Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns tonight to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including Brock Lesnar getting more TV dates, Raw ratings, more on this weekend’s MSG card, Bound for Glory, Smackdown tapings and more, plus MMA news on UFC 192, BJ Penn chomping at the bit and Michael Bisping getting hurt (25:00), and finally, tons of questions (35:00)! A fun show as always so check it out~!
By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com
File this under ‘Card Subject To Change’, but here’s a look at the current Saturday, October 3rd Madison Square Card house show lineup that WWE announced Sunday would air as part of a live WWE Network special. Plainly put, it’s very SummerSlam-esque.
– WWE Champion/US Champion Seth Rollins vs. John Cena. (Cena is listed as U.S. Champion.)
– Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
– Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
– Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman in his first time in the Garden in over 10 years. No opponent listed.
– Chris Jericho (no opponent listed) and more of “your favorite WWE superstars”
Tickets range from $25-$130.
(H/T: Jerry)
courtesy wwe.com
by Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com
The Big Takeaway: As expected, a newsworthy show to kick off the final quarter of the year. Sting made his return in the main event segment, jumping Seth Rollins to set up the main event for Night of Champions. The Dudley Boyz made a surprising return to set up a feud with the New Day over the tag team titles. Braun Stowman debuted as the newest member of the Wyatt Family. John Cena gave Jon Stewart an AA. And there was a MizTV segment so wretched it killed the Divas Revolution momentum dead. I mean, graveyard dead.
Show Recap:
The show opened with HHH talking with Seth Rollins in the lobby of WWE headquarters. HHH showed Rollins the statues of Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior. Surprisingly, the Warrior statue did a more coherent promo than the real thing. HHH told Rollins that tonight, the statue of Rollins would be unveiled.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman said he was the pissed-off advocate of the ripped-off Beast of the Barclays. Heyman showed the footage of the Undertaker tapping out to Lesnar’s Kimura, then compared the myth that the Undertaker is immortal with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
Heyman said Lesnar didn’t blame the referee (he couldn’t say the name Charles Robinson. More of those Vince McMahon mental gymnastics again) or the timekeeper. He brought up the Undertaker collapsing backstage. When he said he has enough material to fill up an entire 3-hour Raw, the crowd chanted “Yes.”
Heyman said Lesnar wanted to fight the Undertaker one more time, and he didn’t want to wait until the Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. He wanted it tonight.
Of course, that didn’t happen. Bo Dallas came out as the sacrificial lamb, complete with white tights. Dallas told Lesnar that last night, he passed out against the Undertaker. The good news was he woke up after having sweet dreams, like eventually bating the Undertaker. All he had to do was Bo-Lieve.
Four laps around Suplex City for Dallas and Lesnar left. Then Heyman talked Lesnar into one more, which he delivered. Brock left again, then Heyman asked Lesnar for one more for him. Brock finally hit the F-5 as Heyman shouted that Brock Bo-Lieves.
The New Day’s ring entrance included Xavier Woods playing a trombone singing a song to the tune of “New York, New York” entitled “New Day, New Day.” They still have to be heels even though the fans are now chanting “New Day Rocks.” Michael Cole told Titus O’Neal and Darren Young to listen to the fans, who I guess were supposed to be chanting something derogatory to New Day. Instead, they chanted “That was awesome.”
The New Day (C) defeated Lucha Dragons in a nontitle match (6:15)
Big E. pinned Kalisto with the Midnight Hour. As Big E. got the pin, Woods started playing “Taps” on the trombone.
After the pin, the Dudley Boyz came out for a surprise appearance and cleaned house on each member of the New Day. Woods took the Wazzup. Cole tried to pretend it was the first time the Dudleys had done Wazzup in 10 years. Then they did the 3-D on Woods through a table. Huge reaction for the Dudleys, who then started jawing with the Prime Time Players.
Jon Stewart is set to explain his actions in last night’s Rollins-Cena match tonight.
Cena was honored in a very nice piece granting his 500th Wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was profiled on ESPN, CBS News, and the Today Show he co-hosted. The young man who was honored was shown at ringside.
HHH and Stephanie McMahon caught a glimpse of the Rollins statue. It showed him adorned with both belts. He looked like a taller Daniel Bryan statue with a thinner beard. Rollins walked in before he could see the statue and talked about how much respect those around WWE headquarters have for the authority, feeling the company is better off with them in it. Stephanie said they feel the same about Rollins. He left as they got ready for the ceremony later tonight.
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper by DQ (10:37)
Roman Reigns had Bray Wyatt pinned after a Superman Punch when the Wyatt’s segue caused the lights to go on. When they came back on, a man under a black goat’s mask with a huge upper body was on the apron. The man took off the mask. He was never identified, but it was Braun Stowman, who was put over as the latest monster heel. Reigns and Ambrose kicked and punched him, but Stowman no-sold everything. He gave both Reigns and Ambrose Samuel Shaw’s old head-and-arm choke finisher. I hope his character goes a lot better than that one. Stowman posed with Bray and Luke as the Wyatt Family is a trio again.
MizTV welcomed Paige, Charlotte and Becky as guests. Charlotte said the Four Horseman were the greatest faction in WWE history. Crowd sounded confused over that one. Miz and Charlotte traded barbs about Ric Flair.
Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch had some lame attempts at comedy before Team Bella came out. This was just awful. Nikki said it didn’t matter who won or lost the SummerSlam match because she was 15 days away from becoming the longest reigning Divas champion of all time. Nikki has spent too much time copying the bad aspects of her boyfriend’s interviews. As Brie Bella and Alicia Fox spoke, crowd chanted for Lana.
When Miz scolded the Divas that when his hand goes up, their mouths go shut, the fans actually popped. Miz scolded Team PCB for wrestling like a bunch of girls. That led to PCB ganging up on Miz. But Team Bella jumped Team PCB. JBL said they were about to have a trios match. Didn’t Nikki just say last night’s match didn’t matter? So wouldn’t I be crazy to care about this one? All I know is Vince Verhei is likely gearing up for a walk right now.
Team Bella defeated Team PCB (14:06)
An unmitigated disaster. Fox pinned Paige after an Ax kick following a cheap shot from Nikki. Crowd was totally dead, then started giving the match the Randy Orton-Sheamus treatment from 2 years ago. They did the wave. They chanted “We are awesome.” It went two long segments. Even worse, Charlotte appeared to be injured as she couldn’t stand up near the end. All the momentum from the NXT debut from five weeks ago is long gone.
Just as strange, Stardust and King Barrett were supposed to team together. For some reason, Stardust turned on Barrett, giving him the Queen’s Crossbow. Neville came down and cleaned house on Stardust, teasing the Red Arrow. But Stardust escaped. No crowd heat at all as the Divas’ segment will be the death of this show until some main eventers show up.
Stewart, complete with Stewart Section signs and “Thank you, Stewart” chants, came out. He’s growing a heel beard now, but he got a babyface reaction for turning on Cena. He said he helped Rollins because he didn’t want Cena to tie Flair’s record of 16 World Championships. This brought out Flair. Stewart did portions of the Jackie Fargo strut as Flair came down.
Flair told Stewart that he had messed up everything. Then Cena came out. Cena chastised Stewart for costing him the U.S. title. Stewart tried to talk him into fighting Rollins again for the U.S. title. Cena said that was for another night, but tonight he was going to have to do what he had to do. So he gave Stewart an AA. $5 will get you $10 that spot gets on Fox News tomorrow. Stewart never broke character here and was helped up to a round of applause.
Renee Young talked with Cena, who said he felt what he did was right. Cena said he would talk to Rollins later tonight.
Randy Orton, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback defeated Kevin Owens, Sheamus, The Big Show and Rusev (17:52)
Randy Orton pinned Sheamus with the RKO after the Big Show accidentally hit Sheamus with the Knockout punch. Among the highlights were Kevin Owens and Ryback engaging in a punching exchange like they were Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama. Lana came out in a bleached jean skirt. I could have sworn she walked straight off the set of a Whitesnake video. In the same vein, the new, skinnier Dolph Ziggler is wearing long sequined pants with black gloves. If the territories were still around, he’d be billing himself as a cousin of Shawn Michaels.
Postmatch, Owens and Rusev got mad at Big Show for costing their team the match, so they attacked him. Owens gave Show the Cannonball. The face team got back in the ring after Big Show got up. You would think this would lead to Show’s latest face turn. Instead, Ziggler gave him a superkick, while Cesaro and Ryback picked Show up so Orton could give him an RKO. Maybe Show really is retiring.
Wyatt did an interview saying the latest member of the Wyatt Clan was indeed named Braun Stowman.
Stephanie and HHH confronted Cena about slamming Stewart, a man he outweighed by 100 pounds. Cena said he was about to take a step up in weight class when he confronts Rollins tonight. Stephanie said he wouldn’t get the chance, and two security guards escorted Cena out of the building. Stephanie gave him the “You can’t see me” signal. So Stephanie was a heel tonight. Vegas should keep odds on this weekly.
HHH and Stephanie came out. Stephanie wished her father a Happy 70th Birthday and they actually led the crowd in singing “Happy birthday to you.” Stephanie appeared a little choked up. Crowd wanted Vince to come out, and HHH joked that he’s really pissed off right now.
HHH did a long speech about how Rollins is a winner who can outwork and overachieve his way to success. Rollins came out as the first man to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and U.S. Championship at the same time.
Rollins said he was joining the Mt. Rushmore of the WWE. Still funny to think of the Warrior on the Rushmore. Rollins said he became a legend last night after defeating Cena, and with the unveiling of the statue, he become immortal. Rollins said Cena has reached the heights he’s reached by working every day of his life for the past ten years, but to be the man you have to be the man. Rollins proclaimed himself the man.
When the time came to unveil the statue, underneath the curtain was Sting. HHH and Stephanie took off, while Sting sent Rollins packing after three punches. Sting closed the show by posing with the WWE Heavyweight belt. The crowd was probably tired, but the reaction to Sting was noticeably less than that of the Dudleys.
SUMMARY: The return of Sting would have meant a lot more if he had defeated HHH at WrestleMania. Now, it’s hard to really care because we’ve seen repeated examples of the WWE creative team not knowing how to use a talent cultivated in another company. In fact, Sting fell victim to it earlier this year.
This show had a great first hour. The announcers played the Dudleys return like it was a huge deal and Stowman like the next monster.
However, the WWE has an ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and they’ve certainly done that with the Divas Revolution. Tonight’s MizTV segment will go down as one of the year’s worst, one that threatens to push the entire division back into also-ran category. Contrast that to the Bailey-Sasha Banks match from just 48 hours ago–in the same building, from the same company–speaks volumes about WWE creative and its inability to create new stars, much less create revolutions.
By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com
Welcome to our live coverage of SummerSlam. We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show and last night’s NXT show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Jon Stewart and Mick Foley are opening the show. Stewart wanted Foley to be his backup because he’s mad at Brock Lesnar for breaking the streak. Foley referenced The Rock. Foley said he wouldn’t have come to back him up against Lesnar because he’s afraid of Lesnar. When Stewart brought up Foley being fearless and his match with Undertaker, Foley said that was 17 years ago. The skit pretty much ended with both leaving the ring to start the show.
RANDY ORTON VS. SHEAMUS
Good match, kind of a surprise how clean Sheamus went over as he got the pin with two Brogue kicks after escaping the RKO. It looks like the smart money may be accurate here with the long odds that usually end up correct. They kind of telegraphed it as Orton hit the RKO early but Sheamus rolled out of the ring. Not as good as their last PPV match.
PRIME TIME PLAYERS VS. NEW DAY VS. LOS MATADORES VS. LUCHA DRAGONS FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES
The New Day sang before the match and got over huge as faces with the fans chanting “New Day Rocks” when it was over. Xavier Woods in particular has a hell of a voice Match was sloppy early but the last few minutes were good and crowd loved it because New Day won the title. Kingston & Big E were the team and Woods never stopped talking at ringside. Kingston pinned one of the Matadores, I think Fernando, doing the stealing the pin after O’Neil used Clash of the Titus on Fernando. Right before the finish the Dragons were looking at doing a double superplex on Fernando, but O’Neil power bombed eeryone.
Jon Stewart said he was friend with Undertaker with Neville and Stephan Amell and Stewart’s son. Undetraker walked post with smoke following him. Then Amell signed Stewart’s son’s shirt.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. RUSEV
Lana is out of the business suits and now wearing a jeans outfit.
The match ended in a double count out. Rusev had the accolade on for a while but let it go when Lana distracted him by attacking Summer Rae. Rusev was then yelling at Lana, which distracted Lana and Summer attacked. Ziggler had rolled out of the ring and superkicked Rusev. Rusev was laid out and Ziggler couldn’t beat the count. Ziggler was pounding on Rusev after the match. Summer jumped on Ziggler and Lana made the save. The women went at it and were pulled apart by the guys. Crowd booed the double count out a lot, but got into the women rolling around and chanted “Let them go.” Match was okay before the finish. Rusev did some impressive stuff for his size.
STEPHEN AMELL & NEVILLE VS. KING BARRETT & STARDUST
Amell dd a few good athletic things such as a leap frog ea . Crowd didn’t seen to care about him at first, but they popped pretty big when he did a plancha to the floor onto both heels. Relatively short match. Neville pinned Barrett with the red arrow right afer the plancha spot. Neville was real good when he was in. Amell was better than he had any business being. Match was about what you’d think it would be overall.
RYBACK VS. BIG SHOW VS. THE MIZ FOR THE IC TITLE
It’s looking like the smart money was in for this show. Ryback retained when Show knocked out Miz but Ryback clotheslined Show over the top and pinned Miz. Short match but lots of near falls, with Miz kept going for pins on both guys such as when Ryback used the shell shock on Show and when Show hit Ryback with a knockout punch and each time Miz tried to get the pin but they kicked out. Actaully Miz went for about a dozen pins. The first time people expected a change but after that they really didn’t. Match was nothing special but it was really exactly what it shoiuld have been.
Jon Stewart was mad about Brock Lesnar. He confronted Paul Heyman about Lesnar breaking the streak. He was asking Heyman how he felt with all the people wanting to see Undertaker win at WrestleMania. It feels like there is more to this. Heyman looked at Stewart and said I guess they couldn’t get Letterman to do this show.
ROMAN REIGNS & DEAN AMBROSE VS. BRAY WYATT & LUKE HARPER
Best match so far, but shorter than you’d think. Fast paced with a real hot open with stiff kicks by Harper, a tope by Ambrose, a tope by Harper,etc. Reigns was superkicked over the table and sold for a few minutes and Ambrose sold. Reigns made the hot tag and ran wild. The crowd cheered Ambrose and booed Reigns more than anyone so far on the show. The finish saw Ambrose use & Reigns use the Road Warrior clothesline on Wyatt, a double team power bomb on Harper, then the Dirty Deeds on Wyatt and Reigns speared Wyatt for the pin. It felt like a blow-off of Reigns vs. Wyatt.
SETH ROLLINS VS. JOHN CENA WWE TITLE VS. US TITLE
An absolutely incredible match with a finish that will garner a ton of publicity. Really for the building the company mainstream, this finish will get so much attention and Rollins will get a big rub out of this. There was a ref bump. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Rollins but no ref. Rollins was pinned for several seconds but when he got up, he gave Cena a knee to the nose and Cena went down Both were down when Jon Stewart ran in with a chair. He teased hitting Rollins, but instead, hit Cena in the gut and put the chair on the ground for Rollins to use the pedigree on the chair to win. Before that point Rollins put on a best in the world caliber performance, doing everything under the sun. He kicked out of the AA, Cena used the figure four with the tease that Cena would win the title with Flair’s big move. It was a match filled with highlights, with Rollins doing everything under the sun.
They announced a lot of new shows including the Stone Cold podcast with Edge & Christian.
They also announced the next MSG show on 10/3 will be a live network special built around Brock Lesnar again.
They also pushed a Hard Knocks show and a WWE 24 show on guys training at the performance center and NXT.
TEAM BELLA VS. TEAM PCB VS. TEAM BAD IN AN ELIMINATION MATCH
They gave them 15:00 and it was a good match, not like some of the NXT matchds but well above the usual WWE women’s match. Brie pinned Snuka in the first fall with the facebuster. The crowd booed that because it meant Sasha Banks was gone and she was the crowd favorite. There was a spot early in the match where Naomi and Banks did flip dives, the Bellas followed with a double tope and Fox took a spill into the pile ending with Fox doing a flip dive onto everyone. The finish saw Lynch pin Brie with a pump handle uranage. They pushed the idea that the Bellas now have to be concerned.
KEVIN OWENS VS. CESARO
They had a hard time this late in the show as the crowd was waiting for the main event at this point. But the match was very good from start to finish. Both looked great here. Owens won clean with the fisherman buster off the middle rope and a pop up power bomb. Owens needed the win, but Cesaro needs to have his momentum fed at this point. Both did dives with Cesaro doing a twisting tornillo dive as well as a giant swing and the sharpshooter but Owens made the ropes. It was a tough spot on the card for anyone and they did as well in the spot as anyone was going to tonight.
BROCK LESNAR VS UNDERTAKER
They immediately pushed in commentary that Brock Lesnar hasn’t lost a match clean in 2 1/2 years. They did a disputed finish. Lesanr had Undertaker in the Kimura and the bell rang. Charles Robinson, the ref, said that he never called for the bell. Lesnar celebrated like he won and Undertaker came from behind and gave him another low blow and put him in the Hell’s gate. Lesnar flipped Undertaker off but then passed out. The story is the timekeeper saw Undertaker tap out, and then in the replay they showed that Undertaker in fact did tap out but Robinson was on the other side and missed the tap. Obviously the finish is to build for a third match.
Really good physical match. Undertaker took several suplexes. Most of the match saw them kick out of big moves with Lesnar kicking out of the tombstone and then laughing at him. Lesnar also escaped the Hell’s Gate the first time. Lesnar did an F-5 on the announcers table but Undertaker got in before ten, and then Undertaker kicked out of two different F-5s and also escaped from the Kimura. Lesnar was bleeding a lot from a kick to the head early. For the most part, the crowd cheered both guys.
Paul Heyman was screaming “No” and fans were screaming “Yes.” Heyman said that everyone saw that Lesnar won by submission.
Tonight’s is one of the biggest pro wrestling events of the year, WWE SummerSlam from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn:
*Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker – The rematch of what is likely to go down in history of one of the most famous pro wrestling matches of all-time. A ton of different scenarios have been speculated on. In the end, the decision on the finish has to do with a few things, but the key being the direction they are going at WrestleMania. Based on that, Lesnar winning and Undertaker putting his career on the line at Mania makes sense. But they could also have Undertaker, since he’s teased the heel turn, win with help of a returning Kane and using Mania as the final conflict. Whatever it is, tonight and tomorrow’s TV are likely to tell the story of Undertaker’s role at Mania.
*Seth Rollins vs. John Cena for the WWE and U.S. title – This one has been debated heavily. Cena is going for his so-called record tying 16th world title (I guess you could say pro wrestling records are fake anyway, but 16 is hardly the record as Lou Thesz and Ric Flair, among others, have had far more). Rollins having the U.S. belt doesn’t make sense right now. The role of Sheamus and Money in the Bank was teased, but Sheamus as world champion feels like a major come down.
*Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper – The faces have been winning most of the TV matches. It feels like they are going to keep Reigns occupied with Wyatt for a while.
*Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens – With Owens losing so much lately, he’s kind of due a win. However, Cesaro has momentum and should be fed. Given the New York crowd, if these two are given time, they could steal the show and will probably get a bigger reaction here than in most cities.
*Randy Orton vs. Sheamus – Orton won their last meeting. If Sheamus is getting the title soon, it makes sense for Orton to win again, combined with his win via DQ over Seth Rollins which in theory should have him in the title picture. On paper this should be very good.
*Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev – One would think the women would get involved and lead to the finish. Ziggler is usually really popular to the New York Hardcore crowd. Whatever they do is likely building to a rematch and perhaps a mixed tag or some sort of direction leading to more involvement of Lana and Summer Rae.
*Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show for the IC title – The way Miz has been booked, it almost seems like he’s being buried as a joke to somehow sneak over between the monsters in the same way Daniel Bryan got his first world title with Show and Mark Henry.
*Prime Time Players vs. New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores for the tag team title – New Day should win. The Prime Time Players needed credibility when they took the spot of the injured Tyson Kidd & Cesaro as the New Day’s rivals, so that would explain them getting the titles in the first place. But it should be New Day’s time now.
*Team PCB (Paige & Charlotte & Becky Lynch) vs. Team Bella (Bella Twins & Alicia Fox) vs. Team Bad (Naomi & Sasha Banks & Tamina Snuka – It will be very interesting how the crowd reacts here, particularly coming off Banks’ great match last night in the same building. This is an elimination match so it’ll go two falls, and with all the push of the women, it’ll get time. Team PCB has been put over the most on television of the three squads. What would make sense is Nikki Bella getting pinned in the second fall by either Banks or Charlotte and that leads to a title match.
*Neville & Stephen Amell vs. Stardust & King Barrett – Usual protocol is the celebrity goes over, in this case Stardust losing.
Lesnar vs. Undertaker was not good the last time they did it, although Undertaker got a concussion early. I think that puts pressure on them, since one would think they’re going on last and there will be great matches underneath, to put on a killer match. I’m sure it’ll be set up for that.
There is some pressure after last night’s strong show, but if last night’s crowd is any indication, they can make average matches seem good, and good matches seem great.
Feedback, polls and show report requests:
We’re looking for your thoughts on SummerSlam as well as NXT for the weekend polls, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re also looking for reports on the Friday night GFW tapings in Las Vegas and last night’s GFW tapings in Reno.
UFC tonight as well on FS 1
Fight Pass at 6 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Pacific
Misha Cirkunov (205) vs. Daniel Jolly (204)
Shane Campbell (155) vs. Elias Silverio (154.5)
FS 1 from 7 p.m. Eastern until around midnight
Chris Kelades (125.5) vs. Chris Beal (126)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima (205) vs. Nikita Krylov (205.5)
Yves Jabouin (135.5) vs. Felipe Arantes (135.5)
Sam Stout (155) vs. Frankie Perez (155.5)
Maryna Moroz (115) vs. Valerie Letourneau (116)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. Tony Sims (155.5)
Chad Laprise (155.5) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (155.5)
Patrick Cote (170) vs. Josh Burkman (170)
Neil Magny (170.5) vs. Erick Silva (171)
Max Holloway (145) vs. Charles Oliveira (145.5)
Raw will be tomorrow night, before the third straight sellout crowd at the Barclays Center. It’s expected to be the highest rated episode of the show since the day after WrestleMania. Brock Lesnar and Undertaker are both scheduled for the show.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Providence, RI
We’ve got a new double issue of the Observer up on the site which, on the 55th anniversary of the birth of the AWA, features a look at the history of the AWA and the career of Verne Gagne. The issue also covers the buildup to SummerSlam, the most detailed look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, the History of G-1, Anderson Silva’s hearing and suspension, UFC’s stadium event in Australia, the death of Roller Games heel Mizz Georgia Hase, as well as the monthly WWE & TNA business rundown.
****
The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.
Last week’s FREE Figure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
****
WWE’s weekend in Brooklyn is the main story in this weeks Wrestling Observer Newsletter now available. This includes both Summerslam on Sunday as well as NXT Takeover on Saturday. We also have full coverage of the now finished G1 Climax and what the results mean for NJPW in the near future. In addition we look at UFC teamsters looking at options of unionization and the morale issues that spawned it. We also have a look at the AAA TripleMania PPV show, UFC ratings increases, the brawl at the WSOF show, UFC suing Wanderlei Silva and Layla retiring.
The issue is on the site right now at August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!
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 Meltzer
You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
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.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
Our big feature looks back at the career of Verne Gagne and the history of the most famous version of the AWA.
We look at the beginnings of the Gagne legend in wrestling and the start of his pro career. We look back at his football offers, his world junior heavyweight title win, the period that Gagne was one of the highest paid athletes in the country and how politics changed the course of his career.
We look at the Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne series and why it abruptly ended and why Gagne was never considered for the NWA title even though he’d have likely made a better champion than those chosen ahead of him.
We’ve got a complete history of the career of Gagne and his various honors.
We look at the war in Chicago in the 50s, the most controversial NWA title match of its era, and both the real reason and storyline reason for the formation of the AWA. We look at the first-ever AWA show, the first-ever AWA title match, the first feuds that put the AWA on the map as a significant organization and its first attempt at doing a stadium show.
We look at some of the AWA’s biggest money feuds in history, and the role the AWA played in getting two of the biggest promotions in the country at the time to join the NWA. We also look at the ironies about Gagne with his own actions and with his complaints about the actions of Vince McMahon.
We look at the era when the AWA title was one of the big three belts. We also look at the first big heyday of the AWA in the late 60s and early 70s, including a look back at a number of stadium shows in Chicago.
We look at the Hulk Hogan-fueled second AWA heyday, how the heel Hulk Hogan from the WWF became the babyface Hulk Hogan in the AWA. We look at Gagne’s role in creating Hulkamania, the first Verne Gagne retirement show, and many coming out of retirement shows. We look at the Gagne-Hogan relationship including the time Gagne tried to shoot on Hogan and what happened.
We looked at why the stories about Gagne being stupid in not putting the AWA title on Hogan show a lack of understanding of the time, and why it would have been the worst thing long-term for him. We look at the business reason why it wasn’t done.
We look at Hogan’s departure for the WWF, and why it had to happen.
We look at the AWA after Hogan, including Jesse Ventura’s departure, Gagne’s business practices that started killing his company, how competition exposed the AWA, and the hard fall at the end. We also look at the deal that kept the AWA alive a little longer, new stars who got early breaks at the end, and the end of the company.
We’ve also got a look at all the news leading into WWE’s second biggest week of the year. We look at the ESPN coverage and why, Lesnar talking Vince McMahon vs. Dana White, the irony of Lesnar calling wrestling fake and the lack of reaction from within wrestling, Jon Stewart, Learn vs. Undertaker reaction, weekend schedule, talk about next year’s SummerSlam and much more.
We also have a look at the finals of this year’s G-1 Climax tournament.
We look at how G-1 started, whose idea it was and what was its original goal. We look at the first G-1 tournament and how it related to the 25th tournament this past week.
We look at the big matches on the last three days, what appears to be the Tokyo Dome plans and the storyline behind it. We look at what will probably be New Japan’s biggest matches of the fall before the Dome, including who Kazuchika Okada will likely headline PPVs against as well as who Hiroshi Tanahashi is also likely to face in big matches this fall.
We compare the New Japan top stars to the All Japan stars of the 90s, as well as look at the G-1 business. We look at how four different shows in Tokyo did going against each other.
We also update the business of New Japan World and talk about next year’s G-1 tournament including who can go, who has to stay and who can be brought in to make the tournament even more interesting.
We update the injuries and the final standings, character changes, the ROH relationship, the real story behind Jushin Liger working for WWE this weekend, and the build for Tenryu’s retirement match.
We also have complete rundowns of all three nights at Sumo Hall, including match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We also have the complete history of the New Japan annual heavyweight tournament dating back to 1974.
We also look at Minneapolis and WrestleMania and the last stadium show in that market 29 years ago, we look at the future of NXT, Roman Reigns talks about when he found out he wasn’t winning the title ad his reaction, when Seth Rollins found out he was winning, as well as Reigns talks about the briefcase hitting him in the head in Victoria.
We look at how a WWE PPV is going against one of the biggest television events of the year.
We also look at the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s hearing on Anderson Silva’s drug test failures. We look at the comedy provided from Silva, why he was so lucky this didn’t happen after July, his excuses, evidence, penalties and commission reaction.
We also look at the UFC’s attempt at its biggest live event ever at Etihad Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia. We look at the decision the company had been considering all year and why it went the way it did.
We look at the death of Georgia Hase, the 80s Roller Games heel manager from the ESPN ear and before that. We look at her unique role during that period when Roller Games tried to build itself around pretty girls.
We also look at the CMLL anniversary show main event and how quickly it came to be, a guy said to be returning in two weeks after tearing his pec, and at 54 years old, the next AAA TV taping, updates on U.S. stars returning to Mexico and a top indie star and top CMLL star feuding.
We also look at Dragon Gate’s last major show and the upcoming tag team tournament. We look at All Japan’s latest Triple Crown title match. We at talks of New Japan putting the G-1 finals on PPV as well as notes on the next New Japan tour. We also note that both of New Japan’s tag team champions are entering a European tournament.
We also look at one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time, whose wife is having the couple’s first child, as well as a UWFI nostalgia show this past week.
We look at the retirement from television of legendary wrestling announcer Dave Brown, talking about his career both in and out of wrestling. We’ve got a lot more details on the Jake Roberts redemption DVD and who will be at the debut including an MMA star.
We look at a new TV series featuring Edge, as well as look at what is and isn’t real between Jim Cornette and the Young Bucks. We also look at the background of their issues.
We update on Global Force Wrestling, the debut of the Minnesota pro wrestling Hall of Fame, update on where Lucha Underground stare are working, and update wrestling in Puerto Rico.
We also update TNA including talks of an overseas television show, Jeff Jarrett reconnecting with his father, Mike Tenay’s new podcast, TNA shows and direction.
We also look at what could be UFC’s biggest show of the year, Chris Weidman wants Jon Jones, Fabricio Werdum’s next title defense against Cain Velasquez and a look at the heavyweight division, this week’s show, return of Anthony Pettis, next year’s attempt to run in Madison Square Garden, update on all the championships, a look at UFC fighter pay, a UFC fighter gets in a bar fight and tons of new UFC fights.
We also have notes on Bellator business and Scott Coker’s predictions for the biggest live event in company history as well as bringing legends of the sport to San Jose, as well as Coker’s long-term goals for the promotion, Was there really a chance for a Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz fight, the final Bellator major event of the year and the lineup, the debut of Josh Thomson and Thomson talks leaving UFC and how badly hurt he was by the Reebok deal.
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.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. 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.
SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1983 – Marty Jones & Clive Myers beat David Finlay & Skull Murphy (Peter Northey) to win the World of Sports tag team tournament
1986 – Yukari Omori beat Devil Masami in Kawasaki to win the WWWA title and Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano beat Chigusa Nagayo & Kazue Nagahori to win the WWWA tag titles
1993 – Masa Fuchi beat Dan Kroffat in Shizuoka to win the All Japan jr. title
1998 – Chigusa Nagayo beat Devil Masami in Tokyo to win the AAAW title and Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki beat Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato to win the tag titles
1998 – AAA Psicosis & AAA Histeria & AAA Mosco & Maniaco beat Los Villanos III &* IV & V & Pierroth Jr. to win the Mexican national atomicos titles
1999 – Hayabusa beat Yukihiro Kanemaru in Tokyo to win the FMW Brass Knux title and Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hisakatsu Oya beat Koji Nakagawa & Gedo to win the tag titles
2000 – Kensuke Sasaki beat Manabu Nakanishi in Tokyo to win the G-1 Climax tournament
2009 – Kota Ibushi beat Harashima in Tokyo to win the KOD Open weight title.
ESPN has sent some video out highlighting its WWE SummerSlam coverage this weekend:
*****
WWE today promoted John Cena’s granting the 500th wish which will actually take place on Monday before Raw at the Barclay’s Center. Since the founding of Make-a-wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted the number of wishes as Cena.
Make-A-Wish® Celebrates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for Granting Record 500 Wishes
John Cena to become the first celebrity wish granter in the organization’s 35 year history to reach the milestone
PHOENIX (August 21, 2015) – Make-A-Wish® congratulates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for granting 500 wishes through the wish granting organization. Cena will achieve the landmark wish total when he spends time with Rocco, an 8-year-old from Queens, NY, battling leukemia, before WWE Monday Night Raw® at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. For Rocco, the chance to hang out with the WWE Superstar will be a wish-come-true. For Cena, the meeting will be his 500th opportunity to bring hope and optimism to a wish child battling a life-threatening medical condition.
Since the founding of Make-A-Wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted as many wishes as Cena. To acknowledge Cena and his contributions to Make-A-Wish, WWE and Make-A-Wish joined together to host a party on Friday, Aug. 21, at a Dave & Buster’s in New York City. Attendees included John Cena, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO David Williams, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Divas The Bella Twins® – Nikki and Brie, WWE Superstar Sheamus®, wish kids and their families. At the event, WWE announced a multi-year, million dollar commitment to Make-A-Wish – a symbol of WWE’s on-going support for wish granting.
In addition to wish granting, Cena regularly goes above and beyond to support the mission of Make-A-Wish. He haspersonally donated more than 6 million airline miles for wishes involving travel, hosted parties for wish kids at WrestleMania® and served as a Wish Ambassador at speaking engagements. Cena is also a recipient of the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award, which Make-A-Wish awarded him in 2009. In 2012, he also received an award to mark the milestone of his 300th wish, something no other celebrity or athlete has achieved.
“John Cena’s slogan, ‘Never Give UpTM,’ is a constant source of inspiration for wish kids and serves as a reminder to stay strong and keep pushing through the difficult times,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO. “The fact that he has had the sustained success required to reach 500 wishes speaks volumes about the type of person John is and the quality of the wish experience he delivers.”
“There is no more humbling experience than a child who could ask for anything in the world asking to meet me,” said WWE Superstar John Cena. “I have faced some of the toughest Superstars in WWE history and I’ve never encountered more bravery or toughness than I see in each wish kid that I meet. It is inspiring to see the impact that granting wishes can have and I look forward to granting 500 more.”
WWE has been involved in wish granting since the early 1980s, beginning shortly after the founding of Make-A-Wish. The popularity of WWE has endured throughout the years with a total wish count in the thousands. Since 2001, more than 45 Superstars and Divas have individually been requested, and subsequently, granted a wish. To learn more about Make-A-Wish and the WWE relationship, visit wish.org.
by WrestlingObserver.com Staff
All eyes are on WWE as they host three sold out shows this weekend, the main attraction being a four hour Summerslam on Sunday. We will have full coverage of all the events over the weekend including live results and post show audio with Dave and Bryan. ROH is also hosting a New Japan Crossover event tonight featuring Jay Leathal, Shinsuke Nakamura, Okata and others. In addition to wrestling action UFC fight night is headlined sunday with a bout between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira.
Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive will give a preview NXT takeover, UFC and SummerSlam, speak about Rondas next oppenent and your calls on Wrestling Observer Live available here or through the iHeart Radio App. Here is today’s show: Wrestling Observer Live 8/21: SummerSlam weekend, Ronda Rousey’s next fight, open line Fridays, more!
Tonight:
Ring of Honor Presents: Aftershock
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2015
7:30PM BELL TIME
New Japan on AXS
Description: “Hiroshi Tanahashi vs rival Katsuyori Shibata in a brutal five-star classic encounter. Togi Makabe meets Hirooki Goto.”
Feedback, polls and show report requests:
We’re looking for ROH Philly, GFW Vegas, and sights/sounds/spottings from #SummerSlam. Email Newstips
****
The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.
Last week’s FREE Figure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
****
WWE’s weekend in Brooklyn is the main story in this weeks Wrestling Observer Newsletter now available. This includes both Summerslam on Sunday as well as NXT Takeover on Saturday. We also have full coverage of the now finished G1 Climax and what the results mean for NJPW in the near future. In addition we look at UFC teamsters looking at options of unionization and the morale issues that spawned it. We also have a look at the AAA TripleMania PPV show, UFC ratings increases, the brawl at the WSOF show, UFC suing Wanderlei Silva and Layla retiring.
The issue is on the site right now at August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!
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 Meltzer
You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
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.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We look at the WWE events in Brooklyn with three straight full houses and look historically at the only other promotion that has been able to do it historically and the record, as well as updates on the NXT and SummerSlam shows and more details on the NXT card as well as the probable main event stipulation and ticket demand.
We have a complete look at the G-1 Climax tournament, including updates on the last few days, the standings, the Sumo Hall preview and coverage of all the shows this past week with star ratings.
We’ve got a look at the attempts to unionize UFC fighters, the real story behind the attempt, the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters and why they probably could have written it better, and a look at UFC business.
We also look at the wealth of Vince McMahon, Rosa Mendes being pregnant, WWE injury updates, lawsuits, weird match, Tough Enough, new names, insider trading, Raw advance, Diva search news plus notes on all the weekend WWE & NXT events.
We look at TripleMania, all the problems with the show, what happened with the Spanish language broadcast, mistakes made in booking, how the card had to change from its original plans, the letter AAA sent out after, the retirements and Hall of Fame ceremony, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
We’ve got notes on the funeral of Roddy Piper, more on the Hulk Hogan tapes story, Hogan’s first public appearance, two Roddy Piper moves that haven’t come out, one of the biggest stars of the last ten years suffering a major health issue, a former star gets his number retired, a U.K. star returns after cancer, a retirement that probably isn’t a retirement, a Japanese promotion running in October in California, a wrestler having his first match in 20 years, the second oldest living wrestler and his background, big shows in Puerto Rico and news no two different wrestling Halls of Fame.
We also have an update on the status of Lucha Underground, what changes have to be made, the audience watching the show, what to look out for, notes on the contracts the performers have, update on Vampiro and coverage of both weeks of Ultima Lucha.
We also look at the ROH show in Brooklyn, TNA Hall of fame ceremony, and upcoming TNA house shows.
We also look at McGregor vs. Aldo, a big show vs. normal show, Las Vegas vs. Cowboys Stadium, Rousey vs. Cyborg update, Lawler vs. McGregor, UFC financials, how much it costs them every year just in interest on their bond, what kind of profits they are making, lots of ratings into, Rousey business notes, the Aldo drug testing fiasco, Overeem vs. Dos Santos, Punk vs. Pendred, fighter already talking about coming out of retirement, and lots of new UFC fights.
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.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. 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.
Friday Update: