Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today with tons to talk about including a full breakdown of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter 2016 Awards, thoughts on all of the category A winners, who may have ended up higher or lower than maybe they should have and more! Plus, Smackdown, Raw ratings, Matt Hardy’s heel turn on Impact and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
– Air Date: January 21, 2016 (Jan 20 in Canada) – Location: Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, OH
The Big News:
The Wyatt Family laid out Roman Reigns and again stood tall to end the show.
Show Recap:
They opened Smackdown by plugging MizTV with Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens, as well as Roman Reigns vs. League of Nations.
Chris Jericho came out and welcomed everyone to Thursday Night Jericho, his first Smackdown in 14 months. He wore a light-up jacket with jeans and no shirt. Jericho plugged the Rumble and had the monkeys in the back play a Raw video package. He didn’t explain why he disappeared during the Highlight Reel. He started calling himself the saviour again when he was interrupted by New Day.
Big E said “Christof” was no saviour, and they’re still mad about him destroying the trombone. Xavier Woods said there should be a documentary about Jericho called “Making a Brass Murderer,” but they wouldn’t need to plant evidence because it’s all on video. They asked the crowd for a moment of silence for the trombone and the crowd booed.
Jericho called them stupid for mourning the trombone and said they look like jackasses with horns on their heads. He called them Rooty, Tooty, Booty and the crowd chanted along. New Day jumped in the ring and Jericho backed off. He said he’d love to kick their asses but they already have a 6-man match scheduled.
6-Man Tag Match: The Usos & Dolph Ziggler beat The New Day via pinfall
Ziggler wore face paint to match the Usos, as he did on their tour of India. They showed that The Usos’ cousin, The Rock, posted a picture of Ziggler and The Usos with their face paint, calling it bad ass.
Jerry Lawler was basically a full-fledged heel this week. He said Ziggler looked silly in face paint, got mad at an Uso for pulling hair and said Jericho should be charged criminally for breaking the trombone.
New Day worked over Jimmy Uso until he hit a corkscrew dive and hot-tagged Ziggler. Ziggler ran wild until Woods tossed him out, but Jey Uso tagged himself in and dropkicked Woods into the corner (like Finn Balor) and followed with a Samoan drop.
An Uso took out out Big E and Kingston with a dive. All three babyfaces hit a triple-superkick on Woods and an Uso pinned him for the win. Nice match. Although, Woods can thank constant camera switches for not looking completely out of place.
Charlotte and Ric Flair joined commentary, and they replayed Lynch’s promo with Flair from Raw. The announcers said Lynch took a page out of Flair’s book, and Flair said Becky can’t even read his book. Charlotte said her look of surprise on Raw was because she couldn’t believe Lynch spoke the way she did to her father, not because he accepted the challenge.
Fox did a Northern Lights Suplex on the outside and held the bridge as if she could get a pinfall and Mauro Ranallo made sure to point this out. Lynch won shortly afterwards with the Disarmer.
The announcers congratulated The Rock on being the top box office draw of 2015.
The Miz hosted MizTV and explained the rules of a Last Man Standing match. As he talked about how dangerous the match is, Dean Ambrose interrupted. Ambrose talked over Miz, so Miz told him to shut his mouth. Ambrose threatened to shut Miz’s mouth by knocking him out. Miz asked the crowd if they thought Ambrose could do this better than him and they cheered. Miz gave up, welcomed everyone to DeanTV, sat silently in the corner, and the crowd chanted Yes.
Ambrose compared Last Man Standing to an amusement park and went on to explain the rides he’ll take Owens on, like snapping him in half over the ring apron. He said Owens looks like a bear, so he would use the steel steps as a bear trap and hit him with every object he can find, including a Kendo stick or the new Smackdown announcer. Ambrose would then put Owens through the table and will be the last man standing, as always.
Owens came out next but stayed on the stage and said he likes zoos more than amusement parks. He said the Intercontinental Title was his and his obsession with the title would prevail over Ambrose’s insanity. Owens continued, saying Ambrose’s insanity has taken him far but it would be his downfall because he won’t know when to stop, and Owens would stand over him as new champion.
Ambrose invited Owens down to the ring for DeanTV but Miz attacked him from behind. With Ambrose down, Owens sauntered to the ring. Owens actually attacked Miz and gave him the pop-up powerbomb. He then grabbed Ambrose and said Sunday would be the Kevin Owens Show. Owens went for the powerbomb but Ambrose countered and tried for Dirty Deeds, but Owens bailed. Ambrose gave Miz the Dirty Deeds instead and counted to ten as Owens looked on.
Ambrose comparing Last Man Standing to an amusement park was pretty dumb, but he did the best he could with it and overall I thought this was good.
Bray Wyatt (w/Wyatt Family) beat Ryback via pinfall
After hitting a powerbomb, Ryback did CM Punk’s running knee lift in the corner, followed by a superkick. That really happened. He tried a splash off the top, but Bray moved and hit a uranage and running senton for two. Ryback came back with a meat-hook clothesline but Luke Harper jumped on the apron, allowing Braun Strowman to toss Ryback into the steps. Bray pulled him back in the ring and hit Sister Abigail for the win. Afterwards, Bray ranted (not on a microphone) about slaying the beast on Raw and said the rest would be slaughtered at the Rumble. This was fine.
Titus O’Neil beat Stardust via pinfall
O’Neil lifted Stardust off the top rope into a Clash of the Titus for the win. Before the match, O’Neil compared being in the Rumble to being on the line of scrimmage with bodies flying everywhere, and this Sunday could be his national title. I wish they did more of these promos with different guys.
During the match, Lawler said Byron Saxton and O’Neil both attended University of Florida and asked if he could do the bark. Byron said, “I don’t have much bass in my voice” and Lawler responded, “Oh, we know that.” That was funny. The announcers also mentioned Stephen Amell during the match.
Backstage, they showed Kalisto getting ready for an interview as a stagehand showed him… the script, I think? She held up pieces of paper and he was reading it with her. Was it a script? Is wrestling fake? Not sure what this was.
After a break, Renee Young asked if Kalisto was ready for Sunday. Kalisto said, in Mexico, Alberto Del Rio’s name is up there with Mil Mascaras, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. Kalisto said he has beaten Del Rio twice and will do it one more time. Del Rio interrupted and called his victories flukes. Rusev, Wade Barrett and Sheamus grabbed him from behind. Del Rio attacked him and Sheamus gave him a Brogue Kick. This was a setup for the main event.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat League of Nations via DQ
Before the match, Reigns sarcastically said he didn’t see it coming when Vince McMahon made him the number one entrant. Reigns would still walk in and out of the Rumble match as champion and was ready to take on the League of Nations tonight.
Heels got the heat pretty easily after the League distracted Reigns allowing Rusev to hit a fallaway slam. Reigns sold it like he’d been taking a long beating. Rusev kicked Reigns in his heavily padded stomach and back and Reigns sold some more. He came back with a clothesline on Sheamus, who tagged Rusev back in.
Reigns hit him with a clothesline too, followed by ten more clotheslines in the corner and a jumping clothesline. He got ready for the superman punch but Barrett and Del Rio held him down. Sheamus attacked him and the referee called for a DQ. Ugh.
Rusev hit a superkick and was about to apply the Accolade but the Usos ran down. They each hit superkicks but the numbers game caught up to them too. Rusev hit an Uso with a superkick and Sheamus hit the other with a Brogue kick. Reigns then took out Rusev with a superman punch and Sheamus with a spear. (Barrett disappeared and never took a bump, so he’s still injured.)
The Wyatts appeared suddenly and surrounded the ring. Reigns tossed Harper and Rowan over the top. Strowman got in his face and actually tossed Reigns over the top, where he was taken out by Harper and Rowan. Strowman gave Reigns his [finishing move] and Bray finished him off with Sister Abigail.
Final Thoughts:
I thought Smackdown was better than usual right until the main event. They announced tonight’s main event on Raw and plugged it throughout this show, just for it to end after 5 minutes on a DQ. I know the idea was to play up the numbers game against Reigns, but it was terribly deflating after all that build – and after we’ve seen Reigns beat these guys already. That being said, the post-match angle was fine. I’m not a fan of hot-shotting the Wyatts, but if that’s the direction, then this was the right way to follow-up the finish of Raw.
We now have the full card for Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble PPV / Special Event:
Pre-show: Darren Young and Damien Sandow vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Ascension vs. Mark Henry and Jack Swagger
The New Day (c) vs. The Usos for the Tag Team Championship
Charlotte (with Ric Flair) (c) vs. Becky Lynch for the Divas Championship
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Kalisto for the United States Championship
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship in a Last Man Standing match
The Royal Rumble for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship where Roman Reigns (c) will be the first entrant
TV tonight:
No UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 due to college basketball commitments.
NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network is headlined by Samoa Joe vs. Johnny Gargano.
ROH at midnight on COMET has a main event of Adam Cole & Michael Bennett vs. The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
An update on Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. His departure, not losing the IC title in the ring, the decision making surrounding it, Nakamura’s final matches in Japan and his start in the U.S., New Japan’s next two PPV shows, and the future of the IC title.
Nick Diaz’s updated suspension, Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler, and the welterweight division title situation. UFC 197 through 200 with talk about what is next for Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, MMA in New York, what huge publicity coup UFC had that fell apart, is UFC too confident about high ticket prices, and a number of future main events. The plans for C.M. Punk’s debut.
Lots of WrestleMania updates, including what is on the books and other key matches. We’ve got more on John Cena’s surgery, updates on a number of WWE injuries, a look at the first Smackdown on USA, more on brain injuries to fighters and wrestlers, Notes on the next NXT tapings, new WWE camps, double standards, Linda McMahon update, NXT weekend, and football background of two NXT stars.
Rundowns of all the WWE & NXT house shows over the weekend and business notes. Updates on Royal Rumble.
A feature on Sting and his career, from growing up through Memphis, through WCW and TNA and his final run in WWE. How he got started, his first break, the Ric Flair match that made him a star, when he was originally going to win the NWA title and why it was delayed, what happened when he was champion, the Hogan vs. Sting disaster, how he ended up in TNA.
Full coverage of TNA’s tapings and PPV, contract issues, the Matt Hardy situation and what is the short-term future for television.
Yoel Romero and his potential test failure and how this changes the middleweight division. Romero’s background, fighter reactions to his test failure.
The future of the AAA Mega championship and the current plans for Guerra de Titanes, the first major show of 2016 in AAA.
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
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.
There are only 18 participants announced thus far for the Royal Rumble, with the betting favorite HHH not even listed, so expect some surprises as usual
Jerry Millen, VP of Rizin Fighting, is hinting that Randy Couture may come out retirement to face Fedor Emilianenko on a future show. He claims that they were in talks for Couture to be the New Year’s Eve opponent but he needed more time to get ready.
WWE
The stipulation of the pre-show match is that the winning team gets to enter the Rumble, and then be promptly eliminated most likely
The Condemned 2 starring Randy Orton is available for purchase now. I’ve heard it’s a decent action movie but not at good as Condemned 1 starring Steve Austin
John Cena posted a photo of AJ Styles on his Instagram account today leading to speculation of a possible debut at the Rumble; or perhaps Cena is just getting back at the internet for memeing him into shoulder surgery
Our own David Bixenspan has a huge longform article on the front page of SBNation.com today about how the Big Show spent his time in 2007 between WWE runs training for a professional boxing career.
If you missed it last night on Total Divas, Nikki Bella did not in fact leave John Cena for Dolph Ziggler.
From deadline.com, The Rock was named Number 1 international box office star of 2015, starring in movies that made a combine 1.488 billion dollars last year (San Andreas and Fast 7), right at the level of the recent Powerball lottery jackpot.
Mike Tyson will be fighting in the UFC… as a playable character in the EA Sports UFC 2 video game. If you pre-order the game, you will be able to get Tyson immediately along with bonus downloads of Kazushi Sakuraba and Bas Rutten. If not, you’ll have to unlock Tyson in career mode. It’s unclear whether or not you’ll be able to unlock his pigeon collection. The game is out March 15th and available for pre-order now.
Lebron James finds Conor McGregor inspiring. The world’s greatest NBA player instagrammed a quote from arguably the world’s greatest UFC fighter today.
Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly has been signed and will take place at UFC 197 on March 5. Tickets for that card (McGregor vs. Dos Anjos) go on sale January 22.
UFC announced today that the 3rd season of TUF Latin America will be taped in Argentina after the first two seasons were filmed in Las Vegas. This is part of the UFC’s plans to run events in South American countries other than Brazil, according to Jamie Pollock, UFC Senior Vice President in charge of Latin American content.
Ariel Helwani’s new show ‘In The Clinch’ that focused on Matt Serra debuted Tuesday on Fox Sports 1. Good debut effort. It’s being repeated throughout the week on Fox Sports 2.
Marlon Moraes will defend his WSOF Bantamweight Title against Joseph Barajas at Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 20, which airs live on NBCSN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Former pro wrestling Joe Blanchard will be inducted as a distinguished member of the 2015 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame this summer in Waterloo, IA. Father of Tully, Joe worked in the Calgary, Hawaii, and Texas territories in a 25-year career that also included the founding of Southwest Championship Wrestling.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Infinity Pro and its partners are forced to postpone January 30’s 10th anniversary event. Refunds via PayPal have already been processed. Information on our return will be provided at InfinityProWrestling.com and facebook.com/ipwbloomington.
This week’s Fire Pro Podcast takes a look at the May 3, 2000 WCW Thunder where there were no referees, so everyone had to count their own pins, and lots and lots and lots of brawling. It also featured the returns of Bret Hart and Randy Savage in WCW, who showed up once then were never seen again. It was really weird. They also review WCW Great American Bash 2000, which was somehow even worse, here.
I normally try not to list off everyone who helped with the daily update today because so many of us do and it would be hard to list everyone every day. But thanks to David Bixenspan, Paul Fontaine and Brian Hoops for the help today, and Bryan too I guess…
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including Royal Rumble, a new match signed for the pre-show, TNA on POP TV, more on Tough Enough Josh, Faarooq as babyface GM and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back today and it’s RETRO TUESDAY! That means Raw and Nitro from 19 years ago this week! WWF following the 1997 Royal Rumble and a really fun edition of Nitro all the way up until Eric Bischoff storyline tried to make the show better. A fun show as always so check it out~!
JOSH FROM TOUGH ENOUGH CATCHING HEAT; ROYAL RUMBLE BOUND?
By Bryan Alvarez
There is a ton of heat on Josh from Tough Enough after he tweeted last night about #SocialJobbers in regards to the Social Outcasts. The key to the story is that whether he is right or wrong (and, if you are being honest, it would be very difficult to fairly say that the Social Outcasts are not jobbers after being destroyed 4-on-1 last night by the Big Show), to say something like that publicly, especially since he’ll already have heat for getting a $250,000 contract because he won a reality show, is idiotic.
There is a ton of heat on him today from the main roster, to the point where it is possible that management will have to step in to try to quell things if they have not already. The other key is that the Royal Rumble is in Orlando and all the NXT talent will be there. Probably going to be a long day for young Josh. We have heard from people in the company who want to see him in the Royal Rumble now.
NEW JAPAN FANTASTICA MANIA DAY TWO ON TUESDAY IN KYOTO (not on New Japan World)
Ryusuke Taguchi & Fuego vs. Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka
The Panther vs. Okumura
Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Bobby Zavala
Dragon Lee & Jushin Liger & David Finlay & Titan vs. Barbaro Cavernario & Yoshi-Hashi & Virus & Hechicero
Stuka Jr. & Mascara Dorada & Atlantis vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Bushi
Mistico & Kushida vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gedo
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Volador Jr. & Juice Robinson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada & Mephisto
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Dayton, OH.
NEW JAPAN FANTASTICA MANIA DAY THREE ON WEDNESDAY IN OSAKA (not on New Japan World)
Jushin Liger & Stuka Jr. vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
The Panther vs. Bobby Zavala
Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Okumura
Jay White & Ryusuke Taguchi & Kushida & Titan vs. Gedo & Yoshi-Hashi & Hechicero & Barbaro Cavernario
Mistico & Volador Jr. & Juice Robinson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero & Mephisto
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Dragon Lee vs Kazuchika Okada & Virus
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today! We have two new quick video clips up on our Youtube page, so check it out and subscribe today for more!
An update on Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. His departure, not losing the IC title in the ring, the decision making surrounding it, Nakamura’s final matches in Japan and his start in the U.S., New Japan’s next two PPV shows, and the future of the IC title.
Nick Diaz’s updated suspension, Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler, and the welterweight division title situation. UFC 197 through 200 with talk about what is next for Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, MMA in New York, what huge publicity coup UFC had that fell apart, is UFC too confident about high ticket prices, and a number of future main events. The plans for C.M. Punk’s debut.
Lots of WrestleMania updates, including what is on the books and other key matches. We’ve got more on John Cena’s surgery, updates on a number of WWE injuries, a look at the first Smackdown on USA, more on brain injuries to fighters and wrestlers, Notes on the next NXT tapings, new WWE camps, double standards, Linda McMahon update, NXT weekend, and football background of two NXT stars.
Rundowns of all the WWE & NXT house shows over the weekend and business notes. Updates on Royal Rumble.
A feature on Sting and his career, from growing up through Memphis, through WCW and TNA and his final run in WWE. How he got started, his first break, the Ric Flair match that made him a star, when he was originally going to win the NWA title and why it was delayed, what happened when he was champion, the Hogan vs. Sting disaster, how he ended up in TNA.
Full coverage of TNA’s tapings and PPV, contract issues, the Matt Hardy situation and what is the short-term future for television.
Yoel Romero and his potential test failure and how this changes the middleweight division. Romero’s background, fighter reactions to his test failure.
The future of the AAA Mega championship and the current plans for Guerra de Titanes, the first major show of 2016 in AAA.
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
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.
Jim Ross will be our guest on Wrestling Observer Radio on Thursday. Ross, confirmed with FOX SPORTS today that he will returning to commentating, taking over for Mauro Ranallo who was doing the commentating for NJPW on AXS.
If you haven’t checked it out already and subscribed, you must check out our Youtube Channel. On top of posting our free shows there, we just posted what is possibly the greatest silent film ever created. The award winning(ok, one of the runners up) The Paper Bag Bandit! Subscribe to our channel now! We will be reposting more in studio videos, the Bryan vs Vinny BATTEL~! which includes all the vignettes leading to the match, another silent film called Kill that Mole and we will keep posting free shows for your enjoyment.
WWE ratings are delayed a day because of the Martin Luther King Jr holiday. In the meantime, check out this look at last week’s ratings, along with speculation at what this week might look like
This will probably change before Sunday but if betting odds are any indication, these are the betting favorites for Sunday’s Royal Rumble match (as per Oddsbreakers.com):
Triple H 6-4
Roman Reigns 9-4
Brock Lesnar 3-1
No one else is any better than a 16-1 longshot. Interesting other names on the listing are:
Daniel Bryan at 18-1
AJ Styles at 33-1
Finn Balor at 40-1
John Cena, Randy Orton, Ronda Rousey (?!!!) and Sami Zayn all listed at 50-1
Shinsuke Nakamura and the Rock both at 66-1
Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and the Big Show at 80-1 (yes, the “largest athlete in the World has the same odds as two guys who haven’t even debuted and probably won’t any time soon)
Chyna (???!!!!??!!), Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe at 100-1 (the same odds as Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry and some other active superstars)
UFC/MMA
BJ Penn announced on the MMA Hour that he is officially out of retirement. He had called out Nik Lentz in the last couple of weeks but today’s announcement by Penn indicated that this is not just for one fight and he’s at least planning on making a title run.
After a successful Strawweight title defence, Invicta Champion Livia Renata Souza had a lot to say Saturday night. She shot down a potential fight with Alexa Grasso, saying that she’s done all she can do in Invicta. She was pushing for a UFC fight with Paige VanZant, calling the recent main-eventer “a joke” and also claimed that she will be the “Conor McGregor of the strawweights”. Hey, at least she gets it.
Speaking of fighters who “get it”, Patrick Cote is pushing for a fight with Nick Diaz. If Diaz’ history is any indication, there’s about zero chance of him taking that fight but at least Cote’s trying.
EVOLVE runs this Friday night in Ybor City, FL with an IPPV available at WWNLive.com and via the Flipps app. The show is built around the first round of their tag team title tournament with the tournament matches being EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Hero & Tommy End, Caleb Konley & Anthony Nese vs. Harlem & Lancelot Bravado, Roppongi Vice (Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero) vs. Team Tremendous (Dan Barry & Bill Carr), and Johnny Gargano & Drew Galloway vs. Drew Gulak & TJ Perkins.The show also includes Style Battle Round Robin Singles Tournament matches with Fred Yehi, Matt Riddle, Peter Kaasa, and Tracy Williams, plus a bonus match featuring PJ Black vs. Ethan Page.
Announced for House of Hardcore on Saturday Night April 16th at the ECW Arena are Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Brian Cage, Sami Callihan, Billy Gunn and more.
On the latest episode of Between the Sheets, Kris Zellner & David Bixenspan are joined by Pete Schirmacher to discuss the week that was January 12-18, 1996 including Sabu & Peter McNeely being in the 1996 Royal Rumble and why it didn’t happen, the Billionaire Ted striking a nerve in WCW, the birth of BattlARTS, AAA vs. Televisa, a wacky MMA-themed episode of the Phil Donahue Show, the awesomeness of early 1996 USWA, the Welch Family Tree, Mike Ditka being rumored to manage Mongo McMichael, and more.
AIW 2/12/16 will be the last time Missy Hyatt manages, since the weekend of Wrestlecon is her final bookings. She is going to be managing Dick Justice & Colt Cabana & Marion Fontaine vs. Bunkhouse Buck & Tracy Smothers & Jock Sampson with Robert Fuller for AIW. Jock Sampson cut a promo on her regarding the match here.
Nick Dinsmore’s Midwest All Pro Wrestling runs January 22 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota featuring the in ring debut of Shayna Baszler and Heather Patera.
Steel Domain Wrestling next event is January 23 in Richfield, Minnesota featuring an “Make or Break” over-the-top-rope Battle Royal!
Next event for Metro Pro Wrestling is Saturday, January 30 featuring: Metro Pro Championship Match: Jeremy Wyatt (c) vs. The Beer City Bruiser and former ECW/SMW/NWA/WWF star Tracy Smothers vs. The Math Magician
Midwest Pro Wrestling runs February 6 in Columbus, Nebraska headlined by MWA Champion Brian Blade defending the title against Nathan Redwing.
Paragon Pro Wrestling on Fight Network January 17:
Caleb Konley vs Mikey O’Shea. Before match O’Shea was attacked by a hooded gentleman. match never started
Ethan HD w/Christian Cole defeated Crash Test Cody
Greg Romero and midget Buggy Cub beat Anthony Green and midget Cowboy Kid Quick
Feature on Darin Corbin
Wes Brisco defeated Darin Corbin
Alex Chamberlain retained the PPW championship defeating The Gentleman Brawler, Eric Right
I normally try not to list off everyone who helped with the daily update today because so many of us do and it would be hard to list everyone every day. But thanks to David Bixenspan, Paul Fontaine and Brian Hoops for the help today, and Bryan too I guess…
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including all the heat on Josh From Tough Enough, Raw from Monday night, a bunch of ideas for the WWE Royal Rumble, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE Hall-of-Famer, longtime broadcaster, and podcast host Jim Ross confirmed Tuesday with Fox Sports that he will be returning to the broadcast booth for the newest NJPW on AXS TV season, starting on Friday, March 4th.
Ross replaces Mauro Ranallo, who recently started with WWE and is now the lead voice of Smackdown. Color commentator, past NJPW competitor, and UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett will remain on the team.
Ross told Fox that he will head to Los Angeles between 8-10 times a year to do his play-by-play for two-day sessions where they will record six shows at a time, beginning with action from Wrestling Dontaku 2015. The duo will also call matches from the 2015 New Japan Cup, Invasion Attack, HINOKUNI, Best of the Super Juniors 22, Dominion 7.5, G1 Climax 25 and more.
This isn’t Ross’ first time calling NJPW action as he and Matt Striker were the American announce team for Wrestle Kingdom 9 in 2015.
The longtime voice of RAW with Jerry Lawler, Ross returned to WWE several times over the years for Smackdown, NXT, and spot shows through his “retirement” from the company in 2014. He tried his hand at boxing for Fox Sports One, as well as MMA with the Battlegrounds tournament PPV alongside Chael Sonnen.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today with tons to talk about including our weekly Raw report, the go-home show for Royal Rumble, all the matches and angles, and more, plus the death of Iron Mike Sharpe, UFC ratings from this past weekend, tons of questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Tom Lawlor is back today with A PLAN: To discuss UFC Fight Night Dillashaw vs. Cruz, and yes, for those keeping track, TWO WEEKS NOW it’s the TNA Impact Wrestling on POP TV review! A fun show as always so check it out~!