Show started with a promo with Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett and Chael Sonnen where Sonnen made fun of Karen leaving Kurt Angle for Jeff. She slapped him and screamed he wouldn’t be in GFW if not for her husband. This promo went absolutely nowhere and no one believed for a minute that Chael Sonnen couldn’t wipe the ring up with both Jarretts in seconds.
NEX*GEN Championship Finals PJ Black vs. Virgil Flynn vs. Jigsaw vs. TJP. PJ Black wins the Title in the Main Event of the show. It was good for the spotfest it was.
NEX*GEN Contenders match Sonjay Dutt vs. Seiya Sanada. Dutt won, but they stole the show. Best match by far.
Women’s Championship Final Christina Von Eerie vs. Amber Gallows. Von Eerie wins the title cleanly.
Tag Team Championship semifinal Reno Scum vs. Teaze N Sleaze. Jacob Austin Young substituted for Kenny King. Reno Scum still won.
Tag Team Championship semifinal Bollywood Boyz vs. Whirlwind Gentlemen. Bollywood Boyz won, and the audience didn’t care much.
Global Championship contenders match Brian Myers vs. Kongo Kong (w/Henry Maxwell) vs. Kevin Kross. Kongo Kong won with a Top Rope Splash. Myers and Kross worked their asses off to get Kong over.
Nick Aldis beat Bobby Roode for the GFW Title, then got a beatdown from Chris Morteszky which he got hardway busted open bad from, so bad they stopped the show to replace the canvas bad. Aldis was a bloody mess and they rushed him to the back.
The Bollywood Boyz beat Reno Scum for the GFW Tag Team Belts which went over like a brick.
The Masked Saint beat Joey Ryan. The crowd did not care except for the plants. There was an angle where Jeff Jarrett announced the movie was released to rave reviews (it has not been) and brought Brett Grandstaff out who got a beat down from Young and Ryan that got no heat and he basically no sold seconds later. It was bad on many levels.
A group of very obvious plants were at ringside with posters for “The Masked Saint” and it was very obvious to the point of “Stunt Granny” bad.
This show had a few good moments, but really looked like any indy show and not a show trying to be the #2 company in America, and right now they’re not even remotely close.
WWE HELL IN A CELL SUNDAY FROM THE STAPLES CENTER IN LOS ANGELES AT 7:30 P.M.
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match
Seth Rollins vs. Kane for WWE title vs. Kane’s job as Director of Operations
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt Hell in a Cell match
John Cena vs. ? for U.S. title
Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. Dudleys for tag titles
Kevin Owens vs. Ryback for IC title
Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella for Divas title
Neville & Dolph Ziggler & Cesaro vs. Rusev & Sheamus & King Barrett (preshow match at 7:30)
Raw will be live in San Diego on Monday night.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped in Phoenix on Tuesday.
****
Figure Four Weekly:
Jerry McDevitt cuts quite the legal promo on Konstantine Kyros as part of his latest screed in the ongoing legal battle over WWE’s alleged role in wrestlers’ brain damage.
The WWE’s record low ratings, even with bringing in all the big names on Monday, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer newsletter. We look at the ratings, the competition, the build to Hell in a Cell, and what type of programming is and isn’t working in ratings now. We also look more at John Layfield’s interview with Eric Bischoff and WCW and how pro wrestling has changed since the death of WCW, as well as more on the political goings-on in Mexico, what modern era wrestlers have had the most four star matches and a wrestling show in a few weeks that you don’t know of that is going to have a paid attendance of more than 30,000 people. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
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@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
Doris Adkisson, the ex-wife of Jack “Fritz Von Erich” Adkisson and mother of the Von Erich brothers, passed away today. She had been in bad shape for years, and Per her son Kevin’s Twitter account, she was suffering from emphysema.
WWE
Luke Harper is back on the road after missing Raw and Smackdown. We were told it was a personal matter and he was expected back this week.
From those who have seen the run sheet for Hell in a Cell so far, we’re told it will be a better show than the build-up leading up to it. It would kind of have to be. Also, because the weather is great in LA (85 degrees and sunny), there is talk of doing the pre-show outside in the sunshine the way that FOX Sports does it.
Make of this what you will, but Rusev and Lana have been seen all over LA together in the places that TMZ normally hangs out.
WWE Breaking Ground debuts after the Hell in a Cell PPV on Sunday night. We’ve heard really good reviews about it from those who have seen it. The show will replay after Raw, which will be its usual timeslot from this point forwards.
WWE.com has a story about James Storm and what led him to WWE. He doesn’t say a whole lot about his future, which is interesting because he did not appear at the latest set of TV tapings, however on the show that aired on Wednesday night he was very specifically described as NXT’s newest signing.
Smackdown was up slightly this week to 2.2 million viewers.
Wednesday’s new Table for 3 will feature — get this lineup — Neville, Samoa Joe and BO DALLAS. I’ve seen several episodes and they are hit and miss. If they have the right three guys with the right chemistry, it’s great. Three guys without the chemistry is kind of boring. And I could do without guys like Dean Ambrose ranting and raving with a mouth full of food. Maybe next season it could just be DRINKS FOR 3.
KLTV has a story about Mark Henry doing an anti-bullying assembly at a high school in Tyler, Texas.
Vince Russo reached out to Vince McMahon offering his help with the product. Not kidding.
UFC
Ronda Rousey will do voiceovers for the FOX NFL Sunday show at noon ET tomorrow, and also appear on The OT afterwards.
OTHER MMA
TMZ has a story about former UFC and Bellator fighter Lavar Johnson, who remains incarcerated on $120,000 bond after allegeding beating up his girlfriend several months ago. He has plead not guilty to the charges. On of the charges was “assault with a deadly weapon”, and the deadly weapon was his fists.
Last night’s Bellator main event was one of the biggest upsets of the year, as Rafael Carvalho (about +700 as an underdog) defeated former champion Brandon Halsey (about -1100 favorite) by TKO with a liver kick to win the vacant middleweight championship. Both of Carvalho’s previous Bellator wins saw him brought in seemingly to be a warm body for the opponent to be showcased, yet he rose to the occasion and won. He did that again here.
On last night’s Bellator show, they announced a 3 part series “Road to Vengeance” leading into their next tentpole event on November 6th in St. Louis. Part 1 airs at 1130 pm eastern this coming Thursday
OTHER WRESTLING
As noted on the front page, Roderick Strong beat Jay Lethal to win the ROH TV title last night, which would be the first time Lethal has been pinned in over a year. Lethal remains the ROH World Heavyweight Champion. His next major challenger for that title is scheduled to be AJ Styles. That match is scheduled to take place at Final Battle this year, ROH’s version of WrestleMania in December.
Global Force Wrestling has new champions following the television tapings on Friday night. Nick Aldis, the former Magnus in TNA, is the new Global Champion (their main title); Christina Von Eerie is the new Women’s Champion; the Bollywood Boys are the new GFW Tag Team Champions; and PJ Black, the former Justin Gabriel in WWE, is the new Nex*Gen Champion, which is I guess is their version of the X-Division Title.
Here’s a random notes: Catherine Murray, widow of the late Kerry Von Erich, will appear on the 12/9 episode of The Price Is Right as a contestant. Lacey Von Erich was also at the taping, but wasn’t a contestant.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 76: Holohan vs. Smolka from the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The event has undergone some major last-minute changes, losing the original main event earlier this week when Joseph Duffy was forced out of his bout against Dustin Poirier. The card is now headlined by a three-round flyweight bout as Paddy Holohan takes on Louis Smolka in the first flyweight main event bout not featuring Demetrious Johnson. The entire event will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 1:15 PM eastern time before the main card kicks off at 4 PM eastern time.
Real quick thank you to everyone for all their nice messages today.
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 1:15 PM ET/10:15 AM ET)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- BUBBA BUSH (8-2 1 NC, 0-0 1 NC UFC) VS. GARRETH MCLELLAN (12-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: McLellan is the top star from South Africa. A regular Jan Wilkens. Bush looks like Matt Brown’s face on Anthony Nese’s body. Bush is trying to take him down. McLellan blocked the early takedown attempts. Bush tripped him down. McLellan back up. Another takedown by Bush. Bush in side control. Super hot crowd already. McLellan trying a Kimura from the bottom but Bush out and has his back. Bush now punching. McLellan back to his feet and went for a gullotine. Bush popped out. 10-9 Bush.
Second round: McLellan kicked to the body. Bush took him right down. Bush tried another takedown but McLellan, held onto the fence and landed on top. The ref should have reset them but didn’t. McLellan landed in the mount. He worked for an arm triangle. McLellan landing some punches from the top. McLellan landing a lot of punches now. Now he’s landing elbows and punches. More punches and elbows by McLellan. I’d go 10-8 McLelland but I think the judges will have it even 19-19 right now.
Third round: Crowd hot. McLellan with an uppercut and now McLellan going for a takedown. McLellan was able to slam him down. McLellan working for a choke. Bush got up and wants a takedown. Bush took him down. McLellan back up. Takedown by McLellan. McLellan landing punches from the top. McLellan dropping elbows. McLellan landing a ton of punches late. It was stopped with seconds left from ground and pound. If anything, should have been stopped a second or two earlier. 4:58
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#14) DARREN ELKINS (18-5, 8-4 UFC) VS. ROB WHITEFORD (12-2, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Elkins landed some punches. Whiteford landed a left. Left by Elkins. Whiteford landing good punches. Elkins took him down. Whiteford back up. Elkins with an uppercut and takedown. Whiteford bleeding fro under the right eye. Whiteford back up. Whiteford hurt him with a right. Elkins 10-9.
Second round: Elkins took him down. Whiteford bleeding near the left eye. Elkins got his back. Elkins working for a choke but Whiteford out of trouble. Whiteford tried to get up but Elkins took him back down with a single leg. Whiteford back up with 1:33 left. Whiteford with a cool judo throw and landed elbows but Elkins took him down again. Elkins landing punches. Elkins 20-18.
Third round: Left by Whiteford. Left and right by Whiteford. Elkins took him down. Whiteford with a left. Elkins landed some punches and took him down. Whiteford bleeding bad from the left ear. Elkins has his back. Whiteford working for a choke. Elkins 30-27.
Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Elkins.
WELTERWEIGHTS- CATHAL PENDRED (17-3-1, 4-1 UFC) VS. TOM BREESE (8-0, 1-0 UFC)
First round: Breeze from England, but trains in Montreal at Tri-Star. Place going insane for Pendred. Big left by Breese and Pendred went down to a knee. Left by Breese. Pendred’s nose bleeding badly. Right and knee by Pendred. Breese wth a left to the face and another left to the body. High kick by Breese. Breese landing big punches. Body kick by Breese. Breese dropped him with a series of punches and it’s over. Three lefts put Pendred down and he threw punches on the ground when it was stopped.
Breese asked Dana White for 50Gs. Some advice for guys. Don’t do that. Instead, challenge somebody. He asked to be put on the February card in London.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- SCOTT ASKHAM (13-1, 1-1 UFC) VS. KRZYSZTOF JOTKO (15-1, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Jotko took him down. Fans chanting for Jotko. Askham bleeding from above the left eye. Jotko took him down a second time. Ashkam with elbows from the bottom and looking for an armbar. Jotko escaped. Ashkam bleeding badly now. Jotko 10-9.
Second round: Ashkam missed a high kick. Jotko now bleeding from the nose. Jotko got poked in the eye. Ashkam landed a front kick. Ax kick by Ashkam. Ashkam’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Jotko with a knee. Ashkham went for a judo throw but Jotko landed on top and landed a punch as Ashkam got up. Left and right and kick by Ashkam. Right by Jotko. Jotko bleeding from the nose and right ear. Ashkam covered in blood. Left and body kick by Jotko. Close fight I’ve got Ashkam 29-28. Could go either way.
First round: Daly out with punches early. Almeida with an elbow. Almeida with knees to the body. They are in a clinch on the fence. Daly got the takedown. Daly landing punches from the top. Daly 10-9.
Second round: Daly pushed her into the fence. Daly with a takedown. Daly landing punches. Almeida looked for a triangle. Almeida up and took Daly down. Almeida in side control. Almeida got her back. Close round, Almeida so 19-19 into the third.
Third round: Daly out throwing punches. Daly with a hip toss but on the way over Almeida blocked it with a body scissors. Daly throwing punches. Crowd going to ridiculously nuts for this fight. Daly with elbows to the thigh as she got Almeida down. Daly landing a ton of punches. Daly landing all kinds of punches. Daly clearly won the third. The place is going crazy 29-28 Daly. She climbed to the top of the cage and was crying because the crowd was cheering so loudly.
Scores: 30-27, 29-27 and 29-28 Daly. She’s crying like crazy. What a freaking great babyface promo. This was one of the best undercard crowd reactions in UFC history.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- STEVIE RAY (18-5, 2-0 UFC) VS. MICKAEL LEBOUT (14-4-1, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Big left by Ray. Left by Ray. Body kick by Ray. Left by Ray. Body kick by Ray. Hard left by Ray. Ray 10-9
Second round: Ray landing punches. Left high kick by Ray. Jumping kick by Ray. Ray 20-18.
Third round: Lebout landed a right. Body kick by Ray. High kick by Ray. Lebout landed a hard right. Body kick by Lebout. Spinning elbow by Lebout. Ray picked him up and spun him and threw him down, almost like an F-5 right as the match ended. This round was closer. 30-27 Ray.
Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 Ray
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- NEIL SEERY (15-11, 2-2 UFC) VS. JON DELOS REYES (8-4, 1-2 UFC)
First round: Seery landing punches. Crowd going crazy since Seery is from Dublin. Knee by Delos Reyes. Serry landed a nice right to the side of the head. Delos Reyes took him down. Knee by Delos Reyes. Both landing punches. Seery landing a lot of rights. Seery wrestled him to the round. Delos Reyes got a takedown but Serry back up. Seery landing punches and a low kick. Both trading. Seery 10-9.
Second round: Seery with punches, Delos Reyes took him down but Seery grabbed a guillotine. Delos Reyes escaped and got Seery’s back. Seery escaped and took Delos Reyes down. Dels Reye sbakc up. Both landing hard shos. Both swinging. Really good round. Delos Reyes slammed him down but Serry grabbed him in a guillotine for the submission. Easily the best fight of the show so far.
WELTERWEIGHTS- NICOLAS DALBY (14-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. DARREN TILL (13-0, 1-0 UFC)
First round: Dalby is from Denmark, Till is from the U.K. but trains in Brazil. Both tying up. Till with knees. Left by Till. Till with body kicks. Another body kick by Till. Dalby with a body kick. Till with a kick, knee and elbow. Low kick by Dalby. Left to the jaw by Till. Body kick by Till. Till landed an upppercut and had Dalby in trouble as the round ended. 10-9 Till.
Second round: Good body kick by Till. Takedown by Dalby but Till right back up. Knee to the head by Dalby. Till knocked him off balance at the end of the round. Close round, 10-9 slightly for Till so he’s up 20-18.
Third round: Dalby landed a head kick. Till went for a takedown but Dalby escaped. Dalby landed a punch to the nose. Dalby working for a takedown. Dalby got the takedown. Till got up. Till bleeding from the nose. Another head kick by Dalby and some punches. Dalby landing solid punches and a knee. Dalby with a kick to the body and punches. Dalby took him down with 2:20 left Dalby got mount and is pounding on him. Till is in a lot of trouble. Dalby landing all kinds of lefts on the ground. Till back up but he’s wobbly and worried. Dalby threw him down but Till immediately got back up. Till with a knee and a punch. Dalby with punches and he landed a head kick. Dalby with knees to the head. Dalby’s round for sure. Great fight. Really comes down to round two, I’ve got 29-28 for Till, but it could even be a 28-28 draw if you gave a 10-8 third.
Scores: 29-28 Till 28-28 28-28 draw. So they gave Dalby 10-8 third which is not bad scoring at all. Till’s shoulder went out in the second round but he came out and survived the third round. Dan Hardy was pushing the idea of a rematch.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- NORMAN PARKE (20-4-1, 4-2-1 UFC) VS. REZA MADADI (13-3, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Madadi working for a takedown. Parke defending. Madadi shot and Parke sprawled. Parke landed a few lefts. Another left landed by Parke. Crowd booed, not much happened. Parke 10-9.
Second round: Parke throwing kicks. Parke landing a few punches. Madadi got the takedown but Parke back to his feet. Head kick by Parke. They are in a clinch against the fence. Body kick by Parke. Parke landed several punches. Parke going for a takedown but didn’t get it. Parke with some uppercuts. Parke’s round, up 20-18.
Third round: Madadi going for a single leg. Madadi started to land. Madadi landing more and working for a takedown. Parke took him down. Close third round, Parke 30-27.
Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Parke.
FLYWEIGHTS- PADDY HOLOHAN (12-1-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. LOUIS SMOLKA (9-1, 3-1 UFC)
First round: Holohan took him down and moved into side control. Smolka working for a D’arce choke from the bottom. Holohan tried to get his back. Smolka up but Holohan took him down again. Smolka moved to the top. Holohan went for a heel hook. Smolka worked for an ankle lock Holohan took him down again. Smolka up and landed a kick. Holohan trying for a takedown but this one was blocked. Front kick by Smolka. Two more front kicks by Smolka. Holohan went for another takedown but doesn’t have it. Smolka landing punches and Holohan back. Great first round. Holohan 10-9.
Second round: Both trading. Smolka’s punches are crisper. Holohan landed a nice left. Holohan jumped on his back. Crowd going crazy for Holohan. Holohan has his back and working for a choke with a body triangle. Smolka trying to spin to the top but Holohan holding a body triangle. Holohan throwing punches. Smolka turned to the top with 2:45 left in the round. Smolka with elbows to the body. Smolka has a guillotine standing. Smolka used it to take him down. Smolka with elbows. Holohan tried an umpa plata but Smolka blocked and landing punches. Smoka landing a lot of punches for the top. Holohan is in a lot of trouble. Smolka pounding him from the mount. Smolka working for a choke. He’s got it. It’s over. Great fight.
The crowd loved Holohan even after losing. His left eye is swollen. Smolka said the people may not like him but this was a great crowd. Fans ended up cheering him.
This morning’s New Japan show in Korakuen Hall is all about the Super Jr. Tag Tournament, the single elimination tournament held around this time each year. Well, that and of course the usual eight and six man tags, because we can never escape from that on any New Japan card anymore. Tonight we’ll see the opening round with eight teams vying for a spot in the semifinals. As for the show itself, it’s a multi camera show, but no commentary.
It was announced that David Finlay suffered a left ankle injury and would not be competing tonight. The eight man to kick off the show would be made into a six man, with Finlay and Captain New Japan removed.
Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata defeated Yohei Komatsu, Jay White and Sho Tanaka
Pretty good opener. White showed some great fire against Shibata, who destroyed the young lions for a good part of the match. Shibata won after White submitted to a Boston crab.
Shinsuke Nakamura, Tama Tonga, Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, Doc Gallows and Bad Luck Fale
Pretty good at times. Some brawling throughout, including Anderson and Nakamura going at it in the stands. Anderson also mocked Nakamura at one point by putting on his ring jacket and doing his pose on the ropes. Fale and Yano interacted a bit as well, seems like they’re teasing a feud between these two. Nakamura gets the win with the boma ye, pinning Tama Tonga.
Kazuchika Okada, Gedo and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma and Juice Robinson
Good match, but felt pretty long. They went fifteen minutes, far more than other matches on the show so far and just about everyone got to work with one another. Robinson, who got a lot of time in the ring and looked good, was pinned after a Rainmaker by Okada.
They announced dates for the 2016 Fantasticamania tour with CMLL right before intermission. 1/17 in Kouchi, 1/19 in Kyoto, 1/20 in Osaka and 1/22, 1/23 and 1/24 in Tokyo.
reDragon defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask
Fish pinned Tiger Mask with the Chasing the Dragon. Solid match, but not a lot to it.
Roppongi Vice defeated Chase Owens and Kenny Omega
Good match towards the end. Crowd didn’t seem all that into it for large parts of the match. The start was really goofy. Omega’s antics work in short doses but he was hamming it up big time at the start of this match. Beretta and Romero double teamed Owens and pinned him with their finish, the Omori Driver/dropkick combo. So RPG Vice will face reDragon in the semifinals.
The Young Bucks defeated Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi
Another good match. Dorada did some crazy moves throughout the match, including a hurricanrana off the apron and to the floor. There was a spot where Nick jammed his thumb in Taguchi’s butt, I guess to thwart him, but Taguchi came back and made him stick it in his mouth. Ew. Matt pinned Dorada after the Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver.
Ricochet and Matt Sydal defeated The TimeSplitters
Very good match. It started off slow, but got pretty got towards the end. Kushida had Sydal’s arm in the kimura a couple of times throughout the match and was selling it by the end. The TimeSplitters hit every big time maneuver they could think of but could not pin Sydal as he either kicked out or Ricochet interfered on his behalf. It looked like Shelley was going to the top rope to do something when Ricochet cut him off and Sydal hit a reverse rana on Kushida. They then both hit a shooting star press from the top rope, Sydal pinning Shelley to win the match. So they will face the Young Bucks in the other semifinal.
Good show overall. Nothing completely outstanding, but the last two matches were pretty fun to watch.
Roderick Strong defeated Jay Lethal to win the ROH TV Title tonight at the TV tapings in Kalamazoo, MI.
Strong and Lethal had a series of ROH title matches the last few months with Lethal winning the series with a television match after a 60-minute match at the Death Before Dishonor iPPV in July. Lethal held both the World and TV Champions, a storyline that ROH had done prior to WWE doing the same storyline with Seth Rollins.
Lethal, who remains the current ROH World Champion having ended the year-plus win streak of Jay Briscoe, hadn’t lost a singles match in ROH in nearly one year.
Strong, considered by many to be one of the best wrestlers in the world, is now a two-time ROH TV Champion; a former ROH World Champion; a former ROH Tag Team Champion with Austin Aries; the 2005 Survival of the Fittest winner; the 2010 Honor Gauntlet winner; the 2010 Toronto Gauntlet winner; and the second Triple Crown Champion in company history.
Please send reports to Dave Meltzer on the following:
GFW TV tapings from Las Vegas
Heavyweight title tournament final: Nick Aldis, Bobby Roode and Chris Mordetzky;
Brian Myers vs. Kongo
Kong vs. Kevin Kross
Tag title tourney with Luster the Legend & Adam Thornstowe, Bollywood Boyz, Kenny King & Joey Ryan and Remy Marcel & Jack Manley, Bestia 666 vs. Cielo Escorpion,
NEW GEN title four-way with Virgil Flynn vs. Jigsaw vs. TJP plus Sonjay Dutt vs. Seiya Sanada)
We are also looking for Reports on tonight’s ROH tapings in Kalamazoo, MI (Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong for TV title, A.J. Styles vs. Donovan Dijak, Briscoes vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus, Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian for tag titles, Adam Cole vs. Dalton Castle, Leah Von Dutch vs. Crazy Mary Dobson, Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser vs. The Boyz, ACH vs. Cedric Alexander)
Yes, Kenny King is supposed to be in Kalamazoo and Las Vegas on the same night.
This weekend we’ll be taking our big show poll only on Hell in a Cell Sunday.
Bellator tonight at 9 p.m. on Spike from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT
Goiti Yamauchi vs. Isao Kobayashi
Michael Page vs. Charles Ontiveros
Brennan Ward vs. Dennis Olson
Brandon Halsey vs. Rafael Carvalho for the vacant middleweight title
Page is usually someone worth going out of your way to see.
New Japan World has a live show at 6 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning from Tokorozawa
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu & Juice Robinson
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay White & David Finlay non-title
Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada & Kushida & Alex Shelley vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens & Young Bucks
Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs. Cody Hall & Tama Tonga
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta
New Japan also opens its junior heavyweight tag team tournament on Friday night/Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern and 2:30 a.m. Pacific time from Korakuen Hall
Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Captain New Japan vs. Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka & David Finlay & Jay White
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Hiroshi Tanahashi& Tomoaki Honma & Juice Robinson vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
Tag team tournament first round matches:
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly
Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens
Mascara Dorada & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Young Bucks
Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Alex Shelley & Kushida
UFC ON FIGHT PASS FROM DUBLIN, IRELAND AT 1:15 P.M. EASTERN TIME – Saturday
For Canada: Tomorrow’s UFC main card from Dublin will air from 4-6 p.m. Eastern in Canada on The Fight Network and again at9 p.m. and 1 a.m. for prime time viewing in the Eastern and Pacific time zones.
Bubba Bush (185) vs. Garreth McLellan (185)
Darren Elkins (145) vs Robert Whiteford (145)
Tom Breeze (171) vs. Cathal Pendred (169)
Scott Askham (184) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (185)
Aisling Daly (115) vs. Ericka Almeida (115)
Stevie Ray (155) vs. Mickael Lebout (155)
Neil Seery (125) vs. Jon Delos Reyes (125)
Nicolas Dalby (170) vs. Darren Hill (171)
Reza Madadi (156) vs. Norman Parke (156)
Paddy Holohan (126) vs. Louis Smolka (125)
Sunday we’ll be looking for reports on the NXT show as part of the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento.
WWE HELL IN A CELL SUNDAY FROM THE STAPLES CENTER IN LOS ANGELES AT 7:30 P.M.
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match
Seth Rollins vs. Kane for WWE title vs. Kane’s job as Director of Operations
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt Hell in a Cell match
John Cena vs. ? for U.S. title
Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. Dudleys for tag titles
Kevin Owens vs. Ryback for IC title
Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella for Divas title
Neville & Dolph Ziggler & Cesaro vs. Rusev & Sheamus & King Barrett (preshow match at 7:30)
Raw will be live in San Diego on Monday night.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped in Phoenix on Tuesday.
****
Figure Four Weekly:
Jerry McDevitt cuts quite the legal promo on Konstantine Kyros as part of his latest screed in the ongoing legal battle over WWE’s alleged role in wrestlers’ brain damage.
The WWE’s record low ratings, even with bringing in all the big names on Monday, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer newsletter. We look at the ratings, the competition, the build to Hell in a Cell, and what type of programming is and isn’t working in ratings now. We also look more at John Layfield’s interview with Eric Bischoff and WCW and how pro wrestling has changed since the death of WCW, as well as more on the political goings-on in Mexico, what modern era wrestlers have had the most four star matches and a wrestling show in a few weeks that you don’t know of that is going to have a paid attendance of more than 30,000 people. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
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@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
WWE.com had a story on James Storm where he gave the indication it’s up to WWE if he signs or not. He didn’t work last night’s TV. He said that Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, who he knew from TNA, opened the door for him. He also admitted he was at the show in Nashville even though he had previously denied it.
Paige did a great job last night on Conan O’Brien. It was funny because she was there to plug Hell in a Cell, and Conan talked about seeing her on the show, even though she doesn’t have a match on the show. I guess when they made the booking the left hand thought she would be on the card. They mostly talked about how she grew up in a wrestling family with her parents and brothers and how her mom was wrestling when pregnant with her so she started while still in the womb.
The next Evolve shows will be 11/6 in Ybor City, FL and 11/7 in Orlando with Timothy Thatcher, Johnny Gargano, Drew Galloway, Caleb Konley, Anthony Nese, TJ Perkins, Drew Gulak, Tracy Williams, Ethan Page, Andrew Everett , Peter Kaasa and Matt Riddle scheduled.
Lana is on the road in Southern California because she and Rusev were at the Clippers game last night.
UFC
The episode of Ultimate Fighter that has gotten so much talk in the last few days will replay at 10 p.m. Eastern timeSunday night.
OTHER WRESTLING
The West Coast Wrestling Connection’s TV on PDX-TV in Portland, OR, is being moved to Saturday nights at 11 p.m.
Atlantis & Valiente & Volador Jr. vs. Rush & La Sombra & La Mascara is the main event of tonight’s CMLL show at Arena Mexico. No word on whether it’ll be geo blocked or not, but you can check at just after 9:30 p.m. Eastern time at www.ClaroSports.com
CHIKARA from last night in Minneapolis: Chuck Taylor b Frightmare, Darin Corbin & Drake Carter & Shaun Cannon b Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell & Farmer Frog, Arik Cannon b Oleg the Usurper, Kimber Lee & El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr b Icarus & Mark Angelosetti & Heidi Lovelace, Ariya Daivari won four-way over Wildcat, Kody Rice and Venom, Hallowicked b Jakob Hammermeieir, Ophidian & Eddie Kingston & Shynron b Juan Francisco de Coronado & Boar of Moldova & Parkash Sbar, Soldier Ant b Blaster McMassive (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
My Life My Power Entertainment has a show on 11/14 in Miami at the Jackson Senior High School headlined by Daniel Puder.
41 years ago today in Miami Beach
Eddie Graham b Gary Hart in a lights out match
Dusty Rhodes & Mike Graham b Dick Slater & Toru Tanaka
Don Muraco & Bob Armstrong drew Hollywood Blonds (Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown)
Pak Song b Paul Jones to retain the Southern title
Jerry Brisco b Cowboy Bill Watts via DQ
Tony Charles b Dennis Stamp
Mongolian Stomper b Frank Hester
Cowboy Lang & Sonny Boy Hayes b Little Louie & Billy the Kid (thanks to Barry Rose)
The Freebirds vs. Terry Taylor & Missing Link is the new match today on NWAClassics.com
Tyson Dux has a pre-wedding stag event in Windsor, ONT at Club Alouette. There will be two hours of wrestling at7 p.m. followed by the party at 9 p.m. Ages 19 and up can come. Wrestling has a ticket price of $20 and the wrestling and stag party is 440.
Smash Wrestling on 11/7 in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Centre featuring Pentagon Jr. vs. Drago.
Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling Halloween Hell on 10/30 with the Bollywood Boyz from GFW against Ethan HD & Mike Santiago in a cage match at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, BC.
Highspots has started the women’s wrestling network on Roku. The first month is available for 99 cents.. They are also promoting a Queen of combat show on 11/29 in Winston-Salem, NC at Ziggy’s with a four-way tournament with Jessicka Havok, Santana Garrett, Taeler Hendrix and Tessa Blanchard, plus Rebel, Madison Rayne, Candice LaRae, Allysin Kay, Barbi Hayden, Andrea, Lufisto, Chelsea Green, Crazy Mary Dobson and more.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1964 – Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle debuted World Championship wrestling with their first show headlined by world champion Killer Kowalski retaining his title over Domenic DeNucci. Kowalski would go on to be the greatest heel in WCW history, and DeNucci would go on to be the best drawing babyface in WCW history.
1981 – La Fiera beat Lizmark in Mexico City to win the NWA welterweight title
1981- El Satanico beat Solar to win the Mexican national middleweight title
1983 – Ringo Mendoza beat El Satanico in Guadalajara to win the NWA light heavyweight title
1983 – Enrique Vera won a three-way tournament over Dos Caras and Canek to win the UWA heavyweight title
1999 – Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama beat Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa in Nagoya to win the All Japan tag title
2002 – Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Taka Michinoku & Gosaku Goshogawara beat Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka & Wagyuta Koroge in Tokyo to become the first WEW trios champs
2011 – Jun Akiyama beat Suwama in Tokyo to win the Triple Crown and Dark Cuervo & Dark Ozz beat Keiji Muto & Kenso to win the World tag titles, Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi beat Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanada to win the All Asia tag titles and Kenny Omega beat Kai to win the All Japan world jr. title
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including the official reinstatement of Jon Jones to the UFC, plus Dr. Lucha joins us to talk Lucha Underground and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced the reinstatement of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Jones had been suspended since an April hit-and-run case, coming a few months after a cocaine test positive a well as a late night car crash.
Dana White had said previously that if Jones was reinstated, he could immediately challenge for the championship that he never lost. The title is currently held by Daniel Cormier, who Jones defeated via decision on Jan. 3 in one of UFC’s biggest pay-per-view shows of recent years. A Cormier vs. Jones title match would be expected next on the agenda.
Jones pleaded guilty to one felony charge and was given 18 months probation and 72 appearances for either charity of speaking with children, which was meant to be one per week during his probation period.
The UFC released this statement this morning.
“Following a review of the plea agreement reached by Jon Jones and officials in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the judge’s decision, UFC announced today the formal reinstatement of Jones to the UFC roster. Effective immediately, Jones is eligible to return to competition. As such, UFC expects Jones to meet all the terms of his plea agreement, including mandatory community service, as a condition of his reinstatement.
UFC is currently discussing with Jones a potential date for his return to the Octagon.
`We’ve made it clear to Jon that this new opportunity to compete in UFC is a privilege and not a right, and that there are significant expectations we have regarding his conduct moving forward,’ said UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. `We’re happy to read and see reports that he has embraced the terms of his plea agreement and is using this experience to grow and develop as a person.’
`I am thankful to be able to do what I love once again and I look forward to proving myself as a champion in and outside of the Octagon,’ Jones said.”
Jones also said on Facebook: “It took me losing almost everything I had worked for to realize how much I had.”
Jones, who has a 21-1 record, is generally considered the most talented fighter in the history of the sport. In his 22 pro fights, he won every one of them handily with the exception of a close decision win over Alexander Gustafsson. His lone loss, to Matt Hamill, was via disqualification in a one-sided fight where he had destroyed Hamill the entire fight.
At 24, he was the youngest champion in UFC history when he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to win the title. With eight title defenses, he was on the verge of Anderson Silva’s record of ten when the title was stripped from him due to his suspension.
“Congrats to Jon `Bones’ Jones on his reinstatement to the UFC,” wrote Cormier on Facebook. “For MMA fans, this is a good day. A guy that has shown to be one of the greatest fighters of all-time is back. As a competitor, there could be no other outcome and this is the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Jon has said the right things and his actions are backing his words up. We all hope this is the last time we have to deal with anything like that. And lastly, as a fan, you get to see two of the best fighters compete against each other. With that being said, I can’t wait to compete against him again.”
Episode 17 of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out has arrived just in time for a MMA double-shot weekend which is why Josh brought in MMA Weekly associate editor Erik Fontanez to help preview the action and find a bright spot amid a devastated UFC Fight Night Card, evidenced by Ben Rothwell’s awesome PhotoShop work.
Josh and Erik rapped for over an hour, giving hot take after hot take on the following:
– What he did for Back To The Future Day (yes, this matters)
– His start in MMA writing and the scene in SoCal
– What happened when he approached Joe Rogan out of the blue for an interview
– His toughest interviews
– The fan reaction to both Joe Duffy and Dustin Poirier this week
– What he’s looking forward to watching at UFC Dublin
– A look at Bellator Friday night and all that is Michael “Venom” Page
– A game of Optimistic or Pessimistic featuring Georges St. Pierre, CM Punk, and more
The Bryan & Vinny Show returns tonight with tons to talk about! We’ve got NXT as usual, Granny returns with the KARAOKE CONTEST, and yes, it is THE RETURN OF THE MODERN-DAY RAW REPORT, plus an explanation of what we’ll probably be doing in the future. A fun show as always so check it out~!
This is a FREE SHOW so please spread the word! The Bryan & Vinny Show airs three times per week covering all of the latest wrestling shows! Sign up at wrestlingobserver.com for daily bonus subscriber-only shows, plus over 7,000 archived shows dating back to 2005!
