TNA announced Thursday morning that it has signed a deal with POP TV for Impact, which will start on the station on January 5th, 2016, in a Tuesday from 9-11 p.m. time slot. Dixie Carter announced the news on Twitter stating that they are now on a station that reaches 85 million homes.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter had reported that POP TV, which has been airing Paragon Pro Wrestling weekly as a time buy, along with WGN America, were in negotiations for TNA. Of the two, the POP TV deal was considered the weaker station overall even though both stations were in similar amounts of homes.
It is an upgrade as far as reach is concerned, although POP TV is in closer to 75 million homes right now as compared to 57 million for Destination America. Finances were not disclosed which is the key when it comes to TNA, because there is little revenue coming in with the exception of selling the television show, since they almost never do live events that tickets are sold to, and PPV numbers are weak. TNA wil remain on Destination America through the end of 2015.
In a related note, Paragon announced today that their final date on POP TV will be November 21st. They are moving their programming to various platforms including Tuff-TV, Fight Net, You Too America and WADL-TV in Detroit, MI.
****This is a free edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out. Please share with your MMA friends and the world in general!****
We are living in a post-Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm world, and while the fight itself has been analyzed to death, there’s plenty to discuss with the business aspects of what happens next. That’s why Josh brought in former Bellator VP of Talent Relations and co-host of The MMA Insiders podcastSam Caplan to help talk about that and tons more! If you’re into MMA business talk, this podcast is for you!
Here’s some other topics Josh and Sam talked about:
– What Sam has been up to, including some other non-MMA endeavors
– His thoughts on where we’re at with Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm several days after the fight
– When he would make a Rousey-Holm rematch and it’s an answer you might not expect
– What he would do with Holly Holm from a media perspective
– The decision making that goes into making a big rematch
– His current thoughts on the Bellator product, and what they need to do to succeed
– His thoughts on OneFC and Ben Askren’s next move when his contract is up
– His thoughts on the Reebok deal, Cain Velasquez signing with CAA, and tons more!
*****
Listen to the show by clicking below or right-clicking/save:
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns tonight with tons of news to talk about including an epic rant from Dave regarding the Charlotte angle on Raw, Survivor Series notes, what John Cena is doing during his time off, the death of Bryan’s original trainer Ole Olsen, blockbuster numbers for UFC this past weekend, mailbag and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
– Air Date: November 19, 2015 (Nov 18 in Canada) – Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN
The Big News:
November 19, 2015. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are still the best of friends.
Show Recap:
R.I.P. Nick Bockwinkel.
After airing a graphic for Bockwinkel, they plugged the WWE Title tournament semi-final matches for Survivor Series and pushed the tag team main event for tonight.
The Miz welcomed everyone to MizTV, and he did that thing where he waits for the crowd to say “MizTV” but only five people do. He was about to introduce his guests but Kevin Owens’ music hit before he could finish.
Miz said he’s supposed to introduce the guests, but Owens said he’s turning this into the Kevin Owens Show. Owens said he would win the WWE Title and would become, as Triple H puts it, the man. Miz was about to say something but Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter interrupted.
Colter called Miz a hater and isn’t going to fall for his “gotcha” questioning. Colter said it doesn’t matter what you call MizTV, it’s still crap. Owens thought that was funny, but Colter called Owens a hater too and, “Worse than that, you’re from Canada.” Crowd popped. Colter wondered if Owens snuck across the border by ice skating across Lake Michigan.
Very Tanned Alberto Del Rio told Owens that there would be a place in MexAmerica for people like him, because they need people to clean their pools. Owens responded, “You know who missed you while you were gone, by the way? Nobody.”
Dean Ambrose came out next. Miz was upset, but Ambrose said he was there to help him and told him to sit down. Ambrose (who campaigned against all the talking on Raw) said this was a talk show so he was going to talk. He called Del Rio one tough hombre but will go through him for the title if he has to. He said Owens can give out a beating unlike anyone else, but Ambrose can take a beating unlike anyone else and would win the title.
Miz said there’s someone who might disagree, and smiley-faced Roman Reigns came down through the crowd. Miz was still upset that he kept getting interrupted. Reigns told him we know what happens on MizTV – Miz talks until someone shuts him up.
R-Truth came out next and everyone appeared nonplussed. Truth called himself the underdog and a survivor and would win the title at Survivor Series. Miz told him the tournament has been going on for two weeks and Truth was never in it. Truth apologized, wished luck to the babyfaces and left.
Miz complained about his segment going off the rails. Reigns told him to act like a director and started directing. Miz yelled “Action!” like he was on a film set, and Ambrose punched him out. Del Rio and Owens bailed. This segment started well but completely fell apart once Reigns and Truth came out.
After a break, Miz was still in the ring, scheduled for a match. He said he shouldn’t have to compete after being disrespected and wanted his match cancelled. He was interrupted again, this time by Cesaro.
Cesaro beat The Miz via submission
Miz got some offense briefly but Cesaro quickly cut him off and did a tilt-a-whirl into a crossface and Miz tapped. It was short. After the match, Stardust and the Ascension came out as Cesaro walked up the ramp. Stardust and Cesaro faced off before Stardust continued on his way. Rich Brennan was excited about this face off, and he’s the only one.
Neville & The Dudley Boyz beat Stardust & The Ascension via pinfall
Neville ran towards the ropes but Konnor held the ropes open as Viktor distracted the referee, resulting in Neville crashing to the outside. Stardust rammed his head against the table and Bubba encouraged Neville to get up. Then, Konnor gave Neville a big boot. Presumably the referee was distracted again, but he wasn’t in the frame.
Bubba yelled at the referee because of how stupid all of this was. The referee looked like an imbecile here and so did the Dudleys frankly. They just stood there as their partner got double teamed illegally.
After a break, Bubba made a hot tag and took out Viktor and Stardust. They did the diving headbutt spot to Konnor and called for tables. Stardust jumped back in and gave Bubba a disaster kick, but Neville took him out with a missile dropkick. Viktor tossed Neville to the outside, sending him into Konnor. Bubba and D-Von gave Viktor 3D for the win. This was not good, and this was a poor follow-up for Neville after his great match with Owens on Raw.
They aired a video package for Undertaker & Kane vs. the Wyatts. Jerry Lawler hopes Bray Wyatt is in the match. This is not how you promote a PPV match.
Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) beat Zack Ryder via pinfall
Before the match, Breeze said Ryder’s fashion sense reminded him of another uggo, Dolph Ziggler. He said Summer dumped Ziggler because she wanted an upgrade. Breeze said he’s what everyone wanted and he never goes out of style. Breeze said Ziggler would do what he’s done his entire career, and Summer finished his sentence by saying Ziggler would come up short. She motioned with her fingers, intimating that Ziggler has a small penis.
During the match, Ziggler came to ringside. He dumped one of their drinks on the floor. The distraction allowed Ryder to get a nearfall on a school boy, but Breeze won shortly after with the Beauty Shot. After the match, Ziggler superkicked Breeze and left.
The lights went out and the Undertaker’s druids came out in sheep masks. Bray’s music hit and the Wyatts came out. (They promoted this ahead of time so the crowd knew it wasn’t going to be Undertaker.) Bray rambled. He said the demon and the deadman would fail, it was just a question of how.
He said Erick Rowan was cast aside by society and is fueled by vengeance. He said Luke Harper shows no remorse. Strowman spoke for himself, saying he’s dreamt of making great men fall and would shatter their bones to dust. Crowd chanted “What” at Strowman.
Undertaker’s music and pyro went off and he eventually appeared on the big screen. Taker cut a usual Taker promo and said the Brothers of Destruction will reclaim what’s theirs. Kane held up a white sheep mask, which was on fire, and Taker said the Wyatts would rest in peace. Kane did that thing with his arms and his fire explosion went off in the ring and, suddenly, all of the druids were on the floor like corpses. This was wacky.
They showed a replay of Paige’s controversial line on Raw. They referred to this segment as the “Diva Revulsion.”
Non-Title: WWE Divas Champion Charlotte beat Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) via submission
Short, back-and-forth match that ended with Charlotte reversing an X-Factor into a spear and Figure Eight for the win. The crowd wasn’t dead, but I’m not sure how much they cared about Charlotte. They sure yelled “woo” a lot.
Backstage, Paige told Renee Young that Charlotte can turn into the Incredible Hulk if she wants but it won’t help her retain the title. Paige called Charlotte immature for the way she acted on Monday, which is pretty funny. Paige said she would cross the line if that’s what it took to regain the title, because that’s what champions do.
Big E (w/Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) beat Kalisto (w/Sin Cara) via pinfall
Xavier Woods said there was a conspiracy against them because they weren’t in the tournament. They buried Ryback and Kalisto, making short jokes about the latter. Woods put on a mask and Kofi Kingston exclaimed, “He’s a luchadore! Because he’s wearing a mask!” Big E said he would show Kalisto that size does matter and began swivelling his hips.
Once the match started, Sin Cara took out Woods outside the ring, and Kingston took out Sin Cara. Kalisto hit a dive on Kingston, but was distracted by Woods as he re-entered the ring, allowing Big E to hit a running body block and running splash for an extremely quick win. Terrible follow-up for Kalisto after his big win last week.
After the match, Woods and Kingston held down Kalisto allowing Big E to hit another splash. Ryback ran out to make the save, taking out all three New Day members by himself, including hitting a splash of his own on Big E. He helped Sin Cara and Kalisto to their feet.
They showed a pre-taped video interview Maria Menounos did with Paige and The Miz about their upcoming movie. This was basically a commercial, but it was the highlight of the show to this point. They were all in character. Miz tried plugging the movie, but Paige interrupted to bury Menounos, bringing up her failed attempt to become a [wrestler]. Menounos asked her what it was like working with an accomplished actor like The Miz. Paige laughed and eventually blew off the interview because she has more important things to worry about.
They announced Ziggler vs. Breeze for Survivor Series.
Ambrose and Reigns had a meeting backstage. Ambrose expected them both to win their semi-final matches at Survivor Series and Reigns acknowledged that this would put them against each other in the finals. Reigns patted Ambrose on the shoulder, saying he’s come too far and would have to treat Ambrose like everyone else. Ambrose expected nothing less. Basically, they agreed to give it their all and they bumped fists.
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose DCO I.C. Champion Kevin Owens & US Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter)
After a break, the heels took control on Ambrose after Del Rio launched him into the barricade. As Owens beat down on Ambrose, he pointed at Brennan and yelled, “You watching this Rich you idiot?” Del Rio hit an enziguri and back cracker for a two count. Ambrose blocked a superkick, hit a rebound clothesline and made the hot tag to Reigns.
Reigns used a clothesline and apron dropkick on Owens, followed by clotheslines in the corner. Reigns hit a tilt-a-whirl slam on Owens, but Del Rio broke up the cover. Reigns sent Del Rio to the outside, and Owens hit Reigns with a superkick. Ambrose hit a suicide dive on Del Rio and clotheslined him over the announce table.
Owens tried a powerbomb on Ambrose outside the ring, but Reigns hit him with a superman punch. Del Rio tossed Reigns into the steps and gave him a superkick. Around this point, the referee called for a double count out. Lame.
Del Rio tossed Ambrose in the ring but Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds. Ambrose slipped out of a pop-up powerbomb and Reigns hit Owens with a spear. Afterwards, Ambrose and Reigns both went out to look at the WWE Title at ringside and eventually bumped fists again.
Final Thoughts:
This show sucked. Four of the matches were under five minutes, and the main event, which was promoted all night, ended in a double count out. Nothing on this show mattered.
Last week, Madison Rayne debuted wacky ninja training and used it against Gail Kim. Sadly, it didn’t do her much good as she still lost. Eli Drake cheated to beat Jessie Godderz, and Matt used a top rope Twist of Fate to beat Eddie Edwards. DJZ beat Mandrews with a cradle, while EC3 beat Anderson in the main event. A video package recaps the wins for last week’s matches, and tonight’s matches include Kong vs. Brooke and Roode vs. Abyss. There will also be a face off between Matt Hardy and EC3. Pope and Josh recap the events of the video package before we get another video package recapping the opening video. We’re two minutes into the show and they’re already loading the show with filler. Brooke, who just left the company, comes out to face Kong. Kong comes out and they recap her beating Rayne, but losing to Gail in the series.
Brooke vs. Awesome Kong
Pope talks about how the knockouts main event the show here in the opener, and then Josh says the main event will be Abyss vs. Roode. No part of that match screams “main event” at all. Kong gets a big Biel throw and Brooke responds with flying forearm shots. Kong takes her down and works on the fingers a bit. Kong stomps on the hand for a bit and they talk about having a target on her hand with the split. Brooke rolls to the floor and then rolls back in and gives her the double bird! Well, that was unexpected and hilarious. Kong whoops her ass for doing that and slams her down for a cocky two count with her foot on her chest. Brooke gets a drop toehold and gets a bizarre variant of the Cattle Mutilation that Kong counters. Josh plugs Dixie’s Twitter and Kong hits a modified AA on Brooke, but misses a corner splash. Turnbuckle X factor hits for 2. Kong counters a back suplex and hits the chokeslam for the win. Brooke is now out of the series as a contender, while Kong and Gail have advanced. This was pretty good. EC3 and Matt Hardy meet next.
We get a recap of Brooke vs. Kong while Josh asks just how for the knockouts can go in this tournament facing men. They throw to Matt Hardy on a very jumpy Skype video call where he says he’ll use the Matt Hardy Formula to win the series. EC3 says that Matt’s not in the champions group because he wasn’t a true champion. Matt rambles on about things and says “it’s gonna be YOU VERSUS I!” while EC3 says he wants to take him out in the series whenever he gets the chance. EC3 ends the promo mercifully while Josh threatens that it will continue later. EY talks about being a dangerous man and now isn’t a good night for Storm to face him and that Storm’s a has-been.
After a break, we get a recap of EC3’s send-off on the promo. Josh says that EC3 has refused to be on-screen with Hardy, so we’ll get separate Matt Hardy and EC3 promos. Well, that will get the show closer to the grave, I suppose. Tigre Uno is out to face Manik, and he has to win to stay in the series. Pope calls Manik a maniac while Josh buries him for calling everyone a maniac and promises to buy him a thesaurus. Pope welcomes that as long as it has the word “maniac” in it.
Tigre Uno vs. Manik
They fly to the floor to start and Manik suplexes him on the ramp. Josh plugs their Youtube channel and says that in a couple of weeks, they’ll have a very interesting announcement with it. Well, that seems to indicate that they’ll be leaving DA and then publishing the show straight to their Youtube channel until they find a new TV deal. Something called Bracket Brawl is coming soon – I guess it’s a fan voting context, and the winner gets a free trip to an Impact taping. Josh plugs more things and says he’ll give Don West a run for his money. Manik gets a kneeling surfboard on Uno and turns it into an armbar. Uno kind of hits a weird springboard DDT. Uno gets a shotgun dropkick, but eats the double chickenwing lungblower for 2! Uno sends him down with a wacky inverted Samoan drop and wins with a split-legged corkscrew moonsault.
Recap of the TNA Originals’ finishes in the series so far. Josh says that EY vs. Storm is up next and one of the most important matches in the careers of either of these men. They recap Uno vs. Manik and Josh says that it will be a three way match between DJZ, Uno, and Manik next week to determine who goes on in the series. Basically, everyone moves on except for the guy who gets pinned. Josh brags about #bubbleburst trending since last week and then buries Storm for being done. A video of Abyss highlights airs while Roode puts him over as a monster. Storm comes down while Josh runs down a recap of how he got here, and then EY comes out and they do the same for him.
Eric Young vs. James Storm
EY jumps Storm and they cut to a break mid-mudhole stomp in the ropes. EY beats him up on the floor. Josh says there’s no honor among thieves while Pope says that EY just did it to Storm before he could have it done to him. So if cheating is okay for literally everyone to do, why should fans ever be angered by it? Storm fires back on EY with some elbows to the gut, but a hairpull sends him down for 2. Josh ponders that perhaps Storm will get fired up thinking about Eric Young being a trending topic in the series. Storm runs a bit wild and gets the corner hopping kick before landing a sloppy Codebreaker. EY goes for the piledriver, but eats a backdrop. Whirly Bird gets 2 for Storm and he’s cheered on by the fans. EY takes him down and grabs the legs for an ’80s cradle on the ropes for 2. Backstabber hits, but Storm gets lightly tapped off a forearm and EY low blows Storm and hits a piledriver for the win. Storm is out of the series. This was a basic match, but not bad outside of the commentary.
Josh and Pope talk about Lashley vs. Austin Aries next week – well, that should be fantastic. Matt Hardy’s second promo of the evening is up next after a break. Matt says this could get anymore personal, and he loves taking haters and jamming their hate down their throats. He talks for 500 miles a minute and says that he is the guy. He’s confident and feels he’s as good as he’s ever been. No one can stop the Matt Hardy Train and he’s picking Roode to win the main event. Aiden ‘O Shea comes out in black slacks and a green shirt, looking like an angry Amish golfer to face Mahabali Shera.
Aiden ‘O Shea vs. Mahabali Shera
Shera does his dance in the corner before doing it in front of the corner and dodging a punch to send Aiden into the buckle. Shera takes him down with a headlock takeover before doing it again. Pope talks about chatting with ‘O Shea and realizing that this isn’t his first time being in TNA before just moving off of that point right away. Aiden lands his slick left handed jab before nailing him with a few elbow strikes. Aiden puts him over the apron and clubs away while Josh talks about how you’re seeing a lot of World Title Series copycats out there now. Aiden stands on the hand and slaps him in the face before going up top for some reason. Shera slams him off the top, but eats an eye rake. Aiden goes for a punch, Shera ducks and gets the Sky High for the win. EY cuts a backstage promo about how he’ll always win as long as he’s drawing a breath. Eli Drake still comes out with a goofy Aquaman vest and trunks with “ED” all over them. Eli is facing Crimson in what might be the only match in Group Future 4 to be aired in full.
Eli Drake vs. Crimson
Crimson tackles him down and takes him down with a big suplex. Crimson’s gear consists of small MMA-style shorts and MMA gloves – it’s a fairly unique look right now and works for him. Plus, it plays off of his debut in the company in the Double J-MMA angle. Eli drags him down and drops a knee on the arm for 1. EC3 interrupts and says he’s ready for his interview while Josh says he’ll have to wait – we have a match. Why would this match be more important than the other Future 4 matches we’ve seen the closing moments of? Crimson hits a lariat mid-ring and another in the corner. Eli gets a standing Kimura and wins. EC3 comes back and says that the TNA World title is his possession and he’ll take it back. He’ll prove that he is the rightful champion and then gives the show permission to move forward. They rundown the matches tonight and pick who will progress next week. Abyss comes down and they air clips of his matches in this series.
Abyss vs. Bobby Roode
Abyss shoves him into the corner before posing a couple of times. Abyss does the “Beer!” part of the Beer Money bit and eats a few punches. Roode avoids a chokeslam with a kick to the leg, but is sent down for an ad break. We come back to some floor brawling and Roode is flung into the steps knees-first ala Mick Foley. Abyss grabs a chair and brings it in and places it in the corner. Earl tries to move it, but Roode gets a schoolboy so he counts 2 for that. Abyss clotheslines him down. A nerve pinch/head twister is locked on, but Roode punches free and we get a five minute countdown clock.
Three lariats take Abyss down. Blockbuster hits for 2. Abyss misses a corner charge and hits his own chair, but he counters Roode’s attempt at a chokeslam. Roode takes him down and gets a crossface locked on, but Abyss goes to the corner to break it up. Roode goes for the Roode Bomb, but he can’t hold him up and Abyss gets 2 off a chokeslam. Abyss leaves the ring to grab his implement of death, which isn’t a DQ here in this sporting tournament. Janice gets wedged into the buckle, but falls and luckily Roode spinebusters him away from it and wins. EY and Roode move on in the series, so we’ll probably get at least one more “final battle” between them this year. Pretty nothing happening show overall. To see every screenshot for it, just click here.
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm returns today with tons to talk about including the Charlotte/Paige angle from Raw Monday, Lance’s alternate take on it, what he has told his students about how to handle it if he passes away, some notes on the retro Nitro for this week and how Christ Jericho saw it all coming, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Big News: NXT had a bad show. The matches were mostly bad, the audience was mostly dead. I couldn’t even get entertainment from Corey Graves’ obnoxious commentary
The Medium Sized News: Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe was made official for Takeover.
The Little Beaver Sized News: In news almost as tragic as “NXT had a bad show”, Eva Marie will be challenging for the Women’s Championship next week.
*****
Nia Jax pinned Carmella
This is Carmella’s first appearance since her boys Colin and Enzo were taken out two weeks ago. After 14 months of being aligned with the most charismatic man on NXT no one cares about Carmella at all.
Carmella looked bad in this match, seemingly unable to take a bump as even when Nia ran her over, she just fell into the ropes. Nia used that jumping bear hug that is so much cooler than her actual finish, but Carmella turned it into a front chinlock. That lasted 10 seconds. Nia did miss a jumping sitting splash, but she caught Carmella on a move, used her standing uranage and legdrop for the win.
That wasn’t Eva Marie bad, but bad nonetheless.
– Alexa Bliss is tired of hearing about the Iron Man Match at Takeover and now tonight she is going to take Bayley’s championship. Alexa said she wasn’t on NXT to make people smile or have a good time (ignore baby face run). As she was finishing up a referee came in and told her that Mr. Regal banned Blake & Murphy from ringside. Blake and Murphy were upset, but Alexa didn’t get angry.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated The Ascension
The Ascension were the longest NXT Tag Team Champions in history. Not mentioned is they held the belts forever because there were literally no other teams on NXT. When I say there were no teams I don’t mean there were 2 or 3 times. I mean there was 1 team and that was The Ascension.
The NXT fans were really into Ascension, like they always were. They were so into Konnor and Viktor they didn’t reply much to Jordan & Gable, who are normally the crowd favorites. In addition they chanted “Ya ya!” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s WWE theme, as opposed to “Gable” like they normally do.
Ascension looked better here than they have possibly ever on the main roster. Has WWE effectively used anyone from NXT since The Shield? Better yet, have they used anyone effectively in their NXT gimmick? The fans kinda got behind Gable, but only enough to do a dueling chant while the heels got the heat on him. Jordan got the hot tag and even then the fans didn’t really care until he dropped his straps like Angle.
Viktor used a beautiful flying knee from the middle rope on Jordan, but Gable broke it up and hit a flip dive onto Konnor on the outside. Finally Jordan and Gable picked up the win with their move where Jordan throws Viktor into the air and Gable catches him and hits a side suplex for the win.
– On WWE.com, they announced a Survivor Series elimination match, but literally did not list a single person in the match. So with that taken care of, I want to squash a rumor right away: I will NOT be a team captain or even a member of either team. Sorry to let everyone down.
– They aired a really good video package for Bayley vs Alexa. Too bad the match is happening tonight and not at Takeover.
– Speaking of Bayley, she cut a promo stating that becoming champion was not easy and retaining the title is just as hard. Alexa Bliss will learn that it is not easy to take the championship from her and will get the wrestling lesson of a lifetime.
Emma submitted Mary Kay
Emma is here going one on one with a pretty girl with dark hair. If you have no idea why I said that, consider yourself lucky. Anyway they didn’t bother to name Mary Kay until the match had long since begun.
This match was better than the opener, but not by a whole lot. The announcers spent the whole time building up Emma’s future match with Asuka and all I could think was I don’t want to see Emma wrestle anyone. Are my standards just too high or was Emma just never any good? Anyhoo Emma used a version of the Curb Stomp before winning with the Emma Lock.
– Last week Baron Corbin cut a promo stating he didn’t like Apollo Crews before challenging him to a match at Takeover: London.
– Next week: Dash & Dawson vs The Vaudevillians for the tag team titles
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated Corey Hollis & John Skylar
Much to my surprise Hollis and Skylar were introduced on tv. Anyway the story of this match is these four men faced off years ago, before any of them were in WWE. Dawson used a really nice Dragon Screw Leg Whip and single legged crap on Hollis as the champs got the heat on their foe. This match was longer than the other squashes on the show. I guess someone realized they needed to fill time. Anyway they destroyed Hollis’ knee until Hollis tagged in Skylar. Skylar was so fricking excited, he ran into the ring…and immediately got hit with the Toss in the air/Codebreaker combo to give the champs the win.
– Tom Phillips asked Asuka about her masks. Before she could say anything, Dana Brooke walked up and she is still offended that Asuka patted her on the head. Next week it will be a rematch. Dana patted Tom on the head and it was not nearly as great as with Devin. Emma skipped in after and they secretly spoke of their plan for Asuka.
– Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship was made official for Takeover in December, plus next week they will sign the contract for their match.
-Samoa Joe put a pre-taped promo from his home. Joe said Mr. Regal ordered him to stay home just in case Finn tried to retaliate. Joe said this was to protect Finn and next week when the match is set in stone he will hurt Finn and take his championship at London.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss
Bayley got, by far, the biggest reaction of the show so far. Like it was an entirely different crowd that came out for the main event.
Bayley blitzed Alexa at the bell, just destroying her challenger, putting her in different inopportune situations. Alexa rolled outside to breathe when Bayley followed out and got slammed into the ring apron, finally giving Alexa the chance to take over.
The fans literally got so bored during the heat they did the “Boo!” “Yay!” cheer spot even though Alexa had Bayley in a rear chinlock. This was twice as long as any Alexa singles match ever and it seemed she was not ready for a match that long as it looked like she ran out of things to do. Alexa got a near fall with a sunset flip, which turned out to be the closest she ever got. The match built and ended out of nowhere. Bayley won with a Belly to Bayley Suplex out of nowhere. I am sure the fans were a-ok with the match being over, but sure seemed like Alexa never did anything that made you think she was about to win.
Just when this week’s episode couldn’t get worse…Eva Marie came out. The fans barely had the energy to boo and chant no at her entrance. However the did not want her to talk, as soon as she opened up her yap they summoned up the energy to boo the heck out of her. Eva eventually challenged Bayley to a title match next week. May God have mercy on our soul. On Thanksgiving Eve Eva Marie may become champion.
*****
Well, that does it for another week. Until that absolutely dreadful moment, I encourage you all to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The most talked-about story since Raw continues to be the Charlotte/Paige interview where Charlotte’s brother, Reid, who passed away, was used as heat to further the storyline.
Yesterday, Charlotte’s mother expressed her disgust on Twitter for the angle. On Ric Flair’s newest Woo Nation podcast, Ric said he was never contacted by WWE about the angle in advance, and said he cried while watching it. In an attempt to remain as political as possible, he said Charlotte was not in the position in her career to say no to any angle, that if he was a fan he wouldn’t have liked it and that he wouldn’t have booked something like that himself. He said at the end of the day, he was still going to be at Survivor Series and he thought the two girls were going to have a great match and that would lead to people forgetting about the angle.
Also, despite reports to the contrary, Ric’s co-host Conrad said the story that the angle was Charlotte’s idea is one hundred percent false.
NXT airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network with a main event of Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss for the Women’s Championship.
Impact Wrestling airs at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America with more of the World Title Series.
A rerun of last week’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
The Ultimate Fighter airs at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with a new episode titled “Bullseye.” This will include not just the Coaches’ Challenge, but the final preliminary fight and the decision of which winning fighter will not advance due to having an uninspired performance.
ROH airs at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America with The Kingdom vs. The Addiction for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in the main event.
Fox Sports Live at 11:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 opens with the “TUF Talk” segment going over The Ultimate Fighter.
Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.
We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.
We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Why is John Cena gone right now? He announced on Twitter that he is hosting a new series coming to FOX called American Grit, a reality show focused on 16 contestants that will go through military and survival themed challenges. Given that UFC is also on Fox, you have to imagine there is some hope for cross-promotion and, dare we say it, a cageside interview? We have gotten reports that the show is being taped at least in part in Washington State.
The whole Alberto Del Rio/AAA/Mega Title controversy will be settled officially at this year’s AAA Guerra de Titanes on December 4th. After all the talk about doing some sort of title tournament, the company changed their mind and it will not be Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Johnny Mundo for the vacant championship in a singles match.
Oddly enough, there is a poster for Guerra de Titanes that not only has Alberto del Rio front and center, but is also advertising that it will be his farewell show.
Here’s a random fun fact: the 2/29 edition of WWE RAW will be their first Leap Year edition in company history. Yes, they already have a hashtag for it.
TSN jn Canada has cancelled Off The Record, Michael Landsberg’s long-running interview show that regularly featured pro wrestlers at times. Landsberg was always really well-prepared and the boom period wrestling interviews were popular among tape traders back in the day for how good they were.
Bill Goldberg told Channel Guide Magazine that TNA had been contacting him with ideas. He noted that he did a movie where one of his main adversaries was Bram of TNA. He didn’t seem like he was strongly considering the idea.
TNA’s Dixie Carter noted that she was heading to Los Angeles, likely to get people thinking that she’s working on some sort of TV deal. She may very well be. However, last week she teased that there might be something in the works with Spike TV, and suffice to say, there was not and is not.
Some corrections to Paul Fontaine’s Nick Bockwinkel column from reader Jeff Sharkey: His famous Winnipeg Arena match with Ric Flair was not title vs. title (Bockwinkel wasn’t AWA Champion at the time)
MMA
Pre-sale tickets are available for UFC’s return to Boston on Sunday, January 17th featuring bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominic Cruz. Pre-sale tickets available here by using ‘BOSTON’ as the code. Public on-sale starts this Friday.
Inside MMA will have a “Special Edition” episode about Holly Holm this Friday night at the special time of 11:30 p.m. ET on AXS TV.
Former Bellator VP and well-known MMA personality Sam Caplan is this week’s guest on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, available on Wednesday night EST here on the site.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today after a disastrous storm in Seattle to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA, everything from the Charlotte promo on Raw to Emma’s cooking show and the whereabouts of John Cena. Les Thatcher also joins us to talk Don Fargo, Nick Bockwinkel and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back tonight amidst HIGH WINDS in Seattle. A massive windstorm knocked out Bryan’s power at noon Tuesday, and as of the time this is being posted he still has no power. So it’s a POWER-FREE PROGRAM, meaning no songs, no drops, and, sadly, NO CRAIG CONTEST. Next week. But we do have retro Raw and retro Nitro, and those were two fun shows! And this is still a fun show as always so check it out~!
