Tag: headline

  • WWE Royal Rumble 2016 is officially sold out

    The WWE has confirmed that all tickets are gone for the 2016 Royal Rumble, set for Sunday, January 24th at the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL.

    After an Internet pre-sale in August and another pre-sale this past week, most of the arena was sold out for a configuration of 13,000. The on-sale to the public, which started this morning, sold out in less than 30 minutes.

    The Rumble is traditionally the company’s second biggest event of the year. The winner of the Royal Rumble by stipulation is supposed to challenge for the WWE title at WrestleMania. 

    Some other fun facts:

    – This is the second Rumble event in Orlando, and the first there since January 21, 1990 — the 3rd Rumble in company history. Hulk Hogan won the event that night, his first of back-to-back Rumble wins.

    – This will be the fifth Rumble held in Florida, and the 29th overall.

    – Roman Reigns will look to become the first back-to-back winner of the Rumble since “Stone Cold” Steve Austin did it in 1997-98. If he does it, he joins Hogan, Austin, and Shawn Michaels as the only men to do it.

    Subscribers can relive Dave and Bryan breaking down the 2015 Royal Rumble here, one of 7,000 shows in our archives.

  • Ronda Rousey to be on the cover of EA Sports’ UFC 2 video game

    On Friday, EA Sports officially announced its second UFC video game, EA Sports UFC 2, that will be released in the spring. UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, to no surprise, will be featured on the cover.

    “EA Sports is a cultural barometer to know what’s going on in sports at the moment,” said Rousey in a press release.  “As a gamer myself, it’s pretty surreal to be on the cover of the game and to have a woman on the cover of a UFC game shows a lot of progress. I’m really happy to be involved with it.”

    Rousey was in the running to be on the cover of the first game, which was decided via fan vote. But due to the timing of the game and voting being around the time the Ultimate Fighter season she coached was on, she lost in the voting in a head-to-head matchup with Miesha Tate.  Due to a surge of European voting, light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson got the nod.

    The game will add a new Knockout Physics System and authentic gameplay features, and have the largest roster of fighters.  It is being released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Other new game modes are KO Mode, UFC Ultimate Team and a new career mode that allows fans to create women fighters for the first time in a game, as was as Grapple Assist, for more ground game variations and submissions. Click here for more details on the game’s features.

    Rousey defends her title against Holly Holm Saturday in the main event of UFC 193.  Dave, Bryan and UFC star Filthy Tom Lawlor will break down the event for subscribers late Saturday night.

  • WWE announces time and date of next Takeover special

    WWE officially announced that the next live NXT Network special will air on Wednesday, December 16th from London’s SSE Wembley Arena at 3 p.m. Eastern time and 12 PM Pacific, featuring a 30-minute pre-game show.

    While the lineup has not been announced, it appears the key matches will be NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe, Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews, and Asuka vs. Emma. Joe turned heel on Balor on NXT TV two weeks ago after Corbin cost Crews the NXT title in his match with Balor. Asuka vs. Emma is a continuation of a storyline that began at the last TakeOver event where Asuka destroyed Emma’s partner Dana Brooke.  

    The December 16th Wembley show will likely also include both tag team title matches (champs are Dash & Dawson) and a women’s title match (Bayley is the champ). That should become clear on November 19th when the final TVs leading to the show are taped at Orlando’s Full Sail University.

    The most recent NXT TakeOver show, titled Respect, took place on October 7th at Full Sail and featured Finn Balor & Samoa Joe beating Rhino & Baron Corbin to win the Dusty Rhodes Invitational Tag Team Tournament, as well as an outstanding main event Bayley beating Sasha Banks to win the NXT women’s title in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.

    Subscribers can hear Bryan & Vinny review the last NXT Takeover special here.

  • Daily Update: Cro Cop admits to PEDs, Ronda Rousey and UFC 193

    We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE shows in Newcastle, England, Bologna, Italy, yesterday’s WWE show in Rome, tonight’s NXT show in Winter Haven, FL, as well as tomorrow’s shows in Leipzig, Germany, Nottingham, England and NXT in Orlando to Dave Meltzer

    SMACKDOWN TONIGHT ON SYFY AT 8 P.M.

    Fandango vs. Braun Strowman

    Neville vs. Barrett in first round of WWE title tournament

    Ryback vs. Kalisto in first round of WWE title tournament

    Alberto Del Rio vs. Stardust in first round of WWE title tournament

    Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan

    Figure Four Weekly:

    Figure Four Weekly (10/2/15): WWE 2K16 Review
    2K Sports and Yuke’s turnaround WWE video game series with a reinvigorated title boasting huge roster.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

    Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.

    We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.

    We also look at the retirement of Genichiro Tenryu this week, the career of Mirko Cro Cop, the UFC show headlined by Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson and all the business notes, plus we’ve got details of two different pro wrestling groups that are looking at starting up, with major name involvement.  We look at who is behind one group that is calling talent for a January start, and the different vision of pro wrestling that a legendary promoter looking to come back is working with. 

    We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The latest Wrestling Observer: November 16, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Seth Rollins injury, Wrestlekingdom 10 matches

    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

    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. 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.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    THURSDAY DAILY UPDATE

    • Mirko Cro Cop posted that he took injections of Growth Hormone to aid with his shoulder recovery and that’s what he failed his test for.  He clearly wasn’t happy that it got out, I guess figuring that if he announced his retirement it wouldn’t get out.
    • Ronda Rousey said today that due to acting roles, she probably won’t fight again after Saturday until UFC 200 in July.
    • A Ronda Rousey story on if there is a double standard regarding domestic violence regarding her story in her book of beating up an ex-boyfriend who took nude photos of her
    • Ratings for last night saw TNA do 277,000 viewers for the 9 p.m. show and 97,000 at midnight.  ROH did 172,000 at 11 p.m.  Everybody was up from last week.
    • Undertaker was on the Tonight Show last night.  They did a segment where he gave a tombstone piledriver to a guy in a turkey suit.  Brad Maddox, who wasn’t identified, with the guy who took the tombstone.
    • There are a number of unique shows this weekend:

    The Iowa vs. Oklahoma State wrestling meet outdoors on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Kinnick Stadium has now sold 34,000 tickets, meaning it will be the largest crowd ever to witness a college wrestling match, and for that matter, a legit wrestling match, ever in the U.S.  In fact, it will double the all-time dual meet record.  It will air on TV Sunday at about 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

    Insane Championship Wrestling in Glasgow this weekend with Grado vs. Drew Galloway is expected to draw the largest crowd from a U.K. based promotion since 1982, with a sellout of 4,000 fans.

    Genichiro Tenryu, one of the biggest stars in the history of Japanese wrestling, has his retirement match late Saturday night on New Japan World.  Full details on this are in the new issue of the Observer.

    Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion is doing an iPPV tomorrow night from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. Eastern at www.RFVideonow.com

    La Sombra vs. Rush, longtime tag partners, headline Arena Mexico tomorrow night.  This may or may not air live at www.ClaroSports.com

    New Japan World tomorrow night on AXS features a crazy high flying match with La Sombra vs. Mascara Dorada

    Lucha Underground has its first TV tapings of the new season on Saturday and Sunday of this week in Boyle Heights 

    • There is a Royal Rumble (1/24 in Orlando) pre-sale going on right now using the code RRORL.  Tickets go on sale Saturday morning to the public.  It should be an immediate sellout.
    • Dixie Carter announced that the semifinals of the TNA title tournament would be taped in early December at the shows in Mumbai, India.
    • PWG All-Star Weekend on 12/11 and 12/12 in Reseda, CA, which is the same weekend UFC is doing its big shows.

    12/11 lineup

    Roderick Strong vs. Matt Sydal for PWG title

    Young Bucks vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa for PWG tag titles

    Michael Elgin & Brain Cage vs Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards

    Mark Andrews vs. Chuck Taylor

    Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll

    Will Ospreay vs. Trevor Lee

    Kenny Omega vs. Speedball Mike Bailey

    12/12 lineup

    Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Michael Elgin & Brian Cage

    Matt Sydal vs. Trevor Lee

    Chuck Taylor vs. Kikutaro

    Ricochet vs. Mark Andrews

    Timothy Thatcher vs. Marty Scurll

    Chris Hero & Speedball Mike Bailey & Joey Ryan & Candice LaRae vs Young Bucks & Super Dragon & Roderick Strong in a Guerrilla Warfare match   ​

    WWE

    • Dwayne Johnson appears Sunday on Oprah’s Master Class on OWN at 8 p.m. Eastern, talking about his mother.
    • Drew Gulak on the Two Man Power Trip radio show, when asked if he’s signed a WWE deal, said, “I am not allowed to speak on that issue.  If I was allowed to, I would be in great detail. But I can’t really elaborate on my business with WWE, or if there has been any business with WWE.”
    • The piece on Roman Reigns being a big 49ers fan that aired on TV in San Jose on Sunday (there is a link in the Monday update) was really cool.  He came across real well talking about the thrill of headlining WrestleMania in the 49ers home stadium but not winning, and they pushed Leo Nomellini, who in the 50s was both an all-time great lineman during the season and the area’s biggest pro wrestling star for many years during every off season.  
    • WWE stock fell 67 cents today to close at $16.38 per share, which is at a low level based on recent months.
    • WWE is releasing a DVD of NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 on 3/7 in Europe and 3/8 in the U.S. 
    • A tourist guide if you’re coming in for the Royal Rumble

    UFC

    • TV programming this weekend in conjunction with UFC 193

    Weigh-ins are at 5 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow on FS 1

    Prefight show is at 7 p.m. Saturday on FS 1

    Prelims are at 8 p.m. Saturday on FS 1

    Post-fight show is scheduled for 1:30 a.m. late Saturday on FS 1

    Ultimate Insiders on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. with John Dodson, Luke Rockhold and Aljamain Sterling

    The Rafael dos Anjos vs. Anthony Pettis fight will air on FS 1 on Sunday at 9 p.m.  This is the fight where dos Anjos won the lightweight title.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • The Baseball Hall of Fame made some changes yesterday.  They are dropping the number of years you can be on the ballot from 15 to ten.  There was a recommendation to raise the number of people you could vote on from 10 to 12, but that was rejected.  “At some point, there has to be a line drawn,” said Hall of Fame Vice President Brad Horn.  “To retain the exclusivity of the Baseball Hall of Fame, entering the Hall of Fame should be difficult.”  Last year was the first year more than half the people who voted, voted for the maximum ten people. (thanks to Houston Mitchell)
    • Luis Santos failed to make weight earlier today for his fight tomorrow with Ben Askren for the One welterweight title.  No word if this fight will happen.  Santos got down to 172 pounds and needed to make 170.    
    • A note on a question we had on Monday regarding why Mike Tyson never fought George Foreman.  There were talks for such a match in 1990.  Don King wanted it, because Tyson who had just lost to Buster Douglas, had seen Foreman destroy Joe Frazier as a kid and Cus D’Amato told Tyson why it happened, that Frazier’s style and the height difference made Frazier winning an impossibility, and said the only person who could beat Foreman was a rangy boxer who could fight from a distance.  Tyson has more similarities with Frazier and Cus’ words always stayed with him. (thanks to Alfonso Garcia and many others) 
    • There is a major convention Saturday in at LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in Elmhurst, NY with all kinds of big names including Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, Pete Rose, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, Tully Blanchard, Scott Hall, Carlito, Ted DiBiase, Missy Hiatt, Angelina Love, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Sid Vicious, Torrie Wilson, Christy Hemme, Marty Jannetty, Jim Neidhart, Tajiri, Mickie James, Brooke, Madison Rayne, Dan Malenko, Vince Russo, Bill Apter, Bob Backlund, Jessie Godderz, Taz, EC 3 and many more.
    • Jake Roberts movie notes
    • Tommy Dreamer and Virgil were on Comedy Central on Monday night’s “The Nightly Show” with a comedy sketch about whether wrestling was racist. 
    • 39 years ago Tuesday in Miami Beach saw a show headlined by Terry Funk retaining the NWA title over Bob Backlund, plus Dusty Rhodes & Jack Brisco beat Ox Baker & The Assassin and Mike Graham & Ken Lucas beat Bob Orton Sr. & Jr. 
    • Matt Myers Jr. who was the head of marketing with ROH, is leaving for a job in his home town of Pensacola.
    • Due to an injury to Marcus Lewis, JR Kratos will now defend his heavyweight title against Gabriel Gallo on the 11/28 Premier Wrestling show in Gilroy, CA at the IFDES Lodge Portuguese Hall.  The main event is a round-robin series using rounds with Jeff Cobb (6-3-1), Timothy Thatcher (4-2-1) and Joe Graves (2-1-1).  Tickets are available at www.premierewrestle.com and tickets in advance save $5.
    • Chaotic Wrestling tomorrow night in Woburn, MA at the Elks Hall #308 with Chase Del Monte vs. Julian Starr for the Chaotic title in a 2/3 fall match.
    • Ric Flair, Mickie James and Baby Doll will be appearing at the Maryland Championship Wrestling show tomorrow night in Waldorf, MD at the Unique Sports Academy for the 6 p.m. meet and greet.  Mickie James vs. Kimber Lee for the womens’ title headlines.  Flair, JJ Dillon, Tully Blanchard, Baby Doll and James will also be appearing Saturday night at the MCW Arena in Joppatowne, ME with a6 p.m. meet and greet followed by a show. 
    • Hoosier Pro Wrestling contributed more than $1,000 in toys and cash to the Fireman’s Cheer Fund of Columbus, IN in their 11/7 show.
    • Ring Wars Carolinas contributed more than 200 canned food items to the local food panty from fans at its 11/7 show
    • There will be a holiday food drive at the Primal Conflict Wrestling show tomorrow night in Harpers Ferry, WV at the KOA.
    • Grand Slam Wrestling on Saturday night in Moosic, PA at the Youth Center.  Fans are urged to donate non perishable food items to support Feed a Friend, and will get a raffle ticket for every donated item.
    • World League Wrestling’s last show of the year will be Saturday night in Troy at the Race Wrestling Academy.  For every five canned food items donated you get a raffle ticket with the prize being a 32 inch TV.  Or you can purchase tickets for $5.
    • IWF Thanksgiving Thunder on Saturday night at 7 p.m. as well as 11/21 at 7 p.m. at the IWF Centre.  There will be a food drive at both events for non perishable items. 
    • Pinnacle Fighting Championships on 11/25 in Chewsick, PA at the Syria Shriners.
    • Border City Wrestling on 11/20 at Club Alouette in Windsor, ONT is having a wrestling show at 7 p.m. followed by a party for the wedding of Tyson Dux and his bridge to be.  You have to be 19 to attend.  The wrestling show is $20 and the show and the party is $40.
    • Abyss headlines for Superkick’d on 12/19 in Toronto at the Lithuanian House, facing Ashley Sixx in a chain rope match.
    • Ted DiBiase Sr. appears at Collector’s Realm in Fishkill, NY on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Dutchess Marketplace.  
    • Shockwave the Robot returns to the ECWA on 11/21 at their show in New Castle, DE at the Ashley United Methodist Church.
    • Real Canadian Wrestling tomorrow night in Calgary at the Royal Canadian Legion 1 is doing a show to honor Karl Moffat, who was a headliner there as Jason the Terrible.  Sinn Bodhi appears on the show.  Scheduled to attend include Leo Burke, Great Gama and Cuban Assassin.

    ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to  Graeme Cameron)

    1976 – Marty Jones beat Rollerball Rocco in Wovlerhampton to win the British lightweight title

    1982 – Sangre Chicana beat Fishman at El Toreo in Naucalpan to win the UWA light heavyweight title

    1983 – Mocho Cota beat Talisman in Mexico City to win the Mexican national welterweight title

    2007 – Yoshito Sasaki beat Daisuke Sekimoto in Tokyo to win the Zero-One United National title

  • Wrestling Observer Preview: Seth Rollins injury, Exclusive WrestleMania News

    Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.

    We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.

    We also look at the New Japan Tokyo Dome lineup and what is announced and other matches not announced that are scheduled, details of New Japan’s tag team tournament, coverage of the Power Struggle PPV, an update of the New Year’s Eve show in Japan, U.S. broadcast notes, the introduction of what they hope will be Japan’s newest superstar on that show, Bellator reps on New Year’s Eve, what pro wrestlers are involved in the show, rematches of legendary bouts, what pro wrestlers are in the running to face Fedor, what giant is in the running to face him, and how big New Year’s Eve fighting used to be in Japan.

    We also look at the retirement of Genichiro Tenryu this week, the career of Mirko Cro Cop, the UFC show headlined by Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson and all the business notes, plus we’ve got details of two different pro wrestling groups that are looking at starting up, with major name involvement.  We look at who is behind one group that is calling talent for a January start, and the different vision of pro wrestling that a legendary promoter looking to come back is working with. 

    We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.

    The latest Wrestling Observer: November 16, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Seth Rollins injury, Wrestlekingdom 10 matches

    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.

    The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

    We’ve also got the weekly coverage of all the ratings of the major shows and the major TV show rundowns.

    Also in this issue:

    –A look at the La Sombra vs. Rush confrontation at Arena Mexico and where it’s headed

    –More on the big Lucha Libre Elite shows

    –More on what AAA is doing with its world title

    –Lots more on talk of Cibernetico leaving AAA following Alberto Del Rio and Myzteziz

    –What is now going on behind the scenes

    –What U.S. star no-showed for AAA this past week

    –The first ZZ Inc. show notes

    –Masked legend accidentally puts unmasked photo on social media

    –A look at the Dragon Gate show this pat week and where the major title matches are going

    –The 38th annual Real World Tag League tournament notes

    –The Global tournament finals, surprise winner and final standings

    –Full lineup for NOAH’s last major show of the year

    –Pro wrestler who once won a UFC tournament gets arrested and details

    –A first-time ever singles match between major stars in early December

    –Woman star wins bodybuilding contest

    –Back story on the first big women’s pro wrestling sellout of Budokan Hall

    –First ever meeting between Hall of Famer and one of today’s best all-around wrestlers

    –How close Jimmy Snuka came to being WWF champion

    –How Vince McMahon got in control of WWF

    –Major angle in Evolve

    –Daughter of a pro wrestling personality in a major movie release

    –Longest modern match

    –Preston City Wrestling notes

    –Promotion announces it is folding

    –More big shows this week

    –Two MMA fighters doing a pro wrestling match with former UFC star as ref

    –Notes on Jeff Jarrett’s latest show

    –New inductees into St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame

    –Who is being honored at the Cauliflower Alley Club this year

    –Frank Gotch tournament announced

    –Football player making pro wrestling debut in a few weeks

    –Former wrestler who founded convenience store chain and was mentor to a Hall of Famer

    –More on the new season of Lucha Underground

    –More ROH shows

    –TNA TV notes

    –Update on Georges St-Pierre’s consideration of a return

    –Thoughts on him coming back and options

    –UFC stadium show in 2016 falls through

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –Notes from Bellator’s last major show of the year

    –New Glory TV deal

    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

    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. 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.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

  • Daily pro wrestling history (11/12): Mad Dog Vachon wins AWA World Title

    1930

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – World Champion Jim Londos beat Rudy Dusek 
    – Milo Steinborn beat Floyd Marshall 
    – George Zaharias beat Jack Washburn 
    – Kola Kwariani beat Marshall Blackstock

    1948 

    Houston, Texas:
    – Danny McShane defeated Antonino Rocca for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title

    1951 

    Kansas City, Missouri:
    – Jimmy Coffield defeated Dennis Clary for the NWA Heart Of America Heavyweight Title (later known as the Central States Title)

    1965

    Denver, Colorado:
    – Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon defeated The Crusher to win the AWA World Heavyweight Title
    – Bob Ellis beat Mitsu Arakawa
    – Chris Markoff beat Mighty Igor Vodik dq
    – Tim Woods beat Ivan Kalmikoff

    1966 

    Omaha, Nebraska:
    – Dick The Bruiser defeated Mad Dog Vachon for the AWA World Heavyweight Title in Omaha, Nebraska (title change only recognized in  
      Omaha)
    – Verne Gagne beat Mad Russian Stan Pulaski
    – Ron Reed drew Mr Wrestling Tim Woods

    1971

    Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Attendance was 6,112; sellout
    – The Crusher beat Nick Bockwinkel
    – Larry Hennig & Lars Anderson beat Red Bastien & Dr. X in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Billy Robinson beat Big K
    – Wilbur Snyder beat Angelo Poffo
    – Ivan Koloff beat Bill Howard

    1979 

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Attendance was 5,000
    – Billy Robinson defeated Super Destroyer Mark II (Sgt. Slaughter) to win the AWA British Empire Heavyweight Title 
    – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dcor Andre The Giant
    – Mad Dog Vachon beat Lord Alfred Hayes
    – Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Paul Ellering & Steve Olsonoski
    – Greg Gagne beat Buddy Wolff
    – Super Destroyer Mark III beat Peter Sandor Szabo
    – Ricky Hunter beat Ron Ritchie

    1982 

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
    – Danny Davis defeated Bruce Hart for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title 

    1988

    Las Vegas, Nevada:
    – AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Wahoo McDaniel dq
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Badd Company Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond beat John Paul & Ricky Morton dq
    – Kerry Von Erich beat Colonel DeBeers
    – Madusa Meceli beat Magnificent Mimi
    – Jay Strongbow Jr drew Del Wilkes (The Patriot)

    2001 

    Boston Massachusetts:
    – Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated Booker T & Test for the WWF World Tag Team Title 
    – Edge defeated Kurt Angle for the WCW United States Title

    2003

    Nashville, Tennessee:
    – Christopher Daniels defeated Low Ki
    – Sting & AJ Styles defeated Lex Luger & Jeff Jarrett 

    2010

    Nashville, Tennessee: (Attendance was 1,200)
    – Jeff Jarrett defeated Samoa Joe
    – Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) beat Beer Money (James Storm & Robert Roode) and Ink Inc. (Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal) to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles
    – Jeff Hardy beat Pope D’Angelo Dinero to retain the TNA Heavyweight Title

  • Mirko Cro Cop suspended by UFC for potential drug test violation

    It seemed rather sudden, and there appears to be more to the story of the sudden retirement of UFC heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop on Tuesday.

    The UFC announced on Wednesday that Cro Cop has been notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of a potential violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and has been provisionally suspended. The UFC released a full statement on their website on Wednesday.

    “UFC announced today that a scheduled bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified both Mirko Cro Cop and UFC that he has been provisionally suspended at this time due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation,” the statement read.

    “USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cro Cop. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.”

    Cro Cop was scheduled to fight Hamilton in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 79 on November 28, but then announced he was out of the fight due to a shoulder injury and retiring from the sport. With today’s announcement, Cro Cop becomes the first fighter to be suspended since USADA took over the responsibilities for the UFC’s anti-doping program in July. Cro Cop last competed at UFC Fight Night 64 in April, scoring a TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga in Krakow, Poland.

    The UFC announced they will book Hamilton in a new bout on a card in the near future.

  • WWE Smackdown results (11/12): WWE Title Tournament, Bray Wyatt challenges Undertaker & Kane

    – Air Date: November 12, 2015 (Nov 11 in Canada)
    – Location: Manchester Arena in Manchester, England

    The Big News:

    Undertaker did not actually appear on Smackdown, but did accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge for a tag team match at Survivor Series. Also, Kalisto beat Ryback clean.

    Show Recap:

    The show started with a recap of Seth Rollins’ injury and they plugged tonight’s tournament matches.

    The Wyatts interrupted and a video recap was shown of the angle with Undertaker and Kane from Raw. They piped in some crowd booing as the Wyatts stood in the ring. Luke Harper said they would sacrifice “dem Uso boys” to honour Bray Wyatt. Erick Rowan said Bray brings sorrow to those who oppose him and they would do the same tonight. Braun Strowman said “Look at my face… and see your annihilation.” Strowman added that he would pile bodies to the sky for Bray.

    Bray said Kane and Undertaker may have escaped the pits of hell but they’ll never be the same again. He’s taken pieces of them and now they are apart of him. Bray challenged the Brothers of Destruction to a tag match at Survivor Series against two of his men, and gave them until the end of tonight to accept.

    Bray said we would remember Survivor Series as the night Kane and Undertaker were buried forever. Usual lame Wyatt segment. The crowd chanted for Undertaker a few times through the segment. The highlight was the unintentional comedy of Strowman yelling, “Look at my face.”

    Braun Strowman (w/Wyatt Family) beat Fandango via submission

    Some of the crowd did the Fandango dance and he danced too until he got into the ring, saw the Wyatts and resigned himself to his fate. He started with a dropkick but Strowman tossed him around and won with the head-and-arm choke in less than 2 minutes. Fandango actually tapped instead of merely passing out.

    WWE Title Tournament First Round Match: Neville beat King Barrett via pinfall

    They showed a clip of Neville from earlier tonight saying Barrett was embarrassed on Raw and he would finish what Wayne Rooney started with a Red Arrow. This was not an inset promo, but rather a clip from what looked like a sit-down interview. This is a much better idea than the usual inset promos.

    They did a dangerous spot early in the match where Barrett hung Neville’s feet over the top rope and then just slammed him head first into the mat. Neville rolled to the outside selling his head and Barrett followed him out, slammed his head into the announce table and launched him into the barricade.

    After a break, Barrett used a pump handle slam and continued working over Neville. Barrett slid Neville to the outside and he crashed into the barricade. Barrett took some time to tell the announcers that he would be the next champion. Neville ran along the top of the barricade (a la Jeff Hardy) and hit a flip dive on Barrett. He used kicks and a standing shooting star press in the ring for a two count.

    Barrett hit a back kick for a two count and argued with the referee that it was a three, accusing him of taking a pay off from Neville. Neville came back with a German suplex but Barrett followed with a swinging side slam. Neville countered Wasteland into a DDT and landed Red Arrow for the win. This was good. It went about 14 minutes and Neville took a beating. They announced Neville vs. Kevin Owens for Raw.

    Backstage, the Usos told Renee Young that they have a rivalry with the Wyatts and weren’t about to be sacrificed. Jimmy was taken out by Strowman two months ago and they weren’t going to forgive and forget.

    WWE Title Tournament First Round Match: Kalisto beat Ryback via pinfall

    Kalisto said he respects Ryback but he shouldn’t be underestimated. He then spouted some cliches about being an underdog. This was another sit-down interview, but the material sucked. Ryback did an inset promo. I’m not really sure what Ryback said, because he spoke quietly as his music played in the background and his fireworks went off. He thinks he’ll be champion, probably.

    They shook hands to start but Kalisto quickly began kicking away. He hit Salida Del Sol a minute into the match but Ryback kicked out aggressively at two, sending Kalisto to the outside. After a break, Kalisto used more kicks, but Ryback just picked him up and hit a spinebuster followed by two hard powerbombs. This presumably could have been a finish but Kalisto rolled to the outside. Ryback took control until Kalisto dropkicked him to the outside. Kalisto tried an Asai moonsault but Ryback slammed him into the mat (they messed this up).

    Kalisto countered a shell shocked into a rollup for a near fall. Ryback hit a meat hook clothesline but Kalisto got his foot on the rope. Ryback tried a backdrop off the top rope, but Kalisto countered into Salida Del Sol for the pinfall win. Ryback kicked out just after the three count.

    The match was good, not great, but Kalisto really got over well here and this might’ve been the highlight of the show. The crowd popped and the commentators put this over as a big upset win. Ryback shook Kalisto’s hand afterwards.

    WWE Title Tournament First Round Match: Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat Stardust via pinfall

    Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter did a promo on the stage. Colter said the United Kingdom was really the Divided Kingdom because all the countries hate each other. He called the people haters, but him and Del Rio have eradicated hate in MexAmerica. Del Rio said the fans of the two “soccer” teams hate each other but they should be united. Colter said they would unite the MexAmerica Title (U.S. Title) with the World Title. This really sucked. The crowd chanted “What” at Colter and Del Rio was greeted by silence.

    Stardust did an inset promo calling himself the dark horse in the tournament and would become champion. Del Rio worked him over a while but he came back with a Side Effect and reverse DDT. Del Rio went for an armbar but Stardust countered with a disaster kick for two. Stardust went to the top, so of course Del Rio knocked his legs out and used a tree of woe double foot stomp for the win. This was uninspiring to say the least.

    They showed a replay of the Paige/Charlotte/Becky Lynch angle from Raw.

    Backstage, Roman Reigns told Renee that his journey to become WWE Champion has been like climbing Mount Everest. The closer he gets to the top, the harder it gets. On Monday, he meets an avalanche in the form of Cesaro, but Cesaro can’t stop him because “Nothing at this point can stop me now.” They replayed a clip of Triple H’s offer, but Reigns said he wasn’t a sell out and would be standing on top of the mountain as the sole survivor of this tournament. Reigns delivered his lines well but it was heavily scripted and it was hard not to notice.

    The Usos beat Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (w/Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman) via DQ

    This was the main event. Harper and Rowan attacked the Usos before the match started. The Usos fought back and one Uso took down the two Wyatts with a dive outside the ring. The Usos jumped back in the ring and challenged Harper and Rowan to get in. Rowan jumped in and the match officially started.

    Harper and Rowan worked over Jey until he made a hot tag to Jimmy. He hit an enzuigiri and a crossbody for nearfalls. Rowan took out Jey outside the ring as Jimmy used a Samoan drop and running hip attack on Harper. He tried a dive to the outside but was caught by Rowan, and Harper followed with a superkick.

    Back in the ring, Harper hit a sitdown powerbomb but Jey broke up the cover with a splash. Jimmy hit Harper with two superkicks, and both Usos hit Rowan with superkicks, sending both bad guys to the outside. Usos took them out with dives, and Bray had seen enough. All four Wyatts attacked the Usos for the DQ.

    Bray mocked Taker’s throat slash as Harper and Rowan gave Jey a double chokeslam. Strowman followed by doing his stupid slam on Jimmy and Bray finished him off with Sister Abigail. Bray was about to do it again but the Undertaker’s dong sounded and the lights went out. Undertaker’s voice played over the speakers. He said the Wyatts would be dragged through the gates of hell and they would rest in peace. So I guess he accepts.

    Final Thoughts:

    This show felt more important than the usual Smackdown thanks to the title tournament. The first two tournament matches were good and it was refreshing to see Kalisto beat Ryback, even if he is just being set up for Del Rio. The rest of the show was lackluster, as it was laid out very much like Raw. The tournament took up most of the time and the show concluded with an angle for the Undertaker. Except, unlike Raw, he didn’t show up, so it felt pretty flat.

    It should also be noted that there was no women’s segment on this show outside of the one Raw replay (unless they add something for the Thursday airing in the U.S.). No match or interview. So there’s that.

  • TNA Impact 11/11 – World Title Series Week 6 Results – EC3, Ken Anderson, Matt Hardy, and Eddie Edwards

    Last week, Madison Rayne beat Brooke to advance, Bram beat Spud, and Manik beat Mandrews with a GTS. The Wolves collided in a very good match that went to a time limit draw, Mahabali Shera beat Kenny King, and Eric Young beat Robert Roode. Manik vs. Mandrews and Davey vs. Eddie were quite good, while EY vs. Roode wasn’t bad, it also wasn’t exciting in the slightest. The show begins with a recap of last week’s matches. Tonight, Madison faces Gail, while Matt faces Eddie Edwards, and Mr. Anderson faces EC3. Josh and Pope are in their green screen studio, and Pope is now doing Larry Zbyszko’s finger movements from the Nitro era. We see clips of Eddie Edwards destroying dudes while Madison walks to the ring. We get a wacky Ninja Queen video for Madison, which consists of someone singing “Ninja Queen” instead of Killer Queen while she moves plants around and is superimposed over footage of people talking. This was goofy and amusing. 

    Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne

    They tie-up and Madison wins that exchange. Madison takes her down while Josh talks more about the ninja training. Pope gets a crack in about Josh not really wanting his honest opinion about Madison while Madison gets 2 off a crucifix that Gail reverses for 2. SOS cradle gets 2 for Madison. Josh talks about #worldtitleseries trending worldwide already. Madison gets a weak-looking Brogue kick onto Gail as she was draped over the second rope. Gail gets 2 off a blind dive crossbody and we go to a break. Gail sends Madison into the buckle with a wacky headscissor, but the corner crossbody misses. Gail comes in at 9 and then smashes Madison’s head into the steps. Gail gets a dragon sleeper, but Madison escapes and then kinda goes for a small package, but Gail puts her in a dragon sleeper again because Madison wasn’t at the right angle for the cradle. Madison gets a corner forearm and runs wild with chops and forearms mid-ring. A sliding crossbody gets 2 for Madison. Madison goes for the Rayne Drop, which got the win last week, but Madison gets cradled and loses. This was an excellent little match – easily the best women’s match of the series so far. Matt Hardy interview is up next. 

    We get a recap of Gail vs. Rayne, leading to Pope and Josh saying that two people in Matt Hardy and Gail Kim are in the field of 16. Matt is in a very squeaky room saying that he feels that he’s better now than he’s ever been and he’ll trend when he wins the series with an unbeaten record. They awkwardly around Matt vacating the title and Matt says that EC3 might’ve kept this going on for years, and due to EC3, TNA might not even have TV. Well, that’s an odd thing to say. Pope akwardly asks if Matt will take a night off with Eddie and Matt says that Eddie is the future of “this brand”, but tonight isn’t his night and he’ll be a victim of the Matt Hardy Formula. Eli Drake is out to face Jessie Godderz. Eli still has his goofy superhero vest on. Eli says E-li in the best way humanly possible and it at least helps him stand out in TNA. “The Man” Jessie Godderz, who is also “The Modern Day Adonis”, comes out in his giant robe.

    Eli Drake vs. Jessie Godderz

    Since Jessie’s finisher is the “Adonis Crab”, Josh talks about his favorite kinds of crab and how he enjoys having it served to him at a restaurant. Josh says that if Jessie wins the series, he’ll be on the cover of cereal boxes and getting all the TV show interviews. Eli gets a takedown, but Jessie gets a headscissor. Josh says that the World Title Series episodes of Impact are all on their Youtube channel, where you can “watch Dixie Carter explain the world title series”. Each guys tries to out-cheat each other with the hair while Josh talks about giving out World Title Series awards and talking about WHO WAS AT TNA HQ THIS WEEK!?

    Jessie gets a slick double wristlock suplex for 2. Pope pimps his PopeTV Youtube channel. Eli drives the leg down onto Jessie’s to wear it down. Pope talks about Eli being the prince of Eternia, which Josh buries him for. Jessie gets a back elbow smash and both guys try to cheat via tights pulling to win, but the ref is right there. This reminds me a bit of Martel vs. HBK at Summerslam ’92 with two heels trying to out-heel each other to win. Jessie tries to cheat with a cradle, but Eli escapes for 2. Jessie climbs up top, but gets crotched and Eli puts his feet on the rope for the win.

    EC3 is in front of the office of TNA Wrestling, which you might’ve seen from Finn Balor’s Twitter feed. EC3 and his grey and black checkered suit are angry and he’s here to deliver a check in person. Eli cuts a fantastic promo backstage about being tired from kicking so much keister. Josh names Matt Hardy, Gail, Drew, and Shera as possible MVPs. Match of the series goes to Davey vs. Eddie. Shera wins the Most Improved award. Storm gets the Biggest Disappointment award. Matt comes out in grey and white camo PJs to do battle and we see clips of his series matches. We get the same kind of clips for Eddie as he comes down.

    Matt Hardy vs. Eddie Edwards

    They exchange basic headlocks on the ground before Eddie gets a chinlock after a headstand. Eddie gets bonked into the buckle and placed onto the ropes for a sloppy Nightmare on Helms Street for 2. We go to a break and come back to Matt landing some corner lariats for 2. Matt takes an awkward leap over the top to the apron and eats a Yakuza kick. Big suicide dive takes Matt out for a bit. Pope says that the suicide dive is called that because if your opponent moves, it can end in catastrophe. Eddie chops away at Matt on the post and misses, so Matt starts getting the edge. Eddie avoids an apron Side Effect and lands an apron DDT. Matt eats some chops before fighting back with slaps and exchanging forearms. Double clothesline sends both men down. Matt avoids the backpack stunner and gets an awkward sleeper slam for 2. Matt gets a back elbow, but slips off the ropes before climbing up again and hitting a big kick for 2. Matt avoids a double stomp, but the Twist is countered into a cradle by Eddie for 2. Matt gets a super Twist of Fate to counter a superplex and wins. Very good match here.

    Recap of the BFG main event with Jeff Hardy costing EC3 the title. EC3 walks down the halls of the building and says that he grew up and spent a lot of time here, but now he just sees the legends on these walls as people he’s beaten. EC3 goes to Dixie’s office, full of TNA history like replica belts, photos, and a gigantic Kurt Angle WWE action figure. Ethan says he’s not a kid anymore – he’s a big victory machine and he’ll be World Champion again. He gives Dixie the check, and Dixie is upset. Matt cuts a promo on Eddie and says he’s a guy and a hell of a competitor. They play a “pop” the roster game and pick who will advance to the round of 16. Mandrews comes down the aisle to face DJZ.

    Mandrews vs. DJZ

    They exchange armbars and flips to start. Mandrews armdrags him to the floor. Mandrews hops on the steps and moonsaults DJZ. Mandrews tosses him in and gets a jawbreaker for 2. DJZ drops him on his head for 2 and then locks on a chinlock. DJZ hops around before hitting a springboard elbow. DJZ’s wacky springing DDT is countered with a pop-up rana by Mandrews for 2. DJZ goes up and eats a big kick and top rope rana for 2. DJZ gets a schoolboy for 2 and Mandrews runs wild with forearms and they fight up top for a bit. Mandrews shoves him down and an SSP is met with knees and a cradle for the win.

    We see video of Shera training by running across a bridge and working out in the gym. They play another game and Pope predicts a Roode win. Eric Young is pissed over his bubble being popped because he’d break Josh’s neck and he’s the most dangerous man in pro wrestling. Crimson talks about his opponent tonight, Micah, being an ass-kicker since birth. We see clips of Micah beating Crimson. We see EC3 in India cutting a promo from what sounds like a construction site. Josh says that the semi-finals of the series will be in December’s Impact shows from Mumbai. 

    Drew cuts a promo from his home, which like Matt Hardy’s house, features better lighting than the in-ring action. He says that he was motivated before, and while he was ripped off at BFG, he’s on track to fulfill his destiny. Next week, Brooke faces Awesome Kong while EY faces James Storm, and Bobby Roode faces Abyss. Josh talks about Anderson and EC3’s “rich history”, which we see in clip form. EC3 comes down and Anderson comes down adding “what and huh” to his intro. 

    EC3 vs. Ken Anderson

    They exchange chops in the corner and go to a break. After the break, Ken gets some Kobashi-style machine gun chops on the floor. Pope laments that there will be no “textbookality” here. Maybe that can be added to the next Mortal Kombat game – a giant textbook can fall onto your opponent’s head. They go to the floor where Pope says that Anderson has to be careful being in dinosaur land before stating the obvious and stating he was talking about Tyrus. Tyrus sweeps the leg for 2. Gutwrench suplex gets 2 and then locks on a chinlock. Double clothesline leads to another double down on the show. Finlay Roll hits as does the Kenton Bomb for 2. They fight up top and Ken gets the Lambeau Leap for 2. Tyrus pulls Anderson to the floor with two minutes to go. Earl argues with Tyrus before Ken bashes Tyrus with a chair. Earl is completely fine with this. Earl takes the chair out of the ring and EC3 low blows him, but avoids a Mic Check and wins with a jackknife cradle. To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.

  • WWE NXT results (11/11): Why, Joe, Why?

    The Big News: Samoa Joe not only explained why he laid out Finn Balor last week, but he did it again this week.

    The Medium Sized News: Dash & Dawson became either the 8th or 9th NXT Tag Team Champions (more on the number confusion below)

    The Little Beaver Sized News: Eva Marie and Nia Jax may be forming the oddest pairing in wrestling history.

    — The match between Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin never got started.

    It is time for NXT and it is time for the Perfect 10! Tye Dillinger to kick things off this week in singles competition. I hope Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins are sitting somewhere, realize that Tye Dillinger is not better off once he broke up with Jason Jordan and find a way to keep the team together. Baron Corbin was introduced as from Kansas City. I don’t know if he has always been announced from Kansas City, but it doesn’t sound appropriate.

    Before the match could even start Apollo Crews ran in and attacked Baron! Crews is quite upset that Corbin cost him the championship last week and tore apart Baron! Corbin tried to make a comeback, but Apollo tore him apart and Corbin fled.

    — NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & Hype Bros defeated Alexa Bliss, Blake & Murphy

    It’s time for a nice, random, 6-person tag team match. Bayley got a healthy reaction coming out, but not quite the same level she had a month ago. It didn’t help that the Hype Bros got some pity applause, which is at least better than silence. It’s hard to believe that it was almost a year ago when Blake and Murphy were the designated jobber tag team on NXT.

    Just as the match began a fire got lit under the butts of the audience as they got very loud in their chants for the babyfaces. The babyfaces ran wild for quite a while until the heels cut off Zack Ryder and got the heat. Mojo got the hot tag and went crazy on both Blake and Murphy. He had the match won, but Alexa broke up the pin, so Bayley attacked her. Alexa then stole the NXT Women’s Championship and ran off with it. Blake and Murphy tried cheating and using the ropes for leverage, but Bayley kicked their hands apart. Murphy had a problem with this, so Bayley gave him the Bayley to Belly and the faces won with the Assisted Rough Ryder.

    -The Ascension were backstage and accepted Jason Jordan & Chad Gable’s challenge to a tag team match.

    -Nia Jax was walking backstage when Eva Marie walked up and pulled her aside for a meeting.

    -They showed the cover of Weekly Pro Wrestling in Japan, which had Asuka on the cover.

    -Apollo Crews cut a promo and was quite irate about what happened. He wants to get his hands on Baron Corbin and vows to break him.

    — Nia Jax destroyed Deonna

    Deonna is one of those girls that looks exactly the same, so they are completely interchangeable. You could tell me it’s the same girl every single week doing jobs with different names and I would believe you. Nia Jax got to NXT for the third time in six weeks after being unable to find the arena for 2 months.

    Nia destroyed Deonna with a bodyslam into a Samoan Drop, which would make a much better finisher than her actual finisher. Deonna then got destroyed with a corner splash and a running hip attack before being beaten with the standing spinebuster and legdrop. Seriously why does Nia Jax use set up moves that are much cooler than her actual finish?

    During the commercial break, I assume someone came out with a shovel to get Deonna off the mat.

    -Next week: Nia Jax vs Carmella. Poor Carmella.

    -They made note of the neck surgery of Mr. Regal. I hope he gets better.

    -Bayley caught up with Alexa Bliss, who was taking photos with her championship. Alexa ran away, so Bayley got her belt back. However when Bayley left the area she walked into Nia Jax. Nia just stared at her, which gave Alexa the chance to attack Bayley from behind and lay her out!

    Alexa bent over to take the championship, but instead Nia picked it up. Alexa ran away and Nia…dropped the belt on Bayley and walked away smiling.

    — Dash & Dawson became the 8th NXT Tag Team Champions by defeating The Vaudevillians.

    To be fair, Dash & Dawson is either the 8th or 9th Tag Team Champions depending on if you consider Adrian Neville & Bo Dallas a different title reign than Neville & Oliver Grey. What happened was Grey got injured (credited to the Wyatt Family) and Bo took over as champion for about 2 weeks, before they lost the belts. This was also only the second title change on a “normal” NXT show since the Network started.

    So about two weeks ago I was reading the results of an NXT house show and it not only listed Samoa Joe as a heel, but Dash & Dawson as champions. Since this was before this match was even booked I was all “What the what is this person talking about?”

    The challengers scored an upset win in the 2nd round of the Dusty Rhodes Classic back in September and they were poised to win 2 in a row. They got the heat on Aiden English by working on the knee, including slamming the knee into the ring post.

    English went to the Ricky Steamboat School where he kept doing something to show he was still in it, but he just couldn’t drag himself to the corner for the tag. Dawson hit a really nice Slingshot Suplex, but it was just for a 2 count. Somewhere Tully Blanchard is smiling.

    Gotch got the hot tag and went all gentlemanly on his foes. He made the foolish move of tagging English in too quickly, but Aiden got chop blocked and sending Gotch out of the ring and into the steps. Dash & Dawson Pillmanized Aiden’s knee just without a chair. Finally Gotch slapped on a kneebar. Aiden scratched and clawed to get to the ropes….but he just couldn’t get there and he had to tap out!

    The kings are dead! Long live the new kings of NXT!

    -After a commercial break. Dash & Dawson cut a promo saying they have been fighting for this for 12 years. Interesting since they have been teammates for barely a year.

    -Next week is the Jordan & Gable vs The Ascension match, as is Bayley vs Alexa for the Women’s Championship.

    -The actual main event of the show was a Samoa Joe promo!

    Last week, Joe appeared to make the save for Finn Balor, but instead he stabbed the NXT Champion in the back! Joe said that he did things like a man. He had earned a title match for being undefeated for 3 months, but instead of going for the belt, he agreed to be Finn Balor’s partner in the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Joe proved he was a man of action by destroying the competition by winning the tournament.

    Joe then asked for a title match and he was insulted by being put in a battle royal. Finn had agreed to the match, but allowed Mr. Regal to make a battle royal and, thus, put no action behind his words. Samoa Joe stated that when he entered NXT he was such a star that he should have been automatically given a title shot.

    This brought out Finn Balor and a bunch of referees. The refs kept them apart until Joe literally threw one of the referees into Finn and in the confusion Joe got through and choked Finn out with the Koquina Clutch. Joe dropped the NXT Championship belt on his foe before walking out.

    That does it from NXT — another good show on the way to London. Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!