Greetings to all my fellow Empire members. Gather around and listen to the stories of a certain show taped in front of 300 people in a college in Winter Park, Florida!
The Big News: The Vaudevillians lost in the Dusty Classic, but retained their titles in the main event, defeated Blake & Murphy.
The Medium News: Kana is now Asuka, but you probably already knew that.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Tyler Breeze was informed by the cameraman that he will be wrestling Apollo Crews at Takeover.
The Recap:
Eva Marie defeated Carmella by countoutEva cut an inset promo where she thanked the referee from three weeks ago for holding up his count when she forgot to kick out of a suplex. This is a rematch from Brooklyn when these two squared off. This match was horrible, made worse by Corey Graves being obnoxious. Eva did this horrible walking boot across the ring that they showed a replay of. The fans chanted “Botox Everything” at Eva Marie.
They are continuing the gimmick where Eva Marie has matches lost, but somehow she doesn’t lose. Carmella had the pin after driving Eva’s face into her boot, but the referee held up his count at 2. Turns out Eva’s foot was touching the bottom rope. The finish saw Eva threw Carmella outside the ring and Carmella couldn’t get back in the ring, so she got counted out in an anticlimactic finish.
– Another video package for Nia Jax aired. She’s eventually going to arrive in NXT. I believe it’s now been 6 weeks
– A video package hyping the Bayley-Sasha match aired. This featured a completely different Bayley, totally low key and talking like an adult woman, as opposed to the character she plays.
Tyler Breeze pinned Bull Dempsey
Bull came out in his Michael Elgin robe. I just noticed that it looks a lot like Dr. Death Steve Williams’ robe too. The last time these two sports entertained was the infamous match where Bull was unable to take a lap around the ring.
Bull was standing on the apron and winding up for a punch when Tyler shoved Bull off the apron, sending him crashing on the ramp, which was the finish of the last match and almost the finish here. They compared Bull Fit favorably to P90X. In all fairness I do not hate Bull as much as I hate Tony Horton.
This match was dull and the fans amused themselves by chanting “All Bull Everything” and “Bullfit” in the cadence of “Bullshit”. Bull made his comeback, using his stomach as an offensive maneuver. Breeze rolled outside the ring to get away from a top rope move, but Bull pulled him back in and ascended the ropes. Tyler threw him off the top rope and pinned him with his feet on the ropes.
NOTE: After Tweeting out about Bull Dempsey’s robe and its similarity to Michael Elgin’s and Dr. Death’s, Elgin tweeted me back saying that he borrowed the concept from Dr. Death himself.
– The theme song for NXT Takeover: Respect is called Happy Song. No joke.
– A video package from the weekend tour of Texas. They did not mention the giant upset in the Dusty Rhodes Classic where Dash & Dawson defeated The Vaudevillians to advance to Takeover.
Mr. Regal was in the ring for a contract signed with the newest NXT Diva: Kana
She was Asuka before the commercial break and before I could finish typing that, her Titantron changed names from Kana to Asuka.
She has pink hair and is very very happy to be here. She yelled ‘YAAAYYYYYYY!” into the microphone before saying she was happy to be here on NXT. She might literally be the happiest person to ever be on this show. In broken English she happily announced her desire to be champion. I once had a supervisor at Jackson Hewitt in Hazleton, Pennsylvania who was so happy we used to joke he must have been on drugs. I think Asuka is happier.
Dana Brooke and Emma came out to introduce themselves. Emma talked slowly to Asuka as if she were 4 years old, saying they are NXT’s welcoming committee. They told her that if she plans to survive in the locker room, she needs to respect them as the leaders of the locker room.
Dana said they ran Charlotte and Becky out of NXT and if Asuka doesn’t play nice her career will be over before it begins. They told her to leave the ring, which, shockingly, she did. The fans chanted no at her, but she walked away with her head bowed. At the top of the ramp Asuka just turned and smiled at them. I don’t want to alarm you, but this is far from over.
-Tyler Breeze was asked about his match vs Apollo Crews at Takeover. Conveniently Crews just happened to be walking up to Tyler and said he hopes Tyler is just as excited as he is.
-Kyle Edwards filled us in on the updates of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Next week on NXT is Balor & Joe vs Enzo & Big Cass and the winners will face Dash & Dawson. On the other side of the bracket it will be the Hype Bros vs Chad Gable & Jason Jordan this weekend at a house show, with the winners facing Rhyno & Baron Corbin.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians defeated Blake & Murphy
Can Blake & Murphy become the first team to become two time NXT Tag Team Champions? Adrian Neville is a 2-time champion, but he had three different partners. Him and the long forgotten Oliver Grey became the first NXT Tag Champions, but Oliver got injured, so Bo Dallas filled in for the end of the reign. Then Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves were the #1 Contender’s, but Kassius got a storyline injury, so Corey teamed with Neville to become unlikely champions, defeating the Wyatt Family.
The fans chanted for Blue Pants, who was not there for the first 30 seconds. Then Alexa got involved quickly, so Pants ran down and chased Alexa away. The heels got the heat on English, but Aiden fought back and did an impressive double hiptoss to both challengers at the same time. Aiden tried to build on this momentum outside the ring, but Blake gave him a side suplex on the ring apron.
English eventually slapped Murphy so hard that Murphy should contact his lawyer. Simon got the hot tag and went wild on Blake. They went for their finish, but Blake got his knees up when Aiden went for the swanton. Murphy hit a top rope knee, but only got a 2 count. Finally the champs retained with the Whirling Dervish. I was actually surprised as I expected Blake and Murphy to get the belts back.
The show ended with promos by Enzo & Colin and Samoa Joe & Finn Balor building up their quarter final match next week. Next week is already the go-home show for Takeover, so who is going to the Final Four of the Dusty Classic?
Only one way to find out, tune in next week and until then, say your vitamins and take your prayers!
It’s a whole new season and Conor McGregor is the reason, as he and Urijah Faber go toe to toe as coaching foes on The Ultimate Fighter. They won’t duke it out after the season is done, but there’s still pride on the line, not to mention Conor’s reputation as the newest badass on the block.
Join us each episode for “The Notorious Quote of the Week” as Conor puts his mouth where UFC’s money is! We’ll also spice things up with some predictions for week two about who could go all the way this season – two “Fighters to Watch” for each recap.
The Notorious Quote of the Week: “Man Urijah is an absolute p—y. Stop being a p—y. Man up and make the fight (with Dillashaw). You’ve got nothing else left.”
Last week U.S. fighter Ryan Hall beat European fighter Frantz Siloa to retain control for Team Faber. This week’s fight is Sascha Sharma (Team Europe) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (Team U.S.). Here we go!
Martin Svensson is sporting a black eye at the same time he’s saying the training is going really well. I’ve got him on my “Fighter to Watch” list this week because of the amount of energy he expends in the workout sessions.
Apparently the Team McGregor strategy is to have a light workout in the morning without their coach, then an intense session with technical instruction including McGregor in the evening. Dana White says he acts like he doesn’t give a f— when the truth is that he really does.
Chris Gruetzemacher says his dad was shot and murdered when he was only five. It’s part of what made him focused and convinced him to be a fighter, and make the most of his athletic ability while he still has the time to. He’s my other “Fighter to Watch” this week.
Sascha Sharma talks about how his dad emigrated from India to Germany decades ago, and how he had an infection in childhood that left him paralyzed for a time. He had to train to walk, he had to train martial arts to feel better, and after that he couldn’t give it up.
Faber comes over to the TUF house to watch the T.J. Dillashaw fight where he finished Renan Barao standing, beating Barao for the second time (July 25, 2015). Afterward Sharma is 155 and Gruetzemacher is 154.5 on the scale. Dana thinks Gruetzemacher has it in the bag because he trains with Benson Henderson.
* Lightweight: Chris Gruetzemacher (USA) vs. Sascha Sharma (Europe)
Sharma is in the gray trunks and “Gritz” as Faber calls him is in the blue. Sharma pushes Gritz into the fence as McGregor calls for him to throw knees and to be patient in the fight. Gritz takes him to the ground and Sharma goes for a triangle submission – but Gritz breaks it and lands a couple of hard and heavy rights on the ground. Sharma gets up and pushes Gritz into the fence again. Sharma single legs him to the ground but can’t keep him down. 2:30 gone. These two are going really hard for what looks to be a long fight with a half hour of TV time left. Sharma pulls guard at 3:15 then tries to land upkicks but Gritz talks the half guard to land elbows. Gritz is passing furiously and Sharma is scrambling furiously – an intense amount of energy is being expended on both sides. Gritz ends up on top in guard and Sharma tries to get a triangle or armbar again but can’t. On to R2!
Sharma lands a right hand and shoots immediately to open R2, but when he can’t get it he flops to his back hoping to suck Gritz in. Gritz is more than happy to get on top and throw some elbows, then take a full mount at 51 seconds, but Sharma is able to escape it – not without getting bloodied. McGregor loses his cool when he goes to his back again and starts screaming “Stay on your f—ing feet!” Sharma rolls and Gritz nearly gets an armbar out of it. McGregor is screaming at Sharma to “end up on top out of it” and he does. Sharma gets swept though and Gritz is in side control. McGregor: “You need to find your patience in there. A patient man always prevails.” Sharma manages to hold on and go for some upkicks when Gritz repositions, but Gritz gets big damage late and a mount too.
Dana White announces a sudden victory third round and McGregor screams at him to stay on his feet before we go to commercial.
Sharma ignores McGregor’s advice and goes to the ground immediately, causing an exasperated McGregor to scream “WHAT THE F—?!” Gritz spins to take the back while throwing rights, but Sharma tries to trap his head for a choke. He’s too exhausted to lock it on though and Gritz gets on his back again throwing rights at his head. It’s a war of attrition and Gritz is winning. He passes to side and takes the back again. McGregor screams “up on your feet” but he’s too whipped to even try. Gritz pushes him back down into half guard. McGregor realizes they’ve lost the fight even with two minutes left. Faber: “Don’t do anything too crazy just keep eating him up.” INDEED. Sharma spins on top with just over a minute left. Gritz motions like he’ll stand up but sweeps with a half minute left. McGregor: “Very very poor. My God.” Sharma is a bloody mess.
McGregor: “When he shot from the bell in the t’ird round and then pulled guard, there’s nothing more you can do. There’s nothing more you can do for the kid. There’s only so much words can do.” He accuses Sharma of “crumbling under the pressure.” All three judges score the third 10-9 for Gritz which makes Team U.S. 2-0 so far. Faber: “For not being emotionally invested you sure got emotionally invested.” Faber announces Tom Gallicchio (USA) vs. Marcin Wrzosek (Europe). Join us next week!
Last week, the GFW vs. TNA feud was blown off after about a month with a Lethal Lockdown match. Drew Galloway beat Bryan Myers to win Jarrett’s stock in the company, and now the build for TNA’s biggest event of the year (in under two weeks) can begin. Tonight, Rockstar Spud has been given a title shot against EC3 due to Jeff Hardy apparently going to Dixie and calling in a favor.
Josh’s recap of the “ten year journey” between GFW vs. TNA ended last week in Lethal Lockdown. Bram’s entrance was hyped up a bit, and the match itself came off like a perfectly functional War Games match even in highlight form. Josh’s “TNA is showing signs of life” line remains hilarious. In the ring, Dixie stands with Team TNA while the roster is on the floor. Drew gets a partial intro here as the team captain. Drew cuts an awesome promo about the whole team being warriors and Dixie makes a match with Team TNA going to war in a match to determine a number one contender for the TNA World Title at Bound For Glory.
Dixie says that the TNA crew has never been better, but she wants EY to come out because he’s now exiled from the title hunt. Pope ponders that EY isn’t playing with a full deck while he carries around Chris Melendez’s artificial leg. Dixie says that EY turned his back on the roster and the company, while EY says she should’ve done that when he retired Kurt Angle or took a war hero’s leg. Well, that’s valid. He says he has an “i-ron clad contract” with TNA Wrestling and he basically wound up a winner no matter what, and there’s nothing Dixie can do about it. Dixie says there are people fighting on the front line and brings out Melendez. Sarge comes down while EY threatens him being holding his leg like a baseball bat. As stupid as the leg stipulation was, it is even worse being thrown into the main event storyline too. Dixie makes Melendez vs. EY in a lumberjack match for the leg, and it’s next.
Eric Young vs. Chris Melendez in a Lumberjack Match for Melendez’s Leg
Chris is tossed out, but gets thrown in and gets 2 off a sunset flip. EY stomps his head while Pope talks about how the show’s main eventers could get a bonus for saving TNA, but they’d much rather get a shot at the TNA World Title at BFG. EY gets a chinlock while the roster slaps the mat in support of Sarge. Josh points out that Spud could be main eventing BFG as World Champion if he wins tonight and says that he’s the ultimate underdog. How exactly? He hasn’t won a match in a long time. Melendez gets a Samoan drop thanks to a lot of help from EY, and then gets a Bubba bomb too. EY hits him with the leg, but he doesn’t want the win right now. EY wants a superplex, but gets bumped and then eats a missile dropkick – so Melendez has won his leg back. The roster holds him high and EY helped him look great here by taking big bumps. Taryn and the Dolls talk about their hatred for Gail. She has a favorite Doll, and it’s Jade – so she gets to beat up Gail tonight. EC3 tells Jeff Hardy to do what he says or the paychecks go away.
Recap of Dixie announcing tonight’s main event. Pope and Josh talk about the GFW vs. TNA invasion and how big tonight’s show is because we’ll find out the main event of BFG, plus we have a Knockouts title match, an X Title match, and a World Title match. Well, in theory that should matter. In execution, it really doesn’t. Jade comes down and does her full intro, but has added little bunny hops on her knees on the apron. Gail gets her slightly more epic intro.
Gail Kim vs. Jade – Knockouts Title Match
Josh says that if Gail wins here, she will go on to face Awesome Kong. Why is Kong getting a title shot beyond it being a TNA Greatest Hits rematch? Jade jumps Gail and gets 2 off a German suplex. Jade gets a Yakuza kick in the corner for 2. Jade hits a series of machine gun Kobashi chops in the corner while Pope talks about her being big on the indy scene, but doesn’t elaborate on that. Gail comes back and gets the corner crossbody and the ringpost figure four. Gail goes for Eat Defeat, but Jade counters it into a Liger bomb for 2. Josh takes a shot at the divas “revolution” leading to the Dolls attacking, and then the BPs of Velvet and Madison attack the Dolls. The Dolls look doesn’t work for Rebel, and Madison dressing like Velvet, only with fishnets and booty shorts doesn’t suit her at all. The factions brawl before Kong comes down to seemingly attack Gail, but she just stares her down like “I’ve got this”. Spud is interviewed and he says that he and EC3 have come full circle. He understands if Jeff hits him, but he wants to be TNA World Champion.Tigre Uno comes out to face Kenny King, who gets no intro.
Tigre Uno vs. Kenny King – X Division Title Match
Uno gets a Mistico pop-up dropkick and then a springboard dive to the floor onto King. They get in several “fast and furious” mentions in the span of one minute. King gets 2 off a spinkick. King puts him up for a superplex, but Uno fights off and dives off with a crossbody. Uno gets a spinning headscissors for 2. Kenny gets an Irish Curse backbreaker and an exploder for 2. Kenny lands a slick-looking spinebuster for 2. Kenny flips around a bit, but misses the shotgun knees and eats a tiltawhirl DDT and frog splash. Tigre Uno wins, and they put over that he was trained by Rey Mysterio.
Recap of Jeff Hardy being humiliated for all of one week by EC3. It’s used to hype up Spud vs. EC3 with a recap of their whole history and EC3 beating hall of famers and Rockstar Spud himself. EC3 comes out, so even in TNA, the World Title is the mid-card main event.
EC3 vs. Rockstar Spud – TNA World Heavyweight Title
These two had a classic in London. Spud wants a handshake, but EC3 slaps him and chops his chest. Spud gets some corner chops in both knife-edge and overhand varieties. Spud goes for the old Bobby Jaggers headlock punches, but EC3 hits a lariat and some mounted punches. EC3 misses a Stinger splash and eats a series of corner forearms before being low-bridged and being hit with a dive by Spud. Tyrus grabs a fan’s sign and just puts it down gently. Spud has a great look of determination on his face on the top rope and lands a big flying AJ-style forearm. EC3 counters Spud and gets a Rampage powerbomb for 2. EC3 calls for the One Percenter, but Spud hangs on and eats elbows to the neck. Spud bites EC3’s hand and lands an enzuiguri, setting him up for another one, but he counters the Underdog attempt with a TKO using the knee and the One Percenter for the win. This was a bite-sized version of their classic, but still very good.
EC3 asks Tyrus for a favor – please heart punch Spud real fast. EC3 wants Tyrus to hold Spud so Jeff can end his career with a Twist of Fate. Really? That move barely gets a two count in TNA. EC3 hypes up Jeff by having him strip the jacket off, but he refused to end Spud’s career. They threaten to end his career, but Matt comes in and Tyrus attacks him. EC3 tells Jeff to hit Matt, who responds by kicking Tyrus in the balls while Jeff hits EC3. Well, this was all a lot of fun. Backstage, EC3 yells at Jeff about how his Creatures better follow him to the soup kitchen because he’s going to fire him later.
James Storm and the Revolution are mid-ring and he tells Shera that his name is Koya and he’ll be taken out by the Revolution. Abyss, for some reason, is now against Storm. He isn’t a pathetic sheep and says that the monster stands in no man’s shadow. Abyss says that he is a TNA Original Original and was here 13 years ago and scarred his body while giving up his blood, sweat, and tears for the company. He says Storm didn’t make the Monster, he did.
Manik stands up to Storm saying that Koya’s name is Shera. Storm shoves him down a couple of times while Storm takes credit for Manik’s character. They go into a full-blown Roots bit over the name with the “say his name” bit and Manik continues to say “Shera”. Manik says Storm didn’t make him or the mask, and he takes it out while a “TJP” chant breaks out. Shera’s theme hits and the fans actually start doing “the Shera dance”. Shera confronts Storm, who says they’ll fight on his time and breaks out the “sorry about your damn luck” line again. The Wolves and Drew talk about what an honor it was to team together, buttonight, they go to war to fight EC3. Josh announces that Tigre Uno will defend the X Title in an Ultimate X match. Matt tells Jeff what he did is okay because he has a family to feed. Everyone comes down for the main event.
Bram vs. Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Lashley vs. Drew Galloway – 5 Way Elimination Number One Contender’s Match
Wolves go to double team Bram, but he lariats them down. Drew and Bram go at it leading to Bram hitting a slick spin kick. Lashley and Bram go at it a bit, and Bram gets 2 off a Michinoku driver. Wolves go to double suplex Bram, but he suplexes both men. They’ve been sorta-pushing Bram for a while and this is easily the best he’s looked yet. Wolves dive into Drew and Lashley and then go after Bram. Wolves get some double teams and finally take him out with double stomps. It’s down to four babyfaces for the win.
After a break, Lashley gets a delayed suplex to Davey, and Eddie’s attacks can’t end it. Drew attacks and it’s still on. Eddie finally saves and the Wolves low bridge Lashley. Drew eats a shining wizard by Eddie. Inverted atomic drop and a superkick hit Lashley. Eddie gets the half crab while Davey gets a cloverleaf. The other faces escape and the Wolves go at it in friendly warfare. Lashley and Drew hit their finishers on the Wolves, who get pinned – so it’s down to Drew vs. Lashley for the shot.
Drew lands a lariat and a flyover corner forearm. Drew takes him out with a flying clothesline off the top. Lashley hits some corner punches and chokes away in the corner with his boot. Snap suplex with a floatover gets 2. Drew pops up in the corner, but eats a powerslam for 2. Lashley charges in, but eats a boot, but responds with a German suplex smoothly transitioned into an overhead belly to belly. Schoolboy counter for a spear gets 2, while the sick kick hits and Drew wins to get the title shot. Really good match here – and when combined with the Spud-EC3 match, that gives it two matches worth going out of your way to see. EC3 tells everyone to call, Tweet, Facebook and screencap this because he’s going to fire Jeff Hardy.
Josh recaps the Drew vs . Lashley match and Drew says that the four men in the ring were the four best in the world. He says the fans believe in him because he’s real and he’s going to live up to his potential at Bound For Glory. EC3 gets whatted and responds to it by saying every word on its own. Well, that’s an amusing way to handle that. Jeff shows off the giant EC3 face being defaced with his artwork. Jeff asks why he should care about being fired and EC3 tells him that without EC3 employing him, he won’t be able to create art for his creatures and provide for his family.
EC3 commands Jeff to kiss the TNA World Title like it’s the king’s ring. EC3 demands that Jeff recite a promo including the line “yet in God mode”. Jeff tells EC3 to take the job and shove it, leading to EC3 firing him and ending the show. Next week’s show has Drew and Matt teaming up against EC3 and Tyrus while Dixie names a special referee for Drew vs. EC3 at BFG. After a fairly long slump, Impact felt like it was back on track with a pair of very good matches and a pretty good one in Jade vs. Gail too.
In the grand tradition of that episode where they went to Cabo (season 2) and another trip to Mexico in Season 3, we get another episode where the girls all go to a tropical location and hang around in bikinis. This series has two staple episodes: beach vacations and weddings.
Anyhow, just like every other vacation episode, this one is marred by drama.
Nattie’s Jealous of Cesaro: Nattie is a bit upset that TJ and Cesaro are so close. We get a montage of her mentioning it to basically every recurring person on the show. Paige thinks she’s making it sound like TJ and Cesaro are lovers, and gives her the gears a bit. It’s pretty funny, and Nattie gets the point – she’s over-reacting.
Paige is Engaged: Paige isn’t super-into wedding planning, (despite all the other girls getting excited about it) and confides in Alicia (and us, since it’s on a television show) that she only accepted Kevin’s proposal last episode because she was afraid of losing him.
Naomi’s Too Sexy: Jon gets upset with Naomi’s skimpy ring gear now that she’s a heel. Then she gets mad at Alicia for posting a video of her twerking, thinking Jon will see it and get upset. Anyway, Naomi decides to try to find a middle-ground between respecting her husband’s wishes and dressing like a prude.
Brie Is Fighting With Her Dad: Brie and Nikki’s dad, who they alternately hate and love depending on the episode, has unfollowed Brie off Instagram. It also turns out he’s having a kid with his new gal and didn’t tell them. Nikki spends the episode trying to get in touch with their Mexican heritage while Brie resists. The whole cast gets word mid-way through the episode that Dusty Rhodes passed away. That event prompts Brie to decide to try to make up with her dad, because you never know how long you have with loved ones – even ones you don’t get along with all the time.
Highlight of the episode: After Dusty passes away, Paige does a really funny Dusty impression, mimicking how he described her character when she was in NXT.
Al Friend, who was best known as a manager in the Central States during the 70s as Percival A. Friend, passed away today after what was reported as a lengthy illness.
Friend was 70.
Friend started as in wrestling in his native Flint, MI, as a ring announced in 1963. Shortly thereafter, he started working as a referee, and then a masked wrestler, often using the name The Green Hornet.
He gained his greatest success moving into managing in 1970, managing a number of heels that came through the Central States territory, most notably British star Black Angus Campbell, as well as Harley Race, Roger Kirby, and the tag team of Tokyo Joe & The Great Togo. He also managed in other territories, most notably West Texas in 1973.
When his daughter was born in 1975, he slowly moved out of wrestling. He got a job working with Standard Oil of Ohio in 1976 and retired from wrestling.
He remained close to the wrestling business for the rest of his life, writing extensively on the subject, regularly posting on web sites and was a well-known regular at the Cauliflower Alley Club banquets in Las Vegas in recent years.
As you all have noticed, we have gone through some pretty big changes all at once. We of course have had a few snags and one of them was a big one — people couldn’t listen to shows or read the newsletters. Many of our customers are solving this problem by changing their password. CLICK HERE to login and go to your profile. Change your password! For most subscribers, this clears up all login issues.
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Thank you for your patience during this transition.
NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder vs. Chad Gable & Jason Jordan in th Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, Eva Marie vs. Carmella, Bull Dempsey vs. Tyler Breeze. the introduction of Kana/Asuka, and The Vaudevillains (c) vs. Blake & Murphy for the NXT Tag Team Championship.
A rerun of last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. It’s titled “Crowded House” and was a very solid start to the regular (post-elimination round) seasom
Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America features Ethan Carter III defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Rockstar Spud and a big announcement from Dixie Carter about Bound For Glory.
The Ultimate Fighter at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 is titled “Recognize the Enemy.” Conor McGregor tries to push Urijah Faber into fighting T.J. Dillashaw and one of the coaches does not react well to how this week’s fight goes.
ROH at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America has Michael Elgin vs. Silas Young, Caprice Coleman vs. ACH, and a main event trios match with Kazuchika Okada & Roppongi Vice vs. The Briscoes & Hirooki Goto.
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 a look back at how exactly WWE lost the WWF name. Forget the stories you’v heard, this detailsexactly what the World Wildlife Fund objected to, what WWE agreed to and why, what scandals worried the fund, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news from Dr. Lucha Steve Sims and and Alan”4L” Counihan.
The recnt 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:
We’ve got a look at WWE right now with the issues that have led to ratings setting record lows as well as an update on TNA, New Japan, GFW, ROH and everyone else in the battle for No. 2, as the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This issue also has a detailed look at the Nick Diaz situation and why it is far more complicated than most are making it out to be, Atlantis vs. La Sombra in one of the year’s biggest matches, a history of the CMLL anniversary shows, a look at Thomas Hauser’s article on USADA, an update on Dr. Christopher Amann’s lawsuit against C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana, what led to the Mayweather flop on PPV and New Japan builds for two PPVs this month.
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.
The lead story looks at what is and isn’t misleading about the record low ratings for Raw and Smackdown over the past two weeks, the rate of decline, the future of Smackdown, and why wrestling even with lower ratings may be far more valuable to the USA Network when the current contract is over. We look at the problems that are inherent, those that can be addressed and those that can’t. We look at why this past week’s Raw rating was far more sobering than the week before as well as how wrestling and every combat sport is changing from an economic situation worldwide. We look at interviews, finishes, making stars and dropping the ball on stars. We also look at Night of Champions.
We update the TNA television situation, what promotion had a strong growth year, and the future of No. 2, as well as an update on all of TNA’s TV deals.
We go in depth on Nick Diaz, and what are the key elements of the story, why he got a five year suspension, how Diaz has blown his prime years in fighting, the commissioners discuss the suspension and the deliberations leading to it. We talk about why comparisons to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones aren’t valid in this case, detail the controversies over the test results, the legal issues involved, and Diaz talks about what happened in childhood that led him to where he is.
We also look at the situation with Jake Shields and the commission ruling on his post-match punch to Rousimar Palhares, as well as his comments on what happened.
We also look at what contracted talent was told about Hulk Hogan, as well as a double standard that is too obvious, the next Takeover special, Update on Lana, Dwayne Johnson makes former WWE writer a major executive in his company, what happened at the recent NXT talent meeting, Daniel Bryan talks about creating new stars, and his health situation as well as PPV matches he wants.
We look at plans for the November European tour, WWE performers and Twitter, Paige talks in detail about her incident with Alicia Fox that turned into a fight of sorts with two other women and how it all went down. Jimmy Noonan talks issues with WWE security including a story when a fan kicked the ass of a main event wrestler inside the ring one night and how that fan ended up as a wrestler.
We look at another sports star that WWE is bringing in for a tryout, four cast members from Tough Enough who have now signed contracts, this week’s NXT shows, and the father of a WWE wrestler who is an all-time legend in slow-pitch softball.
We’ve got notes on the WWE TV shows as well as the next month of NXT shows, as well as reports on WWE business over the past week, and highlights from all the house shows.
We look at the Atlantis vs La Sombra match, the build to the match, why the match is so big, the last angle and what happened with Dr. Wagner Jr. an L.A. Park. We also look at a history of the CMLL Anniversary shows, with the big names that have appeared on them and the most famous matches over the years.
We look at Thomas Hauser’s article on USADA and how it related to Floyd Mayweather, what about the article had validity and what was a stretch. We look at USADA’s drug testing in UFC and what the results so far say, the concept of retroactive TUE’s, a scary aspect of a contract Manny Pacquiao was given and wouldn’t sign, rumors of Mayweather positive tests, and the story behind Erik Morales failing four tests before a fight for Clenbuterol and still fighting.
We update the situation with Dr. Christopher Amann’s lawsuit against C.M. Punk. We look at the response to the suit filed by Punk and Colt Cabana, WWE’s response and what the key issues in the suit are.
We’ve got notes on the Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto PPV number and lessons that it has taught.
We also run down this past week’s New Japan show at Korakuen Hall and how it builds the next two PPV shows.
We’ve also got ratings from all the television shows this past week along with results from all the major arena events.
We also update on the last two AAA TV tapings, Genichiro Tenryu’s last match at Korakuen Hall, the Dragon Gate Summer Adventure tag team tournament, the All Japan Open singles tournament, the NOAH jr. heavyweight tournament, New Japan talks about their relationship with WWE and more.
We look at the Japanese female wrestler who broke her record for most world championships, and a new Hall of Fame mixed tag team.
We’ve got notes on Hulk Hogan’s latest media and what he said that simple time lines can disprove, notes on Jimmy Snuka including why there will be a lot more coverage of his story coming up, as well as why his hearing this week was canceled. We look at the U.S. gold medalists in the world wrestling championships and what wrestler looks like a great UFC or WWE prospect. We also update GFW and where television stands, look at a star indie wrestler sent to prison, Podcasts involving wrestling personalities, two pro wrestlers at the 1980 Olympic team reunion, an update on House of Hardcore, an update on Kelly Kelly, whatever happened to Chuck Palumbo, former UFC star getting a pro wrestling break, a wrestling show uncovered by a historian that drew 80,000 fans in 1936, the daughter of a WWE Hall of Famer starting wrestling training, and a well known pro wrestler competing under another name in pseudo MMA combat.
We also look at some significant negotiations going on with ROH and a look at the weekend events.
We also look at the Jarrett/Dixie Carter deal, Earl Hebner into the TNA Hall of Fame and his background, an update on Bram and Kurt Angle and Angle’s wrestling schedule.
We look at ticket sales for UFC 194 and how early sales have been, more big fights announced, a UFC signee who will start after competing in the 2016 Olympics, Ronda Rousey in the ESPN poll of the greatest female athlete of all-time, as well as lots of new UFC fights.
We also look at a new Bellator deal, and Scott Coker’s hopes for this week’s show.
We also look at a proposed Chael Sonnen vs. Josh Barnett grappling match, and the return of Ben Askren.
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.
***
Wednesday Daily Update
— Jimmy Snuka’s preliminary hearing has been scheduled for two weeks from today. Irv Muchnick has a blog post about the investigators on his website.
— Cameron/Ariane Andrew and VINCENT! appeared on AfterBuzz TV’s Total Divas post-show last night. They talked about her confrontation with Paige and the issues much of the cast had with Eva Marie among other things. “I’m doing my own training, like what I’m not supposed to be doing. I want to be the best that I can possibly be and if it means like being a rebel, and if I get in trouble for it, at least I can say I got in trouble because I want to be better.”
— Barbie “Kelly Kelly” Blank is trying to gather fan supprt for her to play Pamela Anderson’s old C.J. Parker character in the new Baywatch movie starring Dwayne Johnson:
— Tank Abbott kind of challenges Ronda Rousey. “[Rousey] is a girl. It’s all about this emotional stuff. I will tell you this: I don’t care, I will fight any woman on this Earth for free. I will. She will have to make me a sandwich – that’s what I get for winning.” He says he’ll pay $100,000 to any woman who can beat him. “You can’t be, like, a tranny. You gotta be a female. Born a female.” Lovely.
— RollingStone.com interviews Kazuchika Okada. Really. On ROH’s talent: “They’re at the same level. I wanted to wrestle against new people, but it’s very similar to wrestling in Japan. I really appreciate ROH for letting me wrestle in the United States.”
— WWE posted a teaser for the Eric Bischoff’s 10 most controversial moments special on WWE Network. The topic? His “challenge” to Vince McMahon.
— Added to EVOLVE 50 on October 18th in Deer Park, NY: Roppongi Vice (Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero) vs. The Premier Athlete Brand (Caleb Konley & Anthony Nese), TJ Perkins vs. Tracy Williams, and Matt Riddle vs. Chris Dickinson.
— Professional wrestling returns to the North Shore as ELKMANIA 3 emanates from the Beverly/Salem Elks Lodge, 39 Bow Street, Beverly, MA on Saturday September 26th, 2015. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Bell time is at 7:00 PM. Tickets cost $10.00 and are on sale Silver Moon Comics & Collectibles located inside of the East India Square Mall, Salem, MA. Tickets will be available at the door, but purchase in advance is highly recommended!
With WWE ratings at historic lows, the company has announced a loaded up go-home show for Hell in a Cell.
The final Raw before the PPV, on October 19th from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, TX, has announced a lineup for the show that includes Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair along with Hell in a Cell headliners Undertaker and Brock Lesnar. With the go-home Raw being in Dallas, and it being the final show in the market until WrestleMania, it is expected that significant WrestleMania 32 news will come out of that event.
Raw on Monday, September 21st, drew just 3.34 million viewers, down from the 3.39 million that the show drew the week prior. Worse, the show lost viewers as it went on, finishing with just 3.26 million in the third hour. John Cena defending the WWE United States Title versus Seth Rollins was the main event.
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match headlines the October 19th PPV.
– Dick The Bruiser defeated Verne Gagne to win the United States championship in a Best of Three Falls match
1965
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Penalty Box rules match, North American tag team champions, Bob Geigel and Bob Brown beat Mongolian Stomper and The Ox
– Cowboy Bob Ellis beat Corsica Joe
– Sonny Myers beat Jerry Miller
– Thor Hagen beat Bulldog Plechas
1968
Orlando, Florida:
– Nick Kozack defeated Johnny Valentine for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1972
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– George Gordienko defeated Beautiful Brutus
– Kendo Nagasaki defeated Geoff Portz to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight championship
1974
Orlando, Florida:
– NWA World Champion Jack Brisco beat Bill Watts
– Bob Armstrong (substituting for Ron Fuller) & Tony Charles beat The Hollywood Blondes, Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown
– Bob Armstrong beat Greg Valentine
– Jerry Brisco beat Dick Slater
1975
Des Moines, Iowa:
– NWA World Title match, Jack Brisco defeated Ed Wiskoski
– Baron Von Raschke defeated Pat O’Conner
– Akio Sato & Jerry Oates beat Jesse Ventura & Palmer
1979
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Canadian Title Match, AWA Title not on the line; Canadian Champion Dewey Robertson beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– US Champion Jimmy Snuka beat Ricky Steamboat
– Andre The Giant beat Ken Patera dq
– Jay Youngblood & Pedro Morales beat Swede Hanson & John Studd
1982
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Non Title match, Dino Bravo & Rick Martel beat AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell
– AWA Champion Otto Wanz beat Nick Bockwinkel
– Adrian Adonis beat Baron Von Raschke
– Bobby Heenan beat Ray Stevens dq
– Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum no contest Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan
1983
Houston, Texas:
– Non Title Match, Junk Yard Dog beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Butch Reed beat Dusty Rhodes dq
– Hacksaw Duggan & Steve Williams beat King Kong Bundy & One Man Gang
– Missing Link beat Magnum TA
1984
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– WWF champion Hulk Hogan & Mad Dog Vachon defeated George Steele & Big John Studd (substituting for Jesse Ventura)
– Pat Patterson & Michael Hayes defeated The Moondogs. This bout replaced Fabulous Freebirds vs. Spoiler & Moondogs
– WWF Intercontinental champion Tito Santana defeated Paul Orndorff via disqualification
1986
Tokyo, Japan:
– Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura defeated Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido to win the IWGP Tag Team Title
Portland, Oregon:
– Road Warriors beat Bruiser Brody & Rip Oliver dq
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Curt Hennig dq
– Sgt. Slaughter beat Abudda Dein
1987
Los Angeles, California:
– NWA Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham defeated Rick Steiner
– Terry Taylor & Eddie Gilbert defeated Sting & Shane Douglas
– UWF Champion Steve Williams defeated Black Bart
– NWA US Champion Lex Luger defeated NWA World TV Champion Nikita Koloff
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair fought Ron Garvin to a no contest
1990
Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico:
– Rick Valentine & Eric Embry defeated Hurricane Castillo Jr. & Miguelito Perez to win the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Title
1994
Las Vegas, Nevada:
– Danny Spivey beat Johnny Ace to win the first UWF Americas Title
– Candi Divine pinned Tina Moretti to win vacant UWF Women’s Title
– The Killer Bees beat Warlord & Power Warrior (Larry Power) to win the first UWF Tag Title
– UWF champ Steve Williams beat Sid Vicious via dq
1996
Hershey, Pennsylvania:
– During a Raw taping, Marc Mero defeated Faarooq to win a tournament for the Intercontinental Title
Japan:
– Kensuke Sasaki defeated Shiro Koshinaka in the finals of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Japan-U.S. All Star Tournament”
– Sasaki defeated Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and Scott Norton to reach the finals, while Koshinaka beat Hugh Morrus, Sting, and Shinya Hashimoto to reach the finals
1998
Yokohama, Japan:
– Scott Norton defeated Yuji Nagata for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title
2000
Newport, Delaware:
– Inferno Kid defeats JJ The Ring Crew Guy for the ECWA Heavyweight Title
2001
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
– Kurt Angle defeated Steve Austin to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title
– Christian defeated Edge to win the Intercontinental Title
– Rhyno defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri for the United States Title
2002
– Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito defeated Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima for the Global Honored Crown Tag Team Title
– Mitsuharu Misawa defeated Yoshihiro Takayama to win the Global Honored Crown Heavyweight Title
2003
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Rey Mysterio to win the WWE Cruiserweight Title
The website continues to experience issues as of 3:35 AM, September 23, 2015.
Issues include an inability to log-in and limited availability of members-only content.
We are aware of these issues and are hoping to remedy them as quickly as possible. Our first priority is the members-only content followed by bugs and issues on the front page.
Wrestling Observer Live and the Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show have been uploaded and should be accessible by those using Downcast or other podcasting apps.
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