The April 1st NXT Takeover show in Dallas is now officially sold out.
Pre-sale tickets went quickly on Friday and the held back tickets for the public sale went in 15 minutes when they were put on sale this morning for the show at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
At this point every NXT show outside of Florida that had tickets put on sale for early next year but one has sold out.
Tickets for Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Royal Oak, MI are limited even on the secondary market. In Chicago, the bottom price right is $165, which is the most expensive bottom price.
There are less than 125 tickets on Stubhub for Dallas, with a low price of $50 but very few at that price and almost but a handful at $80 or more, and most closer to $150 and up.
The Dallas show will be run in association with WrestleMania 32 weekend. WWE’s biggest show of the year, which airs on April 3rd from the AT&T Arena, will likely be the biggest WrestleMania of all time based on the size of the building, ticket and merchandise sales, pay-per-view revenue, Network buys, etc.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On FOX 17: Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2 from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The UFC’s final event of 2015 airs on FOX with UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos making his first title defense against top contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, winner of eight straight fights. They fought once before in 2013, a bout won by Dos Anjos. In the co-main event, it will be a long-awaited heavyweight bout as former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos takes on Alistair Overeem. Follow along with our live coverage beginning at 3:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action.
We’re looking for your thoughts on these three shows this weekend, with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
HEAVYWEIGHTS- FRANCIS NGANNOU (5-1, 0-0 UFC) VS. LUIZ HENRIQUE (8-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Ngannou has an 83 inch reach. Low kick by Ngannou and Henrique, a Brazilian wrestling champion, got the takedown. Henrique keeping busy from the top. The ref ordered a standup even though he was busy. Henrique going for a takedown but Ngannou defending. Trading punches and Ngannou landing and got a nice punch. Close round. Henrique got the takedown and top control but Ngannou had the best punch late. Ngannou 10-9.
Second round: Ngannou landing punches. Knee by Ngannou. Henrique moving in trying for a takedown. Crowd booing as they are in a clinch. The ref separated them. Henrique moved him into the cage. Nganou landing punches. He dropped him with a hard left uppercut in a flurry and it’s over.
First round: This a rematch of a fight Hassan won on TUF. Both throwing and missing. Luque landed a left. Luque landed a big right, Hassan shot in for a takedown and Luque immediately grabbed his neck, working for an Anaconda choke and Hassan passed out. Hassan had no idea what happened.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KAMARU USMAN (6-1, 1-0 UFC) VS. LEON EDWARDS (10-2, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Usman working for a takedown but doesn’t have it Edwards landed a head kick Edwards with more punches. Usman again working for a takedown and got it. Edwards is working for a triangle. Usman landing punches from the top now Edwards back up. Close round. Usman 10-9.
Second round: Usman with a body kick. Nice left by Umasman. Usman working for a takedown and got him down. Usman working the body from the top. Edwards go back up. Edwards trying for a takedown but can’t get it. The ref separated them. Trading punches. Nice right by Usman. Edwards kneed him low. Usman with a takedown. Usman 20-18.
Third round: Usman with another takedown. Edwards back up. Edwards went for a guillotine but Usman took him down into side control Usman landing a lot of punches from back postion now. Lots of knees to the butt by Usman. Usman dominated the round, should win 30-27, could be 30-26 or 29-28 or 29-27.
Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 for Usman.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 5 PM ET/2 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- COLE MILLER (21-9) VS. JIM ALERS (13-2)
First round: Both guys trading punches and kicks from distance early. Miller with a huge reach advantage. Alers landing slightly more through 2:00. Miller with a nice punch combo at 2:15. Nice punch exchange at 3:15. Miller with a nice punch combo at 4:00. Alers answers back with a combo at 4:15. 10-9 Miller but really close.
Second Round: Alers staggers Miller with an early punch and also landing leg kicks. Alers with some damage around his right eye from the first round. Nice combo at 1:00. Total strikes are 29-26 Alers. Miller hit with an eye poke. The poke was really bad and Miller can’t open his eye so the fight is called off. No Contest.
NIK LENTZ VS. DANNY CASTILLO, LIGHTWEIGHTS
First round: Castillo tried for a takedown. Nice right by Castillo and left hook by Lenz. Lentz with an awesome looking hip toss into side control. Lentz going for a guillotine. Castillo out and on top. Lentz again going for a guillotine. Castillo with a head and arm choke attempt. Nice punches by Lentz and knee from a Thai plumb. Big right by Lentz. Knee and punches by Casillo. Great round. Right by Castillo. Lentz 10-9.
Second round: Head kick and punch by Castillo. Right by Lentz. Good body kick by Lentz. Punches moving in by Lentz. Lentz with punches and a body kick plus a takedown. Knee by Lentz but Castillo avoided it. Lentz with a body kick. Castillo looks tired. Castillo failed on a takedown. Lentz landing knees. Lentz tried for a guillotine but lost it as Castillo got on top in side control. Lentz gained guard and Lentz got back up. Left by Lentz. Castillo landing punches. Lentz 20-18.
Third round: Lentz with a hip toss but Castilo back up. Right by Lentz. Lentz with punches and a knee. Castillo took him down. Knee by Castillo. Castillo poked his eye. Castillo with a kick to the jaw. Takedown by Castillo. Lentz back up. Lentz wanted a takedown but Castillo on top. Lentz moving.in. Body kick by Lentz. Close round but I’ve got Lentz 30-27, could be 29-28.
Scores: 29-28 Castillo, 29-28 Lentz 30-27 Lentz
Lentz said he’s had a lot of medical problems stemming from cutting to 145 in the past. He also said he’s had trouble and even had problems making 155, said he hyperextended his knee in the fight.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JOSH SAMMAN (12-2, 3-0 UFC) VS. TAMDAN MCCRORY (13-3, 3-3 UFC)
First round: McCrory pressing him against the fence. Samann took him down. McCrory working for a triangle. NowMcCrory is working for an ambar. Now he’s back to attempting a triangle. McCrory scrambled to the top. Escape and reverse by Samann. McCrory reversed and got his back working for a choke. McCrory working for an armbar now. Samann out and on top. Samann landing some punches from back position. Very close round. McCrory 10-9.
Second round: Samann is working for a takedown. He powered McCrory down. McCrory used a headlock to reverse to the top, and got Samann’s back and is working for a choke. McCrory keeping back control. McCrory landing punches and elbows. McCrory with hard elbows. McCrory keeping hin down. McCrory 20-18.
Third round: McCrory with a head kick. Samann back with McCrory with a head kick and Samann back with a head kick. McCroty took him down, landing punches and now working for a choke. McCrory staying on top. McCrory remaining on top and landing punches. McCrory working for an uma plata. Now McCrory is working for a triangle. McCrory holding the triangle and throwing elbows. Samann finally tapped.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#5) SARAH KAUFMAN (17-3 1 NC, 1-1 1 NC UFC) VS. VALENTINA SHEVCHENKO (9-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Shevchenko landed several shots. Now they’re in a clinch. Takedown by Shevchenko. Kaufman back to her feet. Kaufman went for a takedown and Shevchenko blocked it and ended up on top in the mount. Kaufman regained guard. Kaufman back up. Kaufamn went for a heel hook. Shevchenko escaped and has Kaufman’s back. Elbow from close range by Shevchenko. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Second round: Spin kick b Shevchenko. Knee by Shevchenko. Shevchenko with an elbow. Hip toss by Shevchenko. Kaufman throwing elbows off her back. Kaufman back up and they’re in a clinch. Both trying to throw the other. Shevchenko 20-18.
Third round: Shevchenko with another takedown. Kaufman back up. Knee by Kaufman. Another bodylock takedown by Shevchenko. Kaufman with a takedown into side control. Kaufman throwing elbows to the head. Kaufman landing elbows. Now she’s throwing elbows to the body. Kaufman throwing elbows to the body. Kaufman has the mount and pounding on her. Kaufman went for an armbar in the last seconds but Shevchenko slipped out. Kaufman’s round but Shevchenko should win 29-28.
Scores: 29-28 Kaufman 29-28 Shevchenko 29-28 Shevchenko. The judge scoring for Kaufman, man, I don’t know about him.
First round: Body kick by Dollaway and low kick by Dollaway. Dolloway missed a punch and Marquardt with a hard body kick. Low kick by Marquardt. Dollaway rocked him with punches. Low kick by Marquardt. Knee by Marquardt. Head kick by Dolloaway. Dollaway 10-9.
Second round: Trading punches and Marquardt knocked him out on a counter right. It was a right to the jaw.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#7) CHARLES OLIVEIRA (20-5 1 NC, 8-5 1 NC UFC) VS. (#9 LW) MYLES JURY (15-1, 6-1 UFC)
First round: Oliveira missed weight by 4.5 pounds. Oliveira took him down. Jury went for an armbar and Oliveira got his back. Olivera now with a guillotine and he tapped out Great ground work by Oliveira.
First round: Both out swinging. Karolina landed a few punches. Markos with a right. Crowd going crazy all night with Whoos. Flair is not in the building. Karolina cracked her with a right. Marko s with a right. Markos pushed her into the cage. Karolina with punches . Markos with a right. Right by Markos. Markos with low kicks and punches. She landed a lot of shots but Karolina nailed her with a right. Close round. Karolina 10-9.
Second round: Karolina thowing low kicks now. Nice right by Karolina. Left and right by Karolina. Low kicks by Karolina. Markos with a takedown. Markos in piggy back position. Markos is also holding a body triangle. Markos stayed behind her the entire round. Markos so 19-19.
Third round: Markos landed rights. Markos with a takedown but Karolina rolled through and on top. She’s in full mount. Punches and elbows by Karolina. Knees to the body by Karolina. Markos back up. Time running out. Karolina’s round so she should win 29-28.
Scores: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 Karolina.
They just announced Sage Northcutt vs. Andrew Holbook to the main card on the 1/30 FOX card from Newark.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#6) MICHAEL JOHNSON (16-9, 8-5 UFC) VS. (#15) NATE DIAZ (17-10, 12-8 UFC)
First round: Johnson landing low kicks. Johnson continues to land low kicks. Left by Diaz. Diaz starting to land. Diaz starring to land and laughing at him. Diaz chants. Hard body kick by Johnson. Johnson missing punches short. Competitive fight. Close round 10-9 Diaz.
Second round: Johnson with body kicks. Diaz switching stance. Diaz landing jabs. Diaz landing more. Diaz staring to land regularly. Left by Diaz.. Johnson with a left. Johnson with a right and Diaz with a left. Body kick by Johnson. Johnson big left. Diaz chants. Another left by Johnson. Diaz with lefts. Great round. Johnson with a right. Diaz landed. Diaz landing and making fun of him and landed a left and another left. Johnson back with a right. Left by Diaz. Another left by Diaz. Johnson with a left. Another left and another by Johnson. Body kick by Johnson. Diaz with two lefts. Diaz continues to land. High kick by Diaz. Diaz continues to land now. Diaz’s round 20-18.
Third round: Johnson with a body kick. Both throwing. Nice left by Johnson. Diaz with a left. Head kick by Diaz. Diaz landing punches. Knees by Diaz. Diaz landing more punches. Jabs and a left by Diaz. Johnson back landing and Diaz back. Johnson landing all kinds of punches. Johnson with a right. Johnson took him down, which made no sense. Diaz 30-27.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 for Diaz.
So Nate Diaz did an interview where it was all bleeped out but he wanted Conor McGregor saying he already punked out Cerrone and Dos Anjos at the press conference.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#2) JUNIOR DOS SANTOS (17-3, 11-2 UFC) VS. (#9) ALISTAIR OVEREEM (39-14 1 NC, 4-3 UFC)
First round: Brazilians chanting “You’re gonna die” at Overeem. Nobody touched for nearly two minutes. Body kick by Overeem. High kick by Dos Santos blocked. Low kick by Overem. Overeem short on a left. Knee to the body by Overeem. Left by Overeem. Left by Overeem. Low kick by Overeem. Crowd booing. Dos Santos bleeding from the nose. Overeem with a body kick. Dos Santos missed a spin kick. Overeem 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Junior Body kick by Overeem. Another body kick by Overeem. Dos Santos missed a spin kick. This fight sucks by the way. Knee by Dos Santos First thing he’s done the whole fight. Low kick by Dos Santos. Another low kick by Overeem. Overeem with a kick to the body. Low kick by Overeem. Nice left by Overeem. Dos Santos bleeding from the right eye. Dos Santos finally started punching late in the round. Overeem dropped him with a left and finished him with a punch on the ground. The left hook knocked Dos Santos flying. Dos Santos was really mad at the stoppage. 4:43
UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) RAFAEL DOS ANJOS (24-7, 13-5 UFC) VS. (#2) DONALD CERRONE (28-6 1 NC, 15-3 UFC)
First round: Loud USA chant. Dos Anjos landed early. Low kick by Cerrone. Knee by Dos Anjos and now he’s taking him apart, a kick to the body and Dos Anjos throwing a ton of punches and Cerrone is in a lot of trouble. He’s taking a ton of punches. Cerrone survived. Dos Anjos had his back and kept throwing punches until Herb Dean stopped it. 1:06
Dos Anjos said he was happy. Dos Anjos said he’d face McGregor in Brazil or in Ireland.
A lightweight bout between rising prospect Sage Northcutt (7-0, 2-0 UFC) and fellow undefeated fighter Andrew Holbrook (11-0, 1-0 UFC) has been added to the next UFC on FOX event, which takes place next month in Newark, New Jersey. Ariel Helwani reported the bout on tonight’s UFC On FOX 17 broadcast. It will be on the main card of the event.
It is a quick turnaround for Northcutt, who is coming off a second-round submission win over Cody Pfister at last week’s UFC Fight Night 80 event in Las Vegas. It will be his third UFC bout in just under four months after he scored a quick first-round TKO win over Francisco Trevino in his UFC debut at UFC 192 in October. It will be his first fight televised on the FOX network as the UFC continues the big push of the rising 19-year-old prospect out of Katy, Texas.
Holbrook will fight in the UFC for the second time after scoring a split decision win over Ramsey Nijem at UFC On FOX 16 in July. It was the first time Holbrook had gone the distance in a fight as his prior ten wins all came by stoppage, with nine wins in the first round. While still young in his career, he represents another small step up in competition for Northcutt.
UFC On FOX 18 takes place on January 30 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It will be headlined by a five-round light heavyweight bout as Anthony Johnson takes on Ryan Bader.
Donald Cerrone gets a long awaited title shot tonight at UFC on FOX in Orlando against Rafael Dos Anjos. Man has he earned it. He is on an eight fight win streak, 4 times already this year with 2 of those fights only 2 weeks apart. Cerrone’s last loss coming at the hands of current champ Rafael Dos Anjos by decision in 2013. Also on the card is Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem, which should be a good one, and is a fight that has been scheduled a number of times already but always ended up canceled. Overeem came in a lot lighter than for his last few fights and is on a two fight win streak. With a win tonight could see him sneak into a title shot of a muddy UFC Heavyweight division. Dos Santos has only lost to Cain Velazquez in the last 8 years and could find himself with another title shot if Werdum, someone Dos Santos previously defeated, is able to win the rematch against Cain.
Danny Castillo vs. Nik Lentz – Castillo looked shocked that he didn’t make weight. And he wasn’t the only one. There were clearly issues between other scales and the one they used, even though most fighters made weight)
Tamdan McCrory vs. Josh Samman
Sarah Kaufman vs. Valentina Schevchenko
Nate Marquardt vs. C.B. Dollaway
Myles Jury vs. Charles Oliveira
FOX AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Karollina Kowalkiewicz vs. Randa Markos
Nate Diaz vs. Michael Johnson
Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone or the lightweight title
Saturday we’re looking for reports on the WWE show from the Forum in Los Angeles with Roman Reigns’ first title defense against Sheamus, plus Alberto Del Rio vs. Brock Lesnar for the U.S. title and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for the IC title and from the ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia (Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin, Moose vs. Matt Sydal vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Dalton Cantle, Adam Page vs. Mark Briscoe and Deonna Purrazzo & Hania the Huntress vs. Mandy Leon & Sumie Sakai).
Sunday will be WWE in Winnipeg with Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for the WWE title and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for the IC title.
Monday will be the Slammy Award edition of Raw from the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Smackdown will air live on the USA Network at 8 p.m. on Tuesday from Des Moines. The New Day vs. Lucha Dragons for the tag team titles has been announced.
The USA Network will air Tribute to the Troops on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., a taped show from Jacksonville.
Conor McGregor winning the UFC featherweight title, the story behind UFC 194 and the path of Roman Reigns to the WWE title are the lead stories in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with coverage of so many major shows over the past week.
We look at McGregor’s financial goals, the business of UFC 194 and the records set, early PPV projections, what is next for McGregor, TV viewership numbers in the U.S. and Brazil, , as well as the path of McGregor to being the No. 1 male star in the promotion. We look at Frankie Edgar as a contender, potential of UFC 200 if Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor are booked on the same show, the last two PPV shows, Rousey vs. McGregor as draws, Luke Rockhold’s middleweight title win, looking at the Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman judging and the future of the middleweight division.
We also look at the path of Roman Reigns to the WWE title, the increased viewership on Raw, where the new viewers came from and how viewership differed from recent weeks. We look at the reaction to Reigns, and the storylines that led to that reaction.
We’ve also got complete rundowns on WWE TLC, NXT Takeover, as well as all three UFC events, including match-by-match coverage, business notes, star ratings and more.
We also have a look at Mauro Ranallo’s signing with WWE, his background, how the deal came to fruition and the path from announcing pro wrestling on TV while a teenage on national television in Canada to the WWE 30 years ago, with stops in kickboxing, MMA and boxing in between.
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@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
The only thing we know about Matt Taven today is that he’s cautiously optimistic that his knee injury isn’t serious, but of course nothing is known until he gets it fully checked out. He injured it doing a dive off the post to the floor for a spike piledriver spot at the ROH PPV on Friday night.
Big interview with John Cena in GQ Magazine where he talks a bunch of different subjects including why he spoke Chinese during his sex scene with Amy Schumer.
There are photos here of Lizmark’s funeral. It was an open casket affair, and yes, he was buried with his mask on.
Pro Wrestling
Angelico and Jack Evans did an interview with PlanetaDeporte in Spain and said they had twice been approached by WWE officials to see if there was interest in signing, but they both agreed they wanted to stick with Lucha Underground for as long as it continued to exist. They noted that they’d been approached during a PWG show. It’s no secret that there are WWE office people who regularly attend most of the PWG shows.
The first announced match for PWEclipse February Frenzy Legion br. 43 Oshawa, Ontario has Jewells Malone defending her newly won PWE Flame Championship against Sassy Stephanie.
BUSHI beat Mascara Dorada to win the CMLL Welterweight title at Korakuen Hall Friday.
Smackdown did 2.33 million viewers this week, up from last week’s 2.1 million.
As noted on last night’s Observer Radio, Toru Yano’s two mystery partners on the January 4th Tokyo Dome event will be Mark and Jay Briscoe. This was a special Friday night edition of the show, and Dave and Bryan will be back again tonight to cover UFC.
From Bryan Alvarez: If you are an AFTER DARK RADIO fan, Sunday is the final day to contribute to our annual Whale Scout fundraiser, which has offered some great F4W-related perks including four chances to co-host the Bryan & Vinny Show which sold out immediately. We have added a couple special AFTER DARK-related perk. We’ve got THREE Bigfoot flasks and one –ONE — full-sized Bigfoot cast I picked up at the 2015 Sasquatch Summit in Ocean Shores. Because it is a cast of an alleged real Bigfoot track, it is, in fact, really big (if you go to the Indiegogo page you can see exactly how big it is), and if you want it I recommend you get up there quick because once it’s gone it’s gone. Whalescout is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization so your donation is tax-deductible, and I want to really thank everyone who has helped contribute this year. I can’t say it was all because of Whale Scout because it wasn’t, but Whale Scout works hard on habitat restoration projects with the idea being that if they can clean up rivers and streams, salmon runs will improve, and more salmon means more food for the whales. In the last 12 months, EIGHT baby orcas were born, which is an incredible number, and whether Whale Scout bears any responsibility or not, we would like to thank everyone who has helped the cause. You can find the Indiegogo page here!
UFC/MMA
Donald Cerrone joins the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast to talk tonight’s title fight against Rafael Dos Anjos. On his accusations that Dos Anjos is on PEDs: “I was just making iterations that maybe he is or he isn’t. Maybe he is just training real hard and is elevating and doing what he has to do but who knows. You’ve seen a lot of body types change since they put the new USDA ban into effect and they put the IV ban back on so we will see if things will be different and when you dehydrate your brain and you can’t rehydrate properly it can definitely cause a fighter to not be able to take those punches like they used to. Will he be able to go as long and as hard as he used to? I don’t know. Only time will tell.”
Paul Bradley vs. Chris Honeycutt, which was stopped for an accidental headbutt the first time, was rebooked for Bellator’s January 29th card in Fresno.
It’s the last New Japan show of 2015 as we are back at Korakuen Hall for some more tag action. In the main event, we’ll see Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsyuori Shibata take on the team of Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii, which promises to be one hell of a match if it plays out the right way. We’ll also see Mascara Dorada defend his CMLL Welterweight championship against Bushi, and a bunch of other tag matches that have Tokyo Dome implications.
Kushida, Jushin Thunder Liger and Jay White vs. David Finlay, Tiger Mask and Ryusuke Taguchi
Solid opener where everyone worked with one another. Finlay looked pretty alright here as he worked a lot of the match. He and Kushida were the ones in the ring as the finish happened. Kushida laid him out and pinned him with a moonsault. Everyone shook hands after and raised everyone’s hands. Kushida took a microphone after the match and spoke a few words, probably Wrestle Kingdom related but not sure.
Tencozy and Yohei Komatsu vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata and Sho Tanaka
Solid match. A lot of the bout was Tencozy and Nakanishi/Nagata. Sho Tanaka and Satoshi Kojima looked really great in the ring together. The crowd and the announcers flipped out when Tanaka gave Kojima a deadlift suplex for a nearfall. Tanaka hit the ropes but Kojima fired back with a lariat and pinned him.
Tenzan and Nakanishi teased something as Tenzan goaded Nakanishi into going back into the ring with him and Tenzan jumped him. They did a pull apart brawl to set up a possible feud that, well, no one asked for. Nakanishi should not be doing singles matches at this point. Let’s hope its hype towards the battle royal or something.
Kazushi Sakuraba and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
It’s weird that Sakuraba has been teaming with Chaos members all year, but technically he’s not a part of the stable. Sakuraba worked over boy Honma and Makabe with submissions. Yoshi-Hashi made the hot tag and went toe to toe with Makabe but fell to a lariat. They did a variation of the Doomsday Device as Honma went to the top rope, Makabe held YH on his shoulders and Makabe connected with the headbutt. Makabe followed with the king kong knee drop and pinned him. Solid match.
Hirooki Goto and Juice Robinson vs. Evil and Tetsuya Naito
Before the match, Naito offered a mask to Goto that looked similar to Captain New Japan’s mask. He promptly refused and attacked him to start the match. Match was fine, didn’t last that long. Naito choked out Goto on the outside as Robinson was mounting an offense. He looked good here. Evil laid him out with a lariat. Goto came for the save but Naito low blowed him. Evil laid out Robinson with a perfectplex into a brainbuster but only got two. He finished the job with the STO.
Mascara Dorada vs. Bushi for the CMLL Welterweight title
Match was fine. They had some nice back and forth early, but aside from one cool suicide dive by Bushi on the outside it was nothing remarkable. Naito started to get involved but Goto came back and they brawled towards the exit. Dorada went to the top rope but Evil came to the ring and distracted the ref. Bushi low blowed him then pinned him with a bridge but Dorada kicked out. Bushi then went to the top rope and hit a codebreaker from there to win the title. I understand this a nice program to do in the months of leading up to the Fantasticamania shows next month, but one stable already does the cheating gimmick, so there’s really no need to do another.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano vs. Cody Hall and Bad Luck Fale
It’s weird seeing Yano with jet black hair. The guys who dye their hair here have been inconsistent lately. Yujiro used a chair on Yano but he mostly no sold it and tagged in Nakamura who made the comeback. Cody Hall came in and worked with Nakamura towards the end They had a schmozz in the end that ended up with Nakamura hitting the boma ye and getting the win. Just a match.
Toru Yano got the mic and introduced his partners for the eight man at WrestleKingdom 10 via video. It was none other than the Briscoes from ROH. They cut a short promo with Mark mentioning Yano’s DVDs and Jay saying they’d help out at WK10. Crowd didn’t recognize the name at first but popped when they appeared on the video screen.
Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada
My stream kept going in and out during this match. Same thing during the CMLL Welterweight title. I saw most of it, which was very good. Everyone worked with one another. Okada and Tanahashi had a some good back and forth that people got into. Tanahashi laid him out with the sling blade and was going for the high fly flow when Ishii stopped him and superplexed him to the floor. Eventually Tanahashi and Shibata double teamed Ishii, laying him out as Tanahashi hit the high fly flow. Shibata covered with the penalty kick and pinned him.
Tanahashi cut a promo on Okada after the match, one that ended with Okada storming out. Snow started to fall from the arena as Tanahashi started to leave, then came back inside the ring and did his usual routine to close out the show.
Not as good as yesterday morning’s Korakuen Hall show, but it was a fine show to watch, technical issues aside.
*We don’t have an update on Matt Taven past the injury to his right knee was legit. Taven came off the middle rope to do a spike piledriver on Ray Rowe before the tag team title match on tonight’s ROH show started. Taven started limping badly. They only did a three minute match with War Machine winning the titles. Bennett & Taven are no longer under contract to ROH and it is possible this was their last match with the promotion.
*Charles Oliveira failed to make weight and was fined 20 percent of his purse for his fight with Myles Jury. He looked confused as to why he didn’t make weight even though he was 4.5 pounds over.
*Danny Castillo, who was two pounds over, came back about 20 minutes later and made weight.
*C.B. Dollaway somehow lost 1.5 pounds just by taking off his underwear and he also made weight.
*Yoshitatsu was announced as part of the English language broadcast team for the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. He will be working with Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker filling in the holes needed to translate Japanese. He’s very excited for getting this shot. This was a decision made some time back but New Japan just announced it tonight.
*Every NXT non-Florida house show in the month of January is sold out except for the 1/15 show in Green Bay, and that has a strong advance.
*There are tickets remaining for the 4/1 NXT show in Dallas before WrestleMania which is the next Takeover special. They’ll be available to the public at 10 a.m. Central time tomorrow. They’ll be gone very quickly so if you have interest in tickets I suggest logging in right away.
The UFC ends 2015 with an event in Orlando, Florida on FOX, headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between champion Rafael Dos Anjos and challenger Donald Cerrone. It is one last time to make some money playing daily fantasy for MMA in 2015, and below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid as well as our own line-ups for Saturday’s event.
STUDS
C.B. Dollaway ($10,800)
C.B. Dollaway is looking to end a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Nate Marquardt. Marquardt is on quite the skid himself, losing five of his last six fights. Marquardt’s chin has also seemingly seen better days, and he has trouble taking a punch these days. Dollaway has never been known as a knockout artist, but he has some power. Dollaway is still a top-ten caliber talent while Marquardt’s days challenging for titles are long gone. Dollaway should get a win and has a very good chance for a finish.
Kamaru Usman ($10,200)
Kamaru Usman won season 21 of “TUF” for the Blackzilians camp and looked impressive in doing so. He has been very impressive in his short MMA career as well, with all six of his career wins coming by stoppage. He has good power in his hands and some solid submission skills, and he trains with one of the top camps in the sport. He has a tough challenge in Leon Edwards ahead of him, but I like Usman to continue his impressive career start.
VALUE PLAYS
Valentina Shevchenko ($8,800)
Valentina Shevchenko is making her UFC debut on short notice against a tough challenge in Sarah Kaufman, but she has the skills to score a big upset. Shevchenko is better on the feet than Kaufman and has a ton of kickboxing experience, with a 60-2 record to go with her 9-1 MMA record. The biggest key for her is to keep the fight upright, but she has good takedown defense. She has the biggest shot to score an upset, and at her salary, that makes her a good play to where you can spend up on your line-up.
Nate Diaz ($8,300)
Nate Diaz has the lowest salary of all of the fighters on the card, and with someone of his popularity and skills, that almost seems like an insult. He does have a tough opponent in Michael Johnson, but Johnson’s struggles in his MMA career have been against fighters like Diaz. Diaz is a volume striker with dangerous submissions, and he can suck opponents into his game. He does look in excellent condition and has something to prove. At his salary, he definitely can upset Johnson, and is worth a look for your line-up.
AVOID
Nik Lentz ($9,700)
Nik Lentz is moving back up to lightweight on Saturday for a bout with Danny Castillo, but he is still small for the division. He is a good wrestler, but he isn’t overly impressive with all of his aspects. He does enough to score wins, but that may not be enough against Castillo, who definitely has his back against the wall. Lentz just isn’t enough of a difference maker to make me wanna use him, so I suggest avoiding him.
Nate Marquardt ($8,600)
His opponent, C.B. Dollaway, is listed above as a stud, and Marquardt is the one fighter I would avoid on the card whether I was making just one line-up or a hundred. I don’t like his chances against Dollaway, and I think he gets finished. Even if the fight goes the distance, Marquardt just hasn’t shown enough in recent years to make you think he has what it takes to score a lot of fantasy points. It just doesn’t seem like it will be his night.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK: Junior Dos Santos ($10,900), C.B. Dollaway ($10,800), Josh Samman ($10,300), Donald Cerrone ($8,900), Nate Diaz ($8,300)
I like Junior Dos Santos to score a knockout win over Alistair Overeem. Dos Santos has taken some beatings but perhaps the time off has freshened him up. He looks good right now and Overeem seems to have lost something coming in for various reasons. Dos Santos still has big power. I like Dollaway to finish Nate Marquardt. I like Josh Samman at his salary. He has three UFC wins, all by finish, and is very good. He has a tough fight against Tamdan McCrory, but is a finishable fight. I like Nate Diaz to score an upset over Michael Johnson, and to win by submission. Finally, I’m going with Donald Cerrone. I think he wins, and he wins by decision. With the thinking it will go five rounds, that is two extra rounds to score more points, and a decision win scores the same whether it goes three or five rounds. The two extra rounds benefits you in scoring more points, and I always try to take a fighter in a five-round fight.
PAUL FONATINE: Junior Dos Santos ($10,900), Josh Samman ($10,300), Kamaru Usman ($10,200), Cole Miller ($9,600), Donald Cerrone ($8,900)
Dos Santos is at least a level above Overeem, maybe 2. After a five round war with the very tough Stipe Miocic, this will be like a walk in the park for the former champ. One good shot and Overeem should go down, likely very early in the first. Samman has been a steamroller since losing on TUF to Kelvin Gastelum. McCrory is a nice story but he’s not going to be enough to stop Samman. Usman won the final match in the TUF 21 show to win the competition for his team. That was his fifth straight stoppage win and he should make it 6 over the overmatched Edwards. It seems like destiny that Donald Cerrone will win the lightweight title and then go on to face Conor McGregor in his first title defense. I see this going a lot like the Aldo/McGregor fight actually as the PED crackdown has had a noticeable effect on the physique of the current champion. I’m going with the veteran Cole Miller for my last pick. He’s usually good for a stoppage win and his opponent Alers was lucky not to have lost both of his UFC fights to date, taking a split decision in the opener before losing his second fight earlier this year.
PEACH MACHINE: Junior Dos Santos ($10,900), Myles Jury ($10,000), Danny Castillo ($9,700), Karolina Kowalkiewicz ($9,000), Donald Cerrone ($8,900)
I love Cerrone and I think RDA got lucky against Pettis. Cerrone is gonna knock him out eventually. It may take four and a half rounds but that head kick is coming. JDS is still a monster and Overeem is done. This is an easy pick for a KO. Myles Jury hasn’t fought in a year and finds himself against a formidable opponent, but Jury has only lost once and that was to Cerrone. More importantly, Oliveira is coming off a freak injury loss. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him come out a little gun shy. I’m taking Castillo because Nik Lentz sucks and I hate how he spells his name. Plus, Castillo has lost three in a row and will be motivated to win. Kowalkiewicz is undefeated an I don’t think Markos is much of a fighter. As always, you’d probably be better just picking the opposite of me. In a side note, I hope Dolloway and Marquardt both get cut. I can’t believe we’re still watching these two clowns.
As you can see, we are all big fans of Junior Dos Santos and Donald Cerrone scoring wins on Saturday. Good luck to all of those playing!
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s ROH Final Battle and Wednesday night’s NXT Takeover, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We will also be doing a poll on tomorrow night’s UFC show on FOX.
UFC, New Japan and ROH all finish 2015 tomorrow.
RING OF HONOR FINAL BATTLE AT 8:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME FROM THE 2300 ARENA IN PHILADELPHIA
Cheeseburger vs. Brutal Bob preshow match on You Tube at 8:30 p.m.
Young Bucks vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe for the top contenders for the tag titles
Moose vs. Michael Elgin
Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young
Alex Shelley & Matt Sydal & ACH vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian & Chris Sabin
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish for TV title
Matt Taven & Michael Bennett vs. Hanson & Ray Rowe for ROH tag titles
Jay Lethal vs. A.J. Styles for ROH title
WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING TONIGHT AT 9 P.M. EASTERN FROM THE CHELSEA AT THE COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS ON NBC SPORTS
Ozzy Dugulubgov (7-2) vs. Nic Herron-Webb (18-6), lightweight
Robbie Peralta (18-6) vs. Sheymon Moraes (7-1), featherweight
Josh Hill (12-1) vs. Beckbulat Magomedov (16-0), bantamweight
Jake Heun (8-4) vs. Clinton Williams (7-2), light heavyweight
Lance Palmer (10-1) vs. Alexandre Almeida (17-5) for the featherweight title
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS AT 9 P.M. EASTERN ON AXS TV
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title – This is a replay of the 2013 match of the year.
CMLL ON CLARO SPORTS AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN AT WWW.CLAROSPORTS.COMFROM ARENA MEXICO
NEW JAPAN FROM KORAKUEN HALL LATE TONIGHT/TOMORROW MORNING AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN AND 1:30 A.M PACIFIC ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Jushin Liger & Kushida & Jay White vs. Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Sho Tanaka
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi
Hirooki Goto & Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil
Mascara Dorada vs. Bushi for CMLL welterweight title
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall
Saturday we’re looking for reports on the WWE show from the Forum in Los Angeles with Roman Reigns’ first title defense against Sheamus, plus Alberto Del Rio vs. Brock Lesnar for the U.S. title and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for the IC title and from the ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia (Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin, Moose vs. Matt Sydal vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Dalton Cantle, Adam Page vs. Mark Briscoe and Deonna Purrazzo & Hania the Huntress vs. Mandy Leon & Sumie Sakai).
Sunday will be WWE in Winnipeg with Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for the WWE title and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for the IC title.
Monday will be the Slammy Award edition of Raw from the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Smackdown will air live on the USA Network at 8 p.m. on Tuesday from Des Moines. The New Day vs. Lucha Dragons for the tag team titles has been announced.
The USA Network will air Tribute to the Troops on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., a taped show from Jacksonville.
Conor McGregor winning the UFC featherweight title, the story behind UFC 194 and the path of Roman Reigns to the WWE title are the lead stories in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with coverage of so many major shows over the past week.
We look at McGregor’s financial goals, the business of UFC 194 and the records set, early PPV projections, what is next for McGregor, TV viewership numbers in the U.S. and Brazil, , as well as the path of McGregor to being the No. 1 male star in the promotion. We look at Frankie Edgar as a contender, potential of UFC 200 if Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor are booked on the same show, the last two PPV shows, Rousey vs. McGregor as draws, Luke Rockhold’s middleweight title win, looking at the Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman judging and the future of the middleweight division.
We also look at the path of Roman Reigns to the WWE title, the increased viewership on Raw, where the new viewers came from and how viewership differed from recent weeks. We look at the reaction to Reigns, and the storylines that led to that reaction.
We’ve also got complete rundowns on WWE TLC, NXT Takeover, as well as all three UFC events, including match-by-match coverage, business notes, star ratings and more.
We also have a look at Mauro Ranallo’s signing with WWE, his background, how the deal came to fruition and the path from announcing pro wrestling on TV while a teenage on national television in Canada to the WWE 30 years ago, with stops in kickboxing, MMA and boxing in between.
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@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
A lot of interesting things to look out for on tonight’s ROH show with Michael Elgin, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, Michael Bennett, Matt Taven and Maria Kanellis all either no longer under contract or contracts expiring shortly. I believe Jay Lethal also fits into that category. Tonight’s lineup looks real strong on paper. Jerry Lynn will be appearing at the Final Battle show tonight in an angle of some sort. I’m told it will be a wrestling-heavy show. Check out Dave Meltzer’s play by play: ROH Final Battle 2015 live results.
It was notable in a number of fighters today the physical changes. USADA drug testing has completely changed the game for the better. Fighters, on average, have shown up for fight week and in their first weigh-in (everyone weighs in when they get there so there are no big surprises) are about five pounds down from the average previously. That isn’t necessary PEDs, although in some cases it would be, but also people showing up with less weight to cut due to the IV ban.
For all those talking about how TV viewership is down, the ratings in November for the three networks was identical. Actually NBC was up 3% from last year, FOX was up 20% from last year, CBS was down 1% from last year and ABC was down 15% from last year. The increases and decreases were largely sports related. NBC had a good month for Sunday Night Football. FOX had the world Series. ABC had lower rated college football games. Cable was down 8% for the month but many cable stations were up. USA had a big decline overall and WWE’s decline was part of it.
WWE
The NXT show in Royal Oak, MI is sold out.
The pre-sale for the 4/1 NXT show in Dallas sold out in 30 minutes. The public sale should sell out instantly.
The last we heard, they are down to selling standing room tickets for NXT in Milwaukee on 1/14 after seated tickets sold out.
The movie “Santa’s Little Helper” will air at 8 p.m. Sunday on the USA Network. The Miz and Paige are both in the movie. It starts WWE week on the network.
Sky Sports 2 in the U.K. will be doing an all day Christmas Eve WWE programming marathon starting on 12/24 at 6 a.m. including DVD profiles and documentaries. (thanks to Lee Wall)
Tickets must not be selling well for a house show on 2/13 in Fresno as they have offered four tickets for the price of two, six for the price of three or eight for the price of four starting on Monday and ending on Wednesday. Announced as the top matches, which mean nothing at this point, are Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for the WWE title and Kane vs Bray Wyatt.
UFC has apparently given Aljamain Sterling permission to seek a deal elsewhere. His contract expired and even though he won his last fight, that sounds like they are either trying to scare him and make an example, or they just aren’t interested in bring him back.
MISCELLANEOUS
A battle of wrestling standouts with former NCAA champion Darion Caldwell (8-0) vs. Joe Warren (13-4) will headline a 3/4 Bellator show in Thackerville, OK.
Bellator announced that 18-year-old A.J. McKee, the son of Antonio McKee, had signed a multi-year contract with the promotion. McKee, a featherweight, has a 3-0 record with all of his fights being since his April debut in Bellator.
Joey Ryan has signed a sponsorship deal with YouPorn Sports, a newly created division of the YouPorn adult entertainment web site. As part of the deal, Ryan’s new finishing move will be called the YouPorn Plex and he will model YouPorn clothing at his wrestling appearances. The YouPorn plex will be the move he got fame from last week in DDT.
ACW tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. in New Port Richey, FL at the All Sports Arena.
Abyss (Chris Park) is doing a seminar at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Toronto at the Lithuanian House for $50. You are asked to arrive by 1:45 p.m. to sign in. It’s open to wrestlers of all levels.
PWE Eclipse on 2/27 in Oshawa, ONT at Legion br. 43 with Cody Deaner, Ethan Page, Buxx Belmar ad Tyler Tirva.
Welcome to live coverage of ROH Final Battle, the company’s last major event of 2015. The show is available on traditional PPV starting at 9 PM EST, emanating from 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s 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
We’re also looking for your thoughts on Wednesday’s NXT Takeover show and tomorrow nightt’s UFC on FOX shows.
Steve Corino is announcing the show under a mask as Mr. Wrestling III, doing a tongue in cheek pretending he’s not Steve Corino.
YOUNG BUCKS VS. ALL NIGHT EXPRESS VS. MARK & JAY BRISCOE FOR THE NO 1 CONTENDER SPOT
The All Night Express won with a Super One Night stand (combination superplex by Titus and blockbuster by Kenny King) on Mark Briscoe. The match was shorter than you’d think, all big moves and about 200 superkicks by the Bucks. The crowd early on booed whenever Titus & King would tag in as they only wanted to see the Bucks vs. Briscoes. Lots of dives, Matt & Nick both did 450s on Titus but King saved, there was a Meltzer driver in there as well. Crowd was really into it.
DALTON CASTLE VS. SILAS YOUNG
Young won again when Castle accidentally knocked down one of the boys, which distracted Castle, and Young used the TKO, called Misery, for the pin. Crowd was into the match. Match was solid.
Young after the match said I’ve already taken your boys and beaten you twice and told him to do the right thing and admit that I’m the real man. Crowd wasn’t happy with that. He didn’t and Young put the boots to him and told him to admit it. Castle refused and Young kicked him some more. Young brought in a chair. The boys each had a chair. He told Young to call him the real man or he’s going to sic the boys on him. The Boys were about to hit him with chair shots. Castle said, “You’re a man, but you’re a foolish man.” The Boys then turned on Young and Castle spun him around and slammed him. So they all reunited. They all posed together.
MICHAEL ELGIN VS. MOOSE
Elgin won clean with a burning hammer after crotching him. Both shook hands and raised each others hands when it was over. Before Elgin hit the burning hammer, he said, “Lethal, I’m coming,” talking about their match at the Tokyo Dome. The Dome match was mentioned several times with the idea that Elgin faces Lethal no matter what happens in the title match. Moose is still green but for a huge guy he was flying around. Elgin did some good power moves including a two German suplex spot. Moose did a plancha over the post and a couple of high dropkicks. No controversy on the finish.
Adam Cole did a promo on tape talking about triceps, elbow and shoulder surgery. Kyle O’Reilly said maybe Cole will go farther in the sport than me but this match isn’t about this. Cole said tha O’Reilly was a lesser version of Cole.
ADAM COLE VS. KYLE O’REILLY
This match was great. The finish saw O’Reilly catch Cole in the triangle, but Cole got his feet on the ropes and pinned him. O’Reilly attacked him after twice putting him in armbars. Crowd was chanting “O’Reilly” when this was over. Mostly O’Reilly doing all kinds of submissions and Cole escaping and hitting big moves including a number of superkicks. We may need a moratorium of those the rest of the night. This match had flying, submissions, kicks, knees, palms, a Frye-Takayama spot, dropkicks off the apron by O’Reilly knocking Cole off a chair.
ACH & MATT SYDAL & ALEX SHELLEY VS. CHRIS SABIN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & FRANKIE KAZARIAN
There were a few rough spots but overall this was really good. The story of the match was that Sabin would never get in with Shelley, even at the end they never had that spot. The finish saw ACH use the 450 on Sabin followed by Sydal doing the shooting star on him for the pin. Shelley had given Kazarian a DDT on the apron. At one time they lost the crowd but they got them back. Sydal is really good. Everyone in this match was. Sabin isn’t what he once was but after all the injuries he was still very good.
RODERICK STRONG VS. BOBBY FISH FOR THE TV TITLE
They did a total screwjob finish. Fish got Strong in a heel hook and Strong tapped out but ref Todd Sinclair was positioned badly and he didn’t see it. Fish got up and celebrated the win and fans chanted “You tapped out.” Strong gave him a flying knee to the chin and got the pin. This was a very well wrestled match from start to finish. The crowd was with it but not over the top with it. Strong had a lot of cool backbreaker type spots and Fish’s big spot was a falcon arrow off the top rope.
Veda Scott came out with Cedric Alexander. She wanted Nigel McGuinness to come out. She claimed Cedric Alexander was subject to unsafe working conditinos. The crowd was chanting “Shut the fuck up” at her. She announced an agreement was reached and a settlement was confidential but we’re happy with it and 2016 will see more of us. Alexander showed an expensive watch from a supposed settlement from ROH.
MICHAEL BENNETT & MATT TAVEN VS. RAY ROWE & HANSON FOR TAG TITLES
Hanson & Rowe won the belts in 3:00. Bennett came in with a cracked rib and Taven may have blown out his knee, plus Bennett & Taven’s future in ROH was in question since they haven’t signed a new deal. Taven gave Rowe a spike piledriver off the middle rope to the floor before the match started. He came back and stopped selling that way too fast.
Taven was being helped out of the ring.
We just got word Taven has a right knee injury from he spike piledriver spot before the match even started. Until he’s examined there’s no word how serious it is, but it’s never a good time for such an injury and this is probably a really bad time.
JAY LETHAL VS. A.J. STYLES FOR ROH TITLE
Nigel McGuiness and Jerry Lynn are announcing the match. Lynn may be an angle.
Excellent match. Most of the match was Lethal working on Styles’ lower back. Styles took a lot of punishment. He took whips into the guard rail. Lethal did two topes but on the third, Styles did a springboard off the guard rail into an elbow. Lethal also threw Styles over the top rope through a table. Styles kicked out of the first Lethal injection. The finish came when Styles missed the Pele kick. After some reverses Lethal got out of the Styles clash, hit the Gotch piledriver and Lethal injection for the clean win. They pushed hard how he beat Styles using Jerry Lynn’s finisher right in front of Jerry Lynn, since Lynn’s finish was the Gotch piledriver.
Last week, the quarter-finals of the World Title Series were held. Lashley beat Shera, EY beat Tigre Uno, Matt Hardy beat Jessie, and EC3 beat Davey Richards. Tonight, we get some new matches in the form of a cage match that has been set up with graphics and no storyline, and some random matches with other World Title Series folks. The show begins with a silly video saying that the winner of the TNA World Title is truly the king of sport. Josh runs down tonight’s two matches and says we’ll get a look at everyone in the semi-finals. This means we hear his thoughts on the series and see clips of his match from the October 14 edition of the show against Davey Richards. Matt recaps what happened after this, and how he knew he couldn’t lose. Small clips are shown of him beating Roode and Godderz. Matt says that EY can’t stop the Matt Hardy Train and Josh plugs the final four roundtable. Kurt Angle will speak on the final four, and the first all-star match is next.
Team Future Four vs. Team X Division
Team Future Four comes out to generic music while Josh says that Eli and Jessie can walk around like they have an S on their chest. Eli has “ED” on his, sadly. Manik, Uno, Mandrews, and DJZ are out. Eli starts by wearing his vest, but tags out to his former partner Micah. DJZ hits a pop-up dropkick of Micah while Josh gives us a geography lesson of Betheham, PA. Mandrews gets dominated a bit by Jessie and in an musing bit, everyone comes in to try and suplex Jessie, and they execute a “triple double suplex” to Jessie and Micah. Josh hypes up The Asylum Years being streamed on the Impact Wrestling site on Thursday nights. Josh plugs Jessie being on the red carpet of Miss Teen California. Manik flies on everyone on the floor.
Eli and Mandrews are now legal and Eli gets 2 off a suplex. Jessie tosses Mandrews into a gigantic chokeslam by Crimson. Eli comes in and he argues with Crimson. Josh actually compares this to the Mega Powers exploding. Uno lands a very sloppy dropsault to Eli resulting in Eli landing right on Uno’s head. Eli’s partners leave and he tries to, but they toss him back in. Manik hits his modified GTS, DJZ actually hits his wacky DDT, Mandrews gets the SSP and the win. Recap of Lashley’s run through the series is next. First, we see a brief clip of Lashley asking if EC3 can win without friends. We see the entire match of Lashley vs. Aries from the November 25 show. Pope and Josh talk about how Lashley must prove that he can beat EC3, and he will have to do so on live TV. The all-star fatal four way is up next.
We see EC3 talking about going to one of his homes in Nashville. EC3 gets out of his BMW and lifts weights for a bit He calls the World Title Series BS and wonders just why Dixie and Billy Corgan came up with this idea. EC3 says he is a one-percenter money-wise, but he wasn’t gifted his work ethic. Now it’s time for the fatal four way. Spud comes out while Josh hypes up that Spud is the first pro wrestler to work with the Starlight Foundation.
Rockstar Spud vs. Mr. Anderson vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Bobby Roode
The match begins and Josh says that this is an elimination match, which should make it better. Roode and Spud start it off, and everyone needs to tag in to try and win. Eddie gets a blind tag and he gets an inverted atomic drop to Roode while Spud kicks him down for an ad break. Spud goes for a cradle and Eddie kicks out of it. Spud drops down and Eddie dives onto Roode on the floor. Anderson comes in and Spud imitates his mic drop. Anderson laughs and hits a shortarm clothesline. Spud lands a tilt-a-whirl headscissors to send Ken to the floor and he hits a flip dive onto the pile. Spud gets a flying AJ forearm to Eddie, who counters the Underdog with a backslide, but Eddie gets one of his own to eliminate Spud.
Ken and Roode eat a double rana from Eddie. Josh says that he talked to the referee and once it got down to three men, they could all just go at it tornado-style. Despite this, Ken just stands on the apron and waits for a tag. Roode gets a crossface onto Eddie, but Ken wants to fight Roode here for some reason. Mic Check hits Eddie and takes him out. Roode avoids the Mic Check, but eats a back elbow. Roode lands a spinebuster for 2. Finlay roll from Anderson gets 2. Ken rolls him up, but Roode kicks him off and locks on the crossface. Ken rolls through it, but Roode hangs on and earns the win with a tapout.
Kurt Angle says it’s been hard to see the World Title Series as an outsider, and it’s the toughest tournament in TNA history. Kurt says that whoever wins the series is going to earn it. Next, we’ll see a recap of Eric Young’s rise through the tournament. Eric Young gets a crazy heavy metal song recapping all of his biggest piledrivers, and is easily the best thing involving him this year. Eric Young vs. Robert Roode from November 4 is recapped. We see more of EY beating guys in the series. EY says Uno was good, but he was X Division champion too. More with EC3 is coming up.
We see clips of the roundtable with EY insulting Matt Hardy. EC3 vs. Mr. Anderson from November 11 is shown. EC3 says it’s time to go home and we see him work out and mock his pool cleaner. He makes himself a drink and recaps his tournament wins. EC3 says that he’ll beat Lashley in the semis and then beat either EY or Matt in the finals. The roundtable is next. Lashley says that he’ll beat up EC3 and his friend. They have a World Title Series graphic over the table to seemingly act like there’s a graphic on the physical tablecloth. EC3 says that he fought Lashley while a loud buzzing is audible in the background. Matt Hardy insults EC3 and EC3 says that he has one of the three Is – integrity. Matt says that EY is “mented” and will beat the meanness out of him. EY says that he has held every title here, which no one else has done in this. Matt says the Matt Hardy Train will not be stopped.
Matt says that EC3 relies on Tyrus too much, and Lashley will beat EC3. Lashley says he wants to face the legend of Matt Hardy. Does Matt own a stake in TNA now? Josh hypes up Matt vs. Lashley as a historic first-time ever match that sure seems like something that was thrown on a random SmackDown in 2006. Josh asks EC3 who is not advancing, and EY says that Matt isn’t advancing. Matt and EY argue while Josh does a voiceover acting like he’s trying to keep order. Next week’s show will be a Best of 2015 show – so TNA actually gets one more show on Destination America.
