Paypress testing

Tag: headline

  • WWE Smackdown results: two title matches highlight USA Network, Mauro Ranallo debut

    – Air Date: January 7, 2015 (Jan 6 in Canada)
    – Location: Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, TX

    The Big News:

    Charlotte and Dean Ambrose are still champions and Smackdown is the same as it ever was.

    Show Recap:

    The show started with a recap from Raw, including a zoom-in on Sad Roman. Smackdown has the same crappy theme music as before and the intro, for now, includes John Cena. Byron Saxton welcomed everyone to Smackdown and Jerry Lawler plugged the two title matches. Lawler introduced the TV audience to Mauro Ranallo who called this a dream come true.

    John Cena came out and welcomed everyone to the first Smackdown of 2016. Cena also plugged the two title matches but said we were missing our “U.S.A” champion. He said it was a new year and new network, so he thought Alberto Del Rio deserved a fresh start. Cena called out Del Rio, giving him out hell of an introduction.

    Del Rio told Cena to save it because he knew that “Juan” was trying to weasel his way into a title shot that he doesn’t deserve. Cena tried to get the Laredo crowd to goad Del Rio into defending the title but he told Cena to shut up in Spanish and said he would not defend the title. Del Rio challenged anyone besides Cena to a non-title match.

    Cena said someone in particular deserved a chance, and he called out Kalisto. Kalisto grabbed the mic from Del Rio and said he would beat him right now. Kalisto sent him out of the ring and a referee jumped in to start the match.

    Non-Title: Kalisto (w/John Cena) beat U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio via pinfall

    Lawler made sure to point out that Del Rio had to bend over to hit a clothesline on Kalisto. After Kalisto spilled to the outside, Del Rio went after him and did the “you can’t see me” gesture to Cena. Cena was offended and took off his shirt. This resulted in dueling Cena chants.

    Del Rio got ready for the armbar but distracted himself by taunting Cena. Del Rio eventually went for the armbar but Kalisto reversed into a hurricanrana for the sudden pinfall win. Considering the location, I don’t think this got the reaction they wanted. Although, the crowd was quiet most of the show. John Cena’s last appearance on WWE TV for a long while will be as a cheerleader for Kalisto.

    Backstage, Becky Lynch told Jo-Jo that Charlotte was not her best friend anymore. She doesn’t want an explanation for what Charlotte did, she just wants vindication and will take the title from her.

    Up next was an awful segment. The Miz hosted MizTV and reminded everyone that the WWE Title will be defended in the Royal Rumble match. New Day interrupted. People usually pop when Big E does the introduction but they didn’t here. Xavier Woods accused Chris Jericho of stealing his light-up jacket idea and said The New Day party like it’s 2016, not 1999.

    Dolph Ziggler, with straight hair, came out next. Before he could really say anything, he was interrupted by Goldust, who threatened to give them all golden globes. Neville came out next and said Miz could borrow his accent or Slammy if he wants, as long as he promises to cancel MizTV and never talk again.

    R-Truth came out and said if anyone was going to accept Del Rio’s open challenge it would be him. Miz corrected him and Truth said “my bad.” Miz made a bad joke and New Day laughed. Truth punched Miz with the mic and the other good guys sent Kingston and Big E out of the ring. Woods was left alone so Neville kicked him out of the ring too. It’s hard to describe just how bad this segment was. Even worse, it was designed to push the Rumble, which has its highest stakes in years, but was just a joke.

    8-Man Tag Match: Dolph Ziggler, Neville, Goldust & R-Truth beat The Miz & New Day via pinfall

    The heels worked over Neville until he tagged in Ziggler, who ran wild on Miz and hit a Fameasser. Kingston broke up the cover, so Goldust gave him a powerslam, Truth sent Big E out of the ring, and Neville took out the entire New Day with a dive. This left Miz alone, so Goldust and Truth tossed him into Ziggler who hit a superkick for the win. Nothing match.  

    Immediately afterwards, Ziggler superkicked Truth and tossed Goldust over the top. This wasn’t a heel turn. Ziggler told Goldust “sorry,” it’s every man for himself at the Rumble. As this was all happening, Neville just sorta slunk away. This was all bad.

    Backstage, Ric Flair told Jo-Jo that Lynch was leeching off Charlotte. Charlotte said her and her father act like champions, and Lynch has never been champion. Flair said woo.

    Lawler told Ranallo that he name was hard to pronounce and asked if he could call him “M.R.” like he did with J.R. Ranallo seemed fine with this. Lawler then cackled when he realized that Byron Saxton was “B.S.” That part was pretty funny.

    WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) beat Becky Lynch via pinfall

    Ranallo said he has called big fights and this one has a big fight feel. He also mentioned calling Lynch’s matches in British Columbia when she was 18 years old. Lawler dismissed her pre-WWE experience. Lynch had control early on and went after Charlotte outside the ring. However, Flair got in her way to act as a shield, allowing Charlotte to nail her with a sloppy big boot. The referee watched this all happen and didn’t do anything about it.

    The crowd rallied behind Lynch as Charlotte took control. Lynch came back with a clothesline, leg lariat, forearm and Exploder suplex for two. Charlotte responded with a neckbreaker and chops but Lynch ducked a big boot and hit another Exploder. Charlotte hit a spear and went for a Figure Eight, but Lynch countered into a small package for a near fall.

    Lynch applied the Disarmer but Flair put Charlotte’s feet on the rope. Charlotte tapped but it didn’t matter. As Lynch complained to the ref, Charlotte rolled her up with her feet on the rope for the win. Lynch was livid afterwards and the referee looked like an idiot. This match was alright. Went about 11-12 minutes. The crowd was quiet all show but they liked Becky Lynch.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked Kevin Owens for a minute of his time. Owens said she had a minute and made her hold up her watch so he could keep an eye on the time during the entire interview. Owens said Ambrose might be a cockroach, but he’s had to kill a lot of cockroaches in a lot of the terrible places he’s stayed at on his road to the top. Owens said he would take his title back tonight.

    They plugged that a Raw replay would air after a commercial break. Yes, Smackdown is still the B-show. The replay was 4 minutes long.

    They showed an interview with Roman Reigns from after Raw, where he said the McMahons were trying to burn him down, but they were just firing him up, and at the Rumble he would be the last man standing.

    Backstage, Dean Ambrose told Renee that Owens has put him through tables and into steel, but he’s adjusted just fine and was ready for fight.

    Intercontinental Championship: Dean Ambrose DCO Kevin Owens

    They went to commercial a minute into the match as Owens called Ranallo a moron. They fought to the outside and Ambrose tossed Owens into the barricade twice and did a Russian leg sweep into the barricade. Owens responded with a draping DDT back in the ring and they went to commercial again. During the break, Owens nailed a running cannonball into the barricade.

    Owens missed a senton and yelled “Shut up, new guy!” at Ranallo as he slowly got up. Ambrose made his comeback but Owens kicked out after a bulldog. Owens hit a German suplex but Ambrose responded with a tornado DDT off the ropes. Owens knocked Ambrose off the top and hit another cannonball for two. Ambrose countered a pop-up powerbomb into a hurricanrana, and hit a rebound clothesline after an Owens superkick for two. Ambrose hit a suicide dive and Owens went flying over the announce table.  

    They did a spot where Ambrose was supposed to back body drop Owens into the crowd, but Owens recognized that fans were standing way too close, so he countered and they tried again – this time Ambrose just whipped Owens over the barricade. Ambrose went after him in the crowd and the referee called for a double countout.

    They fought all the way to the stage and Ambrose sent Owens face-first into the giant WWE logo. Owens attacked Ambrose with a laptop and tried for a powerbomb but Ambrose did a back body drop on top some equipment boxes. They kept brawling, ending with Ambrose sending both men through a table. The referees checked on them as the show went off the air. I enjoyed the match but the finish was obviously a let down. The brawl was… fine.

    Final Thoughts:

    I wouldn’t call this show a disappointment because I wasn’t expecting much. It became clear leading up to this show that they’d already given up on trying to push Smackdown much more than usual. John Cena’s appearance was relatively insignificant and they announced two title matches knowing neither belt would change hands.

    Also, I don’t think Lawler is turning heel, but he was sort of in the JBL role tonight. He called Kalisto lucky for beating Del Rio, dismissed Lynch’s previous wrestling experience outside of WWE, and sided with McMahon in the Reigns storyline. If they want him to say stuff like that then go ahead and make him a full-fledged heel.

    Mauro Ranallo was good but he might suffocate in this environment.

  • Tokyo Sports: Shinsuke Nakamura set to leave New Japan at the end of the month

    Tokyo Sports reported this evening that New Japan Pro Wrestling star Shinsuke Nakamura will be leaving the promotion at the end of the month, according to translations done by Chris Charlton. In their report, Toyko Sports mentioned that they learned of Nakamura’s quick departure intentions the day prior, which would be January 6 given time zone differences.

    Although Monday afternoon’s Wrestling Observer Radio reported that Nakamura had already given his notice to New Japan on January 4, the thought was that he would remain for the promotion for a while before departing. This made sense as he is the current Intercontinental champion. In fact, it was strongly pushed at the recent New Year’s Dash event on January 5 that a program between him and Kenny Omega over the title was imminent, but that may be up in the air at this point. If Nakamura does leave at the end of January, it seems likely he may be WWE bound, though nothing has been officially confirmed.

    New Japan has yet to comment on this latest report.

  • Daily Update: RAW Ratings, CM Punk’s possible opponent, Vince McMahon’s workout

    TV Tonight:

    UFC Tonight airs at 6:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, much earlier than usual, and it will be replayed at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2.

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network is part two of the best of 2015.

    ROH at midnight ET on COMET features Roderick Strong (c) vs. Stevie Richards for the ROH Television Championship.

    It’s a soft launch, but if you’ve ever wanted to WATCH a radio show 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!

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 1/4/2016: More on Gawker motioning to dismiss Hulk Hogan lawsuit

    More information on Gawker’s motion to dismiss Hulk Hogan’s sex tape lawsuit, tons more.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    We have our annual business year in review as the lead of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week. We cover our awards balloting year from 12/1/14 to 11/30/15 looking at the biggest events and biggest draws, with the year’s biggest crowds, records set in several different companies, Cena compared to those in similar positions on the all-time list, the year’s PPV buys for every wrestling, MMA and boxing show, how this year compared with other years.

    Dwayne Johnson returning for WrestleMania, different ideas of where he may fit in, and his recent track record of WrestleMania matches.

    The history of New Japan on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. The first New Japan Tokyo Dome show and its main event, what drew the first house, what Lou Thesz said to Antonio Inoki after the show and why Thesz thought the result was a good thing and why it ended up being a waste. We look at how this year’s show will differ from last year as well as a match-by-match rundown and a look at the history of the New Japan big four, Tanahashi, Okada, A.J. Styles and Nakamura, with all of their previous Tokyo Dome matches.

    Jonathan Coachman on HGH usage in WWE, why usage is so prevalent in certain types of sports and entertainment.

    WWE injury coverage, why WWE stars are doing more NBC media, how movies with Sting are doing at the box office, how the WWE’s head of medical came across in the movie “Concussion” plus a concussion expert on Daniel Bryan situation. Update on Nikki Bella, NXT sellouts, Brock Lesnar’s next match, Cena facing a surprise opponent, Chris Jericho on future, Royal Rumble, Sin Cara injury update, NXT in Dallas, the go-home show for WrestleMania, two international stars about to start with WWE and the Bayley character on the main roster.

    The holiday show in Madison Square Garden coverage, Ben Askren talks about One’s possibly revolutionary weight cutting regulations that could be the catalyst for changing MMA.  We look at the first Rizin show, the sad spectacle of Sakuraba, the pro wrestlers on the show, the mentality behind why certain people were on the show and match-by-match coverage.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: January 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Business year in review, Rock at Wrestlemania 32, tons more.

    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

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    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. 

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: November 23, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWF Survivor Series review, Rock becomes Corporate Champion
    A full review of WWF Survivor Series with The Rock becoming the Corporate Champion, more WCW woes, plus tons of news.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    Monday’s RAW ratings continue their disappointing trend.  Details here.Some additional RAW ratings notes from our Paul Fontaine:  “January 2015 was down 10% overall from January 2014. December 2015 was the 13th consecutive month that RAW ratings were down from the same month the previous year and they are well on their way to making it 14 months in a row. This is the longest streak like this since October 2006-June 2008, when they dropped 21 consecutive months. For the record, they were averaging between 3.15 and 3.95 ratings points at that time, about 35% higher than the current rating average.”

    MMA Fighting has a big article about Mickey Gall, the man who may end up fighting CM Punk in his UFC debut.  This guy has got a lot to say, which means he’s a perfect opponent (1-0 as a pro with 2 amateur wins). Gall will be on the latest UFC/Dana White Looking For A Fight reality show that debuts on YouTube on January 11th.

    In its latest effort to push the painted swimsuit bit, SI has a pic of Ronda Rousey’s naked butt. Kind of… and if you want to see the less censored version.

    WWE

    • Muscle and Fitness has an article about Vince McMahon’s workout, complete with photographic proof of how jacked he is at 70. If you saw Raw, no more proof is necessary.
    • The show will be hammered on Monday, particularly since they did absolutely nothing to promote anything on the show other than announcing that Brock Lesnar was going to show up.
    • For those of you who vividly remember the “Finger Poke of Doom” that had its yearly anniversary on Monday, you are now so old that the clip is an ancient mystery unable to be comprehended by younger writers.

    UFC/MMA

    • The UFC 195 prelims did 1,023,000 viewers Saturday on FS 1 — a much higher number than would’ve been expected given interest in the PPV and the marquee value (or lack thereof) of fighters on that portion of the show. No show that did 1 million viewers plus for the prelims has done less than 325,000 buys in the FS 1 era. That would be a higher than expected buyrate for this show.
    • Martin Kampmann, a UFC welterweight who has headlined five smaller shows for UFC in the past, announced his retirement today at the age of 33. In an interview with UFC.com, he stated that he will probably remain around the sport in a coaching or advisory capacity, but won’t fight again. He last fought in August 2013, losing via 4th round KO to Carlos Condit.
    • UFC announced two fights today for cards in February. At UFC 196, Misha Cirkunov (10-2), who had an impressive debut at UFC Saskatoon, will take on the debuting Alex Nicholson (6-1) in a Light Heavyweight bout. Sam Alvey is injured and had to pull out of his middleweight fight against Daniel Sarafian (9-5). Replacing him will be Oluwale Bamgbose (5-1), who lost to Uriah Hall in his UFC debut last August.
    • Josh Koscheck is out of Bellator 148 due to injury, originally slated to be his promotional debut. The Paul Daley vs. Andy Uhrich fight has been moved to the main event slot of that show. With no other even moderate stars on the undercard, this show is going to struggle to do any kind of rating. This also might put off the eventual Koscheck/Daley fight, but Bellator might just do it anyway assuming Daley wins.
    • Bloody Elbow has a detailed article about legal and other issues plaguing Titan FC.
    • Here’s the MMA Hour 2015 Awards with Ariel Helwani. Helwani is also a guest on Jim Ross’ podcast this week too.

    MISC

    • Interestingly, not only is TNA doing a LIVE PPV on Friday night, which seems like madness since they had exactly one TV show with which to promote it, but they are also apparently only charging $14.95 for it.  At least, that’s the price on the Flipps app.  You can buy it on traditional PPV as well.
    • New Japan announced last night that Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka will be finishing up at the end of the month to go to CMLL for their learning excursion, with the Fantasticamania tours serving as their farwell. Like with most young lion excursions, they will most likely remain in CMLL for the next couple of years before being brought back to NJPW. They start in CMLL on 1/31 as Fujin (Komatsu) and Rajin (Tanaka) which are names based on wind and thunder gods, respectively.
    • Kurt Angle said that his matches at Sands Bethlehem Event Center will be among his last and best.
    • Here’s an interview with Jim Brunzell on Steel Domain Radio.
    • Full NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania lineups can be found here.
    • PWEclipse runs its next show on February 27 at the Oshawa Legion Hall in Oshawa, Ontario, with Cody Deaner and Ethan Page.
    • Here’s Live Audio Wrestling’s yearly ‘Best Of’ show, taking a look back at 2015. As always, Dave Meltzer makes a weekly appearance.

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (1/5): Kerry Von Erich beats Jerry Lawler for World Class title

  • Ratings disappointing for WWE RAW with no competition

    January 4th’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw did what has to be considered a disappointing number given it was the first week since September that they were without any NFL competition.

    The show did 3.57 million viewers, even with the advertising of Roman Reigns defending the WWE title against Sheamus with Vince McMahon as referee. Worse, even with no football to blame, the second and third hours dropped from the second strongest first hour since April. The number is lower than what the show had been doing in the summer.

    The rating is almost identical to last week when Raw went against the highest rated NFL game of the season, and it’s usually normal to expect a 10 percent increase just based on no NFL competition alone. It is up from the football season average, but given the ratings the first two McMahon appearances drew, it was down from the first and the same as the second without the competition.

    Raw was the highest rated show on cable for the night, however, slightly ahead of The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News.

    The three hours were:

    • 8 p.m. 3.71 million viewers
    • 9 p.m. 3.52 million viewers
    • 10 p.m. 3.50 million viewers

  • Smackdown spoilers 1/5: Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens, Charlotte vs Becky Lynch

    Smackdown spoilers from tonight in Laredo for the first show on the USA Network Thursday night:

    The announcing team was Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton.

    John Cena came out and issued a challenge to Alberto Del Rio for the U.S. title, coming off the finish of their Raw match last week.  Del Rio refused to give Cena another title match.

    Kalisto pinned Del Rio in a non-title match.  Said to be really good.

    The Miz had a Miz TV segment.  The New Day came out and they started complaining about Chris Jericho.  Dolph Ziggler then came out and was backed up by Goldust, R-Truth and Neville.

    This led to an eight-man tag where Ziggler & Goldust & R-Truth & Neville beat The New Day & Miz.

    Charlotte beat Becky Lynch to retain the Divas title due to outside help from her father.

    Dean Ambrose went to a double count out to retain the IC title in a match with Kevin Owens.

  • TNA live results 1/5: Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III, Bobby Lashley vs Eric Young

    Nearly one year after their debut on Destination America, TNA Impact Wrestling debuts on Pop TV and is live from Bethlehem, PA, Tuesday night. The show is rumored to feature some possible returns of major stars and debuts of new talent. Already announced for tonight is the conclusion of the World Title Series with Lashley taking on Ethan Carter III and Matt Hardy vs. Eric Young in the semifinals. The winners will meet in the finals to crown a new TNA World Champion.

    Also, Bobby Roode defends his King Of The Mountain Title and The Beautiful People take on The Dollhouse. Plus, the character behind the “Miracle” vignettes should be revealed tonight. 

    All this and more on Tonight’s TNA Impact debut on Pop TV at 9pm.

    *****

    We start off with a good video package, and a quick preview of the World Title Series and the four participants in the semi-finals. 

    Impact’s Pop TV debut features a new opening video package and theme song written and performed by Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins. Of course, Corgan isn’t just a rock star, but is also TNA’s Senior Producer of Creative and Talent Development. It’s a pretty sweet beat and nice opening.

    Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to the show. They’re ringside tonight and not at Impact Central. Josh calls Pope the most entertaining color commentator.

    Dixie Carter in the ring. She said “they chose” Pop TV for many reasons and gets some “Thank You Dixie” chants. She says wrestling is a vital part of pop culture and that a vital part of wrestling is the World belt. Cue the most annoyingly catchy music in wrestling: “Trouble, Trouble, Trouble”. EC3 and Tyrus cut her off. He gets booed but it turns into “EC3” chants. EC3 says he’s not champion because of Dixie. Please don’t let this end with Dixie getting arrested. Matt Hardy comes out. They recap the TNA World Title situation since Bound For Glory. This seems to imply it’s going to be Hardy vs. EC3 in the finals. Eric Young jumps Hardy and gets tripled teamed by Young, EC3 and Tyrus. Lashley finally hits the ring for the save. Hardy hits a sick dive off the top rope taking out EC3, Tyrus and Lashley.

    – During the commercial, Young beats down Hardy.

    TNA World Title Tourney Semifinal Match 1: EC3 vs. Lashley

    Josh runs down all the hashtags and Twitter handles we should follow. Lashley and EC3 go back and forth. Lashley hits his spear but EC3 rolls to the outside. Dueling chants for EC3 and Lashley. Tyrus slams Lashley on the outside. Pope is very mad that Tyrus interfered and is sick of it. Josh plugs Schitt’s Creek starring Eugene Levy. It’s a pretty good show. Tyrus distracts Lashley and EC3 rolls him up for the win. EC3 advances to the finals.

    – Backstage, Kurt Angle is walking to the ring.

    – Bobby Roode walks into the arena earlier in the day. He talks about his King of the Mountain match and that the challenge is open to anyone.

    Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle walks to the ring. Angle gets emotional from the crowd response. Kurt mentions that he is retiring. The crowd chants, “One More Match.” Kurt names guys he’s had great matches with like Rock, Austin, HHH, Undertaker and AJ Styles (which gets the biggest pop out of all the names). Kurt announces a farewell tour and wonders whom he should face. He names Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. He handpicked his opponent for next week’s Farewell Tour. Is the whole Tour happening in one night? His opponent is going be Drew Galloway who comes out. Drew is honored that Kurt chose him.

    They get interrupted by Jesse Godderz. He takes a selfie (I think I’ve seen that before). Eli Drake interrupts. Eli says that Jesse is really popular with 13-year-old girls and calls Angle a dinosaur. They’re both mad that Angle didn’t mention them as part of the future. This all leads to a Kurt and Drew brawl with Jesse and Eli.

    – Backstage, Young cuts a promo. He says Hardy isn’t showing up and wants him counted out. Hardy comes out.

    TNA World Title Tourney Semifinal Match 2: Matt Hardy vs. Eric Young

    They brawl on the outside. Hardy is currently showing no signs of injury from earlier in the night. Eric Young is in control of the early part of the match. Hardy gains the advantage. Eric Young hits the piledriver on the outside of the exposed floor. There’s a light “holy shit” chant. Jeff comes out to check on Matt but EY takes out Jeff with a sliding dropkick. Matt scores with the twist of fate out of nowhere for the win. The final match will be Matt Hardy vs. EC3 (although they kind of gave that away in the opening segment).

    – Backstage, somebody in a hoodie is shown walking but his face isn’t visable. Josh wonders who it could be.

    – Back from commercial, EY is mad that he lost the semifinal.

    – EC3 approaches Jeff and says that Matt has lived in Jeff’s shadow. Jeff denies that Matt lived in his shadow.

    – Roode comes out for his KOTM match. Bram accepts the open challenge. Bram says that “2006” will be his year.

    King Of The Mountain Champion Bobby Roode vs. Bram

    Bram dominates Roode, and gets a two count with a roll up holding the tights. Josh says Bobby has promised to have a great “2015″. Does anyone in TNA know what year it is? Roode hits the Roode bomb and gets the win, retaining the title. They then accidentally played the start of Beer Money’s music, giving away the upcoming surprise.

    EY hits the ring and attacks Roode. Bram and EY double-team Roode which leads to James Storm making his return to TNA who came through the crowd for the save. Pope and Josh wonder if he works for TNA. Turns out the rumors about his return are true.  Storm is upset that TNA gave him the “Biggest Disappointment” Slammy…er… Impact Award. Storm says that he and Roode drank a lot of beer and made a lot of money together. They’re teasing a Beer Money reunion. Storm offers Roode a beer. Crowd encourages him to drink the beer. It’s a really big deal to Josh. They have a beer together and the crowd loves it.

    – JB is with the Beautiful People backstage. Angelina is 7 months pregnant, so the Beautiful People get to pick Angelina’s replacement tonight.

    – Back from commercial, Beer Money challenges Bram and EY to a match to this Friday’s PPV (which is the first mention of the PPV this whole show.)

    The Beautiful People vs. The Dollhouse

    Angelina’s replacement is Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Josh promotes the Knockouts Calendar. Pope claims he bought so many they’re might not be any left. All the Knockouts are in the ring brawling. The crowd is a bit flat. Gail rolls up Jade for the win. The Dollhouse attacks Gail and The Beautiful People after the match. Awesome Kong comes out for the save. The Dollhouse is scared but they don’t leave the ring. Kong turns heel and attacks The Beautiful People! Kong takes out Kim. The Dollhouse and Awesome Kong pose over the fallen body of Gail Kim.

    – Josh promos The Miracle vignettes. The Miracle is coming up next.

    – Back from commercial, Josh and Pope start talking but they’re cut off.

    The lights go out in the arena and the First Lady of Wrestling Maria Kanellis appears on the stage. She says that fans have been praying and hoping for the person who will save wrestling. The crowd pops for that. She introduces “Miracle” Mike Bennett. Maria looks great and Mike’s wearing a sweet looking hat. He calls himself a superhero, a bad mo’fo and “your pro wrestling Jesus.” He cut a really good intense promo and came across like a big star.

    – The camera seceretly catches Matt Hardy with his family backstage. He promises to win the title for his family.

    TNA World Title Final: Matt Hardy vs. EC3

    After the ring intros, Matt and EC3 send Jeff and Tyrus to the back. EC3 has the advantage on Hardy. Pope points out that Matt Hardy and EC3 is how the title controversy began. Hardy goes for the Side Effect on the ring steps but they botched the spot bad and both fell awkwardly off the steel steps. The crowd is solidly behind Matt. Hardy hits a series of Side Effects but still can’t put EC3 away. EC3 hits two TKOs in a row. Pope says they’re having a “Match of The Year” candidate. They both kick out of each other’s finishers. EC3 hits the One Percenter off the tope rope for the win! EC3 is the new TNA World Champion.

    Josh points out that EC3 won the title without the help of Tyrus.

    Hardy walks pass his wife and child on the ramp. They stop on top of the stage. Matt’s wife seemed to scream something in his ear. Hardy walks off. She then looks back and the camera zoomed in on her face. The show ends with EC3 posing with the world title.

    Final Thoughts:

    Not a bad debut for Impact on Pop TV tonight but also nothing really spectacular of note. “Miracle” Mike Bennett and Maria’s debut was done well. The main event was a good match that the crowd was into. Also, the new theme song is kind of fun.

  • Figure Four Weekly 1/4/2016: More on Gawker motioning to dismiss Hulk Hogan lawsuit

    undefined

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • Daily Update: Styles, Nakamura, Bullet Club to WWE, Rousey to host SNL

    The huge news story which broke early Monday morning, is that former IWGP and TNA Champion AJ Styles, former IWGP Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson have given notice to New Japan Pro Wrestling. We have more here. It appears that those with current NJPW contracts will be finishing up their contracted dates before heading to WWE. It is unknown whether or not they will start on the main roster or head to NXT. It seems obvious, but that’s not always the route WWE takes, as we’ve seen with Samoa Joe and others who were ready when they signed. Bryan and Dave did an extra show yesterday with Filthy Tom discussing the situation. NJPW booker Gedo was told right before the big Tokyo Dome show, Wrestle Kingdom 10, about losing the talent, but apparently no finishes were changed. 

    Chris Jericho re-re-re-re-debuted last night on Monday Night Raw, and did some ridiculously unfunny comedy with the New Day. We’re looking for reports from Raw in San Antonio with Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for the WWE title with Vince McMahon as referee, with anything not evident from the broadcast.  

    We’re also looking for reports on WWE show in Corpus Christi (Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for IC title; Kane vs. Bray Wyatt) to Dave Meltzer.

    Don’t forget! The first Smackdown on the USA Network will be taped on Tuesday night in Laredo.  Mauro Ranallo debuts as announcer and John Cena will be on the show. 

    TNA ON POP TV AT 9 P.M. FROM BETHLEHEM, PA

    Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III

    Bobby Lashley vs Eric Young

    Winners of these two matches meet for the vacant TNA title

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 1/4/2016: More on Gawker motioning to dismiss Hulk Hogan lawsuit

    More information on Gawker’s motion to dismiss Hulk Hogan’s sex tape lawsuit, tons more.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    We have our annual business year in review as the lead of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week. We cover our awards balloting year from 12/1/14 to 11/30/15 looking at the biggest events and biggest draws, with the year’s biggest crowds, records set in several different companies, Cena compared to those in similar positions on the all-time list, the year’s PPV buys for every wrestling, MMA and boxing show, how this year compared with other years.

    Dwayne Johnson returning for WrestleMania, different ideas of where he may fit in, and his recent track record of WrestleMania matches.

    The history of New Japan on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. The first New Japan Tokyo Dome show and its main event, what drew the first house, what Lou Thesz said to Antonio Inoki after the show and why Thesz thought the result was a good thing and why it ended up being a waste. We look at how this year’s show will differ from last year as well as a match-by-match rundown and a look at the history of the New Japan big four, Tanahashi, Okada, A.J. Styles and Nakamura, with all of their previous Tokyo Dome matches.

    Jonathan Coachman on HGH usage in WWE, why usage is so prevalent in certain types of sports and entertainment.

    WWE injury coverage, why WWE stars are doing more NBC media, how movies with Sting are doing at the box office, how the WWE’s head of medical came across in the movie “Concussion” plus a concussion expert on Daniel Bryan situation. Update on Nikki Bella, NXT sellouts, Brock Lesnar’s next match, Cena facing a surprise opponent, Chris Jericho on future, Royal Rumble, Sin Cara injury update, NXT in Dallas, the go-home show for WrestleMania, two international stars about to start with WWE and the Bayley character on the main roster.

    The holiday show in Madison Square Garden coverage, Ben Askren talks about One’s possibly revolutionary weight cutting regulations that could be the catalyst for changing MMA.  We look at the first Rizin show, the sad spectacle of Sakuraba, the pro wrestlers on the show, the mentality behind why certain people were on the show and match-by-match coverage.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: January 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Business year in review, Rock at Wrestlemania 32, tons more.

    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

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    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. 

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: November 23, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWF Survivor Series review, Rock becomes Corporate Champion
    A full review of WWF Survivor Series with The Rock becoming the Corporate Champion, more WCW woes, plus tons of news.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    Our own Dave Meltzer will be honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.Click here for more details.

    Check out the WK10 fallout and post show angles:NJPW New Year’s Dash report: Big Bullet Club angle, NEVER trios titles defended

    Ronda Rousey hosting Saturday Night Live in January

    WWE

    • The Royal Rumble PPV will be given away for FREE on the WWE Network as was  announced last night on Raw (first time subscribers only). The announcement came on a day where investors lost a bit of confidence in the WWE stock which finished down 23 cents to $17.61 per share and is down another 38 cents today, as of this update.
    • The Miz says WWE talent is drug tested ”non-stop, all day, every day.” Isn’t it more like “quarterly?” At least as of September 2007, when program administrator Dr. David Black was interviewed as part of the Congressional inquiry into pro wrestling, four times a year was the guaranteed minimum. At the time, it was a recent change from aiming for four times a year as the average. ​

    UFC/MMA

    • EA Sports announced the release date of the new EA Sports UFC 2 video game as March 16 and released the first gameplay trailer. You can pre-order the game now, and it was announced that pre-orders will come with a code to get Kazushi Sakuraba, Bas Rutten, and a mystery fighter to be named later as downloadable content.
    • Jose Aldo became just the third MMA fighter (after Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey) to make the Forbes 30 under 30 list. He is also the only Brazilian on the list. According to Forbes, it is a list of the “brightest young entrepreneurs, breakout talents and change agents in 20 different sectors” and Aldo made the athletes group. Neither Jones nor Rousey (nor Conor McGregor for that matter) are on this year’s list.  
    • WSOF announced the final two fights for its main card broadcast on NBC Sports Network, the company’s next show. All four fighters are complete unknowns. Two unbeaten welterweights, Jaleel Willis (6-0) and Chauncey Foxworth (2-0), square off in one while two lightweights, Bryce Mitchell (4-0) and Jorge Medina (4-2), meet in the other. The show is headlined by former UFC fighter Mike Ricci squaring off with Joe Condon in a lightweight bout.
    • Former Bellator Light Heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton will face Linton Vassell at Bellator 149 in a fight announced by the promotion today. This is a rematch of a fight they had when Newton was champion, where Vassell was winning by dominating the grappling until, out of nowhere, Newton got a rear naked choke out of nowhere for the win. The show takes place on February 19th in Houston and is headlined by the double spectacle of Ken Shamrock v Royce Gracie and Kimbo Slice v Dada 5000.
    • A website in India has a feature on an fighter turned actress cast to play a boxer. Calling her a “national-level kick boxer who is well-versed with mixed martial arts and is a black belt in karate,” the article discusses transition of Ritika Singh from combat sports to acting in Bollywood.

    MISC

    • A CBS affiliate in Philadelphia has an article about Chikara.
    • This week’s Between the Sheets podcast features WWN Live announcer/FSM columnist/former NXT Creative Assistant Rob Naylor joining the show to discuss December 29, 1986 – January 4, 1987 including the chances that Wrestlemania III gets cancelled because of Andre the Giant’s back problems, Paul Orndorff’s neck and shoulder issues, AJPW & NJPW foreigner wackiness, Jesse Ventura in Arnold movies, all sorts of territory goodness especially our love of Continental, and Rob’s love of Vladimir Petrov
    • On the latest 6:05 Superpodcast, David Bixenspan and Brian Last discuss Mario Galento exposing the business in 1974, the amazing story of Jack Donovan getting ambushed in a Tennessee locker room, Dark Journey’s surprising new career, and more.

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (1/5): Kerry Von Erich beats Jerry Lawler for World Class title

  • NJPW New Year’s Dash report: Big Bullet Club angle, NEVER trios titles defended

    New Year’s Dash, the equivalent of the Raw after WrestleMania, has come and gone and in its wake there were a lot challenges made, as well as a big change within the Bullet Club. It was a newsworthy show in terms of what we’ll be seeing in the next month for New Japan. Aside from one angle, which I’ll cover further down this article, it seemed like the big news that broke Monday afternoon had no effect on this show or the booking for the next month, so we’ll see what happens from here.

    Sho Tanaka, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Shiro Koshinaka vs Yohei Komatsu, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Cheeseburger and Yoshiaki Fujiwara

    Decent, fun match. Cheeseburger was immediately over in Korakuen Hall. Everyone loved his offense, which was pretty much every one of his opponents no selling it because he’s so tiny in comparison. He is pretty great in his role; he looked so miniscule next to Nakanishi. There was one point in the match where Fujiwara slapped and headbutted him after he motioned for a high five or something. I guess Fujiwara isn’t a fan. It boiled down to Taguchi and Komatsu after Koshinaka took down Cheeseburger with a hip attack. He and Taguchi did a double hip attack on Komatsu then Taguchi followed it up with the dodon for the win.

    Fujiwara headbutted Cheeseburger again after the match. That’s not very nice!

    Jay White and David Finlay vs. Matt Sydal and Ricochet

    Really good, fast paced match. Sydal and Ricochet are just an excellent team, they gel really well together. If they continue to tag here in 2016 they’re really going to be something special. White and Finlay held their own and looked awesome here. In terms of rookie of the year for 2015 it’s a very close race between White and Chad Gable. Sydal and Ricochet won with the stereo shooting star presses on both young lions.

    Jay Lethal vs. Juice Robinson

    Fine match. Mostly just a platform to put Lethal over as he’ll more than likely be on the ROH tours next month. Martini got involved at one point. Robison looked like he was going to punch him but Lethal did a big suicide dive, sending Robison crashing into the guardrail. This looked great the way they shot it. Martini got involved again toward the end, looking to hit Robinson with the Book of Truth but Robinson gave him an airplane spin. Lethal recovered and hit a cutter from the middle rope, then pinned Robinson with the Lethal Injection.

    Togi Makabe, Kushida, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe and Satoshi Kojima vs. Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, King Haku and Yujiro Takahashi

    Really fun ten man tag. Lots of the usual New Japan mult-tag spots you’d normally see, but they worked hard and this ended up being fun. Haku was in a lot. He didn’t look awesome in terms of mobility, but looked fine in everything he did, if that makes sense. He gave Honma a piledriver which led to Gallows and Anderson going for the Magic Killer but Honma escaped. Anderson hit him with a stun gun and eventually they were able to hit the Magic Killer and pinned Honma. This makes sense as they’re probably doing a rematch somewhere at the New Beginning shows.

    Sure enough, Gallows and Anderson put the belts on Honma after the match and indicated they wanted the next title shot. They went over to the announcers where Anderson said they were the best tag team in professional wrestling….just not using those words, as his actual words were not FCC friendly.

    Intermission. No announcements regarding Fantasticamania but I’d expect something over the next couple of days since those are very soon.

    Mascara Dorada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Bushi, Evil and Tetsuya Naito

    Maybe it’s just me, but there have been hints lately there might be something between Yohei Komatsu and Naito. He helped him to the back last night at WrestleKingdom and Naito ordered him to help him enter the ropes here.

    There was a great spot where everyone was cheering for Naito. He tagged himself in as he got a bunch of chants against Tanahashi, then simply just tagged himself out for the heel heat. Of course, the minute Tanahashi turned his back Naito jumped him. They all got the heat on Tanahashi following that. Dorada looked good here too.  Bushi did the red mist spot, low blowed Dorada after Dorada blocked the first attempt and pinned him with the top rope codebreaker.

    Ingobernables laid out everyone after the match. Evil hit Tanahashi with the STO. All of the young boys were laid out. Kushida came in to make the save but Bushi sprayed him with green mist and all of them beat him down. Bushi took a microphone and said that he wants the next shot at the IWGP Jr. title. There’s that program, and probably something between Tanahashi and Evil/Naito. Interesting in that they had Dorada took the fall here as I thought they’d do a CMLL Welterweight title match during the Fantasticamania shows. They still may for all I know.

    Kenny Omega and AJ Styles vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Shinsuke Nakamura

    Seems based on this match they may have moved Omega up to heavyweight. He and Nakamura had some good interactions with one another. The stream was really bad during this match, even in low quality. That was an on and off issue for the last three days that mostly resolved itself after this match, aside from one or two hiccups. Nakamura hit the reverse powerslam and was going for the boma ye but AJ Styles hit him with the springboard forearm. Omega followed with a reverse rana and pinned Nakamura with the One Winged Angel in a big surprise. That not only cements the move to heavyweight but that also pretty much puts him in line for a title shot.

    Big angle time. Omega and Styles were celebrating when Omega grabbed Styles from the top rope, put him in the electric chair position and laid him out with the One Winged Angel. The rest of Bullet Club came out and separated them like they had no idea what he was doing. They argued for a bit before eventually everyone giving the Wolfpac sign to one another and put the boots to Styles, effectively putting him out of the Bullet Club.

    Omega said that you had this coming, AJ. We made you a star and paid you like star. He forced  and starved himself to be a junior. Everyone thought you were the boss. You’re fired, this is your severance package. He won’t challenge Kushida again, he’s challenging Shinsuke Nakamura. The Bullet Club rules the world, because they are for life…without AJ Styles.  

    The Bullet Club leave like they were going to the back, but Omega and the Bullet Club come back and lay out AJ again, with a double superkick by the Young Bucks followed by a Styles Clash by Omega. They leave for good as the young boys check on Styles. Korakuen Hall starts chanting Styles’ name loudly as he eventually gets up and bows to all four corners of the ring. Great moment and felt like a really nice send off, if it is one. It certainly felt like one.

    Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and reDragon vs. Roppongi Vice, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada

    Another fun, action packed match. Usual eight man stuff where everyone worked against their rivals. Tomohiro Ishii and Shibata were in a while and continued to pummel one another. Everyone worked against one another really well and there was a good pace to everything. Goto won the match for his team, submitting Beretta after trapping one of Beretta’s arms while putting the other in an armbar.

    Goto grabbed the mic after and challenged Okada for the title. I figured as much when Goto won last night. They haven’t done this match in a while, but the problem is Goto has had so many chances at the title I very much doubt anyone would take a title match seriously, though I guess the match will be good enough regardless. Okada seemed to accept the challenge while also mocking Goto for losing the Intercontinental title, as Goto previously challenged Okada while he was still champion and wanted a unification match.

    NEVER Openweight Six Man Championship: The Briscoes and Toru Yano © vs. Bad Luck Fale and the Young Bucks

    Okay main event. Wasn’t designed to be awesome but that’s fine. A lot of Yano antics here. Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device but Matt got on his feet and laid them out with superkicks in a pretty cool spot. They went for the Meltzer Driver but Yano took down Nick. Jay Briscoe hit the Jay Driller on Matt and Mark followed with the Froggy Bow to mark their first successful defense of the titles.

  • James Storm’s future, card for tomorrow’s TNA debut on Pop

    It appears that Impact Wrestling’s James Storm is not going to WWE with AJ Styles, Shinsuske Nakamura, and the Bullet Club. After doing a few TV dates with NXT, James Storm is scheduled for TNA’s TV tapings all week in Bethlehem, PA, concluding in a PPV Friday. 

    Storm was put on television without signing a WWE deal, which was highly unusual. He worked a taping, missed a taping, then was back for another taping, and then hadn’t been seen again.

    The listing of the Doll House as Marti Bell, Jade and Rebel in the advertising for a match against The Beautiful People on tomorrow night’s Impact didn’t include Taryn Terrell.  Terrell today confirmed in a video she is not returning to TNA, stating it was a personal decision, noting that she had gotten married, and the path her life is on TNA is not the right fit for her anymore. As noted earlier, Angelina will not be wrestling but will be appearing because she is pregnant. 

    Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow to TNA on POP TV, featuring a new opening song performed by Smashing Pumpkins.

    Event card:

    Bobby Roode defends the King of the Mountain Title

    World Title Series Semi-Final Match: Ethan Carter III vs. Bobby Lashley

    World Title Series Semi-Final Match: Matt Hardy vs. Eric Young

    World Title Series Final match to crown a new TNA World Heavyweight Champion