Des Moines, Iowa: – World Champion Sandor Szabo beat Earl Wampler in 2 straight falls to retain title
1951
Tampa, Florida: – Mae Young defeated Cora Combs to become the first NWA Florida Women’s Champion
1962
Fargo, North Dakota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Bill Miller – Crusher beat Doug Gilbert – Rocky Hamilton beat Jack Allen – Moose Evans beat George Cannon
1967
Mexico City, Mexico: – El Nazi defeated Mil Mascaras to win the Mexican Light-Heavyweight Title
1970
Tokyo, Japan: – Akio Kyo defeated Marie Vagnone for the WWWA World Title
1971
Atlanta, Georgia: – Ray Gunkel defeated Big John to win the Georgia TV Title
1976
Atlanta, Georgia: – Andre The Giant won a Battle Royal – I Quit Match: Dusty Rhodes beat Missouri Mauler – Ole Anderson & Gene Anderson beat Raymond Rougeau & Roberto Soto – Jos LeDuc beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq – Mongolian Stomper beat Rick McGraw – Ricky Steamboat beat Jim Lancaster
1979
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler defeated Bill Dundee to win the Southern Heavyweight Title
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel drew Dewey Robertson – US Champion Jimmy Snuka beat Ric Flair – Johnny Weaver & Jay Youngblood beat The Scorpion & Brute Bernard – The Destroyer beat Klondike Bill
1981
Jackson, Mississippi: – The Junkyard Dog & Mike George defeated The Samoans (Afa & Sika) to win the Mid-South Wrestling Tag Team Title
1984
Memphis, Tennessee: – AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Rick Rude & King Kong Bundy – Jerry Lawler & Jimmy Valiant & Randy Savage beat Dirty White Boys & Phil Hickerson (sub Jimmy Hart) – International Champion Eddie Gilbert beat Lanny Poffo – Phil Hickerson & Kurt Von Hess beat Tojo Yamamoto & Dutch Mantel – Rufus R Jones & Mark Ragin beat Nightmares
1985
Salt Lake City, Utah: – Stan Hansen won battle royal – Greg Gagne drew Nick Bockwinkel – Brad Rheingans beat Boris Zhukov – Stan Hansen beat Kevin Kelly – Steve Regal beat Jerry Oski – Jim Garvin beat Buck Zumhofe
1988
Dallas, Texas @ the Cotton Bowl: – Texas Death Match; Kerry Von Erich beat World Class and AWA Champion Jerry Lawler by dq – Michael Hayes & Steve Cox beat Samoan Swat Team to regain the World Class Tag Team Title – Dog Collar Match; Terry Gordy double count out with Botswana Beast – Kevin Von Erich beat Brian Adias by dq – Jeff Jarrett beat Eric Embry to win the World Class Light Heavyweight Title – Texas Champion Iceman King Parsons double count out with Kendall Windham – Blackjack Mulligan & Bill Irwin beat Jimmy Jack Funk & Black Bart
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – Hurricane Castillo, Jr. & Miguelito Perez defeated Bobby Jaggers & Dan Kroffat to win the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Title
1998
Chicago, Illinois: – X-Pac defeated D’Lo Brown to capture the WWF European Heavyweight Title
Last week, the World Title Series began with a mixed bag of matches. Austin Aries vs. EC3 was fantastic, while Grado vs. Rockstar Spud in a WWE cosplay match was among the worst matches on TV this year. Lashley beat Ken Anderson in a very good main event, while Kong beat Rayne to advance in the knockouts bracket. Gail also lost to Brooke in a good match in that same bracket. Tonight, we’ll find out the other 16 competitors that will fill out the field.
A Bound For Glory recap video starts the show off. We see Matt Hardy winning the title by beating Galloway, the injunction, and Matt’s vacating of the title. Dixie and Billy Corgan’s announcement of the World Title Series, alongside the various groups are shown before we see the results of each match from last week. Josh and Pope, who Josh calls “the most entertaining commentator in the business” are against their green screen.
They run down the next fields – Group Tag Team Specialists, Group Future Four. Group X Division, and Group TNA Originals were announced. Robbie E cuts a promo on Robbie G from his car, and in portrait mode. He challenges him to a TNA Impact match. Matt Hardy is set to face Davey, who comes out first. The Wolves’ win over Team GFW is shown from BFG. Matt comes out and we see Matt’s BFG celebration while Josh points out how little that wound up meaning.
Matt Hardy vs. Davey Richards
Matt and Davey have a nice babyface vs. babyface match here. They don’t want to hurt one another, but Davey does land a nice dropkick. During the roundtable, Davey talks about being ready for this while Matt puts over the fellow tag specialists and he plans to win. Apron warfare breaks out as Davey gets some kicks, but gets caught in a Side Effect on the apron. Matt gets a snapmare and a series of legdrops for 2. Matt locks on a sleeper and turns it into a slam for 2. Matt drapes him over the second rope and hits a Nightmare on Helms Street for 2.
Matt walks the middle rope for an elbow, but Davey gets a backstabber. Matt gets low-bridged and Davey hits a suicide dive while Josh talks about BFG trending non-stop for nearly two weeks. Handspring kick hits for 2. Josh talks about Little Pope, the doll, being a big star at BFG. Davey backslides his way out of a Twist of Fate. Side Effect gets 2. Matt goes up and eats a big kick to the chest. Matt avoids the double stomp off the top and hits a Twist of Fate for the win. Hooray! A Beer Money video package! We see some clips of their greatest moments, Storm’s title win, and then Roode winning it from him. Tonight, they will have their final match in TNA.
In the Group X Division roundtable, we get everyone insulting each other. Manik buries Mandrews and calls him Bart Simpson for having a skateboard. Is his gimmick now that he’s a Dynamic Dude? Pope makes two picks while Josh begs for hashtags. Aiden ‘O Shea makes his Impact debut and we see him throw hands while Josh tells pope that Aiden throws hands better than Elijah Burke ever did. Kenny King is out to face him.
Aiden ‘O Shea vs. Kenny King
Aiden throws his shirt at King to get in cheapshots. A pair of jabs to the jaw leads to a hard body shot. Aiden ‘O Shea misses the Boomstick lariat and then just spins around maniacally on one foot to stare at Kenny immediately. Aiden stands on the achilles tendon in a nice bit. In the roundtable, Shera says that he is bigger, stronger, and faster. Steve honks in either agreement or disagreement. Kenny gets a sunset flip for a loose 2 count. Aiden gets a back suplex into a backbreaker. Kenny kicks his way out of a Boomstick and gets a spin kick. Kenny goes for the Royal Flush, but he gets his eyes raked. Kenny gets a kick on the apron and hits a springboard blockbuster for the win. EY rambles backstage about how the World title goes through him in 2015. He’s also God, and he’s getting the World Title again because it’s all he’s ever cared about. EY faces Abyss next.
But first, we see Matt beat Davey in the opener. Davey says he won’t make excuses because Matt’s a legend. He isn’t about excuses, and tonight, Matt was the better man. Matt leads Team Tag Team Specialists with three points. EC3 will have an interview via Skype later tonight. Josh and Pope do a bizarre Tinder-style swipe for the TNA Originals brackets. Roode says that EY has lost his mind and that he’ll be screwed over by his mental problems. EY says that it was hard to decide who was going to lose, and EY says that he’ll answer JB’s “first question” even though we just saw one, and predicted that Roode will be eliminated. Storm says that Abyss will lose because he can’t even walk a straight line. Abyss says that Storm came to him, not the other way around. “YOU PROMISED ME ALL KINDS OF STUFF, AND NONE OF IT HAPPENED!”. EY comes down in his crazy fisherman getup.We see clips of EY attacking Kurt and the doctor, before EY lost to Angle at BFG. Josh and Pope talk about Pope entering Bound For Gold, and it takes more time to do that than his appearance took.
Eric Young vs. Abyss
Abyss shoulders him down a few time. Abyss goes for a chokeslam, but EY bites his hand for an ad break. We come back and EY has Abyss reeling, but Abyss still sends him over the top to the floor. They fight on the floor and Abyss misses a charge into the post. Josh says that unlike Storm, TNA doesn’t have empty promises and is coming to the UK soon. So what about that Halloween Hardcore tour? EY puts Abyss on the apron and boots his head. EY chokes him on the ropes and then dives into a chokeslam, which is countered – but a Samoan drop isn’t. Abyss clubs him down a few times and goes for another chokeslam, but he stomps his foot to escape. Abyss finally gets the chokeslam for 2. Abyss gets Janice (the weapon, not the person) from under the ring. TNA Hall of Famer Earl Hebner grabs it, and EY low blows Abyss and hits a flying elbow for 2. Abyss backdrops him out of a piledriver and hits the Black Hole Slam for the win.
We see the standings for the Originals team – Abyss is in the lead with three points. Josh is joined by EC3 on Skype. EC3 is in a cheap-looking room that is painted black, and it’s like an echo chamber in there too. EC3 says he should be champion and Josh says he was left with just one point last week. EC3 says that Aries didn’t beat him – no one will. EC3 will face Lashley next week and Josh asks if he’s behind the 8 Ball. EC3 says he’s confused by that unless it’s a reference to the Magic 8 Ball, and the series isn’t over until he wins.
We get a recap of Abyss beating EY, so EY is behind and Abyss leads the pack. EY says Abyss, the fans, and the company are all against him. EY says he wins in the end and he is serious and he will win. okay then. Abyss tells Storm and Roode that they’ll meet the same fate EY did. Robbie E is out first while Josh talks about Robbie wanting to be taken seriously. Well, that’s just not happening with this gimmick. Eddie Edwards comes out to face him.
Eddie Edwards vs. Robbie E.
They go into a collar and elbow tie-up and we see Eddie say that Robbie has turned over a new leaf. They exchange rolls on the mat and Robbie looks more impressive here as a wrestler than he has before in TNA. Robbie lands a big back elbow-leading lariat for 2. Eddie Matrixes out of a lariat and gets an inverted atomic drop and a running knee for 2.
Robbie avoids a corner charge that sends Eddie to the floor. Robbie dives to the floor onto Eddie and gets a big “Robbie” chant. Robbie gets a Hart Attack for 2. Robbie gets a big suplex while Matt says that Robbie is the least-likely to move on. Of course, the in-ring action takes up less space than the talking. Eddie flips out of a German and sends Robbie to the apron and then the floor. They double lariat each other on the floor. Nasty chop on the floor sends Robbie into the ring. Robbie gets the Boom Drop for 2. Eddie flips out of a reverse DDT and gets a German and a half crab. Running enzuiguri to the head hurts Robbie, but Robbie lands the reverse DDT for the win. This was a pretty solid little match – Robbie E’s stock rose a bit with it. Well, in theory. Pope calls Robbie’s story a Cinderella story that every wrestling fan can get behind.
We see clips of Roode’s dominant World Title reign. We see him lose it, then regain it before losing it again. He holds the KOTM Title, but wants to be the World Champion too and prove that he’s the greatest wrestler alive. Roode says that tonight, he and Storm put their history behind them – and he’ll beat him tonight and prove that he wants the title more.
Robbie vs. Eddie clips air and Robbie says that yeah, you might think he’s a joke – but he’s a two-time tag champ and a former X Division champion too. Eddie says that Robbie surprised a lot of people and he poked fun at him, but he regrets it now. Josh says that Robbie is now “trending in a positive direction” and we go to the roundtable for Team Future Four. Eli Drake cuts a great promo about how he needs to be in a roundtable with guys holding gold. One guy looks like a peacock and Micah still wants to be his friend. Jessie says that E-li Drake doesn’t matter and Crimson says he’s been to war and he’ll take Eli out. Micah says that the next person who will progress is he and Crimson while calling Eli a son of a bitch. Crimson says Micah will go on alongside him too. Crazzy Steve is out to face Mahabala Shera. Oh my God – this will be a thing.
Crazzy Steve vs. Mahabali Shera
Shera isn’t doing his Shera shake, and he’s in his Khoya gear – so this is definitely exposing the odd taping schedule of this. Josh says that he asked Shera why he has Khoya on his trunks and he says it’s a reminder of what he isn’t. Shera overpowers Steve and plows through him with a shoulderblock. Shera lands a corner lariat while the crowd chants for Crazzy Steve. Josh ponders what kind of interviews Steve will do with Conan ‘O Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Steve runs wild with lariats to the back. Shera swipes him away, but eats forearms and a dropkick. Steve bites the forehead, but eats a Sky High and Shera wins.
We get another recap of Storm being attacked by Roode, and how the Revolution was just his attempt to rekindle what worked with Beer Money. The Revolution broke up due to Storm, and now Storm walks alone in his quest for the World title. Storm vs. Roode is the main event, and up next. Josh ponders what’s going to happen tonight before we see the rankings for Group Champions. EC3 faces Lashley next week and we get a highlight reel of Lashley kicking ass in the ring and the gym. The song used here is pretty darn catchy. Storm comes out first looking great in his slicker jacket while Roode comes out in Terry Taylor’s black and red robe. He’s certainly got his money’s worth out of that investment. Roode doesn’t have the belt on during his intro.
James Storm vs. Robert Roode
Storm starts this by doing the “Beer!” part of Beer Money while Roode just stares there sternly. Josh calls Roode both the purist’s purist and the wrestler’s wrestler. Is he also a whistler’s whistler? Pope points out that Storm is holding up one finger to show that there’s always room for one more in the Revolution, while Josh says that’s silly since there is no Revolution.
Storm lands a knee to the gut and clubs the back. Roode comes back and gets some cornermount punches and a big dropkick. Storm gets a suckerpunch to send Roode back into the ring. They brawl to the floor and Storm is flung into the barricade. Storm distracts the ref while he low blows Roode. Roode takes three bumps for it. Josh says if you can’t keep track of this tournament, don’t worry – you can just check out the TNA site. Storm gets the Nightmare of Helms Street for 2 and plants a chinlock mid-ring.
Christy points out that there are five minutes left in the match. Nothing of real note has happened outside of the awesome low blow selling from Roode. Josh points out that the TNA Originals group has also been World Champions, alongside Group Champions. Spinebuster hits Storm for 2. Roode gets a blockbuster for 2. Storm avoids the Perfectplex and gets a very slow flying spinning headscissors for 2. Storm grabs a chair and Roode kicks him, so Roode grabs it and the ref takes it from him – it distracts the ref and Storm gets 2 off a cowbell shot. Roode avoids the superkick, so Storm goes for the whirlybird, but Roode kicks the gut and wins with a Perfectplex. For roughly eight years, Roode and Storm have been linked to each other and this was the end of it. The company did a fine job making the match feel epic beforehand, but it just didn’t come across as anything more than filler – it wasn’t even an homage to classic spots. It was just a series of moves that led to a finish and didn’t elicit any emotion whatsoever
To see every screen from the show, just click here.
Jay Lethal with his first title defence since the PPV and match 4 in the best of 5 series between ACH and Matt Sydal highlight this show.
Show Recap:
We finally get a show taped after the All-Star Extravaganza PPV, which took place 3 weekends ago. San Antonio, TX, was the site of this taping.
ACH vs “Reborn” Matt Sydal
This is match 4 of the best of 5 series. ACH is up 2-1 going in and Kevin Kelly informs us that 75% of sporting teams that win game 3 of a best of 5 series go on to win the series. ACH won the third match at All-Star Extravaganza. A statistic they didn’t mention is that in best of 5 series or best of 7 series in pro wrestling, they virtually always go to the deciding match so there is approximately a 100% chance that Sydal wins here.
They adhere to the Code of Honor to start but there is a little tension building off the previous 3 matches. Sydal worked a very subtle heel style at the PPV and with this taking place in ACH’s home state, it stands to reason the crowd would be behind him in this match.
They do some mat wrestling early with neither guy getting the advantage. Then a bunch of flips. Crowd was fairly dead for all of this until Sydal knocked ACH out of the ring and followed him out and they brawled in front of the crowd. Sydal whipping ACH into the guard rail but ACH recovered right away and they were back in the ring quickly.
ACH hit the “Dum-Dum” stomp (double foot-stomp to the back of the head from the top rope) on Sydal but only got two. They went to break with guys down after a couple more failed pin attempts by ACH. Back from break and Sydal is out of the ring and ACH nails him with a sliding dropkick in front of the announce desk. Duelling chants for both guys, with the ACH chants slightly louder.
Back in the ring and ACH attempts a top rope move but Sydal nails him with a thrust kick in midair. Sydal chops him down with knees and then hits a leg lariat for a two. Fans chant THAT WAS TWO after Sydal argues with the ref. ACH stumbles to his feet and then falls and the ref is checking to see if he’s unconscious. Sydal is all over him instead of letting the ref check on him, which the announcers point out.
ACH recovers fairly quickly and hits a running elbow in the corner, followed by a German suplex with a bridge to get a two. Sydal hits a top rope Rana but ACH lands on his feet. ACH hits a roaring elbow, followed by a swinging neckbreaker but Sydal kicks out right before the three. Crowd thought that was the finish.
ACH sets up for the Midnight star but Sydal rolls out of the ring. ACH hits the Fosbury flop dive outside the ring and the crowd is going nuts. In the ring, Sydal hits two jumping knees to the head and then goes to the top rope. ACH hits a dropkick from the canvas to the top to knock Sydal off the ropes. ACH then hit a brainbuster and went to the top for the Midnight Star. Sydal got his knees up though.
Sydal hit a standing Rana that dropped ACH right on his head and then went to the top rope. Shooting Star Press and it’s over.
WINNER – MATT SYDAL by pinfall
Match started slow but really picked up at the end to turn into the usual 3.5-4 star match that these two usually have. They shook hands at the end and then were jumped by the Addiction and Chris Sabin. Both guys were laid out with Celebrity Rehap.
After a commercial break, the Addiction were still in the ring. Kazarian is upset because their World tag team championships of the World were stolen from them. Kazarian rips on Texas, saying they may not believe in bathing or education but they believe in justice. They demand that justice be served. Daniels gets on the mic and says he’s not talking to the fans, cause they’re beneath him, they are talking to whomever interfered in the title match at the PPV, costing them their belts.
“We were not pinned, we were not beaten and therefore we are still the World tag team champion of the World”. They then challenged the champions to bring them out their belts. Instead of the Kingdom, they get the All-Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus. “ALL NIGHT” chants from the crowd greet them.
Kenny King claims that they are the linear tag team champions as they were never beaten for the titles, they were beaten by politics. Seems like they’re setting up either a 3 way for the titles or a program between these two teams.
After a break, Kevin Kelly informs us that we will get a match next weeks between the Addiction and ANX. Kelly and Corino also inform us for the first time (if we didn’t watch the PPV) that Silas Young beat Dalton Castle to win the boys, which leads into the next match.
Silas Young is out with the Beer City Bruiser and the Boys. Young chastises them for wearing “Dalton Castle crap” when he told them to wear wrestling gear. So their first lesson is how to take a whupping from a man.
“Pro Wrestling’s Last Real Man” Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs The Boys
Young says “take care of them Bruiser” and leaves the ring. Bruiser does just that, mandhandling them for a couple of minutes. Bruiser goes for a top rope splash but the Boys move out of the way. Boys ride him like a bucking bronco in a very “unmanly” way, which brings in Young. He lays them both out and hits misery on one to get the win.
WINNERS – SILAS YOUNG/BEER CITY BRUISER
Bruiser and Young carry the beaten boys to the back over their shoulders. Jay Lethal and Truth Martini do a backstage promo hyping up Lethal’s TV title defence against Watanabe in tonight’s main event. Nothing much to this.
“Inside ROH” with Mandy Leon is next and tonight we look at the Kingdom and specifically Adam Cole’s involvement in the main event match between Jay Lethal and Kyle O’Reilly. ReDRagon cut an angry promo on Cole. O’Reilly says he pities him and he’s dug his own grave because he’s going to be eating his meals through a straw after ReDRagon are done with him. Cole rebuts with a promo of his own. He explains his actions by saying that when he was out with his shoulder injury, he got sick and tired of people saying Kyle O’Reilly would be the next ROH champion. He will be the next champion. Kyle O’Reilly is a “lesser Adam Cole. The segment closes with highlights of the tag title match at the PPV and Kingdom winning the belts.
ROH TV Champion Jay Lethal w/Truth Martini vs Takaaki Watanabe
We get highlights of the Gauntlet match that Watanabe won to earn this title shot. They adhere to the code of Honor, as Lethal usually does. Duelling chants early on and Kevin Kelly informs us that in addition to the tag match announced earlier, Jay Briscoe and Adam Page will meet in a no-DQ match and The Kingdom will have an in-ring promo.
Watanabe gets the early advantage and Lethal bails outside the ring. Watanabe follows him out and rolls him back into the ring but Lethal uses an eye poke and then some interference from Martini to get the advantage. He then this the Trifecta of “Crash and Burns” and poses on the top rope as we go to break. Fans loving this.
Back from break and Lethal screams at Watanabe “I’m the Ring of Honor Champion” and the fans respond with a YES YOU ARE chant. Lethal having his way with the challenger and using illegal tactics, just cause he can. Ref arguing with him but Lethal doesn’t really care. He throws Watanabe out of the ring and then stops to chat with Martini. This looks very much like a Ric Flair title defence on TV in the mid-80’s against an overmatched challenger.
Watanabe gets brief flurry of offence but Lethal stops that with a kick to the head and a lacklustre cover for two. Lethal acts like he’s going to go for a running kick but instead stops and puts a headlock on Watanabe, which the crowd eats up. Watanabe whips Lethal into the corner five times in a row to get the advantage. He then hits an overhead suplex with a release but Lethal comes back with a bicycle kick and goes for the Lethal Injection but Watanabe breaks it up with a Full Nelson attempt.
Lethal powers out with elbows but then Watanabe nearly takes his head off with a short-arm clothesline. He covers but only gets a two off of that. Martini slides in the Book of Truth and while the ref is distracted getting it out of the ring, Lethal hits a low blow. He follows up with the Lethal Injection for the win.
WINNER AND STILL ROH TV CHAMPION – JAY LETHAL by pinfall
Match was nothing special but a fine showcase for Lethal. Fans chant for AJ Styles after the match and Lethal annoyed by it as he leaves to the ring to close the show. Styles won a #1 contenders match at All-Star Extravaganza so that will be Lethal’s next program.
No UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 due to the MLB Playoffs.
NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has a battle royal to determine the number one contender to Finn Balor’s NXT Championship.
Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America returns with more of the TNA World Title Series.
ROH at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America has ACH vs. Matt Sydal match four of their best of five series, Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser vs. The Boys, and Jay Lethal vs. Watanabe for the ROH Television Championship
Evolve will have two shows this weekend on via WWN Live. Sami Zayn will be appearing on both shows live, but won’t be on either iPPV.
Evolve 49 – Saturday at 7 pm EST
I Quit Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page (if Gargano loses, he must leave WWN)
Timothy Thatcher and TJ Perkins vs. Trent Baretta and Rocky Romero
Drew Gulak vs. Trevor Lee (Winner gets Evolve title shot the next night)
Anthony Nese vs. Andrew Everett vs. Matt Cage vs. Peter Kassa
Tracy Williams vs. Willie Mack
Matt Riddle vs. Jonathan Gresham
Evolve 50- Sunday at 8 pm EST
Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher vs. Winner between Drew Gulak and Trevor Lee
Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero vs. Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley
Willie Mack vs. Gulak/Lee loser
TJ Perkins vs. Tracy Williams
Matt Riddle vs. Chris Dickinson
Andrew Everett vs. Peter Kassa
Ethan Page vs. Matt Cage
****
Figure Four Weekly:
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring details on all facets of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, including a better understanding of Gawker’s defense, what else the judge has sealed to protect Hogan, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news.
****
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
An update on the status of Daniel Bryan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which is on the site right now and also can be subscribed to for home delivery. We update his situation and how the decision on his future will be made shortly. We also look at Daniel Cormier and the light heavyweight division and what the business notes say, the WWE’s Madison Square Garden event with Brock Lesnar, TNA’s Bound for Glory and world title tournament, Conor McGregor predicts the future once again, a pro wrestler is in the Japanese cabinet as well as our monthly look at the WWE and TNA’s business indicators.
We look at what Daniel Bryan said this past week regarding his future and how the decision will be made for him soon, and what he’d like to do if he wasn’t working for WWE.
We look at Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson and the shadow over the light heavyweight division, the news coming out of UFC 192, and full coverage of the event with business notes, early PPV indicators and poll results.
We look at the WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden, Brock Lesnar’s return, how the show was promoted, Chris Jericho’s 25th anniversary as a pro wrestler and match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
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Wednesday Daily Update
Variety reported late last night that WWE Studios has signed Josh Gad and writing partner Ryan Dixon to do the screenplay for a Gorgeous George biopic. They had optioned John Capouya’s excellent George biography right after his Hall of Fame induction in 2010, but it morphed into a documentary before being shelved.
With opponent Stipe Miocic injured, Ben Rothwell has officially been pulled from next week’s UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Duffy card in Dublin. Norman Parke vs. Reza Madadi has been bumped up to the semi-main event slot.
WrestlingDVDNetwork posted a vague report that the upcoming Owen: Hart of Gold DVD and Blu-Ray sets may be changed in some form. The project was done entirely without approval or involvement from Owen’s widow Martha, who sued WWE in the past to try to stop them from ever using his image again. Those counts were all thrown out (she settled with WWE on the issue of unpaid royalties), but she’s made it clear that her position is that this is something she doesn’t want WWE doing.
GFW Las Vegas TV taping lineup for 10/23: NEX*GEN Championship Finals: PJ Black vs. Virgil Flynn vs. Jigsaw vs. TJP, NEX*GEN Contenders match: Sonjay Dutt vs. Seiya Sanada, Bestia 666 vs. Cielo Escorpian, Women’s Championship Final: Christina Von Eerie vs. Amber Gallows, Tag Team Championship semifinal: Reno Scum vs. Teaze N Sleaze, Tag Team Championship semifinal: Bollywood Boyz vs. Whirlwind Gentlemen, Global Championship contenders match: Brian Myers vs. Kongo Kong (w/ Henry Maxwell) vs. Kevin Kross, plus new GFW Global Champion will be crowned. Also appearing: Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Nick Aldis, Bobby Roode, Chael Sonnen, Chris Mordetzky and The Masked Saint.
World Series of Fighting announced WSOF 26 for Friday, December 18th in Las Vegas featuring 145-pound champion Lance Palmer against the winner of Alexandre Almeida vs. Saul Almeida at WSOF 24, and Tyrone Spong vs. the dreaded TBD. However, the image WSOF had in their email featured Jake Heun as Spong’s opponent, so there’s some quality control issues going on there.
Just this week, Spong had, for at least the second time in recent months, offered to take a UFC fight as a late replacement (vs. Ben Rothwell) in spite of being under contract to WSOF.
Speaking of Rothwell, the UFC will not book a replacement against him for the impending UFC Ireland Fight Pass show. Assume that Rothwell vs. the injured Stipe Miocic will be rescheduled as the next fight for both men.
The post-Royal Rumble RAW will be at Miami’s American Airlines Arena for the first time in two years on January 25th. Presale started Wednesday with the password GOHEAT
The code for the presale for tickets to the December 21st Raw at the Target Center in Minneapolis is RAWMINNY.
Tickets for WWE’s December 27th house show in Chicago (WWE always does major market house shows Christmas week) have a pre-sale starting tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. local time (public on-sale Saturday) with the password WWECHI
Here’s a video of Trina Michaels cutting a long promo on the AWS promotion.
Robbie E is still desperately trying to get headlines for TNA in calling out New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Here’s Robbie’s appearance on the Chad Dukes Show this week.
With no UFC or Bellator this coming weekend, here are some of the top regional shows upcoming and how you can view them:
Legacy FC 47 on AXS TV on Friday at 10 p.m. eastern has former UFC fighter Clay Harvison in the main event against TUF 15 competitor Jordan Rinaldi in the main event. Nothing much else of note on that undercard
Rumble on the Ridge 33 is available online for $9.95 on Friday night at 8 pm Pacific, 11 eastern, and features six fights, with the most notable fighter being former Bellator Heavyweight and regional veteran Tony Lopez in the main event against Jared Torgeson
Battlefield Fight League 39 airs on Saturday at 8 pm eastern on The Fight Network. No notables names on this card and the main event features Welterweights Dejan Kajic against Curtis Harriott
The biggest show of the weekend is WSOF 24 featuring former UFC Fighters Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami in the main event. The show airs on NBC Sports Network at 9 pm eastern on Saturday. The Fitch-Okami winner will face Jake Shields for the group’s welterweight title early next year. The title is currently vacant after WSOF stripped former champion Rousimar Palhares of the belt last month. Other notable fights on the card: Blagoi Ivanov vs Derrick Mehman for the WSOF Heavyweight title, Vinny Magalhaes vs UFC vet Matt Hamill and Nick Newell vs Tommy Marcellino. Newell is the fighter who was born with one arm that fought Justin Gaethje for the WSOF lightweight title last July.
The prelims of the WSOF show are available online for free starting at about 7 pm eastern. The biggest names on that portion of the show are former UFC fighters Pat Walsh and Colton Smith as well as former Featherweight title challenger Rick Glenn.
There were lots of “New Day Sucks” chants and of course plenty of “Whoo!” yells. The hard camera area was tarped off, along with a few other rows and the entire upper bowl.
Dark Match —
– Tyler Breeze beat Damien Sandow. Damien is finally is just Damien. Breeze hit the Beauty Shot for the win in about four and a half minutes.
Smackdown —
Roman Reigns beat Bo Dallas
Before the match, Bo cut a promo about Roman’s match with Bray Wyatt at Hell in a Cell, and mentioned going to Suplex City. He told Roman the only way he would leave Hell in a Cell is on a stretcher. Bad move. After some initial offense by Bo, Roman ended up destroying him in five minutes… Big Pop for Reigns. Roman cut a promo about the Hell in a Cell Match. Several in Cincinnati gave him the “What?” treatment. Bray appeared on the Titantron, and said that next Monday he will make a promise of some sort. “Anyone but you.” That was it.
King Barrett and Sheamus beat Cesaro and Neville
After a couple great false finishes down the stretch, it ended when a ref distraction by Sheamus with the MITB briefcase, allowing Barrett to hit the Bull Hammer on Cesaro, then Sheamus pinned him…
Summer Rae was interviewed regarding being a special referee for Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler. She promised to be impartial.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens beat Zack Ryder
Ryback was out at ringside. This was the expected Owens squash in about three minutes. Afterward, Ryback rushed the ring and then Owens bailed quickly.
Dolph Ziggler beat Rusev with Summer Rae as special referee
Summer called it down the middle at first, but then gave Ziggler the faster count and either wouldn’t count pins or gave slow counts for Rusev. It ended with Summer slapping Rusev, leading to Dolph hitting Zigzag for the fast three count. Post match, Summer cut a promo, saying Lana and Rusev did them dirty. Summer ended up asking Ziggler if she could be with him…which led him to saying no because, as he said it, “When it comes to those kind of games, I’m not playing them.”
The Dudleys and Dean Ambrose did a backstage interview for the main event. The Dudleys put over Dean as combustible. They hyped the Hell in a Cell Tag Team Championship match, then Dean went for the cheap hometown pop and ended by saying New Day was going to get 3D’ed.
After a Susan Komen video, Prime Time Players came out for the next match.
Braun Strowman and Luke Harper beat The Prime Time Players
Hard hitting match, but I knew how it would end. Sure enough, Harper and Strowman won by submission in about five minutes…
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Becky Lynch) beat Alicia Fox (w/Nikki Bella, Brie Bella) in a non title match
Team BAD was shown backstage watching. Charlotte won with a Figure Eight in about four minutes. After the match, Team Bella started a beat down of Charlotte and Lynch until Paige ran out to make a save
A backstage segment showed Paige repeatedly saying she would make everything up to Becky and Charlotte. We soon saw why as Natalya was found laid out in another room.
The Dudley Boyz and Dean Ambrose beat WWE Tag Team Champions New Day by DQ
Before the match, New Day cut a promo talking about all of the people they’ve put down in the past. As usual, Cincy blew the roof off US Bank Arena for Dean Ambrose and the hometown boy soaked it in. The match was a normal six-man tag until New Day used the trombone to cause the DQ and laid waste to the Dudleys. No save by Ambrose. A replay followed and the New Day stood tall concluding the Smackdown taping.
Dark Main Event —
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
Reigns took the punishment for much of the match until he could explode out of the corner with a clothesline and make the hot tag. Ambrose cleaned up from that point onward, except a brief comeback by the Wyatt Family. It ended with Reigns spearing Wyatt while Dean hit Dirty Deeds on Harper for a pin in about seven minutes.
– Run date: June 20, 1985 – Air time: 44:57 – Stars of the show: Steele, Capt. Lou Albano and Dr. Sigmund Ziff
Talk about a show that absolutely could not happen today. This was an offensive, insensitive and politically incorrect show. But it was also absolutely hilarious, with several laugh-out-loud moments, and some of the best acting ever on cable television. No TNT never won an Emmy, but my goodness, George “The Animal” Steele deserved an Emmy and an Oscar for his ridiculously brilliant performance as a psychotic, traumatized, dysfunctional person with several mental limitations.
This guy nailed this character, to the point where we are almost believe that he was legitimately limited. We’ll get to Steele in a minute, but first we get to hear Vince McMahon interview The Junkyard Dog.
The JYD was one of those legitimately super-popular guys before he ever stepped into a WWF ring. The WWF had not real plan for him, other than he was part of the dozens of wrestlers stolen from the territories. JYD was charismatic and super-popular, but he never destined for anything other than mid-card status with Hulk Hogan on top.
The Dog comes out and McMahon launches into his typical fanboy gushing, mentioning how popular JYD is. The Dog says “I can get along with anybody.”
We go quickly to a match between JYD and Tito Santana against Matt Borne and Steve Lombardi. Santana really carried this match. This guy was an incredible worker. Too bad he was buried also as a mid-carder in the Hulk Hogan area. In terms of technical ability he is one of the to 75 wrestlers of all time. The Dog was not a great worker. He was charismatic, but his offense here looked worse than Jon Stewart’s chair shot on John Cena at Summerslam.
Borne is doing his best to sell for JYD though, bumping like he’s Dolph Ziggler after two energy drinks. For no reason Ventura decides to go full-on racist: “The Junkyard Dog to me is almost illiterate and Chico Santana he don’t speak English all that well.”
No wonder Ventura wants to be Donald Trump’s running mate? Or wait, is that Hulk Hogan who wants to be his running mate. Ventura is the more sensible of the two, so maybe it was Hogan. Nonetheless, the WWF “scriptwriters” weren’t too kind to these wrestlers of color in 1985.
Santana pins Borne and we are back in the studio with JYD and McMahon saying “the fans were all over you.” McMahon humors us: “You have nothing but success in front of you as far as the fans are concerned.” McMahon even suggests that maybe if the Dog keeps winning he’ll get a title show against Hulk Hogan.
Yeah right. Hogan was no John Cena, who in the last decade put over fan favorites such as Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, RVD, The Rock and Edge, for no other reason other than he wanted get those guys over. Hogan put over the JYD in 1985? That was never going to happen.
The Junkyard Dog lingers, sliding down the couch as they introduce the next guest, Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart. Hart had the best laugh in the world. It rolled on forever. So annoying. He was a little fireball. A perfect heel. Hart refuses sit on the same couch as JYD, saying that either he leaves or the JYD leaves. Of course, JYD leaves because he’s a gentleman and doesn’t want to disrupt the show.
Hart has a package that give gives Lord Alfred Hayes. Apparently, in one of the episodes that is not on the WWE network, a few weeks ago Hart dumped water on Hayes in a beach segment featuring King Kong Bundy. To make up for this, Hart gave Hayes a package.
As Hart starts to fiddle with the package, we go to a match featuring Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and Mario Mancini. Valentine was a true professional wrestler, but my god was he boring to watch. The match is moving like Ryback vs. The Big Show. Making matters worse, we have Bruno Sammartino on color commentary, who is referring to Hammer as being in “tip-top shape.”
No matter how great or awful they were in the ring, you could always count on Sammartino to comment about each wrestler’s physique and strength and conditioning, even if the were pudgy little jobbers. Oh well, at least we didn’t have to listen to him talk this week about how strong his son David is.
To distract people from the ridiculously slow pace of the match, Hart is jabbering with a crazy fan at ringside. Hart knew how to draw heel heat.
Valentine wins with a figure-four-leglock and back in the TNT studio Hayes is still opening the package. It’s one of those boxes that when you open it there’s another box inside. Hayes finally gets to the right box and a snake and powder explodes into the air, splashing all over Hayes and his jacket.
“There’s no fool, like an old fool,” Hart says with a maniacal laugh. Hayes pops up as though he’s going to assault him, when JYD returns with a jug of water. He goes after Hart and pours it on him. Hart screams, “You ruined my outfit. You are going to pay for this” and runs off the set.
Up next, we get what McMahon calls “a great lady wrestler.” Too bad McMahon doesn’t call his talent “wrestlers” anymore. Petersen comes out apparently as the newest challenger for Wendi Richter. McMahon has no shame: “Talk about an attractive young lady,” he says.
Sitting straight up and proper, she says “thank you” for the compliments. McMahon has morphed into his slimy nice guy character here, his voice low, his body leaning toward Petersen, trying to make her feel comfortable.
We go to the ring and its Peterson against Judy Martin.
I’ll say it again: The female wrestlers in 1985 were better than most of the current WWE female roster. The women were more normal looking, and their wrestling looked much more athletic and realistic. I don’t think they were trying to turn models into wrestlers in 1985. These were wrestlers that they were trying to glam up.
Petersen wins the match after Martin refuses to release a choke hold and pushes the referee, a big no-no, or a convenient went to end a match without having either wrestler do the job for the other.
The lady segments are typically short. They give Peterse enough time to look pretty, proper and grateful for the opportunity and then they ship her off the set. On the couch she said she wants a rematch with Martin and she wants to challenge Wendi Richter for the world title.
Before she leaves, McMahon calls her “a pretty young lady.” After Petersen, we get to meet “the lucky winner” of the WWF trivia contest that Lord Alfed Hayes was pushing several months ago. I am not sure they ever said her name, but I do remember her saying “this is an ultimate fantasy of mine dream come true,” while standing between Hayes and McMahon.
She’s apparently a huge professional wrestling fan, although not enough to get on a plane for. Hayes points out that she took a 19-hour Greyhound bus ride to get to New York. She also reveals that she has 10 cats, six dogs and three horses.
This is a bridge segment before the main event: George “The Animal” Steele.
Now watching TNT as a kid, of course I knew that wrestling was predetermined. The big question for me was always whether the wrestlers were like their characters in real life. When they said things, did they really mean that? Did Rowdy Roddy Piper and Cowboy Bob Orton really hang out together and cause trouble on the road? That was always the big question. And even though I knew wrestling outcomes were pre-determined, I knew that these guys were athletes, who chose professional wrestling because they loved the art of it.
But when George “The Animal” Steele was on TV, it was an entirely different story. I was convinced this guy was legitimately limited in his mental capacity.
He was also scary as hell. Can you imagine that bald, fat, hairy guy coming after you? It’s a boy’s nightmare. So props to Steele for playing that role so masterfully, as evidenced on this episode of TNT. Steele comes out with a noticeably fatter Albano, who is sporting a haircut. Albano lost some weight during the Cyndi Lauper angle, but appears to be morphing back into his gross self.
McMahon calls him on it, asking Albano if he has gained weight. Albano unbuttons his shirt and says that actually he has lost 30 to 35 bounds. No one embraced their fatness quite like Albano.
Albano starts to explain that he has found “Dr. Sigmund Ziff” who is a renowned “psychiatrist and gynecologist.” You just can’t make this stuff up. He said the doctor determined that Steele was depressed, homicidal and suicidal. But he can be helped.
“Under hypnosis, they said the man can be helped and they said there’s only one man in the nation today with a PhD, PhU, an IOU and an IOA that can help George Steele.”
Albano was so good at just making up words in the moment. Before the hypnosis we go to the ring to Saturday Night’s Main Event and a six-man tag match between Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham against The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkov and Steele.
A couple of notables: Steamboat was amazing. Windham was ridiculously amazing. Windham was so good in that ring, everything from his timing, to his athleticism and his ability to call a match. The match ends after Volkoff tags in Steele, who quickly attempts to tag back, but his partners abandoned him. Windham then rolls up Steele for the victory.
Just because they are bullies, Sheik and Volkoff decide to beat on Steele until Steel battles back. Albano runs into the ring and comforts Steele in a real tender moment. Albano rubs his head and Steele puts his head on his chest.
Ahhhhh. McMahon calls Steele, “the most unorthodox wrestler in the world today.” Back on the TNT set, Albano continues to explain why he wants to help Steele.
“I felt that in this man I saw nothing but goodness,” Albano said. “I realized the man was handicapped. He had a speech impediment. he was in trouble.” Meanwhile, Steele is acting like a paranoid freak, as though bugs are crawling all over him and there’s someone lurking over him about to slam him over the head. He was born for this role.
Albano says Steele simply has a calcium deposit building up in his head blocking his medulla, but that Dr. Ziff is going to fix it all. We go to the psychiatrist’s office and Steele is sprawled out. McMahon asks him how he plans to help Steele.
“I am the doctor of the last resort,” Dr. Ziff says. “Whenever things are hopeless they send them to me. And this man is hopeless.”
Ziff said he needs silence to hypnotize Steele. Ziff swings the pendulum in about three seconds claims that “he’s under, just like that.” What follows is a combination of disappointment and sadness. Dr. Ziff tells Steele to go back to his childhood, and suddenly Steele starts talking.
Now I don’t remember watching this segment as a kid, but if I did I would have been terribly disappointed. George was actually talking. I new that the psychiatry gimmick was a total work, so if George is talking, he must actually be a really smart guy to play along with this act.
Over the next minute George barks out these words:
“School!”
“Football!”
“Tongue”
“George Stand.”
“George Talk”
“Teacher Say: Sit Down, Dummy.”
“George, No Talk in School.”
Man. How sad. Now we know that George was not a mentally challenged individual, he was actually a metaphor for all the bullied children all over the world. Then it goes worse. George says he grew up to become a professional wrestler.
“They booed George.”
“Threw things at me.”
“Spit at me.”
Dr. Ziff concludes that George is traumatized from a double rejection in his life. He claims that now that Steel has acknowledge his trauma, he will come out of the hypnosis as a new man. Of course, that doesn’t happen. Why would the WWF kill a great gimmick just for shock value? This isn’t 2015.
Dr. Ziff snaps his fingers and George starts freaking out like he sat on a bed of thumbtacks. Albano starts screaming that Steele will need more therapy. No kidding. It should have been a weekly segment. The show wraps up with Dr. Ziff on the couch. He’s trying to explain to McMahon how he can be a gynecologist and psychiatrist.”
“Everything is inside,” Dr. Ziff says, “sometimes you start at the top and work down and sometimes, well you get the idea.” Dr. Ziff says he is willing to help anybody:
“We will help anyone who comes to us,” Dr. Ziff says. “We only need need one qualification: money.”
What an amazing episode, thanks to Steele, who played this role perfectly. They tried something similar with Eugene a decade ago, but Steele shows on this episode that if they ever start handing out Emmys to WWE wrestlers, Steele definitely deserves one of those Lifetime Achievement Awards.
The combination of NFL football and baseball playoffs, combined with a less-than-interesting product in recent weeks, saw Raw fall to a new non-holiday low of 3.27 million viewers last night. The only episode of the show since 1997 that did worse was a Christmas Eve show in 2012 that did 3.14 million viewers.
The main culprit was the combination of a Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers game on ESPN that did 12.18 million viewers, a lower number than football has done the last few weeks, and baseball. TBS aired the Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals against the first half of Raw, which did 5.78 million viewers. They aired the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets against the second half of Raw, which did 3.96 million viewers.
Smackdown, along with Main Event, will be taping tonight in Cincinnati, with Roman Reigns and Randy Orton advertised as the headliners. Results from tonight’s show can be sent to Dave Meltzer
We’re also looking for reports from the Saudi Arabia WWE shows over the weekend, as well as NXT from Saturday night in Winter Haven, Florida. You can send those results via the email above.
Evolve will have two shows this weekend on via WWN Live. Sami Zayn will be appearing on both shows live, but won’t be on either iPPV.
Evolve 49 – Saturday at 7 pm EST
I Quit Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page (if Gargano loses, he must leave WWN)
Timothy Thatcher and TJ Perkins vs. Trent Baretta and Rocky Romero
Drew Gulak vs. Trevor Lee (Winner gets Evolve title shot the next night)
Anthony Nese vs. Andrew Everett vs. Matt Cage vs. Peter Kassa
Tracy Williams vs. Willie Mack
Matt Riddle vs. Jonathan Gresham
Evolve 50- Sunday at 8 pm EST
Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher vs. Winner between Drew Gulak and Trevor Lee
Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero vs. Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley
Willie Mack vs. Gulak/Lee loser
TJ Perkins vs. Tracy Williams
Matt Riddle vs. Chris Dickinson
Andrew Everett vs. Peter Kassa
Ethan Page vs. Matt Cage
****
Figure Four Weekly:
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring details on all facets of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, including a better understanding of Gawker’s defense, what else the judge has sealed to protect Hogan, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news.
****
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
An update on the status of Daniel Bryan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which is on the site right now and also can be subscribed to for home delivery. We update his situation and how the decision on his future will be made shortly. We also look at Daniel Cormier and the light heavyweight division and what the business notes say, the WWE’s Madison Square Garden event with Brock Lesnar, TNA’s Bound for Glory and world title tournament, Conor McGregor predicts the future once again, a pro wrestler is in the Japanese cabinet as well as our monthly look at the WWE and TNA’s business indicators.
We look at what Daniel Bryan said this past week regarding his future and how the decision will be made for him soon, and what he’d like to do if he wasn’t working for WWE.
We look at Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson and the shadow over the light heavyweight division, the news coming out of UFC 192, and full coverage of the event with business notes, early PPV indicators and poll results.
We look at the WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden, Brock Lesnar’s return, how the show was promoted, Chris Jericho’s 25th anniversary as a pro wrestler and match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
Travis Browne, on the MMA Hour Monday afternoon, confirmed the rumours that he and Ronda Rousey are a couple. “She’s my woman and I’m her man. There’s no boyfriend, girlfriend stuff. There’s no dating. We’re together.”
Stipe Miocic is out of his UFC Ireland co-main event fight against Ben Rothwell due to an unnamed injury. UFC’s Dave Sholler confirmed the news, and said they are looking for a replacement. The Fight Pass only event — headlined by Joe Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier — takes place a week from this Saturday, so that’s super short notice. Matt Mitrione has publicly offered to step in.
Titus O’Neil (technically “Thaddeus Bullard, also known as WWE® Superstar Titus O’Neil”) will be the keynote speaker for the 30th annual Muster and Music Festival Weekend hosted by the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. The full press release can be read at Community.WWE.com.
After Sage Northcutt appeared on MMAJunkie radio on Monday, UFC Lightweight Kevin Lee called into the show to essentially call him out. There’s going to be a lot of that in the next few months as any fight with Northcutt is going to have a lot of attention.
A knee injury has forced former featherweight champion Pat Curran out of his “Bellator 145: Vengeance” against Justin “The American Kid” Lawrence (8-2) in Saint Louis on November 6, so Emmanuel “El Matador” Sanchez (11-2) will be his short notice replacement.
The Hornswoggle video that showed him tripping during Brian Myers’ wedding was planned.
Tickets for the December 19th UFC on Fox (Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the lightwight title) in Orlando go on sale this Frida at 10 a.m. ET. UFC Fight Club® members can buy tickets Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET at www.ufcfightclub.com. UFC newsletter subscribers will get a resale code they can use on Thursday starting at 10 a.m. ET.
In terms of retro updates on the WWE Network, over the last week they have been adding episodes from Raw (June-August) and Smackdown (November and December) from 2002.
WWE released Sting: Into the Light on Blu-Ray and DVD today. It includes a documentary about his life and career (you can see the intro on YouTube) and a wide array of matches including from the UWF. As far as stuff on on WWE Network, the highlights are probably the “Submit or Surrender” match vs. Cactus Jack from WCW Power Hour in 1991 and a 1995 match vs. Steve Austin from WCW Saturday Night, both of which are excellent.
On the latest Between the Sheets podcast, Kris Zellner and David Bixenspan cover October 6-12, 1997, including the death of Brian Pillman and how badly it was handled by the WWF, the beginning of DeGeneration X, Jim Cornette = angry man, all kinds of Japan goodness such as the debut of PRIDE, Paul Heyman correcting Wade Keller, and the sheer madness of an Eric Bischoff chat on Prodigy.
Indy Results
Metro Pro Wrestling (10/10 – Turner Rec Center, Kansas City, KS)
Redwing defeated “Yoga Monster” Mike Sydal via pinfall to become the new Kansas Champion; James E. Cornette announced that he and President Michael Strider would sit ringside during the Metro Pro Championship match between Metro Pro Champ Jeremy Wyatt and Central States Champ Ace Steel; “Vintage” Kraig Keesaman defeated Tyler Cook via pinfall with help from Iceman; “The Fittest Wrestler on Earth” Mark Sterling defeated the Math Magician via pinfall; “Dirdey” Jake Dirden defeated Mike Outlaw via pinfall; ACH defeated Jon Webb via pinfall; Davey Vega & The Commission defeated The King Brothers & The American Bulldogs via pinfall; Jeremy Wyatt retained his Metro Pro Championship via pinfall against Ace Steel after Jim Cornette waffled both Steel and President Strider with his tennis racket. After the match, it was announced that Jeremy Wyatt will put his Metro Pro Championship on the line against Mark Sterling on 12/5 in an Iron Man Match.
Great Khali being…..well, Great Khali! No idea what he’s saying or what this commercial is about but it’s fascinating. Khali is infinitely more intelligible and mobile than he was in his WWE days so the time off has clearly done him some good.
