The life and career of Joanie “Chyna” Laurer and the saga of Conor McGregor out of UFC 200 and Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier as the new main event are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There is also an update the TNA situation, with tons of notes on the future of TNA and Lucha Underground and one of the best wrestlers in the world joins ROH.
The lead story looks at the life of Joanie Laurer. The story examines the circumstances of her death, the publicity it received, the media coverage that never looked past the surface and was almost totally lacking context regarding her role in wrestling, and her post wrestling life. The story also looks at her start in pro wrestling, how she got into WWE, her role in the ascension of HHH to the top of the card, how she was booked, how the relationship with HHH benefittted her, and just how hot pro wrestling was during that time period.
A look back at her IC title win and the back story, and why her title reign was so short along with a look at her run with Eddy Guerrero, doing Playboy, her departure from WWE, why she never lost the women’s title, her most-watched match of her career and it wasn’t in WWE, the attempt to make her a star in Japan, the WWE Hall of Fame and her life after wrestling, all in this issue.
This issue examines how Conor McGregor managed to get himself off the biggest UFC event of the year, how his strategy backfired, the UFC press conferences, the new Cormier vs. Jones fight, business notes for UFC 200 as well as a rundown of UFC 197, with all the business news, match-by-match coverage, pay records and poll results.
In this issue, there is a look at the upcoming Payback show, notes about the angle for power, the NXT title change, the return of John Cena, Bret Hart talks return to WWE, update on WWE Board of Directors, update on the concussion lawsuits and counter suits, WWE trying to make moves to Japan, WWE with new movie partnership, WWE wins awards and the update on the Global cruiserweight series. Finally, there is also a look at the Adam Rose suspension, a new WWE book, plus details on all the NXT shows over the past week as well as the complete WWE European tour.
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Also in this issue:
A new TV deal and how adding a promotion may cost a TV station another promotion
The 60th anniversary of pro wrestling at Arena Mexico
Last week at Arena Mexico
CMLL loses one of its top stars
Lucha Libre Elite tournament
El Hijo del Santo files suit, but wants to keep his identity a secret, and it goes to the Supreme Court
Notes on the lawsuit
Controversy over Pentagon Jr. bookings
All Japan Champion Carnival finals and a look at outsiders who have won the tournament
Update on Pro Wrestling NOAH annual tag team tournament
New Japan notes from Korakuen Hall shows
New Japan running loaded show this week
Notes on New Japan vs. NOAH combined show
Update on Ricochet
Major scares at Lucha Underground tapings
Update on Rey Mysterio with Lucha Underground
Update on ROH/New Japan shows in May
A look at the ROH show in San Antonio
More on TNA’s next PPV including most of the card
Newcomers and departures from TNA
A look at all TNA television through early June
More on UFC TV ratings
UFC owners about to come into a ton of money
UFC fighter forced to retire for unique reason
A look at the next UFC show
Dominick Cruz responds to Urijah Faber
UFC fighter gets announcing gig
Lots of new UFC fights
What happened with Benson Henderson’s Bellator debut
Debut of Bellator kickboxing
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– Air Date: April 28, 2016 (Apr 27 in Canada) – Location: Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH
– The Big News:
There was another interesting confrontation between AJ Styles and Roman Reigns. Also, the League of Nations appear to be done.
– Show Recap:
Roman Reigns came out to heavy booing (and some cheers). Jerry Lawler even mentioned it, saying it’s fun to boo Reigns and he doesn’t mind it. Reigns said he superman-punched Styles in the mouth, and would do it again at Payback. He did it because he doesn’t believe Styles’ claim that he isn’t behind the attacks of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
Reigns wanted the truth directly from Styles, but he got The Miz and Maryse instead. Miz introduced Reigns to Maryse and people clapped for her. They kissed. Miz said he warned us about Styles, Gallows and Anderson. He made a convoluted analogy to Shawshank Redemption, called Reigns the warden, and concluded that Styles would walk out as WWE Champion.
Miz said he deserved some recognition for this and he kissed Maryse again. Reigns punched him in the face. Miz fell to the outside and Maryse checked on him. Reigns handed the Intercontinental title to Maryse, said “nice to meet you,” and held up his WWE title belt.
This was fine for what it was. I must point out that Reigns did not use his new catchphrase here or at any point during the show, thankfully. They announced Reigns vs. Miz, and that Miz is the one who requested the match. They didn’t mention who he asked, because nobody is in charge of Smackdown.
Backstage, Renee Young interviewed the League of Nations. Sheamus said no three men could beat them, and they proved it at WrestleMania when they beat New Day. Alberto Del Rio said they got rid of the weak link in Wade Barrett, and Rusev said you might as well call them the united nations. Goofy.
Kalisto, Sami Zayn & Cesaro beat League of Nations via countout
They announced earlier that this was basically an open challenge issued by the League. LON weren’t getting along right off the bat, as they kept blind-tagging themselves in. They got the heat on Zayn, but as Del Rio sized up a superkick, Rusev made a blind tag.
They argued in the ring, so Sheamus jumped in to break it up. They shoved each other for a bit until Del Rio walked out, which got a mixed reaction. Rusev held Zayn and tagged in Sheamus, who came off the top with a double axe handle, but Zayn moved and Sheamus nailed Rusev. Sheamus and Rusev then shoved for a bit until Rusev walked out, leaving Sheamus alone.
Zayn made a hot tag to Kalisto who hit a hurricanrana and springboard crossbody. Cesaro then tagged in and hit an uppercut and diving crossbody. Sheamus actually kicked out, so Cesaro hit a million uppercuts and dropkick. Cesaro went for the swing but Sheamus bailed and walked out.
Instead of going after Sheamus, they all just stood there and watched as the referee counted him out. They played Zayn’s music as the good guys posed. I have no idea why they couldn’t just pin Sheamus.
After a break, the League argued backstage. Rusev pushed Del Rio, then Sheamus shoved them both into a door. He yelled that the League was done and walked off. Rusev yelled, “Forget your league!” That’s one way to do a breakup, I guess.
They aired the Owens-Zayn video package from Raw.
Baron Corbin beat Damien Sandow via pinfall
After Dolph Ziggler attacked him on Raw, Corbin watched his back as he walked down the aisle tonight. Sandow didn’t get an entrance, if you were wondering. Some people chanted “Let’s go Sandow” as Corbin beat the crap out of him outside the ring. Corbin won in 2 minutes with End of Days.
Backstage, Renee caught up to AJ Styles. Styles said he doesn’t care what Reigns thinks. He’s going to take the title away and Reigns won’t be calling him a liar, he’ll be calling him champion. Styles doesn’t answer to Reigns and will step on his cape when he wants to. Styles added that he’ll be at ringside for Reigns’ match tonight.
Ambrose Asylum with Natalya and Women’s Champion Charlotte
This was the top of the hour segment. They showed a replay of Chris Jericho getting the best of Dean Ambrose on Raw. Ambrose remained outside the ring by the announce table and said he would get to his part-time position in a moment, but he wanted to talk about his full-time position first.
He said Jericho made a mistake by letting him go (from the Walls), because Ambrose doesn’t let go, and he was going to plant Jericho in the middle of the ring and beat him at Payback. Ambrose said he would turn Bon Jovi (Jericho) into Meatloaf.
It was time for Ambrose’s part-time position, so he jumped in the ring, called himself a multifaceted entertainer, popped a Tic Tac, and introduced us to the Ambrose Asylum. He brought out Natalya, who said his set reminded her of the dentist’s office.
Ambrose showed a clip of Charlotte tapping to Natalya but being saved by Ric Flair, and asked how things were going to be different on Sunday. Natalya said she would have Bret Hart in her corner. That brought out Charlotte and her dad (Ric Flair).
Charlotte called it disturbing that Natalya was parading Bret around after everything he’s been through. Natalya said Charlotte should look in the mirror and see who was standing behind her.
Charlotte said the difference was that Flair is legendary, but also her coach. Natalya called Flair a creepy old man who knows Charlotte isn’t good enough to win on her own. Bret would be there on Sunday to stop Flair from interfering and Charlotte will tap again.
“Stop me?!” said Flair, who claimed he owned Bret Hart in WWE and WCW. Flair said he would’ve beaten Bret on the moon if Vince flew them there. (This is where they cut out Flair telling Natalya to kill herself from the live taping.) Natalya told him to settle down and told Charlotte it’s time the fans get a champion they deserve. People cheered. They faced off and that was pretty much it.
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady beat Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel (w/Heath Slater) via pinfall
New Day came out, kicked out all three announcers and took over on commentary. Enzo and Cass won quickly with the rocket launcher. The highlight of New Day on commentary was Byron Saxton being forced to sit on the floor. The Vaudevillains had come out on the stage to watch the match, and Big Cass called them soft afterwards. Again, the fans really liked Enzo and Cass.
Backstage, Goldust told R-Truth it felt good when they danced last week. Before he could finish, Truth said Goldust looked happy in a team with Fandango, so he got himself a different partner in Tyler Breeze, who showed up. Truth deemed them “Gorgeous Truth,” and they left. Fandango showed up to console Goldust. Breeze didn’t say or do anything. Truth used a small tree branch as a selfie stick.
They aired a promo for Primo and Epico who discussed Puerto Rico’s crippling economy. (Not really.)
Apollo Crews beat Stardust via pinfall
Crews won quickly with the spin-out powerbomb.
They aired a replay of the Shane and Stephanie stuff from Raw. Ranallo said everyone has been raving about the job Shane has done, and Lawler scoffed.
Non-title Champion vs. Champion Match: WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) via pinfall
Styles came out before the match to sit at ringside. Reigns hit Miz with the drive-by and faced off with Styles, who tossed his chair aside. As they mouthed off, Miz attacked Reigns from behind, tossing him head first into the announce table and steel post to gain control.
There were some brief dueling chants for Reigns, and Styles couldn’t help but look around at the crowd. Reigns came back with a Samoan drop, fists, clotheslines and more clotheslines. Reigns sized up the superman punch but Maryse pulled Miz out of the ring.
Reigns went after him, but Miz dropkicked the steps into Reigns. Miz followed with a DDT in the ring for a two count. Miz went for the skull crushing finale, but Reigns fought out with elbows and followed with a spear for the win. Average match at best, about 12 minutes.
Styles jumped in the ring afterwards to face off with Reigns. Gallows and Anderson made their way down and Reigns went after them, as an annoyed Styles looked on. Gallows and Anderson got the better of Reigns and Styles wasn’t stopping them.
The Usos ran out to make the save. After Jimmy Uso superkicked Anderson, Styles got in his face, perhaps to settle things down. However, Jimmy dropped Styles with a punch and superkicked Gallows. Styles came right back with a jumping kick on Jimmy, and Gallows knocked Jimmy out of the ring.
Styles got in Gallows’ face, but Gallows nudged him aside and ate a spear from Reigns. Styles tried a Styles Clash but Reigns back body dropped him out of the ring. Reigns posed with his title as Styles yelled at him from ringside. This was really good.
– Final Thoughts:
This was a very bland show until the very end. The angle with Styles and Reigns wasn’t historically good or anything, but it’s so refreshing seeing two top guys feud over the title in an intriguing storyline that doesn’t involve company management in any way.
Also, unless I missed it (and I don’t think I did), they did not air the Chyna tribute video.
Joanie Laurer, who was one of the most recognizable stars during the period that pro wrestling has its most mainstream significance in the last 60 years, best known as Chyna, was found dead on 4/20 at her home in Redondo Beach, CA. She was 46.
Juice Robinson and Jay White vs. Captain New Japan and David Finlay
Pretty short. Had internet problems during this bout, so didn’t see much of it. Really just saw the finish where Robinson submitted CNJ with what looked like a version of the camel clutch. On Twitter, he mentions he calls this the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Clutch. No, really!
Yoshi-Hashi and Roppongi Vice vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi
Pretty solid match. Heels controlled most of the match, faces made a comeback. Nakanishi and Yoshi-Hashi brawled into the crowd. Tiger Mask avoided Romero but he grabbed his mask and rolled him up for the win.
Romero cut a promo for his team, saying they’ll be retaining the titles at Dontaku against Sydal and Ricochet.
Yoshitatsu and Great Bash Heel vs. Guerrillas of Destiny and Yujiro Takahashi
Bullet Club came out wearing white camo. Largely a solid match, nothing all that interesting. Crowd woke up when Makabe was tagged in and ran wild on Tanga Loa. Loa made a comeback, but eventually with the rest of the team’s help Makabe got the win with the king kong knee drop.
Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida
Lots of brawling. They brawled inside, outside, just about everywhere. A lof of the match was Shibata beating up Nagata and vice versa. Liger had Kushida in a figure four for a good while At one point Kushida had escaped from it, but Liger put it back in. The Jushin Liger of 2016 has some really good mat work and it’ll probably play a part in their upcoming match. There were good aspects of this match, but it felt really, really longer than it needed to be. Nagata and Shibata went at it for a long time until tagging in their partners. Liger tried working on Kushida’s bum legs and worked in an arm wringer but Kushida grabbed Ligers arm and snagged him in a modified roll up for the win.
Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Bushi and Sanada vs. Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
New Japan eight man tag matches usually follow a formula, and this one followed it to a tee: everyone works against their rival, then something happens and they all wind up on the outside and brawl. Here, it was Sanada using his submission finisher the Skull End on Okada. Goto and Evil were in there and had really good chemistry with one another. Evil is one of those guys that is going to do very well as far as doing that hard hitting stiff style. Everyone came in towards the end and laid out one another, with Ishii laying out Naito. Bushi came in, ate a lariat and a brainbuster and that was it. Pretty good match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Fale, as you’d expect, used big guy power spots to start. Wasn’t particularly interesting. Fale dominated, Tanahashi made a comeback, including the high fly flow to the floor. Fale made a comeback, got a near fall after a grenade. Tanahashi countered the Bad Luck Fall, hit the slingblade and pinned Bad Luck Fale with the high fly flow. It was a very patterned match, but it was fine. Tanahashi is excellent as a ring general as he knows how to work with a guy like Fale.
Intercontinental Title: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Michael Elgin
Omega was all alone for this title defense, but had plenty of weapons anyway, including a ladder for some reason. He tried to use them all as Elgin stomped on him but Elgin kicked them all away. Elgin used the ladder to shove Omega into the barricade but Omega came back with it. They set up a table on the outside. Some really good back and forth in the ring. Omega used to be good, but now he’s like really good, not just in terms of athleticism but also just being the overall package. He has a ton of confidence. At one point Omega went for a hurricanrana, Elgin blocked it and powerbombed him through the table in a crazy spot.
Elgin hit the buckle bomb and was going to the Elgin bomb but Omega spiked him with a reverse hurricanrana as he was going up, then another one after Elgin blocked the One Winged Angel. Elgin went for another buckle bomb but Omega came back with two knee strikes and hit the One Winged Angel to retain the title. Great main event.
Tanahashi came out after the match and challenged Omega. Omega said he’d think about it. He proceeded to think about it for approximately two seconds by low blowing Tanahashi, saying his answer was no. He took the ladder and put it on top of the fallen Tanahashi. He climbed to the top of the ladder and basically said he never wanted to face Tanahashi again, and that is real. He left, streamers flying as the show closed. Obviously this is the next program, so I guess eventually Omega’s going to change his mind. Or maybe not, who knows!
That main event blew the rest of this card out of the water, so if there’s one match you need to see it’s that one.
Last week on Impact, Jeff Hardy hit a death defying Swanton Bomb from the rafters of the Impact Zone onto his brother, Matt Hardy. The show ended with Matt being taken out of the arena on a strecher in a neck brace. Earlier, Decay “abducted” Gail Kim in order to force Beer Money into a title match tonight.
Tonight on Impact:
Tonight is a special edition of Impact Wrestling, TNA Sacrifice. The show will feature a loaded line up with the stars of TNA. Drew Galloway will defend the TNA World title against number one contender, Tyrus. Additionally, Ethan Carter III will go one on one with Mike Bennett in “No Disqualification Match”.
Show Recap:
-Tyrus and Rockstar Spud are already in the ring to kickoff Impact. Tyrus calls World Champion Drew Galloway out for their title match. Drew makes his way to the ring and Josh points out that his ribs are heavily taped.
TNA World Champion Drew Galloway vs. Tyrus w/Rockstar Spud
Tyrus works over the ribs throughout the match including pulling the tape off. He missed a Vader Bomb allowing Drew to make a fiery comeback. Spud tried to interfere, but Drew took him out with a belly-to-belly suplex. Drew then executed an impressive superplex on Tyrus for a near fall. Drew retained his title after hitting the Future Shock DDT in a really good match.
-Backstage, Maria is talking to herself in the mirror. She tells herself that her reign atop the Knockouts Division begins tonight and nobody can stop her, not even Gail Kim.
-Back from commercial, Roode and Storm are getting ready for tonight’s “Valley of Shadows Match.” Storm points out that they didn’t need to abduct Gail to get a title shot.
-Maria comes out to the ring looking stunning. She says that there doesn’t need to be a women’s revolution and that she doesn’t need to change but everyone else does need to change. Gail comes out also looking stunning and says it’s a sad day because Maria is in charge of the Knockouts. She believes that Maria was behind Decays “kidnapping” and “torturing” of her, but Maria denies any involvement. Maria decides to make a match between Gail and Rosemary to divert attention.
Gail Kim vs. Rosemary w/Crazy Steve
Gail attacks Rosemary to start the match. Maria is at ringside and distracts Gail long enough for Rosemary to get the advantage. If Freddie and Jason Voorhees’ mom had a baby, it would be Rosemary. Steve pulled Gail out of the ring and Gail slapped him. The slap was weak so she gave him a second slap to see if it would really sting. Maria distracted the referee and Rosemary sprayed the mist into Gail’s eyes. Rosemary picks up the win.
-Backstage, Josh is surprised to see Jeff limping and noted he wasn’t expected to appear tonight.
Facts of Life with Eli Drake featuring The BroMans (Robbie E & Jesse Godderz)
Eli is a wearing a shirt, tie and vest but the sleeves are cut off to expose his arms. He’s standing behind a podium that has a big red button. Every time he says dummy he presses the button and a little graphic pops up of Eli saying, “Dummy. Yeah” This happens a lot and it gets pretty annoying after awhile. Eli talks about all the dummies in TNA including Jeff Hardy and Drew Galloway. He brought out his guests The BroMans, which he called “dummies”. The BroMans came out wearing glasses with no lenses. Jesse asked Robbie what kind of person has a “Dummy Button”. Robbie responds with “douchebag.” I’m not sure who is the true “douchebag” in this segment. A brawl breaks out with The BroMans standing tall.
-Decay cuts a terrifying promo backstage and promises to win the tag titles later.
-Backstage, EC3 reminds us that he’s never been pinned or submitted. EC3 says that it’s time to go to church, and in church EC3 never loses. His promos are often a highlight of the show.
Valley of Shadows Match: TNA Tag Team Champions Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode) vs. Decay (Crazy Steve & Abyss) w/ Rosemary
Tables and trashcans filled with various weapons are set up at ringside. The lights in the Impact Zone are dimmed for the match as well. Abyss tries to use a cheese grater on Roode, but Roode fights him off. Decay dominates the action using kendo sticks and steel chairs. Beer Money made a comeback by Roode hitting a spin buster on Abyss.
Back from commercial, Rosemary comes out from underneath the ring with a barbwire board. Beer Money gives Steve a double suplex on the barbwire board. Rosemary hands Abyss thumbtacks, which he spreads on the mat. She tries to spray the mist into Roode’s eyes, but misses and gets Abyss instead. Storm sprays the mist into Rosemary’s eyes and breaks a beer bottle over Abyss’ head for a near fall. Storm climbs to the top but Steve shoves him off into a table on the floor. Abyss gives Roode a choke slam onto the thumbtacks for the pin to win the tag title. This looked legit painful for Roode who had several thumbtacks sticking to his back. However, Decay are the new TNA World Tag team champions.
-We get a recap of Eric Young attacking Bram and cutting his beard. In the back, Bram is upset and promises to end EY tonight. Not sure why Bram’s so upset, his beard looks great.
-Bennett cuts a passionate promo. He points out that EC3 has lost his friends and title. The only thing EC3 has left is never being pinned or submitted. Bennett notes that he also has yet to be pinned or submitted.
TNA King of The Mountain Champion Eric Young vs. Bram
EY used a trash can lid on Bram and set up a table at ringside. Pope mentions on commentary that EY quit last week and promised to take the KOTM title with him. EY went for the pile driver off the apron, but Bram counters with the Brighter Side of Suffering though the table to pick up the win. Bram is the new King of the Mountain Champion.
-Backstage, World Champion Drew calls out Bobby Lashley for next week. Drew was once again great at selling his injured ribs. Drew is a constant highlight of Impact each and every week.
-In the back, the interviewer guy asks Bram how he feels after winning the KOTM title. Bram promises that anyone who wants a shot at his title can have it, but he’ll send them packing just like he did with Eric Young. That seems to be the only mention that EY is officially done with TNA.
-Jeff Hardy limps his way down to the ring. He recaps the “I Quit” match from last week and the Swanton Bomb spot that resulted in Matt leaving on a stretcher. Jeff hopes that he Swantoned some sense into Matt. Reby and Spud made their way to the ring to confront Jeff. She repeatedly told Jeff that she hates him, testing out their in-law rivalry. She told Jeff that her husband made him a star. This got an audible laugh from the crowd. She adds that Matt isn’t the same after last week; he’s cold, distant and doesn’t even talk to her. Reby slapped Jeff several times and Spud attacked him. Jeff made his own comeback and knocked out Spud with a Twist of Fate.
No DQ Match: Ethan Carter III vs. “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis
It’s main event time. We’re reminded that it’s no DQ and no count out. There must be a winner by pin fall or submission. EC3 dominates the action on the outside and rolls Bennett back in the ring. EC3 hits the broken arrow for a near fall. Bennett sends EC3 into the ring post and continues to work over the shoulder. Maria hands Bennett a chair and he destroys EC3 with it. EC3 hits the One Percenter but Maria breaks up the pin fall. EC3 takes the chair and beats Bennett with it. EC3 locks on his submsisson but Bennett kicks off the corner and pins EC3 like Bret Hart and Piper at Wrestlemania 8 or Balor and Joe at Takeover: Dallas. They put this over huge because Bennett is the first person to pin EC3. The show ends with Bennett and Maria celebrating while EC3 looks on stunned.
Next Time on Impact:
Next week on Impact, World Champion Drew Galloway promises to call out “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley for a face-to-face confrontation.
The back and forth in the WWE concussion litigation continued this past week, stemming from Jerry McDevitt filing a motion on behalf of WWE to compel proper discovery responses from the plaintiffs, Vito Lograsso and Evan Singleton. In the latest motion, WWE is looking to get the plaintiffs to
Despite practically being in the company’s backyard, tonight’s Raw will be the first one to originate from Hartford in nearly two years. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows will debut against the Usos. Shane McMahon will likely make another appearance, though whether he “runs the show” tonight as acting GM remains to be seen.
The WWE website is also promoting Dean Ambrose trying to get revenge on Chris Jericho after the main event of last week’s show, where Jericho gave Ambrose a Codebreaker after his win over Kevin Owens. Also, the finals of the tag team tournament to determine the new #1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team titles between Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. The Vaudevillains, with the winners getting the New Day, most likely at Payback.
Our coverage beings at 8 ET. Please join us.
The Big Takeaway:
For the first time since WrestleMania, Stephanie McMahon appeared to announce to Shane McMahon that this Sunday, her father would decide between Shane or the Authority who would get to control Raw again. It was the only segment of the show with Stephanie. No HHH tonight. Once again, the program benefitted without the Authority’s ubiquitous presence. Very good build to the main event of Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles with the underlying theme of whether Styles was in cahoots with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. In fact, Anderson and Gallows were put over strong in their Raw debut, winning cleanly over the Usos. Plus, there was a package building up Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, which was one of the best pieces building up a WWE undercard program in ages.
Show Recap:
There was a graphic dedicating the show to Chyna. There was no ceremony where the entire roster came out for a 10-bell salute or anything of that nature.
Shane McMahon started the show again, but before long Stephanie McMahon walked out for the first time since WrestleMania. She wanted a hug, but Shane wasn’t willing. Stephanie said the fans were from Hartford and sick of the same politicians smiling fake smiles and telling them what they want to hear. Stephanie mentioned being born in Hartford so she was one of them. She talked about being on the phone with politicians who wanted to honor her, “Harford’s favorite daughter,” potentially honoring her with a statue.
Stephanie got down to business and said tonight was the last night where Shane would run Raw. This Sunday, at Payback, Vince McMahon would decide once and for all (or until the next ratings slide) who runs Raw. Shane asked the fans who they wanted to see run Raw, and naturally Shane got all the cheers. Stephanie said Vince was smart enough to never put the decison making in the fans’ hands. Wasn’t she just complimenting them earlier? Very nicely, Shane asked Stephanie to leave the ring. Stephanie grasped on to the ropes, so Shane said since she wouldn’t leave, he brought down security. Three guards came out to “Yes” chants and Shane told Stephanie to “leave our ring.” Shane motioned to the fans. Stephanie left, getting in Shane’s face before doing so.
It was hilarious watching Stephanie leave. Guards acted like they were trying to escort Brock Lesnar out, right down to Stephanie telling one of the guards not to touch her. When one of them did, Stephanie slapped him and actually kicked him down. He had to sell it like he had been punched by Jon Jones. Two other guards hauled Stephanie off.
Shane turned his attention to tonight’s show and introduced A.J. Styles, who got easily his softest Raw reaction since debuting.
A.J. Styles defeated Sheamus (14:23)
Physical match. One thing Styles does very well is wrestle to the strengths of his opponent to make them look good, as well as himself. Sheamus dodged a quebrada and threw Styles into the ring steps. Sheamus clamped on the Irish Cloverleaf, but Styles made the ropes. Sheamus missed a Brogue Kick against the ropes, and Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, wearing matching white robes, came out to applaud Styles postmatch. Styles looked confused. For some reason, with that look, Gallows and Anderson reminded me of WCW jobber tag team extraordinaires Disorderly Conduct.
Roman Reigns watched this backstage and got his usual standing boo ovation from the fans. The Usos joined him, and they were all unanimous in thinking Styles, Anderson and Gallows were working together. The Usos told Reigns they had his back. Evidently, this wasn’t miced up very well in the building because the fans chanted “We can’t hear you.”
The New Day came out and put over the tag team tournament, sponsored by Booty-Os. Xavier Woods said the tag team that wins the tournament would party like it’s “1999” in a Prince tribute.
The Vaudevillains came out and said they would win the tournament. Aiden English sang “WWE World Tag Team Championships” like he was trying out for a barbershop quartet. English said they would party like it’s 1869. Simon Gotch said they would defeat Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, who came out to a huge reaction. Amore said he wanted to run down a beach into his own arms, but that’s impossible. Cass looked at him weird after that, then did his “Sawft” catchphrase.
Big E. got the fans to chant “New Day rocks” while Enzo and Cass and the Vaudevillains glared at each other.
Anderson and Gallows were shown leaving Styles dressing room as more supposed evidence that he was working for A.J.
John Cena’s tweets about returning to Raw on Memorial Day weekend were shown.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated the Usos (12:50)
Anderson pinned Jimmy Uso after a Magic Killer. Match was designed to get Gallows and Anderson over as strong heels because they were on offense most of the way in a longer match. The Reigns backlash is starting to rub off on the Usos, who got an “Usos suck” chant from a minority of the crowd. Anderson used the Divorce Court on Jey Uso’s injured left shoulder. Later, Gallows pushed Jey off the top rope into the barricade shoulder first. Jimmy Uso got the hot tag shortly after a commercial and caught Gallows with a tope.
Anderson and Gallows continued to beat on the Usos until Reigns came out. At least there were a few audible cheers which were quickly drowned out by the boobirds. Reigns cleaned house in short order to save his cousins, including an awesome clothesline on Anderson.
Styles did an interview with Renee Young that was interrupted by Anderson and Gallows. Styles wanted to know why Anderson and Gallows couldn’t stay out of trouble. Anderson said they knew Styles could win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by himself, but they always had his back. Gallows said their friendship would be forever. They shook hands.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens program continues with a video package that was very good. Owens said they met at a wrestling show, they traveled together. There were photographs of them posing together as teenage friends at various landmarks. Zayn said they attended each other’s weddings and he was at the hospital when Owens’ son was born. They showed the angle from NXT when Zayn won the NXT Championship, but Owens laid him out. Owens said it hurt him to achieve his goal first. Zayn said Owens told them they were like brothers, but shouldn’t Owens be happy for him if they were like brothers? Owens talked about beating up Cena on his first night in the company, winning the Intercontinental Championship and winning at WrestleMania. Zayn said when he was out with an injured shoulder, he felt like Owens took his spot on Raw, which stung. Zayn said he enjoyed throwing Owens out at the Royal Rumble. Owens said Zayn was the one making the issue between them personal. This was a tremendous hype piece detailing the history of the two men. In particular, Owens did these Bret Hart-style subtle heel statements, such as proclaiming himself the victim.
Sami Zayn defeated Rusev (11:56)
Rusev hit Zayn with a nice superkick and teased the Accolade, but Zayn kicked Rusev to the ropes and pinned him after a schoolboy cradle. That’s the best they could do to put over Zayn? Lana, who was back accompanying Rusev, screamed at Zayn and threw her shoes at him. That was weird. Shouldn’t she have attacked him with the shoes? Whole match was odd considering Rusev is yesterday’s news as a single, Zayn is the one in a program, yet Rusev controlled most of the way.
Owens ran out and hit Zayn from behind in the postmatch for the heel heat, which was the best reaction of the match. Crowd has been dead tonight.
Apollo Crews did an interview with Young. Stardust walked in. Apollo talked about how great it was to work with Stardust’s father, Dusty Rhodes. Stardust did an impression of Dusty, who said not even Dusty could make Crews a star. Crews needs to watch Connor McGregor interviews as a lesson on how to draw money, because this current track is going to leave him on a one-way path to Superstars.
Apollo Crews defeated Stardust (3:07)
Crews won with the Screwdriver Power Bomb. He did a standing moonsault, but there’s something lacking with Crews.
Ambrose came out to run down Jericho and said he didn’t want to host an edition of the Ambrose Asylum because he was not in the mood for fun and games. Ambrose cut a good promo about how he punches people in the face and gets punched beccause what he does for a living isn’t pretty. He called out Jericho, who came out with his magic scarf.
Jericho called Ambrose a disrespectful, stupid idiot and did some old school heel stuff. He reiterated that he was the best in the world at what he does, he wins matches, he makes history, he commands respect from every man he steps in the ring with. Jericho ordered Ambrose to kiss his $1500 boots. Apparently, Jericho went to the same cobbler as Tully Blanchard in 1985. Then he demanded that Ambrose apologize to him for taking the Highlight Reel away from him or else he would be sorry.
Ambrose said he was sorry that he paid so much money for those ugly ass shoes. He was sorry Jericho was walking around with a scarf with a Bon Jovi haircut and was sorry he would have to beat Jericho at Payback. But he wasn’t sorry for this and he jumped Jericho. Ambrose threw Jericho out of the ring and started clearing the announce table. Then Jericho tripped Ambrose on the table. Ambrose fell face first. Jericho then put Ambrose in the Walls of Jericho on the announcer’s table. This reminded me of Paige putting various women in the PTO on the table during her brief heel run last fall. Jericho is one talented man. These fans were ready to cheer him, but he got some heat from a lethargic crowd after a simple angle.
Natalya defeated Emma via submission (2:12)
Natalya won via sharpshooter. Charlotte and Ric Flair were at ringside. Emma does a 2:00 submission job as she’s in the starting blocks as a heel? Aren’t there a half dozen other women who could have been flown in for this match?
There was a video package paying tribute to Chyna. It featured tweets from Trish Stratus, Lita, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Stephanie McMahon, Steve Austin, Charlotte, Natalya, Shane, and the Rock. Highlights included her victory over Jeff Jarrett to win the Intercontinental Championship in the six-figure payoff match, as well as her entering the 1999 Royal Rumble, where she actually threw out Mark Henry. And a month later, Henry was in bed with Mae Young. Sweet Christ, did this company try to get Henry to quit. The Monday Night Wars led to the most unique careers in the history of this business. Goldberg is probably tops on that list. Debut in 1997, world champion nine months later, 15 months undefeated, out of the business by 2005. Chyna is the female equivalent. There are few who fell victim to the harsh reality that invades pro wrestling’s fantasy world harder than her, as well.
Damien Sandow vs. Baron Corbin never got going as Dolph Ziggler attacked Corbin during his ring entrance. It looked like Ziggler wanted to give Corbin a famouseron the floor, but Corbin avoided it and simply ran off. Crowd seemed happy to see Sandow again, although he only got a cameo. He didn’t get a ring entrance, however.
Another vignette from the Colons. This week they picked up women from a Puerto Rican nightclub and enjoyed fine drinks. Heat magnets.
The Miz and Maryse came out. Miz ran down fans who thought he would lose to Cesaro this Sunday at Payback. He kissed Maryse and said the Intercontinental Championship was more than a title, it was legendary. The greatest competitors have held this championship and Cesaro never has. He called fans who held up “Cesaro Section” signs as mindless wonderers who tried to empower themselves by talking with other internet trolls. He pointed to Maryse and said this is what the Miz section looks like.
Cesaro came out with his James Bond entrance again and said fans were too educated to start cheering for the Miz. This led to Miz to do his Travis Bickle impression from Taxi Driver. He said “You talkin to me?” Cesaro said the only movie the Miz belonged in was “Jackass.” Wonder if that was some shade thrown at Shane since he was the one who brought in Johnny Knoxville and Shane O. for an ill-fated Raw angle in 2007 which was supposed to lead up to SummerSlam. Knoxville and Steve laughed while getting pounded by Umaga, which led to the entire idea being scrapped. The two men exchanged Clint Eastwood catchphrases before Miz decided to leave instead of squaring off. Then Miz tried to jump Cesaro, who caught him with a hoisting uppercut. Michael Cole, clearly brushed up on his Eastwood knowledge, called that “Sudden Impact,” the movie which spawned the line “Go ahead, make my day.” Maryse covered up Miz from any further damage. Good segment.
Reigns and Styles had a staredown backstage. Styles turned his cap backwards and said he was going to take his title. Reigns muttered something about Anderson and Gallows to Styles.
Roman Reigns (C) defeated Alberto Del Rio in a nontitle match (12:58)
The whole idea of the League of Nations appears to have been dropped as it was never mentioned when Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus or Rusev were in action tonight. Instead of an angle to split them up, they’ve just quietly disbanded. Until they get back together again out of nowhere. Sort of like the Filet o’ Fish. You think it’s gone for good from the McDonald’s menu, then it randomly pops up again. It’s the Sarah Palin of food.
Anyway, Del Rio went for the armbar, triggering a Reigns comeback. Reigns actually got some “Let’s go Roman” chants. This may have been his best Raw reception of the year, and it still sounded like he was booed by 70% of the fans. He hit a Drive-By kick that sent Del Rio into the post. Del Rio came back with a superkick while Reigns’ was kneeling. Del Rio missed the Tree of Woe kick when Roman laid down, and Reigns hit the Superman’s Punch. Then Disorderly Conduct, er, Anderson and Gallows came out. A distracted Reigns almost got pinned with a schoolboy cradle by Del Rio, but Reigns kicked out, hit the spear and pinned Del Rio.
Anderson and Gallows immediately jumped Reigns. Styles ran down and ordered them to back off. Anderson and Gallows left, but Reigns hit Styles with a Superman’s punch. Reigns hit Gallows with a Superman’s Punch, but Styles hit Reigns with a Phenomenal Forearm. Anderson and Gallows smiled like Styles were in collusion, but Styles and Regins sold the punches they laid on each other. Pretty good pop for Styles nailing Reigns.
SUMMARY:
Another in a line of shows that have been very good. The storyline with Styles, Reigns, Anderson and Gallows have made sense and have built very well. All the matches on this show were solid, aside from the squashes. Above all, most of the shows since WrestleMania have been fun, particularly this one. The build for Owens-Zayn was excellent tonight, and Jericho’s angle with Ambrose was very good, to boot.
The silliness that lasted all week may or may not be over with Conor McGregor claiming he is back on UFC 200.
Early Monday morning, McGregor tweeted, “Happy to announce that I am back on UFC 200! Shout out to Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta on getting this one done for the fans.”
However, Dana White contradicted that claim Monday morning, sending a text message to Los Angeles Times reporter Lance Pugmire that read, “Not true. We haven’t talked (to) Conor or his manager since the press conference. I don’t know why he would tweet that.”
McGregor’s tweet was done early enough West Coast time (where UFC operates) where the promotion would have theoretically confirmed such a story. After hours went by with no confirmation, it raised questions as to not just the veracity of the McGregor tweet as well as the reason.
As noted on previous shows we’ve done, McGregor is playing a dangerous game because if the fanbase starts thinking of him as someone who makes stories up, he just becomes another attention seeking worker.
McGregor’s trainer John Kavanagh was on The MMA Hour today with Ariel Helwani where the situation was addressed.
It took all of 70 seconds for the Ric Flair-Hulk Hogan double turn to take place at the WCW Uncensored PPV show on 3/14 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, and by the end of the match, Hogan had been screwed so many times by bad officiating that the turn was complete, even with the stipulation of Flair having to retire should he lose.
Angelico from AAA appeared to be injured today at the Lucha Underground tapings.
Those at the building reported that he landed badly doing a springboard move and appeared to suffer an elbow injury.
The referee called for an “X” and the other wrestlers worked to the finish and he was taken to the back.
This was the second injury suffered at the weekend tapings, with Matanza being injured last night at the tapings. Matanza, played by Jeff Cobb, suffered an arm injury that saw him rushed to the hospital after punching through a glass window, similar to what nearly ended the career of Bill Goldberg and put him out of action for months. The injury ended up not being as serious as it appeared, although there was a ton of blood involved. Cobb is expected to be back wrestilng next week.
We will update later with more details and check the next Wrestling Observer out for more details.
