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  • Figure Four Weekly (10/13/15): Hulk Hogan Always Tells The Same Stories, Even Under Oath

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  • WWE/Evolve agreement, Seth Rollins to appear on ESPN

    WWE has agreed to send Sami Zayn to the Evolve live shows on Saturday and Sunday night in Queens, NY, and Deer Park, NY, for non-wrestling appearances.

    Zayn, currently out of action due to shoulder surgery, will be doing an autograph signing and posing for pictures with fans both nights.  He will also be doing something in the ring but it will only be for the live audience as they are not allowing him to appear on the iPPV portion of the show it is believed.

    WWE is working with Evolve as a place for talent WWE is interested in to work before they go to WWE, as WWE doesn’t want to sign talent if at all possible that has been on national cable or can be merchandised in some form based on prior agreements.

    Seth Rollins is scheduled to appear on ESPN Sports Center at 9 p.m. tomorrow night .  Jonathan Coachman, who will be on with Rollins, has teased a major announcement regarding WWE and ESPN within the next 48 hours.

  • WWE Raw: Angle with Rusev and Lana’s engagement

    WWE on Twitter mentioned that Rusev and Lana are now engaged, and that to learn more about it, watch Raw tonight.

    That indicates with the word breaking over the weekend that they are going to turn it into storyline immediately.

    It was expected that it would become storyline at some point.

    WWE has already acknowledged the engagement on its web site.

    Last week WWE did a television angle where Summer Rae asked Rusev to marry her and he accepted, but said the wedding wouldn’t take place until he won the WWE title first.

    In storyline, the Summer Rae situation with Dolph Ziggler wasn’t followed up on last week.  While Rusev and Lana were at odds, since the real life engagement, the storyline changed that Rusev really still wanted Lana and everyone knows it.

  • MONDAY UPDATE: Bill DeMott’s daughter passes, Myzteziz, Jonathan Coachman cryptic tweet

    We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s New Japan King of Pro Wrestling show and Wednesday night’s NXT show.  We’re looking for your thoughts on both shows with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer

    We’re also looking for live reports from Raw in Chicago with dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident on the live show to Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for reports on all three WWE shows in Saudi Arabia and NXT from Saturday  night in Winter Haven, FL.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped in Cincinnati on Tuesday.  No John Cena on the show, so Roman Reigns and Randy Orton are the advertised headliners.

    ****

    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.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: October 12, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Daniel Bryan’s pro wrestling future, UFC 192, WWE at MSG

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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    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.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

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    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.

    Monday Daily Update

    • Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering Raw, King of Pro Wrestling and the latest MMA and pro wrestling news.  You can send in a question for tonight’s show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
    • A really sad story, the daughter of Bill DeMott, 20-year-old Keri DeMott, was killed in a head-on car accident in Orlando at about 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.  We send our sympathies to the DeMott family.
    • Not sure what this means, but Jonathan Coachman tweeted “You have been asking for years and we are about to take another step.  So excited.  48 Hours.”  The hint is “WWE joins us,” to it sounds like a new WWE tie-up with ESPN, which has been talked about for some time, with all the coverage this year of WrestleMania and SummerSlam. 
    • Nothing really advertised for Raw tonight, but it’ll be tough because not only is there a Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers Monday night game, but the National League baseball playoffs have Game three of the New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers series which is the top two markets in the country.
    • To the surprise of nobody, Myzteziz did no-show Saturday night’s card in Veracruz.  The fans were told at the start of the show that he wouldn’t be there.
    • Jeff Jarrett’s GFW is pushing that all four championships, the Global title, GFW tag titles, GFW women’s title and GFW NEX GEN titles will be crowned at the 10/23 tapings in Las Vegas at The Orleans Arena.  
    • King Barrett, who is currently in a three-way program with Stardust and Neville on WWE undercards after his King of the Ring win went nowhere, has expressed interest in moving to the tag team division. In particular, Barrett said he’d like to form a team with Neville.
    • Latest episode of Fire Pro Podcast takes a look at the Playstation and Nintendo 64 era of video games, including WWE No Mercy
    • R-Truth opens for the Insane Clown Posse
    • El Santo to return to the big screen with five new films
    • Sage Northcutt, the much publicized UFC newcomer, is headed to TriStar gym in Montreal from Texas.
    • The “Sting”  Into the Light” DVD and Blu Ray will be released tomorrow.  I’ve heard it’s already available in Canada.  It features a documentary that he’s a big part of, plus matches starting with his debut in Memphis with the future Ultimate Warrior and in Mid South, as well as WCW, his debut in WWE and Mania match with HHH.
    • WWE stock has continued to rise, closing today at $19.94 per share, based on expectations of a good network number announcement at the end of the month.
    • Premier Wrestling on 11/28 in Gilroy, CA at the IFDES Lodge Portuguese Hall with a round-robin three-way tournament with Jeff Cobb (6-3-1) vs. Timothy Thatcher (4-2-1) vs. Joe Graves (2-1-1).  JR Kratos (9-2), the champion, faces Marcus Lewis (5-4) and there will be a women’s tournament with Nicole Savoy (3-1), Kahmora (1-1), Raze (0-2) and Kikyo Nakamura (0-1).  Tickets are available at www.premierwrestle.com and save $5 in advance.
    • USWA on Saturday night in Jacksonville at the Maxwell Snyder Armory (the same building NXT runs) headlined by Dagon Biggs vs Martin Stone, plus Tim Zbyszko and Aaron Solow.
    • Superstars of Wrestling Fan Fest on 10/24 in Rome, GA featuring 40 wrestlers including DDP, Ron Simmons, Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Tommy Dreamer, Shane Douglas, Stevie Richards, Nikita Koloff, Sabu, Bobby Eaton, Gunner, Carlito, Marty Jannetty, Teddy Long, Shane Helms, Lord Humongous and Glacier.  There will also be a wrestling show that night.
    • Future Stars of Wrestling on Friday night at the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas headlined by Kevin Kross vs. Hammerstone, plus T.J. Perkins (Manik in TNA) vs. Willie Mack, Eli Drake, Kenny King, Reno Scum and Martin Causus from Lucha Underground.
    • Border City Wrestling on Saturday night in Windsor, ONT at St. Clair College features, Shane Helms, Lisa Varon (Tara/Victoria), Sonjay Dutt, Seiya Sanada, Bobby Roode, PJ Black, Moose, Johnny Swinger, a gauntlet match and the beginning of a tag team tournament.
    • Pro Wrestling Eclipse on 11/18 in Oshawa, ONT at the Legion Br. 43 with Xandra Bale vs. Jewels Malone in a falls count anywhere match.
    • Outlaw Wrestling on Sunday in Centralia, IL:  Frank Wyatt & Jake Parnell b Dusty LeVey & Slade Sludge, Manimal b Weylin the Mangler, J.J. Garrett won six-way over Mike Outlaw, Stephen Wolf, Farmer Billy Hills, Justin D’Air and Nick Doepp, Bo Gott & Duke Cornell b Danny Adams & Austin Blackburn, Matt Cage b Paco Gonzalez, Chris Mac b Alexandre Rudolph, Bull Bronson won three-way over Michael Elgin and Blake Belakis, Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers b Brad & Brian Mercury, Ozzie Gallagher won four-way over Gary Jay, Jeff O’Shea and Cash Bordin, Devin & Mason Cutter over Deadly Dale & Idol Bane and Reed Bentley and John Wayne Murdoch (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer).
    • Ken Anderson headlines for Santino Marella’s Battle Arts Academy Destiny show on 12/6 at the Don Kolov Arena in Mississauaga, ONT, plus Ricochet, Dalton Castle and Kongo Kong.
    • Renegade Promotions on 11/8 in Burlington, ONT at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Centre with children under five free,headlined by Derek Wylde vs. Tyson Dux.
    • Superkick’d results from Saturday night in Toronto:  Michael Sissay b Holden Albright, Space Monkey & Mano del Diablo & Anton Alexiev b Dylan Bostic & Rae Lyn & RJ City, Young Myles & Lionel Knight b Mathieu St. Jacques & Thomas DuBois, Phil Atlas b Seiya Sanada, Tarik b Moose-DQ, Ethan Page NC Ashley Sixx, Ashley Sixx & Orlando Christopher b Ethan Page & Mike Rollins, Shane Sabre b Brent Banks.  Next show which is a Zombie Wrestling show on  10/30 at the Lithuanian Hall in Bloor West, plus an 11/7 show at the Great Hall in Toronto with Ethan Carter III.
    • Lucha TO on Sunday in Whitby, ONT was canceled.  They will be running an 11/8 show in Toronto with Vampiro, Pentagon Jr. and Drago.
    • Shimmer results from Sunday

    VOLUME 78

    Mary Elizabeth Monroe b Paloma Starr (dark match)

    Solo Darling b Amanda Rodriguez

    LuFisto b Veda Scott

    Allysin Kay b Shazza McKenzie

    Rhia O’Reilly b Leva Bates

    Evie & Heidi Lovelace b Tessa Blanchard & Vanessa Kraven

    Jessicka Havok b Kimber Lee

    Courtney Rush b Liberty

    Nicole Matthews b Mia Yim

    Kay Lee Ray b Kelly Anne

    Cheerleader Melissa & Yumi Ohka b Hiroyo Matsumoto & Makoto

    Kellie Skater b Sonoko Kato

    Madison Eagles b Nicole Savoy to retain the Shimmer title

    VOLUME 79

    Leva Bates b Thunderkitty

    Vanessa Kraven b LuFisto

    Makoto b Marti Belle

    Jessicka Havok b Sammi Baynz

    Cheerleader Melissa & Yumi Ohka b K.C.Spinelli & Xandra Bale

    Kay Lee Ray b Liberty

    Shazza McKenzie won four-way over Allysin Kay, Mia Yim and Veda Scott

    Heidi Lovelace b Kelly Anne

    Crazy Mary Dobson b Saraya Knight

    Sonoko Kato b Nicole Savoy

    Hiroyo Matsumoto b Rhia O’Reilly

    Daizee Haze & Kellie Skater & Lexie Fyfe & Madison Eagles b Kimber Lee & Lacey & Nicole Matthews & Portia Perez

    • A C.M. Punk written cartoon called “Drax,” about Drax the Destroyer, will be released by Marvel on 11/4.
    • Absolute Intense Wrestling on Friday night in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mount Carmel school features Terry Funk, Ray Rowe DJ Zema Ion, Johnny Gargano, Cedric Alexander and more.
    • The Ben Askren vs. Luis Santos rematch will be on 11/13 in Kallang, Singapore at the Indoor Stadium for the One welterweight title.  The last match was freaky because Santos took Askren down a couple of times early in their first fight which ended with Santos unable to continue after an accidental eye poke.  Nobody had even taken Askren down in an MMA match that I could recall.
    • “Lion’s Pride:  The turbulent history of New Japan Pro Wrestling” will be released in paperback and digital on 11/11 on Amazon and the Kindle Store.  The book written by Chris Carlton, who knows Japanese, talks about the history of pro wrestling in Japan.
    • Grand Slam Wrestling on 11/14 in Moosic, PA at the Youth Center.
    •  DK Publishing will be releasing a book called “UFC:  A Visual History” written by UFC’s Thomas Gerbasi.  The book will be a 400-page hardback.
    • Eric Wayne of Memphis, the grandson of Buddy Wayne and son of Ken Wayne, debuts with CWE on 12/2 in Yorkton, Manitoba. 
    • New match at NWAClassics.com is Ernie Ladd vs. Mike “Grenade” Boyer.
    • Speedball Mike Bailey is off the Something Different show on Friday night in Toronto due to starting with AAA this coming weekend.  The top matches on the show at the Franklin Horner Community Center are Sonjay Dutt vs. Brent Banks and Franky the Mobster vs. Dalton Castle. 
    • Paul Heyman compares both Vince McMahon and C.M. Punk with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
    • A story on Bolivian pro wrestling

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

    1967 – Mark Lewin beat King Curtis Iaukea in Sydney to win the IWA title and Mario Milano & Red Bastien beat Killer Kowalski & Skull Murphy to win the IWA tag titles

    2003 – Jado won a Rumble Battle Royal for the vacant IWGP jr. title in Tokyo

    2004 – The Predator (Sylvester Terkay) beat Mike Knox in Fukuoka to win the Zero-One U.S. title

    2013 – Myzteziz won a Rumble in San Luis Potosi to win the Antonio Pena Cup

  • WWE Raw live results 10-12: John Cena Open Challenge, Rusev and Lana

    Recorded for Superstars:

    – Jack Swagger went over Adam Rose in about an 8 minute match. Finish saw Rose put on an ankle lock which Swagger countered to an ankle lock of his own.

    – Stardust went over Fandango in a 10 minute match with his finish. Lots of chants for “Cody” and “let’s go Cody”.

    The Big Takeaway: 

    A show that was a little great, a little bad, a little weird and a little surreal. Demon Kane wrestled and defeated Seth Rollins in a lumberjack match in the main event. Corporate Kane booked the match after HHH and Stephanie McMahon, who never got to the arena or appeared on the show due to “transportation issues,” told him he was in command. Later, HHH and Stephanie ordered Corporate Kane not to wrestle Rollins. The strange moment of the night was Rusev getting jobbed out in 3:00 by Ryback, then getting totally buried by Summer Rae days after the news of his very real engagement to Lana gained mainstream publicity. John Cena had his latest great U.S. Open Challenge match with Dolph Ziggler. 

    Show Recap: 

    Corporate Kane was backstage where the Authority was on speakerphone just leaving on a plane. Stephanie could be heard berating an airline attendant. HHH told Kane to handle the show until they arrived. Kane wished them a safe flight, and called over a stage manager. Kane told her to inform Seth Rollins that he would face Kane tonight in a lumberjack match, so they were hot shotting stuff right off the bat. 

    Dean Ambrose came out and said he wanted to fight someone. Randy Orton came out. Crowd reacted strong to him, but also started “Let’s Go Cubs.” Orton said Ambrose that at Hell in a Cell, Ambrose would face Braun Strowman and Luke Harper, and Orton would be his partner. Ambrose said the line to fight the Wyatt Family starts behind him and told Orton to follow his lead and they would be fine. 

    Orton told Amrbose that he should follow Orton’s lead. Ambrose said he wasn’t big on trusting Orton. Orton said he wasn’t big on trusting himself. As they argued off mic, the New Day came out. Xavier Woods reminded Orton and Ambrose that the New Day left Dolph Ziggler, John Cena and the Dudley Boyz laying last week. Woods taunted Ambrose that the Shield never did that, and Big E. said Legacy, the Authority or Evolution never did that. Woods asked Orton how many groups had been in, and said Orton brings new meaning to the term “groupee.” Woods said Ambrose and Orton should make like Derek Rose and go sit on the bench. 

    Kane appeared on the TitonTron and ordered an immediate tag team match. 

    The New Day defeated Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton (17:51)

    Ambrose and Orton argued during the match, including when they took turns stomping Big E. Ambrose got a hot tag and did a tope on Kofi Kingston and Big E. Later, Woods held Orton’s leg, and Ambrose did a tope on him, as well. The finish was Orton gave Kingston the Draping DDT and went for the RKO, but Big E. ran in to prevent it. Ambrose tried to stopped Big E., but Kingston threw Orton into Ambrose, and Kingston pinned Orton with a schoolboy cradle. 

    There was a package for the Undertaker-Brock Lesnar main event. It couldn’t compare to the buildup for SummerSlam. We’re supposed to believe the history between the two started at last year’s WrestleMania, even though their original program was in 2002. 

    Before the Nikki Bella-Naomi match, they showed highlights from the Sasha Banks-Bailey match from NXT Takeover Respect, which included reviews from mainstream media outlets like Rolling Stone and Miami Herald. It was a good idea, but with horrible timing. Crowd chanted “We Want Sasha” during the match, and Michael Cole wondered how Naomi felt about that like Team BAD was going to going to break up. Then they chanted “You can’t wrestle” while the match was going on. it wasn’t that bad. 

    Nikki Bella defeated Naomi (4:56)

    The gimmick is Team Bella is trying to break up Team BAD just like Team PCB fractured because of Paige. After Naomi hit a tope (3rd time already for that move in the first hour) on Nikki and Alisha Fox, Brie Bella got up on the commentator’s table and tried to lead another “We Want Sasha” chant. Sasha tripped Brie off the table. Naomi got distracted. Nikki hit the Rack Attack. Pin. 

    Byron Saxton asked fans who the most unconventional superstar in the WWE is. Everyone said either Paige or Ambrose. This led to Saxton doing a backstage interview with Paige, who grabbed a Payday candy bar out of his jacket and took a bite. This was a product placement bit. 

    John Cena came out. Crowd booed the hell out of him. Cena started dancing beside a fan singing “John Cena Sucks.” Cena said he loved the AllState Arena because his first WWE match was in that building. It came time for the open challenge and this week’s opponent was Ziggler. 

    During the opening minutes of the match, the crowd seemed distracted and popped. Cena grabbed the microphone and acknowledged that a fan proposed to his girlfriend in the crowd, and she said yes. Cena congratulated the new couple as the match was going on and the fans chanted “She said yes.” 

    John Cena (C) defeated Dolph Zigger to retain the U.S. Championship (17:32)

    An excellent match that Cena won wiith the AA. Lots of kicking out of near falls. Ziggler continues to work like Shawn Michaels, this time stomping his leg to tease the Superkick. Plenty of kicking out of finishers. Ziggler hit a superkick and Zig Zag, both for near falls. Cena kicked out of the Zig Zag, the two struggled to their feet, and Cena immediately hit the AA for the pin. After one near fall by Ziggler, JBL started talking about how he felt Ziggler was going to win, which naturally gave away the finish. Vince McMahon used to do that on play-by-play and it always telegraphed the ending. 

    Stephanie and HHH called Kane again to say they were stil far away from the arena. Kane didn’t tell them he had booked his own match against Rollins. 

    The Dudley Boyz defeated the Ascension (2:42) 

    Devon Dudley pinned Viktor after the 3-D. Bubba Ray Dudley held up Viktor for the Doomsday Device since they were in Chicago as a tribute to the Road Warriors. 

    Sheamus and King Barrett defeated Cesaro and Neville (3:48)

    Crowd was hot while it lasted, particularly for Cesaro. Finish came out of nowhere. Neville tried to pin Sheamus with a cradle. Sheamus kicked out so hard, his legs pushed Neville to the ropes, where Cesaro gave him the Bullhammer Elbow, and Sheamus pinned him. 

    Roman Reigns came out for an interview. He basically explained his program with Bray Wyatt from the beginning. Crowd gave him the “what” treatment, and he appeared really annoyed by it. He snapped at them “Can you not hear me?” Then the fans chanted boring. He looked preturbed but stuck to the script. Wyatt came out and said Reigns had a massacre waiting for him at Hell in a Cell. Reigns said he agreed, but when they lock the cell, Wyatt was going to wish he was trapped with anyone but him. The fans booed. And this man is supposed to be the chosen one in six months? As if things couldn’t get any worse, after this interview died he had to wrestle Strowman. They might as well have put a piano on his back and told him to run wind sprints trying to carry Strowman to something decent. 

    Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman by countout (7:50)

    It was a struggle. Laregly a punch-and-kick match until it spilled out to the floor. Reigns hit Harper and Wyatt, then ran off the ring steps to deliver the Superman Punch to Strowman, which knocked him down into the announcer’s table. Strowman got counted out. Two hours into the show and this was the first match all night where the crowd was completely dead.  

    Wyatt looked in Reigns’ face and said “Follow the Buzzards.” Reigns punched him and walked to the back. 

    HHH called Kane to tell them they were getting close to the building. HHH’s cell phone recepton was poor. He repeatedly asked Kane what the main event was. Kane told him Seth Rolllins was in a lumberjack match against Kane. HHH only heard that Rollins was in a lumberjack match, but didn’t hear who he would be facing before his line went dead. 

    Ryback defeated Rusev (3:05) 

    Ths was one of those weird segments where fantasy and reality collide. Only in wrestling could a segment like this happen. It was six minutes of Rusev being punished on live national television for getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend. First, Ryabck pinned him clean with a Shellshock, without question the cleanest job Rusev has ever done. 

     If that wasn’t enough, Summer Rae came into the ring and cut Vince McMahon’s promo for him. She showed the TMZ headline where it was announced that Rusev and Lana had been engaged for over a month, then totally castrated him as a selfish user who manipulated her for months. All Rusev could do was stand there and take it, and then Summer slapped him and walked off. In this age where Kayfabe has been dead and buried, that was surreal television. How they get Rusev back on track as a killer after this segment is beyond me, which may have been the intent. Ziggler was never mentioned by Summer, though Michael Cole mentioned Lana in passing during his match with Cena earlier. I guess that angle where Summer snuck into his shower will have to stand as his storyline breakup. 

    Kevin Owens defeated Kalisto (3:54)

    Crowd sure liked Kevin Owens, who won with the Pop Up Power Bomb. Kalisto bumped all over the palce, including going for a somersault huracanrana outside the ring, only to have Owens dump him on the floor. Kalisto made a good comebck and it was a good match considering the style difference. Of course, Owens has had very good matches with guys of all sizes for years.  

    Brie Bella and Alicia Fox defeated Charlotte and Becky Lynch (3:05) 

    Paige was at ringside on commentary. Natalya is now with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and they’re called Team NBC. Paige, however, says she never left Team PCB. Natalya started arguing with Nikki Bella outside the ring. Paige shoved Natalya. Charlotte got distracted, and Brie pinned her with a dropkick off the second rope. Two distraction finishes in both the Divas matches. And Charlotte does her second job in two weeks. These people have no idea how to get the Divas over. 

    HHH and Stephanie got in touch with Kane again. This time, they were able to hear him explain how he would be wrestling Rollins in the main event. Stephanie hit the ceiling she was so mad. HHH ordered Kane not to wrestle. 

    Rollins, in his first appearance on the show, apparently didn’t see the preceding segmet. He talked with the Big Show about how he could count on Show to have his back against Kane tonight. Show just laughed at him and walked off. Then Kane walked in and told Rollins he’s been ordered not to wrestle him tonight, but he would find a suitable replacement to face Rollins. We were supposed to believe it would be the Demon Kane. 

    It was announced that Michaels and Ric Flair would appear on next week’s Raw in Dallas. Rollins was plugged for an apperance on SportsCenter with Jonathan Coachmen tomorrow night. 

    The Demon Kane defeated Seth Rollins in a nontitle lumberjack match (8:19) 

    The Demon Kane won with a tombstone after lots of interference. The New Day were front and center among the lumberjacks, so it’s clear the company is striking that iron while it’s hot. At one point, the lumberjacks brawled at ringside. The heel lumberjacks left the babyface lumberjacks laying at ringside. So all the heels, including the New Day, Sheamus, Rusev, Stardust and Owens, started putting the boots to Kane. Big E. tried to give Kane a splash, but Kane rose up and cleared the ring by himself. He choke slammed Woods and Stardust before the finish. Earlier, Rollins tried to escape, but Cesaro chased him down and put him back in. 

    SUMMARY: On a night where the Pittsburgh Steelers won on the final play of the game, the Chicago Cubs movd within one win of eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals, Steve Spurrier retired and Steve Sarkisian got fired, the WWE had to work extra hard to produce compelling television. But they did it. The crowd stayed largely interested throughout the show. The most telling segment was Reigns. For all the scorn that Cena receives, people still see him as a top guy. I just don’t sense the fans feel that way about Reigns. That was a problem seven months ago. The time between last WrestleMania and this one was supposed to be his period of being groomed for the top spot. The company sees him as a top guy. The fans still don’t, particularly those in big cities. 

  • August 31, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Terry Garvin, look at WWF/WCW ratings, tons more

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  • On this date in pro wrestling history 10/12: Thesz defeats Yukon Eric, Bret Hart defeats Ric Flair for WWF Title

    1941
    Waterloo, Iowa:
    – Orville Brown defeated Joe Dusek

    1943
    Wichita, Kansas:
    – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ede Virag beat Jack Nasworthy in 2 out of 3 falls

    1945
    St. Joseph, Missouri:
    Orville Brown beat Cowboy Roy Graham 

    1951
    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated Yukon Eric

    1972
    Chattanooga, Tennessee:
    – The Interns (Tom Andrews & Jim Starr), managed by Dr. Ken Ramey, defeated Ken Lucas & Ox the Ripper (Ox Baker), managed by Dennis Hall with the Interns’ Masks at stake in a no time limit and No DQ match
    – Dennis Hall & Kevin Sullivan, managed by Joey Rossi, defeated Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente, managed by Don Duffy
    – Danny Dusek defeated Jimmy Kent
    – Roy Lee Welch defeated Gene Morton

    Amarillo, Texas:
    – Terry Funk & Ricky Romero beat Black Gordman & Tapia (substituting for Great Goliath) in 2 out of 3 falls
    – In a Loser Must Unmask match, Mr. Wrestling beat Red Devil.  Red Devil was unmasked as Dick Beyer (The Destroyer)
    – Hank James beat Dory Funk Sr

    1973
    Denver, Colorado:
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat The Crusher & Red Bastien in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Pepper Gomez beat Buddy Wolff dq
    – Geoff Portz beat Tokyo Joe 
    – Ric Flair drew Tony Rocco

    1976
    Macon, Georgia:
    – Andre The Giant won a Battle Royal
    – Non Title Match; Jos Leduc beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
    – Mongolian Stomper beat Rick McGraw
    – Roberto Soto beat Stan Stasiak
    – Paul Orndorff beat Jim Lancaster

    1979
    Knoxville, Tennessee:
    – Dick Slater beat Toru Tanaka (substituting for Jack Brisco) in a No DQ match
    – Jimmy Golden beat Robert Fuller
    – Mongolian Stomper beat Alexis Smirnoff
    – Norvell Austin & The Angel beat Ron Fuller & Paul Orndorff

    1980
    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura dq
    – Ray Stevens & Pat Patterson & Nick Bockwinkel beat Greg Gagne & Dino Bravo & Super Destroyer Mark II
    – The Crusher beat Jerry Blackwell to win World Brass Knucks Title
    – Buck Zumhofe drew Steve Regal
    – Tito Santana beat Chris Markoff

    1981 
    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Terry Gordy defeated Michael Hayes in a taped fist match 

    Greenville, South Carolina:
    – Buddy Landell beat Charlie Fulton
    – The Grappler & Super Destroyer beat Paul Jones & Jake Roberts
    – NWA U.S. Champion Sgt. Slaughter beat Sweet Ebony Diamond (Rocky Johnson)
    – Ivan Koloff beat Ricky Steamboat

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Stan Lane fought Steve Keirn to a no contest
    – Bill Dundee beat Chick Donovan
    – Ricky & Robert Gibson beat The Nightmare & Speed via DQ in a “Hospital Elimination” match
    – Southern Champ Dream Machine beat Dutch Mantel
    – Sweet Brown Sugar beat Jerry Lawler in a No DQ match

    1984
    Houston, Texas:
    – Cage match: Jose Lothario beat Buddy Landel
    – The Rock N’ Roll Express beat The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette
    – Steve Williams & Hercules Hernandez beat Hacksaw Duggan & Bill Dundee
    – George Wells beat Ernie Ladd
    – Hector & Chavo Guerrero beat The Fantastics

    1985
    Nashville, Tennessee:
    – AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Jerry Lawler dq
    – Rock & Roll Express beat Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff
    – Hospital Elimination Match; Fabulous Ones beat Sheepherders
    – Bill Dundee beat Mongolian Stomper
    – Ron Garvin beat Black Bart

    1986
    Orlando, Florida:
    – Kendall Windham beat Kendo Nagasaki in a kendo stick on a pole match
    – The Fabulous Ones drew the Sheepherders
    – Southern champ Lex Luger beat Hacksaw Higgins
    – Barry Windham drew Ron Bass

    1987
    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee beat Soldat Ustinov & Doug Somers to win AWA Tag Title
    – Carl Fergie & Black Prince & Don Bass beat Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee & Steve Keirn
    – Nasty Boys beat Lord Humongous & Big Bubba
    – Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka beat Tracy Smothers & John Paul
    – Bobby Jaggers beat Rocky Johnson
    – RPMS beat Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis

    1991
    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Big Josh (Matt Borne) & Dustin Rhodes, & Tom Zenk defeated Richard Morton, Thomas Rich & Terrance Taylor
    – WCW World TV Champion Steve Austin pinned Steve Armstrong
    – WCW World Tag Team champions The Enforcers, Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyzsko defeated The Freebirds, Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
    – WCW U.S. champion Sting & Rick Steiner defeated Cactus Jack & Abdullah the Butcher in a steel cage match 

    1992 
    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada:
    – Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title 

    1992 
    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Butch Reed defeated Junkyard Dog for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title

    1998 
    Uniondale, Long Island:
    – Ken Shamrock defeated X-Pac in a tournament final to win the WWF Intercontinental Title 

    1999 
    Birmingham, Alabama:
    – Mankind & the Rock defeated The New Age Outlaws to win the WWF World Tag Team Title

    2002
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
    – WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar pinned Chris Benoit
    – Lance Storm pinned John Cena 
    – Chris Jericho defeated Matt Hardy via submission 
    – No DQ match: Edge pinned Eddie Guerrero 

    2008 
    Chicago, Illinois:
    – Sting defeated Samoa Joe to win the TNA World Title
    – Booker T defeated AJ Styles and Christian Cage
    – Jeff Jarrett defeated Kurt Angle

  • ROH announces two day Survival of the Fittest for Milwaukee and Minneapolis

    Ring of Honor will be doing its annual Survival of the Fittest Shows on 11/13 in Milwaukee at the Turner Hall Ballroom and 11/14 in Hopkins, MN, just outside Minneapolis, at the Eisenhower Community Center, with an ROH title shot at stake.

    This year’s event will feature, on the first night, two different four-corners matches, two three-way matches and two singles matches.

    The second night will be headlined by a six-way elimination match featuring the winners of the six matches on the previous night.

    There will be 18 wrestlers in total on the first night. Thus far, the promotion has announced nine of them:  Mark Briscoe, Jay Briscoe, Michael Elgin, ACH, Matt Sydal, Moose, Ray Rowe, Hanson and Dalton Castle.

    Past winners of the tournament have included Delirious, Roderick Strong, Elgin, Adam Cole and current ROH champion Jay Lethal.

  • WWE: Rusev and Lana Engaged

    It was reported today on TMZ that Rusev, aka Miroslav Barnyashev, and Lana, aka Catherine Joy Perry, are engaged.

    The two had been dating for some time.  Perry often posted pictures of them on various non-wrestling trips together on her Instagram account.  Eventually they bought a house together in Nashville.  

    The TMZ report said that the engagement took place last month, and that the engagement was filmed at the pool in their backyard.

    Earlier this year the two broke up in storyline, which historically does not bode well for real-life relationships.  Barnyashev later suffered an ankle injury, and instead of staying home to recover traveled from city to city with Perry and the rest of the crew.  

    This probably was the impetus to the angle where Rusev and Summer Rae somewhat got engaged on Raw.  Summer asked Rusev to marry him, and at first he said yes, but then stated, “not yet.”  He said before she could put gold around her finger he needed to put gold around his waist, meaning he needed to win a title.  The belief is that this was a way to drag the storyline out since Perry suffered a wrist injury and won’t be able to return to physical action for awhile.  Dolph Ziggler, who is also involved in the storyline, also took time off to film a movie, so the only person involved who has not missed TV time is Summer Rae.

  • NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10-11 results: Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of NJPW King of Pro Wrestling.  The main event features Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito for the Tokyo Dome title shot.  Also on the show are Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    New Japan King of Pro Wrestling at 3 a.m. Eastern and Midnight Pacific late Sunday night on New Japan World – Kevin Kelly & Matt Striker will be doing the announcing in English for the first time on the service.

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & KUSHIDA & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & MASCARA DORADA VS. JUICE ROBINSON & SHO TANAKA & JAY WHITE & DAVID FINLAY & YOHEI KOMATSU

    My stream was down for this match.  On the replay, Dorada pinned Finlay afer a Dorada screwdriver after Taguchi used the running hip attack.

    TOMOAKI HONMA VS. YOSHI-HASHI

    Honma won with a head-butt to the lower back, a shoulderblock and the diving head-butt off the toip rope.  Honma’s lower back is jacked up so this wasn’t as good as most of his matches are.  Matt Striker thought Yoshi-Hashi was a first and last name and kept calling him Hashi. 

    HIROOKI GOTO & KOTA IBUSHI & KATSUYORI SHIBATA & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI

    Kojima pinned Captain after a 3-D and a lariat.  The match was solid, about what you’d think.  Ibushi didn’t do much in this match.  They seemed to focus some on Nagata vs. Shibata, or at least that was the best action but no real clear storylines.

    BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY VS. ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA FOR IWGP JR. TAG TITLES

    Decent match but what a weird finish.  O’Reilly pinned Baretta and it looked like Romero saved but Tiger Hattori said he counted three and called for the bell.  It was an obvious botch.  Romero really looked unhappy and complained to the American announce team.  I was listening to the Japanese team at the time.  The finish really hurt the match which was fine but hadn’t peaked at all.  Nobody really looked happy when it was over.  

    No matter what is announced, there are visible empty seats downsairs

    KENNY OMEGA VS. MATT SYDAL FOR IWGP JR. TITLE

    Omega retained with the One Winged Angel, which is an electric chair dropped into a Michinoku driver.  Omega has all the talent in the world but he overacts badly.  It made it hard to take the match seriously until late.  Sydal is really great, one of these gus whose role it seems to be is have great matches while never getting a big push.  His best spots were a reverse Frankensteiner and a Fosbury flop like dive onto Omega and Cody Hall.

    Intermission time.

    SHINSUKE NAKAMURA & TORU YANO & KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS. KARL ANDERSON & DOC GALLOWS & BAD LUCK FALE

    A nothing match.  Mostly worked on Nakamura  Sakuraba has a brief time in.  Yano hot tagged in.  Fale went for the Bad Luck Fall on Yano, but Sakuraba saved.  Tama Tonga interfered.  Yano used a low blow on Fale and Tonga at the same time and surprisingly pinned Fale with the outside cradle. 

    Very clear this show is all about these final three matches. 

    TOGI MAKABE VS. TOMOHIRO ISHII FOR THE NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    Ishii won the title after a dragon suplex and brainbuster after Makabe had missed the King Kong kneedrop off the top rope.  This was the weakest match these two have had.  So much miscommuniation and botched stuff early, although the crowd was more into it late than anything so far on the show.  The last few minutes were very good  But it’s a big difference between Ishii now and in February.  Honma came out to challenge Ishii after the match but it was quick and almost like a TNA challenge in that he came out and seconds later they were starting the video for Tanahashi vs. Naito.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO FOR THE IWGP TITLE SHOT AT THE TOKYO DOME

    Not a great match.  Match was slow, some stuff with Naito using Tanahashi’s moves.  Naito threw Tanahashi into ref Red Shoes.  There was a guy under a Naito mask the entire match who ran in and it was Takaaki Watanabe.  He was wearing a suit and had eye liner like Kevin Sullivan.  They were beating on Tanahashi until Goto and Shibata came in.  Naito used a low blow but Tanahashi kicked out of the pin.  Tanahashi came back with a sling blade, crossbody off the top and high fly flow for the pin.  After the match, Watanabe laid out Goto with a uranage, so that’s his direction.  Good match but felt very much like a TNA main event with the ref bump and interference.

    KAZCHIKA OKADA VS. A.J. STYLES FOR IWGP TITLEan

    Okada won a long excellent match after three rainmakers.  Okada had the match won with a rainmaker earlier but Karl Anderson pulled the ref out of the ring.  Okada then did a flip dive onto everyone.  There was a great near submission when Styles used the calf killer and Okada was teasing tapping until he made the ropes.  These two proved again they are right at the top of any lis for the best in the world right now.

    Okada cut his post-match promo and Tanahashi came out.  Tanahashi would say champion and point to Okada and called himself ace over and over.  Tanahashi left and Gedo did a promo.  Confetti fell from the sky.