal Graves from Clerks’ obsession with saving a certain racially offensive term. Following up that, and the subsequent jobber squash, with a “long-awaited” Social Outcasts comeback that centred around the hilarious double meaning of the word “hard” was not my idea of a good time by any means.
Predictable marquee matches
First of all, let’s give credit where it’s due: calling attention to the Roman Reigns Wellness violation was as surprising as it was admirable. From there, however, things took a deeply predictable turn with the outcomes of both Battleground main event qualifying matches obvious to anyone who’s watched wrestling for five minutes.
While the long Seth Rollins/John Cena bout was extremely entertaining, particularly for two performers who have looked sluggish since returning from long injury layoffs, the distraction finish caused by The Club was visible from a significant distance.
Further, doing an equally long Ambrose and AJ Styles match to close this three-hour show was an extremely bad idea as the Club interference and Cena distraction combo was arguably even more obvious, rendering the 18 minutes of grappling that preceded it completely pointless.
For now, the WWE concussion lawsuit continues to center around the matter of whether or not Christopher Nowinski can be deposed by the plaintiffs, with WWE sides arguing back against yet again in court filings this past week and Nowinski’s lawyer joining in.That said, the most newsworthy part of the story comes from a literal footnote in WWE’s pleading, which refers to an affidavit attached to the filing.
Dean Ambrose was the weekend workhorse, main eventing all three house shows. On Saturday night, he worked in Boston beating Seth Rollins. He flew to Jacksonville where in a rarity for a house show, the WWE title was the opening match, where he beat Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a three-way. He then rushed to Orlando and worked the main event, beating Rollins once again.
Also on the Jacksonville show, Simon Gotch was shaken up after being kicked in the face. We don’t have an update past the point that after the kick, he rolled to the floor and never got back in the ring, and needed help to the back and they put up an “X” sign.
B.J. Penn has accepted a six-month suspension from USADA after he had admitted using an IV out of competition in forms. He said he wasn’t aware IV usage was banned outside of competition. The suspension is through 9/25, six months after the date he admitted on a form that he had used the IV. Penn has also challenged Georges St-Pierre to a third fight once his suspension is over.
We’re looking for your thoughts from Friday night’s ROH 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.
Raw is tonight in Tampa and is the only show of the week with John Cena scheduled. We’re looking for reports from Raw with dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident on the live show to NewsTips@WrestlingObserver.com. We’re also looking for reports from Saturday’s WWE house show in Boston and last night’s show in Jacksonville, as well as yesterday’s Ultima Lucha tapings in Los Angeles.
Smackdown will be taped on Tuesday night in Tampa, with a skeleton crew because a number of wrestlers are laving after Raw for Honolulu.
There will be a tour of Japan and Hawaii that starts Wednesday night in Honolulu (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Usos, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, A.J. Styles, Chris Jericho).
The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas takes place during UFC’s International Fight Week from July 7 – 11.Ed in San Antonio has information on Facebook, or you can email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com. It’s always a fun time, so hurry up and make your plans to join Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Vinny, Granny, Ed, Peach, Dez, Dr. Lucha, Rodney, Sr. Jaialai, “Filthy” Tom, and the rest of the group in beautiful Las Vegas this July. Plus… some extra secret surprises.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
Figure Four Weekly
READ IT HERE: Figure Four Weekly 6/20/2016: Never trust Nigerian investors– Growing up as a way-too-hardcore-for-my-age wrestling fan, I looked forward to watching whatever flavor of wrestling from the Dallas Sportatorium was on ESPN and in syndication at the time. The ESPN show was perfect for kids who loved pro wrestling: It aired at 4 p.m. eastern time, so it was perfect for after-school viewing… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
A look at the prospective UFC sale is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The issue looks at the main bidders, what kind of money is being bid, how much the Fertittas have made from the endeavor, the situation with Dana White, what is and isn’t expected to change, why the sale is coming now and who exactly owns what percentage of the company, plus a look at just how deep the UFC 200 show is.
Pluse there is a major story on the gamble of Brock Lesnar in UFC 200, the most in-depth look at the Ariel Helwani situation that you’ll find anywhere, full coverage of NXT Takeover, UFC 199, WWE Money in the Bank, and the details of TNA’s struggle to stay alive, its PPV and its future. There is also a breakdown on the WWE cruiserweight classic, and monthly WWE and TNA business figures.
This issue looks at Michael Bisping’s unlikely title win, all the ramifications of the Lesnar deal, what it shows about WWE, a look back at the last time WWE risked one of their stars against an outsider without scripting, how Ariel Helwani got to be a star reporter and how that played into what happened last week, and what aspects of the story that are really more important that haven’t been covered or have been overlooked.
Inside this week, there is also a look at the death of a key WWE musician, more on what Ali learned from pro wrestling, Bryan Danielson attends WWE event, Bobby Roode’s debut, notes on SummerSlam, new WWE executive hire, new WWE announcer, WWE looking for new members of creative, who is expected to return shortly, another animated WWE movie, update on Paul Heyman plus a full rundown on all the WWE & NXT live events this past week and business notes on the shows.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter BACK ISSUE
READ IT HERE: May 24, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ECW Hardcore Heaven/WWF No Mercy – Amidst rumors flying everywhere of the possible demise of the company and others who are talking that the company is a short period away from growing bigger than ever, the ECW Hardcore Heaven PPV came off like a show that was a bridge for the company to something new, but when it was over, there were still no answers over whether what is new is good news or bad news… Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw, G-1 and the latest wrestling and MMA news. You can send questions to the show to MailBag@WrestlingObserver.com. We have a show from last night with a very detailed look back at the Chris Benoit murders of his wife and son, as well as comments related to the Talk is Jericho episode with Sandra Toffoloni (Nancy Benoit’s sister who knows the subject better than anyone). The Jericho podcast is here.
The Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter boxing match that aired on Saturday night on CBS, the first prime time boxing show on the network in decades, did 2.12 million viewers on the fast nationals, barely beating Major League Baseball on FOX that did 2.05 million for last place among the major networks. NBC did 3.18 million viewers for the Olympic gymnastics championships. It should be noted those are all numbers from the overnights, which means the numbers will change before final ratings are out… That fight was incredible, by the way. I think Mauro Ranallo, who announced it, called it the best fight he’d ever called or something like that after the fact, but he was touting it strong in the last few rounds for fight of the year. If you didn’t see it, you can watch or DVR it at 10 p.m.tonight on CBS Sports Network. It will also be replayed on 7/1 at 11 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. It will also replay later this week on Showtime.
AXS has announced that they will be airing replays of World Pro Wrestling every Tuesday through Friday morning at 5 a.m. starting on 7/4. The shows will be replayed episodes in order, beginning from when Jim Ross joined the broadcast team.
Oddsmaker sat www.Bovada.lv announced odds of Mickey Gall at -300 vs. C.M. Punk at +265 for the show in Cleveland on 9/10.
Terry Funk will be returning for House of Hardcore shows on 9/16 in St. James, NY and 9/17 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena. Ricochet is also on both shows.
WWE
WWE announced today an international partnership with the Special Olympics. WWE will support the Special Olympics Play Unified campaign and WWE performers will participate in Play Unified events from around the world.
As noted before, on Smackdown, they continued to promote the three-way with Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for Battleground on 7/24, with no mention being made of Reigns not being on the show or not being around. Shaun Smith noted that on the WWE page on the Sky Sports website where they always report on WWE news, whether it be storyline or real, such as the Adam Rose suspension being reported, there is not a mention at all of the Roman Reigns suspension, and the main news item talks about the three-way match.
Stephanie McMahon is advertised to return on tonight’s Raw in Tampa.
Finn Balor, who is always messing around, did another tease, essentially putting up a photo of tonight’s Raw stage to tease he’ll be on the show, and then took it down.
UFC
UFC activities planned for UFC 200 week:
There will be open workouts on 7/5 at the MGM Grand Casino Floor from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. with Rafael dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez, Roy Nelson, Derrick Lewis, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Claudia Gadelha, Ross Pearson and Will Brooks. This is free and open to the public.
There will be a press conference on 7/6 at Noon at the MGM Grand KA Theater with Dana White, Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt, Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunes, Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar, Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne. This is also free and open to the public.
There are weigh-ins at 4 p.m. at the T Mobile Arena on Wednesday for the Thursday sow.
On 7/7, there will be open workouts from 9-11 p.m. at the T Mobile Arena with Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt free and open to the public. Lesnar will be at 10:30 p.m.
There will be a press conference at 11:30 p.m. at the T Mobile Arena on 7/7 with Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. This is free and open to the public.
There are weigh-ins for the Friday show at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the T Mobile arena free and open to the public.
On Friday, 7/8, there is the Fan Expo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
On Saturday, 7/9, the Fan Expo is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
On Sunday, 7/10 the Fan Expo is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be that afternoon as part of the Fan Expo.
If Jim was surprised that the WWE agreed to allow Lesnar to fight at UFC 200
“Well, not really. Brock is part-time performer for the WWE, certainly a phenomenal performer, and one could certainly say that he and or John Cena are 1-A as far as the top guys in the company. But I think that Vince certainly wants to keep his talent happy. The happier you keep your guys, the more productive they will be. Brock had an opportunity to earn a remarkable payday for UFC 200 – and I’m hearing all kind of numbers. I have no idea what the conclusive number is, but I’m thinking it’s certainly north of three-million dollars, and maybe more than that. Which is pretty good, as they say, day’s work. So I think Vince probably wanted to keep Brock happy. But I certainly think that somewhere down the road, Vince’s generosity will be repaid by the UFC in the form of something that is good for the WWE – Vince talked about Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania 33. Something like that could certainly be in the cards. So the way I looked at it, and I wrote about it on my website, it’s a win-win. I think everybody wins. Lesnar gets a great payday, UFC gets an attraction that’s going to drive pay-per-view buys without question, and the WWE makes the talent happy. I’m sure [WWE] got some kind of compensation for it directly, and then some sort of indirect pay-off at a time to be determined is probably in the works as well.”
If a loss hurts Lesnar’s reputation and drawing power in the WWE
“No, I don’t think so. I can certainly see why that question would be asked – and it is a good question. I think that people are now, with all the information on social media, I think people can differentiate a real sport, UFC athletic event, from a structured, theatrical-based presentation in sports entertainment. I just don’t think it would hurt him at all, quite frankly.”
If Lesnar will have more fights in the future
“I would say [regarding] more fights in the future, I’m guessing – strictly guessing – less than fifty-fifty. I would approach this as it’s more than likely the last time I’m gonna see Brock Lesnar in the octagon. But as sure as I say that, you know, [if] he goes out there and has a stellar performance against a heavy-handed Mark Hunt and gets his hand raised, he may get the itch to do another one somewhere down the road. And again, if the money’s right – obviously UFC’s paying WWE something for the use of Brock Lesnar’s services, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a unique deal because it’s never happened before – but I think it’s a win-win for everybody in that regard. So it’s hard to say he’ll have another fight. I lean that he will not, but I think a lot of it is what you alluded to, the outcome of this fight. I am going to the fight; I’ll be in Las Vegas. I’m of the belief that I don’t think the fight will get out of the first round. I don’t know who’s going to get to sleep first in the octagon before they go to sleep in a hotel room later in the night, but somebody is getting knocked out and I think it will be inside of five minutes.”
How long Lesnar has been training for this fight
“He’s a really pragmatic guy. He’s like overly blue-collar, you know, kind of a “nuts and bolts” guy, not a fancy guy. He fancies himself as a farmer, a rancher, outdoorsman. And it’s all true. It’s not an act. So I would tell you that he knows that anything less than probably an eight-week camp is not going to be acceptable for his own standards. The last thing he wants to do, is to make his return in this much-valued matchup of two knockout guys, and lay an egg. I don’t think he wants to soil the sheets on that deal. So he’s just a competitive guy. So I’m telling you that I would guess, by the time the fight rolls around, he’ll have at least eight good weeks of training under his belt.”
On what Ross expects from this fight
“I’m a whole lot more worried about his striking defence, than I am his readiness to fight or his physical conditioning. I think his conditioning will be good. But I can’t see that he or Hunt are gonna prepare for a long fight. I think they both know that it’s gonna end violently and suddenly, early – earlier than maybe some want to discuss. But Lesnar will be ready to go, and he’ll be healthy. That’s the main thing.
If JR still wants to see Lesnar vs. Fedor or if he’s lost interest after Fedor’s last performance
“I have not lost interest, and I don’t think the general public has lost interest. Fedor can be easily resurrected. The library on him is unbelievable. It’s easy to get him restabilised. He’s not moving from Russia, so even though it sounds so blasé and passé, the United States versus Russia storyline still plays. Is it kind of getting dated? Probably. But I can tell you this, when the United States was playing Canada in the last Winter Olympics in Hockey – and of course America is not an amateur Hockey state or country – the broadcast was on fire. The nationalistic thing is the point I’m making. So the USA versus Russia concept in parenthesis is still sellable. And everybody knows it’s not going to be a pretty fight. You’re going to see somebody get their ass whipped. It’s just going to be who can get their biggest punch into somebody’s face, or a liver shot, or something debilitating. So you know that you’re gonna have a train-wreck if you have Fedor and Brock – cause it can’t be pretty. It can’t be. So I think if it’s on a good card, it gets a rating. It either sells pay-per-views or gets a massive television rating.”
JR’s reaction to CM Punk making his UFC debut at UFC 203
“I think one of the great things about UFC signing CM Punk is that they have no expectations as to what to expect. I don’t know how the fans, any fan, can have any bonafide or legitimate expectations, because we just don’t know. It’s totally foreign. It’s a whole new world, new pitch. It’s a new game for CM Punk. I know he’s very cerebral. I know he’s a big fan of the genera. I know he’s worked hard. He’s a very, very smart guy – driven, if you will. He doesn’t even know how he’s going to do. So I think that the unknown is what’s going to sell that fight. Don’t doubt for a minute that the UFC or the WWE fans are gonna wanna buy a UFC event, cause we’re just too curious. We have no idea what’s going to happen. Is Punk going to get knocked out in the first minute? Is he going to get bloodied up and beat half to death? Cause we know that he won’t quit readily. Or is he gonna come in and shock the world and be a world-beater and a kickass MMA guy? I don’t know. All I know is that he’s going to be mentally and physically ready. I will certainly buy the fight, because I’m as curious as the next fan. What the heck’s gonna happen?”
Thoughts on Roman Reigns being suspended
“Well, it’s embarrassing for the talent. I have no idea what substance that he – you wanna hope invariantly – was taking. There’s a lot of the wrestlers, men and women, that are really big into the supplements out of the health food stores, and if they’re not careful and they don’t really vet it and see what’s on those ingredients, they can be inadvertently taking something that’s against the wellness program. So I’m assuming that’s what he did. He’s a hell of a good kid. I had a lot of fun when he was in developmental, when I was still working in WWE, helping him and talking with him, kind of mentoring him a little bit, like a lot of guys did – cause you wanted to mentor him cause he listened and he put what you told him into practice. So I was disappointed in him. And he’s gotta pay more attention if that’s what the case was. And hopefully he’ll learn a great lesson out of these thirty days he’s sitting. And hopefully he won’t be sitting, he’ll be getting better. And I sent out a tweet @JRsBBQ recently that said, “the game’s not over, it’s an inadvertent timeout”. So now you gotta come back better than you left and make up for lost time. So I don’t know that it hurt WWE. You have to re-arrange creative. I’m sure that he’ll come back. I would put him back in a triple threat match at Payback. You don’t want to discount the other guys’ efforts creatively and what they’ve built to get to this triple threat match. It costs the other two guys as much as it cost Reigns if you don’t have him in the match. And so I don’t know who wins in that equation. The fans don’t win. So I think the triple match should be booked and held. But he’s gotta be smarter in what he takes. The company has invested lots of money, the talent has invested lots of their time and efforts into helping him, and he’s gotta just be smarter than he was. And like I said, I just want to believe that it was totally inadvertent and that it will not happen again.”
MISCELLANEOUS
A correction and clarification on yesterday’s note on Julien Gauthier, the first round draft choice of the Carolina Hurricanes. He is the grandson of Denis Gauthier, the 70s pro wrestler. He would be the nephew of Denis Gauther Jr., who was a well known hockey player in the NHL who later became a sportscaster. However, he is not the grandson of Joanne Rougeau as his father, Martin Gauthier, came from a prior marriage of Denis Gauthier Sr.
Josh Matthews has been teasing a big TNA announcement tonight.
Impact lineup for tomorrow night:
Battle Royal for an X Division title shot
Bram vs. Rosemary
Mahabali Shera & Grado & Tyrus vs. Al Snow & Baron Dax & Basille Baraka
Bobby Lashley vs. Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA title
If you haven’t been watching, the TNA title program the past two months has been very good.
Cody Rhodes has announced he’s doing dates in eight U.K. cities around the country shortly.
Live Pro Wrestling is on 7/23 in Alexandria, ONT at the Glengarry Sports Arena.
UIPW on 7/9 in East Los Angeles at the UIPW Auditorium has Teddy Hart & Rush vs. Judas Draven & Steve Pain as the main event plus Ricky Reyes from Lucha Underground.
NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 6/24 in Elizabethton, TN: Wild Bill b Onslaught, Hardliners won over Air America and White Trash Millionaires, Axton Ray b Vince Brent, Heatseekers b Jason Kincaid & Travis Lee, Kaela & Nicole Stratton b Dani Ferrera & Rock-C, Timmy Lou Retton b Colby Corino, Buff Bagwell & Toby Farley b Chris Richards & Jordan Kage
Wrestling with Cancer on 8/20 in Ottawa at the Vanier Columbus Club with all funds going to the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of former wrestler Phrank Morin, who died young from cancer.
Bobby Fish vs. Kamaitachi has been announced for the ROH show on 7/8 in Baltimore.
Joey Ryan’s Bachelor Party will be at the 7/10 Championship Wrestling from Hollywood television taping for the Red Carpet Rumble in Port Hueneme, CA. Ryan had proposed to Laura James while in the middle of a match with her, unbeknownst to her.
Shimmer results from the tapings held yesterday in Berwyn, IL (thanks to Martin Bentley):
Volume 84
Nixon Newell b Veda Scott
Melanie Cruise & Yumi Ohka b Scarlett Bordeaux & Solo Darling
Arise Nakajima b Rhia O’Reilly
Nicole Matthews b Thunderkitty
Tessa Blanchard b LuFisto
Ryo Mizunami b Courtney Rush (Rosemary in TNA)
Nicole Savoy b Jessicka Havok to retain the Heart of Shimmer title when Shayna Baszler hit Havok with a baseball bat
Evie & Heidi Lovelace b Cherry Bomb (Allie in TNA) & Kimber Lee, KC Spinelli & Xandra Blade and Kay Lee Ray & Mia Yim (Jade in TNA) in a four-way elimination match to win the Shimmer tag team titles
Kellie Skater b Madison Eagles via count out in a Shimmer title match. Eagles retained the title.
Volume 85
LuFisto b Amanda Carolina Rodriguez
Nicole Matthews b Rhia O’Reilly
Allysin Kay (Sienna in TNA) b Xandra Bale
Arisa Nakajima b Shazza McKenzie
Kimber Lee b Thunderkitty
Shayna Baszler b Mia Yim
Courtney Rush won over Nixon Newell, Vanessa Kraven and Viper
Nicole Savoy b Kay Lee Ray to retain the Shimmer title
Evie & Heidi Lovelace b Melanie Cruise & Yumi Ohka to retain the tag titles
Madison Eagles b Tessa Blanchard to retain the Shimmer title after Blanchard and Kraven had taken out Kellie Skater backstage. Savoy and Baszler then attacked Eagles and took out her knee. Mercedes Martinez then showed up aligned with Baszler and Savoy.
Mercedes Martinez b Madison Eagles to win the Shimmer title
The Big Takeaway: The show was built around if John Cena or A.J. Styles could win their respective singles matches, they would receive a spot in the main event of Battleground. Cena wrestled Seth Rollins. Styles wrestled Dean Ambrose. Cena and Styles both lost after each inteferred in the other’s matches. Roman Reigns was mentioned in the opening by Rollins, and is still slated for the main event of Battleground. Cena and Rollins had among the best Raw matches of the year. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, billed as the blowoff to the program, is official for Battleground, the only match added to the card tonight.
Show Recap:
Seth Rollins came out and brought up Roman Reigns getting suspended. Reigns’ tweet from last Tuesday apologizing for his actions was shown on the TitanTron. Rollins ran down Reigns’ statement of “owing it” is appropirate because Rollins owns Reigns because he’s beaten him once. He said Reigns doesn’t deserve a second chance or to be in the main event of Battleground. Rollins wanted to face Dean Ambrose one-on-one.
This brought out Ambrose. Michael Cole called him “the Dude.” Ambrose said we all make mistakes, and said he used to be friends with Rollins, that was a huge mistake. He said Rollins wears skinny jeans, which is another mistake. Ambrose said as far as he was concerned, the triple threat match was still on.
A.J. Styles came out and said he agreed Battleground’s main event should be a triple-threat match, but he should be in Reigns’ place. Fans chanted “Yes” to that. Styles brought up beating John Cena is a dream match. Ambrose said Reigns is still in the match. Styles said it should be changed to a Fatal Fourway and have him included. Ambrose said that was fine with him, but Rollins objected.
Cena arrived and said Ambrose was a fighting champion, he was fight a friend, he will fight a foe, he will fight a fraud, but will he fight the franchise? Cena brought up today being his 15th WWE birthday and he lived the last 12 years in Tampa. Cena said the last time he faced Ambrose for a championship, he won. Cena wanted to make it a five-way match. Once again, Rollins objected.
Stephanie McMahon showed up. She said having Ambrose as WWE World Heavyweight Champion was an embarrassment. She announced that Shane McMahon was on vacation and wasn’t there tonight. She arranged Rollins to face Cena tonight. Styles would take on Ambrose. If Cena and Styles are victorious in their respective matches, they will be added to the Battleground main event.
A Brock Lesnar commercial with Paul Heyman doing the voiceover for W2K17 aired. As mentioned earlier on the website, Lesnar will be on the cover.
The Spanish announce team was introduced. JBL chimed in that they tried to explain how Lionel Messi could drill that free kick agains the U.S. last week but miss the penalty against Chile last night. Cole later mentioned that today was the 12th anniversary of JBL defeating Eddy Guerrero for the WWE Championship at the Great American Bash.
Sasha Banks & Paige defeated Charlotte & Dana Brooke via submission (8:38)
Sasha Banks made Dana Brooke tap out to the Bank Statement. Paige made the hot tag to Banks, who delievered a double knee drop against the ropes on Brooke. Outside the ring, Paige laid out Charlotte with a superkick. Banks hit a stiff knee to the face and the bank stabber as a prelude to the finish.
Lana introduced Rusev, which is really all she does now. After that, she’s background scenery.
Titus O’Neal defeated Rusev (C) via countout, so Rusev retained the U.S. championship. (4:08)
They did the same finish that Rusev did with Jack Swagger a month ago, except Rusev lost this time. Titus O’Neal and Rusev clotheslined each other on the floor and O’Neal beat the count back in the ring. Once again, O’Neal showed off a more aggressive edge after what happened to his sons at Money in the Bank. Rusev pulled off a standing dropkick with plenty of air underneath. JBL said it was the biggest win of O’Neal’s career. Looks like they’re building up a blow-off match at Battleground.
Stephanie talked on the phone when she ran into Kane. She wanted to pretend he wasn’t there. Kane thanked her for meeting with him and asked for a chance to run SmackDown. She said she was going to be the one running SmackDown. The Miz and Maryse walked up and said they had been gone for a month and there was no red carpet and a poor limo. Kane brought up he was in a new movie called “Countdown.” Miz said Kane shouldn’t be comparing big budget released to straight to DVD featured. Miz said he was a star and Kane looked like the Devil’s favorite insurance agent. Kane suggested Miz defend the Intercontinental Championship tonight. He cited “Rule G-1 of the WWE Rulebook” and said Miz had gone nearly 30 days without putting up the strap. Stephanie thought that was a good idea, but said Miz’s opponent would be a mystery.
Seth Rollins defeated John Cena, denying Cena a spot in the Battleground main event (16:00)
Cena hit the AA after reversing a crossbody block, but Rollins got his foot on the ropes. He went for another AA, but Rollins escaped, only to have Cena lock in the STF. Rollins nearly made the ropes, and Cena pulled him back into the center of the ring. He was about to clamp the STF on again until Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came down to ringside. Cena was distracted as Styles got on the apron, but Rollins got up and hit the Pedigree for the pin. Maybe the most heat for a Raw match this year. Crowd was roaring with dueling chants before they squared off and all throughout the match. Earlier, Rollins missed a frog splash, Cena went to the top rope, but Rollins recovered to hit a superplex, then turned that into a Falcon Arrow for a great near fall. Cena got near falls after a tornado DDT and the Five Knuckle Shuffle.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeated Greg Rains and Cassidy Reynolds (:40)
Enzo Amore said they were riding a wave that will carry them straight to the top. The wave was the people. Amore told the fans to do the wave while the match was going on. Amore pinned Reynolds after the Rocket Launcher.
Social Outcasts came out. Bo Dallas said there was only word to describe Social Outcasts “HARD.” Heath Slater said they were fresh off the set of Marine 5. Curtis Axel told Enzo and Cass to get out of the ring. Cass wondered which one of the three was the hardest. Dallas wanted to get in the ring to show them who was really the hardest. Cass knocke Slater off the apron with a big boot. Dallas and Axel backed off as Cass told them they were SAWFT.
Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Backlund reviewing Darren Young’s goals. Young said he wanted to be a singles champion and headline WrestleMania. Backlund said he was a tag team champion with Pedro Morales and said his era was called the Bob Backlund era. He said he wants to make Darren Young great again.
There was a highlight package showing The Big Show, Kalisto, Cesaro, Banks, Becky Lynch and various other stars training with Special Olympics athletes. Those athletes came out on the ramp with Show and Renee Young handling emcee duties. Show has always been underrated as a talker and he was very good presiding over this segment.
Natalya came out for commentary. She said she jumped Lynch at Money in the Bank because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was tired of being a nice person because that only gets you stepped on. Lynch came out for a match with Summer Rae, but before it could start, Lynch went after Natalya, who tried to walk off. Lynch jumped on her again and had to be pulled off by the referee. Natalya went to the back and they forgot about the match.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston was at ringside.
The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho had Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn as guests. Jericho brought up Ambrose putting 69 thumbtacks in his back at Money in the Bank. They had a long staredown. Jericho brought up that Zayn was the best man at Owens’ wedding, which must have made it hard when Owens stabbed Zayn in the back. Zayn said he wanted to end the program with Owens because it was limiting their careers. He brought up various times where they cost each other chances for championships in the past four months. Zayn wanted to put an end to the feud at Battleground.
Owens stood silent. Zayn said this was the real Kevin Owens, a coward who hides behind lies. Just like the lie he’s been telling for two years about why Owens stabbed him in the back. Zayn wanted Owens to tell the truth, that it drove Owens nuts that Zayn was signed by the WWE first. He told Owens to grow a set, who prompted a small chant. Owens finally said that he’s told Zayn the truth many times. He turned on Zayn because it was the right thing for his career. He said Zayn ruined their friendship because everything they’ve done since they’ve met was done to get to the WWE. Owens said he was happy for Zayn when he got to the WWE. He said Zayn was mad when he won the NXT championship, which proves he was always a better friend to Zayn than Zayn was to him. But that doesn’t matter now. Owens said he would fight Zayn at Battleground.
Jericho put that announcement over and said Owens was right, Zayn was a terrible friend and a terrible example of what it takes to make it in the WWE. Jericho said Owens is still trying to follow his lead, but Zayn hasn’t figured out it doesn’t matter what the fans think. Jericho said he wanted to slap Zayn in the face over it, but he was going to let Owens do it. Jericho said announcing the match on the Highlight Reel puts the match on a higher level, so they were both welcome. Jericho offered to give both men “The Gift of Jericho, Drink it in, Man.” Owens and Zayn both kicked Jericho in the face. Owens and Zayn glared at each other as Owens walked off.
Kane defeated the Miz (C) by countout, so Miz retains the Intercontinental Championship (3:27)
The Demon Kane was the surprise opponent. He was about to chokeslam Miz when Maryse jumped up on the apron. After a few seconds, Kane very audibly said to Maryse “Get down!” At that point, she took a bump on the apron though no one touched her. Maryse wound up selling her right knee. Miz attended to her at ringside and carried her to the back. No heat at all.
Miz and Maryse were in the back. Maryse was still limping when she started laughing. In the shock of shocks, Maryse jumped up and down to reveal she wasn’t really hurt. Miz put her over saying it was the best acting he’s ever seen and it was an Oscar winning performance. They laughed over it. No follow up to this at all, except Miz is hosting an episode of MizTv on Thursday with a guest who isn’t Kane.
Apollo Crews & Cesaro defeated Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio (4:58)
Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus broke up two months ago, but were back tagging here. They did the “faction that just broke up now tagging again” gimmick. They also did the “partners that don’t get along” gimmick. Del Rio slapped Sheamus, then gave him an enzuigiri for some reason. Del Rio watched from the ramp as Apollo Crews pinned Sheamus with the spin-out powerbomb to complete silence.
Ambrose did a promo with Jojo about how the last two weeks have been the best of times. Stephanie walked in and said it was appalling that Ambrose was the face of her company. Stephanie said if Styles wins tonight, she’s one step closer to ending this appaling nightmare. At least Ambrose got the last word, saying “Deep down, she really likes me.”
What appeared to be the Wyatt Family promo was instead the New Day dressed up as Wyatts. Kofi Kingston threw down Erick Rowan’s goal mask and wondered how he breathes in that thing. Kingston said no one wants to hear the Wyatts’ negativity anymore. They need a big ol’ bowl of Booty-Os instead. Big E, who was wearing overalls, a cowboy hat and a ZZ Top-style beard, said the Wyatts smell like a rotten piece of cabbage left beside a Tampa highway. E. said he was born in Tampa at Tampa General Hospital. Xavier Woods was noticeably quiet in all this and wanted to wrap up the segment. Kingston and Big E. wanted to keep going, but the Wyatts came out.
Bray Wyatt screamed “It’s a New Day, yes it is.” Wyatt said the masses line up for the New Day because they tell them everything they want to hear instead of everything they need to hear. Wyatt said his sole purpose was to tell people what they need to hear, because the world isn’t full of rainbows or unicorns. It’s a dark world full of evil. Wyatt said what would the New Day tell the man who lost his job? Kingston said the power of positivity flows through your body and Big E. said positivity was a way of life. Woods looked uncertain.
Wyatt asked Woods if they agreed with him, because it looked like he was shook. Wyatt said Woods could trust him. Wyatt said in this game, there are no winners or losers, there’s only malice and destruction. And in the end, New Day Falls. Woods didn’t say anything as the screen went black.
New Day walked in the back. Young walked up and asked if it was a good day to make fun of the Wyatts tonight. Kingston and Big E. were laughing over it, but Woods never smiled and walked off.
Dean Ambrose (C) defeated A.J. Styles in a nontitle match, so Styles was denied a spot in the main event of Battleground (15:32)
Rollins was on commentary. He said he felt divided because he hated Ambrose but didn’t want Styles to win because it would make the Battleground main event a four-way. Ambrose hit a blockbuster, but came up selling his knee. Styles put on a calf crusher. Rollins was actually rooting for Ambrose to make the ropes, which he did. Ambrose knocked Styles to the floor with a forearm and followed with a tope. Styles hit a Pele kick, but Ambrose hit a rebound clothesline. At that point, Anderson and Gallows came out. Ambrose was distracted and Styles hit a brainbuster for a two count. Cena ran out to brawl with Anderson and Gallows. As Styles was distracted by Cena, Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin. Rollins stood and applauded the finish.
Anderson and Gallows jumped Cena. Then Rollins went after Ambrose and gave him a Pedigree. The Club pounded Cena 3-on-1. The brawled to the top of the ramp, where Anderson and Gallows gave Cena the Magic Killer on the ramp. Cena had a rough landing, too. Back in the ring, Rollins gave Ambrose another Pedigree, then stood on top of Ambrose with the championship belt.
Amidst rumors flying everywhere of the possible demise of the company and others who are talking that the company is a short period away from growing bigger than ever, the ECW Hardcore Heaven PPV came off like a show that was a bridge for the company to something new, but when it was over, there were still no answers over whether what is new is good news or bad news.
It is hardly a secret that ECW is plagued with financial problems. There are wrestlers owed large sums of money. Those close to Shane Douglas, whose departure from the company, while expected, came out day earlier than expected resulting in him no-showing the PPV, is rumored to be owed in excess of $80,000 (some reports have that figure at $100,000). The stories about the bounced checks are legion. There are some really strange stories about finances, including the often asked question of how the company met payroll and…
Boston, Massachusetts: – Danno O’Mahony defeated Jim Londos for the NWA (National Wrestling Associatoion) Heavyweight Wrestling Title
1961
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – AWA US Champion Gene Kiniski beat Leo Nomellini – Wilbur Snyder beat Tiny Mills – Stan Kowalski beat Tony Baillargeon – Bob Geigel beat George Scott
1963
Kansas City, Kansas: – In a penalty box rules match; Masked Medic #1 and Masked Medic #2 beat Larry Hamilton and Tiny Mills 2 falls to 1 to retain the World Tag Team Titles – Bob Geigel beat Steve Bolus 2 falls to 1 – Sonny Myers beat Rock Hunter dq – Bob Orton beat Steve Kovacs
1972
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Professor Tanaka & Mr. Fuji defeated Chief Jay Strongbow & Sonny King for the WWWF Tag Team Titles
Davenport, Iowa: – Wahoo McDaniel & Billy Robinson beat AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens dq – Larry Hennig (sub Dusty Rhodes) beat Don Muraco – Bull Bullinski beat George Gadaski
1973
Fargo, North Dakota: – In an Indian Strap Match; Wahoo McDaniel beat Superstar Billy Graham – Billy Robinson & Geoff Portz beat AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens on a 3rd fall dq – Reggie Parks beat Rene Goulet – Larry Heiniemi beat Jim Brunzell (sub Ken Patera) – Greg Gagne beat Bob Bruggers
1981
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Baron Von Raschke – Tito Santana beat Sheik Adnan dq – The Crusher beat Ray Stevens dq – AWA Light Heavyweight Champion Mike Graham beat Buck Zumhofe
1986
Salt Lake City, Utah: – AWA Champion Stan Hansen beat Nick Bockwinkel – NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Curt Hennig – Midnight Rockers beat AWA Tag Team champions Buddy Rose & Doug Somers dq – Scott LeDoux no contest Larry Zbyszko – Ali Kahn beat Jerry Blackwell – Greg Gagne & Jimmy Snuka beat Boris Zhukov & Nord The Barbarian – Colonel DeBeers beat Brad Rheingans – Candi Devine beat Sherri Martel
1988
Memphis, Tennessee: – AWA Champion Jerry Lawler dcor Kerry Von Erich – Max Pain beat Brickhouse Brown to win CWA Title – Scott Steiner & Billy Travis beat Don Bass & Gary Young to win Southern Tag Title – Jeff Jarrett & Sensei no contest Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden – Tommy Gilbert drew Dutch Mantel – Bob Holly & Pat Rose beat Shawn Baxter & Tom Brandi
1998
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Rob Van Dam & Sabu defeated Chris Candido & Lance Storm for the ECW World Tag Team Titles
1999
Greensboro, North Carolina: – Billy Gunn defeated X-Pac to win the King of the Ring tournament – Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated Edge & Christian
2000
Hartford, Connecticut – Steve Blackman defeated Crash Holly for the WWF Hardcore Title
2K Sports today announced that former WWE & UFC champion Brock Lesnar will be on the cover of WWE 2K17.
The athlete on the cover is a decision based on what 2K considers crossover appeal, but made in conjunction with WWE. They also don’t like to do the same person too often.
The deal also means Lesnar has agreed to be part of a worldwide marketing campaign.
The game will be released on October 11th for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. Customers who preorder will get the Bill Goldberg character as well as Monday Nitro and Halloween Havoc arenas on launch day.
“My career has been defined by dominating every opportunity presented to me,” said Lesnar. “I am excited for my newest opportunity representing WWE 2K 17 as the franchise’s ambassador and honored to serve as the WWE 2K17 cover Superstar.”
Lesnar is currently out of WWE storylines as he prepared to return to the Octagon against Mark Hunt on the main card of July’s UFC 200.
By Joseph Currier for F4WOnline.com (updated on July 3rd)
The return of an ace and the debut of several key talents were the most notable takeaways from Monday morning’s announcement of the participants in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 26th annual G1 Climax tournament, made during the promotion’s Kizuna Road show.
Hiroshi Tanahashi will make his return to the NJPW ring after a shoulder injury had kept him sidelined since May 21st. Tanahashi was written off in an angle with Kenny Omega and hoped that rest would allow his shoulder to heal in time for Dominion’s IWGP intercontinental championship ladder match. But after being replaced by Michael Elgin in that match, it became unclear whether he would be able to participate in this year’s tournament.
After the losses of Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Kota Ibushi, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows from NJPW, the rest of the field is full of fresh faces along with a veteran in Hiroyoshi Tenzan who is returning for his 21st tournament.
Kenny Omega headlines the six participants making their first G1 appearance in this year’s tournament. He is joined by Tama Tonga, Yoshi-Hashi, Seiya Sanada, Evil, and Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Katsuhiko Nakajima. Nakajima and NOAH stalwart Naomichi Marufuji are the only outsiders among the field.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose beat Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens in a triple threat championship match
– Enzo and Cass beat The Dudleys
– Goldust beat Fandango. Tyler Breeze ran down to the ring but was quickly stopped by R-Truth
– Big Show and Kane beat Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan
– Becky Lynch and Paige beat WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Lana
– WWE United States Champion Rusev beat Apollo Crews to retain
– WWE World Tag Team Champions The New Day beat The Lucha Dragons and The Vaudevillains in a triple threat to retain. Simon Gotch was said to be shaken up post match as he possibly caught a kick to the head.
The card for Kizuna Road itself isn’t all that interesting, though we do have a unique match in Will Ospreay and Okada teaming up to take on Naito and Bushi in the main event. The real interest will be during the intermission, in which the participants for the G1 will be announced, and the big matches on the tour will be highlighted as well. Will Tanahashi make the cut? Who gets left out? Will Yujiro still somehow maintain a spot? We’ll find out soon enough!
David Finlay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
About as solid of a match as you’d expect from these two. Taguchi looked good, as did David, who is now sporting a beard. He lost here to the dodon by Taguchi.
Rocky Romero, Trent Baretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Captain New Japan and Manabu Nakanishi
Nakanishi has a new shirt that says Monster Morning, because he has a really big breakfast. No, really, he posts his breakfast like every day on Twitter. Captain New Japan demanded for Sakuraba to get in there. Sakuraba wasn’t interested. Eventually he relented but CNJ ran to Liger for protection. A lot of comedy stuff to start out with- Baretta wanted to shake Liger’s hand. Liger, who is probably aware by now the handshake spot almost always leads to the dumb babyface getting jumped, had no interest.
Baretta went around shaking everyone’s hand (including a member of the audience) until Liger finally relented. This time, however, Liger caught Baretta trying to lay him out and instead took him out. Basic eight man tag with with pretty fun spots. CNJ and Sakuraba did have another confrontation towards the end, with the latter getting the upper hand. Ishii’s the one to get the win, pinning CNJ with the brainbuster.
Hangman Page, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima, Yoshitatsu and Matt Sydal
Heels jumped faces before the bell rang. Everyone looked good here, as it was an action packed six man tag. Page and Sydal worked together and aside from one noticeable botch they worked pretty well with one another. Kojima made the hot tag, took out Yujiro who was interfering, and pinned Owens with the lariat.
Bullet Club didn’t like that too much, so they jumped the faces after the match and hanged Yoshitatsu. Given he was out for over a year with severe neck injuries I’m pretty sure they could have put someone else in this spot.
B Block: Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Kenny Omega, Yoshi-Hashi, Katsuhiko Nakajima
Big matches:
7/18: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Marufuji
7/22: Nagata vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Honma
7/23: Tanahashi vs. Makabe, Okada vs. Sanada
7/24: Nakajima vs. Shibata, Honma vs. Yoshi-Hashi
7/25: Makabe vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Goto
7/27: Yano vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Elgin
7/28: Ishii vs. Marufuji, Goto vs. Sanada
7/30: Omega vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Naito
7/31: Makabe vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Goto
8/1: Yoshi Hashi vs. Nakajima, Honma vs. Naito
8/3: Tanahashi vs. Ishii, Makabe vs. Okada
8/4: Nakajima vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Omega
8/6: Tanahashi vs. Marufuji, Okada vs. Ishii
8/7: Omega vs. Nagata, Naito vs. Evil
8/8: Ishii vs. Sanada, Tanahashi vs. Kojima
8/10: Honma vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Nagata
8/12: Goto vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Okada
8/13: Shibata vs. Evil, Naito vs. Omega
Additionally, all shows will be airing live on New Japan World.
Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma vs. Juice Robinson, Togi Makabe and Katsuyori Shibata
Good match, fast paced and solid throughout. Honma and Shibata, who are in the same block and are also facing off soon over the NEVER title, worked against one another for a lot of the match. Tenzan, who is not in the G1 this year, seemed particularly motivated in this match. He got the win with the moonsault, pinning Robinson. I guess that’ll stick it to those in charge.
Shibata and Honma had to be separated after the match. Tenzan cut a short promo once that was all settled, wondering why he wasn’t in the G1.
Evil and Sanada vs. Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi
Really great match, easily the best of the night in terms of heat. This was all about Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada as they’ve been feuding for the last month.This got a lot of great heat towards the end as Yoshi-Hashi got a submission in on Sanada and nearly tapped him out. They had a really good back and forth exchanged towards the end. Yoshi-Hashi is ready in terms of being a big breakout singles star. They’ve kept him in tags for years and it’s time to go beyond that. Sanada is going to excel here and in the G1. Evil flattened him with a lariat but Yoshi-Hashi kicked out. They did several more great near falls that people were super into. Finally Sanada went for the Skull End once again but Yoshi Hashi slipped to the ground and rolled up Sanada for the flash pin.
Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito and Bushi
Since Naito didn’t have Milano Collection AT or any announcers to bully, he opted to lay out the camera guy instead. Pretty good main event overall. It couldn’t match the previous bout, but people were still very much into it. This crowed loved Naito and there were huge changes for him throughout the match. Ospreay came in for fun great highspots including a tornillo dive to the outside. He hit a spanish fly on Bushi, then a spinning kick but missed the springboard cutter and ate a Canadian destroyer by Bushi. Okada broke up that fall, but Bushi came back and hit the codebreaker for the win.
Bushi cuts a promo and asks why he isn’t in the Super J Cup. Naito says yes, those are the two big events of the summer…but until then, tranquilo.
Good show, and very newsworthy to boot. Definitely check out the co-main as it has some awesome heat and action.
