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Tag: WWE

  • Daily Update: NXT TakeOver London, New Day unicorn horns

    NXT TakeOver London happened in the middle of the day today!  Check out Dave Meltzer’s coverage.  From what is being seen on social media and other feedback it is a good show, so you should check it out!  NXT TakeOver: London has a prime time replay at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network, but it will already be available on demand by that point.

    Other TV Tonight:

    UFC Tonight airs tonight at a special broadcast time of 6 PM EST.

    Impact Wrestling airs at 11:00 p.m. ET (no replay or west coast prime time showing) on Destination America continues the TNA World Title series in the last episode on the network.

    ROH at midnight ET/PT on COMET is headlined by Roppongi Vice vs. ACH & Matt Sydal..

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 12/7/2015: McDevitt comments on concussion lawsuits
    Details on Jerry McDevitt’s comments on the ongoing concussion lawsuits against WWE, Alan discusses potential candidates for 2015’s best rookie.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    Coverage of the biggest weekend in UFC history, the stories behind the big matches, scouting the fighters, the business and handicapping the fights is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at the promotion of the show, how changes in the UFC can affect the major fights, little things in each fight that haven’t beentalked about, fugure for the winners and much more is looked at.

    We also look at the New Japan Tokyo Dome show, the New Japan tag team tournament, what’s new with A.J. Styles and his schedule, the controversy over the winners of the tournament and how it played out, New Japan business this past month and going forward, tournament standings and a rundown of the shows this past week.

    We also have an update on Sting and his condition coming off the match with Seth Rollins, something to watch for about a very significant WWE employee, WWE increasing security at leve events, WWE putting up lots of new content on the network, why the Stampede tapes were taken down, Alberto Del Rio blames AAA for his not coming back and losingg the title, why the time-line of what he says doesn’t add up, another new franchise movie idea for Dwayne Johnson, NXT house shows from the past week as well as all the WWE house shows of the past week and the business from the last week.   

    We’ve got a look at this year’s Tokyo Sports pro wrestling awards, all the winners, how the balloting went down, as well as a list of every MVP dating back to 1974, and why different people won the awards and the nature of the politicas behid the awards.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 14, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Biggest weekend in UFC history, tons more

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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

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    If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    Pro Wrestling

    • Regarding the story of Rock filming the new Baywatch movie in Georgia in March and April and how it will affect WrestleMania, it has been known for some time that there was almost no chance he was actually wrestling a match on the show.  As with most years, they will probably try to figure out a way to have him make a non-wrestling appearance, but an actual match is pretty much out the window.  Hunter vs. Rock was the original plan, and Hunter vs. Seth Rollins was the back-up plan, and both are obviously out.
    • Smackdown is live this coming Tuesday night and the company has announced New Day vs. Lucha Dragons for the show.  
    • Speaking of New Day, you couldn’t buy any of the unicorn horns last night at Smackdown.  If you go to the WWE Shop site, they’re backordered.  Not sure how many they originally produced but they have apparently sold like crazy.
    • Finn Balor talked with Kevin Gill about transitioning from NJPW to NXT, the demon makeup, and more.
    • Kurt Angle talked his TNA retirement, the possibility of working a Wrestlemania one day, and the move to POP TV.
    • Mike Quackenbush spoke about his philosophy on booking Chikara.
    • Real Pro Wrestling debuts on 1/15 in Port St. Lucie, FL, at the Community Center.
    • Vanguard Championship Wrestling is trying to help stop homelessness.
    • If you haven’t checked it out, we have had some great Ring of Honor guests on Wrestling Observer Live the last three days, Raymond Rowe of War Machine on Monday (challenging for the Tag Titles on Friday’s Final Battle PPV), Michael Elgin on Tuesday (challenging Moose, and also facing Jay Lethal likely for the ROH World Title at the New Japan Tokyo Dome on July 4th), Lethal today, and we’ve got Jay Briscoe and Adam Cole scheduled for the next two days.
    • Lethal in the interview today noted that ROH is trying to rebrand the title as the “ROH World Title” and not the “ROH World Heavyweight Title” since the feeling is that most of the wrestlers in the company are not heavyweights.  What’s funny is Lethal is almost 220 and didn’t consider himself a heavyweight, however in UFC if you are over 205 pounds, you are a heavyweight.  Heavyweight is not 265, that’s the upper limit — 266 is superheavyweight and heavyweight is 206-265 pounds.

    UFC/MMA

    • Bovada already has odds up for a Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo rematch and Conor is only a slight favorite, -160 vs. +130. It’s still to be determined what happens to Mr. McGregor, but we should get some clues after this Saturday’s UFC on FOX show headlined by lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone.
    • Combate Americas is running their second MMA show tonight on NBC Universo starting at 11 pm eastern. Lucha Underground/AAA star Konnan will be doing commentary, presumably for the Spanish broadcast. The card is mostly unknown fighters, with Liz McCarthy likely being the most familiar name to casual fans as she’s fought a couple of times for Invicta. There is no advertised main event for the show, which will also air on the Fight Network in Canada. Rey Misterio is a brand ambassador for the group but it hasn’t been announced if he’ll appear on the show.
    • WSOF will follow-up the spectacle that was WSOF 25 with another show Friday night on NBC Sports Network. The show takes place at the Chelsea in the Cosmo in Las Vegas, the same venue that hosted UFC shows last Thursday and Friday night. Team Alpha Male fighter Lance Palmer defends the Featherweight title in the main event against Brazilian Alexandre de Almeida. “Gentleman” Josh Hill of TUF fame (nephew of “Gentleman” Jerry Valiant/”Stomper” Guy Mitchell) and recent UFC cut Robbie Peralta will also fight on the show, which returns to it’s regular 9 pm eastern time slot after being bumped back to 11 o’clock for their last outing. The Fight Network will also be broadcasting this show with the prelims streaming at WSOF.com

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (12/16): Lex Luger wins WCW US Title

  • WOL 12/16: ROH World Champ Jay Lethal interview, Raw ratings, more!

    Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with special guest, ROH WORLD CHAMPION JAY LETHAL to talk tons of different topics including this Friday night’s ROH Final Battle show on pay-per-view! Also, Raw ratings from Monday, Roman Reigns, NXT Takeover with NO SPOILERS and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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  • WWE Breaking Ground episode 7 recap: Of pumpkins, eating dinner, and being human

    Photo: Bayley’s Instagram

    By Ryan Pike for WrestlingObserver.com

    Key Takeaway:

    The focus shifts somewhat from the established NXT stars towards the newcomers in an episode that suffers due to being a bit all over the place narratively, in the sense that nothing really happens.

    Show Recap:

    As mentioned, this week was a bit all over the place narratively, so let’s break it down.

    Carmella got kicked in the head last week by Eva Marie and got a stinger. She manages to avoid a concussion and basically frets about not being to wrestle for a week. She and Big Cass, her boyfriend, carve pumpkins and are generally adorable. After her week is up, she goes through the in-ring workout for NXT’s trainer, Tina, and gets the all-clear. Eva Marie is seen once but never mentioned, so presumably they don’t want to bury the poor girl. The most entertaining part of the episode in in this storyline, where Enzo Amore and Carmella bond (at a dinner after a show with Bayley and Cass) about how loud Cass is at night – he wakes them up at home or on the road by snoring or making too much noise in the bathroom.

    Bayley, Carmella’s best friend, has a performance evaluation with Sara Amato. It goes really well and Amato praises her mentorship abilities, which Bayley says are a product of having Charlotte and Paige mentor her when she was coming in. She and Carmella take Sara Lee, from Tough Enough, on the road with them and begin to mentor her. The big cliffhanger of this episode is Triple H calling a meeting with Bayley and Sasha Banks and teasing a big announcement, which is presumably the Iron Man Match from Takeover (because this show plays fast and loose with timelines).

    ZZ complains about a knee injury but notes he’s down in weight because he’s eating broccoli now. Matt Bloom jokingly praises him for “learning what vegetables are.” Later, ZZ goes to an alligator camp and helps move an alligator.

    The new wrestler from India, Lovepreet Singh, has some growing pains in training because he’s bringing some bad habits – like using punches below the belt to get guys over the top rope in practices – that he needs to unlearn. But he seems coachable and performances well enough in the “internal matches” that they have at the Performance Center to get a spot in a battle royal on a house show. He also has Robbie Brookside over for a traditional Indian dinner and seems eager to pick his brain about the business.

    Tino Sabbatelli also performs well in the internal matches, with Tye Dillinger praising his ability to be a natural heel because he’s so physically gifted. Dillinger gives him some advice about his in-ring persona and playing up his physique a bit. Nhooph continues to develop her in-ring persona for her Aliyah character, working a bit with William Regal on her entrance. Regal notes: “I think the audience has made their mind up by about a third of the way down the ramp whether they’re going to care.” However, Nhooph bombs with her entrance and promo at the internal matches, with Regal criticizing her lack of urgency and the crowd (made up of wrestlers from the Performance Center) jeering her throughout. She’s got some work to do.

    Final Thoughts:

    There were some interesting moments in the show, but nothing really happened. Bayley watched a wrestling match with her boyfriend. Lovepreet ate dinner. Carmella carved pumpkins. But nothing noteworthy really occurred and the show continued jumping around too much for us as an audience to really build a relationship with any of the wrestlers in this episode. This was a pretty flat episode of Breaking Ground overall.

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers 12-15: Dolph Ziggler vs Kevin Owens

    Submitted by Mike Omansky from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

    – The show opened with a Roman Reigns interview talking about winning the title on his daughter’s birthday.  He figured his days were numbered in the company.  Sheamus came out and congratulated him on holding the title longer than 5:15.  Sheamus said he’d be winning it back. Sheamus announced there is an internal investigation going on regarding Reigns and he is not allowed in the building.  Reigns told Sheamus to make him leave.  Security guards came out to remove him but he destroyed all of them.

    – U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio beat Ryback with the armbar. Good match dominated by Del Rio. Ryback makes the comeback and is about to finish him off, but the full League of Nations comes out. Ryback is distracted; Del Rio takes him down and clamps on thearmbar for the win.

    – They did a backstage segment where Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae, the former of which is about to wrestle Titus O’Neil. Goldust walked in, Rae sprayed hair spray in his mouth, and thus, Breeze is feuding with Tyler Breeze.

    – Titus O’Neil beat Tyler Breeze. Goldust was out, sat next to Rae, and distracted Breeze by taking selfies with Breeze’s selfie stick.

    – Backstage, Dean Ambrose did an interview where he said he’s ready to defend the I-C title against Kevin Owens or anyone.

    – Wyatts vignette aired. 

    – Lucha Dragons beat WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) in a non-title match when Kalisto pinned Kingston.mIt is announced later that there will be a rematch next Tuesday, live on Smackdown, for the tag titles.

    – Dolph Ziggler backstage interview, talking about Owens.

    – Becky Lynch beat Brie Bella by submission after Charlotte tripped Brie and Becky locked on an armbar submission. Team BAD were also out at ringside.

    – Backstage, Becky and Charlotte argued about why Charlotte interfered for her. Becky wants to win on her own.

    – Backstage, Owens said he wants his I-C title back.

    – Dolph Ziggler beat Kevin Owens via DQ for throwing him into the ring steps. Ambrose made the save and chased Owens off.  Ambrose then checked on Ziggler, and Ziggler superkicked him.

    Notes:

    – In the dark match segment, the League of Nations ran out to attack Ambrose and Ziggler. The Usos race in and get beaten down. Enter Roman Reigns who runs into to clean house. The other faces recover and the heels retreat.  This was apparently in lieu of the “massive” 6 man tag main event that had been advertised for weeks.

    – WWE will return to the building on May 22nd for Payback. Pre-sale tickets can be had by using ‘Payback’.

  • NXT Cardiff, Wales, results: Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe

    Submitted by James Witcombe 

    – Greg Hamilton came out to introduce a Finn Balor video, then a HHH video to start the show. Loud NXT chants. 

    – Team Sawft vs. Blake and Murphy 

    No girls as they are both wrestling later. Enzo and Cass get a big reaction. The crowd say his catchphrases along with him. Started with some fun as Enzo was dancing. He started dancing on the apron too. BAM weren’t happy with this. We want dancing chant. Enzo won with the splash off the top. Blake and Murphy were good here. Fun opener. 

    – Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss 

    Asuka’s gonna kill you chant early. She chased Alexa around the ring while Alexa screamed stop chasing me. Alexa got the heat by draping Asuka’s arm across the bottom rope. Asuka won after a missed standing moonsault then kicks. She got Bliss in the chicken wing. Good match. Bliss wasn’t bad. 

    – Tye Dillinger vs. Bull Dempsey

    Comedy match. Big 10 chants when Tye came out. He has a laminated 10 card. Bull ran the types during his entrance and gassed. Then did it again. Bull fit and Bull is beautiful chants early. Bull got a cheer for taking his shirt off. Bull got 10 chants with a bad cartwheel. Bull got the win with a splash. 

    – Nia Jax vs. Carmella 

    Pretty quick squash. Carmella got some offense and did the moonwalk. Nia won with the spinebuster and leg drop. Nia is a good monster. 

    – Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin 

    Duelling chants early. Let’s go Corbin, Corbin sucks too. Long heat by Corbin. Basic match. Some hope spots then Crews got the win with the standing moonsault. Typical house show match I thought. 

    Intermission

    – Jordan and Gable V Dash and Dawson for the NXT Tag Team Championship 

    Gable, Gable, Gable – Jordan, Jordan, Jordan chants throughout. They were over. Heat after Gable caught a Dash lariat outside the ring. Count out tease. Jordan’s hot tag is great. Dash and Dawson win after Gable is tripped attempting a suplex into the ring. Foot held for the 3. Jordan and Gable given the applause spot after. Hot match. 

    – Emma vs. Bayley for the NXT Women’s Championship

    Dana Brooke out with Emma. First 5 minutes chants for Bayley. To the Hey Baby will you be my girl song. Emma tried walking off with the belt. Dana protects her then gets an elbow. Dana sent to the back. Bayley won with the Bayley to belly. Decent match. 

    Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Championship

    All 3 guys received well. Lots of Joe running early. Joe got a few cheap shots in. After a dropkick through the ropes  Joe went to walk out. Stopped by both guts. Zayn and Finn put on each other’s jackets and started doing the other’s mannerisms. Funny spot. Joe got a pop for breaking this up.  Zayn with a dive then blue thunder bomb for near fall. All guys out then Joe and Zayn got up and Finn did the Undertaker sit up and facial from Mania. Funny. They all landed kicks and this is awesome chants. Japanese elbow spot between Finn and Joe then the corner drop kick by Finn. Coup De Grace attempt then muscle buster attempt blocked. Joe with Kokina clutch on Zayn. Zayn is on top of Joe and Balor gives him the Coup De Grace which took out both.  Finn pinned Sami for the win. Very good match.

    Great show. Everyone seemed to be sent home happy.  

  • William Regal sent home from UK over neck surgery issues

    William Regal has flown home from the NXT tour and will not be appearing on the final two events due to issues related to his recent neck surgery.

    Regal wrote on Twitter today, “I’m incredibly sorry, but I have to return to the U.S. to take care of some final details of my recent neck surgery that couldn’t be avoided any longer.  Again, I’m sorry that I cannot continue with the current tour, but I’ll be back in 2016 to @WWENXT.”

    The two has two shows left, an event tonight in Cardiff, Wales, and the live Takeover special on the WWE Network tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern from London’s SSE Wembley Arena.

    Regal was also scheduled for a talk show on Thursday in Nottingham, that has been canceled.

  • WWE Raw ratings way up with Vince McMahon return

    After a fall season where ratings were at an all-time low, the return of Vince McMahon and the Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns title vs. being fired match led to an increase for the Monday, December 14th edition of WWE RAW to 848,000 viewers over last week — a whopping 27 percent.

    The show did 3.87 million viewers, but the key is that the first hour did 4.04 million viewers. They were way up early, which has to do with curiosity coming off the post-match attack by Reigns on HHH at the close of the TLC ppv. The announcement that Vince would be there also came in the first 15 minutes of the show, and after more than a year off the show, the return of Vince should have helped.

    The second hour, which included McMahon’s first interview, did 3.79 million viewers. The third hour, with the Reigns vs. Sheamus title change, did 3.83 million viewers. Not only did they have far higher viewership to start the show than in months, but they kept most of the viewers for the three hours, which they haven’t been able to do in months.

    Last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio show for subscribers has a full rundown and analysis of the show, Vince’s return and Roman Reigns’ WWE World Heavyweight Title win.

  • WOL 12/15: Michael Elgin talks ROH PPV, plus Roman Reigns new WWE champion, more!

    Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with special guest MICHAEL ELGIN to talk the ROH PPV this coming Friday night, his match with Moose, New Japan, turning his career around in 2015 and more, plus all the news on Raw, Roman Reigns and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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  • WOR 12/15: Roman Reigns new WWE Champion, Raw report, tons more!

    Roman Reigns is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion and Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez talk all about it on tonight’s show, plus all of the Raw segments, Slammy Awards nominees, Joe Rogan’s comments on Jose Aldo, Takeover London, questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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  • WWE Slammy Award voting starts tonight

    The WWE announced that Slammy Award voting will begin tonight with the awards show next Monday, December 21st, part of ‘WWE Week’ on USA Network. 

    Monday’s Slammy-riffic RAW will be followed up by a live Smackdown on Tuesday, and the taped Tribute To The Troops on Wednesday.

    WWE announced voting will take place exclusively on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, bypassing their website completely. The winners of these categories, except for Superstar of the Year, will be announced prior to Raw.

    The main categories are:

    • Superstar of the Year
    • Tag Team of the Year
    • Hashtag of the Year
    • Celebrity Moment of the Year
    • “Tell Me You Just Didn’t Say That” Moment of the Year
    • Best John Cena U.S. Open challenge match
    • Rivalry of the Year
    • Double Cross of the Year
    • Surprise Return of the Year
    • Best Original WWE Network Show (So much for voting up any of that old footage.)

    On RAW, there will be eight additional categories that will voted on via the WWE app live during the show. These winners, and Superstar of the Year, will be announced during Raw.

    • Match of the Year
    • Diva of the Year
    • Breakout Star of the Year
    • LOL Moment of the Year
    • Extreme Moment of the Year
    • “This is Awesome” Moment of the Year
    • The OMG Most Shocking Moment of the Year
    • The Hero Award presented by Coca Cola