Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including an update on Raw tonight, what could be done, if anything, to turn it around, ROH Final Battle and AJ Styles notes, return of Sami Zayn, tons of calls and text messages and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
In an episode basically lifted from a fairly unknown movie “Swimming with Sharks,” Steve Austin took Vince McMahon hostage on the live Raw on 10/19 and spent most of the show teasing that he was going to kill him before shooting him with a pop gun, resulting in McMahon supposedly peeing in his pants.
Between the ridiculously bad overacting by McMahon, the silly storyline that has potentially scary repercussions seeing 13,000 people enthusiastically rooting for Austin to pull the trigger on McMahon, and one of the worst main events in Raw history with an Undertaker vs. Kane casket match that was actually worse than their PPV match the previous night and ended in a chorus of boos when both simply walked to the dressing room for a non-finish, it was generally, but not universally considered the worst episode of Raw in a long time.
The movie this was based on was about a man fired from his job in an ad agency who takes his boss hostage in his boss’ home. Many of the spots from the movie were re-created in the television angle which was teased from the start of the show. McMahon, acting ballsy, got all the wrestlers in the ring and said firing Austin was better than sex and claimed he could fire any of them at any time. Austin appeared on the TitanTron in the parking lot with a .38 special. Two police officers (Milwaukee indie wrestlers) instead of arresting him, were asking him for autographs while McMahon cried to Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson and Sgt. Slaughter. Earlier a police officer with the guard dog gimmick from last week walked out tired of McMahon’s browbeating. In a lame excuse to get Brisco, Patterson and Slaughter out of the picture, all three left 35 minutes into the show to get coffee and were never seen again. At the start of the second hour, McMahon got a phone call in his office from Austin, and tried to escape in his limo, but Austin was waiting and kidnapped McMahon and held him hostage the rest of the show as he constantly pulled out weapons such as a knife and bow & arrow and teased he was going to kill McMahon at the end while McMahon cried, and even oinked like a pig.
Former WWE NXT Champion Sami Zayn, who has been promoted for the U.K. tour of NXT that starts on Thursday in Newcastle, is scheduled to be wrestling on the tour.
Zayn, who is returning after shoulder surgery six months ago, is advertised for these dates:
– Thursday in Newcastle
– Friday in Glasgow
– Saturday in Sheffield
– Sunday in Blackpool
– Monday in Nottingham
– Tuesday in Cardiff
– Wednesday in London (live NXT Takeover special)
The only match he’s advertised in is for Sheffield — a three-way match for the NXT title with champion Finn Balor and Baron Corbin. Also advertised on that show is Bayley vs. Emma for the women’s title and Samoa Joe vs. Apollo Crews.
Zayn was last seen feuding with Kevin Owens, dropping a NXT title rematch to him by ref stoppage on May 20th at TakeOver: Unstoppable. Zayn suffered his shoulder injury during a match with then-U.S. Champion John Cena on the May 4th edition of WWE RAW in Montreal, Canada.
Submitted by Leonardo Mendez Toledo from the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon
The show opened with local singer Barreto introducing Willy Urbina and El Wizard, who was escorted by a model. She was wearing a very revealing skirt and Wizard used that for comedy like pretending to tied up his shoes when his shoes didn’t have any shoelaces or dropping the mic to peek at her. She had a Christmas themed hat and Urbina joked that at least someone in the pair “had balls”. Fans were really into it. They then announced the card and it was clear that the fans were there for the two top matches.
Jr Title 4-Way Match: Peter The Bad Romance (w/ Angel Cotto) def. Rikochet, Morgan and Tommy Diablo in around 7 minutes to retain the title when he pinned Rikochet after a belt shot
This was a good opener with some cool looking spots. At one point, all three challengers chopped Peter and he complained to the referee who then also chopped him for a big pop. Late in the match Diablo took a Spanish fly and landed high on his neck, it looked real nasty; he went to the apron and barely moved afterwards. Peter then called from someone in the back and it was Cotto’s former tag partner OT Fernandez, who nobody knew; but OT attacked Peter and brawled with Cotto to the back. Morgan then did a Pescado on Diablo, who was selling on the outside, and they both remained outside; as the referee checked on them, Peter used the belt to get the pin on Rikochet. The referee did a slow count and Rikochet still didn’t kick out, which is a terrible spot for a face.
After the match, everybody left but Diablo was still on the floor. Some crew members checked him and he didn’t move. Other people came by, I guess from the commission, but he still didn’t move. They called someone from the back and instead of a doctor or paramedic it was Fernandez, who didn’t know what to do. He finally got to his feet and they helped him to the back. He got a minor response. Either this was legit or it was a way to write him off. He’s like the local Chris Jericho in the sense that he works part time.
PR Title #1 Contender’s Match: Joe Bravo def. Mike Mendoza (w/ Vanela Vargas) in around 10 minutes with help from Vargas
When Joe arrived, Diablo was still on the floor so he had to stale around while they worked on them. Vargas is Angel Fashion’s valet but is with Mendoza due to a 30 days stipulation; so this would lead to another match between the two. Below average match.
El Hijo de Dos Caras def. El Cuervo in 9 minutes
The intros were the highlight. Caras came first and cut a promo praising the Latin community just to then turn by saying that the only real Latin there was him; he stumble in the way but did get the message across and people reacted to it. A few years ago his brother did the exact same promo in a WWE show in San Juan prior to a match with CM Punk, so he took the idea from there. Cuervo then arrived with two guys dressed as druids and two women with face paint, one took his cape and the other his mask, fans reacted big to him. So-so match but it was the right result as it saved the heat for the other “PR vs Mexico” match. Caras won by hitting Cuervo with the PR flag.
PR Title: Miguel Perez Jr def. Angel Fashion to retain in 7 minutes
Fashion is usually good but Perez can’t do much these days. For some reason Perez wore a singlet, which at his age it’s a stretch.
Mighty Ursus (w/ JM Ortega) def. Black Pain (w/ Chicky Star)
They immediately went to the outside and fans went crazy for it, but then got back to the ring and lost the crowd. The biggest pop was when Chicky punched Ortega in the outside but it was just two times and they went to the back; Ursus used the distraction to hit Pain with a chain and got the pin in less than 5 minutes. During the decisive count the referee asked the fans about how Ursus got Pain to the mat but still made the count. Again, the face didn’t kick out after a long count. After the match, Pain teased a Chockeslam on the referee but he escaped, fans didn’t like that. This was a perfect scenario for a wild brawl with a double dq or count out, but by doing something else it felt more like an angle than a match.
Tag Titles: La Revolucion 2&3 (w/ Orlando Toledo & Revolucion #1) def. Thunder & Lightning to retain in 17 minutes
Pelayo Vazquez was the referee and got a nice reaction. Pelayo ordered #1 to the back. They started very slow with long rest holds. They then did some comedy which is weird given who they are. Finally they pick things up and got the crowd going. Finish saw T&L hitting their finish (3D) on the legal Revolucion member (it’s impossible to tell them apart) but the other Revolucion broke the count, Toledo then distracted them and #1 sneaked from the back, switched places with his downed fellow and used a brassknuckle on Lightning when he went for the cover.
Intermission
Chicano & Doris Cotto (his daughter) def. Apolo & Havana when Doris pinned Havana in less than 10 minutes
The guys started and did nothing but stalling, Apolo then tagged Havana and went outside, she slapped Chicano but he didn’t reacted because she is a woman; he went to the outside after Apolo instead and left the ring to Doris but the referee stopped her because she wasn’t tagged in (so the rules here were different than in WWE because there is no automatic gender tag). Apolo then put the heat on Chicano and they worked forever for a hot tag; it was mostly long rest holds but Apolo hit a prefect Enzuigiri, which is impressive for his size, and followed by lifting Chicano in a Electric chair and dropping him with a Michinoku driver II type slam for a near fall.
Chicano finally got the hot tag on Doris and the place exploded; they teased it for so long that it worked. She just throw a few punches and then won with a Samoan drop but the fans reacted big to her and the pin got a giant pop. After the match, the heels attacked and Apolo hit Doris with his Fondo del Abismo (Rock bottom) to a great reaction as the heel didn’t respect that she was a woman. Chicano try a comeback but Havana stopped him with a low blow. The heels then took a photo of Doris knocked out in the mat with their smart phone, which I guess is some form of modern times humiliation. Finally Chicano got to his feet and helped his daughter and she got a standing ovation. So she got a way better reaction than Tommy Diablo even though he is a veteran and got what it looked like a legit injury. Match wasn’t much but fans reacted to the story they wanted to tell.
Axel Cruz did a backstage interview with Alberto Del Rio who cut a great promo saying that Mexico was better than Puerto Rico not because he said it but because God himself said it. He noted that Mexico had recently beaten PR in the Caribbean Series of Baseball (which is suppose to be PR’s strength); in the Olympics Basketball Qualifiers (which is the number one sport in PR and the National Basketball Team is the main local sports team and PR had historical dominated Mexico and the region), and in boxing when Canelo destroyed Cotto (well Canelo clearly won but it wasn’t a beatdown). He called Cotto overrated and washout and told him to retire.
He then said that Puertorricans didn’t have any dignity as we lost it the moment we sold out to the USA. That line got a giant reaction and I joked with my friends that the local pro-independence party should hired him as a spoke person. The promo was so good that he even got some cheers; there was some Mexican fans there but it was mostly the pro-heel fans.
After ADR’s promo, Urbina came to the ring to introduce the singers for the National Anthems. The Mexican singer got massive heat during his performance. The local guy did a good job and some people signed along with him but not everyone.
Ray Gonzalez Sr def. Alberto Del Rio by DQ in around 15 minutes when Hijo de Dos Caras interfered
Alberto came in with a Mexican flag and climbed to all four corners with it for the easy heat. Ray music began to play but he didn’t appear; they teased it for a while until ADR went to the outside and argued with the referee and in doing so put his back to the entrance so Ray arrived with a 2×4 and hit ADR with it. He beat him all around ringside and the fans were going crazy for every hit. They got to the ring and the referee tried to get the 2×4 but Ray pushed him; another referee came in and Ray also bumped him; Pelayo arrived but he couldn’t do much either. The heat for this was unreal, the likes of which one can only see in old school videos. Alberto finally got a break and went to the top rope but when he jumped Ray nailed him again with the wood. ADR then took the mic, said that it was enough of fighting and asked for a “technical match” saying that that was what the fans wanted to major boos; he went to his knees and extended his hand to Ray; Ray teased a hand shake but then took the mic and said in Spanish the equivalent of “this is Puertorrican wrestling, dumbass” and slapped Alberto in the face for a major pop.
ADR went to the outside and grabbed a PR flag from a fan in the first row but the fan retaliated and pulled Del Rio by the hair, security broke them apart and Ray put Alberto in a rest hold until the fan was removed; they were lucky that the other fans controlled the guy instead of joining him.
After the long chinlock, Dos Caras came with a chair and nailed Ray in the outside, Ray bleed; Caras went to the back. ADR with a DDT; he went to the top rope for a Senton but Ray moved. Ray pulled a fork from his boots and nailed Alberto in the forehead with it several times, the fans went crazy for it which is odd given that’s a traditional heel spot; also of note is that Alberto didn’t bleed form it, maybe they respected the WWE rule. ADR came back with his Superkick and locked the Cross Armbreaker in the middle of the ring but Ray Gonzalez Jr, who got a big reaction, came to ringside and Alberto broke the hold; ADR talked trash to Jr but he throw dust to Alberto’s face and left; Ray Sr used the distraction to setup the Figure-4 with a series of leg kicks, Alberto bumped great for this; Ray finally locked his finisher and Del Rio was about to tap out when Dos Caras returned for the DQ. After such an intense match it was a lame finish.
The heels double teamed Ray until his son made the save. ADR hit Jr with a Mexican flag but then Sr did the same to ADR; they brawled in pairs outside the ring until Sr got a chair and the heels literally run to the back. Ray and Jr came to the ring and Sr cut a great promo. He invited the heels to came back so they could kick their asses one more time; and told them that they run like the chicken they are. He said that Alberto was a bully that took advantage of his son but he was there to protect him and told Jr that he would always had his back. He said that WWC has been running for a long time but if it was up to him it would last another 40 years more.
He then told Del Rio to ask Vince McMahon for another date so they can have a another match maybe inside a cage; the fans went crazy for that. He said that since Dos Caras doesn’t need anyone’s permission he can comeback whenever he wants because Ray Jr is ready for him for another big pop. He thanked the fans for their support during his career and asked for them to do the same for his son. He then put over the upcoming title match and asked fans to stay put to see it. The whole promo came across as a combination of a thank you message, a farewell speech and an I’m taking over note. Even with the weak finish this match needed to be on last just because of the heat and post-match promo.
Some fans started leaving here since it was post midnight by this point.
Universal Title: Mr 450 Hammett def. Sensacional Carlitos to retain in well over 20 minutes
These two are really over with the fan base, and each one got his own “section”. Nonetheless, another group of people walked away during the early stages and it didn’t have much heat early on even tough what they did was good. It was clear that fans were spent after the previous match and just needed a break. After ten minutes or so they got the crowd back and it was spectacular from that point on. The turning point was Carlitos with a Canadian Destroyer followed by a Flat liner and finished with a Koji clutch all in one smooth-fluid motion. The sequence was so good that fans thought it was the finish but 450 made the ropes.
With Carlitos outside, 450 did a bottom rope Suicide Dive and follow with a Asai moonsault. Back in the ring they traded until Carlitos sent 450 to the outside and did his own series of dives. From the apron, 450 did a springboard spear through the second and top rope. Hammett with a Tornado DDT followed by a vertical suplex and finished with his 450 splash from the top rope but Carlitos kicked out for a giant pop. Carlitos with a comeback and a senton bomb for a great near fall. They traded headbutts from their knees; then got up and traded hard chops. Carltios went for a springboard Stunner but hit the referee instead; with the referee down Hammett hit a series of German suplex like Chris Benoit or Brock Lesnar and the fans chanted “Suplex city”; Hammett then went outside took a chair, smashed Carlitos in the face with it and finally got the pin with his 450 splash finish. They did even more but I just can’t remember it all.
After the match, they congratulated each other but Carlitos hit 450 in the back of the head with the chair and cut a promo saying that he wanted a rematch in a TLC match at Euphoria on 1/9. This was the best match of the show but it could have been even better if placed in the semifinal spot. I understand that they feared that nobody could follow them, which is true most of the time, but on this occasion most of the fans were there for the Ray Gonzalez match.
Notes:
On Sunday TV they announced that the next big event would be Euphoria on 1/9 at this same venue which seems like a little early for a return date. So far announced is: Hammett vs. Carlitos for the Universal Title in a TLC Match; Ray Gonzalez & Ray Gonzalez Jr vs. El Hijo de Dos Caras & Scottie Santiago (the guy who called ADR in Texas Wrestling Academy); Ursus vs. Pain in a Chain Match; Revolucion vs. Thunder & Lightning vs. Sons of Samoa in a 3-way match for the tag titles; and Miguel Perez vs. Angel Fashion for the PR title. They also announced an event for 1/6 in Cidra with the gimmick that kids enter free if accompanied by an adult as a Three Kings Day special. No match has been announced so far.
They got a very good crowd, probably more than 4,000. The ringside and lower levels were all full and they had one of the upper deck open and it was half full. The number is even more impressive as it went head to head with a massive Daddy Yankee vs Don Omar “Reggeaton” (Rap) concert in near by San Juan that sold out four straight nights the Coliseum of Puerto Rico (the one WWE runs) and that would the cultural equivalent of a Tupac vs Notorious BIG concert at MSG if they both were still alive. As usual, they started late; it was schedule for 8:00 pm but the show began past 8:30. It was probably due the fact that PR, like Mexico, is a late arriving crowd, so people kept coming in late.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including tons of thoughts on the state of Raw, this weekend’s much-talked-about Dragon Lee match, Alberto Del Rio attacked by fan, Hack Meyers passes away, New Japan’s latest show, McGregor vs. Aldo thoughts, questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back today with tons to talk about including some Smackdown notes from Bryan, Starrcade notes from Vinny, plus full reviews of ROH on Sinclair and NWA World Championship Wrestling from 30 years ago last week! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Photo Credit: Zia Hiltey
Submitted by Michael Langan
The Snake Pit (Argus, Ophidian, & Shynron) beat Battleborn (“Juke Joint” Lucas Calhon, Missile Assault Man, & Snowflake) in 11 min when Argus p Snowflake with a leg in forward scoop slam
This was Argus’ first real win in Chikara, They did a story beat where Snowflake reverted back to Kevin Condron to tell Argus that he knows him and that he shouldn’t hurt him. Argus hit Snowflake anyway for the win.
Frightmare beat Silver Ant with a body scissors into a victory roll from an ankelock attempt by Silver in 10 min. This was really good.
Ring Announcer Gavin Loudspeaker (who was back for the finale) introduced Vladimir Rabinsky, basically passing the torch to him as the new Chikara Ring Announcer going forward.
The Batiri (Kobald, Kodama, & Obaryion) with a wheelchair bound Ultra Mantis Black beat The Gentlemen’s Club (Orange Cassidy, Drew Gulak, & Chuck Taylor) with Swamp Monster in 9 min when Kobald p Cassidy with a spear
This was an insanely perfect mix of high paced action and comedy. There wasn’t a down beat in the whole 9 minutes. Great effort.
Gavin Loudspeaker introduced Chikara’s Director of Fun, Mike Quackenbush. Quack mentions the 2015 Chikara Yearbook and the lights in the arena go out. When they return up, Archibald Peck appears standing in the ring. He sees Quack and the yearbook then shoves Quack to take it. Peck reads through the yearbook and appears to find out his demise last season at the hands of Deucalion. Peck freaked out and left through the crowd yelling at people not to touch him. This was a pay off of a storyline nearly 5 years old where Peck was sent into the future and returned with the Chikara 2015 Yearbook. The crowd went crazy for this.
Juan Franscisco de Coronado won the 2015 Chikara Cibernetico in 41 minutes
Rules worked exactly like a normal lucha Cibernetico were once one team was eliminated, the remaining members of the winning team would fight each other. Teams were:
Rudos: Juan Franscisco de Coronado, Mr. Azerbaijan, Prakash Sabar, The Proletariat Boar of Moldova, Wani, Pinkie Sanchez, Jakob Hammermeier, & “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti
Technicos: Dasher Hatfield, Chikara Tag Champions: NRG (Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell), Young Lion’s Cup Champion: Heidi Lovelace, Amasis, Worker Ant, Oleg The Usurper, & Farmer Frog
Eliminations:
(1) Dasher Hatfield pinned Mr Azerbaijan in about 1 minute with a small package.
(2) Hype Rockwell pinned Prakash Sabar in 21 minutes with the Hype Wheel (spinning uranage across the knee)
(3) Pinkie Sanchez pinned Hype Rockwell with a modified DDT in 22 minutes.
(4) Pinkie Sanchez pinned Amasis in 23 minutes with a missile dropkick.
(5) Jakob Hammermeier pinned Worker Ant in 25 minutes with a Worldstar! punch.
(6) Jakob Hammermeier pinned Farmer Frog in 26 minutes after a powerbomb out of the corner thanks to a Pinkie Sanchez distraction.
(7) Heidi Lovelace pinned Jakob Hammermeier in 27 minutes with a waistlock roll-up.
(8) Dasher Hatfield pinned The Proletariat Boar of Moldova in 29 minutes with a Jackhammer.
(9) Wani pinned Race Jaxon in 30ish minutes with a palm strike.
(10) Oleg the Usurper pinned Wani in 31 minutes with Off with his head.
(11) “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti pinned Oleg the Usuper in 34 minutes after a superplex then a spear.
(12) Juan Francisco de Coronado pinned Heidi Lovelace in 36 minutes after a sitout powerbomb.
(13) Dasher Hatfield pinned Pinkie Sanchez after a jackhammer in 38 minutes.
(14) Dasher Hatfield was counted out in 40+ minutes after being knocked off the ring apron by Angelosetti accidentally. Juan ran them into each other as the count was near 20. Angelosetti tried to go after Dasher, but was pulled back into the ring by his foot by Juan.
(15) Juan Francisco de Coronado pinned Mark Angelosetti with a delayed German suplex in 41 minutes to win the Cibernetico.
Fire Ant with Silver Ant and Soldier Ant with Jakob Hammermeier went to a No Contest in 20 minutes
Another big payoff to a Chikara story here as Soldier went AWOL and then came back during the return brainwashed by the Flood. Soldier has been under the spell of the Eye of Tyr and Jakob Hammermeier’s BDK since the dissolution of the Flood at the end of last season. Soldier (who is scarred, missing an antenna) ripped off one of Fire’s antenna’s during the match. Soldier’s trance was finally broken when Jakob got into a fight with referee Derek Sabato (who used to be a BDK member) and went to hit him with his WORLDSTAR! punch, but accidentally hit Soldier. Solider saluted Fire Ant. He then saluted Silver Ant. Worker Ant came out and the crowd chanted “Please Be Friends!”. They saluted each other. Worker returned Soldier’s King of Trios medal the Colony won in 2011. Everyone embraced. People cried. This was a crazy moment only found in Chikara. So insanely good and special. I’ve never seen a crowd so happy to get a non-finish before.
Crown & Court (Princess Kimber Lee (c), Jervis Cottonbelly, & Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream, Jr.) beat The Wrecking Crew (Jaka & The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster (c), Blaster McMassive, & Flex Rumblecrunch) to win the season long Challenge of the Immortals tournament in 19 minutes when Kimber Lee pinned McMassive after a powerbomb out of the corner into an Alligator Clutch.
Crowd lost it when Crown & Court won it. They were, pardon the term, the Cinderella team of the tournament and really only ended up in the finals thanks to the angle with Dasher & Mr. Touchdown forcing Dasher to vacate his team’s points in the tournament. Each member of Crown & Court was presented with a Golden Opportunity, which in Chikara can usually mean anything but in this case was the form of 3 Golden Point Tokens needed to challenge for any Chikara championship.
Hallowicked beat Icarus and Eddie Kingston in a Triple Threat Match in 24 minutes to retain the Chikara Grand Championship for a 6th time.
Wicked p Kingston after a crossed leg DDT. This was the first time a Chikara championship was defended in a 3 way and also featured all 3 Chikara Grand Champions from the company’s history. Match was very good.
As referees checked on Hallowicked, Princess Kimber Lee’s music hit. The crowd went crazy. Golden opportunities apparently can be used at any time and cannot be lost (in Chikara, you need 3 points to challenge for titles which means 3 wins in a row without a loss outside of special competition).
Princess Kimber Lee beat Hallowicked by submission in 5 minutes to become the 4th Chikara Grand Champion with the Chikara Special.
This was a crazy moment. The crowd lost it.
Chikara goes out of its way to present Kimber Lee, Heidi, and any other female that comes through the company as just wrestlers. In the year plus that Kimber Lee has been on shows, my wife and I have personally seen a huge increase in young little girls coming to the shows. They leave with smiles and the general execution of her rise has been so perfectly handled that a crowd at the old ECW arena (which tends to be the most adult crowd at Chikara shows) behaved like 5 years at the finish.
As an aside, special Crown & Court shirts were made by fans (us, full disclosure) specially for the finale for support. The shirts were given to anyone who makes a $20 donation that will be given directly to Chikara & Jervis Cottonbelly’s charity of choice: Philabundance. We have a few of them left in sizes M-XL and we can ship anywhere in the US for $5. So far we’ve raised about $500 for the charity. I’d love to get rid of the remaining shirts and get over $600.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back today with tons to talk about including your latest WWE survey, this time comparing NXT to Raw, notes on Chikara’s biggest show of the year, WrestleMania and Raw after Mania tickets, calls, emails, texts and more!
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We’re looking for reports from last night’s WWE shows in Augusta and Fayetteville and tonight’s WWE shows in Charlotte (Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus, plus New Day, Dudleys, Charlotte and Paige) and in Florence, SC (Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose, Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler, Rusev vs. Ryback) at Dave Meltzer
Raw will be live Monday in North Charleston, SC. Nothing special has been announced for the show.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Jacksonville.
Figure Four Weekly
Figure Four Weekly (11/23/15): Lots of Updates in Hulk Hogan-Gawker case
Lots of news including a win for Gawker, the new police report, the remaining mysteries of the case, what Bubba the Love Sponge is saying, and more.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Mick Foley’s talk on WWE creative and a look at all the new moves WWE tried this week on television is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We look at the changes WWE attempted after a week of record low ratings, as well as the fan questionnaire sent out, what can be learned from it, and why they are asking exactly the wrong people.
We also look at the strengths and weaknesses of the current WWE business, as well as why the ratings may be important, but other factors are probably more important,when it comes to WWE’s next television deal. We look at the different potential changes in the landscape look at what aspects of business are and aren’t improving, as well as WWE’s business in the big picture.
He also update the situation with A.J. Styles, and the New Japan tag team tournament with standings and notes on the tournament matches over the past week.
We also look at the TLC PPV update, more on La Sombra in WWE, questions about all the shoulder injuries, WWE security at live shows, Cena movie release, Brad Maddox firing, Maddox’s WWE history, talents WWE has shown interest in, WWE overseas tour lineup and WWE weekend live event notes and business.
We have a look at the debut of the new Rizin promotion, major announcements for the first weekend of shows, the tournament, just how big Bob Sapp vs Akebono was the first time.
We also have a story on the domestic abuse claims by the girlfriend of Tomoaki Honma, and his response.
We look at the realities of the free agency of Benson Henderson, judging of the key fights, as well as full rundown of UFC’s debut in South Korea this past week.
We’ve got notes of TNA’s canceled tour of India, notes on the death of Tommy Gilbert and El Bello Greco, along with a feature on Stan Holek, a member of two of the most decorated tag teams of the 50s and 60s, the Lisowski Brothers with Crusher and the Neilson Brothers with Art Neilson. We look at the unique reason why all of his success was as a tag team wrestler, his biggest rivals, and his 13 runs as world tag team champion.
We’ve got a feature on the retirement of Act Yasukawa and the sad reason it happened.
We’ve also got the awards ballot for the 2015 awards and information on how well Hell in a Cell did this year on PPV.
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The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 7, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE attempts to right the ship, New Japan tag league update, more
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TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio, talking WWE, the New Japan tournament, McGregor vs. Aldo, Kamaitachi vs. Dragon Lee and taking your e-mail questions at mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
The finals of the New Japan tag team tournament are Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil, which take place late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning in Sendai. Check out Dave Meltzer’s play-by-play.
The Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi CMLL lightweight title match from Friday night’s Arena Mexico show that has been a big topic of conversation all weekend.
John Cena will be on The Tonight Show on Tuesday. He’ll likely be plugging the new TV show he’s hosting. (thanks to Jon Southerland and Paul Fontaine)
Regarding Jim Ross, as everyone knows by now, he is fine. His twitter account was hacked at 5 a.m. today with a report of his death. It was pretty clear it was a hoax early on, but there were still friends of his who woke up to that news.
WWE
UFC/MMA
MISCELLANEOUS
Don’t forget today’s FULL Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (12/06): Tracy Smothers wins SMW TV Title
The card (no spoilers) was:
Singles Match
Da Mack vs. Julian Nero
Singles Match
Damian O’Connor vs. John Klinger
Six Man Tag Team Match
Absolute Andy & Prost (Mike Schwarz & Toby Blunt) vs. Jurn Simmons &
Reich Und Schön (Kevin Roadster & Marius van Beethoven)
Bullrope Match
Big Daddy Walter vs. Robert Dreissker
Singles Match
Melanie Gray vs. Nikki Storm
Singles Match
Axel Dieter Jr. vs. Marty Scurll
wXw Unified World Wrestling Title No Disqualification Match
Karsten Beck (c) vs. Rhino
Don’t forget today’s FULL Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (12/06): Tracy Smothers wins SMW TV Title
The Big Takeaway: Zack Ryder beat Heath Slater in a short opener and Neville and Dallas showed glimpses of their old rivalry from NXT in a solid main event.
Show recap:
Zack Ryder beat Heath Slater (4:37)
Ryder looks in such great shape, you have to feel for the guy: he works pretty well, he’s over, if they let him be, and he has a good physique and genetics. They lock up and Slater shoves Ryder off only to turn round and eat a drop kick. Ryder shoulder barges Slater, but a hip toss is blocked and instead he is clotheslined. Slater then runs into Ryder’s boot and after a leapfrog, Ryder gets nailed by the big boot of Slater.
Slater takes over with knees and stomps and slows things down with a chin lock. When Ryder works his way out, he runs into a heel kick. Slater then chokes Ryder out in the corner with his foot and then returns to the chin lock. Ryder tries to work his way out but is thrown back to the mat. Slater’s suplex attempt is reversed and he runs into Ryder’s knees in the corner. Ryder hits him with a second rope missile drop kick, followed by a running forearm smash. He sets up and hits the Broski Boot but Slater kicks out at two. So, the Rough Ryder wins it for Zack Ryder.
Neville beat Bo Dallas (8:10)
Dallas and Neville are travel partners. Some would say that they’re odd bedfellows in many respects but after their NXT rivalry, they found each other to be very good company. They are both hoping that on the main roster that their rivalry can be reignited at some point. Clearly, that’s not the case here, but they really worked hard to show us a little bit of what made their program on NXT special.
On the bell, Dallas shoulder barges Neville to mat and exclaims, ‘Bo-lieve!’ to some good heat. Neville responds with a leg sweep and takes Dallas to all four corners in turn to deliver kicks to his midriff. Neville then snapmares him into a basement drop kick to the back of his head. When Neville springboard cross bodies Dallas, Bo calls for a time out. Dallas plays possum and grabs Neville and throws him outside as we head to a break.
When we return Dallas uses a cravat for some time on Neville. He wears him down for a two count and then off the ropes hits Neville with a huge forearm smash, but again can only get a two count. Neville gets in some kicks, but takes an almighty clothesline for a two count. Neville finally manages to get some breathing space when he dodges Dallas’ charge, sending him over the top rope to the outside. Neville uses a springboard moonsault on to Dallas on the outside and then rolls him back inside for the Red Arrow. Dallas has the move scouted, so Neville lands on his feet, turns round and hits him with an enzugiri. Neville then hits the Red Arrow for the win.