Welcome to my wonderful, stupendous, one of a kind coverage of NXT! A forgotten reality show that eventually became the hottest brand in WWE.
Here are the second round brackets in the Dusty Rhodes Classic:
– Samoa Joe & Finn Balor vs Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady – Dash & Dawson vs The Vaudevillains – Hype Bros vs Jason Jordan & Chad Gable – Rhyno & Baron Corbin vs Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
The Big News: William Regal announced that the main event of Takeover on October 7 will be Bayley vs Sasha Banks in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.
The Medium Sized News: Baron Corbin and Rhyno advance to the final four of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, which will take place at Takeover as well.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Next week Blake & Murphy get their rematch for the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Vaudevillians.
The match between Tyler Breeze and Adam Rose never got started
Tyler’s seasonal residence has taken him to Cairo, Egypt this fall. Rose walked out wearing short trunks and eyeglasses. He vowed to take a big, hot, steaming poop on NXT like the WWE Universe took one on him.
Before the match began, Bull Dempsey came out and announced he is going to beat Breeze so bad. Before Bull could attack him, Tyler cut a promo about how them being partner’s was the real accident. The other accident was the day Bull was born. Bull laughed it off. Breeze went on to say he would love to beat Bull, but he’s in the middle of a match.
Bull asked Adam Rose to leave so he could wrestle Tyler. Adam told him no, called him tubby and slapped Bull. Bull responded by attacking Rose. Adam got sent packing with a Full Body Attack. He tried to do the same to Breeze, but Tyler stopped his momentum and left the ring.
-Next week it is Tyler Breeze vs Bull Dempsey
Tye Dillinger pinned Danny Birch
Dillinger is the Perfect 10 if you haven’t heard. He also lives on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Tye is supposed to be a heel, but the fans really enjoy chanting 10.
Corey Graves and Byron Saxton argued over what it meant to be a Perfect 10 while Birch had him locked in a wristlock. Dillinger made his comeback and won with a move where he rolled Birch’s body around to smash his head off of Tye’s knee.
-Backstage Rhyno and Baron Corbin stated they are not worried about another upset from Gargano and Ciampa.
-Asuka is coming next week. She’ll get here before Nia Jax.
Apollo Crews pinned Solomon Crowe
My brother’s favorite wrestler is back, this time to lose to Apollo Crews. They started the match with a handshake and Crowe was offended when Crews offered another handshake after being schooled on the mat.
At one point Crowe was sitting on the mat and Crews lifted him up from that position into a suplex. Crowe was outside and Crews went for a baseball slide, but Crowe lifted up the ring apron, catching Crowe in it. Corey Graves could not shut up this entire match about Solomon Crowe being on Google.
Crews made his comeback and hit a whole bunch of impressive, athletic moves, before winning with the standing moonsault.
-Ciampa and Gargano cut their promo backstage saying they belong in NXT and will show why later tonight.
-Dana Brooke and Emma cut a promo with Devin. They noticed that the champion is back and a bunch of new people are debuting and it’s pushing them into the background. They plan on introducing themselves to the newbies.
-Sasha Banks arrived at the arena.
-Kyle Edwards updated us on the Dusty Rhodes Classic. He announced that the Final Four teams will face off at NXT Takeover on October 7.
In a 2nd round match in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, Rhyno & Baron Corbin defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
I swear I am going to start kicking my wall if Corey Graves keeps ranting about the internet.
Ciampa and Rhyno worked wonderfully together. I know they were both in ROH at the same time, but don’t know if they wrestled each other. If they did I guarantee it was good, just based on their interaction here.
Gargano gave both men a Suicide Dive and Ciampa dove off the top rope onto both of his massive foes. The heels finally cut off Ciampa to get the heat. Speaking of heat the fans generally like Rhyno, but they hate Corbin due to him not being at the same level in the ring as the others on NXT. With that in mind Corbin wasn’t in the ring as much as his partner.
Gargano got the hot tag and looked really good working with Corbin. Go figure. The heels went for a double team Gore, but Gargano leaped over Rhyno. After a little more, Corbin caught Gargano and dropped him with End of Days for the win.
-The Vaudevillains cut a promo building up their tournament match this weekend in Texas. In walked Blake, Murphy & Alexa who announced that they are invoking their rematch clause for a tag team title match next week.
-Nia Jax is still coming soon. It’s only been what? 4 weeks now? She does have like 2 more months to reach Glacier levels.
-The new NXT Women’s Champion is here to end the show. Bayley got a standing ovation and people chanting her name. She stepped inside the barricade and did a lap around the NXT Arena, climbing up the bleachers to get slapped on the back by everyone. She brought Izzy (the little girl who dresses like her) into the ring to do the Bayley entrance.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Sara Dobson
Dobson took most of the match and got Bayley in a front face lock. Bayley lifted Dobson up and rammed her into the turnbuckles. Bayley picked up the win with the Bayley to Belly.
-After the match Bayley grabbed the mic to cut a promo when she was interrupted by The Boss. Sasha had a smirk on her face as she sauntered to the ring. I got a laugh that she just arrived at the building 20 minutes earlier and then put her gear on before coming out.
Sasha was here to congratulate Bayley and said that all she has heard in weeks is how they stole the show at Takeover with the best women’s match this company has ever seen. The fans chanted “Match of the Year”, which Sasha said that was great for everyone but her. She is here to be the best. Bayley is good and at Takeover she was great, but Bayley is still not her.
Bayley’s entire comeback was accepting a challenge for a rematch that Sasha never made. Sasha didn’t want a match tonight or next week. She is here to prove a point and send a message. Sasha turned down the challenge for 2 out of 3 falls and the fans caught on, chanting “Iron Woman”.
This brought out William Regal who announced the match that was announced on Twitter last week. Bayley vs Sasha at Takeover in a 30-minute Ironman Match.
-The girls shook hands and the show ended with Bayley standing in the ring holding the strap. Until next week say your vitamins and take your prayers.
– North American Tag Team Champions, Bob Geigel and Bob Brown beat Mongolian Stomper and The Ox by dq
– Jerry Miller beat Jim Grabmire 2 falls to 1
– Bulldog Plechas drew Thor Hagen
– Corsica Joe beat Paul Caruso
1966
Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon went to a double countout with Wilbur Snyder
– Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Doug Gilbert & Billy Red Cloud
– Chris Markoff drew Ron Reed
– Dale Lewis beat Joe Tomasso
– Jim Raschke beat Johnny Kace (Raschke’s professional debut)
1967
Chicago, Illinois:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher
– Wilbur Snyder beat Angelo Poffo
– Johnny Valentine beat Moose Cholak dq
– Dr X beat Rene Goulet
– Dr Moto beat Bob Boyer
– Blackjack Lanza beat Al Kashey
1972
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Harley Race defeated Pak Song in a tournament final to become the first ever NWA Missouri Champion
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Larry Hennig & Dusty Rhodes 2/3
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Ivan Koloff dq
– Dr X beat Higo Hamaguchi
– Rene Goulet drew Don Muraco
– Ramon Torres beat Big K
1978
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Superstar Billy Graham in a Stretcher Match
1982
Oakland, California:
– Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens drew AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell
– AWA Champion Otto Wanz beat Nick Bockwinkel
– Rick Martel beat Ken Patera dq
– Jesse Ventura beat Baron Von Raschke
– Adrian Adonis beat Buck Zumhofe
1994
Knoxville, Tennessee:
– SMW Tag Team Champions The Rock N’ Roll Express defeated The Gangstas. However, New Jack & Mustafa would later threaten to sue SMW, saying tape of the match proves that they should have won the belts. As a result, Smoky Mountain Wrestling awarded the titles to the Gangstas
1995
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– The Pitbulls defeated Raven & Steven Richards in a two out of three falls Dog Collar match to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship
– Rey Misterio Jr. (now Rey Mysterio) defeated Psicosis
2002
Tokyo, Japan:
– Low Ki defeated Spanky on a Zero-One event to win the NWA International Light Heavyweight Title
2003
Raleigh, North Carolina:
– Eddie & Chavo Guerrero defeated Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle in a 60-minute Ironman match to win the WWE World Title, 5 falls to 4
2006
New York City:
– The Kings of Wrestling, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli defeated Austin Aries and Roderick Strong to win the ROH Tag Team championship
2007
– At the Unforgiven PPV, Batista defeated the Great Khali and Rey Mysterio Jr to win the World Title
– Randy Orton defeated WWE Champion John Cena by dq
– The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry
2010
– Jay Lethal defeated Doug Williams to win the TNA X Division Title
2012
At the Night of Champions PPV in Boston, Massachusetts:
– Daniel Bryan and Kane won the WWE Tag Team Championship from R-Truth and Kofi Kingston
– Eve Torres defeated Layla to win the WWE Divas Championship
This is one of the few episodes of TNT that feels really modern, like it could have been shot today or in the last few years. Maybe it’s the live Las Vegas crowd, or just about the time McMahon felt comfortable enough to be himself, but he’s in full Mr. McMahon mode here, yes more than a decade before this man and the character would merge on national television.
For starters, he’s wearing an off-white suit, a dramatic change from the purple, red and orange jackets he typically wears. It’s a good color for him, definitely less game show-hostish.
There really is a live crowd this week, not a make-believe one like the every other episode of TNT. Our first guest is Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Man this guy was freakin’ amazing during this time. No one could have ever predicted that he would become a governor one day, and get recognized as one of the most prominent pop culture icons of our time, but it is clear here that he has something extra.
This is the Ventura at the height of his glam phase. He’s wearing red Lady Gaga glasses, a tan jacket, tie-dyed shirt and tight black jeans. Ventura gets booed as he walks out and McMahon says “somewhat of an unfriendly welcome, but you are accustomed to that.” McMahon is such a jerk, even trying to play a face.
Ventura takes the CM Punk approach to his A-holeness and says “I don’t care.” McMahon continues the bullying: “What about your sunglasses? That’s unusual even for you.”
Ventura is done with McMahon games and goes into business for himself.
“I am a new idol for the kids,” Ventura says. “You look at Rock ‘n’ Roll today and you got all these rock stars who think they are big, tough guys, like David Lee Roth and Billy Idol and all these little pipsqueaks who don’t weigh 150 pounds soaking wet. “
Ventura I believe was injured around this time and his time in the ring was about to come to an end, so McMahon and the WWE were thinking of ways to keep him around, rather than send him back to the AWA. So he became this rock star character, complete with a song and video, that actually didn’t sound that bad.
“I got the power, I got the speed. You want to trouble you’ll be sorry if you mess with this body. I got the body, the body rules tonight. “
Ventura sounds at least as good as John Cena, and The Rock, but not quite as good as Lillian Garcia. He’s playing the role well, even if he is technically talking and not singing.
Later in the video he says: “I got the fist, made of iron, I got the body that never tires.” McMahon back in the studio says, “I think you wrestle considerably better than you sing.”
Ventura was never as witty as Bobby “The Brain” Heenan when he was insulted. He typically just barked back, like he did here: “I gave you the opportunity to debut this rock video right here on TNT and this is the kind of shabby treatment I get?”
McMahon cuts him off and says, “We thank you very much for joining us and we wish you well in your career.” Ventura looked stunned that McMahon ended the segment, and McMahon, the ultimate heel, says to Ventura: “What do you want to talk about?”
Ventura responds: “I am the greatest broadcaster in the world today. I tell it like it is. I don’t play favorites.” That’s pretty funny considering Ventura pretty much hated on Hulk Hogan and most of the other good guys as a color commentary.
McMahon then abruptly asks Ventura if we can see “the body.” Ventura popped up and walked off the set, saying “you pay to see the body.”
The live crowd, by the way, booed Ventura with every word, which was Ventura’s greatest gift. He was the ultimate heel and played it well.
Up next is Lisa Sliwa, the Guardian Angel who tried to become a WWF wrestler. We met Sliwa a few weeks ago. Clearly McMahon had big plans for her, but she eventually just sort of disappeared. She was also a fashion model.
McMahon takes us to the gym and Sliwa training with jobber Mario Mancini. God Bless Mancini. Sliwa was demonstrating her wrestling skills and flipped Mancini with a snap mare that looked about 99 percent Mancini and 1 percent Sliwa. Mancini’s lucky he didn’t permanently injure his neck with this botched hold.
Mancini did walk out of the ring after the move, leaving Mean Gene Okerlund to interview Sliwa, who said she had a black belt in karate and jiu-jitsu. Okerlund, always excellent at straddling the line between seriousness and absurdity, asked her what the differences between the martial arts and professional wrestling. Sliwa said she would be disqualified in a second if she performed some of the jiu-jitsu karate in the wrestling ring.
From the brawn we go to the beauty and Sliwa’s modeling shots. Did McMahon think that associating with Sliwa would bring the WWF positive national exposure or did he just see something in her and wanted to try to make her a star.
When they return to the couch and the live crowd, Hayes said “Wendi Richter is going to have to look out.” Maybe Moolah got ahold of Sliwa and scared her away, or Sliwa realized the WWF was not for her, but she disappeared after this.
From one major push to another and Bruno Sammartino as a guest on TNT. Sammartino is appearing the show yet again not to promote himself, but to try to get his son David over as superstar. The problem was that the fans cared more about Bruno than David. But good for Bruno for trying. Bruno sits down and McMahon doesn’t waste a lot of time: “Your son is attempting to follow in your footsteps,” and Bruno takes over.
“For a young fella, he’s really strong,” Bruno says. He claims that David can bench press 545 pounds.
Bruno came back to the WWF to get his son over and even took part in several tag team matches with David against Brutus Beefcake and his manager “Luscious” Johnny Valiant.
We go to Madison Square Garden and the tag match and the crowd is going crazy for Bruno as he’s pounding on Valiant and Beefcake. This was supposed to be a segment that got David over, but it’s not happening. Even the announcers are confused.
“David hasn’t been in the ring yet,” Lord Alfred Hayes says.
“I don’t know if his dad is going to let him in or not,” Gorilla Monsoon says. “He certainly doesn’t need the help.” Just as Bruno finally makes the tag to David, they cut back to the TNT studios, in what certainly must have been a rib on Bruno and David.
Luscious Johnny Valiant them came out on the set wondering why McMahon didn’t show the part of the match where Valiant allegedly threw Bruno into the audience. As Valiant creeps toward Bruno calling him an old man, Bruno says “This old man would have taken you 10 years ago and this this old man would wipe the floor with you today.”
Valiant then throws a blow and Sammartino who blocks it and then throws a John Cena-like right hand that connects on Valiant’s shoulder, sending Valiant over the TNT chair in somewhat of a sloppy bump. Guess it went with the Cena-like right hand.
Valiant was supposed to clear the chair like Capt. Lou Albano did when Rowdy Roddy Piper hit him, in a the same exact segment, but he didn’t sending the chair down with him. McMahon had nothing to say, except “We’ll be back with more TNT.”
Bruno and David would stick around a little while longer, but David never went anywhere, and Bruno would spend much of the next 20 years badmouthing Vince McMahon and the new era of the WWF, including a memorable segment on the Phil Donahue show, until Triple H greased his palm and finally convinced him to forgive and forget and join the WWE Hall of Fame.
Next up is Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Big John Studd. Poor Studd Heenan just overshadowed everyone he managed and here, the 6 foot 11 Studd just faded into the background. Heenan sits down and McMahon says “you hold the distinction of being the first manager in the World Wrestling Federation ever to be fired.”
Heenan kills it with a response of “Had Orndorff stayed out here on TNT another 30 seconds I would have fired him.” The Orndorff turn was no small feat. He was a natural heel, but Heenan was so good that he made the face turn work.
Heenan says he showed Orndorff how to comb his hair and how to work out and took a “ham-and-egger” and turned him into “Mr. Wonderful.” Without him, Heenan says, he’s now “Mr. Pitiful.” Around this time, Heenan put a $25,000 bounty on Orndorff for anyone who “puts Paul Orndorff out of wrestling for good.”
Orndorff would spend the next few months teaming with Hulk Hogan against the Heenan family, setting up the ultimate heel turn, when he turned on Hulk Hogan.
His heel run against Hogan probably wouldn’t have worked as well without Heenan success and turning him face. The show ends with an odd segment held up only by Heenan and Ventura. Heenan and Studd stood on a stage ready to gong anyone from the audience whose questions they didn’t like.
Ventura and Valiant roamed the audience asking questions, but not really. Valiant’s whole schtick was to cut off any of the audience members from actually asking the questions. Ventura was just there to insult the audience.
Ventura asked one guy where he was from and when he responded “New York” Ventura asked if it is as “filthy” as everyone says. The guy didn’t know how to respond and he got the gong from Studd.
The live show really boosted TNT’s relevancy. For the first time, it made the show feel like an actual wrestling talk show, not a staged fake WWF talk talk show.
It’s amazing to watch the WWF in 1985 and 2015. In 1985, the crowd is 100 percent behind the faces and against the heels. If this show were happening in 2015, the live crowd would have been 100 percent behind guys like Ventura and Heenan. Bruno and David would have been booed out of the building.
The WWF in 1985 was a time, as odd as it sounds, of a bit of wrestling purity. The internet had not yet killed every angle before it played out. The fans followed the storylines and generally rooted for the good guys and booed the bad guys.
Lisa Sliwa is cheered here, but would have been absolutely destroyed in 2015. McMahon, however, is still the thread between 1985 and 2015. As much as everything else has changed, McMahon has been the glue behind it all.
Total Divas airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on E! with “An Unwanted Proposal.” Paige’s boyfriend proposes; Brie and Bryan argue about their future; and Trinity/Naomi messes up Jon’s/Jimmy Uso’s standup comedy career (?!??!) somehow.
SmackDown and Main Event will be taped tonight in Little Rock. Please send spoilers/reports to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.
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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 a look at the latest in the concussion lawsuits filed against WWE on behalf of various wrestlers by Konstantine Kyros. 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 FREE Figure 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:
A look at next weekend, which is one of the biggest weekends of the year with Bellator and CMLL having their biggest shows, plus a WWE PPV show and an ROH PPV, is one of the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We also have a look at the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot, tons more on the Jimmy Snuka case, An update on TNA and the future of Kurt Angle, a letter UFC sent to all its fighters about unionization, plus full coverage of UFC 191 and Battle of Los Angeles, and thoughts behind Raw & Smackdown doing record low numbers.
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site. Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
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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.
We look at next week’s big shows, including a preview of CMLL’s main event, why L.A. Park is already gone from the promotion, and a preview of both Raw and Night of Champions.
We’ve got more on the Jimmy Snuka case, with a background of WWE in 1983, Vince McMahon purchasing the company from his father, what was and wasn’t known in wrestling at the time, the first Snuka arrest, the decision made on Hulk Hogan being the face of the company’s expansion, the role Snuka’s autobiography played in his indictment, the corner saying why he felt there was no indictment and his quotes on the subject, new evidence, Buddy Rogers before his death talks about the subject, another coroner weighs in, a lawyer who investigated the case in 1983 weighs in, how Snuka handled his finances fro that point on, Snuka’s run in New Japan, the famous Brody & Snuka walking out on the tag tournament finals, what Vince McMahon was doing to protect Snuka, key Allentown officials talk cover-up rumors, WWE talks those rumors and more.
We also update the Kurt Angle TNA situation and why Angle said he was leaving the company when his contract expires in January. We look at the situation with Destination America, what talent knows and how WWE fits into all this right now.
We look at the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters regarding unionization and our thoughts on the subject.
We’ve got a look at the 2005 Hall of Fame ballot, a look at the new candidates and their credentials, candidates for the future, understanding of the process, as well as how everyone on this year’s ballot fared last year.
We also look back at research into the biggest draws of all-time on the ballot, as well how the candidates have done in various awards, in drawing power for their era, as well as match quality, how difficult it is to be voted in, and notes on a lot of this year’s modern candidates.
We have an update on Ronda Rousey and WrestleMania, an upcoming WWE wedding, John Cena injury notes, WWE asks fans about PPV start times and thoughts, update on Amanda from Tough Enough and what appears to be her new deal, WWE pulling out all stops for next months tour of Mexico and why, Dean Ambrose talks acting, Nikki Bella as Divas champion, Eric Bischoff appearing on WWE Network, Undertaker’s future, the signing of Kana and she talks coming to WWE, Zahra Schreiber talks her firing, some NXT matches, a WWE wrestler on a sabbatical, as well as the WWE business notes from the past week and highlights from all the house hows.
We also look at Hulk Hogan’s overseas talk shows, the death of Tommy Rogers of The Fantastics, Dave Brown retires from WMC TV and how it was celebrated locally, Axl Rotten’s future goals, CHIKARA King of Trios, Jeff Jarrett TV talks and the final GFW ballpark shows of the year and what is left on the schedule, Bob Backlund’s autobiography, update on Batista, the death of Jerry Prater, an instrumental figure in Florida wrestling in the 70s and the heyday of wrestling programs and magazines, the Carlos Maynez tribute show this past week featuring legends from the past, a Roddy Piper movie not released and the Darrell Dawkins connection with pro wrestling.
We also update things on Lucha Underground.
We look at next week’s ROH matches.
We look at a TNA wedding, lineups for the upcoming TNA shows, U.K. TNA ratings and updating Impact.
We also have Conor McGregor talking his future, McGregor vs. Faber and why it didn’t happen, key UFC announcements over the pat week including new shows, new main events and new title matches, the retirement of Sam Stout, Rousey doing “Road House,” next UFC TV events, update on Charles Oliveira, UFC’s most popular markets, how much Rousey and McGregor are carrying things right now and former UFC star buys $2.75 million mansion from a rock star.
We also look at Alexander Shlemenko’s attempt to get his steroid punishment over turned and his arguments, plus a new Bellator show was announced.
We also update Fedor Emelianenko and his situation, as well as a former WWE star debuts this week as an MMA announcer and top pro wrestling stars attending. We also look at the results of the latest medical study on injuries suffered in boxing vs. MMA and where each is more and less dangerous than the other.
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Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
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Tuesday Daily Update
— Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard got to take part in the Hulk Hogan apology tour, with the most newsworthy part being that he never spoke to Vince McMahon about his firing, with Paul Levesque calling him in the middle of the night when they got word of the National Enquirer/Radar Online story. Among the “highlights” is this: “I was surrounded by a bunch of negativity in my personal life. My [23-year] marriage had pretty much unwound, and it wasn’t fixable. I was going through a tough time with my son being put in an adult prison when he was 16 years old. I was stressed out to the max.” The videos with Heather Cole were made before July 13, 2007, the date written on the DVDs that were seized as part of a FBI sting. Nick Bollea’s car accident that put John Graziano in a vegetatve state was August 26, 2007.
— Meanwhile, Hogan has been successfully trolled on Twitter again, this time being tricked into endorsing disgraced Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He really, really needs to get away from Twitter, or at the very least stop retweeing things from anyone he doesn’t know.
— Evolve announced that former UFC and Bellator Fighter Matt Riddle will make his debut at their shows in New York next month. Riddle, who purportedly has a ton of potential, has been training at the Monster Factory and working some smaller shows.
— Some new screenshots for WWE 2K16 (comes out on October 27th) that were released today revealed a bit of a pleasant surprise: The game’s campaign, which goes through Steve Austin’s career, will, at the very least, go back to his WCW run. At 2K Games’ media event in New York a during SummerSlam week, the demo they had started with Austin winning King of the Ring ’96, which led a lot of people to think that was where the mode actually started. Today, the screenshots they released included “Stunning” Steve Austin making his entrance circa 1993-1994 and “Superstar” Steve Austin about to wrestle Mikey Whipwreck at the ECW Arena in 1995. The final roster reveal announcement also included Ricky Steamboat with a photo from 1994, when he feuded with Austin right before being retired by a back injury.
— ThinkProgress explains the appeal of Donald Trump via Roland Barthes’ essay about pro wrestling.
— Kevin Eck writes about WWE’s hesitance to acknowledge Roman Reigns’ Samoan heritage when he was working for the company on the creative team.
— E! sent us a video of a bikini clad Kelly Kelly chopping someone on tonight’s episode of WAGs. Thy’re promoting it as her using wrestling moves.
— Bob Backlund’s book was officially released today in both physical and digital formats. WWE’s next home video release is SummerSlam 2015, which comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray a week from today. WWE’s next archival release is Sting: Into The Light on DVD and Blu-Ray in four weeks.
— On the latest Between the Sheets podcast, Kris Zellner and myself are joined by Charles (Pro Wrestling Only) and Sean Wheelock (Let’s Get It On/Bellator/co-author of “Is This Legal?” about the first UFC PPV) to discuss the week that was September 8-14, 1994. Listen to us talk about Jim Cornette breaking car windows, Crush & Yokozuna breaking caskets, Keith Hackney breaking his hands, & the Gracie myth breaking apart.
— PWP runs tomorrow night, 9/16, at The Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha, NE.
— MCW has a show this Saturday Night in Hollywood, MD. WWE Hall Of Famer Jake the Snake Roberts, TNA Diva and Former WWE Diva Mickie James, and all of the stars of MCW will be appearing at the Pre Show Fan fest. The Fan fest will be from 6:30 to 7:30PM just before the event starts and wrestling fans will be able to meet all of the stars and get photo opportunities with them as well. All that is needed to attend the fan fest is a ticket to the event. Action-Packed Matches include: The Hell Cats vs. Ecktourage vs. Punk Rock All-Stars, Brandon Scott vs. Drolix, Dixon Line Security vs. G-Fed, the Bruiser & Jake the Snake Roberts, Kimber Lee vs. Mickie James, King Ryan McBride vs. Lio Rush, Fenix Fury vs. Chuck Lennox, plus many more stars in action this Saturday Night.
2015’s Q4 may be a long one for WWE as the Monday, September 14th edition of Monday Night Raw did 3.39 million viewers, almost identical to the record non-major holiday low of the past 18 years of 3.37 million the prior week.
The rating should have been up because last week’s rating was caused by a show that caused massive audience tuning out late, and was also hurt by Labor Day.
This week’s show went against the regular season doubleheader debut of ESPN’s Monday Night Football which did big numbers. The early game (Falcons vs. Eagles) that ended at 10:17 p.m. did 13.56 million viewers while the late game (49ers vs. Vikings) that started at 10:17 p.m. did 14.33 million viewers.
The Big Takeaway: Sting wrestled his first Raw match ever tonight. He actually wrestled two. The first against the Big Show ended with a Seth Rollins run-in after all of 1:43. The subsequent tag team match saw him defeat Rollins with the Scorpion Death Lock. Much of the discussion on this show will center around the Dusty Finish in the Nikki Bella-Charlotte match, where Charlotte appeared to have won, only to have it reversed when Stephanie McMahon ruled Twin Magic couldn’t count as a title change. This show was billed as the “Season Debut” of Raw. If this was the first Raw you ever watched, you would have thought Stephanie McMahon was the most pushed personality in the company.
Show Recap:
The Authority came out to welcome fans to the new season of Raw. Stephanie McMahon put over the new stars they’ve created over the past year like the New Day, Neville, Rusev, and others. HHH promoted Seth Rollins vs. John Cena & Rollins vs. Sting at NOC.
Stephanie talked about Nikki Bella defending the Divas title against Charlotte. HHH announced Sting would compete tonight for the first-time ever on Raw against The Big Show.
Stephanie brought out the New Day, then started clapping them. This led to HHH joining them, which was amusing.
The New Day (C) defeated the Prime Time Players to retain the WWE World Tag Team Titles (12:10)
Kofi Kingston pinned Titus O’Neal after the Midnight Hour. O’Neal got distracted by Xavier Woods playing the trombone on the apron. Among the newest Woods spots was playing the Pink Panther theme while Big E. struts and Woods playing notes in cadence while Langston and Woods stomp an opponent in the corner. Decent match.
They showed portions of Sting’s past, including a tag team match with Dusty Rhodes against The Road Warriors at Starrcade 1988, which was Dusty’s final NWA bout before his departure for the WWE. He was wearing a striped shirt that was barely more flattering than the polka dots he would be wearing a year later.
Rollins walked in to talk to the Authority. HHH arranged Sheamus vs. Cena for tonight just in case Sheamus thought about cashing in the briefcase tonight.
Ric Flair showed up with Charlotte to do an interview with a now short-haired Renee Young. Charlotte talked about what a dream it would be to win the Divas title. Flair said he’s now living vicariously through his daughter and wants to see her win tonight.
Sasha Banks defeated Paige via submission (5:15)
Sasha Banks won with a backstabber into a Bank Statement. Tamina moved Banks out of the way of a Paige charge into the corner. At one point, Paige delivered a facebuster that appeared to knock the hell out of Tamina. It appeared referee Charles Robinson was concerned momentarily.
There was a very nice tribute to Connor Michalek to start a program the company has launched called “Connor’s Cure” during September, which is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
The Wyatt Family came out for MizTV. They continue the gimmick that Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose can’t find a third partner for the trios match at Night of Champions. Miz was basically a babyface trying to get a word out of Bray Wyatt, who said he wanted everyone to understand regardless of who shows up at Night of Champions, they will all fall down.
Ambrose and Reigns came out. Ambrose threw the Miz out of the ring while the five men had a stare down. Reigns acknowledged Jimmy Uso was his cousin and Wyatt took him out, which he would pay for. Reigns said they have found a third partner. Reigns vowed to win a war against the Wyatts on Sunday. Wyatt’s flash went off and the scene just ended.
Sting’s next flashback moment was the Great American Bash 1990 where Sting defeated Flair to win his first NWA/WCW World Championship.
John Cena defeated Sheamus (14:43)
Good match with some good selling by Sheamus. Cena won after he no sold the Rolling Senton by Sheamus and immediately hit the AA for the pin. Earlier in the match, Sheamus attempted the Brogue Kick but Cena countered with a clothesline. Crowd was very negative towards Cena, but he delivered in another good match.
Ryback did an interview where he had to sing lyrics to “All Shook Up” that was greeted by crickets. Kevin Owens came out as part of their fledgling program. Owens talked about how Ryback read the book “The Secret” to get him past a low point. Owens brought out his own copy of “The Secret,” said he read it and said he felt sorry for anyone who believes in that garbage. Owens called the book a crutch for weak people. Owens said Ryback was the strongest man in the locker room, but also the weakest mentally.
They were arguing over a book. Then Ryback recited these scripted lines and started repeated “Feed Me More.” Ryback said he respected Owens’ path to the WWE. Ryback admitted that he fell on his face when he first arrived in the WWE, but brushed himself off and won a championship. Ryback said he went to the Authority earlier today, and said they arranged an Intercontinental Championship match between the two at NOC. Ryback wanted to how a showdown, but Owens did his usual walkaway. All I can say is don’t ever watch NWA or Memphis promos via youtube on days leading up to Raws, because you’ll be very depressed after segments like these.
What was supposed to be Neville vs. Stardust turned into a six-way fight. The Ascension are now henchmen for Stardust. Lucha Dragons accompanied Neville and cleared the ring of the heels.
There was a package putting over Nikki Bella as the Divas champion who carried the entire Divas division on her back for the last 295 days. Bella pompously asked viewers have they started their year because she spent the year started a Divas Revolution.
Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella (C) by DQ in 9:55, so Bella retains the Divas Championship to become the longest reigning Divas Champion in history.
It’s only fitting that they showed a clip of Dusty Rhodes from 1989 earlier because they booked a Dusty Finish that killed the crowd tonight as much as it did 26 years ago. They went with Twin Magic as Alicia Fox tried to interfere, which allowed Brie Bella to run-in. Charlotte immediately pinned her with an inside cradle. Flair ran down like his daughter had won the title. Then Stephanie came out and announced that the integrity of the championship must be retained, telling the referee what happened and Charlotte won by DQ, but Bella would still be champion. However, Stephanie ordered a rematch at Night of Champions where if Nikki lost by DQ, countout, pinfall or submission, she would lose the title.
You might wonder why Stephanie didn’t make this ruling when they did this same finish at Money in the Bank. The answer is Stephanie wouldn’t get a chance to stand out as the company’s main star on a June PPV as much as the “season debut” of Raw. The sad part is they had a really good match going where Charlotte sold her arm great and the fans didn’t need to be coerced to emotionally invest in the match. It’s going to be tough trying to recreate that atmosphere on Sunday.
Cesaro defeated Rusev (4:03)
Dolph Ziggler came down and tried to offer Summer Rae a package. Rusev got distracted, allowing Cesaro to get the pin with an Inverted Chikara Special. Ziggler gave Rusev a superkick afterwards. Nothing match. Rusev was backstage furious about losing and slammed the door in Rae’s face. While Rusev was inside, Rae opened up the gift to find a gorgeous piece of jewelry. She started to smile when Rusev screamed at her to come inside.
The Big Show met with the Authority, who gave him a pep talk trying to beat Sting. Before every Authority segment, do they flip a coin to determine if they’re heels or faces?
Sting defeated The Big Show via DQ (1:43)
Rollins ran in for a DQ and I was getting flashbacks to 1999 Nitro the way this last hour went. Thank God Cena came out and joined Sting in clearing the ring. HHH then did the same routine they’ve done at countless Raws after they went off the air where they ordered an immediate tag team match between the four.
Sting and John Cena defeated Seth Rollins and The Big Show via submission (9:13)
Sting got the hot tag and made Rollins tap out to the Scorpion Death Lock after Cena gave the Big Show the AA. Cena spent most of the match trying to lift Show for a slam or the AA, only to fall under the weight. Sting did a good hot tag sequence, but the aura of Sting wrestling his first match on Raw seemed lost on the crowd.
SUMMARY: The company lost a lot of fans to football tonight, if they didn’t beforehand. For starters, the Authority appeared on seven segments on this show, and was mentioned in eight. If they’re role is clearly defined, more power to them. However, it’s impossible to emotionally invest in them as characters when they’re constantly flopping between babyfaces and heels. The effort to promote the company’s efforts to fight pediatric cancer are great. However, HHH is the same person who was negative on Kurt Angle doing PSAs because Angle was a heel in the mid 00’s, so it reeks of hypocrisy. As long as Rollins is the world champion subservient to the Authority, he’s not going to get over strong.
On Monday, the Nevada Athletic Commission issued a five year suspension to UFC welterweight/middlweight Nick Diaz and fined him $165,000 after a three hour hearing based on his positive test for marijuana on 1/31, the night of his fight with Anderson Silva.
The $165,000 was based on 33 percent of Diaz’s $500,000 purse for the fight.
The hearing got contentious between Diaz’s lawyer, Lucas Middlebrook, and Pat Lundvall of the commission. Middlebrook argued that drug tests taken before and after his fight showed Diaz’s marijuana levels below the 150ng/ML which is the current commission’s threshold for a marijuana positive. The tests would have been above previous levels. However, a third test showed him at 700ng/ML, or nearly five times allowable levels.
The commission stated the suspension was not as much for this marijuana test failure, but because Diaz had failed tests in Nevada for marijuana in 2007 and 2012, making this a third violation.
Lundvall recommended a lifetime suspension, but the other commissioners suggested five years, which, with Diaz being 32 years old, could end his career.
We’re looking for reports from Raw tonight from Memphis tonight with dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else that wouldn’t be evident from the live TV show at Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”> The matches announced are Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte for the Divas title, The New Day vs. Prime Time Players for the tag titles, plus Sting will be there since it’s the go-home show for Night of Champions.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Little Rock.
A look at next weekend, which is one of the biggest weekends of the year with Bellator and CMLL having their biggest shows, plus a WWE PPV show and an ROH PPV, is one of the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We also have a look at the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot, tons more on the Jimmy Snuka case, An update on TNA and the future of Kurt Angle, a letter UFC sent to all its fighters about unionization, plus full coverage of UFC 191 and Battle of Los Angeles, and thoughts behind Raw & Smackdown doing record low numbers.
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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.
We look at next week’s big shows, including a preview of CMLL’s main event, why L.A. Park is already gone from the promotion, and a preview of both Raw and Night of Champions.
We’ve got more on the Jimmy Snuka case, with a background of WWE in 1983, Vince McMahon purchasing the company from his father, what was and wasn’t known in wrestling at the time, the first Snuka arrest, the decision made on Hulk Hogan being the face of the company’s expansion, the role Snuka’s autobiography played in his indictment, the corner saying why he felt there was no indictment and his quotes on the subject, new evidence, Buddy Rogers before his death talks about the subject, another coroner weighs in, a lawyer who investigated the case in 1983 weighs in, how Snuka handled his finances fro that point on, Snuka’s run in New Japan, the famous Brody & Snuka walking out on the tag tournament finals, what Vince McMahon was doing to protect Snuka, key Allentown officials talk cover-up rumors, WWE talks those rumors and more.
We also update the Kurt Angle TNA situation and why Angle said he was leaving the company when his contract expires in January. We look at the situation with Destination America, what talent knows and how WWE fits into all this right now.
We look at the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters regarding unionization and our thoughts on the subject.
We’ve got a look at the 2005 Hall of Fame ballot, a look at the new candidates and their credentials, candidates for the future, understanding of the process, as well as how everyone on this year’s ballot fared last year.
We also look back at research into the biggest draws of all-time on the ballot, as well how the candidates have done in various awards, in drawing power for their era, as well as match quality, how difficult it is to be voted in, and notes on a lot of this year’s modern candidates.
We have an update on Ronda Rousey and WrestleMania, an upcoming WWE wedding, John Cena injury notes, WWE asks fans about PPV start times and thoughts, update on Amanda from Tough Enough and what appears to be her new deal, WWE pulling out all stops for next months tour of Mexico and why, Dean Ambrose talks acting, Nikki Bella as Divas champion, Eric Bischoff appearing on WWE Network, Undertaker’s future, the signing of Kana and she talks coming to WWE, Zahra Schreiber talks her firing, some NXT matches, a WWE wrestler on a sabbatical, as well as the WWE business notes from the past week and highlights from all the house hows.
We look at Saturday’s UFC show, the business notes on the show, where the top guys go next along with match-by-match coverage, how much everyone earned, and poll results on the show.
We also have rundowns of the major TV shows of the past week.
We also go in depth on the Battle of Los Angeles tournament with match-by-match coverage for all three nights, what is PWG, the atmosphere and more.
We also have notes on the ratings of all the major television shows, including just how badly the main shows fared, and results of the major league arena events over the past week.
We also look at the affect that Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A. Park have on business in Mexico, what dream of L.A. Park fell through, Rey Mysterio in AAA and notes on several big shows plus names they are talking about bringing in.
We also update the Dragon Gate tag team tournament and the NOAH Jr. tag team tournament. We also look at New Japan’s next international tour, why Tenryu vs. Okada is taking place in November, what foreign stars are being discussed for New Japan, and Hiroshi Tanahashi doing the DDT show and the future of Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka.
We also look at Hulk Hogan’s overseas talk shows, the death of Tommy Rogers of The Fantastics, Dave Brown retires from WMC TV and how it was celebrated locally, Axl Rotten’s future goals, CHIKARA King of Trios, Jeff Jarrett TV talks and the final GFW ballpark shows of the year and what is left on the schedule, Bob Backlund’s autobiography, update on Batista, the death of Jerry Prater, an instrumental figure in Florida wrestling in the 70s and the heyday of wrestling programs and magazines, the Carlos Maynez tribute show this past week featuring legends from the past, a Roddy Piper movie not released and the Darrell Dawkins connection with pro wrestling.
We also update things on Lucha Underground.
We look at next week’s ROH matches.
We look at a TNA wedding, lineups for the upcoming TNA shows, U.K. TNA ratings and updating Impact.
We also have Conor McGregor talking his future, McGregor vs. Faber and why it didn’t happen, key UFC announcements over the pat week including new shows, new main events and new title matches, the retirement of Sam Stout, Rousey doing “Road House,” next UFC TV events, update on Charles Oliveira, UFC’s most popular markets, how much Rousey and McGregor are carrying things right now and former UFC star buys $2.75 million mansion from a rock star.
We also look at Alexander Shlemenko’s attempt to get his steroid punishment over turned and his arguments, plus a new Bellator show was announced.
We also update Fedor Emelianenko and his situation, as well as a former WWE star debuts this week as an MMA announcer and top pro wrestling stars attending. We also look at the results of the latest medical study on injuries suffered in boxing vs. MMA and where each is more and less dangerous than the other.
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MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, the Nick Diaz hearing, the huge weekend upcoming as well as taking e-mail questions that can be sent to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
Tonight’s Raw is being pushed around whether or not Nikki Bella breaks the all-time record for the Divas title longest reign, held by A.J. Lee. She will defend against Charlotte and whatever is done is likely to set up either a rematch on Sunday or some type of title match on Sunday.
Also on tonight’s show, The New Day faces The Prime Time Players for the tag titles with the winners going to Night of Champions on Sunday in Houston against The Dudleys. Given the TV buildup, it’s likely The New Day, or a disputed finish to set up a three-way.
If they are going to announce the third partner on the Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose team against The Wyatt Family, tonight would be the time to do it. As noted, Randy Orton was scheduled to appear tonight and tomorrow night, but that doesn’t mean they may not change their mind, nor that he’s not just working a dark match. It is possible they could claim him as injured, even though he headlined house shows the last two nights.
This is also the first Raw going against Monday Night Football. There are actually two games on ESPN. Most of Raw will go against the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons, while the last 50 minutes or so go against the 49ers and Minnesota Vikings game.
Tonight’s Raw is being pushed as the season premiere. They’ve also added a Miz TV segment to the show and Sting is scheduled for the show.
Nick Diaz recieved a 5 year ban from the NSAC. Diaz tested positive for marijuana for the Anderson Silva fight.
Congratulations to Vickie Guerrero, who was married over the weekend to Kris Benson.
The 9/22 episode of Total Divas has a preview that mentions that the women go on vacation to Mexico where Paige announces her engagement.
Bellator announced a new TV deal with ESPN Deportes, which starts with Saturday night’s show. The prelims, which start at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, will stream in Spanish on ESPN 3 and ESPNDeportes+ with the main card eight fights airing starting at 9 p.m.
The Nevada Athletic commission today ordered Jake Shields to do 50 hours of community service for throwing a punch as Rousimar Palhares after their fight. Shields said that he was injured by Palhares,who didn’t break a Kimura after he tapped, and said both his elbow and shoulder were torn. He also said Palhares repeatedly eye gouged him throughout the second round. Palhares was not at the meeting but he will be facing a hearing for not breaking the hold and eye gouging next month. He asked for his hearing to be delayed because his wife is pregnant and close to giving birth.
The Flipps App announced today a partnership with both TNA and ROH to stream their PPV events. For ROH, they will stream worldwide Friday night’s All-Star Extravaganza show. They will not only stream TNA Bound for Glory, but also the One Night Only series shows. The first two will be TNA Legends, which airs TNA footage of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Sting, Roddy Piper, The Road Warriors, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Jimmy Snuka. Not exactly the best timing to be pushing Jimmy Snuka. The other is a World Cup PPV special taped months ago.
A couple of changes in Saturday’s Bellator show in San Jose. Serhiy Adamchuk (29-5) of The Ukraine will face Anvar Boynazaraov in a kickboxing match where the winner gets a shot at the Glory featherweight title and champion Gabriel Varga. That will air on the Spike web site. In addition, Roy Caughton (12-5) replaces Philipe Lins, in a fight with Francis Carmont, which is an alternates fight in the light heavyweight tournament.
For those in the area, this is the schedule for Bellator:
Wednesday will have open media workouts at the AKA Gym in San Jose
11 a.m. Liam McGeary and Paul Daley
11:30 a.m. Emanuel Newton and Saulo Cavalari
Noon Tito Ortiz and Josh Thomson
12:30 p.m.King Mo and Fernando Gonzalez
1 p.m. Phil Davis and Kerri Taylor-Melendez
1:30 p.m. Linton Vassell and Zack Mwekassa
Press conference at the SAP Center in San Jose at 11 a.m. Among those appearing at 11 a.m. are Tito Ortiz, Liam McGeary, Paul Daley, King Mo, Linton Vassell, Randy Couture and Cung Le. At 1 p.m. will be Scott Coker, Phil Davis, Emanuel Newton, Josh Thomson, Frank Shamrock, Royce Gracie, Kazushi Sakuraba and Fedor Emelianenko.
At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Randy Couture, Aaron Pico and Ed Ruth will be at the Gilroy High gym training with the wrestling team.
Weigh-in are Friday at 5 p.m. and will stream live at www.Bellator.com
The fan fest is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dave & Buster’s at the Great Mall in Milpitas with Fedor, Royce Gracie, Couture, Frank Shamrock, Cung Le and Sakuraba.
Kimbo Slice will be signing autographs at 3 p.m. on Saturday when the doors open to the show inside the SAP Center. The first fight starts at 3:30 p.m. local time.
GFW sent out a release that they’ve signed an international TV distribution deal with Boulder Creek International of London, England. The shows that have been taped in Las Vegas will be available through BCI starting in November.
Combate Americas sent out a press release earlier today plugging Alberto Del Rio as announcing for their MMA promotion that debuts on Thursday night at 11 p.m. on NBC Universo (formerly mun2) in Spanish. He was pushed as the biggest name in the promotion and as the only man to win the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank in the same year as well as being a four-time WWE champion.
New names added today to the WWE 2K 16 roster are Baron Corbin, Big E, Bray Wyatt, Brian Pillman, Colin Cassady, Enzo More, Jimmy & Jey Uso, Kofi Kingston, The Ascension, Mark Henry, Mikey Whipwreck, Ricky Steamboat, Rusev, Savio Vega, Stephanie McMahon, Sting (two different Sting characters, the late 80s Sting and Crow Sting), Stunning Steve Austin from the Dangerous Alliance, American Badass Undertaker, Ministry of Darkness Undertaker, and Xavier Woods.
The scheduled CZW PPV show on 10/11 from Philadelphia will not be on PPV. Instead, they will do an iPPV on 10/10 from Vorhees, NJ.
Jim Ross will be doing a talk show at 4 p.m. on Sunday at The Warehouse Live Ballroom, near the Toyota Center in Houston, which would be over with time to eat dinner and still attend Night of Champions.
Regarding Bellator billboards, one of my friends noted that on Lincoln and Moorpark in San Jose there is a really nice billboard for Saturday night’s show.
Brodus Clay aka Tyrus appears on 11/28 for Ultimate Championship Wrestling in Halifax.
Hoosier Pro Wrestling on 10/3 in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Fairgrounds featuring Jimmy Valiant in action, and a main event of Trailer Park Trash & Flash Flanagan vs. Marc Houston & TJ Kemp.
Premier Wrestling on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Del Mar High School in San Jose. JR Kratos (8-2) vs. Jeff Cobb (6-2-1) for the Premier title headlines, plus Nicole Savoy & Kahmora vs. Raze & Kikyo Nakamura, Timothy Thatcher vs. Joe Graves, Gabriel Gallo vs. Dom Vitalli, Alexander Hammerstone vs. Dylan Drake, Marcus Lewis vs. Julio Pedroza and two other matches.
Dr. Tom Prichard vs. Mark Reagan was added today to NWAClassics.com
