– Hype Bros defeated Marcus Louis and Sawyer Fulton via pinfall with the Hype Ryder on Marcus. Good reaction for the Bros here. Fun action.
– Elias Samson beat Rich Swann with his new neckbreaker finish. Good match, Swann is beloved already and Elias had a lot of heat here. After the win, Elias hopped the barricade and drifted away.
– Eva Marie, Alexa Bliss and Peyton Royce defeated Liv Morgan, Aliyah, and Adrien Reese. The negative reaction for Eva is amazing these days. Eva got the pin on Aliyah.
– Manny Andrade (the former La Sombra) made his NXT debut and defeated Riddick Moss with running knees to the face while Moss is laying with his head on the bottom turnbuckle. Manny wasn’t known yet, so he had to win over this crowd.
– Jason Jordan, Chad Gable and Apollo Crews defeated NXT Champion Dash & Dawson and Angelo Dawkins. American Alpha is very over, a lot of solid wrestling here. Gable hit a delayed roll through Chaos Theory. It was a thing of beauty. Jordan is the best hot tag in NXT, and cleared house before Gable scored the pin after the assisted German Suplex.
– Baron Corbin defeated Alex Riley with the EOD. Physical match. Baron was jawing with the crowd a lot.
– Asuka defeated Billie Kay (w Sylvester LeFort) via Asuka Lock submission. Good match here, all about Asuka.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor and Bull Dempsey defeated Tye Dillinger and Tino Sabatelli. A lot of comedy with Bull doing his jumping jacks routine and upsetting the heels with his antics. Finn was extra animated in this match as he Irish whipped Tino across the ring and chopped him 9 times before Dillinger got in his way to stop the tenth, Finn then chopped Tye for the large ten chant. Balor got the win with the stomp and sent everyone home happy.
Ring of Honor television from Philadelphia with more of the aftermath from Final Battle included the surprise return of Stevie Richards. In another ode to ECW, there was a match with wild brawling, chair swinging and a table breaking. Also, Cedric Alexander and Veda Scott get shocked after an upset. In the television main event, Big Mike provides a display of power.
Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 (Steve Corino) provided commentary.
Enter TV champion Roderick Strong to some cheers then a chorus of “you tapped out” chants. Roddy looked annoyed and continued his change to a more heelish demeanor as the champion bro. He bragged that he was still the champion following the last PPV and then he smirked.
The backstory being he tapped out to a submission hold applied by Bobby Fish without the referee seeing the tap. Strong went on to eventually retain. In continuing the Roddy vs. the world theme, Strong issued a new open challenge.
Surprisingly, Stevie Richards returned to challenge for the TV title in the same arena in which he first rose to prominence in during his ECW run.
ROH TV champion Roderick Strong beat Stevie Richards to retain
Richards looked in great shape as he did more than just hang with a conditioned machine like Strong. Corino noted both represented different disciplines of training and suggested the idea of the match being DDP Yoga (Richards) vs. crossfit (Strong).
The match was nip-and-tuck throughout and wide open in the early moments. They slowed down for a knuckle lock when Strong took a cheap shot and dastardly kicked Richards in the stomach. However, Richards escaped his clutches. Roderick cut off Stevie, nailed him with a sweet dropkick then kept him grounded on the mat. Roddy dashed a hope spot before a commercial.
Dashing hope again after the break, Strong got a nearfall. A moment later with Roderick perched on the top turnbuckle, Stevie hit a superkick to send Roddy tumbling down. Off an implant DDT, Richards got a nearfall. Another nearfall by Strong when he delivered a flurry of offense and a backbreaker for a two count. The crowd started dueling chants for their respective favorites.
Landing a series of forearms and elbows, Strong had Richards reeling when he executed a gutbuster and went for his finishing kick. Stevie hit a superkick out of nowhere for a nearfall. The crowd chanted “that was three.” Richards promptly applied the Boston crab on Strong, which is a move Roddy normally uses. Mere seconds later and Strong applies the same hold, which he calls “the stronghold”, on to Richards. As they began slugging it out, Strong suddenly hits a bome ye of sorts with a jumping knee to the face for the pinfall.
Post-match, the theme song for reDRagon interrupted Roddy’s celebration. Bobby Fish sporting a dapper suit entered the scene flanked by three aids collectively carrying a table and two chairs. Fish informed the audience this was an impromptu edition of his Fish Tank segment and he planned to interview Roderick. Clutching his title belt, the champion looked unpleased with the sudden turn of events.
Before the Fish Tank came a commercial break. ACH plugged ROH merchandise including but not limited to a water battle, his new t-shirt, a backpack to put it all in and a coloring book to keep you entertained.
After the break, Fish was seated at a table in the ring. Though he was invited to sit, Strong threw a chair across the ring where it bounced into the turnbuckles.
“Looks like we’re standing,” Fish said.
With a slight dig toward the current champ, Bobby talked about the new heights Jay Lethal took the championship to in the past year. Bobby went on to say the year was a banner year for “Mr. ROH” as well. He put over Strong for a moment before showing a photo on the video screen that Bobby introduced as what the year meant to Roderick. It showed Strong tapping in their match at Final Battle. Roderick was already hollering about not tapping when Bobby asked him directly if he tapped. The champion defiantly shook his head and scoffed.
Strong grabbed a microphone. He fiddled with it in trying to get working, which helped convey his frustration though it was a mishap. Fish just kept ad-libbing. Roddy began to deny he tapped. Then he denied some more before cutting a promo on Fish.
“I did not tap out, you sore loser,” Strong said and angrily threw the mic at Fish then stormed off dragging his title behind him.
Before the next match, Caprice Coleman cut a promo on Will Ferrera. Coleman first bullied the ring attendant. He once again called Ferrera a “jive turkey” and said he would beat Ferrera while looking pretty from all angles. He claimed to “have the body of a god and the face of an angel.” With that, Ferrera jumped him before the bell.
Caprice Coleman beat Will Ferrera in a no disqualification match
After a getting into a brawl and dueling with chairs two weeks ago on TV, this match was no DQ. Upping the violence and the brutality with this match, Coleman and Ferrera took their feud to another level with Prince Nana mysteriously connected to the rivalry. That and they were in the ECW Arena so they took it to the extreme.
They brawled around ringside at the outset. Back in the ring, Coleman whipped Ferrera with a belt. Coleman got the better of a dueling chairs spot. On commentary, Mr. Wrestling #3 pondered about the involvement of Prince Nana and how that has somehow escalated the level of violence.
For the finish, Ferrera made a comeback and retrieved a table. Ironically, Coleman would jump off the top rope with a legdrop to put Ferrera through the table and cover him for the pin. From the aisle, Prince Nana looked on approvingly as he clapped and smiled.
Jonathan Gresham beat Cedric Alexander (with Veda Scott) in an upset
The beginning looked like any enhancement match. Cedric delivered a suplex series of three amigos. When he went for a fourth consecutive suplex, Gresham cradled him in a small package for a nearfall. The underdog fired up. Veda caused a distraction allowing Cedric to derail the comeback. He dropkicked Gresham in a corner a couple times before delivering a vicious falling backbreaker. Cedric and Veda smirked and showboated. When Cedric went for a lackadaisical cover, Gresham used a cruxifix to reverse it and score the pinfall. Veda couldn’t even *ugh*.
Michael Elgin beat Donovan Dijak (with Truth Martini) in the television main event
Airing before the Tokyo Dome show, the story was Dijak trying to soften up Elgin for Jay Lethal and the House of Truth ahead of the title match at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Likewise, Lethal was at ringside providing guest commentary. Before the match, Jerry Lynn interrupted the proceedings and confronted Lethal. At first it looked tense but Lynn admitted he was wrong about his Final Battle predictions. They shook hands. Lethal proclaimed it was the final proof he was the now the greatest wrestler in the world.
This was a mean guy match. They started by slamming into each other with shoulder tackles. Elgin eventually got the better of the early exchange. The fans counted along when Elgin hoisted Dijak up for a delayed vertical suplex. They quickened the pace and Dijak knocked Elgin off the apron. Truth Martini celebrated by break dancing in the ring before a commercial break.
Dijak got heat on Elgin then Big Mike made a comeback. He pummeled Dijak for a few moments until using a German suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. On commentary, Lethal kept mentioning that this was pro wrestling and not powerlifting. So, he would beat the mighty Elgin because he was the best wrestler in the world as ROH world champion.
Elgin blocked a chokeslam. Seconds later, Dijak picked him for a chokeslam into a backbreaker. Dijak leaped to the top rope and did a moonsault for a two count. Elgin fought back with forearm smashes. Dijak lifted him up in a fireman’s carry. Elgin turned it into a sunset flip followed by a deadlift powerbomb. Elgin finished him off with sit-out powerbomb for the pin. He then stared down Lethal.
TNA PPV tonight! That’s right, TNA is running a PPV show tonight, in Bethlehem, PA after four straight days of tapings. As noted by Dave, the ratings for the first real episode of Impact on POP TV did poorly, and I can’t imagine that this PPV will do anything but that.
Conor McGregor will move up in weight to challenge UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in an effort to become the UFC’s first dual belt holder and their third fighter to win belts in two weight classes. More on that here. The show in March will be headlined by McGregor vs. RDA and co-headlined by Holly Holm’s first women’s bantamweight championship defense against Miesha Tate. Yes, UFC is not going with the Ronda Rousey rematch immediately.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Houston (Brock Lesnar vs. Sheamus, Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio, Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for IC title),tonight’s NXT show in Tampa and tonight’s TNA show in Bethlehem, PA if there’s anything not on the PPV to Dave Meltzer
We’ll also be doing our weekend poll on the TNA show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
TNA ONE NIGHT ONLY PPV TONIGHT FROM BETHLEHEM, PA AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Kurt Angle & Drew Galloway vs. Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Eli Drake & Jessie Godderz
Bobby Roode & James Storm vs. Eric Young & Bram
Women’s gauntlet match for No. 1 contender for the title (possibly to be won by Awesome Kong since Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong in a title match was already taped for Impact)
Mahabili Shera vs. Aiden O’Shea
Bobby Lashley vs. Tyrus
Mike Bennett vs Robbie E
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M EASTERN (one hour earlier than usual)
A.J. Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for IWGP title
CMLL ON WWW.CLAROSPORTS.COM LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO TONIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Marco Corleone & La Mascara & Maximo Sexy vs. Kamaitachi & Negro Casas & Mr. Niebla
Euforia & Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero vs. Dragon Rojo & Rey Escorpion & Thunder
Volador Jr. & Cibernetico vs. Rush & Caristico
CES MMA FROM LINCOLN, RION AXS TV AT 9 P.M. EASTERN
We’re looking for reports on Saturday from the ROH TV tapings in Concord, NC (Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal & ACH, Roderick Strong vs. Masada, Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley, War Machine vs. All Night Express plus Top Prospect tournament matches), Lucha Underground TV tapings in Boyle Heights, CA, WWE house shows in Montgomery, AL (Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for WWE title; New Day vs. Dudleys & Tommy Dreamer, Kane vs. Bray Wyatt) and Bossier City, LA (Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for IC title, Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio, Ryback vs. Rusev), TNA PPV tapings in Bethlehem, PA and NXT in Citrus Springs, FL.
Sunday has Lucha Underground tapings in Boyle Heights, CA, as well as WWE house shows in Mobile, AL (Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for WWE title; New Day vs. Dudleys & Tommy Dreamer; Kane vs. Bray Wyatt) and Monroe, LA (Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for IC title, Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio, Ryback vs. Rusev).
Raw is live Monday from New Orleans. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman return on the show.
Smackdown and Main Event tapings will be Tuesday in Lafayette, LA.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today! We have have clips of the post Summer Slam / Super China Buffet show featuring a lengthy Brent Kremen discussion, as well as clips from the X-Mas show. This is a soft launch but we will be releasing much more shortly.
In the biggest news week in a long time, we’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, covering John Cena’s injury, New Japan stars headed to WWE, a major feature looking at the year that past in pro wrestling and MMA and the year coming up, WWE direction for WrestleMania season, Tokyo Dome coverage, Rizin debut coverage, TNA changes and UFC 195.
Our lead story talks about John Cena’s injury and the injury issues in WWE with more notes on the training program being used. All the news regarding wrestlers leaving New Japan, who’s been contacted, different roles, the various schedules for different guys, other negotiations, what led to these moves, what New Japan needs to learn from this, affects on ROH, and other ideas for New Japan to break out of its standard mentality.
UFC in 2016, the success of the women’s division, UFC business review, big fights on the horizon, the state of WWE in 2015 and 2016, different fan bases, rise of NXT, where New Japan has failed on the international scene, plus AAA, CMLL, Bellator, TNA and ROH prospects in 2016.
Full coverage of New Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results, the big angles, Okada’s prospects as the top star, the next big programs on the horizon, big show plans for 2016, the Fanstastica Mania tour lineup and thoughts, New Year’s Dash coverage.
The changes to this year’s Royal Rumble and scout the possibilities and big matches on the horizon for Mania, and the return of Chris Jericho.
WWE Network, John Cena on Peyton Manning and HGH, football coach trying to recruit WWE for Mania, portrayal of Joseph Maroon in the “Concussion”, lots of details on new Dwayne Johnson projects, Lesnar’s schedule, a look at 50/50 booking, Reaction to HHH circumventing his own angle, February NXT, WrestleMania plans, Jericho talks current interview style, WWE looking for new stars around the world, Dusty Rhodes tag team tournament, WWE injury updates, Austin TV show.
A complete look at the debut of the Rizin promotion, details on the ratings and how it compares to WWE & UFC, the Masato vs. Kid Yamamoto show in competition, boxing in competition, Spike TV numbers, Fedor’s return, the freak show fights and what did and didn’t work on the first two shows.
UFC 195, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and business regarding the show, a look at all the close decisions and why they went the way they did.
TNA’s debut on Pop TV, the ratings, the title tournament, who was watching, the PPV show this week, the Mike Bennett debut, the James Storm return, the departure of Taryn Terrell and the good and bad of the latest relaunch.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
The debut of Smackdown on the USA Network did 2,757,000 viewers, up about 600,000 from what the show was doing on Syfy, so the boost of changing networks looks to be significant.
The WWE continues to have fun on its web site with the New Japan raid, showing a photo of most of the Bullet Club, wearing Balor Club T-shirts on their web site while Finn Balor wore a Bullet Club T-shirt in a photo released. Balor did an interview promoting them coming talking about how he was best friends in Japan with Karl Anderson, as well as good friends with Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale and Shinsuke Nakamura while he was in Japan.
Roddy Piper’s last movie, “The Masked Saint,” debuts tonight in 480 theaters around the country. The story is about the life of a pro wrestler who becomes a pastor, but when there are problems paying the bills, he goes back to wrestling to raise money. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY
There was a bomb threat this morning at Arena Mexico. The building was evacuated at 10:30 a.m. and roads around the arena were blocked off. The building was searched and no bomb was found.
ROH announced a battle of champions (Jay Lethal & War Machine & Roderick Strong) vs. Bullet Club (Young Bucks & Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) for 1/22 in Asheville, NC. Anderson & Gallows are making their advertised ROH dates this month but will not be taking any new dates.
WWE
WWE stock closed down two cents a share today to $16.30.
To show the relationship with WWE & Evolve is still strong, WWE allowed Evolve to pass out flyers for their shows in January in Orlando at the NXT tapings last night at Full Sail University.
Tickets are on sale today for the complete out of Florida NXT shows. Since they are in smaller buildings, most are likely to sell out quickly. 2/4 in Memphis, 2/5 in Nashville, 2/6 in Indianapolis, 2/18 in Philadelphia (Tower Theater), 2/19 in Asbury Park, NJ, 2/20 in Albany, NY
Daniel Bryan will be appearing toady in Cincinnati at the Cavalcade of Customs at the Duke Energy Convention Center (thanks to Brian Henke)
A couple of stories on the Anoa’i family and wrestling related to Roman Reigns returning as WWE champion to the Gulf Coast this weekend, where he grew up. HERE and HERE
UFC officially announced shows on 5/8 in Rotterdam, Holland, which was reported in this week’s Observer, as well as 4/10 in Zagreb, Croatia. Both will be FS 1 shows.
A Frank Mir vs. Mark Hunt heavyweight main event was announced for 3/20 in Brisbane, Australia.
MISCELLANEOUS
AAA’s vacated heavyweight title, that Alberto Del Rio never lost and wasn’t allowed to return to drop, will be decided on 1/22 in the main event of Guerra de Titanes at Juan de la Barrera Gym in Mexico City. It will start as a tag match with Dr. Wagner Jr. & Psycho Clown vs. Mesias & El Texano Jr. The winning team will then have a singles match for the championship.
Glory 27 takes place on 2/26 in Chicago at the Sears Centre Arena headlined by Artem Levin vs. Simon Marcus for the middleweight title. There is a pre-sale right now and tickets to on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Sunday.
During last night’s Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets game, in Dallas, they were playing the Shinsuke Nakamura entrance music between plays. (thanks to Paul Fontaine)
CMLL from Tuesday night at Arena Coliseo in Guadalajara: Chakal & Thunder Boy b Divino & Metatron, Disturbio & Malefico & Metalico b Omar Brunetti & Sensei & Starman, Okumura & Sangre Azteca & Virus b Esfinge & Pegasso & Stigma, Angel de Oro & Rey Cometa & Titan b Dragon Rojo Jr. & Polvora & Rey Hechicero, El Terrible & Rey Bucanero & Vangellys b Mistico & Valiente & Volador Jr.
The non-title win in the main event by Terrible & Bucanero & Vangellys sets up a CMLL trios title match on Tuesday night in Guadalajara.
Casino executive Bryan Lindsey was announced as having acquired a majority equity stake in Tuff N Uff, the 20-year old Las Vegas local promotion.
IWA Mid South tonight in Clarksville, IN at the Colgate Gym features Billy Gunn, Sami Callihan, Michael Elgin and Kongo Kong. They also run tomorrow night in the same building with Gunn vs. Reed Bentley and a women’s no rope barbed wire match.
They opened with two matches taped for a show called WWE Kids. The idea is that Corey Graves announces with two kids and that kids handle the interviews and ring announcing. One of the ring announcers was Izzy, the Bayley fan who had been featured on TV during her matches the last several months.
Becky Lynch beat Natalya
Big Show beat Heath Slater
NXT for January 13, 2016:
William Regal announces a battle royal with the winner getting a shot at Bayley’s championship. Sami Zayn came out, not to enter the battle royal, but to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT title. Samoa Joe came out so this set up Zayn vs. Joe. Baron Corbin then came out and it set up a three-way for the next title shot.
Tommaso Ciampa beat Danny Burch
Dash & Dawson beat The Ascension
Elias Sampson beat Corey Hollis
Carmella won the battle royal. Eva Marie stayed outside the ring and they teased she had won, but Carmella was never eliminated and threw her out. Bayley and Carmella celebrated after the match.
NXT for January 20, 2016:
Sami Zayn beat Adam Rose
Apollo Crews beat Tye Dillinger. Crews then issued challenge to Finn Balor, saying he just wanted a match with him now and it’s not about the title.
Baron Corbin pinned Rich Swann with the End of Days
Bayley & Carmella beat Alexa Bliss & Emma. They celebrate like best friends (which they are in real life)
Samoa Joe beat Johnny Gargano
NXT for January 27, 2016:
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan came out with the new name American Alpha. they beat Blake & Murphy with the double team back suplex.
Nia Jax beat Liv Morgan. Nia Jax & Eva Marie are together as a unit.
Alex Riley (first match back after knee surgery) beat Bull Dempsey
Elias Sampson beat John Skyler
#1 contender’s match: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin saw Zayn put Corbin the sharpshooter and Joe put Corbin in the crossface. Corbin tapped out, but the question was who did he tap out to, which will lead to a Zayn vs. Joe singles match for the shot.
NXT for 2/3
The Vaudevillains beat Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder
Carmella beat Emma
Enzo Amore & Big Cass beat ?
Asuka beat Santana Garrett
NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Apollo Crews in a non-title match.
Alluded to by UFC President Dana White on UFC Tonight Wednesday, Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter cited multiple sources in reporting Thursday night that UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will move up in weight to challenge UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in an effort to become the UFC’s first dual belt holder and their third fighter to win belts in two weight classes.
If the report is accurate, the fight will happen at UFC 197 on March 5th in Las Vegas with a co-main event of women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate, a fight that became quite clear after White said that the 10-0 Holm’s next title defense would not be against Ronda Rousey as he had originally said. Holm dominated Rousey to win the title in a shocking upset via 2nd round knockout in November while the 29-year-old Tate (17-5) is riding a four-fight winning streak after downing Jessica Eye in a July unanimous decison win.
White and other UFC officials had previously shot down any other previous champion who said they wanted to move up in weight, win another title, and defend both belts. The 19-2 McGregor, however, has a lot of bargaining power and a fight against the talented but promotionally flat dos Anjos (25-7) is the biggest draw of a fight the champion currently has.
Unfortunately, this also puts a McGregor/Frankie Edgar featherweight title on ice, as well as stunts the next steps for top lightweight contender Tony Ferguson and the winner of January 17th’s Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez bout on Fox Sports One.
Regardless, putting these two huge fights on the same show assures the UFC of another big PPV buyrate for the first quarter of the year.
Holm instantly became one of UFC’s biggest stars with a knockout win over Ronda Rousey, winning the bantamweight title. While UFC officials had stated many times that Holm’s first title defense would be a rematch, which would be the biggest money fight in UFC history, the decision was made to give Rousey more time and have Holm defend against Tate. Tate was originally scheduled for the shot at Rousey that Holm got, but it was pulled because UFC officials decided that even though Tate was the top contender and had won a match over Jessica Eye to get the shot, that since Rousey had beaten her twice, they would put Rousey with a new opponent.
It’s virtually a lock that the winner of this fight would face Rousey later in 2016.
The newly-formed Social Outcasts open the show to successfully live down Monday night’s abysmal introductory promo. They enter to Heath Slater’s theme, which does nothing to dispel assumptions that this grouping will be 4MB in all but name. The graphic at the bottom of the screen suggests that there will be no hashtag in the faction’s title; however, one is prominently featured on their bland (and presumably placeholding) TitanTron video.
Slater beings by screaming: “Forever trending baby, Social Outcasts!” before encouraging the WWE Universe to take their penicillin…as he and his cronies are about to go viral. What chance have we got against anitbiotic-resistant bacteria when opinion-moulders like Slater are peddling misinformation like this? Shameful.
Adam Rose leans in to bring the weirdness again. He talks in floral metaphors before throwing off his spectacles and announcing to the world that he does in fact have 20/20 vision. Okay.
Slater goes to start flapping his gums again, but becomes distracted by Curtis Axel’s frantic pacing in the background. This allows Bo to jump in, telling us that poor Curtis may be very upset, but he is about to release some of that inner anger on The Usos. Bo states that he and his new jobber pals will be “walking the path of success together”. He then goes to deliver his catchphrase, only for the Usos’ theme to cut him off mid-sentence.
Jimmy shouts “Whoa!” like a million times, which somehow manages to get roughly five of this previously dead-silent Laredo crowd to chant along with him. The Usos clearly have taken issue with their names being mentioned in anger. Bo attempts to receive them with a friendly handshake as they climb into the ring, only for Axel to attack them and ruin the gesture. What a hothead. Predictably, Jimmy and Jey get the upper hand and clean house, leaving the Social Outcasts to run up the ramp and lick their wounds ahead of tonight’s featured contest. Yay.
– More promo “goodness” on an unusually talk-heavy installment of Main Event, as we get one of those “awesome” promos from the Star Room, in which Stardust says some cryptic things that may or may not be directed at his opponent for the night, Titus O’Neil.
Titus O’Neil def. Stardust by pinfall
This, of course, is a rematch from RAW the previous night, where Titus emerged victorious from a nothing match. We get an inset promo from The Big Deal as he makes his entrance, in which he tells us that 2016 will be his year. He said the same thing almost exactly two years ago – the last time the Prime Time Players went their separate ways. That didn’t go well. Remember Slater Gator?
Rich Brennan helpfully reminds us of the now-forgotten storyline of Titus attempting to get Stardust to drop this stupid gimmick. God forbid the matches have any actual motivation behind them or anything.
Titus’ weaknesses are masked by keeping this one short. Usual overhand chops in the corner to start, before Stardust works the left arm for a while for some reason. A missed crossbody off the top from Stardust leads into the comeback, as Titus hits the Pay Check, the Stinger Splash and the Clash of the Titus for the win.
Tyler Breeze def. Zack Ryder by pinfall
It’s hilarious that this aired just two days after the Breaking Ground season finale, in which Tyler’s triumphant promotion to the main roster was highlighted. What an unmitigated failure that has been. Breeze, of course, made his entrance alone here, after last week’s amicable parting of the ways with Summer Rae on Smackdown. Ugh.
These two only get three minutes to do their thing. Breeze escapes a Broski Boot by slipping under the bottom rope, only to eat a baseball slide for his troubles. Back in, and Ryder hits a running forearm in the corner. He goes up for the ten-punch, but gets crotched, which allows Breeze to – awkwardly – tie him up for the Unprettier and the win. I absolutely hate that finish, the aptness of its name in this instance notwithstanding.
– RAW Rebound: Focusing on the Roman/Vince developments and conveniently editing out Vince’s unbelievable botch before Scott Armstrong’s arrival on the scene.
The Usos def. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (w/ Heath Slater and Adam Rose)
Jerry Lawler, who joins Rich on commentary this week, speculates that Dallas may be the leader of this motley crew, as Dallas gets beaten on by Jimmy in the early going. Hands up who isn’t surprised that Jerry doesn’t know what Heath Slater’s music sounds like? Rich corrects him, to his credit, but of course Jerry no-sells the error.
Bo prevents getting tossed over the top rope, slipping under it limbo-style instead. He feels that this merits a well-earned victory lap. And is excitedly joined by the other three in what can only be described as a conga line of the damned. Slater air-guitars and Axel screams loudly. The crowd is silent.
Jimmy and Jey greet the completion of said victory lap with stereo dives to Bo and Axel leading into the final commercial break. We come back with Jey as your babyface-in-peril. He gets worked on for a while, also eating a cheap shot from Heath while the referee is distracted.
We eventually get what might charitably be referred to as a lukewarm tag to Jimmy, who cleans house with the usual samoan drop/hip attack/superkick offence. He goes up top to hit the Superfly Splash on Bo, only to get distracted by Slater’s presence on the apron. Jimmy chases him off, allowing Bo to catch him with an O’Connor Roll. Jimmy reverses it however, for the pinfall victory. So, the Social Outcasts’ unbeaten run lasts a whole 24 hours from inception, rendering Heath’s victory over Dolph Ziggler even more pointless. And tonight’s failed distraction finish makes Ziggler look like even more of an idiot for his part in the end of Monday’s match.
Final Thoughts:
Under ten minutes of in-ring action prior to the featured contest makes this an unusually promo-heavy edition of Main Event. The Social Outcasts opened the show with a chance to shine on the mic. They didn’t. But they did sustain their first loss as a group, only 24 hours after coalescing. 4MB it is, then. I hope Curtis, Bo and Adam have saved their money.
John Cena will be out at least 6-9 months as he needs another shoulder surgery which he had today in Birmingham. In what has to be devastating news for WWE, apparently Cena suffered a torn labrum but did not mention when or where it occurred, just ominously noting on twitter that 2016 would be starting differently than he had hoped. Cena had been out since October filming a reality TV show, and had just returned to begin a program with the League of Nations and Alberto Del Rio over the U.S. title. At this point, Cena will be unable to wrestle at Wrestlemania 32, but will probably do some sort of appearance.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s TNA tapings in Bethlehem, PA and NXT tapings in Orlando at Dave Meltzer
SMACKDOWN DEBUTS TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ON THE USA NETWORK
Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto non-title
Dolph Ziggler & Goldust & R-Truth & Neville vs. New Day & The Miz
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch for Divas title
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for IC title
This is the debut show on the USA Network with the new announcing team of Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton. Ranallo got strong reviews of those who already saw the show since it aired last night in Canada.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today! We have have clips of the post Summer Slam / Super China Buffet show featuring a lengthy Brent Kremen discussion, as well as clips from the X-Mas show. This is a soft launch but we will be releasing much more shortly.
In the biggest news week in a long time, we’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, covering John Cena’s injury, New Japan stars headed to WWE, a major feature looking at the year that past in pro wrestling and MMA and the year coming up, WWE direction for WrestleMania season, Tokyo Dome coverage, Rizin debut coverage, TNA changes and UFC 195.
Our lead story talks about John Cena’s injury and the injury issues in WWE with more notes on the training program being used. All the news regarding wrestlers leaving New Japan, who’s been contacted, different roles, the various schedules for different guys, other negotiations, what led to these moves, what New Japan needs to learn from this, affects on ROH, and other ideas for New Japan to break out of its standard mentality.
UFC in 2016, the success of the women’s division, UFC business review, big fights on the horizon, the state of WWE in 2015 and 2016, different fan bases, rise of NXT, where New Japan has failed on the international scene, plus AAA, CMLL, Bellator, TNA and ROH prospects in 2016.
Full coverage of New Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results, the big angles, Okada’s prospects as the top star, the next big programs on the horizon, big show plans for 2016, the Fanstastica Mania tour lineup and thoughts, New Year’s Dash coverage.
The changes to this year’s Royal Rumble and scout the possibilities and big matches on the horizon for Mania, and the return of Chris Jericho.
WWE Network, John Cena on Peyton Manning and HGH, football coach trying to recruit WWE for Mania, portrayal of Joseph Maroon in the “Concussion”, lots of details on new Dwayne Johnson projects, Lesnar’s schedule, a look at 50/50 booking, Reaction to HHH circumventing his own angle, February NXT, WrestleMania plans, Jericho talks current interview style, WWE looking for new stars around the world, Dusty Rhodes tag team tournament, WWE injury updates, Austin TV show.
A complete look at the debut of the Rizin promotion, details on the ratings and how it compares to WWE & UFC, the Masato vs. Kid Yamamoto show in competition, boxing in competition, Spike TV numbers, Fedor’s return, the freak show fights and what did and didn’t work on the first two shows.
UFC 195, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and business regarding the show, a look at all the close decisions and why they went the way they did.
TNA’s debut on Pop TV, the ratings, the title tournament, who was watching, the PPV show this week, the Mike Bennett debut, the James Storm return, the departure of Taryn Terrell and the good and bad of the latest relaunch.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
Jeff Hardy worked at last night’s TNA tapings in a match with Shynron that will air this coming Tuesday night on Impact.
Shinsuke Nakamura will not be at the ROH Las Vegas shows in late February due to his expected signing with WWE.
The story going around that WWE has purchased the rights to Bullet Club from New Japan is a hoax.
Lucha Underground has reached its first Canadian television deal. It will air on TLN (Telelatino Network) in Canada every Sunday start at 10 p.m. Eastern starting on 1/31, or a few days after the same episode airs in the U.S. on El Rey. TLN will be taking the English language feed with Matt Striker and Vampiro as announcers.
Evolve and WWN have announced talent for its WrestleMania weekend shows on 4/1 and 4/2 in Dallas, including Timothy Thatcher, Drew Galloway, Zack Sabre Jr., Tommy End, TJ Perkins, Drew Gulak, Tracy Williams, Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. Terry Funk will be at the Mercury Rising show that weekend being honored.
WWE
Linda McMahon has announced a start up company called Women’s Leadership (WLL), geared toward promoting leadership opportunities for women. The company will be based in Texas and will sponsor and organize events with prominent women speakers, as well as panel discussions and workshops.
WWE sent out a survey yesterday asking fans what personalities they’d like to see in a reality show on the WWE Network. The names listed in the survey were Zack Ryder, Edge, Booker T, Chris Jericho, Paige, Paul Heyman, Big Show, Roman Reigns, Lita, The Miz, Mick Foley, The Usos, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Ryback, Big E, R-Truth. Dean Ambrose, Beth Phoenix, Charlotte, Trish Stratus, Dolph Ziggler, Lita and Xavier Woods.
Roman Reigns and the Bella Twins were on Good Morning America today. The Bellas were promoting the new season of Total Divas and Nikki talked about her relationship with John Cena.
Paul Heyman did an interview with Fox Sports promoting Brock Lesnar returning to Raw on Monday night in New Orleans.
Summer Rae wasn’t at Smackdown last night because she represented WWE at the People’s Choice awards in Los Angeles.
An interview with Dr. Julian Bailes about how he and Dr. Joseph Maroon were portrayed in Concussion as well as Merrill Hoge defending Maroon
WWE stock fell another 35 cents per share today to $16.32.
UFC/MMA
A settlement agreement between Nick Diaz and the Nevada commission is on the docket for a commission meeting on Tuesday. The commission had suspended Diaz for five years and fined him $165,000 for his third marijuana violation in the state, not to mention other issues in different states. Diaz filed suit and the sides have been working on an out-of-court settlement. A hearing regarding voiding Wanderlei Silva’s lifetime ban that the commission imposed when he ran away from a drug test will also be on theTuesday agenda.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk was nominated for Poland’s Athlete of the Year for 2015.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky has been added to the 2/6 UFC show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the show headlined by Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Another new fight announced is Dennis Bermudez vs Tatsuya Kawajiri on 2/21 in Pittsburgh, as reported by Ariel Helwani.
Bellator announced Dave “Caveman” Rickels will face Bobby Cooper on its 2/26 show in Mulvane, KS, which is headlined by Marcos Galvao defending the bantamweight title against Eduardo Dantas and Cheick Kongo vs. Augusto Sakai.
MISCELLANEOUS
Today is the 50th anniversary of Gene Kiniski beating Lou Thesz in St. Louis to win the NWA world title. It was the end of Thesz’s last NWA title run.
GFW has announced Nick Aldis vs. Bobby Roode for the GFW title as the main event for 1/22 in Poughkeepsie. That’s an awfully quick comeback for Aldis, who recently had biceps surgery. They also announced Aldis defending against Pro Wrestling Syndicate champion Matt MacIntosh on the GFW vs. PWS joint show on 1/13 in Rahway, NJ at the Rec Center.
Jason Kincaid was the latest person announced for the ROH Top Prospect tournament which starts Saturday night in Concord, NC.
Time Warner Cable in Queens, NY had an outage problem during Impact just as the Beautiful People came to the ring (thanks to Dominick Valenti and others).
A story on Tiger Jeet Singh promoting sports to keep youth in Punjab and Haryana, India away from drug addiction
Evolve on 1/23 in Orlando at the Downtown Recreation Complex on Royal Rumble weekend as well as a 2 p.m. Sunday show before the Royal Rumble in the same city.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 1/16 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium.
Rockstar Pro Wrestling on 1/8 in Dayton at the Rockstar Pro Arena headlined by Matt Tremont.
All Pro Wrestling on 1/9 in Shelbyville, IN at the West Street United Methodist Church.
Capital City Championship Combat on 1/23 in Ottawa, ONT at the Vanier Columbus Club with Mathieu St. Jacques vs. Speedball Mike Bailey and 2 Cold Scorpio vs Stu Grayson.
CZW on 1/16 in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Centre with Johnny Gargano vs. Sami Callihan, Drew Gulak vs Tarik, and Tyson Dux vs. Jonathan Gresham.
CZW also runs 2/13 with both a CZW show and a WSU womens’ show on the same day at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ with Matt Tremont vs. Devon Moore in a ladder match.
Pro Wrestling Eclipse on 2/27 in Oshawa, ONT at the Oshawa Legion with Cody Deaner, Ethan Page, Tyler Tirva and Buxx Belmar.
Infinity Pro on 1/30 in Bloomington, IN at the National Guard Armory headlined by G.T. Vega vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Shane Mercer.
In the biggest news week in a long time, we’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, covering John Cena’s injury, New Japan stars headed to WWE, a major feature looking at the year that past in pro wrestling and MMA and the year coming up, WWE direction for WrestleMania season, Tokyo Dome coverage, Rizin debut coverage, TNA changes and UFC 195.
Our lead story talks about John Cena’s injury and the injury issues in WWE with more notes on the training program being used. We’ve got all the news regarding wrestlers leaving New Japan, who has been contacted, different roles, the various schedules for different guys, other negotiations, what led to these moves, what New Japan needs to learn from this, how this affects ROH, and other ideas for New Japan to break out of its standard mentality.
We look at UFC in 2016, the success of the women’s division and how easily it could have filed, UFC business review, big fights on the horizon, the state of WWE in 2015 and 2016, different fan bases, rise of NXT, where New Japan has failed on the international scene, plus AAA, CMLL, Bellator, TNA and ROH prospects in 2016.
We’ve got full coverage of New Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results, plus the big angles, Okada’s prospects as the top star, the next big programs on the horizon, the big show plans for 2016, the Fanstastica Mania tour lineup and thoughts, as well as coverage of New Year’s Dash.
We also look at the changes in this year’s Royal Rumble and scout out the possibilities and big matches on the horizon for Mania, as well as the return of Chris Jericho.
We also have notes on the WWE Network, John Cena talks Peyton Manning and HGH, football coach trying to recruit WWE for Mania, portrayal of Joseph Maroon in the “Concussion” movie, lots of details on new Dwayne Johnson projects, Lesnar’s future schedule, a look at 50/50 booking, Reaction to HHH circumventing his own angle, notes on February NXT shows, more on WrestleMania plans, Jericho talks current interview style, WWE looking for new stars around the world, Dusty Rhodes tag team tournament, lots of WWE injury updates, Austin TV show news, plus notes on all the weekend house shows with highlights and business.
We’ve got a complete look at the debut of the Rizin promotion, details on the ratings and how it compares to WWE & UFC, the Masato vs. Kid Yamamoto show in competition, boxing in competition, Spike TV numbers, Fedor’s return, the freak show fights and what did and didn’t work on the first two shows.
We also look at UFC 195, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and business notes regarding the show, as well as a look at all the close decisions and why they went the way they did.
We also look at TNA’s debut on Pop TV, the ratings, the title tournament, who was watching, the PPV show this week, the Mike Bennett debut, the James Storm return, the departure of Taryn Terrell and the good and bad of the latest relaunch.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
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’ve also got the weekly coverage of all the ratings of the major shows, results from the major league events held around the world, and the major TV show rundowns.
Also in this issue:
–Great wrestlers headed to CMLL and ROH
–Big holiday week business
–CMLL iPPV coverage with two hair vs. hair matches
–Latest on Lucha Libre Elite
–Another legend returning to LLE this week
–Another international group negotiating to get on U.S. television
–AAA fan voted awards
–Dragon Gate’s early year shows
–Triple Crown title change and notes on the match
–Japan tournament in February
–New Japan signing new talent and background plus notes on other wrestlers debuting and a new style of show
–Coverage of many big holiday events
–Another woman’s star retires
–Notes on the career of Buddy Wayne
–Notes on huge indie shows coming to the U.K.
–Coverage of the latest PWG show
–Mick Foley’s future
–Michael Landsberg talks about how pro wrestling put Off the Record on the map
–AWA historical get together and Q&A
–Next ROH show
–Kurt Angle appears on major TV show
–Lots of notes from TNA tapings
–Dana White talks future of Holly Holm and Conor McGregor and hints at their next fights
–A look at different matches that will be happening in UFC in the first six months of 2016
–Lots of new UFC matches
–International show expected to be announced by UFC
–Notes on person expected to be CM Punk’s first opponent and where you can see him this week
–Next UFC card
–UFC odds for future big fights
–Lots of new UFC fights and injury updates
–Bellator finalizes first major show of the year
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
These matches were taped for this coming Tuesday night’s Impact episode as well as for future One Night Only shows:
– Impact opened with EC 3 out. Jeff Hardy came out and said he was cleared to wrestle and wanted a title match. EC 3 told him he had to start from the bottom.
– Jeff Hardy beat Shynron. Shynron looked good in the short match, as did Hardy.
– Jade & Awesome Kong beat Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne in a street fight. All kinds of weapons. Jade pinned Rayne with a piledriver.
– Eric Young beat Bobby Roode to win the King Of The Mountain title after hitting a piledriver. Bram and James Storm were both involved interfering. Segment started when Beer Money was in the ring when Young and Bram came out. Young wanted a shot at the title.
– Ken Anderson debuted a new interview segment called “Huh.” Matt Hardy, Reby Hardy and Maxel Hardy were the guests. It seemed to build up Anderson vs. Hardy.
– Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards & Tigre Uno beat Jessie Godderz & Eli Drake & DJ Zema Ion. Godderz & Drake wouldn’t work with Ion. Ion superkicked Godderz and Godderz was pinned.
– Kurt Angle beat Drew Galloway in the main event. Great match. The finish was Angle winning clean with the Angle slam off the middle rope.
– The show ended with Matt Hardy asking for one more title shot and if that if he doesn’t win that title, he will leave TNA forever. This led to the announcement of next week’s main event, which is likely taped tonight, with EC 3 vs. Hardy as a last man standing match, title vs. loser leaves town.
Not for Impact:
Rockstar Spud & Grado beat Mahabili Shera & Aiden O’Shea: This may air on the PPV on Friday in highlight form since Shera and O’Shea broke up as a team and they are wrestling on Friday night live. Either that or they just shot the angle for the people in Bethlehem.
