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  • Lucha Underground results: Rey Mysterio, Prince Puma & Dragon Azteca jr. team up

    The show starts with a recap of the Gift of the Gods Title’s concept and its lineage. The Mundo-Cage rivalry is recapped, as is Matanza’s title win. Dario meets with Mundo, Taya, and Cage and asks them to behave so he doesn’t have to fix his window again. Dario says he has a new trios tournament and Mundo says you want us to team, while Cage wants to fight Mundo.

    Dario disagrees and says he likes his idea better, so we’re going to go with that since they all want gold. Hilarious bit where Cage says “I’m not a man…” and Dario replies “you’re a machine, I know…just win the tournament!” Robert Rodriguez’s band plays us in once again while Argenis is mid-ring to face Killshot.

    Killshot vs. Argenis

    Killshot debuts a new camo vest and puts dog tags in the corner before a prayer. Striker says we’ll get a different Killshot – so he should win a time or two this year. Big chop in the corner by Killshot before he throws him into each corner and does it again. A backbreaker gets 2. Pinwheel armdrag by Argenis leads to a top rope palm strike by him as well. Killshot sends him to the floor and hits a flip dive. Somersault cutter hits and gets 2 for Killshot. Striker’s editing goes into detail about how Killshot told him he was in the military, but didn’t go into it. C4 armdrag

    by Argenis gets 2. Powerbomb into a corkscrew brainbuster by Killshot  leads to a Cro Cop kick and a double stomp off the top. In an odd move, Striker’s then-live commentary wonders if he’s had military training – exposing the editing. Modified spiking Michinoku driver wins for Killshot.

    Black Lotus tells Dragon Azteca Jr that Matanza killed Dragon Azteca, but that she had no choice but to help Dario and plans to stay close to him. Dario meets with Daga and asks him what he sees with the medallions. Daga says they’re coins, but is correct and told that they’re the Gift of the Gods. Dario says that tonight, Daga will face the most violent man without the last name Cueto – Texano. 

    Daga vs. Texano

    Vamp tells us that Daga excels at shoot style while Texano’s family history is gone over. Daga backs him into the ropes and slaps him before flipping back. Legsweep and tumble exchange gets them back on even ground. A shoulder tackle by Daga is no-sold and met with a big slap. Texano rolls through a sunset flip and gets 2 off a buzzsaw kick. Texano chops and lariats him to death in the corner.

    A Stinger splash misses and Daga lands a superkick. Daga gets crotched and dropkicked off the top rope to the floor. Daga kicks him on the apron and hits a corkscrew dive. Daga dominates him on the floor and rolls in to break the count before slamming Texano into the announce table.

    Texano hits a running forearm in the corner and lands an outside-in dropkick to the chest for 2. Daga kicks his face and slaps him arrogantly before a forearm exchange breaks out mid-ring. Texano superkicks him, but eats a huge dropkick. Super leg lariat hits for Texano, but only gets 2. Texano goes for the powerbomb, but a Daga rana gets 2. Texano lariats him into a Fatu sell and goes for a German, but it’s countered into an ankle lock. Texano shoves him off and hits a monkey flip, with the sitout powerbomb getting the win for Texano.

    In a room full of scented candles, Mil Muertes and Catrina talk. She summons the Disciples of Death out of thin air and asks for forgiveness. Catrina says they are in the Trios Title tournament and Mil will be Lucha Underground Champion again. Matanza is greater than any challenge he has yet faced – including the earthquake that made him. Mil roars in anger. Rey comes down with red and gold gear, while Puma has his usual stuff on and Dragon Azteca Jr. has a weird snake/dragon headdress on. Cage shoves them away in the entrance area.

    Rey Mysterio Jr, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Johnny Mundo, Taya, and Cage

    Cage starts with Azteca and locks a headlock before nixing that and hitting a shoulderblock. Azteca avoids a corner charge with flips and a big armdrag. Double rollthrough to avoid the discus lariat and he tags in Puma. Striker’s edited voice clip talks about the history between Mundo and Puma. Handspring headscissors takes Mundo down, but a Taya distraction leads to a Moonlight Drive and 2. Taya comes in and hits a flying elbow in the corner before kicking Puma in the face. Striker’s edited voice runs through her history on the company.

    Mundo lands some elbows to Puma while the ref is distracted. Shotgun knees to the face gets a 2 count. Cage tags in and goes for a pumphandle suplex, but it’s flipped out of – so a Doctor Bomb hits and gets 2. Standing moonsault gets 2 for Cage. Cage slaps Mundo in, so he’s legal now. 

    Taya and Mundo stomp away at Puma in the corner. They stop this and try to prevent a tag. Mundo trips Rey, but Azteca comes in and hits a rana for 2. Azteca tags Rey in and he hits the flying seated senton and then the wheelbarrow arndrag. Rey hits a spinning headscissors on Mundo, knocking him into Taya for a double 619, but it’s avoided. Dives aplenty by Puma and Azteca! Springboard crossbody by Rey gets 2 on Mundo. Rollthrough on a sunset filp leads to a seated dropkick and a 2 count for Rey. Magic Killer by Mundo and Taya gets 2 thanks to a Puma save. Cage comes in and lariats both Puma and Azteca into flips. 

    Cage goes for a moonsault, but gets stopped by Mundo. Mundo eats a big rana off the top and an SSP by Puma gets 2. Mundo hits a standing C4, but eats a kneeling superkick. Cage catches Rey on a rana and throws him into Taya in the corner. He has Azteca on his shoulders, and catches a flying Puma for a combo fallaway slam for 2. Rey hits a flipover headscissors and the 619, while Azteca hits a flying corkscrew DDT. 630 senton hits Mundo for the win! That was the best trios match all season. This was all-action and a ton of fun.

    Dario tells Matanza that he will have his toughest match to date next week against Mil Muertes. Dario tells him that he is in the cage because he is a valuable asset, and you have to protect your valuables – and no one understands the beauty in his destruction like Dario does. Matanza shakes the cage in anticipation – well, that was a unique buildup to a world title match.

    To see every screenshot for the show, click here.

  • Banned substance knocks Lyoto Machida out of Dan Henderson rematch

    In a shocker, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (22-7) is out of his Saturday UFC on Fox tilt against Dan Henderson due to out-of-competition use of a banned substance. 

    UFC released the following Wednesday:

    “The UFC organization was made aware today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency  (USADA), the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, that Lyoto Machida declared the usage of a banned substance during an out-of-competition sample collection last week. Machida stated that he was unaware that the substance was prohibited both in and out of competition and, in accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, his disclosure of usage will be taken into consideration by USADA during any potential results management and adjudication process.

    Given this information, UFC officials have elected to remove Machida from his scheduled bout against Dan Henderson this Saturday in Tampa, Fla. Henderson will be re-booked for a new bout in the near future.”

    This is the first drug test failure for the 13-year fighter. The 37-year-old was looking to snap a two-fight losing streak against Henderson, whom he had beaten by split decision in February 2013.

    The main card has been decimated by injury and now, this. The main card on Fox is expected to now be:

    – Rashad Evans vs. Glover Teixeira
    – Rose Namajunas vs. Tecia Torres
    – Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Darrell Horcher
    – Cub Swanson vs. Hacran Dias

    While Machida hasn’t commented publicly yet, Henderson did on Twitter:

    P.O.S. -No respect https://t.co/03O5oM7sM9

    — Dan Henderson (@danhendo) April 13, 2016

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Mike Bennett vs EC3 plus tag team action

    Previously on Impact:

    Last week on Impact, Drew Galloway retained the TNA World title in a hard fought battle with former champion Matt Hardy. Enticing the crowd, Ethan Carter III and “The Destroyer” Lashley had another staredown that ended with Lashley backing off.

    Tonight:

    For the first time ever, “Miracle” Mike Bennett takes on Ethan Carter III. TNA has been slowly building to this match since Bennett’s debut, which was also Impact’s debut on Pop TV. Additionally, TNA Tag Team champions Beer Money issued an open challenge to any and all tag teams for tonight.

    Show Recap:

    Matt Hardy’s music kicks the night off as Josh Matthews welcomes us to the show. The Pope is back on commentary after suffering a beating at the hands of Lashley last week.

    Matt, Tyrus, Rockstar Spud, the beautiful Reby Sky and her little rascal, Maxell stand in the ring. Matt looks pretty snappy in his suit tonight. He talks about all the hard work he’s put into his career, and he feels he’s built a great legacy for the last name “Hardy”. He claims Jeff is ruining all of that and tarnishing their last name.

    Jeff comes out to the ring. Josh mentions that Matt has always lived in Jeff’s shadow and he’s bitter about that. Basically, Matt wants Jeff gone and wants him to stop using the last name “Hardy”. Matt suggests that Jeff should change his name to “Creature” or “Willow”. This prompts Matt to challenge Jeff to match, but Jeff won’t fight his brother. The crowd chants, “Jeff is better.” After a little more pressure from Matt, Jeff finally accepts and we have a faceoff.

    – Beer Money makes their way down to the ring for their open challenge. James Storm roars into the ring on the Boozer Cruiser… again.

    TNA Tag Team champions Beer Money (Bobby Roode & James Storm) vs. Decay (Crazzy Steve & Abyss) w/ Rosemary vs. Eric Young & Bram vs. The BroMans (Robbie E & Jesse Godderz)

    Back from commercial, The BroMans, Decay and Eric Young, and Bram accept Beer Money’s open challenge. The match starts with a wild brawl with all eight guys fighting in and around the ring.

    In a hilarious spot, James Storm got on the Cruiser and rode it around the ring in a complete circle until he collided with Bram. The BroMans take over and start clearing the ring. Surprisingly, Jesse Godderz hit some impressive moves, including jumping up and hitting a hurricanrana off the top of the ropes onto Crazzy Steve. Robbie E. hit a dive to the outside taking out everyone on the floor. EY and Bram had yet another miscommunication causing EY to accidently hit Bram. EY turned around and ate a superkick from Storm. Beer Money picks up the win and retains their titles.

    – Backstage, Matt reveals to Jeff that their match is set for next week. Matt wants the match to be an ‘I Quit Match.” Jeff challenges Matt and Tyrus to tag match for later. The winning team gets to pick the stipulation for next week. Either an “I Quit Match” or a “Full Metal Mayhem”.

    – Back from commercial, somebody jumped Eddie Edwards backstage but Eddie didn’t see who did it. Josh reveals that Eddie is scheduled to challenge Trevor Lee for the X Division title.

    – “The First Lady of Pro Wrestling” Maria Kanellis comes to the ring and says she saved the Knockouts Division by getting the title off of Gail Kim. Maria claims to be the boss and leader of the Knockouts. Maria brings out “her Knockouts Champion” Jade. She says that Jade is champion because of her and Jade owes her. Therefore, Maria wants Jade to hand her the belt, but Jade refuses. #byefelicia

    Gail Kim Interrupts. The Dollhouse and The Beautiful People all come out as well. Basically, they don’t like Maria and everyone wants to be in charge. Billy Corgan comes out and announces Jade will defend the title against Madison Rayne. He also announces that next week all the Knockouts will battle it out and the winner will become the leader of the Knockouts Division.

    – Backstage, EC3 promises to teach Mike Bennett a lesson tonight that someone should have taught him long ago.

    – Back from commercial, Eric Young and Bram are backstage arguing. EY is upset about the constant miscommunication. EY has the King of The Mountain title with him and tells Bram to make things right.

    TNA X-Division champion Trevor Lee w/ Shane Helms vs. DJ Z

    Edwards is injured from the mysterious attack which took place earlier, so he’s out of the title match. DJ Z comes out to fill the vacant spot in a non-title match. He’s on fire to start the match by hitting a sweet dive to the outside. On commentary, Pope speculates that Helms and Lee might have had something to the with Eddie’s attack from earlier.

    They have a really good match with DJ Z getting in some really cool offense. DJ Z had the match won, but Shane distracted the referee. Lee got the advantage and set up for his finish but DJ Z rolls him up for the surprise win. Post-match, Shane and Lee went to beat down DJ Z, but Edwards ran out for the save.

    – Backstage, Jeff Hardy reveals his partner for tonight is TNA World Champion Drew Galloway, making it Matt and Tyrus vs. Jeff and Drew.

    “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/Maria Kanellis vs. Ethan Carter III

    As EC3 makes his way to the ring, Josh reminds us that he has never been pinned or submitted. EC3 dominated the early moments of the match. Bennett got the brief advantage after Maria distracted EC3. EC3 regained control and back dropped Bennett to the outside then gave him a sick suplex on the ramp. Bennett took back over and slowed the pace of the match down.

    EC3 made a fiery comeback by hitting his version of the Stinger Splash which Josh called the EC3 Splash. EC3 hits the TKO and had the match won, but Maria put Bennett’s leg on the bottom rope to break up the pin. He chases Maria around the ring, which gave Bennett the chance to hit the ace crusher. Bennett grabs a chair, but EC3 ducks and locks on a submission. Earl tries to get the chair out of the ring, but Maria grabs it. While this is going on Bennett taps out, which the referee doesn’t see. EC3 grabs the chair and beats Bennett with it, getting disqualified.

    – We get a recap of Al Snow attacking Mahabali Shera and Grado two weeks ago.

    – Backstage, Al Snow apologizes for his actions and breaking Grado’s arm. He reminds us that he’s been suspended without pay. He’s going to the ring to call out Mahabali Shera to give a public apology. 

    Snow is in the ring and calls Shera out to apologize. Shera is full of passion and anger as he professes his urge to knockout Al, but Al wants him to listen first. Al mentions that he’s 53 and has been doing this since he was 18. He gets a nice reaction from the crowd for that.

    Al says everyone tells him wrestling is passing him by. He becomes intensely emotional, especially when talking about how difficult wrestling had been early in his career. Al promises to pay for Grado’s medical bills and wants to help Shera accomplish his dream of becoming World Champion. Al apologizes and they embrace. As they leave, Al jumps Shera and viciously beats him down. Al was great in his role and was so good that despite being the heel, the crowd chanted, “You’ve still go it” after he backstabbed Shera.

    – In the back, Snow gives a passionate speech about wrestling not changing, and how he’s disgusted that a “fat turd” like Grado is in TNA.

    TNA Knockouts champion Jade vs. Madison Rayne

    As the match gets started, Josh announces that next week all the Knockouts will face off in a ladder match for control of the Knockouts. They explain that whomever wins will have the authority to make matches and grant title shots. Jade is in control of the match and dominates the action. Josh says that Jade reminds him of Ronda Rousey because they’re both hard hitting. Madison takes the lead for a brief moment, but it’s not enough as Jade picks up the win and retains her title.

    TNA Champion Drew Galloway & Jeff Hardy vs. 
Matt Hardy & Tyrus w/Rockstar Spud & Reby Sky

    As the competitors make their way to the ring Josh reminds us what’s at stake. If Matt and Tyrus win, next week’s match between Matt and Jeff will be an “I Quit” Match. If Jeff and Drew win, the match will be “Full Metal Mayhem”.

    Matt teases starting the match with Jeff, but he quickly tags out to Tyrus. Jeff and Drew use some of the old Hardy Boys double team moves to gain control of the match, and they clear the ring.

    Tyrus and Matt get the advantage and isolate Drew in their corner. Drew makes the hot tag to Jeff who runs wild and takes out Tyrus. Jeff hits the twist of fate and goes for the Swanton bomb, but Tyrus steps in the way. Jeff dives onto Tyrus, which gives Reby the chance to give Matt a hammer. Matt uses the hammer on Jeff and hits the twist of fate to win the match. Next week Matt faces Jeff in an “I Quit” Match.

    Post match, as Drew helps up Jeff, Lashley hits the ring and takes out both Drew and Jeff. Lashley hits the spear on Drew. On the outside, Lashley spears Drew into the steal steps. Lashley poses with the TNA World title.

    – Next, we get a cool video in black and white. It shows Jeff leaping off of a huge structure with a graphic promoting next week’s match between Matt and Jeff on the screen.

    Next Time on Impact:

    It’s Hardy vs. Hardy as Jeff Hardy goes one on one with Matt Hardy in an I Quit Match. The Knockouts compete in a ladder match battle royal for control of the Knockouts Division. Also, the X Division Champion Trevor Lee will defend his title against both Eddie Edwards and DJ Z in a triple threat.

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn; AJ Styles vs. ADR

    It was a skeleton crew because much of the crew flew out last night to Italy.

    – Maryse opened the show and introduced Miz for a Miz TV segment.  Miz said that his guest was his wife, Maryse.  He asked her, “What is it like being married to The Miz?”  Zack Ryder came out and said he wanted his title rematch tonight.  Miz first said yes, but then said, he forgot, because Ryder already had a match booked tonight against Baron Corbin.

    – Baron Corbin beat Zack Ryder

    – Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady beat The Ascension in the #1 contenders tag team tournament

    – A.J. Styles did an interview.  Alberto Del Rio came out.  This led to a match which Styles won with a roll-up.

    – There was a backstage segment with Goldust, R-Truth and Fandango.

    – The Vaudevillains beat Goldust & Fandango in the #1 contenders tag team tournament. The crowd in San Diego didn’t know The Vaudevillans or how to take them. It was a quick match.

    – Chris Jericho did an interview and got heat by insulting San Diego.

    – Sami Zayn beat Chris Jericho via DQ.  Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose both came out.  Jericho was yelling at Ambrose, and Zayn threw Jericho into Owens. Owens attacked Zayn for the DQ. Owens & Jericho were beating on Zayn until Ambrose jumped in for the save and Zayn & Ambrose cleaned house to end the show.

  • ECW favorite Balls Mahoney passes away at 44 years old

    We can confirm that Jonathan Rechner, known better to the wrestling world as Balls Mahoney, has passed away at the age of just 44 years old. Cause of death is unknown as of this time, but he just celebrated his birthday on Monday.

    Social media began talking about the news Tuesday night with many of Rechner’s former co-workers and compatriots paying tribute. 

    After a run in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (Boo Bradley) and even an infamous appearance in the WWF as the evil Xanta Klaus, Rechner came to prominence as Mahoney — known for using weapons like his beloved steel chair, brawls, and teaming/feuding with similar ilk like Axl Rotten, Masato Tanaka, the Dudley Boys, and others. While never a singles titleholder in ECW, he did win the tag titles three times. 

    Ironically, Rotten also recently passed away at just 44 years old.

    He was part of the ECW revival by WWE, making infrequent appearances and feuding with Big Daddy V, Snitsky, and Matt Striker. He even “dated” Kelly Kelly in a very strange pairing. Rechner had competed frequently on the indies since getting cut by WWE in 2008.

    He leaves behind a young son, Christopher.

    We’ll have more on this story as details become available.

  • Big Lucha Underground Aztec Warfare 3 spoiler

    Sexy Star is the new Lucha Underground champion, winning Aztec Warfare 3 Saturday during the company’s tapings in Boyle Heights, California.

    Matanza Cueto, who had been undefeated up until this point, was pinned by Rey Mysterio halfway through the match after a Canadian destroyer. Pentagon was taken out by four Asian women (possibly Angela Fong and Io Shirai, Mayu Iwatani and Kaiji Hojo from the Stardom promotion.)

    It came down to Sexy Star and Mil Muertes. Muertes kept missing table spots and finally went for a top rope Flatliner, but Sexy shoved him off and through a table, hitting the top rope stomp for the pin and title victory.

    The show will air sometime in early-2017 as part of the promotion’s third season. There will be more tapings Sunday featuring Stardom’s Shirai, Iwatani and Hojo, three of the best female wrestlers in the world who are also in town for Monday’s Vendetta Pro show in Las Vegas, NV.

  • Bellator’s Aaron Pico goes for Olympic wrestling team berth tonight

    Bellator’s Aaron Pico will be going for an Olympic wrestling team berth tonight when he faces Frank Molinaro in the 143 pound weight division final.

    Pico, 19, from Whittier CA, is attempting to become the first teenager to make the Olympic team in freestyle wrestling in 40 years.

    Pico has two prior wins over Molinaro, but Molinaro has had a killer tournament thus far in beating Logan Steiber, the four-time NCAA champion, as well a Brent Metcalf, one of the best U.S. wrestlers of the modern era, and like Steiber, a former Hodge trophy winner.

    Pico and Ed Ruth were both signed by Bellator as amateur stars who will debut in MMA after the Olympics, or sooner if they fail to make the Olympic team.

    Pico, was considered perhaps the best teenage prospect in decades as he was named pound-for-pound the best high school wrestlers in the country while only a freshman, where he went 42-0, with no close bouts, in taking the California state title. He was world champion in his age group in 2013, and against older competitors in the junior division, took third in the 2014 and 2015 world championships.

    Still, because of how loaded the 143 pound division was, he was considered a long shot to make the team. With Metcalf, Steiber, Molinaro, Jordan Oliver, Zain Retheford, Jayson Ness and Reece Humphrey, it was considered the most loaded division in the tournament.

    While growing up, Pico won a number of boxing and Pankration tournaments and Bellator signed him in 2014, shortly after his 18th birthday, to essentially a futures contract and he was introduced on one of the company’s major shows.

    The finals at 143 will air on NBC Sports tonight at some point after 7 p.m. Eastern and 4 p.m. Pacific.

    Many of the top wrestlers in the recent NCAA tournament are competing for slots on the team. Nick Gwiazdowski, who placed second at heavyweight, is in the super heavyweight division with the finals tonight.

    Kyle Snyder, 20, the NCAA heavyweight champion and defending world champion, will compete at 215 pounds, will be in a tournament tomorrow.

  • NXT Columbia, SC, live results: Nakamura bleeds; Finn Balor & Austin Aries team up

    Submitted by James Gates

    No Way Jose d. Steve Blake

    Jose got the crowd going with chants early on. He and Blake worked the crowd for a good 3 minutes before they locked up. The crowd chanted Jose to the tune of Sami Zayn’s Ole, and “Hey, we want some Jose”. Jose was a good comedy character and did some comedy spots with Blake. The match was good for an opening match to get the crowd going. Jose won with a wind up baseball pitch punch to Blake’s head.

    Riddick Moss d. John Skyler

    Riddick came out with the mic and cut a generic “this town sucks” promo. Skylar came out and is from Columbia, SC, apparently. He was mildly over throughout the match. No mention of why Patrick Clark got swapped out. The match was very bare bones like a tryout match. At the start, Riddick wanted the ref to take his vest off. He turns his back and Skyler takes it off for him, then poses with it. He then teases a toss the vest to the crowd spot, then tosses it to Riddick and dropkicks him to start the match. The match was very basic, but Riddick got the majority of the offense in. Riddick pinned Skyler while holding onto the ropes. I don’t know how the ref didn’t see it, since from my angle it looked like he was looking right at it. 

    Carmella d. Peyton Royce

    Carmella cut her standard promo before the match. She said that she wasn’t the Queen of Staten Island today, but the Queen of Columbia. This match was slow and painful. Crowd wasn’t really into it. Lots of holds, lots of slow kicks from Royce. Carmella eventually won in a short match.

    Elias Sampson d. Alex Riley

    Elias comes in from the crowd to boos. He gets in the ring and cuts a short promo about the city. He then starts playing for a couple of seconds before being interrupted by Alex Riley. This match had the longest chinlock spot ever: at least 8 minutes of Samson putting a chinlock on Riley. They teased Riley breaking from it multiple times to no avail. The crowd was really turning on the match until the very end of the chinlock spot where they started getting into it. Then, Riley broke out and the crowd really didn’t react that much. It was like they wanted to see how long the chinlock was gonna last. This match was decent and Samson gets a lot of heat. Riley is overlooked by the crowd. Samson wins with his neckbreaker finisher.

    NXT Tag Champions American Alpha d. The Revival

    This was by far the best match and the one the crowd reacted to the most. AA come off as stars and were so hot with the crowd throughout the entire match. The match itself was almost like a repeat of the Takeover match, with the same spots being repeated, like Dash and Dawson holding onto each other while they get German Suplexed. It was still very fun.

    During the match, either Dash of Dawson inside cradled Gable and pinned him. The crowd was stunned silent for about 3 seconds until Drake reversed his decision when he realized the wrong Revival member was in and kept the match going. AA then did their spots and hit Grand Amplitude for the win. Crowd is ecstatic.

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka d. Eva Marie

    Eva was booed coming out, but during the match, she was cheered quite a bit. However, it felt more like the crowd was cheering Eva to spite the fans who were booing her. There was a “You Can’t Wrestle/Yes She Can” dueling chant going on with both sides equally loud. Eva worked heel throughout the match. She got a lot of offense in, it was pretty much evenly split. The match was decent. Eva didn’t botch any moves. Asuka put a lot of work in though wrestling circles around eva. Asuka won when she transitioned the armbar into the Asuka lock.

    Shinsuke Nakamura d. Manny Andrade

    Manny came out first and got a pretty mild reaction while Nakamura came out like a star, People overwhelmingly cheered Nakamura. The match was really good but was short because it was a house show. I think it went no longer than 12 minutes. As the match went on, there’s blood on the side of Nakamura’s head, and the match is stopped. The doctors came out to work on Nakamura causing the crowd to chant “PG Sucks” among other things.

    They worked on Nakamura for a long time, and I thought he might actually not be okay. Then Nakamura started thumping his foot against the ring to get the crowd going and then he went after Manny. He didn’t seem affected by his time on the ground. Manny did a lot of lucha moves that got under Nakamura’s skin throughout the match. When Manny would hit a lucha move, Nakamura would immediately go outside and sell for a bit.

    Manny did a moonsault off the stage ramp onto a standing Nakamura on the floor. Manny didn’t much of a reaction until he did the Kota Ibushi spot. The moonsault off the rope that misses and then follows up with another moonsault. It got a nearfall and the crowd popped and chanted for Manny. Nakamura then quickly cut him off and hit the Kinshasa for the win. It was a good match that could’ve been a lot better if given the time.

    NXT Champion Finn Balor and Austin Aries d. Baron Corbin and Tye Dillinger

    Tye comes out first and starts talking about Columbia and himself and how he’s a perfect ten. He hypes up Corbin as his partner. Corbin comes and keeps his shirt on. He kept his shirt on for the entirety of the match despite the pleas from the crowd to take it off. Finn and Aries hit the ring and Finn cuts a promo hyping up Corbin on his debut and winning the Battle Royale. He then says that he’s gonna throw Corbin over the rope tonight in Columbia.

    The match starts and it revolves around whether Corbin or Finn will throw the other over the top rope. Corbin throws Aries over very early on, grabs the mic and says to Finn, “See how easy it was for me to throw that little guy over the top rope, now im gonna do it to you”. The match is good, Tye takes around 70% of the offense for Finn/Aries. Finn and Aries trade getting the heat from Corbin throughout the match. Then Finn hits slingblade on Corbin and Corbin staggers to the rope. Finn then finally clotheslines Corbin over the rope. Aries dives outside onto Corbin.

    Finn hits the Sling Blade on Tye, then hits the Blood Sunday for the win. Finn then gets the crowd to sing Nah Nah Nah Nah Wave Goodbye to Corbin. After the match, Aries and Finn get the ref (not drake) to toss Tye over the rope and he does to much applause. This was a really good show overall, wish some matches got more time than others.

  • NXT Concord, NC, live results: Finn Balor & Nakamura team up

    Submitted by Jason Sitek

    No Way Jose defeated Riddick Moss

    Both guys are pretty green, but this was a prelim house show match. Jose got some solid chanting, and has a Latin baseball player’s walk-up music. Lots of dancing and then he won the match with a baseball pitching wind-up punch.

    Elias Samson defeated John Skyler

    As soon as Samson’s music hit, the place starts booing. He cut a promo and sang a song but the sound at floor level was not great, so you could not really make anything out. Skyler is from Concord but fans were more focused on booing Samson.  Lots of “drift away” and “you can’t wrestle” chants.

    Alex Riley defeated Blake

    No Murphy or Alexa with Blake who is pretty dead without them. Lots of “Where’s Alexa?” chants. Alex Riley smiled at the “young Triple H!” chants, commenting on his look, but that’s about the only good thing to say about this. Riley won the match, but I’m not sure anyone was the better for it.

    Eva Marie defeated Carmella

    Carmella out first to a huge pop. Eva came out to tremendous heat and boos, but you can tell the crowd loves booing her and she loves getting that reaction. Lot of knee-in-the-back rest holds from Eva to Carmella. Carmella got her comeback, but Eva got the win by keeping her feet on the bottom rope. Carmella left, but came back and hit her finisher on Eva to pop the crowd.

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha defeated The Revival

    Gable is great, but I was most impressed by Jordan, Dash, and Dawson. Revival got lots of heat on Gable and were bantering back and forth with the crowd.  They were sarcastic and heelish, and it was great. Jordan got his babyface comeback and took off the shoulder straps, then later in the match emphatically put them back on and immediately got fired up and took them back off — to the roar of the crowd. 

    Spot of the night was a new one for this match-up (from what I can tell) where Gable was in the corner and one member of Revival tries to schoolboy him, but Gable has his arms around the other Revival member and suplexes him. Alpha wins, but no signature finisher.

    – Short promo from Tom Phillips and Dasha Fuentes about merch & and then intermission.

    Austin Aries defeated Manny Andrade

    Manny out to generic Latin music and very little reaction — but that would change by the end of the match.  Most people, including NXT fans, may not know who Manny is/was and how good he is. Very quiet during the first half of the match, but some of the best wrestling of the night. Aries had the crowd support at first but credit to him for getting Manny over.  By the time this match was done, Manny was the star leaving the ring.  Aries pinned him but helped up him and pointed at Manny in a way that let the fans know the former La Sombra is the real deal.

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Peyton Royce

    Peyton Royce out with new heel music, attire, and heel mannerisms. She has a small flower she carries with her and smells from time to time.  Asuka was out but had no belt. Eva Marie came out before the match got underway, carrying the “belt” underneath a blanket, challenging Asuka to a match for the title at NXT Columbia the next night. 

    The crowd loved Asuka, and was really one of the best on this show tonight. Peyton got a lot of offense in, but Asuka tapped her out to the Asuka Lock.  Asuka then asked for a mic and in confident English said “Eva, I’m going to kick your ass.”

    NXT Champion Finn Balor/Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger/Baron Corbin

    Wildly entertaining man event. Dillinger out first and the “10” gimmick is over. He cut a promo about how this crowd/show is a 4 but since he’s a 10, he’ll give them a perfect match and perfect victory.  Corbin out next and the banter was excellent.  Nakamura out third and the crowd made known who they came to see. The entire arena could not have been more excited to see him live. Finn Balor still wildly popular as NXT champ and cheered but not as big as Nakamura. Corbin worked the match with his shirt on and bantered with the crowd, rubbing his fingers together to show the only way he’d take it off would be for money.

    Finn was up first and the crowd erupted when he tagged in Nakamura.  Tye and Baron tagged in and out to delay eventually facing him. Lots of the usual Nakamura spots like the vibrating stomp, knees and kicks, but you don’t even care if you’ve seen it before because it’s so great live. His facial features sell it even further.

    Since Concord is just outside of Charlotte, the Flair chops were used heavily. Finn hit Tye with chops and then went FULL-Flair and started strutting and WOO!-ing.  He sold it like he had dreamed of working the Carolinas as Flair as a kid. The Flair spots culminated in a perfect Flair-flop from Dillinger and the crowd laughed uproariously and applauded.  Nothing bad but nothing memorable from Corbin.  After some grappling, Nakamura hit Tye with a knee strike from the top rope and tagged Finn who hit the Bloody Sunday for the pin.

    Finn and Nakamura celebrated, and then Balor grabbed the mic and cut a promo. He was very passionate and said that after ‘Mania there were a lot of tired, sore, and even some homesick wrestlers, but crowds like tonight make them want to go out and not let anyone down.  The crowd appreciated the candor.  He then handed the mic to Shinsuke who said he only had one thing to say: “YEAOH!”  — and the entire crowd did it with him.

    Fun moment after the match: Finn grabbed a fan’s sign and held it up to all sides of the ring.  The sign read “WHERE ARE DOC AND KARL?” 

  • UFC takes another gamble with UFC 200 women’s title fight

    On Wednesday night, UFC announced that women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will defend against Amanda Nunes as part of UFC 200.

    Tate vs. Nunes will be one of the three top fights on the show, along with featherweight champion Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II (welterweight fight), and Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title.

    The fight is perplexing on almost every level. UFC is sitting on a goldmine right now in the women’s bantamweight division with big money fights on the horizon (Tate vs. Ronda Rousey III, Tate vs. Holly Holm II). A Nunes win would hurt that dynamic since she wouldn’t have near the buzz or interest level against any of those other fighters on the level Tate would have. If Tate was a lock to fight on this show, the only logical contenders would have been Rousey or Holm.

    Nunes (12-4) has won three straight and five of her six UFC fights. She was last seen downing Valentina Shevchenko by unanimous decision at March’s UFC 196 — the same show on which Tate beat Holm for the gold.

    Earlier this week, the fight was said to be under serious consideration for either UFC 200 or UFC 201. Tate signed a new deal with the promotion earlier this week as well.

    UFC 200 is scheduled for Saturday, July 9th, in Las Vegas at the new T-Mobile Arena. It is expected to be one of the biggest UFC events of all-time, if not the biggest, in terms of PPV buys, media attention, and overall buzz.

    Bryan Alvarez and I will talk more about the fight and the news from pro wrestling and MMA on tonight’s Wrestling Observer Radio.