Ring of Honor television continues on the road to Final Battle with the first in a series of episodes from the Nashville. Tag Teams were the focus of most of this episode as the main event featured Young Bucks vs. Briscoes. Also, a surprise unmasking by Alex Shelley, a TV title defense and The Boys declining to rejoin Dalton Castle round out the events taking place on the show. Another theme from the show was guest commentators featured in every match.
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) beat Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser (with The Boys)
The Boys carried the Bruiser’s keg to the ring. Fish and O’Reilly carried the IWGP jr. tag team titles. Fish and Bruiser start the match. Bruiser tries to be a bully but Fish makes a blind tag and reDRagon chop down Bruiser with a series of kicks. Silas tagged in and they double team him and make quick tags. O’Reilly gets cuts off leading to Silas and Bruiser doing a flurry of moves. Adam Cole strolled out to ringside before a commercial to provide impromptu guest commentary.
After the break, O’Reilly breaks free and tags Fish. Bobby came in off the hot tag and ran wild. Fish and Young traded strikes as the crowd did the yay/boo chants. There was action all over the place in the closing moments. Bruiser missed a frog splash off the top. One of the Boys jumped on the apron and O’Reilly kicked him off to send him flying before O’Reilly did a plancha. The other Boy snapped Fish on the top rope allowing Silas to use his Misery finisher (fireman’s carry into a diamond cutter). However, the Boys kept distracting the referee, causing him to be late to count the pin attempt and Fish kicked out. Moments later, O’Reilly tagged in and applied a guillotine on Bruiser. Silas broke up the submission and they did a series of double team moves on him leading to O’Reilly hitting a knee drop off the middle rope as Fish held Young for a backbreaker. They then executed the Chasing the Dragon finisher as best they could on the larger Bruiser and pinned him.
Afterwards, Silas ordered the Boys to attack the referee and they did so. They left him laying after a DDT. Dalton Castle came out to say he wanted his boys back. Bruiser confronted him and Dalton sent him packing. The Boys looked as if they would rejoin Dalton, but they instead left with Silas leaving Dalton bewildered and perplexed by their decision.
In another angle, Chris Sabin was in the ring and said he was hijacking the show hostage until the imposter in the KRD mask revealed himself. The masked man sauntered to the ring, confronted Sabin and, much to the surprise of everyone, revealed himself as Alex Shelley. Sabin would join Dalton in the bewildered and perplexed department.
ROH TV Champion Roderick Strong beat Samson Walker to retain
This was part of a theme of Roddy vs. the world, as Roderick wants to be a fighting champion and had vowed to take on anyone. Bobby Fish provided guest commentary and played heel in building his TV title challenge at Final Battle against Strong. Roderick dominated until Walker caught him on a dive and rammed him into the ring post twice on the outside. Walker proceeded to get heat on Strong. At one point, Walker pulled out an asthma inhaler from his singlet. He took a puff from the inhaler, put it back and pulled his straps down. However, Roddy made a comeback with a flurry and he gave Walker a gutbuster to set up a sick kick for the pinfall.
During the match, Fish grabbed the TV title belt. Following the match, Fish strapped on the belt and confronted Strong in the ring. Strong unsnapped the belt and took it back in his possession as they had a stare down with referees getting in between them.
“Inside ROH” with Mandy Leon highlighted the results from recent Survival of the Fittest tournament. Michael Elgin won the tournament and challenged Jay Lethal to a title match at the Tokyo Dome.
The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) beat The Briscoes (Mark & Jay)
Calling this action packed would be a great understatement. There were moves and sequences all over the place. The All Night Express provided guest commentary. Eventually the action slowed just a bit and the Briscoes got heat on Nick. After a commercial break, the Bucks made a comeback and the pace quickened again with a hot tag to Matt. Mark cut him off with redneck kung fu only to get cut off himself with a superkick from Nick.
A few moments later, Nick did a moonsault off the apron to the floor. Mark moved and Nick landed on his feet. He took a flying neckbreaker from Mark, who jumped off the apron. Mark signaled for the Cactus Jack elbow off the apron but he jumped down to eat a superkick instead. Jay did a dive to the outside. Back in the ring, Jay went for the Jay Driller on Matt and Nick made the save with a superkick. Jay then gave Nick a superkick. Mark delivered a froggybow and the Briscoes went for the doomsday device. However, in taking the move, Nick landed on his feet and hit a superkick. A superkick party began. Bucks used Indytaker for a nearfall before using More Bang For Your Buck to score the pinfall.
Afterwards, ANX stormed into the ring and all three teams had a pull-apart brawl to close the show.
One of pro wrestling’s all time greatest pitchmen and the force behind SBIbookings.com Bill Behrens joins the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling show. Covering topics like how WWE / NXT signs in coming talent, and all of the inner workings of the promotions for which he was a part (WWE, WCW, TNA and more), Behrens gives John and Chad an in depth look at how his television background and unique skill set helped him to penetrate a crazy business. We also learn about how exactly he became “pro wrestling’s super agent” to stars like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Matt Sydal, James Storm, and many more. Excerpts and download links below…
Excerpts from the interview…
– What type of pro wrestlers does he choose to represent:
Unlike some other folk my tendency is to focus on more of what could be the “younger talent” to people in their “prime” than I do the people that have been past their prime and are the legends of years ago. My roster really features very few of the guys from the 80s for example. Even though I am a big fan of those guys and certainly my wrestling watching began in the 60s so those are my favorites and my greatest stories come from that. Much of my list is like AJ Styles who is my top guy down, which is opposed to AJ being the young boy and going up. But then there are the exception to those rules with the somewhat older guys like the Kevin Nash’s or Scott Hall’s who I’ve been helping off and on and Tommy Dreamer who is surprisingly young yet thought of as an older guy.
– The current landscape of pro wrestling, indy vs. television product:
The overall atmosphere of professional wrestling right now is as vibrant and active than any time that I’ve been involved in it and I’ve been involved in it since the late 80s – early 90s, the tail end of the territory era and when TV or larger companies consolidating the TV became the norm and the Indy companies were struggling. There are more people now putting on good shows that draw hundreds than there were back in the end of the 1990s when there were just a few. My Music City Wrestling (promotion) which became NWA Worldwide in Nashville that I did with Bert Prentice was one of the few that was actually drawing numbers and had a local TV show. There has been a big transition. More people are bellying up that have a chance of actually paying people. Lucha Underground which is a television company almost exclusively right now is still providing good money to their top people, I’m privy to their contracts. Ring of Honor is now really stepping up and providing good money. New Japan partnering with Ring of Honor has now built Ring of Honor and New Japan simultaneously into this much more International entity with footprints outside of their backyards. Whether Global Force Wrestling becomes that is unknown because they don’t have much to announce but then there is the Paragon’s of the world who are buying there way onto television with a roster that is underwhelming at best. You have to look at it as, are they doing it as a step forward in the wrestling business or because they just wanted to be on TV?
– TNA being similar to how ECW operated:
TNA was doing very well and they made the same mistake in some ways like ECW made years ago of not realizing when you’ve gotten to a point where you have been as big as you could be and trying to get bigger before they had the resources or audience that would support it. ECW did that when they moved to The Nashville Network. They blamed it of course on The Nashville Network and the editing of the show but the reality was they tried to get too far without a base that was there to embrace them beyond their core base. TNA always had their base of one or two million people and all of a sudden they decided “we want to go head to head live with WWE and we will bring in Bischoff, we will bring in Hogan and by bringing in these people we will become bigger” but the reality is that isn’t what grows the companies.
– WWE signing Samoa Joe, how they evaluated his contract offer and how they maintain the outlaw feel:
Samoa Joe was working with me as he went to them and for example the deals that NXT did prior to him for Prince Devitt and El Generico and for the other people they were taking from Ring of Honor or from overseas, the thought process of when they signed those people changed dramatically (to) when they then evaluated Samoa Joe. When they did Joe, Joe had three or four deals change over a two to three week period as they continued to evaluate what are we really trying to do here and what’s our goals for NXT. How do we get people to pay attention to the product and be big enough that we don’t piss Vince off but stay small enough where we could be the rebel or outcast league but still present the big screen, the lights, the music playing but a little bit more of an intimate environment in terms of presentation. In essence, that’s a Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla a more “Indy” feel. NXT started from we are going to be like those guys and yet not be offensive to the WWE product yet still be the cool kid.
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Fun match. Scary moment early when Slater tipped Neville over the top rope and he landed on his head on the apron. Neville hit the springboard moonsault to the outside and won with the Red Arrow, which the crowd loved.
Crowd was into Wyatt Family, doing firefly entrance. Wyatts came out to nothing but spooky low wind sounds, no music. Crowd cheered some for Sandow but not Axel. Strowman got his submission on Axel for an instant tapout.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze w/ Summer Rae
Match of the night. One weird thing: Delphi’s hair was dry and therefore looked strange. Dolph & Summer did a very long, very funny version of her scream spot. Summer was ejected for hitting Dolph with her shoe. Lots of near falls; Dolph kicked out of a Beauty Shot and an Unprettier and Breeze kicked out of multiple superkick/fameasser combos.
– The Primetime Players def. Los Matadores
Basic tag match, centered early around Titus throwing big open hand slaps to the chest. One matador took 4-5 slaps and the other took a walk when he tried to make the tag. After some brawling, Darren & Titus both hit their moves and the ref counted two pins simultaneously.
Bayley had her air dancers, and as such was the only person on this show with a special entrance. Sasha, Becky, Bayley, & NXT all got chants during this match. A guy in the front row was dressed as Izzy, so Sasha snatched the the streamers from his arms and used them to mock Bayley’s entrance from the apron. She’s just so great at the little things. Match was fun, basic stuff; Becky beat Naomi with the DisarmHer after Tamina’s distraction went awry. After the match, Bayley took time to individually wave to everyone she could see with a Hugger shirt.
– Kane def. Bray Wyatt
Good reactions but nothing special to the match. Both guys did their spots and Kane won with a chokeslam.
– Ryback def. Rusev w/ Lana
Rusev had his personalized Bulgarian flag. Lana still in a dress/braid instead of the power suit/bun. She cut a promo before the match about her love for Rusev, then sang him “You Are My Sunshine,” which got loud boos. Crowd was really into Ryback, lots of spontaneous “Feed Me More” chants as he fired up. They had a good match; Ryback got out of the Accolade and hit Shellshocked for the win.
– Dean Ambrose def. WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens via DQ
Good reaction for both guys. Ambrose’s was all cheers and Owens’ was mixed, but both loud. Match was good but not spectacular; Owens was DQ’d for using a chair, which he hilariously argued was too minor an offense for a DQ. Owens then ate a Dirty Deeds on the chair after the match.
Crowd was energetic all night, much better than the previous show I saw in Greensboro. Granted, this was a better lineup with something for everyone.
– Big Show def. The Ascension. Mainly a lot of test of strength spots. Show was way over as a babyface.
– Hype Bros def. Stardust and Adam Rose. Mojo Rawley got a really bad Cena like gusher from his nose, but “stayed hyped”.
– Miz def. Fandango. Miz then called out anyone else, so Jack Swagger came out and beat him with the ankle lock in about 30 seconds. Miz then called out anyone else, this time being Mark Henry. He then challenged him to dance off instead. He did a hilarious jig to “Dirty Water” and then as Henry started to dance to Michael Jackson (glove and all) Miz attacked him. Henry laid him out.
– Goldust def. Bo Dallas. Bo was extremely entertaining and engaging as usual, but lost.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day def. Lucha Dragons & Dudleys in a really good match. The ref got distracted and Big E interfered with the Big Ending. Xavier got the pinfall but the Dudleys came back in and gave him a 3D.
– WWE Divas Champion Charlotted def. Paige. As you can imagine, Charlotte got the biggest pop of the night in her Cam Newton jersey. She and Paige had a great match with Charlotte winning with her Figure 8.
– Luke Harper def. R-Truth in a decent match.
– Roman Reigns def. WWE Champion Sheamus by DQ. Kind of entertaining at first, but it got boring really fast and turned into the worst match of the night. This is the same stuff you usually see out of both of them. Roman won by DQ after Sheamus got a chair.
Submitted by Leonardo Mendez Toledo from the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon
The show opened with local singer Barreto introducing Willy Urbina and El Wizard, who was escorted by a model. She was wearing a very revealing skirt and Wizard used that for comedy like pretending to tied up his shoes when his shoes didn’t have any shoelaces or dropping the mic to peek at her. She had a Christmas themed hat and Urbina joked that at least someone in the pair “had balls”. Fans were really into it. They then announced the card and it was clear that the fans were there for the two top matches.
Jr Title 4-Way Match: Peter The Bad Romance (w/ Angel Cotto) def. Rikochet, Morgan and Tommy Diablo in around 7 minutes to retain the title when he pinned Rikochet after a belt shot
This was a good opener with some cool looking spots. At one point, all three challengers chopped Peter and he complained to the referee who then also chopped him for a big pop. Late in the match Diablo took a Spanish fly and landed high on his neck, it looked real nasty; he went to the apron and barely moved afterwards. Peter then called from someone in the back and it was Cotto’s former tag partner OT Fernandez, who nobody knew; but OT attacked Peter and brawled with Cotto to the back. Morgan then did a Pescado on Diablo, who was selling on the outside, and they both remained outside; as the referee checked on them, Peter used the belt to get the pin on Rikochet. The referee did a slow count and Rikochet still didn’t kick out, which is a terrible spot for a face.
After the match, everybody left but Diablo was still on the floor. Some crew members checked him and he didn’t move. Other people came by, I guess from the commission, but he still didn’t move. They called someone from the back and instead of a doctor or paramedic it was Fernandez, who didn’t know what to do. He finally got to his feet and they helped him to the back. He got a minor response. Either this was legit or it was a way to write him off. He’s like the local Chris Jericho in the sense that he works part time.
PR Title #1 Contender’s Match: Joe Bravo def. Mike Mendoza (w/ Vanela Vargas) in around 10 minutes with help from Vargas
When Joe arrived, Diablo was still on the floor so he had to stale around while they worked on them. Vargas is Angel Fashion’s valet but is with Mendoza due to a 30 days stipulation; so this would lead to another match between the two. Below average match.
El Hijo de Dos Caras def. El Cuervo in 9 minutes
The intros were the highlight. Caras came first and cut a promo praising the Latin community just to then turn by saying that the only real Latin there was him; he stumble in the way but did get the message across and people reacted to it. A few years ago his brother did the exact same promo in a WWE show in San Juan prior to a match with CM Punk, so he took the idea from there. Cuervo then arrived with two guys dressed as druids and two women with face paint, one took his cape and the other his mask, fans reacted big to him. So-so match but it was the right result as it saved the heat for the other “PR vs Mexico” match. Caras won by hitting Cuervo with the PR flag.
PR Title: Miguel Perez Jr def. Angel Fashion to retain in 7 minutes
Fashion is usually good but Perez can’t do much these days. For some reason Perez wore a singlet, which at his age it’s a stretch.
Mighty Ursus (w/ JM Ortega) def. Black Pain (w/ Chicky Star)
They immediately went to the outside and fans went crazy for it, but then got back to the ring and lost the crowd. The biggest pop was when Chicky punched Ortega in the outside but it was just two times and they went to the back; Ursus used the distraction to hit Pain with a chain and got the pin in less than 5 minutes. During the decisive count the referee asked the fans about how Ursus got Pain to the mat but still made the count. Again, the face didn’t kick out after a long count. After the match, Pain teased a Chockeslam on the referee but he escaped, fans didn’t like that. This was a perfect scenario for a wild brawl with a double dq or count out, but by doing something else it felt more like an angle than a match.
Tag Titles: La Revolucion 2&3 (w/ Orlando Toledo & Revolucion #1) def. Thunder & Lightning to retain in 17 minutes
Pelayo Vazquez was the referee and got a nice reaction. Pelayo ordered #1 to the back. They started very slow with long rest holds. They then did some comedy which is weird given who they are. Finally they pick things up and got the crowd going. Finish saw T&L hitting their finish (3D) on the legal Revolucion member (it’s impossible to tell them apart) but the other Revolucion broke the count, Toledo then distracted them and #1 sneaked from the back, switched places with his downed fellow and used a brassknuckle on Lightning when he went for the cover.
Intermission
Chicano & Doris Cotto (his daughter) def. Apolo & Havana when Doris pinned Havana in less than 10 minutes
The guys started and did nothing but stalling, Apolo then tagged Havana and went outside, she slapped Chicano but he didn’t reacted because she is a woman; he went to the outside after Apolo instead and left the ring to Doris but the referee stopped her because she wasn’t tagged in (so the rules here were different than in WWE because there is no automatic gender tag). Apolo then put the heat on Chicano and they worked forever for a hot tag; it was mostly long rest holds but Apolo hit a prefect Enzuigiri, which is impressive for his size, and followed by lifting Chicano in a Electric chair and dropping him with a Michinoku driver II type slam for a near fall.
Chicano finally got the hot tag on Doris and the place exploded; they teased it for so long that it worked. She just throw a few punches and then won with a Samoan drop but the fans reacted big to her and the pin got a giant pop. After the match, the heels attacked and Apolo hit Doris with his Fondo del Abismo (Rock bottom) to a great reaction as the heel didn’t respect that she was a woman. Chicano try a comeback but Havana stopped him with a low blow. The heels then took a photo of Doris knocked out in the mat with their smart phone, which I guess is some form of modern times humiliation. Finally Chicano got to his feet and helped his daughter and she got a standing ovation. So she got a way better reaction than Tommy Diablo even though he is a veteran and got what it looked like a legit injury. Match wasn’t much but fans reacted to the story they wanted to tell.
Axel Cruz did a backstage interview with Alberto Del Rio who cut a great promo saying that Mexico was better than Puerto Rico not because he said it but because God himself said it. He noted that Mexico had recently beaten PR in the Caribbean Series of Baseball (which is suppose to be PR’s strength); in the Olympics Basketball Qualifiers (which is the number one sport in PR and the National Basketball Team is the main local sports team and PR had historical dominated Mexico and the region), and in boxing when Canelo destroyed Cotto (well Canelo clearly won but it wasn’t a beatdown). He called Cotto overrated and washout and told him to retire.
He then said that Puertorricans didn’t have any dignity as we lost it the moment we sold out to the USA. That line got a giant reaction and I joked with my friends that the local pro-independence party should hired him as a spoke person. The promo was so good that he even got some cheers; there was some Mexican fans there but it was mostly the pro-heel fans.
After ADR’s promo, Urbina came to the ring to introduce the singers for the National Anthems. The Mexican singer got massive heat during his performance. The local guy did a good job and some people signed along with him but not everyone.
Ray Gonzalez Sr def. Alberto Del Rio by DQ in around 15 minutes when Hijo de Dos Caras interfered
Alberto came in with a Mexican flag and climbed to all four corners with it for the easy heat. Ray music began to play but he didn’t appear; they teased it for a while until ADR went to the outside and argued with the referee and in doing so put his back to the entrance so Ray arrived with a 2×4 and hit ADR with it. He beat him all around ringside and the fans were going crazy for every hit. They got to the ring and the referee tried to get the 2×4 but Ray pushed him; another referee came in and Ray also bumped him; Pelayo arrived but he couldn’t do much either. The heat for this was unreal, the likes of which one can only see in old school videos. Alberto finally got a break and went to the top rope but when he jumped Ray nailed him again with the wood. ADR then took the mic, said that it was enough of fighting and asked for a “technical match” saying that that was what the fans wanted to major boos; he went to his knees and extended his hand to Ray; Ray teased a hand shake but then took the mic and said in Spanish the equivalent of “this is Puertorrican wrestling, dumbass” and slapped Alberto in the face for a major pop.
ADR went to the outside and grabbed a PR flag from a fan in the first row but the fan retaliated and pulled Del Rio by the hair, security broke them apart and Ray put Alberto in a rest hold until the fan was removed; they were lucky that the other fans controlled the guy instead of joining him.
After the long chinlock, Dos Caras came with a chair and nailed Ray in the outside, Ray bleed; Caras went to the back. ADR with a DDT; he went to the top rope for a Senton but Ray moved. Ray pulled a fork from his boots and nailed Alberto in the forehead with it several times, the fans went crazy for it which is odd given that’s a traditional heel spot; also of note is that Alberto didn’t bleed form it, maybe they respected the WWE rule. ADR came back with his Superkick and locked the Cross Armbreaker in the middle of the ring but Ray Gonzalez Jr, who got a big reaction, came to ringside and Alberto broke the hold; ADR talked trash to Jr but he throw dust to Alberto’s face and left; Ray Sr used the distraction to setup the Figure-4 with a series of leg kicks, Alberto bumped great for this; Ray finally locked his finisher and Del Rio was about to tap out when Dos Caras returned for the DQ. After such an intense match it was a lame finish.
The heels double teamed Ray until his son made the save. ADR hit Jr with a Mexican flag but then Sr did the same to ADR; they brawled in pairs outside the ring until Sr got a chair and the heels literally run to the back. Ray and Jr came to the ring and Sr cut a great promo. He invited the heels to came back so they could kick their asses one more time; and told them that they run like the chicken they are. He said that Alberto was a bully that took advantage of his son but he was there to protect him and told Jr that he would always had his back. He said that WWC has been running for a long time but if it was up to him it would last another 40 years more.
He then told Del Rio to ask Vince McMahon for another date so they can have a another match maybe inside a cage; the fans went crazy for that. He said that since Dos Caras doesn’t need anyone’s permission he can comeback whenever he wants because Ray Jr is ready for him for another big pop. He thanked the fans for their support during his career and asked for them to do the same for his son. He then put over the upcoming title match and asked fans to stay put to see it. The whole promo came across as a combination of a thank you message, a farewell speech and an I’m taking over note. Even with the weak finish this match needed to be on last just because of the heat and post-match promo.
Some fans started leaving here since it was post midnight by this point.
Universal Title: Mr 450 Hammett def. Sensacional Carlitos to retain in well over 20 minutes
These two are really over with the fan base, and each one got his own “section”. Nonetheless, another group of people walked away during the early stages and it didn’t have much heat early on even tough what they did was good. It was clear that fans were spent after the previous match and just needed a break. After ten minutes or so they got the crowd back and it was spectacular from that point on. The turning point was Carlitos with a Canadian Destroyer followed by a Flat liner and finished with a Koji clutch all in one smooth-fluid motion. The sequence was so good that fans thought it was the finish but 450 made the ropes.
With Carlitos outside, 450 did a bottom rope Suicide Dive and follow with a Asai moonsault. Back in the ring they traded until Carlitos sent 450 to the outside and did his own series of dives. From the apron, 450 did a springboard spear through the second and top rope. Hammett with a Tornado DDT followed by a vertical suplex and finished with his 450 splash from the top rope but Carlitos kicked out for a giant pop. Carlitos with a comeback and a senton bomb for a great near fall. They traded headbutts from their knees; then got up and traded hard chops. Carltios went for a springboard Stunner but hit the referee instead; with the referee down Hammett hit a series of German suplex like Chris Benoit or Brock Lesnar and the fans chanted “Suplex city”; Hammett then went outside took a chair, smashed Carlitos in the face with it and finally got the pin with his 450 splash finish. They did even more but I just can’t remember it all.
After the match, they congratulated each other but Carlitos hit 450 in the back of the head with the chair and cut a promo saying that he wanted a rematch in a TLC match at Euphoria on 1/9. This was the best match of the show but it could have been even better if placed in the semifinal spot. I understand that they feared that nobody could follow them, which is true most of the time, but on this occasion most of the fans were there for the Ray Gonzalez match.
Notes:
On Sunday TV they announced that the next big event would be Euphoria on 1/9 at this same venue which seems like a little early for a return date. So far announced is: Hammett vs. Carlitos for the Universal Title in a TLC Match; Ray Gonzalez & Ray Gonzalez Jr vs. El Hijo de Dos Caras & Scottie Santiago (the guy who called ADR in Texas Wrestling Academy); Ursus vs. Pain in a Chain Match; Revolucion vs. Thunder & Lightning vs. Sons of Samoa in a 3-way match for the tag titles; and Miguel Perez vs. Angel Fashion for the PR title. They also announced an event for 1/6 in Cidra with the gimmick that kids enter free if accompanied by an adult as a Three Kings Day special. No match has been announced so far.
They got a very good crowd, probably more than 4,000. The ringside and lower levels were all full and they had one of the upper deck open and it was half full. The number is even more impressive as it went head to head with a massive Daddy Yankee vs Don Omar “Reggeaton” (Rap) concert in near by San Juan that sold out four straight nights the Coliseum of Puerto Rico (the one WWE runs) and that would the cultural equivalent of a Tupac vs Notorious BIG concert at MSG if they both were still alive. As usual, they started late; it was schedule for 8:00 pm but the show began past 8:30. It was probably due the fact that PR, like Mexico, is a late arriving crowd, so people kept coming in late.
– Rich Swann beat Axel Tischer via an incredible standing splash maneuver
Great showing by Swann here. Instantly won over the crowd and worked a fast paced crisp match.
– Asuka, Adrien Reese and Aliyah beat Emma, Cameron and Billie Kay
Asuka caught Billie in the Asuka Lock.
– Tough Enough Josh promo segment where he was heelish and said his name is Bronson Mathews.
– Bull Dempsey beat Tino Sabatelli with a seated splash off the top
Comedy early. Bull did jumping jacks to upset Tino.
– Marcus Louis beat Oscar The Luchador with a rock bottom type slam
– Enzo, Big Cass w/ Carmella, and Levis Valenzuela beat NXT Tag Champions Dash & Dawson and Elias Samson
Pre match promo by Zo and Cass about taking the titles at Takeover. Long match. Cass hit a side slam followed by a top rope splash on Samson for the win. Post match, Cass told them to play Levis’ music and it was time to fiesta!
– Hugo Knox defeated Tucker Knight via spinning heel kick
Back and forth match.
– Nia Jax beat Daria in a squash
Tough Enough Daria was out to cut a promo but before she could start, Nia Jax interrupted and challenged her to a match.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor, Apollo Crews, and Tye Dillinger beat Baron Corbin, Constantine, and Riddick Moss
Long match, a lot of heat on Baron, crowd was behind Finn all the way. He received the the hot tag and finished off the match with the dropkick to the corner and the double foot stomp off the top.
The Notorious Quote of the Week: “That takedown is there whenever you want it. Keep your chin tucked!” Yes… but WHO was he giving that advice to? Hmmm.
Last week, both Artem Lobov and Saul Rogers from Conor McGregor’s team advanced to the semi-finals. This week’s show is another two fight episode and we’re starting right away with two Team Europe guys going head to head.
Lightweight: Marcin Wrzosek (Team Europe) vs. David Teymur (Team Europe)
Both fighters are wearing gray trunks. You may recall Wrzosek earned the nickname ‘Polish Zombie’ for his ability to absorb damage and keep coming forward. He doesn’t need that early though because he drops Teymur with a right hook two minutes into round one, then wrestles him back to the mat 17 seconds later after Teymur tries to get up. Teymur finally gets up clean at 2:58 and this time he hits a takedown. He gets up with a minute left and they both swing hard. The gym is eerily silent since McGregor isn’t saying anything to show favoritism to either fighter. Wrzosek gets another right hook in right before R1 ends.
Wrzosek and Teymur mix it up 25 seconds into R2. Teymur lands an explosive takedown at 48 seconds. The ref warns Teymur to stay busy. Wrzosek briefly gets caught in a choke when trying to stand, but winds up escaping it and ending up on top and having full mount for a split second. He pounds away at the ribs as both fighters are reminded to work for the finish. Wrzosek gets swept. This is an incredibly back-and-forth fight. They’re stood up with two minutes left. Wrzosek gets another takedown quickly. Teymur is warned about the back of the head. He scrambles up with 91 seconds to go. Both men are head hunting. Wrzosek pushes him into the fence and they trade knees, and he backs away in time to avoid a high kick. Teymur throws a late leg kick and Wrzosek takes him down before R2 ends. That might have been enough.
19-19, 20-18 and 20-18 for the majority winner – Marcin Wrzosek. And now we have one last chance for Team USA to send a fighter to the semis – Julian Erosa goes against Abner Lloveras. There’s no slowing down for weigh-ins or drama at the house – we go right back to the cage.
Lightweight: Abner Lloveras (Team Europe) vs. Julian Erosa (Team USA)
Erosa is in the blue trunks and Lloveras the gray. Lloveras has the striking advantage early and Erosa is forced to circle on the outside and try to dance in and out of range. He finally lands a good overhand right at 1:53 but he’s getting hit with rights in each exchange. Lloveras seems to be a split second quicker on the trigger each time he gets into range. You can see that Erosa’s cheeks are bruising and swelling up. Lloveras puts him against the fence at 4:05 but Erosa shows great balance avoiding the single leg takedown until 3 seconds left. We’re on to round two.
Lloveras is right back to the jab to open R2. Erosa’s only answer seems to be to get into a slugfest since he’s unable to block or avoid the strikes. Lloveras gets him off his feet for a second at 1:40. Erosa suddenly catches Lloveras with a couple of good shots and opens a cut over his left eye. Lloveras is backpedaling as he bleeds, which shouldn’t necessarily influence the judges, but it just might. For his part Erosa is not letting Lloveras off the hook. Lloveras fails a a takedown attempt at 3:35. Erosa drops Lloveras with a big punch at 4:10 and tags him with several knees as he gets up. Faber is screaming at Erosa to finish him. He has completely turned this fight around and Lloveras looks gassed as we head to an overtime third round.
Lloveras is desperate for a takedown to open R3. It’s not “there all day” though the way McGregor thought it would be. Lloveras is crunched with a left hook and presses Erosa into the fence again. They couldn’t really stop the bleeding at all between rounds. Lloveras tries and tries for the leg trip but has to break at 2:02. Faber screams for kicks to the body. Erosa’s left hand looks better and more accurate the further we get into the fight. Lloveras fails on another takedown at 3:37 as McGregor screams for 3’s and 5’s in combos. Now it’s Lloveras who seems unable to stop a single strike from landing and HIS only answer is takedown attempts. He gets Erosa off his feet for just about a second as we go to the final minute and it’s a moral victory at best. Erosa continues to pressure him and land hands and knees. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t get this one from the judges.
Third round: 10-9 Lloveras, 10-9 Erosa and 10-9 for EROSA. McGregor: “That’s disgraceful.” So finally one guy from Team USA is going to move on. Faber: “We got a horse in the game. Thank goodness!”
Dana White comes out to announce the semi-finals: Saul Rogers vs. Marcin Wrzosek and Artem Lobov vs. Julian Erosa. Join us next week!
A very focused episode of Breaking Ground showcased two tag teams: the all-amateur pairing of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, and the mis-matched rookie Mojo Rawley and WWE veteran Zach Ryder. Their journey through the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic anchors arguably the series’ best episode to-date.
Show Recap:
This edition spent a good deal of time with four men in two tag teams: former amateur wrestlers Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, former football player Mojo Rawley and current WWE superstar (doing double-duty in NXT) Zach Ryder.
Jordan wrestled since he was a kid, something we learn about while seeing adorable childhood photos of him in a singlet at a meet. He’s a unique case, as wrestling has given him some structure in his life – compared to two of his older brothers, who are in jail. The coaches praise his athleticism, but noted he seemed to struggle at times to be believable in the ring. Regal says that until recently, he hadn’t found his “thing,” and we get clips of Jordan as an occasional enhancement talent on NXT television.
Enter Chad Gable. We learn a bit about him. Like Jordan, he was a high-level amateur wrestler – he went to the 2012 Olympics. He’s smaller, athletic and has charisma. Jason Albert says Gable’s personality has rubbed on on Jordan a bit, and we see them hanging out and playing basketball. “I guess you never thought you’d lose to a short white guy in basketball,” jokes Gable. Later on, we tag along with them as they drive to an event. They joke around. Later we hear that Gable hurt his ankle in Texas, and the coaches move around some matches to maximize his rest so he’s ready for the Dusty Rhodes tournament.
The contrast to the “best friends with similar backgrounds” tag team is Mojo Rawley and Zach Ryder. Mojo’s a crazy man who used to play football and made the NFL but got injured. He buys a house and parties in it. He’s young and loud, and despite his enthusiasm it seems like he’s peaked in NXT already. The coaches discuss in a meeting that he doesn’t get what an opening match is supposed to be or have.
Enter Zach Ryder, his new partner – and coincidentally, an opening match guy on the WWE main roster. Ryder’s more experienced and more mature, and sees the tag team as an opportunity to get back to the main roster more regularly – and to probably prove to WWE that he can be used to help younger guys, which could extend his tenure. And Rawley sees Ryder as a path to the main roster. Yet in an odd contrast, Ryder and Rawley don’t ride together (Rawley travels with Dana Brooke) and they text each other regularly, but they aren’t best friends or anything. The show seemingly goes out of its way to show Jordan and Gable riding together and being buddies and Ryder and Mojo being mis-matched.
In addition to the main two teams, we hang out with ZZ and Cal Bishop. ZZ is still woefully out-of-shape and has horrible cardio, and actually walks out of a cardio workout (with Albert and Robbie Brookside yelling at him to continue) because he’s so blown up. Cal Bishop is a California kid signed out of college by Gerry Briscoe, but currently out with a shoulder injury. Dana Brooke and the coaches praise him for his look and his commitment, especially since he’s gone through all the rehab for his injury. He cuts a promo in promo class about adversity and battling through it. It’s actually pretty good, and they seem to really make viewers like him. On this show, that either means he’s either going to do really well or he’s going to get cut next week.
Final Thoughts:
The more focused Breaking Ground has been in its episodes, the better the show has been. This was easily the most focused episode and so far, the best the series has been in helping audiences get to know the NXT talent.
St. Louis, Missouri: – Ray Steele beat John Pesek – Orville Brown and George Zaharias wrested to a 30 minute draw – Dick Shikat beat Fred “Frank” Speer
1961
Rochester, Minnesota: – Bob Geigel & Otto von Krupp (Boris Malenko) beat Dale Lewis & Pat Kennedy to win AWA tag title – Millie Stafford & Annette Palmer beat Jessica Rogers & Mars Monroe – George Armstrong (sub Steve Druk) beat Jules LaRance
1965
Sioux City, Iowa: – AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Mad Russian Stan Pulaski – Reggie Parks beat Haru Sasaki dq – Mitsu Arakawa drew Billy Red Cloud – Tim Woods beat Danny Plechas
1968
Chicago, Illinois: – Verne Gagne beat Blackjack Lanza by countout – Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race – Edouard Carpentier beat Mitsu Arakawa – Bill Watts beat Mike Riker – Pampero Firpo beat Fernando Stampos
1972
Kansas City, Kansas: (Thanksgiving show) – Rufus R. Jones defeated Juan Sebastian – Les Thornton defeated Hans Schmidt via DQ – The Destroyer defeated Bobby Whitlock – Harley Race fought Black Angus to a double-CO – Black Angus won a 17-man Battle Royal
1978
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Non title: Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat AWA Tag Team Champions Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens – Super Destroyer Mark II beat Billy Robinson – Bobby Duncum beat Paul Ellering – Steve Olsonoski beat Cecil DuBois dq – Iron Sheik beat Kenny Jay
1981
New York, New York: – Pedro Morales defeated Magnificent Muraco to win the WWF Intercontinental Title
1994
San Antonio, Texas: – Bob Backlund defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title – The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a Casket Match
1996
Memphis, Tennessee: – Steven Dunn & Flash Flanagan defeated The Grimm Twins (Ron & Don Harris) to win the USWA Tag Team Titles
1997
Auburn Hills, Michigan: – WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero defeated Rey Mysterio, Jr – WCW United States Champion Curt Hennig defeated Ric Flair – Scott Hall won the three ring, 60-man World War 3 battle royal
2008
Boston, Massachusetts: – Edge defeated Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov to win the WWE Title – John Cena defeated Chris Jericho to win the WWE World Title
2014
St. Louis, Missouri: – Nikki Bella defeated AJ Lee to win the Divas Title – Team Cena defeated Team Authority – The Miz and Damien Mizdow defeated The Usos, Goldust & Stardust and Los Matadores to win the WWE Tag Team Titles
