Lavar Johnson, a heavyweight fighter who had fought for both the UFC and Bellator, is currently in jail in Fresno on a number of charges including domestic assault regarding an alleged attack on his girlfriend in August.
Johnson has been held since that time, but the story went unreported until today when TMZ first broke it.
Johnson, 38, was arrested on 8/25 for an alleged incident on 8/11 where he is accused of slamming his girlfriend against a wall and on the ground, and repeatedly kneeing her in the face and head. He is also accused of punching her 11 times in the face.
The list of charges include corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and dissuading a witness by force.
The police report stated that Johnson then fled the scene. Police arrived and saw the woman with a swollen forehead and nose, bleeding. She said that when Johnson saw the blood, he backed off. She needed staples to close one of the cuts.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held on $175,000 bond. He is facing a maximum 128 months in prison on the charges.
Johnson had a similar arrest in 2007.
Johnson, was a Strikeforce regular from 2009 to 2011, and then moved to UFC after the heavyweight division was switched over and fought four times in the organization, going 2-2. He was cut after testing positive for testosterone after a loss to Brendan Schaub on February 23, 2013. Since then he was signed to Bellator, where he had a 1-3 record.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced the reinstatement of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Jones had been suspended since an April hit-and-run case, coming a few months after a cocaine test positive a well as a late night car crash.
Dana White had said previously that if Jones was reinstated, he could immediately challenge for the championship that he never lost. The title is currently held by Daniel Cormier, who Jones defeated via decision on Jan. 3 in one of UFC’s biggest pay-per-view shows of recent years. A Cormier vs. Jones title match would be expected next on the agenda.
Jones pleaded guilty to one felony charge and was given 18 months probation and 72 appearances for either charity of speaking with children, which was meant to be one per week during his probation period.
The UFC released this statement this morning.
“Following a review of the plea agreement reached by Jon Jones and officials in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the judge’s decision, UFC announced today the formal reinstatement of Jones to the UFC roster. Effective immediately, Jones is eligible to return to competition. As such, UFC expects Jones to meet all the terms of his plea agreement, including mandatory community service, as a condition of his reinstatement.
UFC is currently discussing with Jones a potential date for his return to the Octagon.
`We’ve made it clear to Jon that this new opportunity to compete in UFC is a privilege and not a right, and that there are significant expectations we have regarding his conduct moving forward,’ said UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. `We’re happy to read and see reports that he has embraced the terms of his plea agreement and is using this experience to grow and develop as a person.’
`I am thankful to be able to do what I love once again and I look forward to proving myself as a champion in and outside of the Octagon,’ Jones said.”
Jones also said on Facebook: “It took me losing almost everything I had worked for to realize how much I had.”
Jones, who has a 21-1 record, is generally considered the most talented fighter in the history of the sport. In his 22 pro fights, he won every one of them handily with the exception of a close decision win over Alexander Gustafsson. His lone loss, to Matt Hamill, was via disqualification in a one-sided fight where he had destroyed Hamill the entire fight.
At 24, he was the youngest champion in UFC history when he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to win the title. With eight title defenses, he was on the verge of Anderson Silva’s record of ten when the title was stripped from him due to his suspension.
“Congrats to Jon `Bones’ Jones on his reinstatement to the UFC,” wrote Cormier on Facebook. “For MMA fans, this is a good day. A guy that has shown to be one of the greatest fighters of all-time is back. As a competitor, there could be no other outcome and this is the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Jon has said the right things and his actions are backing his words up. We all hope this is the last time we have to deal with anything like that. And lastly, as a fan, you get to see two of the best fighters compete against each other. With that being said, I can’t wait to compete against him again.”
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 76: Holohan vs. Smolka weigh-ins from the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland kicking off at 11 AM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on UFC Fight Pass at 4 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 1:15 PM eastern time. This is the UFC’s third trip to Dublin, selling out this event in just under five minutes.
This event has undergone some big changes in the weeks leading up to the event. The main event was originally scheduled to be Dustin Poirier taking on Joseph Duffy, but Duffy was not medically cleared to compete earlier this week after suffering a concussion late in his training camp. That followed the previous cancellation of the original co-main event, which was to be a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic and Ben Rothwell. With all of these changes, the main event is now a three-round flyweight bout as Paddy Holohan takes on Louis Smolka. It marks the first time a flyweight bout not including Demetrious Johnson has been featured in a main event.
Everyone made weight with no issues. There was a heated confrontation between Norman Parke and Reza Madadi. Parke threw a purse at Madadi and they had to be separated by Dana White and other security members. Madadi is returning from being out of action for 30 months, and spent 14 months in jail for aggravated burglary- for stealing purses.
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT):
Paddy Holohan (126) vs. Louis Smolka (125) Norman Parke (156) vs. Reza Madadi (156) Nicolas Dalby (170) vs. Darren Till (171) Neil Seery (125) vs. Jon Delos Reyes (125)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 1:15 PM ET/10:15 AM PT):
Stevie Ray (155) vs. Mickael Lebout (155) Aisling Daly (115) vs. Ericka Almeida (115) Scott Askham (184) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (185) Cathal Pendred (169) vs. Tom Breese (171) Darren Elkins (145) vs. Robert Whiteford (145) Bubba Bush (185) vs. Garreth McLellan (185)
– Air Date: October 22, 2015 – Location: Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
The Big News:
Tyler Breeze made a strong debut.
Show Recap:
Smackdown started with a cold open – Seth Rollins walked around backstage wearing a smile, until he ran into a gleeful Kane and stopped smiling. Rollins and asked why he’s here if he’s been suspended and Kane said his suspension was just for Raw.
Rollins told Kane he should enjoy his last night as director on Smackdown. Kane told him the fans will get one last chance to see Rollins as champion and he will open the show against a mystery opponent. Kane told Rollins not to feign another injury because you never know who will show up to stop him.
Kane kept walking and greeted Kofi Kingston and Big E, who looked very upset. Kane loved New Day’s positivity but they were both upset over their precious Xavier Woods going through a table on Raw. They both wore poorly made “XW” armbands in Woods’ honour. Kingston said they were supposed to be three unicorns spreading magic throughout WWE, but now they’re only two unicorns.
Kane faked playing a sad trombone (Xavier Woods must be spinning in his grave) and put them in a match against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. New Day didn’t like this idea so Kane did the sad trombone noise again and left. Kane did this poorly and Kingston made sure to point that out. Kingston and Big E were great. Somewhere in here, Big E said Kane wasn’t the D.O.O. (Director of Operations), he was “B.O.O… T.Y. Booty!”
Seth Rollins beat Cesaro via pinfall
Rollins escaped a crossface early and bailed. He grabbed his title and they showed Stardust and The Ascension watching the match from the first row. Rollins began walking out, but as the referee’s count got to eight, he jumped back in the ring. Cesaro hit him with uppercuts and a dropkick and Rollins bailed again. Cesaro went after Rollins but Rollins tossed him into the barricade and steel steps.
Rollins had the heat after the break and hit a flying knee. Rollins went to the top but Cesaro dropkicked him to the outside and followed with a running uppercut. Cesaro posed in the crowd and they cheered loudly, including Stardust whose reaction was great. Cesaro caught him with a flying crossbody in the ring for a nearfall. Rollins connected with an enzuigiri and superkick for two.
Cesaro came back with a pop-up uppercut and followed with a crossface but Rollins squirmed to the ropes. Cesaro tried a superplex but Rollins slid out, wiped out Cesaro by the feet, and hit a pedigree for the win. This was really good. The finish was a little abrupt but the champ winning clean with his finisher is not a bad thing.
Backstage, Renee Young interviewed The Miz about interviewing Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler. Miz said Summer had a huge announcement that would be trending everywhere. He asked Renee who does her hair and, before she could answer, told her to call his people.
They aired a video for their [corporate sponsor] cancer awareness month. It was actually a nice video and people cheered.
In the ring, Paige said she’s been accused of attacking Natalya but nobody believes that she didn’t do it. Paige said she only cares about the opinion of two people, Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and called them out. Paige started to ramble so Becky told her to hurry up and finish her empty speech.
Paige claimed to be sincere when she said she was happy that Charlotte and Becky got called up. Becky reminded Paige that she said Charlotte only won the title because of her father and called Becky irrelevant. Paige admitted she said some mean things but they’re a family.
Charlotte stopped her there and said she couldn’t understand where Paige was coming from. She said Paige should understand what it’s like winning your first [women’s] title but Paige was making it about herself again.
Team Bella interrupted. Nikki said nothing got in her way when she was champion and Brie asked if this was Smackdown or an episode of Pretty Little Liars. They cut to the ring and Paige mouthed “I don’t even know what that is.” Nikki called Charlotte “little miss Flair” and Paige “baby Beetlejuice.”
Nikki said she would win her title back, and Charlotte reminded her who the champion was. Charlotte offered to put the title on the line right now, but Paige stepped in and said Nikki would have to face her instead. Nikki accepted. Paige, Charlotte and Lynch were good here. The Bellas were the Bellas. Fox said nothing.
Nikki had the heat for a while but Paige came back with knees in the corner and a superkick. Nikki used the tights to toss Paige into the ropes and tried a cover holding the tights for a two count. Nikki hit a spinebuster and went for the rack attack but Paige tried a roll up with the tights for two. Paige followed with a fallaway slam for two.
Nikki came back with an Alabama Slam for two. Booker called it a sidewalk slam. Nikki tried an elbow smash, Paige ducked and tried another superkick, but Nikki countered into the elbow and nailed the rack attack for the win. Good match. Aside: Nikki’s pants are impossibly small and she looked down at her own boobs about five times.
The Miz was out for MizTV. He called out Ziggler and asked what it’s like to be tossed aside. Ziggler said Lana can do whatever she wants, but Summer was using him and he didn’t want any part of it. Miz called her out. Summer said it’s clear she proposed to the wrong man. Ziggler stopped her and said “I’m just not that into you, bro.” Summer laughed and said she was over Ziggler and she found a real man, which brought out the debuting Tyler Breeze.
Breeze came out in purple with his full entrance and selfie stick. He didn’t get a big reaction but people were chanting NXT. Breeze accused Ziggler of being stuck in 1985 because of his outfit and called himself the Gorgeous One, the King of Cuteville and the Sultan of Selfies, but introduced himself to Ziggler as Tyler Breeze.
Breeze said when he heard his Summer was being mistreated by some uggo (ugly person), he had no choice but to fly in from Monte Carlo to be with her. People chanted “Tyler’s gorgeous.” Breeze said he and Summer would give WWE a facelift and they took a selfie, which showed up on the big screen. “Prince Pretty has arrived.”
Ziggler said he’s seen guys like Breeze come and go and called him a lazy millennial. Breeze attacked him with a forearm for saying something so stupid and they brawled. Breeze got the better of it when he put Ziggler’s throat against the selfie stick and smashed it into a turnbuckle. He beat down Ziggler some more until referee broke it up. Breeze hit a spinning heel kick and took another picture with Summer. This was a good debut and it seems like the WWE crowd will get into Breeze as a heel if they keep him strong.
Sheamus & King Barrett (w/Rusev) beat The Lucha Dragons via pinfall
In an inset promo, Barrett said he and Sheamus have shared plenty of pints and have had many scraps, but they always emerge victorious when fighting back-to-back. Sheamus said they’ve decided to take their arse-kicking stills off the street and into the ring. Rusev screamed about crushing their opponents on Sunday. Barrett and Sheamus were amused.
Heels worked over Sin Cara until he tagged Kalisto who did his usual impressive-looking offense on Sheamus. The highlight of the match came next. Sin Cara went for a dive on Barrett to the outside, but Rusev ran and aggressively pushed Barrett out of the way, and Sin Cara splatted onto the mats. Kalito then hit a dive on Rusev as he argued with the referee.
Kalisto avoided an attack by Barrett but Sheamus caught him with a Brogue kick for the win. The finishing sequence was great and I like this heel trio. Kalisto was impressive too.
The announcers pushed the WWE Network and explained why you’re stupid if you order Hell in a Cell on pay per view.
Ryback beat Bo Dallas via pinfall
Bo cut a dumb promo about nothing before the match until Ryback interrupted. I was hoping Ryback would just kill him but they actually had a match scheduled. Bo got some offense, which is too much offense, but Ryback beat him with a clothesline and shell shocked.
Backstage, Kevin Owens told Renee that Ryback is a freak of nature and shows respect for previous champions. Owens said he’s not like that, but he’s the champion and asked Renee what that says about him. Renee said arrogance can be a dangerous tool. Owens said she can call it arrogance, but it actually means he’s better than Ryback. Owens said, as far as he’s concerned, the Intercontinental Title didn’t exist before he had it. HIAC would be the Kevin Owens Show and he will walk out as champion. Good promo.
They aired a video for Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker
Non-Title: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat WWE Tag-Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Big E via pinfall
Kingston touched his “XW” armband and pointed to the sky. Ambrose chopped Kingston and Big E yelled, “Protect yourself, Kofi!” Reigns tagged in and got a nice reaction and hit Kingston with a clothesline. Kingston immediately tagged out and Big E did his little dance at Reigns.
They went back and forth but Big E got the heat after pushing Reigns off the ring into the barricade. Reigns waited until after a commercial break to battle back and tag in Ambrose, who nailed a dive on Big E outside the ring. Kingston used a referee distraction to take out Ambrose and New Day regained control.
Kingston played hopscotch before doing his jumping leg drop. He tried a crossbody but Ambrose ducked and tagged in Reigns. Reigns used clotheslines in the corner and took out Big E with an apron dropkick. He gave Kingston one too, but used the announce table.
Ambrose hit a missile dropkick on Big E and both New Day members were sent to the outside. They bailed and went backstage, but The Dudleys backed them towards the ring. Ambrose and Reigns used a doomsday device on Big E, Reigns hit Kingston with a superman punch and spear for the win. This was fun.
Reigns and Ambrose posed and it seemed like the show was about to go off the air, but Bray Wyatt appeared on the screen. Bray said Reigns can’t outrun his fear and would see him in hell.
Final Thoughts:
Thumbs up for this show. Good wrestling up and down, and Tyler Breeze’s debut was well done. I’m also glad they did it on Smackdown instead of Raw.
Hugo Knox defeated Riddick Moss with a sunset flip of sorts. Crowd was quite into Hugo, his dancing is entertaining and his energy shines through. Moss’s work is good. He just needs direction or a character to work with. Knox, on the other hand, has an infectious energy with his dancing.
November 4th –
Asuka defeats Cameron via submission with the Asuka Lock
The crowd was behind Asuka completely including “Asuka’s Gonna Kill You” & “Asuka City” chants, there also isn’t much backlash towards Cameron, she’s just a heel working Asuka so it’s no big deal that she’s here. Asuka did her best to showcase submissions. Post match Asuka mocks Cameron by doing the Funkadactyl drop down while looking at the camera smiling. Crowd laughed big for this.
Bull Dempsey defeats Angelo Dawkins w/ Sawyer Fulton with his top rope seated maneuver
Bull does his usual routine and mocks Dawkins with his “Bull” front “Fit” back to his singlet, turning back and forth. Just a showcase for Bull here.
Eva Marie defeats Marley (aka Gionna Daddio) via pinfall
Immense heat on Eva, she is despised and thus lead to a good reaction for the debuting Marley, a house show favorite who people actually like. Post match people are booing Eva away and even chanting “That Was Stupid” at her win.
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews ends in a DQ when Baron Corbin attacks Apollo after an outstanding match.
We get Crews’ entrance including the fog machines in front of his tron, we were very in to Apollo, singing and chanting for him. Then a huge reaction for Balor, the two stand face to face under a spotlight in the center of the ring as Finn is still wearing the title around his waist. In ring introductions to huge cheers, major big fight feel. The crowd was so conflicted as we would never booo either of these men, so it was cheering for one or the other or just clapping/stomping and moments of uncertainty. Excellent work here.
Apollo even got Finn up in the gorilla press, Finn got the knees up to counter the standing moonsault, there was also a big dive to the outside by Finn on to Apollo, late in the match Balor even hit a variation of the Bloody Sunday, the match was so deep in that people were feeling a title change before Baron Corbin ended it. The crowd was furious at Baron here, as he pummeled Crews first and Balor next before Samoa Joe makes the save, Joe stands over Finn and even helps him up before turning on him. Punches in the corner before a muscle buster in the center of the ring. Referees assist Balor to the back after some time. Looking forward to how this translates to tv, I’d say Balor v Crews was the best NXT match for both these men thus far, would love to see more of this someday.
November 11th:
Adrien Reese (aka Athena) defeats Peyton Royce after an incredible finisher, a leaping off the top rope stunner
Fans were in to Adrien from the start but increasingly reacted louder to her work, some smooth transitions, roll throughs, and that finisher got a giant “Whoah!” reaction and cheer for the finish. Great debut here.
Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin never happens as Apollo Crews rushes the ring and lays in to Baron to a brawl
The people were going wild, an intense brawl where Apollo’s shirt even got ripped open during the fight. Baron is the most hated man in NXT, it also feels like Crews was elevated even with the non finish. He’s a star. Dillinger had new music, a good face reaction even before people knew he was facing Corbin, sadly we didn’t get to see any more of him at this set.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & The Hype Bros defeated Alexa Bliss, Wesley Blake, and Buddy Murphy when the Hype Bros hit the super rough ryder from the top
Amazing atmosphere for Bayley here, crowd was singing her theme song, singing chants for her “Heyyy We Want Some Bayley” a play on the New Day’s recent chant for themselves. This was all about Bayley yet Mojo and Zack were able to go with it, Mojo doing his “Hammer Time” wacky dancing, telling Blake & Murphy that they get “Zero Chicks” and building up to Bayley finally getting her hands on Alexa. Near the finish, Alexa slips away to steal the NXT Women’s title and run off with it, Bayley tries to go through the ring but Blake stands in front of her only to be hit with a Belly To Bayley which received a gigantic reaction, Bayley made her way after Bliss as the Hype Bros finished off Blake & Murphy for the win.
Nia Jax squashed Deonna Purrazzo
Bear hugs, tree slam, leg drop. We’ll be seeing similar matches for a while.
Dash & Dawson win the NXT Tag Team Championships from The Vaudevillains
This was completely unexpected, crowd was in to the Vauds early on and through the match yet seemed happy with the finish knowing how hard Dash & Dawson work. “You Deserve It” chants and you could see genuine emotion on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, these men are proud to be wrestlers and now champions.
– November 19th:
Samoa Joe makes his way to the ring for a promo, he’s met with booing and “Why? Joe, Why?” chants. He goes on to say he carried Finn to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic win, that he deserved a title shot from the day he walked in to NXT, that William Regal putting him in the battle royal was an insult. This leads to an angry Finn Balor on his way to the ring, referees and security try to cut him off and are in the ring between the two before Joe gets a cheap shot and is able to lock in the clutch, choking Finn out in the center of a dog pile of referees and security. Finn is again helped to the back after this segment.
Nia Jax defeated Carmella
Nia womanhandled Carmella here, winning easily with her slam and big leg drop. No sign of Enzo & Cass at these tapings.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated The Ascension with the assisted German suplex
The Ascension were out first to a gigantic ovation, these men are loved here. Then an equal and shocked reaction when Gable & Jordan’s music hit since we knew this would be good, these two are made men. The crowd continued singing “Gable – Jordan” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s old theme music, then The Ascension received “Yah” chants which lead to “Gable – Yah! – Jordan – Yah!” amongst other chants for both teams. Good match, crowd was super in to it. Post match The Ascension make their way back in the ring for a staredown followed by embracing and raising the winners’ hands. The Full Sail crowd appreciated this sportsmanship and endorsement.
Emma defeated Mary Kate aka Andrea via Emma Lock
Another fun case of when a veteran is not facing someone adored by the crowd, they’ll be cheered even as a heel. “Evil Emma” chants, quick showcase match for Emma. No sign of Dana Brooke on this set either.
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated Corey Hollis and John Skyler
Quick showcase match for the champs here, clean in the middle with their assisted codebreaker type finish.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss via pinfall with the Belly To Bayley
Alexa worked a lot of holds trying to slow the pace and keep Bayley under control. Crowd wasn’t expecting a title change here and there weren’t any intense near falls to worry about. Plenty of cheers and chants for Bayley along with taunts towards Alexa Bliss. Finish was mostly out of nowhere in the center of the ring. After Bayley celebrated for a moment Eva Marie’s music hit and she made her way to the ring to a chorus of booos. Now she has been boood before in NXT for her matches and it was pretty bad for her on stage interview.
This was the loudest negative reaction I have ever heard. She was boooed down and it was deafening. Bayley would lean in and try to hear what Eva was saying, then look back at us and her hand to her ear. This was unbelievable. After being booed out of the building, Eva left and Bayley was able to take the mic and say she accepts. I believe that title match will happen the first episode of the November 19th taping. Bayley’s music hit and everyone was sent home happy.
Ultimate Fighter last night did 585,000 viewers, putting it in third place behind the Mets-Cubs game and a preseason NBA game, when it came to sports programming last night in the time slot.
For Destination America, TNA Impact had another weak night, doing 264,000 viewers for the first show and 63,000 for the second show, for a combined 327,000 viewers, tying last week for the third lowest since moving to the channel.
ROH fell 24 percent going against the Mets game, doing 132,000 viewers.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, FL at Dave Meltzer
The Finn Balor vs. Apollo Crews NXT title match is scheduled to be taped early on tonight’s tapings.
Schedule:
Smackdown at 8 p.m. on Syfy
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro non-title, Paige vs. Nikki Bella, Lucha Dragons vs. King Barrett & Sheamus, Ryback vs. Bo Dallas, and New Day vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose non-title
UFC Unleashed airs at 7:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with an episode spotlighting strawweight fighters Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Paige VanZant, and Michelle Waterson.
UFC Reloaded airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 has the UFC 186: Johnson vs. Horiguchi pay-per- view main card from earlier this year.
WWE SmackDown on airs on Syfy at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro, Paige vs. Nikki Bella.Miz TV with Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus and King Barrett vs. The Lucha Dragons, Ryback vs. Bo Dallas. and New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose.
New Japan World has a live show at 6 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning from Tokorozawa
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu & Juice Robinson
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay White & David Finlay non-title
Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada & Kushida & Alex Shelley vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens & Young Bucks
Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs. Cody Hall & Tama Tonga
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta
New Japan also opens its junior heavyweight tag team tournament on Friday night/Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern and 2:30 a.m. Pacific time from Korakuen Hall
Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Captain New Japan vs. Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka & David Finlay & Jay White
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Hiroshi Tanahashi& Tomoaki Honma & Juice Robinson vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
Tag team tournament first round matches:
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly
Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens
Mascara Dorada & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Young Bucks
Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Alex Shelley & Kushida
****
Figure Four Weekly:
Jerry McDevitt cuts quite the legal promo on Konstantine Kyros as part of his latest screed in the ongoing legal battle over WWE’s alleged role in wrestlers’ brain damage.
The WWE’s record low ratings, even with bringing in all the big names on Monday, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer newsletter. We look at the ratings, the competition, the build to Hell in a Cell, and what type of programming is and isn’t working in ratings now. We also look more at John Layfield’s interview with Eric Bischoff and WCW and how pro wrestling has changed since the death of WCW, as well as more on the political goings-on in Mexico, what modern era wrestlers have had the most four star matches and a wrestling show in a few weeks that you don’t know of that is going to have a paid attendance of more than 30,000 people. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Judge Pamela Campbell ruled that, at Hulk Hogan’s expense, Gawker must turn over their computers for an investigation by a court-appointed forensic examiner. This is to determine whether or not Gawker had anything to do with the leak of Hogan’s racist comments during one of the videos of him and Heather Cole. If it was determined that Gawker did it, they could lose the equivalent of a default judgment.
Monday’s RAW in San Diego has 6500 sold thus far for a building that sells out at 10,900.
WWE’s 12/26 MSG show will have (as of now) U.S. Champion John Cena vs. Sheamus and Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose.
Speaking of Owens, he will be appearing Sunday night on “Tout le monde en parle”, a very popular talk show in Quebec. The show is being taped tonight, and gets about 2 million viewers in Quebec alone. This is, by far, his biggest mainstream media appearance to date.
In presale news, get tickets for the 12/8 Jacksonville Smackdown/Tribute To The Troops tapings by using TROOPS and the 12/14 RAW in Philly by using EMAIL.
UFC
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson vs. Neil Magny has been added to January 2nd’s UFC 195 card in a battle of rising welterweight contenders. Albert Tumenov vs. Lorenz Larkin has also been added in another welterweight fight, making a card that is already full of interesting welterweight stand-up fights like welterweight champion Robbie Lawler defending the title against Carlos Condit. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday at 10 AM PST with prices ranging from $104-$804. There is a pre-sale going on now for Fight Club members.
In addition to the Dublin show on Saturday, UFC Fight Pass is also airing a show from Russia on Friday afternoon at 1 pm eastern. Fight Nights Petersburg is headlined by a Light Heavyweight fight between Mikhail Mokhnatkin and Ednaldo Oliveira and two women’s flyweights on the undercard.
Conor McGregor sent out a tweet on Wednesday night offering to step in and fight Dustin Poirier and save the UFC Dublin main event. Of course, this had almost no chance of happening as it would be foolish to risk a multi-million dollar payday in December against Jose Aldo for a Fight Night event on Fight Pass.
Because the Joe Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier main event is off due to Duffy suffering from a concussion from a Saturday night training injury, the UFC has offered refunds at the point of purchase for all tickets for Saturday’s show in Dublin.
Bellator announced ‘Bellator 147’ headlined by Josh Thomson vs. Pablo Villaseca for 12/4 at San Jose (CA) State University. Tickets go on sale Friday at a starting price of $30.
World Series of Fighting and IMG have renewed their worldwide distribution deal. Currently, WSOF is on television in 70 countries and territories including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Peru and Russia. They are also on The Fight Network in Canada.
Impact Pro Wrestling in Des Moines, IA, on 10/131 with Starla Love of Hulk Hogan’s Micro Championship Wrestling on the show. Tickets are available by emailing IPWtickets@yahoo.com.
Bushwacker Luke will be appearing form Great North Wrestling Nov. 27th in Rockland ON. He cut a promo for the match that you can see here.
While it was reported in Germany by the promotion that Big Ryck (the former Ezekiel Jackson) had said he wrestled his last match over the weekend, his booking agent, Bill Behrens, has said that he is not retired, is still wrestling, and is taking independent bookings, flying out of San Francisco.
Seiya Sanada is offering a $200 max flat rate for flight expenses for paid wrestling bookings to help control travel expenses for those who book him, flying out of Detroit. Also available include A.J. Styles (no dates available until 2016), Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Matt Sydal, Jay Lethal (only bookings outside the U.S. & Canada, he has an exclusive ROH contract for North America), Sean Waltman, Vampiro, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Mike Posey, Corey Hollis and a lot more.?
GFW announced a 6 PM meet and greet prior to tomorrow night’s TV tapings in Las Vegas at The Orleans Arena. It will include Karen Jarrett, PJ Black, Brian Myers, Nick Aldis, Bobby Roode, Amber Gallows, Chris Mordetzky, Seiya Sanada, Kongo Kong with Henry Maxwell and Cyrus Fees. Those who have tickets to the show can get into the meet and greet if they come to the Southwest entrance no later than 6 p.m. If you arrive after 6 p.m., there is no guarantee you will be allowed in. This is only open to those who have purchased P1 tickets. If you have purchased tickets for the show that are not P1 tickets, you can come to the meet and greet for $35.
CHIKARA runs on Saturday night at 7 PM. at the Jeffersonville Arena in Jeffersonville IN headlined by Chuck Taylor vs Blaster McMassive and Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin vs. Missile Assault Man & Lucas Calhoun.
GOUGE on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Fuquay Varina, NC at the Draft Line Brewery.
Crossfire Wrestling on 12/5 at 4 p.m. at the Merritton Community Centre in St. Catherines, ONT headlined by Cody Deaner vs. Eric Young
Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 11/21 in Ottawa, ONT at the Polish Combatants Centre
Prairie Wrestling Alliance on 10/24 in Calgary at the Century Casino.
A new match on NWAClassics.com this week is Tommy Rich vs. Kamala.
Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling on 11/20 in Victoria, BC at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 91.
Blue Demon Promotions on Saturday in El Paso at the Buchanan’s Event Centre has Blue Demon Jr. & Cassandro vs. Pakal & Peluchin Maldad
FMLL on Sunday in El Monte, CA at the Florentine Gardens has Ultimo Guerrero defending the FMLL light heavyweight title against Shocker, plus Pirata Morgan & Cobarde vs. Nicho & Jaque Mate.
Another show in El Paso Saturday at the Southwest University Events Center has La Sombra & Rush vs. Volador Jr. & Mr. Aguila.
Ultimate Championship Wrestling on 11/27 in Bay City, MI has a special show to raise money for Cassidy Christie, the 11-year-old daughter of local wrestler Pete Christie, who is battling cancer. A number of wrestlers are donated their services to this cause. Headliners are Brian Christopher & Scotty 2 Hotty reuniting as 2 Cool, plus Sabu.
Coastal Championship Wrestling from last night in Coral Springs, FL: Maxwell Chicago b Made Man, Santana Garrett b Tammy Lynn, Cousin Earl b Danny Embry, El Heroes Byronico b Ricky Rush, Iron City Mauler & Guadeloupe Brothers b J-Dawg Brooks & The Assassins.
Santana Garrett is leaving the U.S. for Japan today and starts Sunday for the Stardom promotion. If you purchased tickets specifically to see her for tomorrow night’s Championship Wrestling Entertainment show in Port St. Lucie and Saturday’s Riot Pro Wrestling show in Melbourne, FL, tickets will be refunded up until the first 15 minutes of the show. (thanks to Al Haft)
Viva La Lucha on 10/30 in Arcadia, FL at the Turner-Agri Civic Center with Silver King, Rey Bucanero, El Hijo de L.A. Park, Damian 666, Bestia 666, Extreme Tiger, Rey Hours, Willie Mack, Ivelisse Velez, Jessicka Havok and more.
40 years ago today in Miami Beach before 3,274 fans: Dusty Rhodes b King Curtis Iaukea to retain the Florida title, Mark Lewin b Harley Race, Rocky Johnson & Ciclon Negro & Omar Negro (Buddy Moreno/Omar Atlas) b Larry Hennig & Bob Roop & J.J. Dillon, Ricky Gibson & Jimmy Golden b The Masked Superstars, Mike Graham b Roger Kirby via DQ to retain the U.S. jr. title, Billy Robinson b Bobby Duncum, Mike George b Tony Charles (thanks to Barry Rose)
NFC tomorrow night in Kennesaw, GA at the Electric Cowboy features MMA fights at 8 p.m. You must be over the age of 18 to attend.
Pivotshare is doing channels for a number of wrestling organizations for video content at:
The UFC returns to Ireland this Saturday for UFC Fight Night 76 at the 3Arena in Dublin, the third time the UFC has visited the venue. The last time the Octagon graced Dublin, it was one of the most memorable shows not just of 2014, but in company history, with a rabid crowd chanting all night long ending with Conor McGregor scoring a big win in front of his country on his way to winning the Interim UFC Featherweight Championship. UFC Fight Pass will provide exclusive coverage of the event with a main card start time of 4 PM eastern time, and preliminary card action kicking off at 1 PM eastern time on Saturday.
The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC’s lightweight division as former featherweight contender Dustin Poirier looks to continue to climb the 155-pound rankings when he takes on Irish standout Joseph Duffy, who looks to improve on his 14-1 MMA record and score his third straight UFC win. Poirier had some trouble when he last fought an Irish fighter, when he took on McGregor at UFC 178 in September 2014, and the Irish crowd certainly won’t let him forget about it. Other Irish standouts will be on the card, including Paddy Holohan, Aisling Daly and Cathal Pendred. Let’s take a deeper look into the card and find five storylines to keep an eye on when UFC Fight Night 76 takes place on Saturday.
1. Can Dustin Poirier score the win in front of the rabid Irish crowd?
There can be one thing said about the fans in Ireland- they are loud and they cheer their home country fighters with a lot of passion. Dustin Poirier is coming into hostile territory in the headline bout when he takes on Joseph Duffy in a five-round bout. Poirier has fought in front of a hostile, dominant Irish crowd before when he took on Conor McGregor at UFC 178 in Las Vegas. Duffy isn’t the type of personality that McGregor is, and doesn’t talk trash like McGregor, and isn’t going to get into the head of Poirier like McGregor did. However, the Irish fans will likely make Poirier remember the fight against McGregor, and they will look up the noise level in favor of Duffy when the two men step inside the Octagon.
Poirier is fighting for the third time since moving up to the lightweight division following his loss to McGregor. He has scored first-round knockout wins over Carlos Diego Ferreira and Yancy Medeiros since moving up, and Duffy is his biggest test since the transition. Poirier was a legitimate contender at 145 pounds, with his only losses coming to McGregor, Cub Swanson and Chan Sung Jung, fighters who have either fought for the title or been on the cusp of fighting for it. He has a chance to be a title contender at 155 pounds as he gets more adjusted, and not making the big weight cut down to 145 pounds has to make life easier. He is ranked at #13 in the lightweight rankings, but he comes in as the underdog for this fight. He has the overall skillset to score the win over Duffy, and it would be a big victory if he is able to do so.
2. Can Joseph Duffy break into the lightweight rankings with a win over Dustin Poirier?
Joseph Duffy will be stepping into the Octagon for the third time on Saturday night, and he is already in a main event spot when he takes on Dustin Poirier. Duffy is from Donegal, Ireland, and he will have the support of the crowd behind him. Duffy puts his four-fight win streak on the line, and he is 14-1 in his career. He also holds the distinction of being the last man to defeat Conor McGregor, and many think a rematch between the two could be the biggest fight they could put on in the country of Ireland. Duffy is by no means looking towards that, partly because they are fighting in different divisions (though that could change), but mostly because Duffy has higher aspirations- winning the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Duffy has scored two first-round stoppage wins in his two UFC fights, wins over Jake Lindsey and Ivan Jorge. Poirier is obviously a huge step up in competition, but Duffy is ready for it. Out of his 14 wins, 13 have come by stoppage, and he trains with one of the best camps in the sport- the Tristar camp in Montreal. Duffy is also undefeated in his professional boxing and kickboxing careers, and he has excellent ground skills as well. He has yet to go 25 minutes in a fight, and he had to weather some early trouble in his fight with Jorge. Poirier is one of the best finishers in the sport when he has his opponent in trouble, so Duffy will need to be on the offensive early. It is a big spot for Duffy to prove he is a contender, and a win would certainly send the Irish crowd home happy.
3. Who wins the co-main event between Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka?
The night’s co-main event was originally scheduled to be a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic and Ben Rothwell that had big title shot implications on the line. However, Miocic was forced out of the bout due to injury, and Rothwell was pulled from the card in response, and this fight card ended up with a flyweight bout between Patrick Holohan and Louis Smolka being bumped up to the co-main event slot. It’s far from being the highest-profile co-main event fight, but it is one that has the potential to be the best fight on the card as Holohan and Smolka bring it inside the Octagon every time they step in it.
Holohan has just one loss in his professional career, and has won two straight fights. Smolka is also on a two-fight win streak and has just one loss in his professional career as well. Both men are exciting fighters who come to finish, and Holohan will have the Irish crowd solidly in his corner. Smolka will draw some vitrol from the crowd as he is coming off a win over another Irish flyweight in Neil Seery at UFC 189 in July. Smolka has excellent striking skills and some solid submission prowess. Holohan is a finisher by submission, with 67% of his wins coming by submission, but his last two wins have come by decision. Both are tall flyweights and have the same reach. They are evenly-matched, but I like Smolka to score the win in this one.
4. Will Norman Parke snap his two-fight losing skid when he takes on Reza Madadi?
Norman Parke is a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, winning the lightweight tournament on TUF: The Smashes. He went unbeaten in his first five UFC bouts, and if it weren’t for a point deduction for grabbing the shorts of Leonardo Santos when they fought, he would’ve been five-for-five in his first five fights. However, he has seen a recent string of tough luck come his way as he enters Saturday night having lost his previous two bouts. Both were split decision losses, coming to Gleison Tibau and Francisco Trinaldo, and both were close enough fights that a few swings in the action during the bouts and Parke could still be unbeaten in the UFC. Regardless, he finds his back against the wall coming into Saturday night’s bout against a tough opponent in Reza Madadi.
Madadi is fighting for the first time since April 2013, when he scored a submission win over Michael Johnson, who is now a top-five ranked fighter at 155 pounds. Madadi has spent the past two years in lots of legal trouble, and spent 14 months in jail for aggravated burglary. He has claimed his innocence, and the UFC decided to re-sign him after he was released. With 30 months out of action, there is no question he will suffer from some cage rust. He is 8-1 in his last nine fights, but with missing that time and being 37-years-old, who knows what he brings to the table these days. It seems controversial that the UFC re-signed him after the arrest, but they must have faith that he was innocent despite the conviction. It will be a tough fight for Parke, but I see him scoring the win on Saturday.
5. What else is there to look out for on Saturday?
With this being an event airing exclusively on UFC Fight Pass and being in Ireland, it isn’t exactly loaded with star power, but there are a lot of promising fighters on the card. Nine fighters on the card have one loss or less in their careers, and some will be fighting for their spot on the UFC roster. The final main card bout is an interesting battle of unbeatens as Nicolas Dalby takes on Darren Till. Both men fight inside the Octagon for the second time, and Till is an interesting prospect at 22-years-old, and with eleven finish wins in his 13 career bouts.
On the preliminary card, Stevie Ray looks to go 3-0 inside the Octagon after two stoppage wins in his first two UFC bouts. Scott Askham and Krzysztof Jotko will each be looking to score their second straight UFC win when they square off. Cathal Pendred looks to get back into the win column after his first UFC loss when he takes on the undefeated Tom Breese. This is a big spot for Pendred as if he loses in yet another boring fight, he could be on his way out of the organization as roster cuts are being made. Also on the prelims is veteran Darren Elkins, who will be fighting in the UFC for the 13th time. He worked with the Team Alpha Male camp for this fight and he takes on Robert Whiteford, coming out of the American Top Team camp and is looking to build on his two-fight win streak.
Full UFC Fight Night 76 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT)
Lightweights: (#13) Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy Betting Odds: Poirier (+200), Duffy (-240) Prediction: Poirier by knockout in round 3
Flyweights: Patrick Holohan vs. Louis Smolka Betting Odds: Holohan (+100), Smolka (-120) Prediction: Smolka by decision
Lightweights: Norman Parke vs. Reza Madadi Betting Odds: Parke (-280), Madadi (+240) Prediction: Parke by decision
Welterweights: Nicolas Dalby vs. Darren Till Betting Odds: Dalby (-135), Till (+115) Prediction: Till by knockout in round 2
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 1 PM ET/10 AM PT)
Lightweights: Stevie Ray vs. Mickael Lebout Betting Odds: Ray (-550), Lebout (+425) Prediction: Ray by knockout in round 2
Flyweights: Neil Seery vs. Jon Delos Reyes Betting Odds: Seery (-155), Reyes (+135) Prediction: Seery by decision
Middleweights: Scott Askham vs. Krzysztof Jotko Betting Odds: Askham (-135), Jotko (+115) Prediction: Askham by knockout in round 2
Women’s Strawweights: (#15) Aisling Daly vs. Ericka Almeida Betting Odds: Daly (-135), Almeida (+115) Prediction: Daly by decision
Welterweights: Cathal Pendred vs. Tom Breese Betting Odds: Pendred (+220), Breese (-260) Prediction: Breese by submission in round 2
Featherweights: (#14) Darren Elkins vs. Robert Whiteford Betting Odds: Elkins (-145), Whiteford (+125) Prediction: Elkins by decision
Middleweights: Bubba Bush vs. Garreth McLellan Betting Odds: Bush (-260), McLellan (+220) Prediction: Bush by submission in round 3
Last week, Matt Hardy beat Davey to advance in the series. Aiden ‘O Shea debuted on Impact and lost to Kenny King, who is now in ROH. Eric Young lost to Abyss after declaring himself to be God. Robbie E beat Eddie Edwards in a good little match, while Shera defeated Crazzy Steve while still wearing his “Khoya” gear because as Josh said, he wanted to be reminded of who he wasn’t. In the main event, Robert Roode beat James Storm, now in WWE, in an absolutely nothing match that didn’t even play off of their history beyond one “BEER! MONEY” spot.
The show starts with a recap of the BFG main event, the injunction, the World Title Series, and the debut of Group X Division tonight. Andrews faces Mandrews and DJZ faces Manik. Anderson faces Aries, and EC3 faces Lashley. Pope talked about Group Future 4 being on the show tonight and how Aries and EC3 have one point each due to a tie. Aries faces Anderson next, but first we get some stuff between Aries and EC3 in the roundtable. Anderson picks Lashley to beat EC3, while Lashley just looks bored. Anderson comes down and does his full intro instead of just the “Anderson, Anderson” bit. Aries comes out with Thea Trinidad once again.
Ken Anderson vs. Austin Aries
Aries and Anderson exchange basic armwork mid-ring. They focus on the roundtable, with Anderson saying that he and Aries traveled the indies and EC3 asks just what those are. Anderson avoids the missile dropkick. Anderson clubs at the head and lands some shoulder thrusts, but only gets 1. Aries takes him down and gets a slingshot elbow, which Pope says is “shades of Austin Starr”. Oh dear God no. Anderson lays some punches into Aries in the corner before they go back and forth with body blows. EC3 not knowing what the indies are is the one thing that pisses Josh off about EC3, and then Pope says “EC3 was born into the big time – Impact Wrestling!” Ad break time.
Anderson gets a series of elbows and lariats before getting a neckbreaker. Aries shoulders the stomach and flips over before Christy says that there are five minutes left. If nothing else, TNA has at least made time limits into a viable match finish again with this thing. Aries lands the missile dropkick while Thea claps away. Anderson gets the Finlay Roll by catching Aries in the corner and getting 2. Aries armdrags his way out of the Mic Check, and he goes for the brainbuster – but get crotched up top by Anderson.
Aries boxes his way out of that situation and lands the 450 for a 2.5 count. Anderson gets a tornado kick for 2. Aries goes up for a superplex, but Anderson counters into the Lambeau Leap for 2.5. They mess up a Mic Check armdrag a bit, but wind up just fine with Anderson going up top and getting caught by Aries with a super brainbuster for the win! This was sloppy at times, but fairly good – Aries being included in this thing has really increased the match quality of the show. Josh says that Anderson has now been eliminated from the series.
Josh reveals that tonight, we’ll see the Bound For Glory PPV main event for some reason. Maybe they should’ve booked 64 matches for this thing or something, because that makes no sense to do now. In week one, it would – but not now. After a break, we see clips of Ultimate X highlights from BFG. Andrew Everett’s insane flip bump off the X aired a lot, as did Josh calling Shane Helms the greatest cruiserweight of all time. In a similarly ridiculous bit, he asks Pope if Tigre is the greatest X division champion of all time. Mandrews skates partially down to the ring, resulting in Josh calling him “one Dynamic Dude”.
Tigre Uno vs “The Dynamic Dude” Mandrews
Mark Andrews just can’t catch a break in TNA when it comes to names. So if Okada and Baretta are any indication, he should be signed by New Japan in a couple of years and be used to the full extent of his abilities. They flip around on the mat for a bit with some covers getting quick 2 counts. Mandrews does a skateboard pose during the “indy standoff” spot. While they’re wrestling a bit, Josh talks about exorcism live and then Pope says that’s not his job. Josh mocks him for leaving the Bound For Gold match before Pope says his career is over, so it doesn’t need resurrection.
Mandrews surfs on Uno for a bit, which is different than skating. Uno and Mandrws exchange gutwrenches, leading to a wacky lucha gutwrench submission by Uno. Josh talks about numbers for a bit and says that Anderson is absolutely out of this. Josh runs through every possible combination of things that could happen for the EC3 match in such a way that it comes off like minute 50 of an hour long math class where by the end, you just hear nothing and it’s just random noise. Mandrews flies over the top to attack Uno. Uno hits a German into the buckle and gets the win. The Bound For Glory main event airs next.
But first, Josh recaps that Anderson lost and is now out of the tournament mathematically – but he can at least play spoiler for EC3. Aries cuts a promo backstage about setting the bar high because he demands it out of himself. Josh recaps that all of this is due to the BFG series and now, in the third week of the series, we see the match. They join it in progress after intros and throw some new plugs in with graphics for Valpak coupons. Drew hitting the Kryptonite Krunch on the steps onto EC3 is still crazy, and we go to a break after a 2 count.
We come back to see EC3 suplex Matt over the top through Drew on top of a table. German suplex tower of doom hits. Three-way kneeling punch exchange leads to some chops. Frye-Takayama exchange from Matt and Drew leads to a double One Percenter for 2. EC3 shoves Jeff to get DQed, but Jeff won’t do it – so he kicks Drew low to force it as well. Josh and Pope point out that there are no DQs here. EC3 grabs a chair and goes to hit Drew, but Jeff takes it and hits him. In a nice bit, EC3 kicks the chair base out of Drew’s way before the Sick Kick. Matt hits the Twist on Drew to get his revenge on…EC3. And somehow, this story fell flat. EC3 shoving Big John over the table remains hilarious.
Voiceover work recaps the injunction “We could not have a world champion – and Dixie felt that wasn’t the right thing to do”. EC3 is asked about the World Title Series and he talks about how we just saw the travesty that happened to him and he does this for him tonight. We go back to Josh and Pope pondering about what could happen with the points tonight. I can get a few lifetimes without ever hearing the phrase “group play”. Josh and Pope are going to play Swipe Left and Swipe Right with the Future 4 group.
They plug the Jeff Hardy DVD and resume talking about Group Wild Card. In a bizarre move, we see an “earlier tonight” graphic for Jessie Godderz vs. Crimson and just get clips of Crimson missing a shoulder charge and Godderz winning with the Adonis Crab. Jessie’s video package takes longer than the match. Jessie says that he isn’t all talk and he can back it up. He claims to be the best mix of agility, power, and flexibility – and he’ll be the next TNA World Champion. Between Jessie’s confidence and the clips of him just destroying dudes, this was effective – but bizarrely inserted into the show overall. Following up on clips of that match, we get clips of Eli Drake vs. Micah in a battle of former Rising members. They brawl and get a double countout and earn one point each. Why on Earth did they bother showing the full BFG match if they actually shot matches in full?
In a hilarious bit, Destination America makes sure to tell people to not attempt to do an exorcism themselves. Pope is against Grado, but for Brooke and Kong. Manik comes out and he has his mask on. Josh says that Manik went maskless at BFG and he didn’t win. Pope says that he didn’t wear the mask at BFG to make sure he could see every opponent at the PPV. Josh points out a team he likes that wears different uniforms each week and it changes things up. Pope says that he feuded with Suicide for a while and the advantage of a mask is that you can’t read its owner’s full facial expressions.
They have now spent nearly as much time explaining Manik wearing a mask than they have building up some PPVs. Manik stomps a mudhole into DJZ while Josh talks about Helms being the greatest cruiserweight of all time. Pope says he could be the best, while Josh says the title was changed from blue to green due to Helms. Manik gets a snap suplex and then a back suplex before Josh buries Pope for calling a suplex a “souffle” since Solie at least knew the difference between a wrestling move and a breakfast order.
DJZ gets a series of atomic drops before awkwardly positioning his body into the ropes to miss a DDT attempt and Manik gets a cross armbreaker. DJZ dives off the top and eats a pair of boots before Manik misses a frog splash. DJZ misses his silly pop-up tornado DDT before Manik hits a bizarre version of the GTS with a back bump and a kick to the face for the win. We get a recap of a June 17 match between Lashley and EC3 with a weird blue filter put on everything.
Next week, Gail faces Awesome Kong – which Pope hypes up as a BFG rematch. God help us all if they choose to air that as filler programming too. James Storm faces Abyss next week and Robbie is hyped up as tying Matt Hardy on top of the tag team specialists group. EC3 comes out with Tyrus. Josh is now back on EC3’s side and points out that Matt didn’t actually beat EC3 to get revenge. Josh points out via math that Lashley is at least in a position to not be eliminated right now.
EC3 vs. Lashley
Lashley dominates a tie-up, so EC3 stalls on the floor. EC3 comes in and gets pushed around, so he cowers in the corner. Lashley gets a beal and then hits a few lariats before a break. After it, EC3 dominates Lashley on the floor and tosses him into the steps. Lashley hoists him up and hits a spinebuster on the floor. Tyrus pounces into Lashley and he smacks into the post. EC3 gets some mounted punches and grinds away with a cravate. Lashley punches away, but is sent to the floor. Tyrus attacks Lashley again and Josh says that Tyrus could result in more fines for EC3. EC3 goes for a suplex, but it gets countered.
Josh talks about Tyrus’s antics being a complete insult to Dixie and Billy Corgan’s edict about there being no interference in this. I guess that might’ve been in the full video, but they never mentioned that until this very moment on TV. EC3 and Lashley get into a punch exchange before Lashley gets a German suplex and chains it into an overhead belly to belly suplex. Lashley gets a powerslam for 2. Lashley rolls into a rear naked choke, but EC3 escapes thanks to Tyrus.
EC3 gets the Stinger Splash, and there are two minutes left in the match. Lashley turns mounted punches into a running powerbomb. Lashley hits the spear, but Tyrus pulls him out of the ring. EC3 kicks out when Lashley comes in, and Josh gives Tyrus credit for making that happen and only saying it could’ve happened due to the break. Tyrus brings a chair in and eats a spear. That isn’t a DQ, and while the ref is distracted by Tyrus, EC3 low blows Lashley and wins with the One Percenter. Josh calls him a no good SOB, so for this segment at least, he is against EC3. Well, there was absolutely nothing on this show worthwhile outside of the Aries match. Everything involving EC3 was a cluster, they really screwed up this thing feeling important just airing seconds of some matches – so you never really know when they’ll do that, and it marginalizes the people they do that to.
To see every screen taken for the show, just click here.
Welcome to my 5 year anniversary doing NXT reviews for WrestlingObserver.com! The very first match I reviewed was Kaitlyn vs Maxine, which won the 2010 Worst Worked Match Of The Year Award and somehow I came back for more!
-The show opened with a video package for the battle royal from last week. They actually aired almost every elimination, including about 20 seconds on the last two, before showing Apollo Crews standing victorious as your new #1 contender.
Asuka submitted Billie Kay
Asuka kicks things off this week. I haven’t had the chance to write this yet, but she has awesome theme music. Her foe this week is Billie Kay, whose claim to fame is she has the longest legs in NXT. I do like how they are long enough to touch the ground.
Billie grounded Asuka and Asuka stood up and smiled at her before slapping on a rolling arm bar, hitting a German Suplex and then a running knee to the head. Asuka finished things off with the Crossface Chicken Wing with a body scissiors, called the Asuka Lock.
-Last week Baron Corbin and Rhyno’s alliance sadly fell apart during the battle royal, so tonight they will go one on one in the main event.
-A Baron Corbin video aired. It’s actually the same one they aired months ago.
-Tyler Breeze cut a selfie promo on Samoa Joe. Breeze took offense to being eliminated last week and said that if he isn’t #1 Contender then Joe will never be. Breeze did challenge him to a match by threatening to slice off a couple pieces of bacon.
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady defeated Dash & Dawson
Dash and Dawson do not get an automatic title shot after defeated The Vaudevillians during the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Instead they have to defeat a certifide G and a bona fide stud and his 7 foot tall friend.
The heels got the heat on Enzo the entire 2 minute match, working on his knee. Dawson knocked Colin off the apron, turned around and got small packaged by Enzo for the win.
After the match Dash & Dawson immediately took down Enzo, beat him down and then beat down Colin. They actually hit their double team Flapjack/Codebreaker on Colin.
-A Rhyno video aired. It included footage of him in the early-2000’s as ECW Champion, Hardcore Champion and US Champion and brought it full circle to him Goring the world while Paul Heyman’s 2001 commentary screaming “GORE GORE GORE” aired.
Quick joke. What candidate did Rhyno vote for in 2000? Al GORE! GORE! GORE! Okay I’ll stop now.
-Eva Marie is still on vacation. She hopes we all miss her and never forget about her.
James Storm pinned Danny Burch
Turns out Danny Burch is with a u. For some reason I have always been spelling it Birch. The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion is making his debut. They acknowledged he was in WCW for a cup of coffee, but said he spent the last 15 years on the Independent scene. The fans gave him quite the ovation and the announcers put him over big. The fans chanted “You belong here”.
Storm looked good here, winning the match with the 8 Second Ride. Let it be known his debut was better than Chris Harris’ WWE debut. He did scream “Sorry about your damn luck” at Burch afterwards.
-Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews for the NXT Championship in 2 weeks, which led to an Apollo video package. This was a really good video package, including talking about him being an Ultimate Warrior fan and begging his Mom to buy him a toy belt. They also included footage of him in Evolve.
-A Nia Jax video aired. It will not be 8 weeks until her next match, it will only be one.
Alexa Bliss pinned Peyton Royce
I haven’t heard such a quiet crowd in NXT history as I did for Peyton Royce’s entrance. Despite their apathy there were about 10 people trying to start a Peyton Royce chant.
Alexa Bliss is so short (how short is she?). Alexa Bliss is so short that she stood on Peyton at one point and was barely a hair taller than the referee. Peyton kicked Alexa a lot, but it just led to Alexa doing more offense. Bliss did a standing Moonsault, but ended it with double knees to the gut. She did win with the Sparkle Splash.
After the match Alexa cut a promo on Bayley, saying that Alexa is what everyone strives to be and she was made to be NXT Women’s Champion.
-Next week: Samoa Joe vs Tyler Breeze
Baron Corbin pinned Rhyno
Main event time. These two sports entertained at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable in May, which was Corbin’s best (and longest) match until the Joe match in August.
Rhyno beat on Baron until Corbin rolled outside the ring. Rhyno ran after him, but Corbin shoved him and eventually threw him into the ring steps to take over. Rhyno almost didn’t get back in the ring before the 10 count. Back in the ring Corbin hit every move that never beats anyone and then got frustrated when Rhyno didn’t lose to them.
Corey Graves made a comment about how Mike Tyson came out of nowhere to win the Heavyweight Boxing Championship, which is complete bs. Tyson made quite the name for himself and was pretty well known before he went for the title.
Rhyno made his comeback, hitting his belly to belly suplex and the Double A Spinebuster for a near fall. He went for the Gore, got kicked in the face, hit it a second time and somehow Corbin kicked out at 2. Rhyno went for another Gore, but Corbin turned it into End of Days for the win.
-The show ended with Samoa Joe cutting a promo on Tyler Breeze backstage. Joe called him a desperate man and in his desperation he cost Joe his rightful title shot. He said Tyler had the audacity to call him out and Joe asked him to take the very best picture he could because after next week he will never look the same again.
A great promo to end the show and we are done for the week. Thanks for checking things out, see you next week and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
