Samoa Joe pinned Finn Balor with a muscle buster to win the NXT title in the main event at today’s house show in Lowell, MA at the Memorial Auditorium.
It was the first night of a three-show Northeastern tour.
Not much more in the way of details are available but it was a rare house show title change. Balor was selling an ankle injury after the match. It’s unclear if this was storyline or not, as he was down for a long time and unlaced his boot in the ring. Unlacing his boot would tend to mean its storyline. One way or another, it wasn’t an impromptu title change as talk of the impending switch had gone around all afternoon.
Josh Nason is traveling back from Lowell and will have a live report up shortly.
Balor had been champion since July 4, 2015, when he defeated Kevin Owens at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, and his 292 days as champion broke the record of 287 set by Adrian Neville’s 2014 run.
The rest of the show results were:
Mojo Rawley pinned Riddick Moss
Bayley & Carmella beat Peyton Royce & Dana Brooke – This would be Brooke’s return after a long injury absence
Chris Girard pinned Tommaso Ciampa – This match tore down the house.
Austin Aries pinned Manny Andrade
Shinsuke Nakamura pinned Elias Samson
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan beat Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson to retain the NXT tag titles
Asuka beat Alexa Bliss to retain the women’s title
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with tons to talk about including discussion of by far the two biggest stories today, the death of Chyna and UFC vs. Conor McGregor over UFC 200. We’ve also got your phone calls, emails, text messages, an appearance by Dave Meltzer and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Joshua Michael Burgess, known to the wrestling world as Christian Able passed away Wednesday, April 13, 2016.
Christian Able was known for his charismatic presence, emotional promos, and in-ring strength. Josh was born January 11, 1985 in Berrien Center, Michigan. A life-long entertainer after graduating Coloma High School in 2004, Burgess attended Disney University in Orlando, FL, where he went on to perform as Pluto at various Disney parks.
Josh began professional wrestling training in 2006 at Dan Severn’s Price of Glory Wrestling School in Coldwater, MI under Jimmy Jacobs and Josh Raymond. Burgess started his career working for various Midwest independent companies in a tag team with childhood friend Caden Ames under the team name Absolute Answer. Burgess later branched out to become a solo act for Ian Rotten’s IWA Mid-South and Detroit’s XICW. In 2008, Burgess continued training at the House of Truth Wrestling School under Truth Martini and the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D’Amore. Burgess’ most notable success was as a tag team with Josh Raymond managed by Truth Martini, under the team name the House of Truth.
The team first stood out in Chicago independent company AAW and Scott D’Amore’s Can-Am Wrestling before debuting at Ring of Honor in 2009. The team was featured on Ring of Honor’s ROH on HDNet television show. The House of Truth had notable matches against the Briscoes, the Young Bucks, and Kevin Steen and El Generico. Roderick Strong was later added to the House of Truth in 2010. Burgess and Raymond would go on to assist Roderick Strong in winning the ROH World Title from Tyler Black on September 11, 2010 in the duo’s last appearance for ROH.
Later that month, Burgess teamed with Josh Raymond to face Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black in Chicago in what would be Tyler Black’s final independent wrestling match before going to WWE to become Seth Rollins. Burgess continued to perform on and off for his remaining years, having his final match on April 2, 2016 in a dog collar match against his former tag team partner Caden Ames.
Josh passed away unexpectedly in Michigan on April 13, 2016. He is survived by his parents Lynda (nne Burgess) and Kevin Smith, his brother Kyle Smith, as well family, friends, and brothers in professional wrestling. A tribute and ten bell salute was dedicated to Burgess on April 17 in Detroit, MI at XICW.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with special guest Filthy Tom Lawlor with a ton of topics to discuss, the two biggest of which being the death of Chyna and Dana White vs. Conor McGregor heading into UFC 200. Also, Smackdown, Adam Rose, mailbag and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
In just three sentences, the entire world of MMA may have changed.
UFC was planning its biggest set of shows in history, built around a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight, which was expected to be the biggest money event in company history.
Joanie “Chyna” Laurer, a major part of the WWF/E in the late 90, was found dead in her home today at the age of 45. At this time, no further details are available as to the cause.
Laurer was a bodybuilder/fitness competitor who trained under Killer Kowalski, using the name Joanie Lee when she was introduced as HHH’s bodyguard after WCW had expressed interest in her but Kowalski pushed her to WWF/E.
She was instrumental in helping HHH, who had struggled getting over despite a major push, become a major star. The two became a couple which was both a blessing to her career and, eventually, a curse.
When HHH garnered power, Laurer was heavily protected and booked to go evenly with guys. There were very differing opinions on that as many of the male wrestlers didn’t like selling for her or that she was being pushed heavily. A day before she was to face Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental title at 1999’s No Mercy, Jarrett’s contract expired which enabled him to use leverage and hold WWF up for a significant amount of money (believed to be in the $200,000 range) to get him to do the job. He did and Chyna won the belt.
She was a popular star of the era at a time when the mainstream popularity of pro wrestling was at its high point, even posing in a best selling issue of Playboy.
After HHH and Chyna broke up, her political protection was gone which led to issues. She wanted to continue wrestling men, but those in power in WWF made the decision that they had made a mistake in allowing it in the first place and would only allow her to wrestle women.
In 2001, when her contract expired, she was let go. Those in WWE at the time claimed she was asking for money at the level of Steve Austin and Dwayne Johnson, and that she also wanted a lighter schedule to pursue acting. But it was probably a combination of being uncomfortable with her around. She claimed she met with Vince McMahon about Stephanie dating HHH, and from that point on, WWE stopped using her. There was a directive from the top not to sign her when the contract expired.
From there, her life and career largely went downhill. She had problems with drug addiction, which she vehemently denied. Her credibility in interviews was bad, even by wrestling standpoints, making claims that everyone in pro wrestling but herself was doing steroids, and made claims against former boyfriend Sean “X-Pac” Waltman which led to him to threaten legal action.
New Japan brought her in to do the role of beating men. Antonio Inoki pushed her hard as an attraction, and she even was given a win over a young Hiroshi Tanahashi, but she didn’t get over and the run ended.
She popped in and out of wrestling over the years, but never returned to WWE. She did a sex tape with Waltman and then started appearing in a number of porn films. She want to Japan for several years and taught English, and claimed that a multitude of people had asked to marry her. She returned to the U.S. and seemed to want to get back with WWE in some capacity, but the company steered clear of her.
– Air Date: April 21, 2016 (Apr 20 in Canada) – Location: The O2 Arena in London, England
– The Big News:
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson will face The Usos on Monday Night Raw.
– Show Recap:
They aired a Raw video package recapping the angle between Roman Reigns, AJ Styles and his two friends. They made sure to squeeze in Reigns’ catchphrase again.
Maryse and The Miz were in the ring for MizTV. Maryse introduced Miz as the biggest American movie star in the world. Miz wanted answers and introduced AJ Styles. Miz talked about Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson running roughshod in Japan in 2014.
Styles said yeah, they had five titles between the three of them. Styles also reminded Miz he knocked his teeth out the last time they were in the ring together. Miz flatout asked if he had Gallows and Anderson do his dirty work, but Styles reiterated that he had nothing to do with it.
Miz said Styles never *not* told them to attack Reigns, and his inaction spoke louder than words. Styles said he’s not in charge of them. He wished they hadn’t done it and doesn’t need anyone’s help to beat Reigns.
Miz said Styles can claim to be the better “‘rassler,” but Reigns was bigger and stronger. Miz called Reigns “the guy” (crowd booed) and Styles would need the help. Styles stood up but Miz kept talking and started doing movie lines again, this time Will Smith from Concussion saying “Tell the truth! Tell the truth!”
Maryse was turned on and they made out. Miz was about to start talking again but Styles attacked him and left him laying. After a break, they announced Miz vs. Styles. This wasn’t great, but it did set up what was to come later. Miz is pretty good in this role, but he was overwhelming Styles.
Non-title: Ryback beat US Champion Kalisto via pinfall
Ryback missed his cue during his entrance where he always says “more” in “feed me more” on the stage. The announcers explained that Ryback wanted a WrestleMania rematch to prove Kalisto’s win was a fluke. They also made sure to never mention whether or not this was a title match.
Ryback dominated from the beginning and they went to commercial less than 2 minutes into the match even though nothing else had happened since the last break. After the break, Ryback did a nice delayed vertical suplex off the middle rope. Kalisto came back with a leg drop, front dropkick and corkscrew elbow. He did the spike-rana, but it looked terrible and they didn’t bother editing it.
Ryback followed with a meat-hook clothesline, but Kalisto countered a Shellshock into a DDT for a near fall. Ryback then countered a Salida Del Sol into a Shellshock for the win. Ryback posed with the US Title afterwards. Basic match that went about 9 minutes. The finishing sequence was good.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
The match never happened. As Ziggler made his entrance, Corbin attacked him from behind and tossed him around ringside. Somebody yelled “You suck!” at him, but it was just a kid so Corbin did not yell back like he did on Raw. Corbin finished off Ziggler with End of Days. Rich Brennan appeared on the stage to ask Corbin why he did that and he responded, “Because I can.”
Non-title: AJ Styles beat IC Champion The Miz via pinfall
As Styles appeared to be gaining control, Miz ran away and used Maryse as a shield. Styles tried to go around but Miz punched him and launched him a couple of times into the barricade.
Miz had the heat for a while until Styles came back with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Miz caught Styles with an atomic drop and applied the Figure Four. Styles turned it over to escape and followed by applying the Calf Crusher, but Miz got to the rope.
Styles hit the Pele kick and got ready for the springboard forearm, but Miz left the ring. As Miz went up the aisle to escape, he stopped upon seeing Gallows and Anderson making their way down. Miz turned back toward the ring and Styles nailed him with a springboard flying forearm. He followed that immediately with the Phenomenal Forearm in the ring for the win.
Gallows and Anderson remained outside the ring as Styles looked on. Good match that went about 17 minutes. The finish fit perfectly with the story.
Rich Brennan interviewed Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn backstage about their upcoming tag match against Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Ambrose said they would leave their opponents looking like “leftover spotted dick” and Zayn said it was time to put an end to this.
Zayn wanted a cool tag team name but Ambrose wouldn’t listen to him. Zayn suggested “Sambrose,” among others. They also mentioned “Beefeaters” but Zayn doesn’t like gin. Ambrose wanted “Roughriders” but Zayn thought that was too sexual and suggestive. After comedy time expired, Ambrose told Zayn to take off his hat so they could go beat up Jericho and Owens.
Later, Rich Brennan caught up to Gallows and Anderson. Gallows said Styles doesn’t need their help, they were just looking to make an impact. Anderson announced they would make an impact on Raw when they make their in-ring debut against the Usos. Gallows concluded, “We have arrived.”
Natalya & Paige beat Naomi & Tamina via submission
Unlike on Raw, Paige got to come out last here in England, and they didn’t play an ad through her entrance. Mauro Ranallo talked about Bret Hart and British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1992. Jerry Lawler said he knows from experience that Bret Hart is a cheater, that he cheated to become WWE Champion and, “he even cheated when Bret screwed Bret.”
Paige made the hot tag and hit Ram-Paige on Naomi (and her Harley Quinn hair), but Tamina broke up the cover. Natalya put Tamina in the sharpshooter and Paige put Naomi in the PTO and they both tapped. One women’s match on a split-crew show and they got 5 minutes.
R-Truth beat Fandango via pinfall (special referee: Goldust)
Fandango didn’t get an entrance in the only place in the world that cares about his entrance. I don’t blame them. Goldust wore his full gear along with a gold and black referee shirt. This was all “comedy.” As Fandango and Truth were having a dance-off or whatever, Truth caught him with a flatliner for the win. Goldust and Truth danced briefly afterwards even though Goldust is always a dick to Truth.
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady came out to a huge reaction from an otherwise dead crowd. In fact, this might’ve been the biggest reaction on the show. Enzo did his usual promo, but they were interrupted by the Vaudevillains.
Aiden English said everyone was tired of Enzo and Cass, and said Enzo looks like a rodent with mange. Enzo didn’t know what he meant but said the Vaudevillains can keep reading books while he and Cass will be writing them, and the Vaudevillains couldn’t hit him if they were standing in the phone booth.
Simon Gotch said they were going to learn a harsh lesson. English called this a man’s world and they were real men. Gotch said when they win at Payback they’ll be the ones to ask, politely, “How are you doing?” Cass said they’d win at Payback and called the Vaudevillains soft. They really need to give Cass better material. Also, are the Vaudevillains time travellers?
As they were about to cut to commercial, Jericho and Owens walked backstage toward Gorilla. There were two random guys holding cups with popcorn. Jericho knocked the cup out of one guy’s hands. Owens grabbed the other guy’s cup and started eating. He offered some to Jericho, who declined.
Promo for Primo and Epico. They also plugged Raw in Hartford. Byron Saxton wondered aloud if Shane McMahon would be in charge again.
Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens beat Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose via pinfall
Owens and Zayn were in the ring to start, but Owens immediately tagged out. The crowd chanted “Ole” and Jericho told them to shut up. They went to commercial two minutes into the match. Ranallo referred to Owens as “truculent” and Lawler didn’t know what that meant.
As Zayn made a comeback on Jericho, Owens made a blind tag, pulled Zayn out of the ring, and tossed him into the barricade to regain control. Jericho slapped Zayn a couple times, so Zayn responded with a blue thunder bomb. Ambrose made the hot tag and ran wild on Owens, nailing a suicide dive.
Ambrose also clotheslined Jericho, but caught a superkick from Owens in the ring. Ambrose got Owens with Dirty Deeds but Jericho broke up the cover. Zayn booted Jericho out of the ring, but as Ambrose went to the top rope, Jericho crotched him and Owens covered him for a three count.
Terribly weak finish. Zayn had just kicked Jericho out of the ring, but then disappeared when Jericho quickly covered to interfere. The finish made Ambrose look like a complete loser, and it negated his win over Owens on Raw. I’m really not sure what the point of this was.
After the match, Owens jumped on Jericho for a hug (which somehow didn’t kill Jericho). Owens yelled toward the ring, “I beat you! Chris helped, but I beat you!” Jericho assured Owens that he did it on his own, so Owens bragged some more. These two belong together.
– Final Thoughts:
This wasn’t a terrible show, but it was the least noteworthy Smackdown show in a long while. They often do a good job of masking the fact that it’s a split-crew, but that wasn’t the case tonight. You can safely skip this show if you have literally anything else you’d rather be doing.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with discussion on the latest in one of the biggest stories in MMA history, Conor McGregor’s alleged retirement and subsequent removal from UFC 200! Plus, Jim in Virginia makes sure to give us the Impact Wrestling women’s report and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show is back today with RETRO RAW AND RETRO NITRO! Raw is 1,000 times better than last week, a somewhat famous show where Steve Austin breaks Bret Hart’s leg to set up a bunch of different feuds and angles. Nitro was a wacky show with the return of JJ Dillon, a hilarious Meng vs. Jericho match and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons of news and notes on Conor McGregor’s alleged retirement, UFC publicly pulling him from UFC 200, ramifications, theories, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
