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  • EVOLVE 61 results: WWE Cruiserweight Classic qualifying matches; big surprise appearance

    Submitted by Chris GST from Queens, NY

    On Saturday, EVOLVE held one of the most talked about shows in Queens with two WWE Cruiserweight Classic qualifiers with TJP (aka TJ Perkins) and Drew Gulak winning their respective matches. The ramifications of this, and the relationship between WWE and WWNLive, will be interesting to keep up with in the future. In another shocking turn of events, EC3 (yes, the former TNA Champion) attacked Johnny Gargano in the main event and seemingly has joined another former TNA Champion Drew Galloway against the EVOLVE locker room, Triple H, NXT and more. 

    – Matt Riddle def Lio Rush with the cross armbreaker

    Riddle tells Thatcher to come get the title. He tosses it over his shoulder, and Stokely Hathaway comes out and grabs it.

    – The Bravado Brothers def Ethan Page and Chris Dickinson

    Bravados pinned Dickinson after a double team Gory Special. They are made that Team Tremendous got the first Evolve tag title shot since they were the longest Open the United Gate champions. Dan Barry comes out and does some comedy to mock the Bravados. Match is made for the next Queens show, and the Bravados then beat Barry down for fun.

    – WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifier #1: TJP def Fred Yehi after a 450 splash

    – WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifier #2: Drew Gulak def Tracy Williams with the Gu-lock

    – Marty Scurll def Zack Sabre Jr via tap out to the chicken wing

    Scrull gets an Evolve title shot on July 16 in Queens. Stokely comes out and calls TJP the uncrowned champion.

    – Johnny Gargano def Drew Galloway via DQ after EC3 runs into the ring and attacks Gargano. Long promo by EC3 as he buries NXT, Triple H, and even Bill DeMott. They lay waste to the Evolve locker room. Ethan Page makes the save.

    ***Next show is on June 10 with Gargano and TJP versus EC3 and Galloway, plus Ethan Page challenges Drew Gulak.

  • NXT Oklahoma City, OK, live results: Finn Balor & Nakamura vs. Tye Dillinger & Samoa Joe

    Submitted by Kevin Ely

    The crowd was pretty into everything, and the whole tone of the show was about fun, so a lot of comedy and not a lot of super intense action. All the performers seemed to be having a blast in the ring. Bayley and Nakamura seemed to be the most popular merch, even ahead of Balor (though there were a lot of Bullet Club shirts).

    – Bayley def. Alexa Bliss

    Bayley won with a Bayley to Belly. Everyone loved Bayley, of course; she got one of the best reactions of the night.

    – Manny Andrade def. Chris Girard

    Crowd had no idea who either were and chanted “Let’s go rookies” at the start of the match. A few people were giving Girard grief for resembling Cesaro physically. Crowd was into Manny by the end. He teased a few dives but never pulled the trigger, and won with the double knees to the corner.

    – Austin Aries def. Murphy

    Austin worked an extended headlock sequence that got a “Headlock city” chant. He won with a running dropkick to the corner followed by Last Chance-arie for the submission.

    – NXT Tag Champions American Alpha def. Sawyer Fulton and Alexander Wolfe

    Alpha was over huge and people were buzzing for Jordan’s hot tag. Fulton and Wolfe’s Mad Max outfits got a brief “You look stupid” chant. The did a lot of contrived double team moves on Gable that kind of dragged the match, but the people went crazy for the ending. Alpha won with Grand Amplitude.

    Intermission

    – Tyler Breeze def. No Way Jose

    Breeze got one of the biggest pops of the night for his surprise entrance. Crowd was super into Jose’s entrance music, and chanted his name to the Ole Ole cadence. Tyler made a brief promo on being one of the people who put NXT on the map, and the people chanted “Thank you Tyler.” This was probably the most fun match of the night.

    Crowd treated both like babyfaces, and they did some really clever comedy spots. Biggest pop of the whole night might have been when Tyler did Scotty 2 Hotty’s worm, and Jose was booed when he tried doing the people’s elbow. Finish came when Tyler brought a chair in and tired to get the Eddie Guerrero DQ, then hit Jose with the supermodel kick over the bent-over referee’s back for the pin. Super fun match.

    – NXT Women’s Champion Asuka def. Eva Marie

    Eva was fine, and did a decent job of playing heel. Asuka won with the choke, which was kind of a flat ending. The event was in a convention center hall with no elevated seating, so for anyone past the first five rows, it was sometimes difficult to see mat level. I think many people couldn’t even see what was going on when they went to the finish.

    – Finn Balor & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Tye Dillinger & NXT Champion Samoa Joe

    Dillinger came out first and cut a promo on the Thunder, who were losing an NBA playoff game to the Spurs in the arena across the street. Nakamura got a great reception. People definitely see him as top-tier. Balor got a main event pop, and I was completely unprepared for the effect he had on the women in the audience. There were women around me who were nearly breathless seeing Finn in person. Joe came out last. Match was really entertaining but not super exciting, if that makes sense. Mainly, it centered around Tye working most of the match with Finn trying to get at Joe and Joe wanting nothing to do with either of his opponents.  

    When Joe and Nak entered the ring to square off, the atmosphere was electric. Of course, Joe immediately tagged out for great heat. Nakamura worked Tye’s fingers of all things, doing a fun snapping move that made it sound like he was breaking Tye’s finger. Each time he’d do it, the crowd would subtract from ten and chant “nine, eight,” and so on. Good action once Joe really got in there. Good guys won when Balor hit Tye with the Bloody Sunday after Nakamura knocked Joe out with the Kinshasa.

  • NXT’s Kenneth Crawford suffers potential serious injury

    Kenneth Crawford appears to have suffered an injury during his match with Noah at Friday’s NXT show in Citrus Springs, Florida.

    He attempted a springboard maneuver but didn’t make it all the way onto the ropes, slipped, and fell hard into the ring. Noah rolled him up and the ref threw the X up pretty quickly afterwards. He was tended to in the ring for a few minutes before being carried out on a stretcher. From what it appeared, his arms and legs were not moving although he was able to talk to those in the ring who were assisting him.

    A fan in attendance noted on Twitter that he was told by EMTs that Crawford was flown out for medical attention, but that wasn’t confirmed. Our JJ Williams was there and noted that Crawford didn’t appear to be awake on the way to the back.

    The Miami Herald had a big story on Crawford, 24, last year, who got into NXT by submitting photos and a resume through their online submission process.

    We’l have more information as we get it.

  • More WWE departures; Wade Barrett, Torito, Damien Sandow, Santino and Cameron

    In a day of housecleaning not seen in years, there are a few more WWE departures to report after the three that were made public earlier this morning. The most notable would be Stu Bennett (Wade Barrett), who posted this on Twitter at 12:40 pm eastern:

    After almost 9 years, today was my final day with WWE. I made a decision back in August last year not to re-sign once my current contract expired in June 2016, and I’ve now reached an agreement with management to dissolve the contract a few weeks early. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, especially the guys I’ve shared a ring & locker room with. I will miss them tremendously.

    As planned, I am now taking a well-earned break from the wrestling industry in order to expand my horizons, but I’ll be back in the ring when the time is right.

    Thanks for the support everyone, I’l see you all down the road.

    Barrett was the first-ever winner of the NXT reality to earn a main roster spot. He and the other cast members of that show debuted in a memorable angle in a 2010 edition of Monday Night RAW where they laid out John Cena and destroyed the ring. Barrett had several stop and start pushes over the year and injuries derailed him on several occasions when it appeared he was ready to break through. He had expressed interest in the past in an acting career and had a role in the 2013 film “Dead Man Down”

    El Torito (aka Mascarita Dorada) has been with WWE since 2013, debuting as the costumed bull mascot of Los Matadores, after a long career in Mexico with CMLL and AAA. After feuding with Hornswoggle (who was also released today) for a couple of years, he broke off with Los Matadores in September of last year after being put through a table by the Dudleyz. Aside from a few comedy backstage segments he had not been seen on TV since then.

    Arianne Andrew (Cameron) was a cast member in the 2011 version of Tough Enough, hosted by Steve Austin. She was the first elimination on the show but was the only cast member to make it to the main roster. She started as a “Funkadactyl” with partner Naomi as they accomponied Brodus Clay and later Tensai (Matt Bloom) to the ring. She was also an original cast member of E’s “Total Divas“. She and Naomi competed as a tag team off and on after Clay was released and Tensai transitioned into a commentary roll on NXT. She did a mini-feud with then champion Paige, losing three consecutive title matches in early 2015. Later that year she surfaced on NXT, facing Asuka in one of the current NXT women’s champion’s first bouts with the company. She has made a couple of appearances since then but was not featured prominently and her release was announced today.  It was figured she was on the chopping block after Ryback posted a message on Tumblr essentially demanding equal pay for everyone on the roster and Cameron tweeted out that she was in support of Ryback before quickly pulling it.  She later posted a long tirade about cyberbullying.

    UPDATES:

    Also just announced was the release of Aaron Haddad (Damien Sandow). Sandow was a popular undercard wrestler who always got bigger crowd reactions than his push. He competed on RAW just this past Monday and his elimination was one of the louder reactions in the match. He is a former Money in the Bank winner with the distinction of being one of only two wrestlers to not cash in his briefcace successfully (the other being, of all people, John Cena). He’d started with the company in 2002, starting as Aaron “The Idol” Stevens in OVW and was later called up to Smackdown as Idol Stevens, teaming with KC James as Michelle McCool’s “Teacher’s Pets”. That run was short-lived and he was released in 2007 after a return to OVW. He was re-signed in 2010 and assigned to FCW, the WWE’s developmental territory at the time, and made his return to the main roster in 2012 as Sandow. He teamed with Cody Rhodes as the “Rhodes Scholars” as they feuded with Team Hell No over the WWE Tag Team titles. He later did a gimmick where he impersonated characters from both inside and outside wrestling, such as Bruce Springsteen, Abraham Lincoln, Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. That morphed into a memorable sting where he played Macho Sandow, along with Curtis Axel’s character of “Axel Mania”, a Hulk Hogan parody. The two feuded and then teams for several months before Hulk Hogan’s falling out with the company led to the dissolution of the team. Sandow had been used sparingly since then, usually in an enhancement role or in battle royals.

    WWE just announced the release of Santino.  He had underwent neck surgery and the belief was he probably wasn’t ever wrestling again.  He had made occasional appearances here and there on WWE TV.  Of late, he has been running his own mixed martial arts school, the BattleArts Academy, in Ontario.  He started out in Ohio Valley Wrestling in the mid-2000s as Johnny Geo Basco and Boris Alexiev, basically your standard Rusev foreign heel character.  An incident occured at a TV taping where the Boogeyman came down to the ring and the idea what that he was supposed to be a terrifying character, but Santino (real name Anthony Carelli) was sitting in the crowd and started laughing.  Jim Cornette was furious and slapped him around, which snowballed into the deparature of Cornette from WWE developmental.  He debuted on the main roster in April of 2007 on a show in Milan, Italy.  His new gimmick was that he was an Italian babyface, so he was signed to face Umaga for the Intercontinental Title and he won it his first night in.  He lost the belt back to Umaga a few months later and soon began to morph into a full-fledged comedy figure.  The irony is that he was so great at the character that they ran with it full-bore, probably to the detriment of his career since they never really pushed him as a serious character afterwards.  

  • WWE releases Alex Riley, Hornswoggle and Zeb Colter

    WWE today confirmed the releases of Kevin Kiley Jr (Alex Riley), Dylan Postl (Hornswoggle) and Wayne Keown (Zeb Colter).

    Riley has had the most prominent role of the three recently, as he had an interview on NXT TV this week to promote an upcoming (already taped) match with Nakamura. He had recently returned from a long-term injury layoff and had been doing a bitter veteran gimmick where he would lash out against recent NXT signings that he didn’t feel were the calibre of athlete he is. He had gained a lot of muscle mass in his time off. He had been with the company since 2007 and was most prominently the sidekick of The Miz when he had his World title run and headlined WrestleMania 27 against John Cena. He won season 2 of the NXT reality show after being mentored by Miz on that show. After floundering on the main roster following his breakup with Miz, he resurfaced as a color commentator on NXT in 2013 before leaving the booth for a short-term feud with Kevin Owens in early 2015. He was injured shortly after and just recently returned to NXT TV.

    Hornswoggle has been virtually non-existent on TV since a 30 day wellness violation on September 28th of last year. He’s been with the company almost exactly 10 years, having debuted in May of 2006. After starting out as Fit Finley’s sidekick (later revealed to be his “son”), he had featured roles as Mr McMahon’s illegitimate son and later as a sidekick to the DX team of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. He was also revealed to be the person behind the “anonymous GM” when WWE wanted a quick way out of that storyline. His last featured role was a feud with Torito, the costumed bull mascot of The Matadores (Primo and Epico Colon) tag team. The two had a WeeLC match at Payback in 2014 that was an entertaining spectacle but after that feud fizzled out, it was clear there were no plans for him.

    Colter, also known for many years as Dutch Mantel, had been with WWE since 2013, which was second stint with the company. In the mid-90’s he managed the Blu Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) and Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw (JBL) as Uncle Zedekiah. He returned in 2013 to manage Jack Swagger. He received a lot of press as an outspoken pro-American xenophobic mouthpiece, even getting mentions from mainstream sources such as Glenn Beck and FOX News. WWE toned down the character after a couple of months while of course led to the Swagger character cooling off as well. He later added Cesaro to his stable as “The Ream Americans”. That pairing was short-lived as Cesaro broke off from the team to align with Paul Heyman. Shortly after that, Colter and Swagger turned face to feud with Rusev and Lana in Rusev’s first main roster feud. Colter was written out of WWE storylines after Rusev broke his leg in a backstage segment. He resurfaced last year in a short-lived run as Alberto Del Rio’s manager and feuding with his former protégé Swagger. After just a few weeks, Del Rio “fired” Colter on RAW and he had not been seen since.

  • NXT Salina, KS, live results: Tyler Breeze vs. Nakamura; Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor

    Submitted by August Baker

    – No Way Jose vs Murphy

    Crowd loved chanting with Jose and popped for his antics. Match itself was tame, with lots of stalling and wristlocks. Jose won with a half nelson slam.

    – Chris Girard vs Manny Andrade

    Crowd didn’t react at all to their entrances, but got into it as it went along. Manny faked a moonsault from the top, then immediately hit a standing moonsault as Girard tried to roll out of the way for a huge reaction. Manny won with a running double knees to a sitting Girard in the corner.

    – Tye Dillinger vs Austin Aries

    Crowd was hot for both guys, with lots of dueling “Austin Aries/Perfect 10!” chants. They did a lot of mat wrestling, with a bunch of counters. The match was really good, and Austin eventually won with a roaring elbow.

    – Triple Threat NXT Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs Bayley vs Asuka (c)

    This was a change from the online card, as it was supposed to be Bliss vs Asuka and Bayley vs Eva Marie. Pretty standard triple threat match, with one girl out of the ring most the time. Bayley hit Asuka with the Bayley to Belly, but Bliss threw her out, and got caught by the Asuka Lock for the finish.

    – There was an intermission, where Tom Phillips came back out and pronounced the name of the town wrong. There was much booing.

    – Tyler Breeze vs Shinsuke Nakamura

    Before the match, Tyler cut a promo, essentially reminding us of his status as NXT gatekeeper. He’s fought everyone in NXT, and any new faces have to get through him. Cue the Nakamura chants. Nakamura got a huge reaction for everything he did, but the crowd loved both guys. They did pure comedy at first, with Nakamura trying to mock Breeze’s corner pose, and unable to get to the top rope, doing it on the bottom rope instead. Breeze tried to do Nakamura’s entrance pose on the rope, but couldn’t lean back far enough, so Nakamura gave him a hand. Later, Nakamura got a hold of Breeze’s camera and took a selfie. Nakamura kicked out of the Beauty Shot, and Tyler went for a chair. When the ref took it from him, Nakamura threw Breeze with the reverse powerslam and hit the Kinshasha for the win.

    – Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton vs. NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan)

    Wolfe and Fulton look like Mad Max characters. They overpowered Gable until he finally got the hot tag to Jordan. Alphas are fun to watch, but the crowd was a bit out of it after the Nakamura match, and Wolfe/Fulton didn’t do much interesting to get us back. American Alpha won with their assisted suplex.

    – NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor 

    Another split crowd here. Finn got a huge “Bullet Club” chant before the match. The match itself was good, with a lot of their signature stuff being countered by each other. Joe won with the muscle buster.

    After he recovered from the match, Balor had Phillips come back out and apologize for pronouncing “Salina” wrong, doing his best Stone Cold and The Rock impersonations to send Phillips packing, then finished with the “We Are NXT” slogan.

  • Lucha Underground results: Sexy Star vs. Mariposa in an I Quit bloodbath

    Every match on the show is for an Aztec medallion as Cage faces Mascarita Sagrada, Marty The Moth battles The Mack, Sinestro faces King Cuerno, and in the main event – Sexy Star faces Mariposa. It isn’t just any kind of match this – they will wage war in a No Mas match with Star being told by Dario to maim Mariposa and get revenge.

    Show Recap:

    The show begins with a rundown of this season’s quest for the Aztec medallions. We also see Sexy Star and The Mack try to act, which is even worse in recap form. Dario Cueto closes up the ceiling in his office, but Catrina comes in and tells him that Mil nearly ended Matanza. Catrina wants a rematch for Mil, and he tells her that Mil’s power doesn’t match what kind of power the key has. He’ll give Mil his match, and in his specialty – the Grave Consequences match. But Dario has a special twist – it will be Graver Consequences, with more coffins. That was awesome! Bang Data brings us in to Vamp and Striker, saying that every match tonight is for an Aztec medallion.

    Marty the Moth vs. The Mack

    Marty flaps away before The Mack comes down to face him. Mack punches him to the floor and hits a flip dive with his jacket still on. Suplex hits, then a Northern lights, and then a big German – giving Mack the edge. Mack eats a dropkick and Marty does the Rick Rude hip swivel while removing his shirt and revealing his too-short trunks. Mack eats a corner exploder and it gets 2. Marty wears him down with a cravate, but Mack recovers and lariats him before spinkicking him down. Vamp talks about how much more money you make as a champion, while Mack gets 2 off a legdrop. Stunner hits, but Marty is still up, so a spinning TKO takes him out. This was fun.

    Catrina talks to King Cuerno and says that Sinestro will get the Gift of the Gods Title, but Cuerno says he’ll take Sinestro out tonight. He’ll take the title and Mil’s mask because the hunt is on. Sexy Star knocks on Dario’s door He says he respects her and knows something bad must have happened to her because there’s been a change in her. He saw that when he was young, and experienced suffering at his mother’s hands. He says that whatever Mariposa did to her, she will say no more and beat Mariposa to make her pay for what she did to her. It will be a No Mas match – and he tells her to not only make her submit, but not stop after the match is over. 

    Sinestro De La Muerte vs. King Cuerno

    Vamp talks about how this is a battle for the medallions – and their origins are in bloody war. RKO by Cuerno gets 2 quickly. Cuerno lands a sick overhand chop and a running rana. This sends him to the floor for the dive, but Catrina hits him on the head with the rock. Flying legdrop off the top to Cuenro gets the win, in one of the biggest upsets so far in the show’s history. Backstage, Mascarita Sagrada lifts weights while Famous B talks to him about setting up the biggest match for him ever! 

    Chavo comes in and asks Dario why he isn’t in a match for a medallion. Dario tells him he’s not worth it, and that he lost not only two Aztec Warfare matches, but got hurt in a match for the LU Title. He isn’t going to give him opportunities if he can’t do anything with him, so Chavo basically tells him he’ll make one for himself. Famous B cuts a promo and hands out his business card to fans before introducing Sagrada while Striker says that he has never dipped, but he will dance with Sagrada coming out. A huge Famous B chant breaks out.

    Mascarita Sagrada vs. Cage

    Cage has a new black and yellow singlet, which looks better than the other ones he’s had. Sagrada prays and then starts to do some pushups. Sagrada charges in, which fails. A charging kick misses and Cage eats some leg kicks. These have no effect, but a dropkick to the knee sends him into the buckle. Weapon X ends it. Cage tends to Sagrada, but Chavo comes out and steals his medallion – while Famous B tells him “YOU GOT ROBBED!” The main event is hyped up with a graphic and then instead of a break, it’s time for the match. Striker talks about the history of I Quit matches and how both Tully Blanchard and Mick Foley were never the same after their most famous ones. They come in the ring and now it’s time for a break.

    Sexy Star vs. Mariposa – No Mas Match

    Vamp says that this is the one match he shied away from because he’d rather die than say he quits. Sexy is slammed onto the seal and eats a Muta elbow. Mariposa corner her and hits her with a slew of body blows. Sexy Star gets choked, but still won’t quit. Sexy charges and attacks before cornering her and hitting a series of pop-up bronco busters. Chain of suplexes lead to a single-leg crab. Mariposa locks on a modified Indian deathlock, and kicks her head while she’s in the move. Sexy low-bridges her and hits a seated senton to the floor.

    Sexy hits a series of overhand chops on the floor, but eats some knees against the railing. Sexy eats a chair to the throat, then a chairshot, then a basement dropkick with the chair. She shakes her head no to prevent giving up. Sexy recovers, hits her with a chair and then places the chair between her legs for a chairshot to the chair between the legs. Sexy lifts Mariposa’s leg up and kicks her in the crotch again. They fight up the staircase.

    Mariposa tears at the mask, but a “Sexy” chant breaks out. They fight up to Dario’s ceiling. No! HE JUST HAD THAT FIXED. They fight up to the catwalk while Striker says that Cornette broke his ankles in a scaffold match. Mariposa tries to toss her off the catwalk, and then chokes her with the steel. Sexy’s head is split open and she fights her way back to Dario’s ceiling. Marty comes up and grinds her face into the railing. The Mack comes in and kicks Marty’s ass before tossing him through a door.

    Sexy chokes her on the bleachers and then smacks her head against the wall. Reverse powerbomb giant swing series into the announce table by Mariposa. Striker yells about how Sexy still has fight in her. She grabs a trash can and hits her with it while Striker name-drops Duke Droese. Mariposa punches her in the gut and back a few times before things end up back in the ring. Sexy avoids the Butterfly Effect, but a punch to the throat works.

    A kneeling Edgucator results in Sexy saying “f*ck you, f*ck you Mariposa!” completely uncensored, kicking her and locking on a choke before Marty comes back, but misses a punch and Mack stunners her. Sexy locks on an armbar and gets the win – which will certainly result in Striker comparing her to Ronda Rousey even more. True to what Dario told her, she keeps the hold locked on after the match while her theme plays and a “break her arm” chant breaks out. Sexy closes the show just covered in blood being embraced by The Mack. Holy crap was this crazy. It wasn’t “good” in many ways, but it was sure memorable. 

    To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.

  • WWE NXT results: Eric Young debuts, battles NXT Champion Samoa Joe

    • The Big News: Eric Young debuted calling out the new NXT Champion Samoa Joe. However….
    • The Medium News: …he then got choked out by Joe in the main event as Joe showed the world what happens when you challenge him.
    • The Little Beaver Sized News: Alex Riley said he will beat Shinsuke Nakamura next week because he is bigger. No, seriously.

    Before starting, I want to announce to everyone who doesn’t already know that I have come out as transgender. I do want to thank everyone here on F4WOnline.com for their support through this process of coming out. With that out of the way….

    NXT kicks off with the brand new NXT Champion! Samoa Joe is here! Joe proclaimed that he is a man who keeps his word and despite the best efforts of the former champion, he is your new champion. If anyone has a problem with him being the man, he has no problem beating them down and choking them out. This was the queue for the debuting Eric Young! EY got a really big reaction, including a “Holy Sh*t” chant, followed by a chant of “EY”.

    Eric acknowledges that they know each other, and called Joe a bad ass wrecking machine and said the only thing guaranteed in life is change. Young said he collects championships and while things have changed for Joe things will now change for Young. Joe just walked away, stopping on the ramp to say Young doesn’t belong in the same ring as him and if he does Joe will beat his ass.

    We then got an awkward cutaway to our opening match.

    ********

    Nia Jax defeated Tessa Blanchard

    Blanchard is back, having lost her debut at the Axxess NXT taping. However, her second match didn’t turn out much better as she took on the massive Jax who has only lost one match — to Bayley back at Takeover: London.

    Tessa went running off the ropes for a crossbody, but Nia just stood there, absorbing the blow and letting her crash to the mat. Nia laid her out with a corner splash, Samoan Drop, and won with the legdrop.

    ********

    A No Way Jose vignette aired to build up his Full Sail debut tonight

    ********

    Austin Aries defeated Tye Dillinger

    It is time for the Perfect 10! Mind you, Tye has been the Perfect 10 since July and has still yet to win 10 tv matches. Heck I don’t think he’s won five, but despite that the fans really get into the 10 gimmick. His win-loss record doesn’t seem to be improving since he’s squaring off with Aries tonight who is already the third former TNA Champion on the show tonight.

    Aries had a much better match here than with Baron Corbin since Dillinger is not a foot taller (and is also underrated as a worker). Aries used a slingshot senton into the ring and a slingshot corkscrew plancha out of the ring at one point, but Dillinger used a Fireman’s Carry where he dropped Aries head-first on the back of his knee for a very believable near fall. Dillinger pulled down his knee pad, but got hit with a Rolling Elbow and a 450 Splash and Aries is your winner.

    ********

    The Revival defeated The Hype Bros

    This match was set up last week when The Revival laid out Zack and Mojo after the faces defeated Blake & Murphy. This was a showcase match for Dash and Dawson as it was all about them, as opposed to being a serious back and forth match. Mojo got to run wild for 20 seconds on the hot tag, but got hit with the Shatter Machine out of nowhere  to give the former champs another win.

    ********

    Alex Riley was asked about his match with Shinsuke Nakamura next week. Riley said Nakamura is half his size, has no athletic ability, and when he punches Riley in the face Riley will punch him and his will be harder. He finished by saying next week is time to rage.

    ********

    No Way Jose pinned Noah

    Jose was already embraced by the crowd in his Full Sail debut. His opponent was only called Noah and he didn’t last long, getting pinned with a winding punch to the face and then a Full Nelson Slam.

    ********

    Aries was interviewed by Cathy, saying he is the Perfect 20. He said something seems off about Aries and people don’t know how to take him. He said he is going to take the initiative to become a bigger star.

    ********

    We got a Finn Balor video package, which included clips of Joe beating him for the title. It built up to promoting his return next week.

    ********

    NXT Champion Samoa Joe submitted Eric Young

    Young debuted less than an hour ago and now is in the main event, going one on one with the NXT Champion himself.

    This match was to establish Young as being on the same level as Joe. Early on, every time Joe would hit a move, Young would either reverse it or do the same thing just better. Joe dumped Young outside the ring, hit a big Suicide Dive and took over from there.

    Joe slapped him hard, which was the encouragement for Young to make his comeback, but towards the end of the match, Young just couldn’t put together multiple moves in a row and absorbed loads of punishment. Young took Joe over with a suplex that looked like a legit feat of strength and did hit his top rope elbow, but only got a 2 count.

    Joe countered out of a Young piledriver and hit his corner uranage before picking up the win with the Muscle Buster, followed by the Coquina Clutch. Joe refused to break the choke afterwards to prove a point to not only Young, but to the entire wrestling world that this is what happens when you try to face the NXT Champion.

    That does it for this week. Until we talk again, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • UFC begins post-UFC 200 plans with some interesting July fights

    Photos: Blackzilians.com

    The UFC is working on a number of fights for July involving big names including Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, as well as former champions TJ Dillashaw and Holly Holm.

    As reported on UFC Tonight and MMA Fighting Wednesday night, a number of fights are in the planning stages:

    • Former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao, a rematch of their 2013 fight that Assuncao won via close decision, is being targeted as the “main event” for the Fox Sports One portion of UFC 200. They are also planning on adding one more big-name fight to that card which will round out the five-fight PPV show.
    • Rumble Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira is being worked on for the company’s July 23rd show in Chicago, a big FOX show. After Teixeira’s recent quick win over Rashad Evans, he called out Johnson who was game for the fight. The winner would determine the No. 1 contender for the winner of the light heavyweight title unification bout between Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. That fight could be part of the first Madison Square Garden show this fall.
    • Also in the works for that FOX Chicago show and a possible main event is former bantamweight champion Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko had a 58-2-1 record as a kickboxer before going into MMA, where she is now 12-2. However, she did lose her last UFC fight to Amanda Nunes.
    • As if that wasn’t enough for the FOX Chicago show, Globo reported Wednesday that former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gil Melendez will return after a year off due to testing positive for PEDs to face Edson Barboza, he of the recent big win over Anthony Pettis.
    • The company also announced that UFC 201 would take place on July 30th in Atlanta, GA, with an anticipated main event of welterweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley.

    ​We’ll talk more about these fights and the rest of the news in wrestling and MMA on Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Mike Bennett vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Lashley

    Previously on Impact:

    In last week’s main event, Mike Bennett performed a miracle when he pinned Ethan Carter III, his first loss by pinfall since debuting in TNA. Also, Drew Galloway defeated Tyrus to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title. To top it all off, Reby revealed that her husband Matt Hardy had become cold and distant since suffering an injury at the hands of Jeff Hardy.

    Last week’s Impact was also significant for being the final television appearance of Bobby Roode and Eric Young. Decay defeated Roode & James Storm for the TNA Tag Titles, while Bram defeated EY for the King of the Mountain title. Both Roode and EY had been with TNA for over ten years.

    This Week on Impact:

    On tonight’s Impact, Drew Galloway promised to call out Bobby Lashley for a face-to-face confrontation. In addition, Bram will defened his King of the Mountain title in a KOTM match.

    Show Recap:

    – Earlier today, Bobby Lashley pulls up in front of the gym Drew Galloway is at, looking for a fight. Inside the gym, Galloway is being interviewed when Lashley runs in and jumps him.  They brawl in front of the treadmills and eventually to the back. Lashley throws Drew into an Octagon and says “Now you’re in my world.” They continued to brawl until they were pulled apart.

    – In the Impact Zone, Josh reminds us that Drew had challenged Lashley for a fight tonight but apparently Lashley couldn’t wait.

    – Josh and The Pope officially welcome us to Impact as Mike Bennett and Maria make their way to the ring. Bennett recaps his victory over EC3 last week. He points out that by being the first person to pin EC3 he did something Sting, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy couldn’t do. Bennett mentions that he holds a victory over Drew and wants World title match. Bennett calls himself God and this brings out Jeff Hardy. Bennett brings up Jeff hitting the Swanton Bomb on Matt and the crowd cheers. They argue and Bennett says he’s going to ask his “good friend” Dixie Carter to make a main event match for later. Jeff doesn’t need to ask Dixie and knocks Bennett out of the ring. Bennett calls for a referee and Bennett vs. Jeff is official.

    Jeff Hardy vs. “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “The First Lady of Professorial Wrestling” Maria Kanellis

    Back from commercial, Jeff is on the top and Maria is standing between him and a fallen Bennett. Maria slaps Jeff and he goes after her, which allows Bennett to hit the ace crusher. Hardy makes a fiery comeback and sets Mike on the top. He sets up for the twist of fate but Lashley sneaks in and spears Jeff. Bennett thanks Lashley and they celebrate. Suddenly, Lashley spears Bennett in half. Lashley demands Dixie Carter come out and give him a title match. Dixie comes out but won’t just give him a title shot.

    Dixie makes a major match for tonight when she announces that Lashley will face Jeff and Mike in a number one contenders three-way match with Drew Galloway as referees in tonight’s main event.

    – In the back, Rosemary cuts a promo that is scarier then a dead child in a cornfield in a horror movie. She asks Crazy Steve if he’s ready for his transformation. He nods yes and she spits the mist into his mouth. He screams in pain and twitches on the floor. She then tells Abyss to take off his mask and she spits the mist into his face. He also screams in pain but it switches to laughter. Rosemary holds Abyss and screams “Decay! Decay!”

    – In the arena, The TNA Tag team champions Decay (Abyss & Crazy Steve) are lead to the ring by Rosemary. Both Steve and Abyss have towels hiding their faces. Rosemary reveals the new Crazy Steve and Abyss. The new Crazy Steve can now speak presumably because of the mist she spit into his mouth. Steve spoke before revealing the new Abyss. He has face paint instead of wearing a mask. Abyss said that he’s free and beautiful. Rosemary said they banished half of Beer Money.

    James Storm comes out to Beer Money’s theme. Storm says that Decay might have something with Beer Money not being around but he’s still here. Storm is now on his own. Storm hits the ring and sends Decay to the outside. Storm challenges Abyss to a match.

    James Storm vs. Abyss w/ Crazzy Steve and Rosemary

    Abyss and Storm brawl around ringside to start the match. Rosemary and Steve distract Storm long enough for Abyss to get the advantage. Storm makes a wild comeback and hits a flurry of offence. Steve tried to spit green mist into Storm’s face but he ducked and took out Steve. Abyss then spit blue mist into Storm’s eyes and picks up the win with the Black Hole Slam.

    – In the back, Jeff talks about the three way main event. The interviewer guy asks about Matt. Jeff says that the Swanton Bomb was from 32 Feet and the he broke Matt, the table and their relationship.

    – In the ring, the leader of the Knockouts Division Maria is in the ring and demands Knockouts Champion Jade come out. Maria wants Jade to stand behind her and admit her mistake. Maria claims she handed Jade the title and wouldn’t be champ without her. Maria wants Jade to lie down and give her the title. Jade says she doesn’t lay down for anyone not a woman, man or bitch. Maria is offended and brings out the debuting Sienna to take fight Jade.

    Sienna tosses Jade around the ring. The crowd is solidly behind Jade and chanted “Jade” and “Badass”. Sienna dominates Jade but she gets in a bit of offense. In a sick looking spot, Sienna picked up Jade in a German suplex/wheel barrow position and swings her head/shoulder first into the steal steps. Sienna finishes Jade off and leaves her lying in the ring.

    – In the back, Bram discusses winning the KOTM title and sending Eric Young out of TNA.

    – Coming up next, Jeremy Borash is going to have an exclusive interview with EC3.

    – In the back, Sienna is asked about being Maria’s muscle. She says that Maria is the leader of the Division and will follow her.

    – J.B. is scheduled to interview EC3 but he’s a no-show. Instead he gets Mike Bennett. He says EC3 is scared and that nobody in TNA can beat The Miracle.

    King of the Mountain Champion Bram vs. Eli Drake vs. Jesse Godderz vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Andrew Everett w/Gregory Shane helms

    Rules for the match, once a wrestler is pinned he goes in the penalty box for 5 minutes. Whoever scores the pin is eligible to climb a ladder and hang the belt up. It’s a typical KOTM match with lots of brawling, quick pin falls and ladder spots. Bram is the first to become eligible with a pin fall on Everett. Shane pushes Eddie off the top and helps Eli score the pin fall. Wouldn’t Shane want to help Everett get the pin?

    Everett misses a beautiful looking moonsault, which allows Jesse to score the victory. Everett and Eddie fight to the back. Eli uses the KOTM title shot brief case to knock out Jesse. Bram connects with a drop kick knocking Eli off the ladder. Bram climbs the ladder and hooks up the belt and wins the match. Eli teases cashing in this KOTM Feast or Fired contract but doesn’t at the last second.

    – In the back, Eli talked about the fear in his eyes being a reflection of the fear in Bram’s eyes. Bram shows up and chases Eli away. Bram goes looking for Eli.

    – We get a recap of “The Swanton from The Heavens” that Jeff executed on Matt. Next we get an interview with Matt. It’s dimly lit and done some place backstage. He says the doctors have told him he can’t wrestle because the injury to his spine is so severe. He asks, “how can Jeff be so cruel?”

    – Bennett and Maria come out for the main event, but they’re soon followed by EC3. EC3 congratulates Bennett for doing something he said he was going to do. EC3 accepts his loss like a man and won’t complain about it. EC3 hopes that Bennett wins the three-way and goes onto the win the world title so he can know the satisfaction of winning the title. EC3 vows that he’ll beat Bennett for the title. EC3 says if Bennett is God that must mean he’s the devil. Once again EC3 is the highlight of the night. His promo was fantastic here and is the kind of promo a babyface should cut after losing a major match.

    As EC3 left, Lashley made his way to the ring. They had a very brief showdown. They’re teasing EC3 vs. Lashley for down the road, which would make sense to happen at Bound for Glory in the fall.

    Jeff Hardy vs. “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley vs. “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis (w/special ref Drew Galloway)

    Referee Drew Galloway is wearing shorts. Match starts with Lashley and Bennett taking turns beating down Jeff. Drew can do nothing but watch as Bennett and Lashley double-team his friend. Hardy fights back and takes out both guys. Jeff sends Lashley and Bennett to the outside. Jeff leaps off the corner and lands on Lashley and Bennett on the floor.

    Jeff hits the Twist of Fate on Bennett and hits the Swanton off the top. Lashley takes out Jeff before he can go for the pin. Lashley points at Drew as he holds up Bennett in a delayed standing vertical suplex. Lashley sets up for the spear on Bennett, but he moves and he spears Drew instead. Jeff pins Lashley, but Drew is on the outside in pain and unable to make the count. Instead Jeff goes after Bennett on the outside.

    Jeff hits the Swanton onto Bennett who is on the steel steps on the outside. Decay runs down and attacks Jeff. Abyss gives Jeff the choke slam on the steel steps. Jeff lays on the steps and struggles to his feet. In an awesome spot, Lashley runs up the steps and spears Jeff into the ring post. Lashley gives Jeff another spear in the ring. Drew recovers and is forced to count the three. Lashley is the winner and new number one contender.

    Post match, Drew checks on Jeff and helps him out of the ring. Lashley demands that Drew raise his hand, which he does reluctantly. They end up brawling to end the show just like they did to start the show.

    Next Time on Impact:

    The build for one of TNA’s flagship PPV’s Slammiversary will continue on next week’s Impact.