Coming on the heels of the acclaimed Prince of Pennsylvania 30 For 30 that aired two weeks ago, ESPN is going in a completely different wrestling direction with a new pro wrestling piece. Legacy Talent and wrestling legend Ric Flair announced today that the 16-time world champion started shooting a 30 For 30 piece on his career.
It’s unclear whether it’s a full length doc, a 30-minute short, or even a 10-minute version.
“We named this company Legacy Talent because it’s our mission to help preserve the legacies that our clients have worked a lifetime to build,” stated Flair’s management company in a press release. “Yesterday we took a huge step in documenting Ric Flair’s legacy by starting to shoot his 30 for 30 ESPN Film. We are honored to work with such a prestigious group on a project we are so passionate about!”
We’ve got two new long audio shows up today. Last night we did part two of the Hall of Fame with historian/wrestler Matt Farmer, which is a series we’re doing every Wednesday night, plus lots more on the latest news, and today we had an interview with Bob Backlund talking all kinds of different subjects including his long WWF title run, Mr. Backlund, training at 66 and much more.
Thanks to everyone for their comments on the new issue of the Observer, notably the lead story and the Von Erich story. People are sleeping on the lead TNA story but it’s the one with the most significant ramifications of anything this week.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT show in Citrus Springs, FL at Dave Meltzer We’re also looking for reports on tomorrow night’s NXT show in Gainesville, FL.
Smackdown tonight on Syfy at 8 p.m.
Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns non-title
Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension vs. King Barrett & Sheamus vs. Dudleys
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz in a trick or treat street fight
Natalya vs. Paige
R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio
Ryback & Cesaro & Dean Ambrose vs. Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman & Luke Harper
The lead story is how the Alberto Del Rio deal went down, with full details, including financials that even blew away those in WWE and those who used to negotiate these deals. We look at how in demand he was, including by organizations you wouldn’t even know, an angle he shot for MMA that was kept secret and will never probably see the light of day on television, and how this affects AAA, where he is their world champion.
We look at the ramifications of this on WWE, AAA, how the deal was put together, how he positioned it to AAA, how AAA has taken a huge talent hit, when the deal was really put together, how Del Rio was scheduled to main event AAA’s next major show against what top U.S. star in a hair match, and his dates advertised in Mexico. We look at other promotions that wanted him, Konnan talking about how the Myzteziz and Del Rio situation affects AAA, the Zeb Colter deal, how Lucha Underground and Del Rio fell apart as well as his huge money MMA offer just recently.
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
On the upcoming WWE European tour, Randy Orton has been pulled, leaving the Roman Reigns part of the tour’s top matches as Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose & The Usos vs. Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman & Luke Harper. There’s our answer on when the Usos would be back healthy again.
Tyler Breeze is on the Seth Rollins part tour, facing Rusev & Dolph Ziggler in a three-way, but that’s going to be changed because Rusev is out until the end of November due to a biceps rupture suffered at Tuesday’s Smackdown taping. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Dudleys is advertised for that tour. (thanks to Tom Griffiths)
WWE has announced a WrestleMania 32 free public party on 11/5 at 6 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Steve Austin, Lita, Booker T, Lana, Corey Graves, Mark Henry, executives of the Dallas Cowboys, and Arlington mayor Jeff Williams will be there.
There was a big WWE stock drop today, down $2.56 per share and closing at $17.39. This is why. We’ll have a post by Chris Harrington later on tonight, talking about today’s news.
WWE Champion Seth Rollins, Wade Barrett, and Ryback are going to host one-hour workout sessions for fans in the United Kingdom next month. Yes, you read that right. You can buy tickets on Ticketmaster.co.uk by searching ‘A Unique Training Experience With WWE’. If anyone reading this attends the event(s), we want a full recap.
Kurt Angle’s big statement during Bellator’s conference call today? He’s excited to be coming to the Fan Fest next week. Sigh.
Speaking of ‘sigh’, we’re told from our friend Paul in Parkland, FL, that Kimbo Slice was a no show at the CCW show in Coral Springs, FL, last week. There was no reason given for the no-show.
King Mo vs. Stevie Richards will headline a Halloween show tomorrow night at the American Top Team Gym in Coconut Creek, FL. It’s a free pro wrestling show at the famous MMA gym.
The Nevada Athletic Commission handed Rousimar Palhares a two year suspension and fined him $40,000 due to his eye gouging and holding a submission too long in his 8/1 WSOF fight with Jake Shields. Palhares said he didn’t know Shields was tapping and couldn’t see ref Steve Mazzagatti call the fight. This was, at least, the fifth time in recent years that Palhares has held submissions on too long.
Also at the NAC’s monthly hearing: Caio Magalhaes was suspended for six months and ordered to do 40 hours of community service for spitting blood on both Josh Samman and ref John McCarthy on the 7/12 UFC show. After telling Nevada officials that he spent $17,000 on fight camp expenses and only made $20,000 for the fight, they chose not to fine him. Stories like that make you understand why a lot of people are so adamant about the fighter pay issue.
Complete insanity alert: Shinya Aoki is headlining the 12/29 Rizin show at the Saitama Super Arena against Kazushi Sakuraba. Two days later on New Year’s Eve, Aoki, who fights at 155, is scheduled to face Montanha Silva, who is about 6-foot-10 and 315 pounds.
Spike announced Road to Bellator 145 – Part 1 for Thursday at 11:30 PM EST and PST with part 2 running Monday night at 11:30 PM EST and PST. This is the show headlined by featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull vs.Daniel Straus, and lightweight champion Will Brooks vs. Marcin Held, plus Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson. If Thompson wins, does he get to join the TNA tournament?
Ross Pearson vs. Francisco Trinaldo has been added to the 1/17 UFC FS1 show in Boston.
Fight Night 12 on 11/22 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles at 5 p.m.
Other Wrestling:
Oscar of WWF’s Men on a Mission fame is doing a shoot DVD taping this Monday night at 7 PM for MWF in Melrose, MA, talking mid-90s WWF New Generation. Here’s an IndieGogo for how you can contribute, and visit BostonWrestling.com for details on how you can attend Monday.
Al Snow & Tommy Dreamer will be at Mecca Pro Wrestling in Cornwall, Ontario, on 11/21 at the Agora Center. The event will help benefit a local charity.
Speaking of Dreamer, he gave an interview recently talking about Alberto Del Rio, the Dudleys, House of Hardcore and more.
Lucha Underground ring announcer Melissa Santos did an interview talking about her favorite LU moments, season 2, cookies, and more.
A strong contender for 2015 Match of the Year the 1/4 NJPW match with Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi, airs Friday night on NJPW on AXS TV. Bryan Rose will have a recap after the show.
Speaking of Ibushi, he’s out of action right now for reasons that haven’t been fully explained. Hopefully everything works out for him because he is an amazing talent.
If you want to attend Lucha Underground tapings at the Temple in Boyle Heights, email here with your name, age of each person in your group, phone number, email address and the desired date of attending the filming. They only have 300 seats and all seats will be taken so you have to order now. They are only taking reservations now for 11/14, 11/15, 11/21 and 11/22. Tapings begin in the early afternoon and you have to stay for the entire taping.
Update on the situation from a few days ago where George Murdoch and Canada’s CWE where Murdoch had canceled off an August tour after getting a deposit from the promotion and not returning the deposit. After the story was reported on earlier this week, Murdoch has returned the deposit.
Charlie Haas vs. Chase Owens has been signed for a 12/2 show in Yorkton, Saskatchewan for CWE.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix on 1/14 in Council Bluffs, IA at the National Guard Armory.
Big Time Wrestling from Saturday night in Lynn, MA before 500 fans: Slyk Wagner Brown b Antonio Thomas, Danny Miles b Todo Loco, Kevin Nash b Sean Burke, Eddie Edwards b Chris Dickinson, Shelley Martinez b Alexis Neveah, Flex Armstrong DDQ Bam Show, Scotty 2 Hotty & The Godfather (former WWE star) & Mini John Cena & Ted Gooz b Jack Maverick & The Surgeon & Big Bear & ?
Zombie Wrestling tomorrow night at the Lithuanian House in Toronto.
Wild Bill vs. Jeff Connelly in a mask vs. hair match headlines on 11/21 in Kingsport, TN for NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling at the Civic Auditorium. The show also has Jax Dane vs. Arrick Andrews for the NWA world title, Jason Kincaid vs. Ray Rowe of ROH for the Southeastern title and Kid Kash vs. Chase Owens.
CZW on 11/7 in Dayton in what is billed as Jake Crist’s last match at 1106 East Third St., plus Matt Tremont vs. D.J. Hyde for the CZW title.
Congrats to Deathproof Wrestling for raising $1,700 for Wellspring, a charity that helps women battling breast cancer this past Sunday.
Dynamo Pro Wrestling on 11/7 in Fenton, MO at the Stratford Bar & Grill with former NOAH wrestlers Jon Webb & Jack Gamble, plus Ricky Cruz and Jake Dirden.
The situation with Alberto Del Rio and AAA is no longer looking good as WWE has confirmed that Del Rio will be working Monday’s Raw in Denver, as well as Smackdown on Tuesday in Colorado Springs, before going on the entire European tour, working on the Roman Reigns half of the tour.
AAA was under the impression that Del Rio would be fulfilling most of his advertised dates with the promotion, starting with a TV taping on Monday in Nuevo Laredo, and would be missing Raw. The other taping date he was advertised was November 15 in Ciudad Juarez, and he is booked the day before in Minehead, England, and traveling to Greenville, SC, from there, so it would appear very difficult to reroute him to Mexico.
At this point it appears AAA will be lucky to even get one date with him to drop their Mega heavyweight title.
Ring of Honor set its all-time record last night on Destination America, doing 227,000 viewers at 11 p.m. This blows away the previous time slot record for the promotion of 175,000 set on the 10/7 show.
TNA last night did 266,000 viewers for the 9 p.m. show, and another 98,000 viewers for the replay. The first showing was the third lowest for the show’s first-run, but the replay was up from usual levels, probably because the ROH show gave them a far stronger lead-in than usual.
The ratings for Destination America are even more important now because both groups deals are coming due, with ROH’s deal up in early December. With new people in charge of the network, the long-term status of wrestling on the station is currently under evaluation.
With the increase in television rights fees and network subscriptions as the key components of their current business, WWE generated $166.2 million in revenue and $10.4 million in profits for the quarter ending 9/30.
The numbers compare favorably to the $120.2 million in revenue and $5.9 million in losses for the same quarter last year, but last year was supposed to be a losing year due to the start up of the network. This year was when profits were supposed to turn around big. While they are nowhere near what was being projected and network numbers are well below original projections, the business is solid and contractual increases in television rights fees should lead to no more losing quarters and eventually the strongest profit margins in company history.
The growth in television was from $42.2 million in revenue for the quarter to $65.2 million. Some of that is misleading as increased rights fees that are contractual are a solid increasing number, but part of the increase was having a full season of Total Divas and Tough Enough during the quarter. There were only four episodes of Total Divas during the third quarter last year and Tough Enough didn’t exist. Plus, Tough Enough ratings weren’t good and thus far, there has been no talk of a new season.
The other important driver of future growth is the Network segment, which on September 30th had 1.233 million paid subscribers and 73,000 free subscribers. That’s up from the 1.15 million at the end of June, but down from the 1.33 million at the end of March. It’s pretty clear the network business looks to be big increases in the first quarter of the year due to the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, and trying to hold those increases for the rest of the year.
The U.S. Network number was up from 703,000 at the same point last year to 990,000, while international went from 28,000 at the end of the third quarter last year when it was in limited markets, to 243,000 this year.
Besides the India launch on Monday, it was announced that both Japan and Germany would get the network starting in January, and they were working on China, Thailand and The Philippines.
Even though the results were better than most analysts expected, the stock price had fallen from $19.95 per share at the close of the market yesterday to $17.95. That’s a big drop, but not a surprise given the big ramp up leading to the call based on the ‘buy on hype, sell on results’ mantra.
The other categories were more good than bad. By running more shows, total attendance, revenue, and merchandise sales for house shows increased with $5 million more in revenue, part of which was due to the successful Barclays Center SummerSlam run in August. Attendance was similar per show, but high ticket prices and more shows led to the increase.
– Home Entertainment was the only division down, but that’s not unexpected given the Network would cannibalize that.
– Licensing was up from $10 million to $11.5 million for the quarter due to the success of the video game.
– WWE Shop also continued to show big increases, from $4.3 million in revenue in this quarter last year to $6 million.
– The 10/3 live event from Madison Square Garden was the company’s most watched network show to date with the exception of the regular Sunday PPV events. Other strong performers were the Beast in the East show from Japan and the August 22 NXT Takeover show from Brooklyn, as well as the Stone Cold Podcast and Swerved.
The expectation is, due to contractual growth of the television deals, that the company is healthy and profits should grow. In many ways, the investment call was vague, but due to the changing landscape of distribution both domestically and abroad, nobody really knows exactly where things are going. WWE pointed to its strength in places like YouTube and Facebook in that they will be ahead of the curve in the future. However, things change, and they downplayed the declining TV ratings by saying its not about singular metrics, and that most metrics are up.
WWE NXT GM William Regal underwent a second neck operation Wednesday after results of a CAT scan six weeks ago showed more damage to the back of his neck that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.
Regal had surgery on four different vertebrae, C-3, C-4, C-5 and C-6, to clean out calcium deposits, performed in Pittsburgh under Dr. Joseph Maroon. The surgery differed from his 2014 fusion surgery that went in the front of the neck.
In an interview with WWE.com, he noted being glad he got checked because he was feeling better than he had in decades and was expecting to get back into ring, at least when it came to training the NXT talent. Regal said he’ll be recovered well enough by December to travel with the NXT crew for the tour of the U.K. He would not be able to wrestle on that tour, but that was never in the plans to begin with.
Tampa, Florida: – Antonio Cortez defeated The Cardiff Giant for the Florida Heavyweight Title (later renamed Southern Heavyweight Title)
1953
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: – Pepper Gomez & Johnny Demchuck won the Northwest Tag Team Title from Doc Gallagher & Ivan Kameroff
1955
Atlanta, Georgia: – Don McIntyre defeated Fred Blassie to win the Georgia version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1959
Mobile, Alabama: – John Smith & Tosh Togo defeated Don & Bobby Fields in a tournament final for the Gulf Coast version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title
1961
Fargo, North Dakota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Bob Geigel
1964
Kansas City, Kansas: – The Mongolian Stomper & Tiny Mills defeated The Lawman & Joe Scarpello – Rocky Hamilton defeated Bulldog Plechas – Pat O’Connor defeated El Toro – Bob Geigel defeated Moose Evans – Mike DiBiase defeated Dick the Bruiser by count out in three falls
1966
Los Angeles, California: – Hard Boiled Haggerty & El Shereef defeated Pedro Morales & Luis Hernandez to win the WWA Tag Team Title – Mark Lewin defeated Lou Thesz for the WWA Heavyweight Title
1970
– Tony Borne & Moondog Mayne won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champions defeating Mr. Fuji & Haru Sasaki
1972
Detroit, Michigan: – Pampero Firpo won the Detroit version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title from Bobo Brazil
1974
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: – Dan Kroffat & Wayne Bridges defeated Gene Kiniski & Dutch Savage for the Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Title
1975
Shreveport, Louisiana: – Killer Karl Kox defeated Dick Murdoch to win the Tri-State version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Title
Mobile, Alabama: – Ken Lucas won the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title defeating Bill Malone
1976
Tokyo, Japan: – Kintaro Ohki & Kim Duk defeated Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta to win the NWA International Tag Team Title
Tokyo, Japan: – The Destroyer defeated Abdullah the Butcher to win the PWF United States Heavyweight Title
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: – John Quinn & Kurt Von Hess defeated Don Leo Jonathan & John Anson to win the Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Title
1977
– Black Gordman & Goliath won the NWA Americas Tag Team Title by defeating Victor Rivera and Texas Red
1981
Montgomery, Alabama: – Robert Fuller & Jos LeDuc defeated Jimmy Golden & Mongolian Stomper to win the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title
Sioux City, Iowa: – Andre the Giant won a Battle Royal – Arm wrestling, Hulk Hogan beat Jesse Ventura – Ken Patera beat Tito Santana – Baron Von Raschke drew Sheik Adnan – Johnny Valient beat Jerry Blackwell dq – Billy Robinson drew Bobby Duncum
1985
– Rayo de Jalisco & Tony Benetto defeated Sangre Chicana & Cien Caras to win the Mexican National Tag Team Title.
1987
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler beat Steve Keirn dq – AWA Tag Team Champions Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee beat Hector Guerrero & Dr. D – Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee beat RPMS dq – Midnight Rockers beat Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond – Bobby Jaggers drew Rocky Johnson
1988
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – The Cuban Commandos (Jerry Morrow & Cuban Assassin) defeated Chris Benoit & Lance Idol for the Stampede International Tag Team Title
New Orleans, Louisiana: – The Road Warriors defeated The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) to win the NWA World Tag Team Title
1990
Memphis, Tennessee: – Eddie Gilbert defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1992
Aguascalientes, Mexico: – Rey Misterio, Jr. defeated Fantasma de la Quebrada to win the Mexican National Welterweight Title
1993
Tokyo, Japan: – The Great Sasuke defeated Battle Ranger Z to become the first FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion
1994
Tokyo, Japan: – Mr. Pogo & The Gladiator defeated Atsushi Ohnita & Mr. Gannosuke for to win the vacant FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Title
1995
Detroit, Michigan: – The Giant defeated Hulk Hogan by DQ to win the WCW World Title – Johnny B. Badd defeated Diamond Dallas Page to win the Television Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – Tracy Smothers & Jesse James Armstrong defeated PG-13 (J.C. Ice and Wolfie D.) to win the USWA Tag Team Title
1996
Osaka, Japan: – Genichiro Tenryu, Nobutaka Araya and Ultimo Dragon defeated Hiromichi Fuyuki, Youji Anjoh and Bam Bam Bigelow to win the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – Ric Hogan defeated Brian Christopher for the USWA Heavyweight Title
2000
Las Vegas, Nevada: – General Rection (Bill DeMott/Hugh Morrus) defeated Lance Storm & Hacksaw Duggan in a handicap match to win the WCW U.S. Title – WCW World Champion Booker T defeated Scott Steiner by dq – Jeff Jarrett beat Sting
Tokyo, Japan: – Genichiro Tenryu defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final for the vacant AJPW Triple Crown Title
2001
Fukuoka, Japan: – Keiji Mutoh & Taiyo Kea defeated Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura to win the IWGP Tag Team Title
– Air Date: October 29, 2015 (Oct 28 in Canada) – Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ
The Big News:
Cesaro got pinned again as the Wyatts defeated him, Dean Ambrose and Ryback in the main event. Also, Natalya returned unceremoniously, and the U.S. Title might have a new name.
Show Recap:
“Halloween Smackdown” means pumpkins on the stage and orange graphics and lighting instead of blue.
The show started with a ridiculous recap of the Wyatts taking out Undertaker and Kane. Rich Brennan did the voiceover, claiming that the Wyatts escaped with the souls of Taker and Kane. I know it’s Halloween, but this is still a real storyline that will continue beyond October 31st.
Bray Wyatt did a promo backstage, claiming to own the souls of Taker and Kane. He had what looked like Taker’s hat. Bray challenged any three brave souls to go against his three monsters. Rowan said he couldn’t dress up for Halloween as a kid because he was told it was too sinful. Ok. Harper said they weren’t costumes, evil is very real. Bray gave his condolences to whoever takes the challenge, and pulled out Kane’s mask. Strowman told them to run.
Roman Reigns came out and they recapped his win over Bray at Hell in a Cell, as well as the fourway win on Raw. Reigns said he’s had one goal since day one, to win the WWE Title. He’s been knocked down along the way but he’s back in the fight and now he’s the number one contender. He said Rollins is the only man in his way, and there’s no one who wants him to fail more.
That brought out Kevin Owens. (There was a sloppy edit here. Owens’ music hit and the crowd reacted audibly as they usually do for him, but the camera was still on Reigns who didn’t react and the crowd didn’t budge. Most likely, they cut out some of Reigns’ promo and just didn’t put this together properly.)
Owens said Reigns stole one from him on Raw and sarcastically encouraged the fans to cheer for him. Owens said Reigns didn’t overcome any odds, it was a fluke, because Owens was a split second away from hitting a pop-up powerbomb and winning the match, “and you can believe that.”
Reigns, who just talked about getting screwed earlier this year by Rollins and Bray, said Owens was just making excuses. He said his win on Raw was all skill and challenged “Talk Owens Talk” to a fight. Owens got in the ring and went face-to-face with Reigns. He hesitated but accepted the match.
Non-Title: Roman Reigns beat IC Champion Kevin Owens via countout
There were dueling chants of “Let’s Go Roman” and “Fight Owens Fight.” After a break, Owens gained control after hit a fallaway slam into the barricade. Damn. Reigns came back with clotheslines in the corner and a big boot. Lawler pointed out that the boot was something new from Reigns. Owens hit a back drop and superkick for a two count, but Reigns popped back with a leaping clothesline.
Owens bailed so Reigns went after him and tossed him back in the ring. Owens was able to hit a German for a two. Reigns then knocked Owens to the outside of the ring with a superman punch. Owens was able to get up well ahead of the 10 count, but grabbed his title and walked out through the crowd for the countout. The match was fine but the walkout finish was telegraphed from the beginning. The crowd was into Reigns.
Backstage, Renee Young, dressed as Tinker Bell I think, got ready to interview Dean Ambrose. Ambrose introduced himself as “ruggedly handsome Dean Ambrose” before Renee could say anything. Renee froze, so Ambrose asked himself a question, “Are you going to accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge?” Ambrose answered yes. He said he exorcises demons and smashes zombies, and was going to take down the Wyatt family.
Bo Dallas, dressed as a ghost, tried to scare Renee Young but it didn’t work. He said someone would be scared by the end of the night. He said “boo-lieve” instead of “bo-lieve.” Because it’s Halloween.
Fatal Four Way Tag-Team Match: Lucha Dragons beat Ascension, Dudley Boyz and Sheamus & King Barrett via pinfall
Big E and Kofi Kingston came out before the match wearing unicorn horns on their foreheads and shamed the competitors in the ring because they weren’t wearing costumes and don’t believe in magic. They joined commentary and Kingston told Booker he could be old school Kofi Kingston. Booker did a bad Jamaican accent, so Kingston told him to go back to being Booker T.
The faces sent the heels to the outside and, in his generic play-by-play voice, Big E said, “The good guys are rallying!” After a break, New Day begged Brennan to take off his headset, and he did. Sin Cara came in on a hot tag and made a nice comeback but Barrett and Sheamus broke up a pin attempt. Bubba and D-Von held down the heels for the “whassup” headbutt spot, with the Lucha Dragons hitting the diving headbutts.
The Dudleys then launched the Lucha Dragons over the top onto the Ascension. Sheamus and Barrett ran away, so the Dudleys dumbly ran after them, allowing the Kalisto to get the pin on [Ascension member] for the win. It wasn’t a number one contender’s match, but they made it seem like the Lucha Dragons would be next in line. New Day danced to the Lucha Dragons’ theme.
Backstage, Dean Ambrose ran into somebody who was off-camera. He asked if they were dressed as Lex Luthor, the Transporter or James Bond. It was Cesaro, who said that’s just how he dresses. He compared Ambrose to Mad Max and Ambrose responded “This is a nice jacket, alright?” Ambrose wanted him to swing the Wyatts, unless he’s afraid. Cesaro said he’ll be the scariest guy out there. They made some Halloween movie references before Ambrose left. Bo Dallas tried to scare Cesaro, but Cesaro put on his shades and walked away.
Trick Or Treat Street Fight: Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz via pinfall
Jack-o’-lanterns surrounded the ring apron and they had some other decorations around the ring. Miz grabbed a toy lightsaber so Ziggler grabbed a kendo stick and got in a couple of shots. Ziggler also made Miz bob for apples and put a pumpkin over his head. Ziggler then superkicked the pumpkin which shattered.
After all the comedy, we had to get serious for a minute, because Miz pushed Ziggler into the steel steps and used the kendo stick and a chair on his leg. Miz tried a figure four but Ziggler countered into a small package for the win. Nothing match. (Ok, Ziggler superkicking the pumpkin off Miz’s head was funny.)
As Ziggler sold his leg, Tyler Breeze came out with Summer Rae. Ziggler attacked him, but Breeze used the kendo stick and stomped away until referees broke it up. Breeze broke through and attacked him again until the refs broke it up one more time. No heat for this.
Paige beat Natalya via pinfall
Uh, so I guess Natalya’s fine. She did an inset promo saying she doesn’t know who attacked her, but Paige can’t treat people the way she has and Natalya would make her pay. The bell rang and Paige immediately hit a superkick. Natalya came back with a clothesline and German, sending Paige to the outside.
Team B.A.D. came out to Sasha Banks’ music. Banks did all the talking, mocking Nattie for getting attacked and said she has their attention. The distraction allowed Paige to hit RamPaige for the win. Team B.A.D. attacked Natalya after the match, concluding with a Bank Statement. Natalya tapped. Booker T, who has two working legs, said someone should go in there and do something about this.
Backstage, Ryback told Ambrose he’d join their team.
Non-Title: U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat R-Truth via pinfall
Before the match, Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter basically said the U.S. Title is now the MexAmerica Title. Colter called it official. This didn’t get much of a reaction. Del Rio won quickly with a double foot stomp off the top. Meh.
Backstage, Bo Dallas (still in ghost costume) hid in a box. Mark Henry walked by and Bo popped out of the box to scare him. It worked, so Henry knocked him out. The box closed on Bo, who is presumably (hopefully) dead. Henry picked up his phone and walked away. This was amusing.
The Wyatt Family (w/Bray Wyatt) beat Dean Ambrose, Cesaro & Ryback via pinfall
Ryback ripped Luke Harper’s shirt, which seemed to annoy Harper, so he tagged in Strowman. Ryback attacked him but Strowman managed to hit a vertical suplex. After a break, Wyatts had the heat on Ryback. Ryback hit a spinebuster and made the hot tag to Ambrose. Ambrose went wild, sending both Harper and Rowan to the outside, followed by a top rope elbow drop.
Rowan cut off Ambrose with a spinning kick, but he made the hot tag to Cesaro who hit uppercuts and a dropkick to Harper. Cesaro then did uppercuts outside the ring to Rowan and Harper as the crowd cheered. Cesaro applied a crossface on Harper, but Strowman pulled him out of the ring. Ambrose caught Strowman with a suicide dive but he remained on his feet. Ryback then flew in and took Strowman out over the announce table.
Ambrose hit Rowan with a rebound clothesline and Harper took out Ambrose with a superkick. Cesaro nailed a spinning springboard uppercut on Harper and went for the swing, but Strowan rose from the dead and tossed the table on its side. This distracted the referee, so Bray punched Cesaro and Harper finished him off with a discus clothesline for the win.
Final Thoughts:
A pretty normal Smackdown show that also had pumpkins.
The main event was good but they should probably find something more productive for Dean Ambrose.
Last week, Aries beat Anderson in a fantastic match to advance in the series and also take Anderson out of it. Mandrews debuted a new skater/surfer gimmick, and surfed on Tigre Uno’s back. His Johnny Ace cosplay didn’t help him though, as Uno won the match. Manik beat DJZ with a funky GTS, and in the main event, EC3 beat Lashley thanks to cheating. It was a very filler-heavy episode of the show, and quite skippable outside of the Aries match. The show begins with a recap of last week’s events and we’ll see Uno face DJZ, while the main event is Awesome Kong against Gail Kim.
Storm faces Abyss, and Robbie E faces Matt Hardy tonight. Robbie E comes down in the background while Josh talks about how Group Champions “is being called the toughest group to get out of”, and offers up no explanation as to who is saying this. Pope rambles about how his prophecies come true and we get an EC3 promo after last week’s show. Robbie E should logically be in the ring and we get a recap of the rankings for Team Tag Team Specialists. Robbie’s intro is finally over, leading to Matt’s. Pope says that Matt should get a Wrestletarium award – okey dokey.
Matt Hardy vs. Robbie E
They start things off with some mat wrestling before Matt throws Robbie’s head into the buckle. Robbie counters the bulldog and lands some corner shots. Josh recaps the Robbie E vs. Robbie G rivalry and Matt trips Robbie up on the apron. Robbie avoids being tossed into the buckle on the apron, and kicks Matt before hitting a somersault dive off the apron. Matt’s trapped against the apron and eats a big lariat. Pope buries Robbie E’s old gimmick like he was Leif Cassidy or Avatar and praises him for getting extreme. In what way has he become extreme? Kudos on the horrible Al Snow gimmick bashing, but they did at least give Snow a WWF gig. Robbie goes up top and gets snapmared down. Pope mentions the Wrestletarian award and tells Josh to trademark that. Well, given how WWE swooped in and got “Four Horesweomen”, might as well.
Big flying Hart Attack hits for Robbie. Matt gets the splash mountain powerbomb for 2 – he hasn’t busted that out for many years. Robbie avoids Matt’s weird movements before the Twist to hit the Boom Drop for 2. Matt hits a second Side Effect and Robbie pops up into a Twist of Fate for the win. This was pretty fun – Matt is dong surprisingly well in singles matches and he and Robbie shake hands and hug after the match. Josh tells us to update our leaderboards at home – as if anyone on Earth is doing that. Gail is interviewed about losing to Brooke in the series, and she says that Brooke was better that night – and tonight, she’s coming for Kong.
We get a recap of Robbie vs. Matt and Matt cuts a post-match promo about how Robbie E has grown. Robbie says he doesn’t feel like a loser because he earned respect and he’s becoming more serious. Matt is interrupted by Grado, who wants a selfie. Matt does the V1-AAAAHHH bit and blocks Grado’s face. Well, that was a thing. Grado comes down while the commentary is drowned out by Pope talking about Game of War and Drew Galloway. Josh puts Grado over as “one of the top 32 competitors in the World Title Series” of 32 competitors. Poor Grado. We get a Galloway hype video.
Drew Galloway vs. Grado
Grado cradles Drew for 2, and Drew just can’t lift him up because he’s too fat – so he hulks up and chucks him. Drew chops him big-time in the corner and Drew eats an accidental low blow a little later while Grado asks the ref to “check his bollocks”. Drew fights back with more chops and a big overhead belly to belly suplex for 2. Drew wants him to fire back, so he does and he plants him in the corner for the cannonball! Drew gets locked into a tree of woe, which leads to a German suplex and he then preps the foot for the Sick Kick/Claymore for the win. We get a history lesson on Gail vs. Kong – with clips of Gail beating Kong for the title at Final Resolution 2008. We then see a far too long recap of the Storm, Abyss, and Shera storyline. Aiden ‘O Shea is out to face Crazzy Steve in one of the more random matches we’ve seen on Impact in a while. Aiden is apparently from Chicago, and comes to the ring in a wifebeater and slacks.
Crazzy Steve vs. Aiden O’Shea
Crazzy Steve starts the match shaking his ass to O’Shea’s theme. Josh brings up that Aiden is from Chicago and of Irish descent, and Aiden steals his horn and plays keep away with it. Steve gets a jawbreaker and GETS THE HORN. The horn is blown into Aiden’s ears and shocks him, but he lands a solid punch to get the lead. Aiden tosses him into the buckle and pounces him down to the mat. Steve attacks the hand on the floor, but Aiden hits him with He Used to Call it the Boom Stick lariat for the win. Abyss cuts a promo on Storm and we see a Storm vs. Abyss hype video showing Storm’s title win and some of Abyss’s title wins. Jeff Hardy DVD ad.
We get clips of Kong vs. Gail from earlier this year on Impact, with Kong beating Gail with a counter-to-center ring Awesome bomb. Recap of Drew beating Grado earlier and we get a subtitled promo from Grado backstage. Pope and Josh talk for a bit about the World Title Series while Storm comes out to face Abyss, who is already in the ring. Storm talks about he and Abyss being one of the four guys left in TNA who have been in TNA since day one – giving fans some great entertainment. Storm tells Abyss to do the smart thing and let him win by countout – if Storm’s smart, why doesn’t he just ask for a win via pinfall to get more points? Abyss tells Storm that he’s still the Monster and refuses. Storm is in his weird orange camo gear that never needs to be seen again.
James Storm vs. Abyss
They start a clubbering and Storm lands a superkick to the gut, but Abyss gains control quickly for an ad break. WWE 2K16 ad. When we come back, Storm slams Abyss into the steps. Storm hops off the steps into a chokeslam setup, but he shoves Abyss into the post. Storm brings a chair in and Earl takes it while the fans chant for tables. The chair is put in the corner and they fight over a corner shot, but neither hits it. Storm lands some corner punches and eats the chair. Abyss gets a splash and gets 2. They plug Earl Hebner’s Hall of Fame T-shirt, which they somehow felt was something anyone would want to spend money on. Pope says “that is available, indeed”. Abyss brings his implement of death Janice into the ring, but it gets stuck in the buckle. Storm hits him with a cowbell for 2. So to recap, you can bring a chair into the ring in TNA, and a board with nails in it – but no cowbells. They fight up top and Storm gets a sunset bomb and a big flying elbow for 2. Abyss gets a chokeslam for 2. Storm takes a swig and spits it at Abyss, who is blinded and eats two superkicks for the win. They recap the World Champions group, which sees EY have zero points.
Recap of Storm vs. Abyss and O’Shea vs. Steve. Shera will face Kenny King next week and we get a JB interview with Shera. He says he’ll win the title and make his friends, family, and country proud. JB is excited to announce the India tour and Shera says that he’ll return home as World Champion. Pope puts over the Shera Shake dance craze. Brooke faces Madison Rayne next week as well. Next week, we’ll see a Jeff Hardy interview about the BFG main event – and we see a little clip of him saying seeing his brother hold the title win in their home state with his family was the best. We get a recap video of an Eric Young vs. Robert Roode rivalry. I’ve forgotten about any issue they’ve had recently, so this is actually a good thing. We see their history over the past year and are told they’ll face off next week in the World Title Series. Tigre Uno comes out to face DJZ.
DJZ vs. Tigre Uno
Uno starts this off with a quick legdrop and armbar. A hammerlock leads to Josh being buried by Pope for not calling the action. Josh responds by saying he just wants to see Pope do it so he can fail. Is Josh supposed to be a babyface? DJZ lands a corner kick and hits a corner rana. DJZ flips around and eats a spinkick. Josh says the X division is like playing a video game, which Pope confirms. Uno goes for a hopping something or other and gets necksnapped on the rope. DJZ lands a tilt-a-whirl headscissors into the steps. Josh says that a win here means that DJZ can make a valid case to get an X Title shot just by beating the champion – excellent point there. DJZ gets some shoulder thrusts in the corner and lands some forearms with Uno perched up top.
Uno counters a superplex, but leaps into a dropkick to the ribs for 2. Uno goes for his wacky pop-up DDT, which is countered. Uno gets a spinkick and a baseball slide kick. Orno rolls around and then…stops before doing a tornado dive. Uno gets a springboard dropkick a pop-up rana for 2. DJZ hits a running spinning rana and gets shotgun knees to the spine. Pope implies it’s Vintage Elijah Burke, but forgives Josh for not watching TNA before he came into the company. Boy is this a bizarre commentary team. DJZ finally lands his goofy DDT for the win. We get a highlight reel of Gail vs. Kong from BFG set to epic music – it actually makes it seem like a good match, so they did their job here. Gail comes down and Josh says the champions don’t have their championship titles because they don’t want any distractions while going after the World title.
Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong
Gail tries to roll away from Kong, but gets shoved into the corner. Gail attacks the shoulder and lands some forearms before just getting clubbed down for a break. We come back to Kong tossing Gail’s leg on the mat before locking on a camel clutch. Gail goes for a handspring headscissor, but Kong flipped her around and hit a lariat. Kong lands a Mongolian chop and locks on a sleeper. Gail escapes and kicks away, but gets leg tripped by Kong. Gail locks on the standing Octopus stretch, but gets kryptonite krunched out of it. It gets 2 and Gail sends her to the floor and gets a flipping senton to the floor.
Gail gets a combination armbar/choke on the mat. Kong escapes, but eats a series of kicks. Josh announces that we have five minutes left in the match. Kong goes for a chokeslam, but gets DDT’d out of it. Gail lands some leg kicks and dropkicks, and gets 2 off a crossbody. Kong counters Eat Defeat, but goes for a powerbomb and eats a cradle for a loss. They had a pretty good match here, but nothing on the show topped anything Aries has done so far. Next week’s Davey vs. Eddie match has the potential to be quite good – as does Roode vs. EY. To see every screen taken for the show, just click here.
