Paypress testing

Tag: mainstory

  • TNA Impact moving to Thursdays

    Impact Wrestling is again changing nights.

    TNA president Dixie Carter announced on her Twitter account Thursday afternoon that the company’s flagship television show will move to Thursday nights on Pop TV starting on July 21st. Impact is also moving timeslots and will now air at 8 PM eastern. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the potential move on Wednesday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

    The move comes at a bad time for TNA after this Tuesday’s episode, anchored by the spectactle that was the Final Deletion, led to Impact’s highest rating in over a year.

    The company is all too familiar with the loss in viewers that changing time slots can bring. Impact’s time slot has been in seemingly constant flux since being canceled by Spike TV in 2014, but WWE’s decision to air SmackDown live on Tuesday put TNA in a tough spot, and they were forced to either stay on Tuesday against tough wrestling competition or change nights. 

    Pop TV released a video promoting the show’s Thursday night debut on Twitter.

  • UFC 200 shocker: Jon Jones flagged by USADA; Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt new main event

    During an impromptu press conference Wednesday night, UFC president Dana White announced that Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt is the new main event for UFC 200.

    The reason? Interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping violation. Because the procedure part of this review cannot be completed by Saturday, Jones’ fight with light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been taken off the show.

    Lesnar vs. Hunt will remain a three round fight. 

    White said he was informed by USADA that Jones was tested on June 16, but was unclear what the violation was for. He hasn’t spoken to Jones or his agent Malki Kawa as of this point. He also didn’t know why the test results took nearly a month to get back.’

    “This is devastating to Daniel Cormier mentally, physically and financially,” White said.

    Cormier was going to get a percentage of the PPV revenue which, for a show that may do record numbers, would be several million dollars. White said he was unclear how Cormier would be compensated considering the amount of money that he makes. Cormier was in attendance at the presser, but the press conference feed was cut off after White spoke.

    UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitsky made a brief statement, saying noted that USADA will handle results management, potential hearings and due process on the matter, and whatever legal review process is necessary before any sanctions are imposed.

    White said they found out just a short time ago and wanted to alert the media to the annoucement as soon as possible. Matchmaker Joe Silva isn’t even aware of the situation as he’s on a flight. White’s hope would be that someone would step up to fight Cormier on super short notice, but isn’t sure what’s about to happen.

    There were no other light heavyweight fighters booked on the show, and the closest thing to a possibility would be Gegard Mousasi, a middleweight contender who is fighting Thiago Santos. However, Mousasi is getting ready for a fight in a 20 pound lighter weight class. Our Tom Lawlor, a Las Vegas resident who fights at 205, has begun petitioning for the fight on Twitter.

    The UFC released the following statement:

    The UFC organization was notified tonight that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Jon Jones of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 16, 2016. 

    USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. 

    However, because Jones was scheduled to compete against Daniel Cormier this coming Saturday, July 9 in Las Vegas, there is insufficient time for a full review before the scheduled bout and therefore the fight has been removed from the fight card. As a result, the three-round heavyweight bout between Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt will become the UFC 200 main event.

    Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

    Ticket refunds available upon request at primary point of purchase.

  • July 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Preview for massive UFC weekend, including UFC 200, plus tons of news

    The biggest week in UFC history with four live events takes place with UFC 200, Brock Lesnar, five championship fights, the Hall of Fame and even a potential sale of the company all in the news.

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • WWE Cruiserweight Classic Bracketology live updates, Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo break down the competitors

    On Wednesday, the road to the WWE Cruiserweight Classic gets a little closer with Bracketology, a one-hour WWE Network special akin to the NCAA tournament selection show, featuring bracketing and officially putting all 32 competitors in their slots for this summer-long tournament.

    The competitors are a wide array of talent from all over the world.

    Some of the faces and names involved are already familiar to the WWE audience like veteran cruiserweights Brian Kendrick and Tajiri. Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Rich Swann have also already competed in front of the crowd at Full Sail University as members of the NXT roster.

    Most of the talent in the tournament has never before competed in a WWE ring. Independent stars from the United States like Drew Gulak, T.J. Perkins and Cedric Alexander that are looking to make a good first impression to the WWE and its audience.

    It also includes international stars like Kota Ibushi, Gran Metalik and Zack Sabre Jr. that are looking to further establish themselves in the United States.

    With such a diverse group of both known and unknown talent, the first 16 matches could lead to some real gems.

    Tonight’s bracketing show will be hosted by Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan, and with the show purportedly going for a more sports like atmosphere, it will be interesting to see what they say about the competitors. 

    Join us at 9 PM EST as the brackets get revealed!

    **********

    The show starts with Triple H cutting a speech at the performance center, basically a pep-talk to those competing in the tournament.

    Mauro welcomes us to the show and asks Daniel how he feels being back after his retirement in February. When he heard about the Cruiserweight Classic, he felt he had to be a part of it as there are tons of people coming in from all around the world competing in one tournament. Mauro says it reminds him of the birth in MMA.

    They go over the story of Alejandro Saez and how he was 25 pounds overweight before the tournament, but managed to make weight before deadline. Daniel Bryan questioned if he’ll gain that weight back before the tournament starts. 

    Zack Sabre. Jr profile video. He says he grew up watching guys like Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko who were well known for their technical skill. “Harry Potter isn’t the only wizard in this tournament” he notes.

    WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Canyon Ceman is interviewed, saying how he traveled around the world  in search for competitors. The goal is to bring someone for everyone.

    Jack Gallagher is interviewed, putting over the British style. He has to use his mind and his techniques to beat his opponents. He’ll keep it gentlemanly as long as his opponents keep it gentlemanly. He considers himself a classic English gentleman.

    Harv and Gurv Sihra are profiled next. They are from Vancouver, but their parents are from India. They call themselves the Bollywood Boys, as Bollywood creates this idea of fantasy. To be in the biggest wrestling company in the world, that is a great accomplishment within itself. They both have what it takes to be here, but what it comes down to is who is the better man.

    Rich Swann is profiled next. He mentions pro wrestling saved his life. His father passed away when he was 12, his mother at 16. He went down a dark path, but wrestling changed him. He never thought he’d make it, but he did. The perfect ending for him would be him winning the first ever Cruiserweight Classic.

    Daniel Bryan likes Rich Swann because of his story – he’s used wrestling to be successful in life. He’s a small guy, but he has done things a lot of people haven’t.

    They switch it to Corey Graves at the control center, where he goes over the left side of the bracket:

    • Kenneth Johnson  vs. Akira Tozawa
    • Jack Gallagher  vs. Fabian Richner
    • Tajiri  vs. Damian Slater 
    • Alejandro Saez vs. Gran Metallik (aka Masacara Dorada)
    • Harv Sihra vs. Drew Gulak
    • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tyson Dux 
    • Noam Dar  vs .Gurv Sihra
    • Arya Davari vs. Hoho Lun

    Next up is a look at Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, and how they are a tag team but going into this tournament as opponents in the opening round.

    Gargano says they clicked instantly. Gargano says he might even talk to Ciampa more than his fiance. But when it comes down to them facing off, Gargano will shake his hand and will see who comes out on top. Ciampa says he always goes in there with the intent to hurt, not injure. Says he doesn’t want to see Gargano get hurt, but he doesn’t want to lose.

    TJ Perkins is profiled next. He’s the one that likes to make it look good. He started wrestling when he was 13, and lucha libre was a big influence on his style, growing up in LA.

    He mentions how he was homeless for a while, mentioning it was tough and that wrestling was the only way to get out of that and it creates a lot of mental toughness. He feels like he’s representing the Philippines and he’s out to inspire others.

    Mauro and Daniel are joined by Perkins, and ask him about his story. He brings up mental toughness again and Murphy’s law, and those experiences changed him as a man. Daniel Bryan mentions he was the youngest trained wrestler to ever compete in New Japan.

    Perkins mentioned that this is akin to the Super J-Cup in that 10 years from now people will be looking at this tournament. He’s proud to represent the Philippines, mentioning that they don’t have a lot of heroes there so he wants to represent them.

    Graves is back and goes over the right side of the bracket:

    • Raul Mendoza vs. Brian Kendrick
    • Anthony Bennett vs. Tony Nese
    • Kota Ibushi vs. Sean Maluta
    • Cedric Alexander vs. Clement Petiot
    • TJ Perkins vs. Da Mack
    • Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
    • Mustafa Ali vs. Lince Dorado
    • Rich Swann vs. Jason Lee

    They go over the two veterans in the tournament, Tajiri and The Brian Kendrick. Kendrick says wrestling is what he loves and what he is passionate about. When he has the world in his hands, he let it go. He mentions he was released because “he was an animal” and deserved to be released. He’s been wrestling consistently since 1999 for his moment, and if he falls short…then it’s his life that will fall short.

    Kendrick joins Daniel and Mauro. Daniel brings up his first match ever was against Kendrick, and how Kendrick came out to “Genie in a Bottle” and how Bryan came out to “Born in the USA”.

    Daniel asks him what he wants from this tournament. Kendrick says he wants to win because he’s never won a tournament before. In terms of the age factor, he says that is a downside, but he is smarter now and is used to this environment.

    Mauro asked about both Daniel and Brian Kendrick were trained by Shawn Michaels and what that was like. Daniel Bryan talks about his passion and brings up a story about how Kendrick’s mom came in during a training session and let Shawn have it. Kendrick says he wants to beat them all when it comes down to who he wants to face the most.

    Mauro brings up how Daniel Bryan has faced Kota Ibushi in the past and they go to a profile on him. Kota says he doesn’t need to represent Japan, but wants to show how good Japanese wrestlers are. He mentions his experiences with Finn Balor, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura and he has an advantage over others in this tournament because he’s faced them all.

    He will win the tournament because he loves pro wrestling the most above other wrestlers. Bryan brings up that Kota Ibushi has just come back from a herniated disc and questions if he’ll be the same.

    Strong style is brought up, and Mauro asks what that is. Bryan says its an ideology about striking and hitting hard, and contrasts it to Zack Sabre Jr.’s ideology of escaping and outmaneuvering his opponents.

    Triple H is brought in. Mauro says he’d never thought he’d see something like this under the WWE umbrella. Triple H mentions there are so many out there, but there was no platform for them to come into the WWE and this is the platform.

    Mauro asks if this is where the future lies. Triple H mentions Daniel Bryan and how he was part of the paradigm shift and how you don’t have to be a 300 pound guy to be successful in this industry. Triple H says he doesn’t want this to be about flips and high flyers and wants to show diverse styles – mat based, striking, flyer, whatever.

    Mauro asks if this is one and done and if there are futures for the athletes involved. Triple H says no, this isn’t one and done and the opportunity for the cruiserweights will be there after the tournament.

    They show footage of guys training at the Performance Center and Hunter says he’s really excited. Mauro thanks Triple H for this Cruiserweight Classic and is excited to see it. Hunter mentions he wanted them both to commentate for this tournament, day one.

    And that’ll do it! The first matches will air next week at this time.

  • JNPO: MMA Fighting’s Dave Doyle & UFC Fight Week’s 10 most intriguing fighters

    36 fights. 72 fighters. Three shows. Lots of punches.

    That’s what we’re looking at as International Fight Week kicks into full swing Thursday night as the first of three UFC shows in Las Vegas happens, headlined by lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos defending the belt against Eddie Alvarez on UFC Fight Pass. After Friday night’s TUF Finale show on FS1, the big one is upon us: UFC 200 — arguably the greatest card that has ever been assembled…on paper, anyway.

    But with all of those fights and fighters, surely some stand out more than others, right? That’s why Josh brought in special guest Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting to help him preview the week in a slightly different way.

    Both Josh and Dave jotted down 10 fighters competing over the next three days that they are most interested in seeing how this week plays out for. While there was a little bit of crossover, both guys had distinct picks and rationale for why they’re so intriguing to them. There’s a few names you might expect (Brock, Cain), but many that you might not expect.

    Click below to listen to a special 45-minute conversation that will get you ready for all three UFC events!

    Right click save

  • VIDEO: UFC 200 press conference with Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, more!

    Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunes, Cain Velasquez, and Travis Browne will address the MMA media this afternoon at 3 PM EST.

    The press conference is in anticipation of this Sunday’s UFC 200 event that the promotion is hoping will be the biggest show in company history.

    On the show, Lesnar will make his return to mixed martial arts after an almost five-year layoff against Hunt. Lesnar last fought at UFC 141 in a loss against Alistair Overeem.

    Jones is challenging Cormier in a light heavyweight championship unification bout as Jones was forced to vacate his title after a string of personal issues kept him out of the sport for a year. He won the interim version of the belt earlier this year in a unanimous decision win over Ovince Saint Preux.

    Tate will defend her championship against Nunes with the winner likely to face either Ronda Rousey or Holly Holm later this year if the cards falls right.

    Also on the show, Aldo faces Edgar for the interim featherweight championship, and Velasquez vs. Browne opens the PPV portion of the card.

  • UFC Fight Night 90 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    It is UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Nevada and Thursday night brings us UFC Fight Night 90, the first of three straight nights of action inside the Octagon.

    This event will be headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout as champion Rafael Dos Anjos defends against challenger Eddie Alvarez.

    Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when setting your fantasy lineups for Thursday night’s event.

    STUDS

    Joseph Duffy ($11,100)

    Joseph Duffy is coming off a loss to Dustin Poirier in which he was completely outclassed, so he takes a big step backwards in taking on Mitch Clarke on Thursday.

    Clarke will be fighting for the first time since losing to Michael Chiesa in April 2015. The 2-3 Clarke appears to be a rebound fight for Duffy, who is 14-2 in his career and was ranked in the top 15 prior losing against Poirier.

    Duffy is a finisher and 13 of his 14 wins have come by stoppage. Clarke has only been finished once in his career, but he doesn’t have the same skillset that Duffy does. Duffy is a strong striker, has excellent submissions and good grappling. Clarke is a good grappler as well, but loses this match-up on foot.

    Duffy has the highest salary of all the fighters on the card, but is still a good investment. I expect him to win big on Thursday.

    Gilbert Burns ($10,800)

    Gilbert Burns is looking to bounce back from his first career loss when he fights Lukasz Sajewski on the card’s prelims Thursday night. Burns had won the first 11 fights of his career before dropping a decision to Rashid Magomedov in November.

    That loss is nothing for Burns to hang his head about as Magomedov is 19-1 in his career, but it showed some holes that Burns needs to fill to get back on track inside the Octagon.

    At his best, Burns is arguably the lightweight division’s best submission artist and has the strongest grappling chops. He has scored 10 of his 11 wins by finish, with seven wins by submission. He also trains with a strong camp in the Blackzilians.

    He is a strong favorite over Sajewski, who also lost for the first time in his career when he made his UFC debut in his last fight. Sajewski hasn’t fought the level of competition that Burns has. And if Burns can avoid the slow start that has often plagued him, he should be able to end this quickly. I feel confident in having him as a stud play.

    VALUE PLAYS

    Eddie Alvarez ($8,600)

    Eddie Alvarez is looking to make history when he challenges Rafael Dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event of UFC Fight Night 90. And he is also looking to become the first fighter to hold championship gold in both the UFC and Bellator promotions.

    He gets his title shot against Dos Anjos on the heels of wins over former champions in Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez. Alvarez has just two losses in the last eight years, coming to Michael Chandler and Donald Cerrone, so he presents a real challenge in this fight.

    Dos Anjos has looked like a killer the last several years and is the rightful champion at 155 pounds. He finished Cerrone quickly in his last fight, but is coming off an injury and no one knows what he will look like in this new era of the UFC.

    I actually like Alvarez to score an upset as this fight goes the distance and the extra time allows for more point scoring opportunities. He is a risk, but I find a lot of value in Alvarez.

    Alvaro Herrera ($8,500)

    Alvaro Herrera is another interesting fighter with a low salary who has a lot of value on Thursday night’s card. He is coming off a 30-second knockout win in his UFC debut in November, which was his first fight in over three years.

    He gets back to action against Vicente Luque in the opening bout of Thursday’s card, and Luque is looking to score his second straight win.

    Luque has been inconsistent in his career, winning just eight times in 14 career bouts. He is tough to finish, having only been finished twice in his five losses. But Luque has finished opponents in seven of his eight wins, including in his last bout against Hayder Hassan in December. Herrera has scored finishes in eight of his nine wins, but has also been finished in all three of his losses.

    This fight is primed for a finish, and I see Herrera’s punching power being the difference. His salary is worth a good amount of value.

    FIGHTERS TO AVOID

    Anthony Birchak ($10,700)

    Anthony Birchak has one of the highest salaries on the card, and I don’t think he’s worth that high price.

    Birchak is just 1-2 inside the UFC Octagon, and all three of his fights have ended in the first round. He has suffered a submission loss to Ian Entwistle and a knockout loss to Thomas Almeida, and scored a knockout win over Joe Soto in betweeen those losses. Birchak does have 10 wins by finish, but he has been finished in all three of his losses.

    I do like him to get the win over Dileno Lopes on Thursday, but I’m not all that confident in him winning by stoppage. I see him going the distance and getting a decision over Lopes. With his high salary, you have to expect a finish if you have him on your team. Birchak is an easy avoid for me.

    Russell Doane ($9,000)

    Russell Doane is another fighter that should be avoided on Thursday night’s card.

    He hasn’t fought in almost a year and is coming in riding a two-fight losing skid. His last three fights have gone the distance and he hasn’t looked overly impressive in those bouts.

    He gets a tough match-up against Pedro Munhoz, who has been one of the top prospects in the bantamweight division, but has struggled against tougher competition.

    Doane doesn’t land a lot of strikes in his fights, but he is good at takedowns. Munhoz has good takedown defense and is the more well-rounded fighter. And I see that being the difference with him taking a decision. Avoid Doane as I feel he will be fighting a losing battle on Thursday.

    OUR LINE-UPS

    RYAN FREDERICK- Joseph Duffy ($11,100), Gilbert Burns ($10,800), Derrick Lewis ($9,600), Alberto Mina ($9,500), Eddie Alvarez ($8,600)

    I like Joseph Duffy as my top play on the card and I see him having no troubles against Mitch Clarke. I’m expecting him to end it by at least the end of the second round, and probably even in the first.

    I also like Gilbert Burns to bounce back and get a stoppage win, likely by submission as his ground game is so good.

    I have Derrick Lewis on my team as well. He has the size and power edge over Roy Nelson, and I think he can knock Nelson out. Alberto Mina is undefeated with 11 stoppage wins, and is facing Mike Pyle who is nearing the end of his career. I can see Mina knocking Pyle out early in their fight.

    The last fighter on my team is Eddie Alvarez. I believe he will end Thursday night as the new UFC Lightweight Champion, and that it will go the distance, which gives him more chances to score points.

    PAUL FONTAINE- Vicente Luque ($10,900), Reginaldo Vieira ($10,200), Roy Nelson ($9,800), Alberto Mina ($9,500), Dileno Lopes ($8,700)

    All but one of Luque’s career wins have come by finish and his opponent Alvaro Herrera has been finished in all three of his losses. To me, that’s a recipe for some bonus points for Luque.

    Vieira was the TUF Brazil season 4 champion and he beat a guy I also have on my team in his official UFC debut. That win was the first time he’d gone to the judges in one of his wins. I see the fight with Marco Beltran being an all-out balls to the wall brawl with Vieira being the last one standing.

    Roy Nelson should score a late KO or submission over Derrick Lewis. Nelson is tough to finish and Lewis will probably gas out before getting caught by a shot that drops him.

    I’m surprised Alberto Mina is an underdog against the aging Mike Pyle. Mina scored a finish in his UFC debut and then beat a tough vet in Yoshihiro Akiyama in his follow-up. He’s unbeaten and an impressive finish over a another vet like Pyle should move him up the ranks.

    My last pick is more a pick against Anthony Birchak than for Dileno Lopes. Birchak has been finished in the first round of two of his last three fights. And Lopes has a KO or sub in eight of his last nine wins. 

    PEACH MACHINE- Rafael Dos Anjos ($11,000), Alan Jouban ($10,000), Derrick Lewis ($9,600), Alberto Mina ($9,500), Marco Beltran ($9,200)

    I hate this card, but I love Rafael Dos Anjos. He’s really good and will most likely be one of the most dominant champions in UFC history after it’s all said and done.

    Nelson is done and Lewis will KO him. I hate Pyle so I’m picking Mina. Jouban is handsome. I just love Carlos Beltran of the NY Yankees and I assume Marco is related. Play this lineup!

  • DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling July Marathon: Mike Jackson

    Photo of Tony LeDue, Pat Rose, and Mike Jackson by Karl Stern

    If you watched WTBS-17 Georgia Championship wrestling or NWA World Championship Wrestling later, you saw the fiery underdog Mike Jackson week after week.  In fact, many of the enhancement workers you saw on those shows were booked by Jackson.

    Mike played a very important role in the territorial era of wrestling, promoting, and booking undercard talent. A tremendous in-ring worker, many workers of that era, including legends like Ric Flair, praised Mike’s work. 

    Jackson worked many major promotions during the 1980s including Georgia Championship Wrestling, Mid-South (later UWF), Southeastern (later Continental), Florida, and Mid-Atlantic. He even worked for WWF when they came south of the Mason-Dixon line. Mike was a great worker who had a role in wrestling and an important one — even if that role didn’t mean fighting for world titles often.

    Karl got to work around Mike a lot in the 1990s when he was king of the indy scene in the Deep South and learned a lot about how to promote the right way by watching him.  Starting out in the 1970s working for Nick Gulas and still working until this day, Jackson has seen many eras of wrestling come and go. 

    On today’s edition of the Karl Stern July Classic Wrestling marathon, learn all about Mike Jackson.

    Time is running out to order a Super Stern Stick 16gb flash drive full of pro wrestling history.  Order soon before time runs out.

    Right click save

  • DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling July Marathon: “Wildfire” Tommy Rich

    Tommy “Wildfire” Rich became a near instant star in the early 1980s but almost as quickly as he shot to stardom, he fell from the top going from one of the youngest NWA World Heavyweight champions to a comedy figure in just a few years time.

    So, what went wrong? Actually, Rich had a better career than most give him credit for. And in this show, Karl Stern will talk about that in detail, including Rich’s involvement in one of the best angles of 1987.

    Fred Ward and Harley Race believed in Rich to such a degree that he had a short run as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion while being one of the hottest ever babyfaces in Georgia. Often moving back and forth between Georgia and Memphis wrestling, it seemed like Rich was building toward becoming one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and possibly beyond.

    But it burnt out as quickly as it started. Though Rich worked a variety of places including Continental, AWA, and WCW, he never came close to recapturing that magic he had early on in Georgia.

    But for a short time in 1987, he did. Along with Paul Heyman (Paul E. Dangerously at the time) and Austin Idol, he was part of one of the last great angles of the territorial era where the heels finally outsmarted Jerry “The King” Lawler. In the weeks leading to a big hair vs. hair match, Rich laid down a great series of promos and matches which helped build to the big surprise – when he came out from under the ring in a steel cage match and cost Lawler his hair for the first and only time in his career.

    On the latest episode of our classic wrestling July marathon, join us in taking a look at “Wildfire” Tommy Rich.

    Time is running out to get the Super Stern Stick 16gb flash drive full of pro wrestling history! Get free shipping worldwide!

    Right click save

    [membership 4]

  • WWE RAW Hits & Misses: Food fighting, phoned-in writing, and a Boss defined

    The hits were thin on the ground on Monday night’s holiday edition of RAW, to say the least. Read on as I search for the positives in the carcass of a dead-as-a-doornail, completely phoned-in edition of the WWE’s flagship show.

    — The Hits —

    Food fight!

    Beginning a holiday edition of RAW with a comedy segment like this is tantamount to telling your audience not to bother, but I’m only mildly ashamed to admit that I loved it. While I understand that Bo Dallas inadvertently pouring punch over himself is change-the-channel heat for many, I firmly believe that wacky bits like this help to add color to the WWE’s cast of characters and get them over.

    Remember, it was a holiday edition of SmackDown on which John Cena began his transformation from a ruthlessly aggressive bore to the Vanilla Ice wannabe that ultimately broke the glass ceiling.

    Little touches like Cesaro dispassionately arm-wrestling Apollo Crews through the chaos, or Kevin Owens eating chips under the table to avoid the melee, make me laugh and more inclined to watch those involved again in the future. Even Fandango sensually spraying whipped cream on himself raised a chuckle as did the ultra-wacky first-person pie-facing that Owens sustained at the segment’s conclusion. This would never happen on Canada Day, indeed.

    Xavier’s apprehension about a trip to the woods

    I enjoyed the contrast between Big E and Kofi Kingston’s naivete and Xavier Woods’ apprehension in the face of the Wyatt’s invitation. Woods, who has looked far more uncertain than his wisecracking buddies in recent weeks, did a great job of angrily warning against the dangers of complacency ahead of their impending trip to the Wyatt compound.

    One can only assume that the WWE are looking to outdo the viral buzz garnered by the Hardy’s recent exploits in TNA with this New Day excursion. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out as poorly as things usually do when this company tries to piggyback on a trend.

    — The Misses —

    Team USA vs. The Multi-National Alliance

    Look, there were positives to this 16-man omnishambles, namely the Pop-Up Powerbomb delivered by Owens to Mark Henry, and the heartstring-tugging Real Americans callback. Those aside, I find it difficult to care about a match that involves a large part of one’s roster getting pinned in short order with recent US champion Kalisto getting squashed by Henry like a bug being a particular lowlight.

    Not that I was very keen on the lesser-spotted, retirement-verging Big Show quickly pinning Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio, especially given the fact that his mobility appeared even more limited than the last time we saw Mr. Wight. Cesaro and Sheamus were also both sacrificed at the altar of giving Zack Ryder his biannual moment in the sun with the former’s elimination generating strong boos from a bemused crowd.

    Protecting Owens by having him disqualify himself for using a chair on Sami Zayn was fine, but it was hilarious to see Kane be given the same treatment. God forbid Kane is pinned.

    Cena/Club rehash

    Once again, AJ Styles and John Cena had impeccable delivery, but the material they had to work with again left much to be desired. An unnecessarily long talkfest saw both men rehash prior arguments, including Styles breaking out the “shovel” references again.

    Credit goes to Cena for trying manfully to rouse a crowd that had sat through an appalling first two hours of RAW. “You’re not as fired up as you normally are!” complained the weary 15-time champ. And hey, at least Karl Anderson got to brag about his “hot Asian wife” again.

    On a positive note, the Enzo & Cass rescue of Cena, paired with the later announcement of a 6-man tag for Battleground is good news. The prospect of another Cena vs. Styles singles match so soon after the first was not an enticing one if you recall how much the quick turnaround hurt Owens last year after his debut victory over the unseeable one.

    Throwaway matches befitting of a throwaway show

    Main event aside, this show featured six matches, four of which – including the Rusev U.S. title defense against Titus O’Neil – were total squashes. The other two, featuring the remaining unsuspended participants in the Battleground triple threat, were unnecessarily long 10 minute-plus affairs given their totally predictable outcomes.

    Both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose surprised no one by emerging victorious from competitive back-and-forth matches against Dolph Ziggler and The Miz respectively. Ambrose then predictably equalized Rollins’ beatdown from last week by giving him a Dirty Deeds on the Spanish announce table. Boring.

    Vickie Guerrero’s appearance goes nowhere

    In a further sign that the writing staff were phoning it in, Vickie Guerrero’s appearance on Monday’s show was easily the weakest of the recent ex-SmackDown general manager cameos.

    She basically said her “Excuse Me!” catchphrase several times and screeched for a bit about running SmackDown before being carted off by security. Even Ziggler’s St. Peter-esque denial of his former squeeze couldn’t save this. Although I did enjoy that Dolph’s phone conversation featured an admission of another defeat: “I tried very hard…I was close!”

    The definition of a Boss

    While Charlotte’s whiny heel delivery was again effective, I was not a fan of the confrontation the Women’s champion had with Sasha Banks. Banks’ scripted promo, in which she rapped on the definition of a Boss was the definition of cringe for me, only matched by the awful Dana Brooke’s inability to get removed from the ring competently.

    Banks’ air kick to a prone Brooke whiffed just as much as the material the writing staff stuck her with. Keep this up and they won’t be able to manufacture those “We Want Sasha” chants for much longer.