In a special Sunday conversation edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, we delve into the history of the Roots Of Fight brand with co-founder and president Jesse Katz. In just a few years, Roots Of Fight has developed a distinct look and a line of gear that can be seen on plenty of celebrities like Dana White, Ronda Rousey, Dwayne Johnson, Jeremy Botter, and more.
Josh and Jesse talked for 30 minutes about how the brand came to be, how it looks to stand out from other similar brands, who they compare themselves to and who they dont, how they were able to secure the rights to use Muhammed Ali and Bruce Lee, some exclusives on who is next to be featured, what’s next for the company, and plenty more.
Josh gives you an Opening Round about how WWE/UFC are not always related, a beer & TV show of the week, and plenty more.
Enjoy this Columbus Day edition of Josh Nason’s Punch Out now!
We’re looking for your thoughts on Wednesday night’s NXT show and tonight’s New Japan King of Pro Wrestling show. We’re looking for your thoughts on both shows with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re looking for reports on all three WWE shows in Saudi Arabia, NXT from last night in Winter Haven, FL and WWE tonight in Bloomington, IL (Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman).
New Japan King of Pro Wrestling at 3 a.m. Eastern and Midnight Pacific late Sunday night on New Japan World – Kevin Kelly & Matt Striker will be doing the announcing in English for the first time on the service
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi & Kushida & Mascara Dorada vs. Juice Robinson & Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka & David Finlay & Jay White
Tomoaki Honma vs. Yoshi-Hashi
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Kota Ibushi & Captain New Japan
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rocky Romero & Baretta for the IWGP jr. tag titles
Kenny Omega vs. Matt Sydal for IWGP jr. title
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale
Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii for Never Open Weight title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito for the Tokyo Dome title shot
Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title
This is the last really big card before the Tokyo Dome. The winners of the top two matches are expected to face off in the Tokyo Dome main event. With the Tokyo Dome card being announced on Tuesday, expect angles to be set up for more Dome matches. Lineup looks good. Nakamura’s match should set up Nakamura vs. Anderson for the IC title, which I’m expecting next month at the Power Struggle card as the main event.
Since most of the top matches at the Tokyo Dome will be announced on Tuesday, the winners of the last two matches are almost certain to be the main event, and this show will probably set up the other key matches with different angles.
Raw will be live from Chicago, generally one of the hottest WWE crowds anywhere, on Monday night. So we’ll see if Chicago can stay up through a three hour show. No Brock Lesnar or Paul Heyman advertised.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped in Cincinnati on Tuesday. No John Cena on the show, so Roman Reigns and Randy Orton are the advertised headliners.
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Figure Four Weekly:
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring details on all facets of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, including a better understanding of Gawker’s defense, what else the judge has sealed to protect Hogan, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter
An update on the status of Daniel Bryan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which is on the site right now and also can be subscribed to for home delivery. We update his situation and how the decision on his future will be made shortly. We also look at Daniel Cormier and the light heavyweight division and what the business notes say, the WWE’s Madison Square Garden event with Brock Lesnar, TNA’s Bound for Glory and world title tournament, Conor McGregor predicts the future once again, a pro wrestler is in the Japanese cabinet as well as our monthly look at the WWE and TNA’s business indicators.
We look at what Daniel Bryan said this past week regarding his future and how the decision will be made for him soon, and what he’d like to do if he wasn’t working for WWE.
We look at Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson and the shadow over the light heavyweight division, the news coming out of UFC 192, and full coverage of the event with business notes, early PPV indicators and poll results.
We look at the WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden, Brock Lesnar’s return, how the show was promoted, Chris Jericho’s 25th anniversary as a pro wrestler and match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
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.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
Well, sort of in English. Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker were there talking on the English version, but New Japan dropped the ball by not giving them a translator to work with, so there are all kinds of long interviews here in Japanese, and neither knows what they are saying. This isn’t their fault at all. The only guy speaking English was A.J. Styles. Both Styles and Okada talked heavily about wanting to get a win over Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome.
Juice Robinson (who was C.J. Parker in NXT) was announced as being a full-time member of the New Japan roster last night. Really, that deal was pretty much known a few months ago.
Tyler Breeze from NXT is on the road with WWE on the U.S. tour, last night working with R-Truth.
Adrienne Reese, better known as Athena, debuted last night at the NXT show in Winter Haven, FL.
Today would have been Dusty Rhodes’ 70th birthday.
Elliott Russell & Sigmon, known as The Heat Seekers, beat Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. to win the NWA tag team titles last night in Dyresburg, TN.
The Heat Seekers make their first title defense on 10/17 in Dyresburg, TN against Matt Riviera & Greg Anthony on a show that also includes Michael Elgin vs. Steve Anthony and Tim Storm vs. Rob Conway.
SHIMMER RESULTS OF DVD TAPINGS YESTERDAY IN Berwyn, IL
SHIMMER VOLUME 76
Candice LaRae won 20 woman Rumble to earn a Shimmer title shot
Legacy Fighting Championships on 12/4 in Shreveport at the DiamondJacks Casino features welterweight champion Derrick Krantz (17-8) defending against Alex Morono (11-3) in the main event. The show will air live at 10 p.m. Eastern on AXS TV.
Kane and Lana are replacing Ric Flair and Charlotte on 10/30 at the Wizard World Convention in Austin, TX. (thanks to Pete Schirmacher)
Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling on 10/17 in Vancouver, BC at the Russian Community Centre.
American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL, is putting on a 10/30 pro wrestling show at their gym with Stevie Richards vs. King Mo as the main event. ATT owner Dan Lambert is a huge fan, and King Mo has headlined by pro wrestling shows at the gym before.
Smash Wrestling on 10/16 in Toronto at 432 Horner Ave with Sonjay Dutt vs. Speedball Mike Bailey, Matt Taven & Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. The Overdogs, Dalton Castle vs. Brent Banks, Chuck Taylor vs. Scotty O’Shea and more.
Ultimo Guerrero vs. Shocker headlines for FMLL in El Monte, CA at the Florentine Gardens. Guerrero defends his FMLL light heavyweight title.
Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Pentagon Jr. headlines for Martinez Entertainment on 10/18 in Benbrook TX at the Camp Bowie Bingo Hall.
Mid Missouri Wrestling Alliance from last night in St. Louis: Brandon Espinosa b Prince Moses, Brian James b LaMarcus Clinton, J-Mal Swagg b Johnathan Zulu, Billy Diamond b Andrew Wilder, Brandon Espinosa & Ace Hawkins b Varik Morgan in handicap bout, Da’Marius Jones b Barackus, Moondog Rover b Jimmy D-DQ, Gary Jackson b Kevin Lee Davidson-COR (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Charlie Haas debuts and Silas Young also headlines for CWE for shows on 12/2 in Yorkton, Manitoba, 12/3 in Brandon, Manitoba and 12/4 in Winnipeg.
Here is a listing of holiday benefit shows:
11/7: Hoosier Pro Wrestling has a show at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Columbus, IN for the Columbus Fireman’s Cheer Fund
11/7: Ring Wars Carolinas in Lumberton, NC at the Priscilla King Arena, with two cans of canned goods get $2 off any adult ticket
11/7: Atomic Championship Wrestling in Stevens, PA at the Stevens Fire Hall with a food and clothing drive for the local area social services
11/13: Chaotic Wrestling has a Toys for Tots show in Woburn, MA at the Elks Lodge
11/13: Primal Conflict Wrestling on 11/13 in Harpers Ferry WV at 343 Campground Rd. has a good drive
12/5: United Wrestling Coalition at Kelly’s Bar and Banquet Hall has a Toys for Tots drive in Wrightstown, NJ
12/5: CHIKARA has a Toys for Tots collection at its 12/5 show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
12/5: ECWA has a Toys for Tots show in Woodbury, NJ at the Woodbury Heights Community Center
12/5: Atomic Championship Wrestling in Stevens, PA at Stevens Fire Hall for a Toys for Tots collection
12/5: Crossfire Wrestling on 12/5 in St. Catherines, ONT at the Merritton Community Center with a show benefiting the Niagara Children’s Centre Foundation with Cody Deaner vs. Eric Young.
12/11: Brew City Wrestling has a good drive for Headlock for Hunger in West Allis, WI at the Knights of Columbus Hall
12/11 Chaotic Wrestling in Woburn, MA at the Elks Lodge has a second Toys for Tots benefit show
12/12: CZW has a Toys for Tots collection at the Cage of Death show at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ
12./18 ROH Final Battle at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia has a Toys for Tots collection.
12/19 ROH TV taping at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia has a Toys for Tots collection
12/19 ECCW in Port Coquitlam, BC at the Elks Hall #49 has a show to benefit the Share Family Services Food Bank.
12/27 Great Canadian Wrestling on 12/27 in Oshawa, ONT at the Harmony Creek Community Hall has a benefit for the local food bank.
Stardom results from earlier today at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo: Kris Wolf b Hiromi Mimura, Haruka Kato b Saori Anou, Kaori Yoneyama won three-way over Starlight Kid and Momo Watanabe, Kairi Hojo b Act Yasukawa, Mayu Iwatani b Rosa Negra to win the High Speed title, Io Shirai b Dark Angel to retain the Wonder of Stardom title. Melina Perez was special guest at the show. A.J. Styles was also at the show to see Dark Angel (Sarita), who he hasn’t seen since she was released by TNA.
Stardom runs shows on 10/16 on Covina, CA and 10/18 in Baldwin Park, CA with Cheerleader Melissa, Shayna Baszler, Santana Garrett, Mia Yim, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani, Act Yasukawa, Kyoko Kimura, Chelsea, Kris Wolf, Hudson Envy, Nicole Savoy, Thunder Rosa, and Brittany Wonder.
Capital City Championship Combat on 11/28 in Ottawa, ONT at the Vanier Columbus Club.
WWE Main Event from Philadelphia was proclaimed the “Kevin Owens Show” by the reigning Intercontinental champion himself and basically it was just that, though credit is due to other talent that anchored the show as well. With a lot of crew headed overseas and unavailable for the taping, this episode featured only two matches, but both got plenty of time. Likewise, an angle on the show saw Jimmy Uso leave the broadcast booth to confront a boastful Kevin Owens.
Owens opened the show with an in-ring promo lobbying for himself to be named Superstar of the Year. He listed various potential nominees including John Cena, Brock Lesner and Seth Rollins. He sarcastically mentioned Kalisto and Cameron as candidates as well. Owens said he the only acceptable choice. He referred to 2015 as the “Kevin Owens Show” then began listing his accomplishments.
He started with winning the NXT title (or “NFC title” according to the closed captioning for this show). Owens went on to talk about beating John Cena. The crowd chanted, “WHAT!” He replied, “I beat John Cena, that’s what!” He then brought up winning the IC title from Ryback before bringing up his recent win over Chris Jericho at MSG. He noted he beat him on the 25th Anniversary of Jericho’s first match. Owens called it the “greatest night of his career” and noted the match was his debut at MSG. Owens claimed he was the first person to debut at MSG as IC champion.
Owens was upset the commentators focused on Jericho’s anniversary on that night and ignored his accomplishments. He signaled out Byron Saxton (who was on commentary on this show with Tom Philips and Jimmy Uso) as Saxton provided commentary for the Garden show. Owens called him “disrespectful” and “rude” before saying it wasn’t the first time it had happened. He called Saxton a bully. Owens then turned his attention to Jimmy Uso, who was smirking and shaking his head.
Owens called out Uso before accusing him of hiding behind the announce desk. “You know, you wouldn’t want to get hurt, would you,” a snarky Owens asked Uso, whose twin brother is still out with an injury.
Jimmy took off his headset and thought things over for a moment. He left the booth and entered the ring to confront Owens. Uso snatched the microphone out of Owens’ hand and said Owens was right about one thing. Uso said he had been “sitting at that table talking all summer long and tonight, I’m done talking.” Uso got in Owen’s face and Owens backed down and slinked away. This set up a match for later in the show.
Naomi (with Tamina) beat Paige
Paige and Naomi began by grappling through several exchanges before reaching a stalemate. Naomi did a few leap frogs over Paige and dodged a few more moves, which frustrated Paige who kept screaming, “STOP IT!” Naomi gave her a flying headscissors but Paige cut her off. Paige draped her in the ropes for repeated knee strikes. Paige grounded Naomi and began to shine her up before a commercial.
After the break, Paige continued to get heat as she kept pummeling Naomi. Paige hooked Naomi in the tree-of-woe at one point. The announcers talked about the ongoing strife between Natalya and Paige. Paige taunted Tamina and the crowd before applying an abdominal stretch. Naomi countered with a hip toss for a hope spot. However, Paige caught Naomi on a crossbody and gave her a fallaway slam. The announcers foreshadowed the outcome in talking about Paige dominating the majority of the match. Just as they mentioned that, Naomi escaped a scoop slam and hit a clothesline.
They were both down on the mat then Paige began feeding into Naomi’s comeback. Naomi ran wild with a series of kick then an enzuigiri. Naomi executed a modified slingblade into a jawbreaker for a nearfall. Paige blocked a rump bump and hit a superkick for a two count. Paige began screaming at Tamina at ringside and Naomi rolled up the distracted Paige with an O’Connor roll into a bridge for the pinfall.
Intercontinental champion Kevin Owens beat Jimmy Uso in a nontitle match
At the opening bell, Owens powdered as he slid out of the ring to confront Byron Saxton, who cowered away. Uso jumped Owens only for Owens to cut him off back in the ring. Uso quickly fired up. After a couple of arm drags and a right hand from Uso, Owens bailed out again to set up Uso doing a baseball slide but Owens blocked it. He slung Uso out of the ring by his hair and Owens proceeded to toss Uso into the barricade. Much like the previous match, the heel kept pummeling the babyface through a commercial break.
Owens talked trash and delivered a DDT after Uso escaped a headlock. Back to the headlock, Uso fought free and a moment later hit an enzuigiri. Much like the prior match with Uso’s wife, both were down on the match selling before the babyface started the comeback. Uso ran wild with a flurry of moves leading to a Samoan drop. Owens blocked an enzuigiri only get reversed on an Irish whip to set up an attempted Umaga splash. Owens avoided the splash and countered with a cannonball into the corner for a nearfall.
Owens signaled for his finisher but Uso escaped and hit a superkick. Uso went to the top but Owens got his knees up when Uso went for a splash. Owens then used the pop-up powerbomb to score the pinfall, ending a very good match.
Afterwards, Owens bullied Saxton at ringside before leaving. Before exiting the scene Owens held the IC title overhead as he stood at the top of the ramp and proclaimed this the “Kevin Owens Show.”
Global Force Wrestling has posted its first trailer for the company’s Amped television show. The company was founded by Jeff and Karen Jarrett two years ago, and has gained traction over the past year. In January, they brokered a deal to broadcast New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestling Kingdom 9 event live. They also brought Jim Ross back to the commentary table, with Matt Striker as the color analyst and thanks to extensive social media work and promoting Jim Ross’s return hard, the event drew surprisingly well on PPV.
Earlier this year, the company announced its roster full of free agents and New Japan talent working their house shows, and they embarked on a series of house shows at minor league ballparks. In July, they held their first TV tapings with Chael Sonnen acting as a color commentator and Cyrus Fees as the play by play man. GFW promised to do something new that hadn’t been done before, and this trailer indicates that they’re going for a behind the scenes documentary-style format for things that happen outside the ring.
In an interview with Marc Madison of thenewshub.com Jarrett explains why GFW’s vision is unique:
“The vision is fundamentally, very different. It’s also because of the timing of things. I named the company April 7th, 2014 and went directly and worked to form alliances with major promotions in Japan, Mexico and independent promotions in South Africa, Europe and Australia and really dialed in and the NEX GEN title was about giving guys opportunity which quite frankly are too many to name.”
Show notes for the weekend: Tonight, we’re looking for reports on:
* WWE in St. Louis (Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, New Day, Team BAD, Rusev, Ryback, Kevin Owens and Dudleys)
* NXT in Winter Haven, FL.
Tomorrow, we’ll be looking for reports from:
* WWE in Bloomington, IL (Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, New Day, Team BAD, Rusev, Ryback, Kevin Owens and Dudleys).
New Japan King of Pro Wrestling airs tomorrow night (Sunday night/Monday morning) at 3:00 a.m. ET a New Japan World with the debuts of Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker as the English announcing team:
Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, & Mascara Dorada vs. Juice Robinson, Yohei Komatsu, Sho Tanaka, David Finlay & Jay White Tomoaki Honma vs. Yoshi-Hashi Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata, Kota Ibushi, & Captain New Japan reDRagon vs. Roppongi Vice for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Kenny Omega vs. Matt Sydal for th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, & Bad Luck Fale Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii for NEVER Openweight Championship Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito for the Wrestle Kingdom IWGP HeavyweightChampionship match briefcase Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Raw on Monday will be live from Chicago, so expect a show that, regardless of quality, is elevated by a hot crowd.
SmackDown and Main Event will be taped in Cincinnati on Tuesday. Roman Reigns and Randy Orton are the advertised headliners.
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring details on all facets of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, including a better understanding of Gawker’s defense, what else the judge has sealed to protect Hogan, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news.
The recent FREEFigure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter
An update on the status of Daniel Bryan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which is on the site right now and also can be subscribed to for home delivery. We update his situation and how the decision on his future will be made shortly. We also look at Daniel Cormier and the light heavyweight division and what the business notes say, the WWE’s Madison Square Garden event with Brock Lesnar, TNA’s Bound for Glory and world title tournament, Conor McGregor predicts the future once again, a pro wrestler is in the Japanese cabinet as well as our monthly look at the WWE and TNA’s business indicators.
We look at what Daniel Bryan said this past week regarding his future and how the decision will be made for him soon, and what he’d like to do if he wasn’t working for WWE.
We look at Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson and the shadow over the light heavyweight division, the news coming out of UFC 192, and full coverage of the event with business notes, early PPV indicators and poll results.
We look at the WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden, Brock Lesnar’s return, how the show was promoted, Chris Jericho’s 25th anniversary as a pro wrestler and match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
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.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
You can see Myzteziz’s Arena Mexico return on The Cubs Fan’s YouTube channel. He’ll be fulfilling his remaining AAA dates before presumably returning to CMLL proper and not just working on the outside Lucha Libre Elite shows at Arena Mexico.
Also announced for the next Lucha Libre Elite show is Negro Casas & Blue Panther vs. Solar & Negro Navarro, which is about as good a legends match as could happen anywhere in wrestling right now.
The intro of the documentary that serves as the centerpiece of WWE’s new Sting: Into the Light home video release is now on YouTube as a teaser. The set will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray this coming Tuesday and is available for pre-order now.
SHIMMER’s 10th Anniversary events begin tonight and will continue into tomorrow at the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL. Bell time on Saturday, October 10th is 10:00am (doors at 9:30am). Bell time on Sunday, October 11th is 12:00pm (doors at 11:30am). Volumes 76-79 of the SHIMMER series will be filmed during the course of the weekend, with two full DVDs worth of live matches each day. Among those appearing on the events this weekend: SHIMMER Champion Nicole Matthews, SHIMMER Tag Team Champions Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb (though injured, Cherry Bomb will still appear), Madison Eagles, Cheerleader Melissa, Kellie Skater, Portia Perez, Evie, Saraya Knight, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Heidi Lovelace, Rhia O’Reilly, Crazy Mary Dobson, Jessicka Havok, Vanessa Kraven, Tessa Blanchard, Courtney Rush, Yumi Ohka, Allysin Kay, Taylor Made, Thunderkitty, Makoto, Shazza McKenzie, LuFisto, Sonoko Kato, Liberty, Sammi Baynz, Veda Scott, Kellyanne, Marti Belle, Xandra Bale, and more!
General admission seating is still available for both days of events, at a cost of $30 for each full day of taping (essentially $15 per full DVD worth of live matches). If you plan to attend, we strongly encourage the purchase of tickets in advance to guarantee admission on the chance of a sellout. Once we do, we cannot sell any additional tickets at the door on the day of the event.
Steel City Pro Wrestling : SHOCK VALUE 2
Sunday, October 18 at 4:00pm – 7:00pm; Knights of Columbus 222 Queenston Road, Hamilton, Ontario. The Canadian Hybrid Championship controversy will be resolved, as challenger and former champion Beautiful BeaA will get her rematch with Champion Lionel Knight, with the title on the line. The Steel City Pro wrestling Tag team titles will be defended by the Choir of Chaos… vs…. The Gym Rats!!!! Steel City Pro Wrestling is developing a woman’s title for next season. We’ve been showcasing woman’s matches since last year at this time, and we’ve been keeping track in a tournament elimination style. This next bracket will feature two of the most respected women’s competitors in all of Ontario: Xandra Bale & KC Spinelli.
AAW Pro Results from last Night 400 fans at the Sold Out Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn Illinois from Keith Lipinski: Allysin Kay defeated Mia Yim with a discus forearm (7:11), AAW Heritage Championship – Six Way Mayhem Match: Louis Lyndon submitted Greg Iron with the dragon sleeper to retain. Shane Sabre, Markus Crane, Brett Gakiya, CJ Esparza (10:18), Heidi Loveless & Candice LaRae defeated Tessa Blanchard & Jessicka Havok when LaRae pinned Blanchard after a Loveless frog splash (8:55). Afterward Blanchard got into Havok’s face blaming her for the loss, Havok clokeslammed Blanchard twice; Oi4K (Dave & Jake Crist) defeated ACH & Ricochet in a fantastic tag team match after a tandem tombstone piledriver on Ricochet, Last Man Standing Match: Eddie Kingston defeated Tyson Dux after multiple backfists and a superplex onto a guardrail that was in the center of the ring propped up by four chairs. Thumbtacks, chairs and a kendo stick were also used (19:04). Afterwards Kingston motioned he wanted his AAW Heavyweight Championship back. The impressive Kongo Kong defeated Christian Faith with Greg Iron (4:49) after a big splash. Afterward Iron berated Faith again on the mic, only to get pie faced by Faith who walked out on Iron afterwards, AAW Tag Team Championship Match: The Hooligans (with Bucky Collins) retained over Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett after interference from Hooligans manager Bucky “Overalls” Collins and a spike piledriver on Mat Fitchett (11:04), Trevor Lee defeated Silas Young with a small package (15:01), AAW Heavyweight Championship Two out of Three Falls Match: Ethan Page defeated Johnny Gargano to retain the championship (25:15). Gargano tapped Page with the GargaNO escape for the first fall. Page kicked the middle rope while Gargano was reentering the ring and then pinned him for the second fall. Page retained after hitting two consecutive Spinning Dwaynes in the third and final fall. As Voices of Wrestling put it “Incredible main event – legitimately great match that had the crowd going nuts throughout”
After the match, Gargano got a standing ovation from the crowd, only for Page to come back in the ring and beat him down again. Candice LaRae ran in to stop Page, but as Page was about to get his hands on Candice, Trevor Lee and Louis Lyndon ran in to stop him. Abyss and Team Tremendous make their AAW debuts on November 6 at 115 Bourbon Street. More information on that show and a full recap coming later this week.
Jim Cornette will be appearing for Metro Pro Wrestling in Kansas City at the Turner Rec Center. A Q & A with Cornette will be from 4:30-6:00 and the live wrestling event starts at 7:30 pm.
Ronda Rousey will be appearing Monday morning on Live with Kelly and Michael on ABC at 9 am Eastern and Pacific.
In MMA news, Joe Warren of Bellator tested positive for marijuana after his decision win over LC Davis at Bellator 143. According to MMAWeekly, he is likely to receive a 90 day suspension. It’s not likely he would’ve fought in 90 days anyways. Emanuel Newton had a similar test failure in February and was back fighting at Bellator’s last tentpole show in September.
MMA Fighting is reporting that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will revisit the lifetime ban of Wanderlei Silva following his evasion of a May 2014 drug test at their hearing later this month. The outcome of this hearing will likely have some bearing on what happens with Nate Diaz’ appeal of his five year ban by the same Commission.
Former UFC and Strikeforce fighter Bristol Marunde fought on AXS TV Friday night, losing a Welterweight title fight in the main event of RFA 31 to Gilbert Smith, who appeared on TUF 17. One of the top non-UFC women’s strawweight prospects in the world, Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, beat former Bellator and Invicta fighter Zoila Frausto in the co-main to win the group’s 115 lb title.
Another former UFC star, Kalib Starnes fought last night on a GFL.TV show, submitting Craig Hudson in the main event of XCessive Force FC 7, to win that group’s Heavyweight title. The show was fairly deep by regional MMA standards and is available on demand for $14.95
Fedor Emilianenko took to Facebook to deny that Jaideep Sing is his opponent for his return.
As reported earlier today, Urive, was announced as wrestling on a 10/25 show at the arena, promoted by Lucha Libre Elite.
He came to the ring and cut an interview right before the Universal title block B tournament matches were to start.
Although he pretty well turned heel, but was more a tweener in AAA, he acted like a babyface here.
This is a very interesting move because Lucha Libre Elite only runs scattered shows, while AAA is the biggest television wrestling promotion in Mexico right now, and he was in the middle of a program with Rey Mysterio Jr.
In what was essentially Mexico’s version of Lex Luger showing up on the first Nitro, Luis Urive did an interview at last night’s Arena Mexico show, after having worked the night before on a AAA show in Xalapa. He was not booked for AAA last night, but is scheduled for a show tonight in Veracruz.
Urive, who was a huge drawing card in Mexico as Mistico, then signed with WWE as the first Sin Cara, and after that went to AAA, where he was known as Myzteziz. Originally he was brought in as the top star in AAA, but with he signing of Alberto El Patron and Rey Mysterio Jr., he had fallen to No. 3, and then turned heel, then tweener, with his role to feud with Mysterio Jr.
Urive came out, never said his name, and the announcers never acknowledged his appearance in later commentary in the Universal title match that followed. He came out with his ring music, and talked about how he was born at Arena Mexico and that since he left, nobody has been able to get to his level. AAA owns the name Myzteziz, and he did acknowledge that once he left AAA, he would no longer use that name. CMLL owns the name Mistico, but has another wrestler using that name.
It was announced that he would be appearing for Elite Lucha Libre on 10/25 at Arena Mexico, a promotion that runs occasional big shows in the building and advertises with CMLL. But it makes no sense for him to walk about of AAA, where he was in a key feud with Rey Mysterio Jr., which was planned to build to next year’s TripleMania main event, just to do one match. The impression is that he’ll eventually be back with CMLL.
Urive, under his mask, talked with the press after and said he would work the rest of his AAA dates announced, but was leaving the promotion after that. It’s unclear if AAA would even want him on those shows given they were blind sided by this move. He was booked on an AAA show on 10/25 in Durango.
AAA, which taped television last night, hasn’t made any comments at this point.
1947 St. Joseph, Missouri: – MWA Champion Orville Brown beat Ras (Seelie) Samara 2 falls to 1 to retain the title – Ronnie Etchison beat Antone Leone 2 falls to 0
1958 Atlanta, Georgia: – Freddie Blassie and Bob Shipp defeated Ray Gunkel and Nick Roberts to win the International Tag Team Titles
1964 St. Paul, Minnesota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne drew Reggie Parks when the time limit expired in the 3rd fall – Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Jack Lanza & Wilbur Snyder
1966 Vancouver, British Columbia: – Gene Kiniski & Domenic Denucci beat Canadian Tag Team Champions Dutch Savage & Don Jardine on a 3rd fall dq (Special Referee: Archie Moore) – AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon drew Paul Jones – John Tolos beat Roy McClarty
1969 Atlanta, Georgia: – Ray Gunkel and Buddy Fuller defeated The Assassians to win the Georgia Tag Team Title
1972 Tampa, Florida: – NWA World champion Dory Funk Jr. defeated Tim Woods in 2 out of 3 falls match – Jack Brisco defeated Buddy Colt by reverse decision – Sputnick Monroe and Norvell Austin defeated Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden to win the Florida Tag Team championship
1973 Honolulu, Hawaii: – Ed Francis beat Billy Robinson dq – Neff Maiava & Sam Steamboat beat AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens dq – Bill Francis beat Betto Castro – Tosh Togo drew Rick Drasin – Ripper Collins beat Al Madril
1974 Kansas City, Kansas: – Bob Geigel & Pat O’Connor defeated Killer Karl Krupp & Lord Alfred Hayes – Jerry Oates defeated Bob Brown – The Interns (w/ Dr. Ken Ramey) defeated Mike George & Jim Brunzell in three falls
1977 Memphis, Tennessee: – Dennis Condrey & Phil Hickerson NC Scott Casey & Robert Gibson – Southern Tag Champs The Samoans Tio & Tapu beat Norvell Austin & Bill Dundee – Jerry Lawler beat Jimmy Valiant to win the Southern Title.
1978 Macon, Georgia: – King Kong Mosca defeated Mr. Wrestling II to win the Macon Heavyweight Title
1979 Omaha, Nebraska: – Coal Miner’s Glove Match: Billy Robinson beat Super Destroyer Mark II – Mad Dog Vachon beat Lord Alfred Hayes – Jesse Ventura & Bobby Duncum beat Paul Ellering & Steve Olsonoski – Adrian Adonis beat Ron Ritchie
1980 Atlanta, Georgia: – Georgia Jr. Heavyweight Champion Stanley Lane defeated Steve O – Lars Anderson fought Terry Funk to a draw – Stan Hansen defeated Killer Khan – Mr. Saito defeated Kevin Sullivan – Georgia Heavyweight Champion Dennis Condrey defeated Austin Idol via disqualification – Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts (with Michael Hayes) defeated Georgia Tag Team Champions Mr. Wrestling I & II and the Assassins in a round robin tournament to win the titles – Ole Anderson defeated Uvalde Slim in a Texas Bullrope match – NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Dick Slater
1981 Greensboro, North Carolina: – Sgt. Slaughter beat Sweet Ebony Diamond (Rocky Johnson) – Leroy Brown beat Ole Anderson – Ricky Steamboat beat Ivan Koloff to win the Mid Atlantic championship – U.S. Champion Wahoo McDaniel beat Roddy Piper
1983 Birmingham, Alabama: – Bob & Brad & Scott Armstrong defeated Wayne Ferris (Honkytonky Man) & Ron Starr & Ali Bey in a Texas Tornado match – Robert Fuller beat Mr. Olympia in a blindfold match
1985 Kansas City, Kansas: – Rufus R. Jones defeated Akio Sato by disqualification – Non Title Match: Bulldog Bob Brown defeated Central States champ Marty Jannetty – Harley Race won a battle royal
1993 Johnson City, Tennessee: – The Bullet defeated Killer Kyle – SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson fought Scott & Steve Armstrong to a no contest – SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee defeated Tracy Smothers – Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray at w/ Jim Cornette) defeated Rick & Scott Steiner via disqualification
2010 Daytona Beach, Florida: – Motor City Machine Guns defeated Generation Me to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles – Jay Lethal retained the TNA X Division Title over Douglas Williams – Jeff Hardy defeated Kurt Angle and Mr Anderson to win the vacant TNA Title
Tonight’s show is from January 4, 2015, held in the Tokyo Dome. This is the first in a five part series looking at WrestleKingdom 9.
The first match that aired (in full!) was the opening Junior tag team championship match, with reDragon defending their titles against the Forever Hooligans, Timesplitters, and the Young Bucks. This was a crazy match full of high spots and clever counters. There was one point in the match where everyone was doing big dives to the floor, with Kushida capping it off by doing a senton from the top rope to the floor, wiping out everyone on the outside. It’s one of those matches where there are a billion moves going on at once, but it doesn’t feel excessive. Very good match with reDragon getting the win, pining Kozlov (who’s on his way out shortly after this match) with the Chasing the Dragon, a brainbuster/kick combo.
O’Reilley and Fish are interviewed backstage. They don’t say much other than they intend to take over New Japan, they’re ichiban, etc.
Kenny Omega is interviewed. When asked why the joined the Bullet Club, he said it was because he wanted to be in New Japan. He’d ask them for years to be in, but they would only let him be in the Super Junior tournament. So the Bullet Club came to him and said they’d get him on whatever show he wants and would even get him a title shot, so he joined up with them, calling them family. When asked about champion Ryusuke Taguchi, he mocks the hip attacks a bit, but also says that they hurt so he knows what they’re doing. At one time they were a tag team unit, but that’s over as now they both want to become a legend in the Junior heavyweight division.
The match aired. I liked this match. It was good, but not super great or anything. It was a very much back and forth match with the two working slow at first, then eventually trading finishers and submissions and the like. It reminded me very much like a WWE big time feel match. Taguchi hit the dodon and the ankle lock but Omega remained resilient. He cut off Taguchi and hit the One Winged Angel for the win. It started slow, but turned into a very good match towards the end with some good near falls.
Kenny Omega was interviewed backstage. He says that now he’s proven himself to be the best in the world. He’d better than Taguchi, better than Kushida, and even better than his former tag team partner, Kota Ibushi. He mentions that at one time Prince Devitt was considered one of the best junior heavyweights of all time and was also the former leader of the Bullet Club. But now he’s a legend, and he’s at the top.
Taguchi is also interviewed, saying that he wants another shot. He says it’s not like an eye for an eye, but if he befools him , he’ll befool back. When asked if he will take this match seriously or fool around, he says he’ll seriously fool around, but he is frustrated right now.
Omega reflects, saying he know Taguchi will come back stronger, but he will clean him up just like he’s done two other times in the past. He does respect him trying so hard, though, and encourages him to keep trying. He says when he won the title, for a moment he felt like he had accomplished his dream, but now he has work to do as he has so many crappy wrestlers to sweep away. Good show. Both matches were good, with the Junior tag having some really creative spots. Check them both out.
In a very interesting political move, Luis Urive, the most famous Mistico, currently Myzteziz, is said to be at Arena Mexico right now.
The belief is that he is there to announce he would be wrestling for the Lucha Libre Elite promotion that has a show scheduled on 10/25 at Arena Mexico.
Myzteziz is one of the top stars of the rival AAA promotion, and is currently feuding with both heels Los Perros Del Mal, and even more, is the big rival of Rey Mysterio Jr., having turned on Mysterio Jr. in their match at TripleMania, a feud that has continued at television tapings, last week’s Heroes Inmortales show, and on several upcoming TV shoots.
Urive was the biggest drawing card since the early 90s boom as Mistico at Arena Mexico. He left the promotion on bad terms to join WWE as the first Sin Cara, and flopped in the role and was fired.
CMLL has a long standing history of never letting people back who have left on bad terms, but recently bringing back L.A. Park and Dr. Wagner Jr., and seeing the houses increase greatly, may have slightly changed that.
Lucha Libre Elite, formerly All Elite, runs big shows at Arena Mexico and advertises at the CMLL shows. Park and Wagner Jr. were their big stars, along with the top CMLL talent. However, after Park was fired and Wagner Jr. quit, CMLL said they would not allow either to wrestle in their owned building, even with another promotion.
Earlier this week, I outlined the mistakes the WWE made when bringing Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch up to the main roster. These mistakes mean that the WWE is still just throwing out random women’s matches, hoping that fans will care because they’re slightly better than the dross that went before. Depressingly, it’s remarkable easy to imagine a better product. To successfully create a stronger women’s division, the WWE needed to approach the introduction of the NXT women as a months-long project that needed to be carefully planned in advance.
Thought 1: Build Around A Superstar…But Be Patient!
As explained in the previous column, the new women’s division needed to be built around a single superstar. Like most, I see that person as being Sasha Banks. Not only is she the best women’s wrestler in the company, she has an image that is unusually current for a pro wrestler. On a not entirely unrelated note, she also has the potential to tap into the black market that the promotion has ignored ever since The Rock went into semi-retirement.
However despite this greater potential, she needs Charlotte to pave the way for her. Due to being Ric Flair’s daughter, she has the instant credibility with fans that Banks needs to earn in the ring, something she can’t do until fans have been educated to care about the division. The sensible play, as in NXT, is to use Charlotte to build the platform that eventually launches Banks into superstardom.
Thought 2: Start With A Strong Storyline
First impressions are crucial when debuting new acts and the introductory storyline of the Divas Revolution gave nobody reason to take a fresh look at the division. The individual matches were inconsequential and the overall storyline had no emotional hook.
Now imagine this as an alternative. Having just dropped her NXT Women’s Title, Charlotte debuts on RAW in the run-up to Wrestlemania 31. She challenges Nikki Bella due to Bella being the type of ‘diva’ that gives female athletes a bad name. With both ‘The Nature Boy’ and Brie Bella promising to be patrolling ringside the promotion hires the baddest women on the planet, Ronda Rousey, to be the trouble-shooting outside referee. At the big show, Charlotte squashes Nikki, and then receives the post-match endorsement from Rousey herself in scenes that evoke Mike Tyson raising the hand of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Such an introduction of Charlotte would immediately raise the profile and prestige of the division by making its title match one of the centrepieces of Wrestlemania through the involvement of Flair and Rousey. The storyline of Charlotte challenging for the title due to disgust at Nikki Bella gives fan a clear reason to care in a way that the three-way trios feud could never do. Having Charlotte squash Nikki Bella confirms that she really is better than the existing women performers, and the entire storyline put Charlotte in control rather than make her subservient to Stephanie McMahon.
Thought 3: Book Charlotte Strong!
After introducing Charlotte so strongly, it would be important to build on that foundation with her championship reign. As a general principle, her in-ring appearances should be limited to pay per views and the occasional television show. This would give her time to properly prepare for her matches, but also ensures that fans see women’s matches as special events and stops the promotion from burning through challengers too quickly.
In terms of initial opponents, you don’t have to look beyond A.J. Lee, then the most popular and respected woman on the main roster. In return for her release, the WWE could surely ask for her to put the new champion over on her way out. Another credible challenger from the existing roster would be Natalie Neidhart, repeating the ‘Hall of Famer In Each Corner’ gimmick that successfully used Ric Flair and Bret Hart to add legitimacy to the NXT Women’s Championship.
After those two, you run into a problem that the division lacks both marquee names that fans would care about and capable workers that could match the high standard set by the NXT women. Luckily, you can reach into the past to bring back women from the division’s previous golden era who can be both. Charlotte’s reign could easily consist of a series of one-off matches against the likes of Trish Stratus, Victoria, Mickie James, Gail Kim, and Lita. The novelty of the returning superstars would add interest to the division and having Charlotte decisively go over them would establish her as the greatest champion in the division’s history.
The use of these veterans would also allow the promotion to keep Charlotte away from the pre-existing roster. This is important because all of the ‘divas’ are thoroughly discredited in the eyes of fans due to years of poor presentation. If Charlotte spent months defending against women who fans had long given up on, then much like Paige before, her reign would not be accepted as a fresh start.
Thought 4: Refresh the Presentation
It’s important to remember that in pro wrestling, the sizzle is just as important as the steak; no matter how good the pro wrestlers or matches are, if there are problems with the presentation, then fans won’t care. When relaunching the women’s division, the WWE really needed to pivot away from the ‘divas’ branding as it’s too associated with past failures and is a derogative term for women in the real world. Have Charlotte throw down the championship at Wrestlemania 31, denounce the branding as stupid and demand a new title belt.
This should be more than a superficial change with the presentation of Charlotte and her matches dedicated to proving that she is anything but a ‘diva’ by educating viewers that she and other female pro-wrestlers are serious, credible athletes. Frustratingly, WWE pretty much nailed the correct tone to use back in April with the training footage of Charlotte they used to promote their new TapOut gear.
A key point is that just like in NXT, the booking should avoid doing elaborate storylines with the women as endless scenes of women arguing with each other just makes all involved look catty, something that would prove a turnoff to the predominately male audience. Remember that the one setback to Ronda Rousey’s popularity was when she spent a season of The Ultimate Fighter screaming at Miesha Tate. Equally, performers’ ring gear should be somewhat tasteful. While there’s nothing wrong with presenting women as sex symbols (look at Paige VanZant and Tate), it’s important not to dress them in outfits that wouldn’t look out of place in a stripclub.
Thought 5: Rebuild The Division Away From The Main Stage
Charlotte defending against returning mid-90s superstars should be enough to keep her occupied from Wrestlemania to Summerslam. The future of the division rests on the promotion using that time to address the weak roster depth that has always held the women back.
Obviously at some point, you would bring Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley up, but by themselves, they’re not enough. Whereas NXT could survive with a division that was effectively just four people due to producing so little television, WWE needs a fresh championship programme every month. Equally, the emergence of NXT as a touring brand means you can’t entirely gut that division.
Two things therefore would need to happen away from RAW and Smackdown during Charlotte’s reign. Firstly, those pre-existing divas that can be effective pro wrestlers (rather than hosts or valets) need to be sent down to NXT. There, the skills of raw athletes such as Naomi could be developed to unlock her hitherto untapped in-ring potential, whilst talented workers such as Paige can work on refreshing their characters and practicing matches with the likes of Banks and Lynch. At the very least time away from the main roster would help fans forget about how they had previously been booked into the ground.
Secondly, the WWE needs to be more aggressive with their recruitment of new, talented women pro-wrestlers from the independent scene and overseas. These women would both stabilise the NXT division when the ‘Four Horsewomen’ start to leave Florida, but also provide the next phase of performers to be promoted to the main roster.
Thought 6: Make The First Title Change Important
Having successfully got Charlotte over to the fans as a credible champion and therefore educating them to take the division as a whole seriously, you can then move to the second phase – bringing in Banks. It’s a story that writes itself; whilst Charlotte is winning plaudits on the main roster, the woman who beat her for the NXT Women’s Championship is defeating all comers in Florida. Eventually, Banks snaps at missing out on all the attention, comes up to the main roster to demand a champion vs champion match.
With the benefit of hindsight, the ideal timeline for this would be for Banks to make the challenge on the RAW after SummerSlam and then for the match to be booked for the recent WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden to capitalise on her popularity in the New York market. Placing it on a Network special rather than a PPV would also allow for the match to be given greater prominence than usual – potentially even headlining the show.
In that match, Banks would defeat Charlotte to begin her reign as the WWE Women’s Champion. This title change would need to mark an important shift in the division as the promotion refreshes its roster by bringing up the new and repackaged women wrestlers from NXT. This would ensure that Banks had challengers who she knows how to work with and that have not already lost to Charlotte on television.
Thought 7: Have A Clear Plan
With the title on Sasha and the women’s roster thoroughly refreshed, it’s important that WWE be patient and think carefully about not only Banks but each of her future challengers. As part of this, they must remember to book for the vast majority of the audience that hasn’t been following NXT. For instance rather than rush into Lynch challenging for the title, it may make more sense to go back to her acting as Banks’ henchwoman so you can build a relationship between the two women that makes the eventual match between them mean more
While establishing Banks as the dominant champion, they would also need to protect Charlotte by keeping her in meaningful matches away from the title picture. Eventually, you book the rematch between the two at Wrestlemania 32 in what would be the ‘most eagerly anticipated women’s match in WWE history’. Whoever had been the more successful as champion should then win to establish them as the female face of the company, with the loser settling for being Randy Orton to the winner’s John Cena.
