Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer and Filthy Tom Lawlor returns today to talk UFC 192 Cormier vs. Gustaffson, all the fights up and down the card, WWE in Madison Square Garden on the WWE Network (56:00), plus all the news in pro-wrestling including a preview of TNA Bound for Glory on Sunday night. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Welcome to tonight’s live coverage of the WWE live from Madison Square Garden, airing on the WWE Network. The entire show is scheduled to air on the network and will be headlined by a steel cage match for the United States championship as champion John Cena takes on Seth Rollins.
Two other matches — Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar, and WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day versus the Dudley Boyz have also been heavily promoted. In addition, Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho vs. I-C Champion Kevin Owens and Randy Orton vs. Sheamus are on the bill.
Show opens with a short video highlighting the steel cage match tonight, as well as the Brock Lesnar/Big Show match.
Rich Brennan, JBL and Bryon Saxton are on commentary.
Sheamus and Rusev vs. Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler
Sheamus/Orton and Ziggler/Rusev were both promoted as singles bouts previously. I guess this is another one in the plans change department. Ziggler was worked on for a lot of the match. Orton made the hot tag but Sheamus took him down quickly. Ziggler came back with a superkick and Sheamus walked right into an RKO, giving Orton the win. Pretty good, basic opening bout.
Rusev got a mic and called Sheamus a stupid non-American and blamed him for the loss. Called him useless. He shoved him out of the ring and started to cut a promo on Lana when Sheamus came back and gave him a brouge kick. Sheamus got a mic and told him to kiss his arse.
They aired a recap video from Raw where Seth Rollins destroyed Corporate Kane’s leg, then Demon Kane came out of the ambulance and destroyed him. Renee then interviewed Corporate Kane and asked about his bum leg. He said he looks at challenges like this as an oppertunity for growth. His voice then grew quiet and mean and mentioned he was here for Seth, and to see the steel cage match, then said he would look for this demon that’s been terrorizing Seth and make sure it wouldn’t bother him tonight. So much for a steel cage match with no interference.
Neville vs. Stardust
Neville did some great spots early. He’s easily one of the most fluid wrestlers in the WWE right now. Stardust got the heat but Nevillve cut him off. Stardust came back and wore Neville’s cape and did a Bo Dallas victory lap. He wore the cape over his head like he was the Green Arrow but Neville cut him off and hit the Red Arrow for the bing. Solid match, but too short to be anything more.
Renee interviewed Paul Heyman. He brought up that as a native New Yorker, this place is special. He compared Big Show to coming in here like he was the Boston Celtics. Tonight, Madison Square Garden becomes city hall for suplex city.
Another recap video is shown from Raw where Paige abanonded Charlotte and Becky Lynch, leaving Charlotte to be pinned by Nikki.
Team Bella vs. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Paige
So despite cutting mean promos on them and abandoning them on Raw, Paige is back teaming with Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Makes sense in the WWE Universe! They had heat on Becky Lynch for a while before Charlotte tagged in. She was about to put the figure eight on Brie but Paige tagged herself in and they argued. Paige and Alicia Fox worked a bit, then Paige went for a tag and this time it was Lynch and Charlotte who jumped to the floor, refusing to tag. This causes Paige to turn around and walk into a rack attack by Nikki for the win. Match was fine.
Paige cut a tearful promo saying she couldn’t believe her teammates did this to her and she would never do anything like that to her friends, the irony being here that in fact she did do just that on Monday.
Another video package, this time from Smackdown where Reigns merely says “Hell in a Cell”. Then it was confirmed that they would be fighting inside Hell in the Cell at the pay-per-view.
Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho talked before the match mentioning how today marked 25 years in the business and how he wrestled in a ten minute draw with Lance Storm in his first match. Jericho mentioned Storm was here and he waved to the audience, as well as Don Callis who was also in attendance. Jericho also mentioned watching his father here play for the New York Rangers, then said win or lose he’ll celebrate with the Jerichoholics after the match. This was good, but it felt like they were doing a 6-8 minute version of a 20 minute match as they were going for big moves and finishes very early. Owens went for a senton but Jericho got the knees up. He goes for the walls of Jericho but Owens escapes. Jericho hits the codebreaker but Owens grabs the ropes. The referee grabbed Jericho back which allowed Owens to hit a superkick. He went for the pop up powerbomb but Jericho turned it into a hurricanrana. Owens poked him in the eye when Jericho went to grab him and rolled him up to retain the title. This was good while it lasted, but felt way too short and rushed.
Big Show was shown looking mean.
WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz
The New Day came out an cut a promo about the Dudleyz, mentioning how they wear glasses without lenses and shamed them for putting Xavier through a table. Today, the New Day will save the tables. Dudleyz came out but didn’t get that big of a pop. Mostly back and forth until the Dudleyz were going for the wuzzup spot and Xavier shoved D-Von off, allowing them to get the heat on Bubba. He made the hot tag to D-Von as he made a comeback. Kofi was going for a springboard but instead was cut off and given the 3D for what looked to be the win, but then Xavier just ran in and broke it up for the DQ. Hideously lame finish to an otherwise good match.
The New Day set up a table like they were going to put D-Von through a table, but Bubba Ray came back and threw them out of the ring. Xavier was on the top rope celebrating and didn’t see this, so when he jumped off and turned around he, in fact, got a 3D through the table.
Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show
Big Show started off strong and dominated the match early. He back body dropped Lesnar to the floor. When he came back, couldn’t outpower the Big Show and Show continued to dominate, laying him out with three chokeslams for the nearfall. Lesnar came back and gave him German suplexes but couldn’t get him up for the F5 in what looked like a botch. He hit one more German then pinned Show with the F5. Fun for what it was.
After the announcers plugged that Lesnar would be on Raw, he walked back to the ring where Show gave him the up yours gesture. In response, Lesnar gave him a belly to belly and another F5. They showed Show struggling to get up and get out of the ring. The ring announcer then said “Let’s hear it for the Big Show!” which got a mixed, at best, response as he made his exit.
WWE United States Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Seth Rollins
They teased a spot earl where Rollins climbed over the top but Cena was crawling through the door and grabbed him before he could exit. Mostly some really good back and forth for a lot of the match. Cena started doing his comeback spots but Rollins cut him off with a kick to the shoulder. Rollins taunted him by doing his “You can’t see me” gesture but Cena kicked him in the face, did his comeback and went for the AA but Rollins climbed on the cage. He jumped off but Cena grabbed his ankle and hit the STF. Cena was going to escape through the door but Rollins slammed the door on his head. Rollins went for the pedigree but Cena countered, throwing off Rollins but Rollins ended up climbing the cage again. After throwing off Rollins, Rollins came back and gave Cena the superplex into another suplex spot. Seth climbed to the top but Cena dragged him back to the cage and hit a tornado DDT. Cena went to escape again but Seth climbed on top of the cage and hit Cena with the door. He started to climb over but Cena’s miraculous healing powers kicked in, immediately got up and stopped him. Rollins finally laid him out and was climbing the cage when, as expected, Demon Kane came out and stood where Seth was going to climb off. Seth went for a frog splash instead but Cena dodged it, got up and hit the AA to retain the title. Easily the best match of the show, wouldn’t say it was as great as other matches they’ve had over the summer but this was a really good steel cage match.
Cena made his exit as Kane climbed in and closed the cage door. Seth tried to escape but couldn’t as Kane chokeslammed him then gave him the tombstone. He held the WWE title up high, then exited the cage to close out the show.
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event is headlined by UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier making his first title defense against Alexander Gustafsson. In the co-main event, it will be light heavyweight contenders Ryan Bader and Rashad Evans squaring off. The original co-main event, Johny Hendricks against Tyron Woodley, was removed from the card prior to weigh-ins due to Hendricks weight cut issues.
The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 6:30 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off on PPV at 10 PM eastern time. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
Fight Pass Prelims —
HEAVYWEIGHTS- DERRICK LEWIS VS. VIKTOR PESTA
ROUND 1- Lewis is from Houston so he got a big reaction from the crowd. Lewis gets a quick takedown against the fence and they clinch against the fence. Big foot stomps by Pesta. Pesta gets a takedown and moves into side control. Pesta with punches from side control but not doing much otherwise. Lewis rolls out from bottom and they get to their feet. Lewis trips Pesta down but they get up and Pesta scores a takedown. Lewis looking for a kimura from the bottom. They get tp their feet and and tie up against the fence. Pesta gets a big takedown. Lewis rolls to his feet. Pesta with some knees to the body. Both men battling against the fence. Lewis tries a trip but Pesta stays on his feet as the round ends. 10-9 Pesta.
ROUND 2- Lewis lands a big right hand that stumbles Pesta. Pesta goes for a takedown but Lewis sprawls up against the fence. Petsa trips Lewis down to the mat and goes into the half-guard. Pesta moves into full guard and landing punches as the crowd boos. Pesta doing enough to keep the fight from being stood up but not a lot of damage. They are stood up by Kerry Hatley. Pesta goes right back for the takedown and gets it. Lewis works it back to the feet as both men are visibly tired. They break and Lewis lands a big punch. Pesta goes for a takedown but eats some punches from Lewis. Lewis gets Pesta down and is landing from the top but eating upkick. Lewis with some hammerfists and looking for the finish. Lewis lands a big punch and close to finishing. The round ends just before he can get it done though. Pesta may be done as he is slow to get up. 10-9 Lewis, 19-19.
ROUND 3- The crowd comes alive as Lewis came close to finishing. Lewis with a big leg kick. Lewis with a head kick and a punch and he defends a takedown. Lewis landing some fists from the sprawl. Lewis gets in the guard and lands big punches. Lewis gets into mount and is landing big punches and looking to finish. He gets it. Lewis with the big TKO win and the crowd gets loud.
Official Result- Derrick Lewis def. Viktor Pesta by TKO (punches) at 1:15 of Round 3
> FLYWEIGHTS- CHRIS CARIASO VS. SERGIO PETTIS
ROUND 1- Big fight for the younger Pettis against a ranked former title challenger. Cariaso with a body kick and Pettis catches the leg and trips him to the mat. Pettis goes into the guard. Cariaso looking for the neck. Pettis remains in the guard of Cariaso. They get to their feet against the fence. They break. Each land some punches. Cariaso with a body kick and they clinch but break. Cariaso with a body kick and another two. Pettis with a body kick and a jab. They trade strikes. Cariaso with a solid kick-punch combo. Pettis with a body kick and then drops Cariaso with a right hand. Pettis with a series of punches looking for the finish but Cariaso survives. Pettis goes into half-guard and lands a big elbow. Back into full guard for Pettis. Pettis with more punches from the top but Cariaso kicks him away. Pettis ends the round with more punches from the top. 10-9 Pettis.
ROUND 2- Cariaso with a body kick as Pettis pushes him towards the fence. Cariaso with a solid combo. They tie up and Pettis gets a nice trip takedown and into the half-guard. Pettis with some body punches from the top as he looks to pass guard. We have our first round of Ric Flair “Woooo”‘s from the crowd. They are stood up as not much happened on the mat. Cariaso with a leg kick. Solid combo from Cariaso. Pettis lands a leg kick after blocking a head kick. Pettis scores a takedown after ducking a punch. Pettis in side control. Pettis stands on his feet and lands a big butt kick. 10-9 Pettis, 20-18 Pettis.
ROUND 3- Pettis looking very sharp in the first two rounds. Pettis gets a takedown They get to their feet but go back to the mat as Cariaso tries to pull guard. They reverse and Cariaso is in the half-guard and lands a big punch. Cariaso with some punches from the top. Cariaso remains in the half-guard as he tries to pass. Cariaso goes into the guard and lands some punches. Cariaso taking over the final round. Pettis looks for the neck. Cariaso postures up but eats an upkick. Pettis looks like he’s just trying to hold on for the decision. Each man going for a leg lock. Cariaso going for an armbar with ten seconds left but can’t get it. 10-9 Cariaso, 29-28 Pettis.
Official Result: Sergio Pettis def. Chris Cariaso by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- FRANCISCO TREVINO VS. SAGE NORTHCUTT
ROUND 1- Northcutt is 19-years-old, making his UFC debut, and got a huge reaction. You know, I’m fairly good-looking, but as Dave tweeted, Northcutt is proof life isn’t fair sometimes. Northcutt got an even bigger reaction when introduced, a lot of hype around him. Northcutt with a side kick. Trevino trips on a spin kcik and Northcutt is going for the finish against the fence. Northcutt gets the takedown and a ton of punches and it is over! Big finish for Northcutt, who backs up the hype in this fight. Trevino protested the stop but it just justified.
Official Result: Sage Northcutt def. Francisco Trevino by TKO (strikes) at :57 of Round 1
Fox Sports One Prelims —
Rose Namajunas def. Angela Hill by first round submission (2:47)
This was over quickly as Namajunas stood with Hill for a while and then took advantage of a Hill mistake, clamping on a rear naked choke on the ground. Hill stood up and Namajunas was her backpack, sinking in the choke as Hill tried to fight her off. Hill was tapping at air and Namajunas got the victory, her first after a very long time on the sidelines.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ADRIANO MARTINS VS. ISLAM MAKHACHEV
Paul Fontaine here, taking over for RFred, who’s having IC issues in Houston.
Makhachev with early Octagon control. Martins with a nice punch combo at 1:15. Martins dropped him and Makhachev was out cold.
WINNER – ADRIANO MARTINS (28-7) by KO (punch) at 1:46
They showed the Northcutt fight in between fights. The guy could be the biggest star in the sport in a few years. I saw him fight on an AXS.TV show about four months back and it was quite obvious he had serious star potential and he did not disappoint in his UFC debut. Already talk that he could be back in a month or two as he took no damage here.
WELTERWEIGHTS- ALAN JOUBAN VS. ALBERT TUMENOV
Tumenov with a throwdown right away to start but lets Jouban back up. Tumenov staggers him with punches 30 seconds in. Jouban controlling the Octagon but Tumenov landing hard counter punches. Loud USA chants from the crowd at 1:30. Tumenov with a nice punch/kick combo. Jouban lands a series of jabs at 1:45. They exchange head kicks at 2:00 and Tumenov hit with a low blow. Tumenov drops him with a series of punches tothe head. Jouban protesting but he’s about to fall over.
WINNER – ALBERT TUMENOV (16-2) by TKO (punches) at 2:55
FEATHERWEIGHTS- YAIR RODRIGUEZ VS. DANIEL HOOKER
Kerry Hatley is the ref, this could be trouble. Lots of stalling at the start and the crowd booing 1:30 in. Rodriguez with a knockdown but lets Hooker back up. Cage clinch at 2:45 with Hooker in control. Rodriguez with a takedown and right into mount. Hooker escapes and to his feet fairly quickly. Rodriguez with knees from the clinch but Hooker maintains control. Hooker with a takedown at 4:30 but Rodriguez right up and they separate. 10-9 Rodriguez
Rodriguez with a throwdown early but lets Hooker up. Clinch on the cage at 1:15 with Hooker in control. Rodriguez pulled guard, going for a leglock. Hooker escapes and they’re to their feet at 2:00. Rodriguez lands a rolling upkick at 2:30. He had tried that at the end of the last round. Hooker controlling the Octagon but the standup is fairly weak from both guys in the middle part of the round. Rodriguez with a knockdown but lets Hooker up at 3:45. Rodriguez is starting to look tired at the end of the round. Rodriguez with a takedown with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Rodriguez
So if you’re wondering what I mean by a rolling upkick, it’s basically RVD’s Rolling Thunder. Rodriguez hit with a low blow early in the round, which will give him more time to recover. Hooker pressing the action on the restart. Hooker takes his back standing and takes him down at 1:00. Rodriguez takes the leg and working for a leglock. Rodriguez lets that go but takes an arm. Hooker escapes that but Rodriguez has his legs all tied up. Rodriguez landing elbows from the bottom and opens up a cut that starts bleeding heavily. Hooker landing weka punches form the top. Both guys landing a ton of punches at 2:30 but nothing terribly hard. Signficant strikes are 36-15 for Rodriguez. That must be a 3rd round stat, not the whole fight. Rodriguez really landing a ton of strikes to the head from his back heading into the last minute. This may be the rare case where Hooker has been on top the whole time but losing the round. Crowd booing heavily but explode when the ref stands them up at 4:30. Ref stops the action to look at Hooker’s cut. Doctor lets it go. I would hope so, with 30 seconds left. Hooker chases him around the Octagon for the last 3o seconds but Rodriguez should have this one easily. Rodriguez tried another Rolling Thunder at the end.
WINNER – YAIR RODRIGUEZ (6-1) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2; 30-26)
Rodriguez’ foot was in terrible shape after the fight and she said in his post-fight promo that he may have broken it in the first round. Hell of a performance considering that.
MAIN CARD (PPV-10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- JESSICA EYE VS. JULIANNA PENA
Both ladies throwing bombs early. Clinch in the centre early and Pena pulled guard 30 seconds in. Both ladies up 1:00 in and Eye with a standing guillotine. Pena pops out and in control of a clinch. Pena landing foot stomps from the clinch. Pena with a trip takedown at 2:30. Pena landing punches to the head but Eye up quickly. Another cage clinch with Eye in control at 3:00. Pena with a takedown at 3:45 and right into side control. Pena lands a series of hard elbows to the head. Pena takes her back at the end of the round. 10-9 Pena
Pena with some swelling around her right eye from the elbows at the end of the round. Eye goes right to a cage clinch early. Quick separation. Pena with a head kick and follows up with punches but Eye gets a takedown 45 seconds in. Eye not doing much from the top and Pena landing light body punches from the bottom. Crowd getting restless. Eye takes her back at 2:15. Pena works her to front position but Eye with a triangle choke. It’s in tight but Pena defending well. Pena out at 3:30. Pena landing elbows to the head from the bottom at 3:45. Pena tries to get to her feet but gets caught in another triangle choke but she’s on top. Eye gives up the choke and Pena on top in side control. Ref breaks it up due to an illegal knee from Eye. Eye loses a point but the ref starts them on their feet, which is bad for Pena. They trade punches to close the round. 9-9 round with the penatly deduction to Eye.
Pena with an early takedown. Eye looking for a sub from the bottom. Eye with a triangle choke at 2:00 but Pena escapes quickly. Pena takes her back at 2:30 and gets a rear naked choke. Eye escapes but that was close. Pena lands some hard shots to the head at 3:30. Pena with a neck crank at 4:30 but it’s a weird angle. Eye looked almost out but she was saved by the bell. Nearly a 10-8 but I’ll go 10-9 Pena
WINNER – JULIANNA PENA (7-2) by unanimous decision (29-27 x 3)
FLYWEIGHTS- JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ VS. ALI BAGAUTINOV
Bagautinov with early Octagon control. Very tentative standup. Benavidez is landing solid counter strikes while backing up and one of them caused some swelling on Ali’s cheek. Bagautinov with a nice punch combo at 3:15. Benavidez cut around his left eye in that exchange and it’s bleeding heavily. Benavidez falls while throwing a punch but gets up before Bagautinov can take advantage. Benavidez controlling the Octagon in the last minute. 10-9 Bagautinov but close
Corner did a good job stopping the bleeding on Benavidez’ cut. Benavidez pressing the action 1:00 in. Total strikes are 18-14 for Benavidez and both under 40% landed. Crowd starting to boo as neither guy is throwing much of anything and they’re just keeping their distance from each other. Benavidez slightly more aggressive so probably ahead with 1:00 left. Bagautinov tried for a takedown but stuffed by Benavidez at 4:15. Bagautinov with a knockdown, lets Benavidez up and then a takedown right before the round ends. Nothing else happened that round really so I think that steals it for him. 10-9 Bagautinov
Looking at people’s scores on Twitter and it’s all over the place so this is likely heading to a split decision if no one finishes. Neither guy looks good at all though. Bagautinov controlling things early in the third. Crowd booing heavily 1:45 in as it’s a repeat of the second round so far. Benavidez starting to control the Octagon 2:00 in. This fight is terrible. Bagautinov with a takedown at 4:15 but can’t hold him down. I’ve got it 30-27 Bagautinov but wouldn’t be surprised by any score, including 30-27 the other way.
WINNER – JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ (23-4) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2; 29-28)
Crowd booing so hard you could barely hear Benavidez’ promo. “He’s a really tough guy, you try fighting him”, Benavidez says to the crowd, clearly rattled. Not surprisingly, that did not make the booing go away. In fact, quite the opposite.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- SHAWN JORDAN VS. RUSLAN MAGOMEDOV
Kerry Hatley is the ref again and he’s had a good night so I’m expecting a late stoppage here. Jordan initiates a cage clinch 1:00 in. Jordan with a takedown at 1:45. No one throwing any strikes. Magomedov to his feet at 3:00. Magomedov working for a standing Kimura but Jordan breaks free. Jordan bleeding around his nose. No idea how. Jordan controlling the Octagon at 3:45, stalking Magomedov. Magomedov with a nice kick/punch combo at 4:15. Magomedov with a punch combo at 4:30. 10-9 Jordan
Not sure what happened to my second round writeup but I had Magomedov taking the round rather easily. 10-9 Magomedov
Jordan backs up Magomedov with punches early and goes for a takedown but stuffed by Magomedov. Magomedov working for a choke and gets separation. Magomedov with a head kick and a spinning back kick to the head. Jordan bleeding around both eyes and in very rough shape but still pressing forward. Magomedov lands another head kick, followed by a kick to the body at 2:15. Magomedov up 51-13 in significant strikes. Jordan initiates a cage clinch at 3:00. Magomedov gets separation at 3:45 with a head kick. Magomedov with a takedown attempt but stuffed by Jordan. Magomedov with a nice jab combo at 4:30. 10-9 Magomedov, 29-28 overall
WINNER – RUSLAN MAGOMEDOV (14-1) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2; 29-28)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- RYAN BADER VS. RASHAD EVANS
Bader looks 2 weight classes bigger than Rashad. Like, I’ve seen welterweights that look bigger than Rashad does right now (Hendricks, for instance). Bader controlling the pace early. Bader badly misses a takedown attempt at 1:45. Neither guy landing much but Bader slightly more. Rashad controlling the pace in the second half of the round but Bader landing jabs while retreating. Bader with a kind of half-knockdown at 3:45 but lets Evans up. Evans backs him up with a punch combo and tries for a takedown but stuffed by Bader. Nice punch exchange at 4:45. Close round, 10-9 Bader
Rashad with early Octagon control. Bader with a takedown at 1:30. Bader takes his back but Evans to his feet right away. Bader with another takedown but Evans right back up. Evans’ eyes are both swollen. Evans pushing the pace but Bader again landing punches while retreating. Evans is landing punches of his own though and they’re definitely hurting Bader. Evans with a hard leg kick at 3:45. Head strikes are 19-13 for Bader. Evans rocks Bader with a punch combo at 4:30. Evans with a takedown attempt stuffed at the end of the round. Another very close round. 10-9 Evans
I’ve seen scores of 20-18 either way and some have it tied up. No way either guy can feel they’re comfortably up two rounds. Evans the aggressor early in the round. Evans backs up Bader with a punch combo at 2:15. Evans with another punch combo at 3:15 and tries for a takedown but Bader stuffs it. Bader lands a hard elbows as they break up. 1:00 to go and the round and fight are still up for grabs. Evans still pushing forward. Bader with a takedown at 4:30 but Evans right back up. Evans with a punch combo against the cage at 4:45. Another very close round, 10-9 Evans
WINNER – RYAN BADER (20-4) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- DANIEL CORMIER(C) VS. ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON
Cormier pushing the action early and landing leg kicks. Cormier with a slam takedown 45 seconds in and right into side control. Cormier landing rapid-fire punches to the head. Gustafsson works him back to guard. Gus briefly to his feet but brought right back down. Cormier landing body punches at 2:45. Total strikes 43-9 through 3:15. Gustafsson trying for a sub but Cormier fights it off easily and back into side control at 3:45. Gustafsson scrambles to his feet. Gustafsson’s face is all cut up. Gustaffson with a leg kick/body kick combo at 4:15. Cormier slips while defending a takedown at the end of the round. 10-9 Cormier
Cormier with Octagon control to start the round. Gustafsson bleeding under his left eye. Cormier cut as well and chasing Gustafsson around the Octagon. Cormier’s cut is bleeding heavily. Gustafsson with a takedown at 1:30 but Cormier right back up. Both guys siwnging wildly at 1:45 and Gus is hurt. Cormier trying for a takedown but eats a hard elbows to the head. Cormier’s right eye looks terrible. Clinch in the centre and Cormier landing hard uppercuts at 3:00. Nice punch exchange at 3:45. Total strikes in round 2 are 32-29 for Cormier. Gustafsson with a takedown at 4:30 and takes Cormier’s back. Cormier right to his feet but Gus still on his back. Very close round. 10-9 Gustafsson
Again, somehow my third round writeup disappeared but I had it 10-9 Cormier.
Cormier asked his corner “who won that round” and they said “I don’t know”. I’m seeing 29-28 either way on Twitter. Gustafsson shoots for a takedown early but stuffed by Cormier. Gus wants no part of a clinch and backs away. Gustafsson lands a hard body kick at 1:15. Cormier chasing Gustafsson around at 1:30. Cormier bleeding from under his right eye and also from his nose now. Custafsson with a significant cut on the bridge of his nose. Loud DC chants from the crowd. Cormier stalking him at 3:!5. Gus with a hard body kick at 3:30. Gustafsson lands a hard knee to the head at 4:00. This round is really close. Clinch in the centre and Cormier lands more uppecuts. Gustafsson with a trip takedown but lets Cormier right back up at 4:45. Cormier with a punch combo right before the buzzer. 10-9 Gustafsson so all tied up going into the fifth.
Cormier controlling the Octagon early in the round. Cormier with a punch/kick combo at 1:15. They put up a distance travelled stat and Gustafsson had travelled about 30% more than Cormier because he has been retreating most of the fight. Crowd booing at 2:00. No idea why, this fight is great. Cormier chasing him around the Octagon and catches him in a clinch in the centre at 2:30 and lands a few shots before Gus breaks away. Cormier catches him again at 2:45 and lands more uppercuts and knees to the body. Gus breaks away at 3:00. Another clinch in the centre at 3:30 and both guys landing uppercuts. Gus bleeding very heavily. With a minute left, Cormier is winning this round and the fight. 30 seconds left and Cormier peppering him with uppercuts. Gustafsson lands a hard knee to the head with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Cormier, 48-47 overall
WINNER – DANIEL CORMIER (17-1) by split decision (47-48, 48-47 and 49-46)
Scorecards for Cormier vs Gustafsson
This is how the judges saw tonight’s Daniel Cormier vs. AlexanderGustafsson light heavyweight title fight.
Judge Sal D’Amato gave rounds one, three and five to Daniel Cormier.
Judge Kerry Hately gave rounds one, three, four and five to Cormier.
Judge Derek Cleary, the lone judge for Gustafsson, gave Gustafsson rounds two, three and four.
Cormier put over Gustafsson in his post fight promo. Said Gus made him a better fighter and a better man. Said he couldn’t see out of his right eye in the second round but once his vision cleared, he was okay. No call out or mention of Jon Jones.
Gustafsson was interviewed as well. Gustafsson said Cormier can box, he can wrestle and he’s the real champion. He walked out of the cage with his head down.
Thanks for joining Ryan and I tonight. Hope you enjoyed the coverage!
So, after the main event, they aired a promo for UFC 193. This may be the best promo I’ve ever seen. “Every revolution starts with a fight” has got to be a dig at WWE and anyone who sees this will want to watch the fight. Go out of your way to see this promo video.
Show notes for tonight and the rest of a ridiculously busy weekend:
UFC 192 from the Toyota Center in Houston:
Main Card on pay-per-view at 10:00 p.m. ET:
Daniel Cormier [c] (205) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (204) in a five round fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Ryan Bader (206) vs. Rashad Evans (205)
Shawn Jordan (265) vs. Ruslan Magomedov (236)
Joseph Benavidez (126) vs. Ali Bagautinov (125)
Jessica Eye (136) vs. Julianna Pena (135)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET:
Yair Rodriguez (145) vs. Dan Hooker (146)
Alan Jouban (170) vs. Albert Tumenov (170)
Adriano Martins (156) vs. Islam Makhachev (156)
Rose Namajunas (115) vs. Angela Hill (115)
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET:
Francisco Trevino (160) vs. Sage Northcutt (156)
Chris Cariaso (126) vs. Sergio Pettis (126)
Derrick Lewis (265) vs. Viktor Pesta (237)
Even with the original semi-main event of Johny Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodleybeing cancelled due to Hendricks being hospitalized during his weight cut, this is a really deep card for good fights. That’s pretty impressive given the sheer size of this card and the UFC roster. The odds for the main event have been surprisingly wide all things considered, unless you think Gustafsson has benefitted immensely from Jon Jones’ bad training camp in their fight and it’s boosted his career. Even if that’s the case, and that’s questionable, he’s still, at worst, just behind the top guys and a very tough stylistic matchup for Cormier. Make sure to check out the Fox Sports 1 prelims as the top contenders for Fight of the Night are on there, espcially Tumenov vs. Jouban.
Here is our live update post: UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson live results and coverage
WWE at Madison Square Garden as part of the Brock Lesnar Go to Hell Tour live on WWE Network at 8:00 p.m. ET:
Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins in a cage match
New Day vs. Dudleys for tag titles
Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho for IC title
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
Here is our live coverage: WWE Live from MSG live results: Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show, John Cena vs. Seth Rollins cage match
Shine 30 IPPV live on WWNLive.com at 9:00 p.m. ET
Santana vs. Evie for Shine Championship
Allysin Kay vs. Sweet Saraya Knight anything goes
Jessicka Havok vs. Kay Lee Ray
Madison Eagles vs. Su Yung
Leah Von Dutch vs. Malia Hosaka
Kimber Lee vs. Taylor Made
Leva Bates (Blue Pants) & Mia Yim (Jade) vs. Rhia O’Reilly & Sammi Baynz
Ivelisse vs. Thunderkitty
Jayme Jameson vs. Shazza McKenzie vs. Kellyanne vs. Liberty
Tonight we’re looking for reports from:
* WWE in Bangor, ME (Ryback, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Wyatt Family)
* TNA in Salem, VA (Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA title, Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong for Knockouts title, Kurt Angle vs Eric Young, Bobby Roode vs. Andrew Everett for King of the Mountain title, Wolves vs. Eli Drake & Jessie Godderz for tag title, Ken Anderson vs Tyrus and Earl Hebner Hall of Fame Ceremony)
* NXT’s matinee in Louisville, Kentucky at the Louder than Life Music and Food Festival
On Sunday night…
TNA Bound for Glory PPV on Sunday at 8 p.m. from Concord, NC
Ethan Carter III (c) vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Jeff Hardy the special guest referee
Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards (c) vs. Trevor Lee & Brian Meyers for the TNA Tag Team Championship
Abyss, Aiden O’Shea, Chris Melendez, Jesse Godderz, Ken Anderson, Mahabili Shera, Tyrus, Eli Drake and Robbie E in a Gauntlet for a title shot
Gail Kim (c) vs. Awesome Kong for the TNA Knockouts’ Championship
Tigre Uno defends the TNA X Division Championship in an Ultimate X match
Bobby Roode (c) vs. Bobby Lashley for King of the Mountain title
Kurt Angle vs Eric Young in Angle’s first match back from his tumor surgery
AAA Heroes Inmortales iPPV at 7:00 p.m. ET on InternetTVLuchaLibreAAA.com from San Luis Potosi
Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Mundo for AAA Mega Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Psycho Clown & ? vs. El Hijo del Fantasma & El Texano Jr. & Myzteziz
Antonio Pena Cup tournament: Aero Star, Blue Demon Jr., Nino Hamburguesa, La Parka, Averno, Chessman, Cibernetico, Electroshock, El Hijo del Pirata Morgan, & TBA
Joe Lider & Pentagon Jr. defend AAA tag titles against Jack Evans & Angelico and Steve Pain & Daga
Taya Valkyrie defends Queen or Queens title against Goya Kong, Hiedra and two mystery women
Also on Sunday, we’re looking for reports from:
* WWE house show in Worcester, MA (John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler, New Day vs. Dudleys).
* WWE house show in Portland, ME (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Ryback, The Wyatt Family).
* Another NXT matinee in Louisville at the Louder than Life Music and Food Festival.
Raw on Monday night will be at the TD Garden in Boston. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are advertised.
Please send reports from major shows, recommended links, etc. to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com: for major shows, best match/worst match/thumbs up or down or in the middle poll responses should be sent to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
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Figure Four Weekly:
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a look back at how exactly WWE lost the WWF name. Forget the stories you’v heard, this detailsexactly what the World Wildlife Fund objected to, what WWE agreed to and why, what scandals worried the fund, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news from Dr. Lucha Steve Sims and and Alan”4L” Counihan.
The recent Figure Four Weeklywith a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter
If you saw the JBL interview with Eric Bischoff, or even if you didn’t, we have what is already one of the most talked about and praised issues of the Wrestling Observer this year up on the site right now. The main theme is fact vs. fiction, covering both the WWE historical view of the Monday Night Wars and the Eric Bischoff version, going through every point and cutting through things like outright B.S., faulty memories and interesting truths.
The new double issue also covers SummerSlam in Brooklyn, the real story behind the UFC announcing a show in Madison Square Garden, Jon Jones’ legal punishment and future, coverage of both of the New Japan PPV shows this past week as well as a look at their direction as they build toward King of Pro Wrestling and later, the Tokyo Dome show, UFC in Japan and a look at that business, the retirement of Rich Franklin, a Hall of Famer running for Mayor, the retirement show of Genichiro Tenryu, more concerning drug testing questions, SummerSlam PPV numbers and what we can learn from them, as well as the death of German legend Axel Dieter Sr.
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: October 6, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Analysis of Bischoff Network interview, Jones plea and tons more.
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
You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
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.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We look at Eric Bischoff and his role, both good and bad, in what the pro wrestling industry has turned into. We look at the WCW boom, the creation of Nitro, the early war, the NWO era, the peak and the fall of WCW.
We look at the mistakes made, the fall of WCW, the emergence of Bill Goldberg, the real origination of the streak idea, We look at the rapid decline of the company and why. We look at how and when things went down, as well as why, how history shows the merger excuse doesn’t hold water, the complete b.s. of the WWE’s Monday Night War narrative. We look at the dying days of WCW and Eric Bischoff’s plan he never got a chance to implement.
We look at Eric Bischoff’s background, how he got into wrestling, his first meeting with Verne Gagne, his WWF tryout as an announcer, his connection with Japan, the unique case of Sonny Onoo, and the death of the AWA.
We look at the sale of Georgia Championship Wrestling, Vince McMahon’s one-year run on TBS and problems with Ted Turner, where Bill Watts fit into the scene then, and the scene prior to the launch of Nitro.
We look at WCW before Bischoff got power, what really happened with Jim Ross and WCW, , moves by Bill Watts, . We look at the first Nitro, the real story behind Lex Luger, what Lex Luger really got, what really happened in WCW with HHH and Mick Foley, Foley getting into WWF, the story behind Bischoff’s firing of Steve Austin, the cruiserweight division and its double-edge sword, what was the point of no return, the Montreal screw job and why so many, even in wrestling, missed key points in that story, Mike Tyson at WrestleMania, Kevin Nash as a booker, DX invades Nitro and the Bischoff vs. McMahon challenge to a fist fight and the story behind the PPV that went 30 minutes over.
In the UFC Madison Square Garden announcement, we look at the thought process behind the strategy.
FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW CLICK HERE
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.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. 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 Daily Update
Gawker issued this statement:
Given the obvious public interest in this case, it is truly unfortunate that a large number of records remain hidden, and that the public is prevented from seeing both sides’ arguments and the basis for many of the court’s most significant rulings, The public should be able to know what happens in its court system.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including the latest on John Cena’s WWE departure, UFC 192s semi-main event being off, and more, plus AK47 Allysin Kay joins us to talk SHINE and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Trenton, NJ (John Cena vs. Seth Rollins), NXT in Nashville and TNA in Beckley, WV (Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA title, Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong for the Knockouts title, Matt Hardy vs. Eric Young, Bobby Roode vs. Eli Drake for the King of the Mountain title, Wolves vs. Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett for TNA tag titles) and Ken Anderson vs. Jessie Godderz) at newstips@wrestlingobserver.com
This weekend we’ll be doing polls for UFC 192, WWE in Madison Square Garden, TNA Bound for Glory and AAA Heroes Inmortales, so a huge weekend of big events.
New Japan World Pro Wrestling Returns at 9 p.m. Eastern on AXS TV
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi & Togi Makabe & La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata in finals of the 2014 tag team tournament
CMLL from Arena Mexico live at 9:30 p.m. Eastern at www.ClaroSports.com
First round of the Universal Champion of Champions tournament, a one-night eight man tournament with Angel de Oro, Dragon Lee, Barbaro Cavernario, Dragon Rojo Jr., Luciferno, Rey Bucanero, Shocker and Ultimo Guerrero
Atlantis & Super Parka & Volador Jr. vs. Marco Corleone & Rush & La Sombra
Shine iPPV tonight at www.WWNLive.com
Santana vs. Evie for Shine championship
Allysin Kay vs. Sweet Saraya Knight anything goes
Jessicka Havok vs. Kay Lee Ray
Madison Eagles vs. Su Yung
Leah Von Dutch vs. Malia Hosaka
Kimber Lee vs. Taylor Made
Leva Bates (Blue Pants) & Mia Yim (Jade) vs. Rhia O’Reilly & Sammi Baynz
Ivelisse vs. Thunderkitty
Jayme Jameson vs. Shazza McKenzie vs. Kellyanne vs. Liberty
Saturday we’re looking for reports from WWE in Bangor, ME (Ryback, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Wyatt Family), TNA in Salem, VA (Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA title, Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong for Knockouts title, Kurt Angle vs Eric Young, Bobby Roode vs. Andrew Everett for King of the Mountain title, Wolves vs. Eli Drake & Jessie Godderz for tag title, Ken Anderson vs Tyrus and Earl Hebner Hall of Fame Ceremony) and land NXT with a Noon show in Louisville at the Louder than Life Music and Food Festival at Champions Park.
UFC 192 from the Toyota Center in Houston
Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m.
Sage Northcutt vs. Francisco Trevino
Derrick Lewis vs. Viktor Pesta
Chris Cariaso vs. Sergio Pettis
FS 1 at 8 p.m.
Islam Makhachev vs. Adriano Martins
Alan Jouban vs. Albert Tumenov
Angela Hill vs. Rose Namajunas
Daniel Hooker vs. Yair Rodriguez
PPV at 10 p.m.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ali Bagautinov
Jessica Eye vs. Julianna Pena
Ruslan Magomedov vs. Shawn Jordan
Rashad Evans vs. Ryan Bader
Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson for UFC light heavyweight title
WWE on WWE Network live from Madison Square Garden at 8 p.m. Eastern time
Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins in a cage match
New Day vs. Dudleys for tag titles
Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho for IC title
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
We’ll be looking for reports on Sunday from the WWE house shows in Worcester, MA (John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler, New Day vs. Dudleys) and Portland, ME (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Ryback, The Wyatt Family), plus NXT with another Noon show in Louisville at the Louder than Life Music and Food Festival at Champions Park.
TNA Bound for Glory PPV on Sunday at 8 p.m. from Concord, NC
EC 3 vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA title with Jeff Hardy as ref
Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Trevor Lee & Brian Meyers for the TNA tag tilters
Abyss, Aiden O’Shea, Chris Melendez, Jesse Godderz, Ken Anderson, Mahabili Shera, Tyrus, Eli Drake and Robbie E in a Gauntlet for a title shot
Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong for Knockouts title
Tigre Uno puts up X title in an Ultimate X match
Bobby Roode vs. Bobby Lashley for King of the Mountain title
Kurt Angle vs Eric Young
AAA Heroes Inmortales iPPV at 7 p.m. Eastern time at www.internetvluchalibreaaa.com from San Luis Potosi
Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Mundo for AAA Mega heavyweight title
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Psycho Clown & ? vs. El Hijo del Fantasma & El Texano Jr. & Myzteziz
Antonio Pena Cup tournament: Aero Star, Blue Demon Jr., Nino Hamburguesa, La Parka, Averno, Chessman, Cibernetico, Electroshock, El Hijo del Pirata Morgan & ?
Joe Lider & Pentagon Jr. defend AAA tag titles against Jack Evans & Angelico and Steve Pain & Daga
Taya Valkyrie defends Queen or Queens title against Goya Kong, Hiedra and two mystery women
Raw is Monday night at the TD Garden in Boston. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are at the show along with the usual cast of characters. No Undertaker advertised.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
If you saw the JBL interview with Eric Bischoff, or even if you didn’t, we have what is already one of the most talked about and praised issues of the Wrestling Observer this year up on the site right now. The main theme is fact vs. fiction, covering both the WWE historical view of the Monday Night Wars and the Eric Bischoff version, going through every point and cutting through things like outright B.S., faulty memories and interesting truths.
The new double issue also covers SummerSlam in Brooklyn, the real story behind the UFC announcing a show in Madison Square Garden, Jon Jones’ legal punishment and future, coverage of both of the New Japan PPV shows this past week as well as a look at their direction as they build toward King of Pro Wrestling and later, the Tokyo Dome show, UFC in Japan and a look at that business, the retirement of Rich Franklin, a Hall of Famer running for Mayor, the retirement show of Genichiro Tenryu, more concerning drug testing questions, SummerSlam PPV numbers and what we can learn from them, as well as the death of German legend Axel Dieter Sr.
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: October 6, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Analysis of Bischoff Network interview, Jones plea and tons more.
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 todave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
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.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We look at Eric Bischoff and his role, both good and bad, in what the pro wrestling industry has turned into. We look at the WCW boom, the creation of Nitro, the early war, the NWO era, the peak and the fall of WCW.
We look at the mistakes made, the fall of WCW, the emergence of Bill Goldberg, the real origination of the streak idea, We look at the rapid decline of the company and why. We look at how and when things went down, as well as why, how history shows the merger excuse doesn’t hold water, the complete b.s. of the WWE’s Monday Night War narrative. We look at the dying days of WCW and Eric Bischoff’s plan he never got a chance to implement.
We look at Eric Bischoff’s background, how he got into wrestling, his first meeting with Verne Gagne, his WWF tryout as an announcer, his connection with Japan, the unique case of Sonny Onoo, and the death of the AWA.
We look at the sale of Georgia Championship Wrestling, Vince McMahon’s one-year run on TBS and problems with Ted Turner, where Bill Watts fit into the scene then, and the scene prior to the launch of Nitro.
We look at WCW before Bischoff got power, what really happened with Jim Ross and WCW, , moves by Bill Watts, . We look at the first Nitro, the real story behind Lex Luger, what Lex Luger really got, what really happened in WCW with HHH and Mick Foley, Foley getting into WWF, the story behind Bischoff’s firing of Steve Austin, the cruiserweight division and its double-edge sword, what was the point of no return, the Montreal screw job and why so many, even in wrestling, missed key points in that story, Mike Tyson at WrestleMania, Kevin Nash as a booker, DX invades Nitro and the Bischoff vs. McMahon challenge to a fist fight and the story behind the PPV that went 30 minutes over.
In the UFC Madison Square Garden announcement, we look at the thought process behind the strategy.
FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW CLICK HERE
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.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. 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’S NEWS UPDATE
2/10 in Bremen
2/11 in Cologne
2/12 in Mannheim
2/13 in Mageburg
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1974 – Jumbo Miyamoto & Junko Sasaki beat Jackie West & Jane Sherrill in Takamatsu to win the WWWA tag titles
1976 – Jerry & Ted Oates beat Great Kojika (who is still wrestling) & Motoshi Okuma in Tokyo to win the All-Asia tag titles
1979 – Ryuma Go beat Tatsumi Fujinami in Osaka to win the WWF jr. heavyweight title
1990 – Kyoko Inoue beat Takako Inoue in Yamagata to win the Japanese jr. title
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today with breaking audio on both John Cena’s decision to take time off for personal reasons and a big change to UFC 192 with Johny Hendricks off the show due to what appears to be weight-cutting issues.
Additional reporting by Dave Meltzer
The welterweight co-main event between former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks and top contender Tyron Woodley has been cancelled for Saturday UFC 192 due to weight cut issues for Hendricks, announced by UFC president Dana White on Twitter Friday morning. However, some additional details have been revealed.
Ariel Helwani reported Friday that Hendricks suffered an intestinal blockage Thursday night as well as a kidney stone which caused the cancellation. Ted Ehardt, Hendricks’ manager said the former two-time NCAA champion was rushed to the emergency room and had to be given an IV.
Doing interviews Friday, Hendricks said that he weighed 183 pounds. He needed to get to 171 today, which under normal circumstances would not be much of an issue. Ryan Bader vs. former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans now moves into the co-main event slot, while Joseph Benavidez vs. Ali Bagautinov has been moved from the preliminary card to the main card.
On Friday afternoon, the story got two new twists as White told Yahoo’s Kevin Iole that Woodley will be getting a welterweight title shot vs. the winner of Robbie Lawler (c) vs. Carlos Condit on January 2nd. Additionally, White said that he now considers Hendricks to be a middleweight.
Hendricks vs Woodley is off the card due to Hendricks weight cut issues.
Your new main card is as follows:
– UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
– Rashad Evans vs. Ryan Bader
– Shawn Jordan vs. Ruslan Magomedov
– Jessica Eye vs. Julianna Pena
– Joseph Benavidez vs. Ali Bagautinov
We’ll have live fight coverage all weekend from Houston, TX.
The Bryan & Vinny Show returns tonight with TWO AWESOME SHOWS TO REVIEW! The streak is over, as Raw from 19 years ago this week at least had a hell of a main event, and NXT was a fun show with an awesome closing segment. Plus, GRANNY VISITS THE WEED STORE, a new unnecessary censorship drop and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE U.S. Champion John Cena will be taking time off from wrestling shortly for what the WWE has described as personal reasons.
While we don’t know the exact time frame that he will be gone, the 38-year-old Cena isn’t advertised on anything after the Hell in a Cell PPV special in late-October starting with the next night’s RAW in San Diego, CA. As of now, he is being advertised for their December shows.
As part of the time off, WWE officials have confirmed he will not be appearing on any dates during the company’s upcoming 10-day European tour that will see them do shows in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
Cena recently regained the U.S. title from WWE World Champion Seth Rollins at WWE Night Of Champions, and is set to face Rollins in a steel cage match for the title this Saturday at the Madison Square Garden show on WWE Network.