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  • The Week In British Wrestling: RevPro & ICW Tape TV; PROGRESS go large

    1) The Revolution will be televised!

    With access to traditional television shows thin on the ground for UK promotions, they’ve had to think outside the box for solutions. In last week’s column, I gave a rundown of the different options available if you want to watch British wrestling (apart from the always-preferable live option), and this week Revolution-Pro held another of their popular “TV” tapings at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone, London. The Cockpit is more used to hosting fringe theatre but is a perfect venue for a television taping, harking back to the studio shows of old with its tight seating arrangement perfectly fitting around the squared circle in the centre. RevPro held three tapings at the Cockpit last year, for their YouTube TV show, and on Sunday they came back with a stacked card for a new run of shows for 2016.

    Despite ENDVR taking place at the same time just 3 miles across London (more of which later), the show still attracted a good crowd, and they were treated to a mini-tournament for the Undisputed British Cruiserweight title, with Pete Dunne overcoming “Flash” Morgan Webster in the final – el Ligero & Josh Bodom being eliminated in the semi-finals. Jimmy Havoc continued his feud with the Revolutionists, bringing a mystery partner to face the Undisputed British Tag-Team champions, Sha Samuels & James Castle, and it turned out to be T-Bone.

    Thanks to shenanigans, the champions kept their titles but Havoc has promised to bring back T-Bone and a third man to take on the tag champs and Bodom at High Stakes on January 16th. Main-eventing a card that also featured Big Damo, Mark Haskins, Marty Scurll, and Martin Kirby, was a bout between Will Ospreay and ACH, who made his return to RevPro after October’s Uprising. The two tore the house down and the match will be available to watch – for free – on RevPro’s YouTube channel very soon.

    2) PROGRESS take their big guns to Brixton.

    In last week’s column I trailed HUGE news from PROGRESS, and speculated what it could be. Well, speculate no more, because on January 1st they announced that September’s show – chapter 36 – will be held at the legendary Brixton Academy, in south London. It won’t be the company’s first trip south of the river – their ProJo wrestling school is situated round the corner from the Academy, and they’ve held trainee shows at the Bedford, in nearby Balham, before – but it will be the first time they’ve played a hall bigger than their usual 700 seats at the Electric Ballroom. The Academy will be set up for 2000 seats, and while that is dwarfed by ICW’s planned show at the Hydro in Glasgow, it will be the biggest crowd to see a British wrestling show in London for a good thirty years.

    PROGRESS have always resisted temptation to move to a bigger building before, simply stating that the Electric Ballroom treat them very well and they would be afraid to lose that special atmosphere created at the sold-out shows, so this is a step into the unknown for the company. However, they’re doing it in conjunction with LiveNation, the company that handled NXT’s UK tour, and the logistics shouldn’t be too high a hurdle. Whether they can sell almost 3 times the amount of tickets they usually do in London is another thing, but UK wrestling is VERY hot right now, and with a 9-month lead they have every chance. Progress indeed!

    3) A Sex Pest won a rap battle.

    It’s impossible to sum up an entire show, especially one featuring so many different characters as an ENDVR show, in one pithy line, but – yes – a sex pest did win a rap battle at ENDVR’s first show of the year on Sunday. Anyone who follows ENDVR (and the PROGRESS shows as of the last London chapter) will know that the sex pest is Jack Sexsmith, and the rap battle was a precursor to his showdown with “Body Guy” Roy Johnson on Sunday’s show at the Garage in Islington. You’ll be reassured to know that “Mr Cocko” made his customary appearance, and those of you who don’t know anything about Jack Sexsmith will no doubt be very confused by now.

    Also on the show, Pollyanna and Livvi won women’s matches, Damon Moser (a favourite for this year’s Natural Progression tournament) won a four-way over Pastor Bill Eaver, Earl Black Jr, and TK Cooper, and ProJo head trainer Darrell Allen beat Chuck Mambo in a “traditional British rules” match (which, unusually for such contests, didn’t suck). Some of the more established PROGRESS stars made an appearance (and a whole load of them were across London at the RevPro TV taping!), with Wild Boar teaming with PROGRESS-debutant Mike Bird (a mainstay of the south-west scene, and Mark Andrews’s trainer) taking a DQ win over Paul Robinson & trainee Shen Woo, and Eddie Dennis and Dave Mastiff colliding in a hard-hitting main event. The consequences of that fight will be felt long after the conclusion of Sunday’s show, with Dennis earning a tag-team title shot for himself and Mark Andrews, and Mastiff earning the ire of PROGRESS management with a sustained beating on a prone Dennis after the match.

    4) Big shows aren’t just channel changers on the USA Network.

    As well as PROGRESS planning their big outing to Brixton in September, several other promotions have already announced big shows of their own for 2016. New Generation Wrestling have already announced their mid-year spectacular, Ultimate Showdown, in Hull in late May, Southside have their annual Speed King tournament inked in for April, and – of course – everything that Insane Championship Wrestling does this year is leading up to their bigger-than-big-it’s-huge show at the 11,000-capacity Hydro in October.

    But even bigger than that show, in relative terms, is Pro-Wrestling Chaos’s April 8th show in Bristol, with The Young Bucks flown in as a special attraction. Why is that so big? Because Chaos, a Bristol-based promotion formed in 2013 for former grappler Dave Mercy, usually run a 200-seater hall and they’ve booked a 3000-seater for this show, which they’ve promised to stack. As gambles go it’s a pretty big one, but with the Bucks only doing one other UK show (in faraway Edinburgh) it’s a risk that could pay off.

    5) Friday Night’s Alright For Fight Club

    In order to bring fresh and exclusive footage to their ICW OnDemand service, the promotion held another Friday Night Fight Club taping at the Garage nightclub, in Glasgow, last weekend. Like RevPro’s taping, they stacked the card with all their usual regulars, plus semi-regular import Tommy End, for a show which saw a title change, an ICW Heavyweight title defence, and a huge 8-man main event, featuring Grado, Davey Blaze, Noam Dar, and Kenny Williams against the New Age Kliq. They have another taping scheduled for this coming Sunday – the only show anywhere in the UK, as far as I can work out – with everything leading up to their big Square Go! show on January 24th.

    Other than a few holiday camp shows (including one where the ATTACK! boys played to over 1000 people), the only other show over the last week was WrestleForce’s return to Rayleigh, in Essex, which featured their usual cast of characters.

  • UFC 195 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    The UFC kicks off 2016 on Saturday with UFC 195 from Las Vegas. It also marks the second year of UFC action on DraftKings, and they are celebrating with a big contest. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid in helping you set your line-ups for this weekend’s big event.

    STUDS

    Michael McDonald ($11,000)

    Michael McDonald is the biggest favorite and has the highest salary of all of the fighters on the UFC 195 card, and for good reason. Despite being out of action for just over two years, McDonald is still one of the best bantamweights in the world, with knockout power and good submission skills. He is still young at just 24-years-old. He gets a fairly beatable test in his return to action in Masanori Kanehara. Kanehara hasn’t shown to be much of a threat at 135 pounds yet, and is a journeyman fighter of 42 career bouts, but just two in the UFC. He also doesn’t have the most impressive record. This fight is set up as a perfect bounce back for McDonald, and we expect him to get the job done quickly.

    Brian Ortega ($10,300)

    Brian Ortega is a rising featherweight with an undefeated record, and he gets showcased on the main card of UFC 195 as the UFC looks to build his resume. It will be another tough bout for him as he takes on former TUF winner Diego Brandao. Ortega passed a tough test in finishing Thiago Tavares in his last fight, but he was pushed to the limit. Brandao will be a foe that pushes him to the limit too. However, Brandao tends to crack under pressure, and Ortega will bring the pressure. Brandao has never put it together against a top opponent, and while Ortega isn’t there yet, he will be one day. I like Ortega’s chances of finishing Brandao, and he’s a good pick at his salary.

    VALUE PLAYS

    Dustin Poirier ($8,800)

    It is surprising that Dustin Poirier is as big of an underdog as he is to Joseph Duffy, and his salary shows that. I actually think the betting line should be closer, but to his credit, Duffy is 14-1 in his career while Poirier is 6-3 in his last nine fights. Poirier has looked outstanding since making the move up to 155 pounds with two first-round finishes, and his striking has looked crisp. Poirier is a finisher and so is Duffy. It is rare for a higher-ranked fighter to be an underdog, and with Duffy being the one to pull out the last time they were scheduled to fight, that could provide Poirier more motivation to finish Duffy. I like Poirier at his salary.

    Kyle Noke ($8,500)

    This is one everyone should be taking advantage of. When the salaries were originally released for the event, Kyle Noke was scheduled to fight Kelvin Gastelum. He was a big underdog, and his salary reflected that. Gastelum, however, was forced out of the fight. Noke now fights Alex Morono, and DraftKings policy is to not change salaries after they are released, so Noke retains his low salary. With him fighting an opponent making his UFC debut on short notice, Noke is actually a big favorite in the fight. He is coming off a first-round finish of Peter Sobotta in his last bout. With his salary remaining low, Noke should be a must-play on your roster.

    AVOID

    Sheldon Westcott ($10,200)

    Sheldon Westcott is still in search of his first UFC win, and he finds himself in a must-win situation in the opener of UFC 195. His opponent, Edgar Garcia, is in the same position. The loser of the bout is likely cut from the promotion. Westcott hasn’t been impressive during his time inside the Octagon and isn’t a fighter who racks up a lot of points during his bouts. He may get the win over Garcia, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who will maximize value at his salary. I will be avoiding him in my line-ups.

    Nina Ansaroff ($8,700)

    Nina Ansaroff has an umimpressive 6-4 record in her career, but she has won five of her last six bouts. She did lose her UFC debut to Juliana Lima, and had her last fight cancelled the day of the fight when she fell ill during rehydration. She missed weight for that scheduled fight against Rose Namajunas. She makes her return against Justine Kish, a 4-0 strawweight making her UFC debut after dealing with a knee injury. Kish is a solid fighter and a big favorite, and she should get the win. With that, I’m fading Ansaroff in my line-ups.

    OUR LINEUPS:

    RYAN FREDERICK: Michael McDonald ($11,000), Stipe Miocic ($10,500), Brian Ortega ($10,300), Dustin Poirier ($8,800), Kyle Noke ($8,500)

    I like Michael McDonald to get an impressive and quick finish in his UFC return. Stipe Miocic has a good salary and I think he finishes Andrei Arlovski. He is also a volume striker with good takedowns and will come at Arlovski a lot while the fight lasts. Brian Ortega should get the finish of Diego Brandao. I like Dustin Poirier against Joseph Duffy at his salary. Finally, I’m going with Kyle Noke. His salary is too good to pass up against a late replacement who will come in overmatched. I’m sensing all five of these guys winning, and winning by stoppage.

    PAUL FONTAINE: Joseph Duffy ($10,600), Albert Tumenov ($10,100), Abel Trujillo ($10,000), Robbie Lawler ($9,800), Andrei Arlovski ($8,900)

    Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit should have a war with a ton strikes thrown and someone getting KO’d. My money’s on the champion here. Arlovski is a bit of a chance but if he connects, Miocic could get dropped early and Miocic has had a tendency to choke when he gets close to a title shot, as he is now. Tumenov is one of the most underrated fighters in any weight class, although not here by the people that sest the Draft Kings salaries. I like the Russian to ring up his fifth straight UFC win as he marches toward the top 10. Trujillo is either going to get knocked out or knock someone out and I think this is his turn to do the latter. Sims looked good in his UFC debut against Steve Montgomery but not so much in his follow-up fight. I like Trujillo to come out with an early blitz and finish Sims. My last pick may be the fight I’m most looking forward to and that’s Joseph Duffy. I love this fight and I think either guy could win but I think the extra size and power  of the Irishman is going to come into play here and end up with a 3rd straight stoppage win for the last man to beat Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor (couldn’t get through this without saying that!). 

    PEACH MACHINE: Scott Holtzman ($10,400), Albert Tumenov ($10,100), Abel Trujillo ($10,000), Robbie Lawler ($9,800), Dustin Poirier ($8,800)

    I love Lawler to light up Condit big time and score mega points en route to a late stoppage. Poirier is gonna waffle this kid. Just because he’s Irish, everyone’s super into Duffy. DP is gonna stick a potato in his ear. Holtzman is a late replacement but he’s been training solidly for a fight since his first tilt in August and actually asked for a match on short notice. I saw him live in August and just saw him train in Glendale. He’s going to be too fast for Dober and get a finish. Tumenov is going to ground and pound Larkin for three rounds. Trujillo will bounce back from a loss and smash Tony Sims. I’m actually feeling pretty good about my picks this week. 

  • Five things you should know for Wrestle Kingdom 10 week

    This Monday marks the second biggest wrestling show of the year, WrestleKingdom 10. It promises to be a huge show with plenty of awesome wrestling action. It will also attract a lot of people who haven’t watched that much Japanese wrestling, or those who only watch the biggest shows. For those people who are new to watching WrestleKingdom, here are five things that you need to know, or at the very least will help you out in maximizing your fun and decreasing the confusion you might have going into something completely new and different.

    1. The show will be pretty darn long if you’re watching live.

    With this year’s WrestleKingdom show no longer airing at PPV, New Japan will be less stingy with time this year. Not only will the show more than likely be over four hours (most of New Japan’s big shows are near the five hour mark) there will also be a 90 minute pre-show before the main card. This will feature the New Japan Rumble, which is basically a Royal Rumble featuring all the New Japan guys who are not on the card plus a few legends (last year included the likes of Hiro Saito and The Great Kabuki).

    While watching a show that might go over seven hours sounds daunting, most New Japan shows are so well paced the time will fly by pretty fast. Just be prepared to clear your schedule if you’re planning to watch the whole show, including the rumble, live. If not, most PPVs are usually on New Japan World later that day anyway, so you can still watch the show in a timely manner.

    For the record, if you are looking to sign up for New Japan World for the first time, you can do so here. There is “select language” feature at the top of the page, and once selecting that you’ll see the sign up button at the top of the page, where English directions to sign up are provided.

    2. There will be English commentary.

    The big difference between this year’s show and last year’s show, as previously mentioned, is that WrestleKingdom 10 won’t be on PPV. Last year’s show is a joint venture between New Japan and Global Force Wrestling. This year there is no GFW involvement, so the only way to see the show live will be via New Japan World. The good news is that New Japan has brought in ROH announcer Kevin Kelly and widely known color commentator Matt Striker to call the action in English, with inactive NJPW wrestler Yoshi Tatsu being brought back to translate whatever promos and storylines happen on the show. It might not be the best commentary team of all time, but I found their work to be solid at King of Pro Wrestling and I expect there to be improvements for the second biggest wrestling event of the year.

    Keep in mind for the future that all big New Japan shows will probably have English commentary. The trend started at King of Pro Wrestling, and it will continue at WrestleKingdom and most likely Invasion Attack and G1 Finals later this year.

    3. There will be shows before and after WrestleKingdom.

    If you thought 7 hours of New Japan on a Monday morning was just not enough to saite your needs, good news! There will be shows on 1/2 as well as on 1/5 featuring matches between all of your favorite New Japan guys. The ⅓ card will feature the debut of two new rookies making their professional wrestling debut as Kanemitsu Taruaki and Kawato Hirai will compete in singles matches against Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, respectively. It will be interesting to see if this is the swan song for both Tanaka and Komatsu as the rumor is they are soon to be setting out on their excursions. Beyond the rookies making their debut, the ⅓ show will also feature a six man with Jay White, Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger taking on David Finlay, Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi.

    New Year’s Dash, the show taking place after the Tokyo Dome event on ⅕, currently has no card. Like other years, most likely the card will be announced the day of the show, probably with many tag team matches since everyone will have had their working boots on the day before.

    Both shows are scheduled to be broadcast on New Japan World, with the 1/3 show airing at 7 pm PT on 1/2 (I know, time is weird), with the 1/5 show airing at 1:30 am PT.

    4. With the exception of one match, every match on the WrestleKingdom card will be for a championship.

    You don’t absolutely NEED to know this if this is your first time tuning in, but it’s an interesting fact nonetheless. This year’s show is interesting in that every title in New Japan will be defended. This isn’t a big shock, as most shows in previous years have had many title matches. But this factoid is amazing in that every match on the show, with the exception of the New Japan Rumble and a grudge match between Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto, will be for a championship.

    We have the major titles on the line, with Tanahashi/Okada and Nakamura/Styles for the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles respectively. The NEVER title will be defended with Tomohiro Ishii defending against Katsuyori Shibata. It’s weird that the NEVER concept died so quickly, as originally it was supposed to be a title for younger contenders from both weight classes to compete for, which isn’t the case at all now. So it’s even weirder that a new set of six man tag belts are being made, complete with the NEVER name, with The Briscoes and Yano facing off against Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi to determine the first champions.

    Even with all of that, there are still four other titles being defended. You have both tag team titles being defended as Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) defends against Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma). The Ring of Honor title will be defended for the first time in New Japan Pro Wrestling as champion Jay Lethal defends against Michael Elgin. And finally, both Junior titles are on the line as Kenny Omega defends against Kushida and reDragon defends in a fourway against the Young Bucks, Roppongi Vice and Matt Sydal/Ricochet.

    In other words…if you love title matches, this is the show for you. New Japan title matches are always special, so expect everyone to have their working boots on. You can also take bets on how many titles change hands and how many don’t with your friends!

    5. This isn’t Okada and Tanahashi’s first match, and if history proves right it won’t be their last.

    One of the best feuds of this decade has been between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. Still considered the true ace of the promotion, Tanahashi has had problems with Okada dating back to Okada’s re-emergence from his TNA excursion in 2012. Ever since then, they’ve faced off seven times, six since Okada’s return, with Okada in the lead with 4 wins over Tanahashi’s 3.
    The biggest factor in this match however isn’t the overall number of wins, but the wins in the Tokyo Dome. Okada has been unable to defeat Tanahashi in Tokyo Dome matches twice now, and considering he left their match last year in tears, he is sure to want to gain a measure of revenge by beating Tanahashi where it counts the most, at WrestleKingdom. While this all feels like a culmination of a feud that has now lasted four years, it might not be their last as they’ll more than likely face each other again down the road. It’s just that more than likely, it won’t have the same ramifications as this match does.

  • 10 UFC Fights to Watch in January 2016

    After a big 2015, the UFC kicks off 2016 with three events in the month of January. As the Octagon made more international appearances over the years, this month is special in the sense that all three events will take place on American soil. Kicking things off on January 2 will be UFC 195 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following that will be UFC Fight Night 81 on January 17 in Boston, Massachusetts, and UFC On FOX 18 wraps things up for the month on January 30 in Newark, New Jersey. At this point, there are 37 bouts on the fight schedule for the month, so we are going to take a look at ten fights UFC fans should be on the look out for during a fun month of January.

    Honorable Mentions:
    Michael McDonald vs. Masanori Kanehara- UFC 195
    Ben Saunders vs. Patrick Cote- UFC Fight Night 81
    Tarec Saffiedine vs. Jake Ellenberger- UFC On FOX 18

    10. Sage Northcutt vs. Andrew Holbrook- UFC On FOX 18- January 30

    19-year-old rising prospect Sage Northcutt is taking the UFC by storm, garnering a lot of attention and being promoted heavily by the promotion. It may be unjust to some due to his age and inexperience, but there is a lot of marketability to the kid. He will be fighting for the second straight month, and the third time since making his UFC debut in October. This time he will be featured in primetime on the FOX network. He is being slowly built facing opponents near the bottom of the division, but he gets an undefeated opponent in his next fight in Andrew Holbrook. Holbrook is 11-0 and is coming off a win in his UFC debut, a split decision over Ramsey Nijem in July. This will be a test for Northcutt and also will show if coming back seven weeks after his last fight is too quick of a UFC turnaround.

    9. Albert Tumenov vs. Lorenz Larkin- UFC 195- January 2

    These men throw down with exciting fights and look to finish with every punch and kick they throw, and that is why the fight between Albert Tumenov and Lorenz Larkin is featured prominently on the main card of UFC 195, the first event of the month on Saturday. They are both finishers and both are strong on their feet. They have a chance to provide a lot of excitement and fireworks when they step inside the Octagon across from each other. Tumenov has won four straight fights while Larkin has won his past two since making the move down to welterweight. Unfortunately for them, they may not have the most exciting welterweight bout of the month, but the odds are pretty good they have a good shot at winning “Fight Of The Month”. This should be a barnburner.

    8. Travis Browne vs. Matt Mitrione- UFC Fight Night 81- January 17

    Travis Browne and Matt Mitrione are both at interesting points in their careers. Browne was thought to be a future title challenger in the heavyweight division, but has always seemed to take a step back when facing a top-five opponent. Mitrione was climbing up the rankings, but made a mental mistake that cost him his last fight against Ben Rothwell. Mitrione now comes into his fight against Browne on January 17 as an impending free agent, and he has been outspoken about a lot of issues in recent months. How will that affect him? Browne has also been in the news a lot, between charges of domestic abuse from his estranged wife and his new relationship with Ronda Rousey. How that all affects him remains to be seen as well. Inside the Octagon, both men throw heavy hands and in a heavyweight bout, a finish seems likely. Both men are at pivotal crossroads in their careers, and both have a lot to prove.

    7. Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy- UFC 195- January 2

    Originally scheduled to headline the UFC’s event in Dublin in October, a fight week injury to Joseph Duffy caused cancellation of his bout against Dustin Poirier. They were rebooked to fight at UFC 195 on Saturday, and they will be headlining the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card as the UFC makes a big push for their digital network in 2016. Duffy has gotten a lot of attention being the last man to defeat Conor McGregor, and he has scored two impressive UFC wins in his first two UFC bouts. A fight against Poirier is a big step up for Duffy, who fought Ivan Jorge and Jake Lindsey in his first two UFC bouts. Poirier was close to a title shot at 145 pounds, and he has two straight first-round finishes since moving up to lightweight. Both men are trying to break into the top ten in a crowded 155-pound division, and the winner will rocket up the rankings.

    6. Josh Barnett vs. Ben Rothwell- UFC On FOX 18- January 30

    Ben Rothwell has been looking for a fight for a long time, and it looks like he finally will get one at the end of January. He was supposed to fight Stipe Miocic in October, but Miocic pulled out due to injury. Rothwell tried to get many fights in the meantime, but nothing was materializing. He became even more upset when Miocic was quickly rebooked against Andrei Arlovski, who Rothwell tried to get booked with. In steps Josh Barnett, who will be looking to capitalize following a dominant win over Roy Nelson in September. It is interesting that Barnett took the fight as he talked about taking time away from the sport, again, following the Nelson win. He looked really good in that win, and Rothwell has looked sharp during his three-fight win streak. The winner will move one step closer towards a title shot.

    5. Stipe Miocic vs. Andrei Arlovski- UFC 195- January 2

    Speaking of title shots in the heavyweight division, the aforementioned Stipe Miocic and Andrei Arlovski square off in the first co-main event of 2016 with a title shot hanging in the balance. Miocic is coming off a dominant win over Mark Hunt and is 4-1 in his last five fights. Arlovski has enjoyed a career resurgence, winning his last six fights, including four straight since returning to the UFC. He was in one of 2015’s most exciting bouts against Travis Browne, but his last win, over Frank Mir, was a disappointment. It set him up for a title eliminator against Miocic, who looks to make a statement and earn that title shot that has loomed him. With many big heavyweight bouts in January, this one will have the most importance on future title challengers.

    4. Anthony Johnson vs. Ryan Bader- UFC On FOX 18- January 30

    Light heavyweights will close out the month of January as Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader will meet in the main event of the FOX event on January 30 in Newark. Johnson is looking to get back into a title fight after a second-round knockout win over Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191 in January. Bader can make a strong argument that he deserves a title shot as he has won five straight fights, something that has been very hard to do in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He is coming off a convincing win over Johnson’s teammate, Rashad Evans, at UFC 192 in October. Unfortunately for both men, current champion Daniel Cormier is going to be occupied by former champion Jon Jones for a while as Jones makes his return. The winner of this bout is almost guaranteed to be next in line, so this is a pivotal bout for both.

    3. Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez- UFC Fight Night 81- January 17

    Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon for the first time since losing the title to Rafael Dos Anjos, and his road back to a title shot begins with a bout against former Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez is looking for his second straight win over a former champion after defeating Gilbert Melendez in June and will be looking to make his case for a title shot. This fight has the potential to be a great clash as we have two top-five lightweights going at it with a potential title shot on the line. Pettis has long been one of the most exciting fighters in the sport and Alvarez is no slouch himself. In a month crowded with potential title eliminator bouts, this one has the best shot at being the best fight of the bunch.

    2. Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit- UFC 195- January 2

    The first main event of 2016 has excitement written all over it. UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler is coming off his first title defense over Rory MacDonald in 2015’s “Fight Of The Year”. It is the second straight year that Lawler has been involved in the “Fight Of The Year”, and him and former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit are looking to get a jump start on potentially winning that honor for 2016. It is one of the most interesting and compelling match-ups on the horizon for the UFC as it features two welterweights involved in some of the best fights in 170-pound division history. Both men are strong finishers, and both are equally as tough to finish. This one could be an all-time classic.

    1. T.J. Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz- UFC Fight Night 81- January 17

    The man who never lost the UFC Bantamweight Championship inside the Octagon will finally get his chance to get that championship back in our top fight to watch for the month. Dominick Cruz was forced to relinquish the championship after knee injuries kept him out of action for nearly two years. He returned in September 2014 and quickly finished Takeya Mizugaki, showing he hadn’t lost a step. However, another knee injury forced him out of action for all of 2015, but he finally comes back with a chance to win the belt he never lost. That championship is now held by T.J. Dillashaw, who is coming off his second title defense after a dominant win over the man he beat for the championship, Renan Barao, in July. Dillashaw has been in the news more recently for his ugly split with teammate Urijah Faber, who happens to be a big rival of Cruz. Faber is waiting in the wings for the winner, but Dillashaw and Cruz have their work ahead of them first. Their match-up on January 17 in Boston has the chance to be one of the best fights in the history of the bantamweight division, and the winner will be the rightful champion.

  • Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Champion vs. The Ace

    This match! This rivalry! Where do I even begin? How about with a fun fact, and we’ll see what happens from there? Wrestle Kingdom 10 marks the 7th time Okada and Tanahashi will have faced each other for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. They are currently tied with three wins a piece. Tanahashi got the last, tear inducing win over Okada earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 9. In a way, you can think of their next match as the final in a very long “Best of Seven Series” which started in 2012 and ends, assumedly, in 2016. Another fun fact is that Wrestle Kingdom 10 will be Tanahashi’s 6th straight Tokyo Dome main event (3rd against Okada). What’s even more impressive is that he’s 5 for 5! If this were NBA Jam, he’d be “on fire.”

    Okada is coming into the match as champion, defeating A.J. Styles for the title at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall in July. Tanahashi earned his right to challenge Okada for the title by winning the 2015 G1 Climax. However, before getting to Wrestle Kingdom, Tanahashi had to defend his title match contract in matches against Bad Luck Fale and Tetsuya Naito, who both defeated Tanahashi during the G1 tournament. Meanwhile, Okada successfully defended his title against Styles in a rematch at King of Pro Wrestling in October.

    Being the 7th time the two men will have met for the title, and their 9th singles match together (the first was when Okada was a Young Lion, but it still counts), there is a bit of a feeling of “not this again” coming into the match. But that’s the general complaint with New Japan in 2015. With the exclusion of an incredible character transformation here or there (Ingobernable Naito), New Japan’s booking has played things very safe for the most part, with very little changing since Wrestle Kingdom 9.

    The Bullet Club is still…being the Bullet Club. With each passing day, they become more and more like the original NWO as they continue to spawn new members like Mogwai exposed to water (See Chase Owens). Nakamura is still the IC Champ, though he did part with the title throughout the year. Ishii is the NEVER Openweight Champion, just like he was going into Wrestle Kingdom 9. Gallows & Anderson are the IWGP Tag Team Champs, just like they were at Wrestle Kingdom 9. And you guessed it, reDRagon are the IWGP Jr. Tag Champs going into Wrestle Kingdom 10, just like they were going into Wrestling Kingdom 9. Even Kenny Omega, who won the IWGP Jr. title at Wrestle Kingdom 9, is the champ going into Wrestle Kingdom 10.

    In a sense, we’re pretty much getting the same show as last year, though without the time restriction due to Global Force Wrestling’s broadcast in the U.S., and, sadly, also without Minoru Suzuki (Rambo entrant?). So the blame can’t be put solely on the main event for not feeling fresh. It’s a whole group effort. It’s like New Japan saw the Obama “Change” poster and said, “Nope, let’s not do that.”  At least without the U.S. PPV time restriction, we’ll hopefully get the big, elaborate entrances of Wrestle Kingdoms past. DeLoreans and pole dancing routines, please!

    While I may sound a little unenthused by yet another Tanahashi/Okada match, there are some upsides to Tanahashi vs. Okada VII. The most important being that they’ve never had a bad match together, and I don’t think they’re going to start at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Anything under 4.5 stars by these two on this stage would be considered a disappointment, which probably adds a bit of pressure. Another is the fact that while this match was only officially announced in October, it was more or less made the moment Okada lost to Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 9. After the match, Okada was completely devastated, and left the ring in tears.

    It was clear that match last January was not going to be the end of their long and storied rivalry, and another Wrestle Kingdom main event was looming. It was more just a question of if it was going to be at the following Wrestle Kingdom, or saved for further down the line. Thus, while it’s not the freshest match up, it does have a long, solid, emotional backstory and we can expect a fitting conclusion, i.e. Okada redeems himself for being a crybaby and finally defeats Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome, the figurative torch is passed, the student becomes the master, and so forth. 

    Okada vs. Tanahashi: The Champion vs. The Ace. I know I should be more excited for this than I am, and I am excited. It’s just not off the charts levels. I think what I’m most looking forward to is this match possibly capping off what has been one of the highest profile rivalries in Japan in the current decade, and possibly the best in terms of match quality. If nothing else, it’s all but guaranteed to be a hell of a match.

  • Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Swag vs. The Phenomenal One

    At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Shinsuke Nakamura fended off Kota Ibushi’s challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in what was one of the best matches of 2015, despite taking place only four days into the new year and being followed by nearly twelve months worth of fantastic wrestling. This year, it’s A.J. Styles’ turn for a shot at the IC title, a belt that’s become synonymous with its current holder, Shinsuke Nakamura.

    Nakamura is a five time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, the most since the title’s inception in 2011. Nakamura first won the title in 2012 when he defeated Hirooki Goto. Since then, the belt has basically belonged to him. Sure, he’s lost it four times, but Nakamura doesn’t really ever lose the title, he just lets others play with it until he’s ready to take it back.

    A.J. Styles is no slouch when it comes to impressive title reigns. After signing with New Japan, Styles defeated Kazuchika Okada in his debut match at Wrestling Dontaku 2014 for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Not a bad start. He was also in some company called TNA, or Impact Wrestling, or Wrestling Matters, or something, where he was apparently quite successful, but I don’t really know anything about that.

    How’d We Get Here?

    It’s pretty simple, actually. After deciding Hirooki Goto had played with his belt for long enough, Nakamura took back his property at Destruction in Kobe in September. Nakamura successfully defended the title against Bullet Club co-founder Karl Anderson at Power Struggle, but before the match, he went the John Cena route and issued an open challenge for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. You’ve got to admire the gall of Nakamura, issuing an open challenge when he still had Karl Anderson to get through. After defeating Anderson in a very exciting match, A.J. Styles came out to graciously accept the challenge. And there we have it. Nakamura vs. Styles at Wrestle Kingdom 10.

    One reason I’m excited about this match, besides the fact it involves two of the best wrestlers in the world today, is that it’s a first time match. Nakamura and Styles have only previously met in tag matches or multi-mans, so this will be their first singles match together. So that’s neat. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of chemistry they have, and if this match will be the beginning of a long term feud, or just a one off thing.

    It’s also a battle of the hairstyles. One wrestler has a very progressive, fashionable hairstyle, and the other is A.J. Styles. I kind of wish this match was a Lucha de Apuesta, with Nakamura’s title vs. A.J.’s hair. There’s still time, NJPW!

    Finally, what I’m most excited for is Shinsuke Nakamura’s ring entrance. At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Nakamura came out wearing a regal crown and looking like Vincent Valentine, which was great, but fairly tame for Nakamura. The previous year, he was accompanied by a whole troop of dancers. With poles for some reason! One thing that was missing from Wrestle Kingdom 9 were the long, extravagant entrances. Without GFW’s involvement and the incurred time constraints, Wrestle Kingdom 10 should go back to the big, elaborate entrances of years past.

    Of course, this will all be for naught if A.J. Styles doesn’t even make it to the Tokyo Dome. Recently, Styles was sent home from the NJPW World Tag League tournament due to a lingering back injury. Shortly before the tournament, he had also missed some ROH shows. Hopefully it’s nothing a little R&R can’t fix. Though he still had a major match in ROH against Jay Lethal to get through before Wrestle Kingdom, so I’m not sure just how much of the R’s he’s actually got. 

    Cards are always subject to change. It would be a huge disappointment to miss the biggest NJPW show of the year, but personal well-being does come first. However, I don’t doubt Styles will make it to Wrestle Kingdom, but I highly doubt he’ll be at his best. Luckily for him, he’ll be in there with one of the best in the world. Besides, even an A.J. Styles at 50% would still be better than most.

  • The Week In British Wrestling: Joey Ryan does it again; possible big announcements coming

    By Alan Boon fof F4WOnline.com

    A lot of promotions enjoyed a Christmas break this week, but while things don’t really wake up until the middle of January, there were still things going on in the UK. Here are five things you need to know about British wrestling this week:

    1) The time for talk is over.

    For the last few years, British wrestling fans – although not necessarily fans of British wrestling – have had their own TV show on Challenge TV every Sunday night. WrestleTalk TV, which follows TNA on the mostly-retro quiz channel, is a discussion show, mostly concerned with the mainstream promotions, and TNA. Most of the interviews, given WWE’s embargo on all but the most valuable (to them) outlets, are with former-WWE stars or current TNA wrestlers, and for fans of that kind of thing it’s been a weekly staple of varying interest. This week, however, Challenge TV announced that the show was cancelled, although producer Alex Shane was quick to claim it would appear on another channel soon. In it’s place – although the exact time slot is yet to be determined – will be another Shane-produced wrestling show, but this time a quiz show more in fitting with the rest of the channel’s output.

    As well as the main show, there was a monthly British Wrestling Round-Up show, which followed late into the evening, but mostly featured footage from just the one promotion, New Generation Wrestling from Hull. Nothing has been announced as to the future of this show. While it wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea, the show did at least maintain a visibility for something other than WWE & TNA on British TV, and for that alone it’s loss should be noted with some disappointment.

    2) Even on a quiet Christmas Day, you can still watch British wrestling.

    For many years TV was seen as the be all and end all for British wrestling companies, and more than one promotion killed itself trying to make that happen. The last few years, however, have seen an explosion in online on-demand channels, made possible by advancements in broadband speeds and editing software available to even the tiniest promotion. The upshot of all this is that there is plenty of quality British wrestling to watch, whenever you want to watch it. The main leaders in the field are Insane Championship Wrestling and PROGRESS, who have mobilised their hefty fanbases into subscribing to on-demand channels. As well as recordings of live shows, both promotions offer exclusive footage only available to subscribers, such as ICW’s Friday Night Fight Club and the excellent Jimmy Havoc Q&A on Demand PROGRESS. Both channels utilise Pivotshare software, and are available through all the usual platforms.

    Many other promotions – and I’ll try to list them later – offer a different model, whereby you pay for access to one or more of their shows to stream or download. Some host their own shows, while others are available through third party sites like Your Fight Site and Wrestling Store, and use a variety of different platforms, although Vimeo is popular. Among the major promotions to use this model are Revolution Pro-Wrestling, Preston City Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, and IPW:UK, but there are also shows from Grand-Pro, Pro-Wrestling Chaos, LDN, NGW, FutureShock, and many more out there. In addition, RevPro offer a weekly show on their YouTube channel, the first 2016 taping for which is this coming Sunday and it is a stacked card.

    All this means that, if it happens in the UK, you can pretty much see it within days on one platform or another, and makes it very easy – and enjoyable – to be a fan of British wrestling . Nothing comes close to the live show experience (and there are still a couple of promotions who offer nothing but that experience) but having it beamed live to your living room is the next best thing.

    3) Joey Ryan’s penis is stronger than we thought.

    So how was your Christmas? Yeah, mine too. Oh, did you get to see Joey Ryan replicate his famous spot with Danshoku Dino, only in a sleepy Cambridgeshire market town instead of Tokyo, and with five other men instead of a Japanese sex pest? You didn’t? Oh, man. So, yeah, Joey Ryan came to the UK last week, and of course he played up on that spot. At Southside last Sunday, at the sold out Season’s Beatings in St Neots, he competed in a six-man Giant Lollipop On A Pole match, which also featured Rockstar Spud and Martin Kirby, and a ton of brilliant comedy spots that had me crying with laughter. Spud won the match – does it matter? – but all six men (and referee Joel Allen, who played his part, too) deserved a standing ovation.

    Southside are one of the UK’s second-tier promotions, never grabbing the big headlines but putting on solid shows with a good roster and a sprinkling of the more interesting imports. Already for 2016, they’ve announced Sami Callihan, Angelico, Timothy Thatcher, and Leva Bates, but the main focus is placed on their British stars, which include Will Ospreay, Jimmy Havoc, and el Ligero. Ligero main-evented Sunday’s show, in a Loser Leaves Southside match against Kay Lee Ray, and even though the result was slightly spoiled by Ligero appearing on the poster for February’s show, the match was well-worked, hard-fought, and painful-looking (if a little overbooked).

    Also on the show, Stixx continued his battle against Joseph Conners’s Righteous Army, and Nixon Newell defended her Queen Of Southside title. While the likes of ICW, PROGRESS, PCW, and RevPro get the major headlines – and rightly so for the most part – Southside (and promotions like them) are really worth checking out if you get the chance. They’re not “my” brand but I’m never disappointed by their shows.

    4) PROGRESS are HUGE teases.

    With all their shows for 2016 seemingly announced and a stunning amount of season tickets already sold for the London shows, you might be forgiven for thinking that PROGRESS can sit back and just roll out whatever they’ve got planned for the year as it comes. On Tuesday, however, they tweeted that they would be announcing HUGE news on New Year’s Day, and their fanbase exploded into speculation. The big guess was some kind of TV deal, what with a test being filmed at their last London show, but that was quickly shot down by management with promoter Jim Smallman repeating his opinion that TV wasn’t necessary for a promotion to be a success in 2016. Other guesses have included a tour (ICW run two successful tours a year in the UK), a live webcast of a show, and a big show at a bigger venue than the 700-seaters they traditionally run. Like a lot of “announcements” in this most carny of industries, it could turn out to be a damp squib but I’d lay money on it being something really, really interesting. Check your Twitter feed on Friday at midday to find out.

    5) Shows still happened.

    Although live action was thin on the ground over Christmas week, it wasn’t entirely absent. As well as the Southside show reported above, and a few shows at holiday camps open to seasonal vacationers, New Generation Wrestling ran Hull, and WrestleForce promoted Witham Town Hall. At NGW’s Eternal Glory At Christmas show, NGW champion Nathan Cruz defeated Matt Myers to keep hold of the title he’s worn since July, although Zack Gibson – who added Zack Sabre Jr on this show to his list of recent conquests – will be gunning for him in the new year. Also on the show were Mark Andrews, Bubblegum, Rampage Brown, and el Ligero, as well as a host of other NGW regulars.

    The promotion have already announced their big show for next year, May’s Ultimate Showdown, and will be hoping to capitalise on a nationwide tour in the spring. WrestleForce’s Festive Fury, held in the Essex town of Witham, featured all their usual characters, some of whom may or may not also be regulars in the RetroFutureVerse of Lucha Britannia. Former WWE developmental prospect The Zulu Warrior retained his International Championship, seeing off the challenge of Joey Ozbourne, while the team of Peace & Brad O’Brien sent the fans home happy with a victory in the main event over the evil Voodoo & Damien. Also on the show were Richard Parliament, “Blackbelt” Tom Dawkins, and a good shout for rookie of the year 2016, the Punjabi Prince (Malik Waseem), and – as always at WrestleForce’s slightly surreal outings – a fun time was had by all.

    Next weekend sees us rocket into 2016 with shows from three of the big names of British wrestling.

  • UFC 195 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    The UFC kicks off 2016 on Saturday night for their traditional New Year’s event from Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC 195, headlined by the UFC Welterweight Championship being defended when Robbie Lawler defends against Carlos Condit. The action kicks off with preliminary card bouts on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FOX Sports 1 for more preliminary card fights leading into the main card on pay-per-view. The action will kick off on Saturday at 6:30 PM eastern time, and we will have coverage for you here on F4WOnline.com. Also on the card is a pivotal bout in the heavyweight division as Stipe Miocic takes on Andrei Arlovski. Let’s take a deeper look into the night’s card and present you five storylines to keep your eye on during UFC 195 on Saturday night.

    1. Welterweight gold on the line in the main event

    The first UFC event of 2016 is headlined by a title fight that could be an early contender for “Fight Of The Year” as the UFC Welterweight Championship is on the line. Robbie Lawler comes off his first title defense in 2015’s “Fight Of The Year” against Rory MacDonald and gets another big challenge in the form of Carlos Condit, a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. This fight is a much anticipated one for hardcore fans as Lawler and Condit are two of the most exciting 170-pound fighters on the planet, which is a big reason why the fight was put together. Condit is just 2-3 in his last five fights and missed 14 months of action due to a serious knee injury, but it looked like he hadn’t missed a step with a dominant win over Thiago Alves in May. It helped him leapfrog fellow contenders such as Tyron Woodley and Johny Hendricks, but the styles clash between Lawler and Condit is just too interesting to pass up. That could breed a war for the ages for the first main event of 2016.

    Lawler is coming off of that war with MacDonald in July and has been in quite a few wars over the last few years. His comeback story is one for the ages- written off coming back from Strikeforce, he has gone 7-1 since then to become champion and has been involved in the last two “Fight Of The Year” winners. He has had a lot of mileage put on him since the beginning of 2014, and it will be interesting to see if that has caught up to him. Condit will come in with a masterful gameplan with coaching from Greg Jackson. Both men, at times, start slow, but both have the conditioning to go a full 25 minutes. Condit may be more technical on the feet, but Lawler has more power in his hands. Both men can end a fight at any moment with their striking, and both men are equally as tough to finish. Condit has a better ground game.

    Needless to say, this has the makings of a war. On a card not big on star power, especially after the bonanza of fight cards in December, this is a fight fan’s dream battle in a month of more solid UFC action. It should be a battle for the ages, and the man who walks out of the Octagon with the gold around his waist at the end of Saturday night will have gone through hell to get it, but will be a deserving champion.

    2. A heavyweight title shot hangs in the balance

    The co-main event bout is a battle in the heavyweight division that could determine the next man in line to challenge for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Current champion Fabricio Werdum defends against former champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 196 next month, but first, Stipe Miocic and Andrei Arlovski will step inside the Octagon and do battle. Miocic is coming off of one of the most dominant performances in UFC heavyweight history in his fifth-round TKO win over Mark Hunt in May. He set the record for most strikes landed in a UFC bout, landing 361 total strikes over the course of nearly 23 minutes. Miocic has won four of his last five fights, with the lone loss being a close bout against Junior Dos Santos that was an all-out war. Miocic is ranked third in the division rankings, and a win has him primed to finally score that title shot.

    A title shot is something that many wouldn’t have expected Arlovski to ever receive again. But, here he is, on the verge of earning one following wins in six straight fights, including four straight since returning to the UFC. He may have earned one had his win over Frank Mir at UFC 191 in September been more impressive, but that performance set him back just a bit and put him in a title eliminator position. Arlovski has held UFC gold before, and his comeback story is proof you can never count a fighter out in this sport. Training under Greg Jackson has done wonders for him, and Jackson could be leading him towards gold. He has a tough opponent ahead of him in Miocic, and both men are heavy-handed strikers. Arlovski’s chin has held up after taking several beatings years ago, but Miocic lands with a lot of power and volume. This is going to be one tough test for both men, and the winner deserves a title shot.

    3. Young, exciting fighters highlight the main card

    Two potential barnburners highlight the main card on pay-per-view featuring some exciting prospects. In a welterweight bout, dynamic strikers Albert Tumenov and Lorenz Larkin will square off. Tumenov has won four straight bouts, and he looks like a big threat at 170 pounds after a dominant first-round knockout win over Alan Jouban at UFC 192 in October. Ten of Tumenov’s last eleven wins have come by knockout, and he boasts serious power. Larkin also boasts serious power, and his striking is more flashy and comes from every angle. He has won two straight since moving to welterweight, both by knockout, and both earning him post-fight bonus awards. The move down is what Larkin needed after three straight losses, and he seems comfortable at 170 pounds. This fight is one that could send the winner into the top 15 rankings at 170 pounds.

    In a featherweight bout, former TUF winner Diego Brandao will be looking for his third straight win as he looks to end the perfect record held by fast-rising prospect Brian Ortega. Ortega is undefeated in ten career bouts, though he has a blemish on his mark with a win overturned due to a drug test failure. He is coming off a third-round knockout win over Thiago Tavares in June in one of the best fights of 2015, and at 24-years-old, he has a bright future ahead of him. He hasn’t had an easy road in recent UFC bouts with his second straight tough veteran fighter, and Brandao is out to prove he is no stepping stone. He has two straight first-round wins, but he has seemed to always falter when he has the spotlight on him. He does again with a main card bout, and Ortega will be out to prove that he is ready to be solidified as a title contender.

    4. A big lightweight bout on Fight Pass

    2016 looks like there will be a lot of emphasis on UFC Fight Pass with some big fights already planned for the digital network. It won’t just be main events for exclusive events, but also big preliminary bouts being positioned on the network. That starts on Saturday with a lightweight title between Dustin Poirier and Joseph Duffy taking place on UFC Fight Pass. They were originally scheduled to headline the event in Dublin in October that aired on Fight Pass, but the fight was cancelled the week of the event as doctors wouldn’t allow Duffy to fight after he had suffered a concussion one week prior to the event. Several fighters campaigned to fight Poirier on short notice, but he was pulled from the October event so the fight with Duffy could be rescheduled. They get their chance to throw down on Saturday night.

    Poirier and Duffy are both exciting fighters with a lot of potential. Poirier has adjusted well in moving up to the lightweight division as he doesn’t have the drastic weight cut, and his power has seemingly gotten better with the move up. Duffy has proven capable of finishing opponents in his two UFC bouts, but this is a giant step up in competition. Known as the last man to defeat Conor McGregor, Duffy is looking to carve himself a name as a threat at 155 pounds. He is a big favorite over Poirier, and that is very surprising considering Poirier has fought much tougher competition in his career. Poirier is another fighter who has faltered in the spotlight, and he has to prove that is in the past from competing at 145 pounds. These men can make a statement about the card very early on in the evening, and fans tuning in on Fight Pass not just for UFC 195, but for future events, are in store for a treat.

    5. Mayday back in the bantamweight fold

    After being out of action for just over two years, former bantamweight title challenger Michael McDonald will be making his return to action in the featured preliminary bout on Saturday night. McDonald has been nursing hand injuries throughout his entire career, and hand and wrist surgeries cost him the last two years. He was last seen in December 2013 being submitted by Urijah Faber, one of only two losses in the UFC, the other coming to Renan Barao in a title fight in February 2013. McDonald is still just shy of his 25th birthday, and with him returning along with Dominick Cruz, the bantamweight division is getting a much needed input of exciting fighters.

    McDonald will be taking on Masanori Kanehara, who is 1-1 in UFC competition. Kanehara is coming off a tough split decision loss to Rani Yahya in July. This is a perfect bounce back fight for McDonald, who is an exciting knockout artist with good well-rounded skills. The long layoff has cost McDonald in the rankings as he has dropped to eighth following the rise of such prospects as Thomas Almeida and Aljamain Sterling. Even though he has already fought once for the title, McDonald is still very young and his name should be propped in with those two as young fighters to keep an eye on in the future. With his injury issues hopefully behind him, he is primed to make a run and remind fans why he is a much hyped fighter at 135 pounds.

    Full UFC 195 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions

    MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)

    UFC Welterweight Championship: (C) Robbie Lawler vs. (#4) Carlos Condit
    Betting Odds:     Lawler (-110), Condit (-110)
    Prediction: Condit by decision

    Heavyweights: (#3) Stipe Miocic vs. (#2) Andrei Arlovski
    Betting Odds:     Miocic (-230), Arlovski (+190)
    Prediction: Miocic by knockout in round 2

    Welterweights: Albert Tumenov vs. Lorenz Larkin
    Betting Odds:     Tumenov (-240), Larkin (+200)
    Prediction: Tumenov by decision

    Featherweights: Diego Brandao vs. Brian Ortega
    Betting Odds:     Brandao (+190), Ortega (-230)
    Prediction: Ortega by knockout in round 1

    Lightweights: Abel Trujillo vs. Tony Sims
    Betting Odds:     Trujillo (+105), Sims (-125)
    Prediction: Trujillo by knockout in round 3

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    Bantamweights: (#8) Michael McDonald vs. Masanori Kanehara
    Betting Odds:     McDonald (-550), Kanehara (+425)
    Prediction: McDonald by submission in round 1

    Welterweights: Kyle Noke vs. Alex Morono
    Betting Odds:     Noke (-300), Morono (+250)
    Prediction: Noke by knockout in round 1

    Women’s Strawweights: Justine Kish vs. Nina Ansaroff
    Betting Odds:     Kish (-265), Ansaroff (+225)
    Prediction: Kish by decision

    Lightweights: Drew Dober vs. Scott Holtzman
    Betting Odds:     Dober (+140), Holtzman (-160)
    Prediction: Holtzman by submission in round 2

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)

    Lightweights: (#12) Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy
    Betting Odds:     Poirier (+165), Duffy (-190)
    Prediction: Poirier by knockout in round 2

    Bantamweights: Joe Soto vs. Michinori Tanaka
    Betting Odds:     Soto (-110), Tanaka (-110)
    Prediction: Soto by decision

    Welterweights: Sheldon Westcott vs. Edgar Garcia
    Betting Odds:     Westcott (-160), Garcia (+140)
    Prediction: Westcott by decision

  • Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Stone Pitbull vs. The Wrestler

    At Wrestle Kingdom 10, Katsuyori Shibata takes on Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER (ALL CAPS) Openweight Championship. Why? Because shut up! That’s why! There is no backstory here. No storied rivalry. It’s just happening. And you know what? I’m not even mad. Not even a little. Usually I would be. But in this case, nope. Totally not mad. I’m unmad. And I’ll tell you why in just a minute. But first, let’s get to know these two bruisers who will no doubt beat each other senseless at the Tokyo Dome.  

    Similar to how the formerly white (current colour undefinable) IWGP Intercontinental belt is Shinsuke Nakamura’s plaything which he occasionally lets others have a hold of, Ishii and the NEVER title go hand in hand. Ishii has the most reigns of any NEVER Champion at 4, and the most combined days as champ. Since the conception of the title in 2012 and after Masato Tanaka’s initial run (and Tetsuya Naito’s subsequent run), the NEVER title division has been dominated by Tomohiro Ishii.

    That is until the great disturbance in the force that was Togi Makabe, but that King Kong sized speedbump is in the past now. Ishii is champ and all is good once again. The other important thing to know about Ishii is that his matches are brutal. THE BRUTALEST. Stiff lariats, thudding headbutts, and all the things that make you wince when watching a wrestling match. But he’s not just a physical worker, his selling (always that darn shoulder/neck area) is second to none.

    And then there’s The Wrestler, Katsuyori Shibata. If Ishii’s matches are the brutalest, Shibata’s aren’t far behind. Shibata is one of the best talents in New Japan, but also one of the most underutilised. He’s only ever held one title in New Japan: the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Hirooki Goto. His biggest singles wins usually come in the G1 tournament. Other times, he’s mostly put in tags and multi-mans.

    2015 was a fairly quiet year for Shibata. After winning the tag titles at Wrestle Kingdom and losing them almost immediately, Shibata had very few singles matches and feuds. Late in 2015, it looked like he was heading towards a showdown with the excellently ingobernable Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Shibata defeated Naito in the G1, but Naito got his revenge at Destruction in Kobe. Then, Naito and EVIL (best name ever) defeated Shibata and Goto and knocked them out of the World Tag League.

    However, after pinning Ishii (for the umpteenth time) in a multi-man match on the final day of the World Tag League, he laid the NEVER title over Ishii’s carcass, signifying his intention to challenge at Wrestle Kingdom 10. It was then later announced that Hirooki Goto would be the one to face Tetsuya Naito at the Tokyo Dome.

    Slightly baffling build up, but it kind of makes sense. Sort of. Shibata has beaten Ishii quite a few times in multi-man matches, so he may as well get something out of it in the form of a championship. Meanwhile, Goto has been almost equally involved in the feud with Naito and EVIL, so that match isn’t completely out of left field either. In a discussion about the match I had on social media, an interesting idea was brought up in that Shibata wins the NEVER title and feuds with Naito over it. That would be logical considering their recent history, and something I’d love to see, but it also means Ishii loses at the Tokyo Dome, and I don’t care for that at all.

    When it comes to Ishii vs. Shibata, no elaborate angles or backstories are needed. These two are no frills wrestlers. They arrive. They obliterate. They leave. At Wrestle Kingdom 10, these two are going to murder (not literally) each other, or die trying. I’m not going to lie, I’ll be spending the majority of this match with my hands over my eyes, peeking at the destruction through my fingers. I love both of these wrestlers, but their style is career shortening. It’s sometimes hard to watch, but even harder to look away. When these two meet in the Kingdom of Wrestling on January 4th, they’re going to tear the roof off. We’re gonna need a bigger dome.

  • WWE NXT Breaking Ground Episode 9: Countdown, Bayley at a PPV

    Breaking Ground Episode 9: Countdown

    By Ryan Pike

    Key Takeaway: TakeOver: Respect draws near as we follow several NXT personalities as they prepare for the big event. The focus on TakeOver adds some much-needed urgency to the show.

    Recap: As with the past few episodes, this edition of Breaking Ground wasn’t focused on one or two competitors, but the episode’s focus on the road to TakeOver: Respect helped make up for it.

    Bayley visits Natalya at “Night of Champions” and picks her brain a bit about the upcoming Iron Man match. Natalya reassures her that she’s the right person to lead the way for the young NXT female locker room as champion. Later, Bayley shoots promos for the match and gets a bit choked up as she discusses the importance and historical nature of the bout, which they emphasize is the first time females have main-evented a live WWE special. When she arrives at Full Sail for the event, Bayley seems a bit relieved that the day has arrived – she mentions how she’s been constantly running around preparing and promoting the event (and while she does this in voice-over, she is constantly shaking hands with different people at the arena backstage who greet her) that she’s a bit wired at this point. In a cool moment in this episode, Bayley gets a chance to play with her own action figure as Mattel comes to do facial scans of other NXT stars.

    Nia Jax is getting ready for her TV debut (which was taped after TakeOver, but appears in this episode because of narratives). Her mom has flown in and helps her prepare. Nia has no idea what to do for her entrance. Her mom advises her not to over-analyze her entrance and just enjoy the moment when she walks out there. Her mom mentions what she has already overcome, and Nia tells the story of getting in an accident with a drunk driver in August 2014 (with The Rock’s mom with her in the car). In a funny moment, Rhyno and Baron Corbin joke around with her about being nervous about her debut, sharing horror stories of their past debuts. (Rhyno came out during the commercial break because he thought the generic rock music was his entrance music, advising her to “remember her music.”) She likes her new gear. Her debut happens, the crowd reacts well to her. She tears up discussing how much it all meant to her having her mom there. (Weirdly, she has a talk with her mom outside the venue wearing her more recent gear with the cool shoulder-pads.)

    Sami Zayn begins doing conditioning in-ring with Tye Dillinger. He goes through a series of holds while a trainer assesses him. He notes afterwards it’s unclear if he’s going up to the main roster or not, as it wasn’t clear to him if his Montreal match with John Cena was a full call-up or a one-off.

    In a strange quirk, last week’s cliffhanger with Dana Brooke getting injured is not really followed up on. They establish that she was hurt and injured some muscle in-between her pectoral and her shoulder, but she decided to work through it as the trainers felt whatever damage had been done wouldn’t get worse. She does get choked up a bit chatting with Jason Jordan prior to Takeover, but she gets to make her TakeOver debut with Asuka regardless.

    In lesser news: Tino Sabbatelli gets video feedback from Adam Pearce and Matt Bloom, and does extra work in the ring at the Performance Center with the hopes of working his way back up from the beginners class to the touring roster. Tyler Breeze and his girlfriend adopt a stray dog that followed him to the Performance Center. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable order custom track suits for their TakeOver match, but they don’t arrive in time.

    And the beginning of “TakeOver: Respect” is this episode’s big cliffhanger, as we’ll follow up on that event in next week’s season finale.

    Final Thoughts: A fairly strong episode of Breaking Ground, if only because of the focus on TakeOver and the time it spent with personalities like Bayley, Nia Jax and Sami Zayn who the show has spent time with and given reasons for viewers to care about.