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  • WWE Smackdown results: Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

    – Air Date: June 9, 2016
    – Location: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS

    – The Big News:

    Chris Jericho beat Dean Ambrose.

    – Show Recap:

    The Club Speaks

    The Club came out to start the show as the announcers plugged Money in the Bank. Both Ranallo and Lawler said it was shaping up to be the greatest MITB ever. That was followed by AJ Styles saying the same thing moments later.

    Styles said people were comparing Money in the Bank to WrestleMania, not just because Gallows and Anderson are fighting for the tag titles, but because of the dream match between himself and John Cena. He reminded us this could be the last time we see it because of the brand split. The crowd chanted “Cena” and there was no anti-Cena chant in response.

    Styles said the past decade has been the Cena era, but it was time for a change, and the new era will begin when he takes out Cena. Styles said when he came to WWE, he let the company know that the Club was a package deal (revisionist history). He said they have dominated everywhere, he would beat Cena, and Gallows and Anderson would become the new tag champions.

    They were interrupted by Enzo and Cass. Enzo did his usual promo. Cass said they would be the ones to win the titles, and he called Gallows and Anderson the “Mr. Clean dream team.” Anderson cut them off and said they’ve been all over the world for years proving that they’re the best. Anderson asked Enzo what he was doing all that time and mocked him for being the manager of a Hooters.

    Enzo said yeah, of course he managed a Hooters, he’s a G. Gallows mocked him for going to sleep the last time they had a big match, and Styles actually started dancing like Enzo. Enzo said he risks it all every time he steps in the ring, he and Cass are all-in, they came here to get money, and at Money in the Bank they would beat the crap out of the Club. Cass called them soft.

    Side note: There was a graphic on the stage for MITB, saying it was “a week from this Sunday.” They can’t just put the date?

    Gallows & Anderson (w/AJ Styles) NC Enzo & Cass

    The match started after a break, and New Day were at commentary. Big E said they brought a broom because they were going to clean up the tag division, which they called a mess. The Club worked over Enzo for a while when the Vaudevillains walked out on stage as they went to commercial.

    Enzo nailed a tornado DDT on Gallows and made the hot tag to Cass, who hit Anderson with a fallaway slam, big boot and elbow drop. Gallows broke up the cover, so Cass booted him out of the ring. Anderson dumped out Cass and the Vaudevillains made their way down the ramp, so New Day left commentary to go after them.

    The fight spilled into the ring, all four teams brawled, and the referee called for the bell. The segment ended with Enzo and Cass knocking the Vaudevillains out of the ring and standing tall, while New Day stared down the Club as they slowly backed away up the ramp.

    They played the Muhammad Ali tribute video. Before it aired, Mauro Ranallo put over Ali as a three-time champion and called him a paragon of philanthropy. Jerry Lawler was grateful to have Ali in Memphis and said he told Lawler that he was the greatest of all time.

    Renee Young asked Rusev and Lana about Rusev backing down from Titus O’Neil. Lana thought that was ridiculous. Rusev called himself the greatest of all time, not Muhammad Ali. Lots of heat. O’Neil interrupted, offended Rusev compared himself to Ali. O’Neil quoted Ali and told Rusev he was taking the U.S. Title.

    Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio beat Cesaro & Sami Zayn via pinfall

    Owens started with Zayn when Del Rio tagged himself in. Del Rio worked on his own for a while, but when he went to tag out, Owens told him he was doing a great job and left. As Owens walked backwards up the ramp, giving Del Rio two thumbs up, Zayn ran after him. Owens then sprinted to the back, which was funny.

    That left Cesaro alone with Del Rio. Cesaro gave him a cannonball off the apron, jumped on the announce table to celebrate, and high-fived Ranallo. After a break, Lawler called Ranallo a homer for high-fiving Cesaro. After Cesaro hit a suplex, Zayn and Owens brawled back down the ramp. Zayn rolled Owens in the ring and he got into an argument with Del Rio.

    Del Rio was about to leave, so Owens cut him off. Zayn used the opportunity to hit Owens with a dive. Del Rio tossed Zayn into the barricade, Cesaro gave Del Rio a running uppercut and suplex on the black mats. Cesaro followed with a flying crossbody for a near fall. Cesaro went for the big swing, but Owens superkicked him, Zayn suplexed Owens, Del Rio kicked Zayn, and Cesaro uppercut Del Rio.

    Cesaro did the uppercut train on Del Rio and applied the sharpshooter, but let go to get rid of Owens. He tried a superplex on Del Rio, but Owens tripped him off the top. That allowed Del Rio to hit the double foot stomp. As soon as he did, Owens pulled Del Rio out of the ring, tossed him into the barricade, and pinned Cesaro for the win. Really good match that went about 14 minutes.

    Becky Lynch (w/Natalya) beat Dana Brooke (w/Charlotte) via submission

    Quickly into the match, Brooke slapped Natalya, but before Natalya could retaliate, Charlotte tackled her. The referee kicked them out. Lynch was distracted, so Brooke got a near fall with a school boy. Brooke tried her finisher, but Lynch rolled through and applied the Disarmer for the tapout win. Match was 3 minutes and was the only women’s segment on the show.

    Life Lessons with Darren Young

    Bob Backlund wanted to see how Young would celebrate a win. Young thought maybe the millions of dollars dance, or a moonwalk. Backlund told him to be down to earth and save his money. Young agreed to save his money, and asked Backlund how he’s saved his money. Backlund deadpanned, “This is my only pair of clothes.” This segment was… slightly better than usual.

    Baron Corbin beat Kalisto via pinfall

    Corbin won in 3 minutes with the End of Days. Dolph Ziggler was on commentary and kept calling Corbin “kid” and also a millennial.

    Throughout the show, they aired about 3 or 4 clips from the Ambrose-Jericho feud to hype tonight’s main event. Before the main event, the announcers again put over MITB as a huge show, calling the two main events WrestleMania caliber.

    Backstage skit with Sheamus and friends

    Sheamus was watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on TV (or a trailer anyway), as Zack Ryder, Goldust, R-Truth and Summer Rae stood there too for some reason. Sheamus informed them that he plays a giant rhinoceros, and Ryder joked it must’ve been hard for Sheamus to get into character. Sheamus had a funny comeback, saying Ryder dresses up in his bedroom like a Ninja Turtle, but he was actually in the movie.

    Sheamus put himself over as a star, like the new Rock, when Apollo Crews joined and got in his face. Sheamus asked if he was starstruck, so Crews punched him in the face, putting Sheamus on his ass. Crews left, Truth made a joke, and they all laughed. Sheamus threw boxes at them and yelled.

    Chris Jericho beat Dean Ambrose via pinfall

    Jericho was pissed about the thumbtacks, so he slapped Ambrose. He then ran away from Ambrose who chased after, eventually hitting a clothesline and chops. As Jericho got some offense, he yelled some more, claiming it was 69 thumbtacks pulled out of him. Ambrose came back with a suicide dive and tried a Dirty Deeds on the announce table, but Jericho countered and catapulted him off.

    Jericho had control after a break as the crowd chanted “Let’s go Ambrose.” Ambrose made a comeback but Jericho cut him off with a flying enziguri. Ambrose used a la magistral cradle for a near fall.

    They countered each other’s finishers, when Jericho whipped Ambrose toward the turnbuckles. However, Ambrose had to stop himself from running into the referee, and when he turned around, Jericho hit the Codebreaker for the win. Huh.

    The match was about 14 minutes. Jericho set up a ladder in the corner and tried to toss Ambrose into it, but Ambrose reversed and tossed Jericho into it instead. Ambrose then dropped the ladder onto Jericho’s back. Ambrose was about to leave but stopped as the crowd chanted “one more time.” Ambrose stood up the ladder, climbed it, and hit Jericho with an elbow drop. Ambrose stood tall.

    – Final Thoughts:

    The first half of the show was pretty good, as the tag match with Owens/Del Rio vs. Cesaro/Zayn was actually before the top of the hour. The main event was good enough, but I hated the finish.

    Ambrose and Jericho feuded for months, leading to Ambrose getting the big win in the finale. They’ve protected Ambrose since losing to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, and not only did Ambrose beat Jericho in their blow-off match, he won the first one too.

    Having Jericho beat Ambrose randomly a few weeks later is pretty dumb, and a sign that they can’t handle a feud with 6 guys. They just keep fighting each other on every show and none of the results matter. They’re all still in the ladder match at MITB no matter what the result of any of these matches.

    They could’ve had Ambrose beat Del Rio, and put Jericho in the tag match instead. Or, Ambrose could’ve just beaten Jericho again. I certainly don’t think Jericho should be “putting over” everyone, but there’s nothing wrong with the story that Chris Jericho simply cannot beat Dean Ambrose.

  • NXT TakeOver live results: Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor cage match; Nakamura vs. Austin Aries

    While it might not be “The End” of NXT, tonight’s TakeOver show from Full Sail University in Florida will likely be the end of one of the longest and most entertaining rivalries in NXT history as Samoa Joe and Finn Balor will battle in a first for NXT: a steel cage match.

    Also on the show, Nakamura and Austin Aries look to advance to the next step in their respective NXT runs while NXT tag champions American Alpha are hoping this will be the end of their multi-month run against The Revival. NXT women’s champion Asuka looks to make a statement as she battles Nia Jax for the first time with the belt on the line, and Andrade Cien Almas finally makes his TV debut after months working NXT house shows, winning over crowds.

    Join us at 8 PM EST for NXT TakeOver: The End, live on WWE Network. Before you do, check out this preview, as well as today’s Wrestling Observer Live.

    **********

    Andrade Cien Almas vs. Tye Dillinger

    Almas won his debut in a hot five minute match. This was similar to Apollo Crews’ debut last August in that it was a more competitive match than most NXT debuts have been over the years. The fans at one point did dueling chants of “He’s 100” and “Perfect 10” as it was mentioned that Cien means one hundred in Spanish.

    There was a hot move where Andrade went for a moonsault, but Dillinger rolled out of the way. However, Andrade landed on his feet and immediately hit a standing moonsault to Dillinger. Dillinger got several near falls, including one after a superkick when Andrade was upside down on the top rope. In the end, Almas won with a running double knees in the corner while Dillinger was sitting in the corner.

    **********

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs. The Revival

    Revival became the first team to become two-time NXT Tag Team Champions as they won clean with Shatter Machine on Jordan. This was different than the usual American Alpha match as it didn’t start with several minutes of Gable and Jordan suplexing their opponents all over the place. Instead, it was more of a fight than a wrestling match.

    At one point, the fight broke down into a 4-way with Jordan and Gable doing simultaneous takedowns and then using a double ankle lock, which made the fans go bananas.

    Dawson hit a Spinebuster which looked nicer than Triple H’s. Dash and Dawson clipped Gable’s knee out during the heat and used a real nice double team combination legdrop for a near fall. Jordan made the hot tag and went all Full Suplex University on both men. Revival got many near falls before the finish, making you believe that they would lose at the end, but alas, they did not.

    The fans were legitimately shocked by the finish and then they were shocked further when The Authors of Pain (Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani) attacked American Alpha after the match was over! They laid out Gable and Jordan before WWE Hall of Famer and Road Warriors manager Paul Ellering appeared on the ramp nodding his approval. The fans chanted “Who are you?” at Ellering.

    The Authors of Pain have been working the Florida NXT house shows for a few months.

    Asuka was warming up with Seth Petruzelli backstage and Bayley walked in, offering a handshake.

    **********

    Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries

    Nakamura won with his second attempt at the Kinshasa. As expected, this was an excellent match. Aries had his ribs taped for some unknown reason, but that didn’t really play into the match. The fans sang Nakamura’s theme song, which, if you recall, is completely instrumental. It was pushed in commentary that no one had ever controlled Nakamura the way Aries was, while Aries stretched Nakamura on the mat. The story told was every time Nakamura would go for one of his moves, and Aries would have the counter.

    Nakamura kicked Aries seven ways from sideways when he was on offense. Nakamura, at one point, went for the Kinshasa, but Aries blocked it and suplexed Nakamura before locking on the Last Chancery. Aries gave Nakamura a death valley driver on the ring apron, which looked like it killed him. The crowd did that annoying thing where they count one number ahead of the referee during a countout. Aries went for a Suicide Dive, but Nakamura moved causing Aries to crash into the barricade. Nakamura threw him back in the ring for the finish.

    **********

    Tickets are on sale this Saturday at 12Noon for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

    **********

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax

    A much better match than expected. This built similar to the Nia-Bayley match from a few weeks ago where Jax just completely dominated Asuka from the bell. Every time Asuka went for a move, Nia would either block it or power out of it. Asuka’s biggest move was a kneebar, but Nia was right near the ropes.

    Asuka made her comeback using a series of spinning back fists that Nia was blocking with her face. Nia used a power bomb like during the contract signing last week, but Asuka somehow turned a pinfall attempt into an armbar. Asuka won with several hard kicks to the face and head.

    Not at the level of the great TakeOver matches, but still really really good.

    **********

    Earlier today, Mr. William Regal was talking to Cathy Kelly when Bobby Roode entered, walked past Mr. Regal, and entered the locker room.

    **********

    NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor in a steel cage match with pinfall, submission or escape rules

    Joe retained the title with a Muscle Buster off the middle rope in yet another excellent match. This was exactly the physical match you expect from these two and at least this time Joe didn’t accidentally bleed in the first 30 seconds of the match. Joe on two occasions hip tossed Balor into the cage.

    There was an amazing spot where both men were on the top rope and Finn went to hoist himself over the top of the cage, but Joe did his jumping Inzigiri to the back of Finn’s head, causing both men to crash onto the mat.

    Joe at one time was caught between the ropes and the cage. Balor was on the top rope and kicked Joe in the face, causing Joe to hunch over on the top rope, crotching Balor on the ropes. Later on in the match they were back on the top rope and Balor gave Joe a Slingblade off the top rope and then one normal one. Balor kicked out of a Muscle Buster and Joe kicked out of a Coup de Grace before the finish.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Slammiversary go-home show with Broken Matt Hardy

    Previously on Impact:

    Last week on Impact, Ethan Carter III was put in charge for the night. He had failed on his Road To Redemption and made a rematch with The Miracle for Slammiversary. Also, Matt and Jeff Hardy were featured in a series of very unique videos revolving a contract signing at Matt’s home in North Carolina and ended after Reby threw a fake doll at Jeff. This distraction allowed Matt to put Jeff through a table, which was done in slow motion.

    Tonight on Impact:

    Tonight’s Impact is the go-home show for Slammiversary this Sunday night.  All the key matches are set and the rest of the card should be filled out by the end of the night. In tonight’s main event, The Miracle and Maria take on EC3 and Gail Kim in a tag match. Additionally, Sienna and Madison Rayne go one on one to determine the number one contender for the Knockouts title on Sunday.

    Show Recap:

    – We kick the night off with the deranged and twisted Matt Hardy making his way to the ring. Josh Matthews reminds us that we’re 5 days away from Slammiversary.

    Matt took the mic and basically repeated everything he said for the last few weeks. He’s broken and it’s Jeff’s fault. He recaps the angle from last week and tells us that Jeff is out of his life. Matt wants his World title back and calls out current champion Drew Galloway. It must be noted that Drew has been really good in his role. Without saying anything, he was able to show that the new Matt disturbs him. Matt wants to be added to the main event at Slammiversary but Drew refuses and instead gives him a title shot tonight. It’s official for tonight; Drew defends the TNA title against Matt in the main event.

    – TNA Knockout Champion Jade comes out and takes a seat at ringside so she can get a better view of the next match.

    #1 Contenders Match Sienna w/ Allie vs. Madison Rayne

    Madison is introduced before the commercial. When we come back, Allie and Sienna are on their way to the ring. Allie is doing the intro for Sienna as they walk to the ring. Allie reminds Jade that if she interferes, Madison will be disqualified. On commentary, Josh tells us that next week they will reveal the 2016 TNA Hall of Fame Inductee. 

    Sienna dominated the match with power moves until Madison made a brief comeback. Sienna used her finisher, which The Pope called the “AK-47” to put away Madison and become the number one contender. Post match, Jade and Sienna brawled with Jade getting the better of Sienna.

    – Backstage, The Miracle and Maria recapped their respective feuds. They take on their Slammiversary opponents next.

    – Next we get a video package on the Galloway vs. Lashley feud that is very well done. It recapped Drew winning the title, pushing Lashley as a killer and recapped all of thier wild brawls. They’ve done a really good job with the build to this match.

    – Next we get a glimpse of Willow laughing. The announcers didn’t acknowledge it at all. Does anyone know where Jeff Hardy is?

    – Now we get a video of King of The Mountain Champion Eli Drake on top of a mountain. He mentioned tonight’s Fact of Life Championship Edition.

    – Back in the ring, its time for Fact of Life. Eli recapped winning the KOTM title and let us know that Bram will get his rematch Sunday. Eli introduced his guests, the TNA Tag Champs, Decay. So far, Eli has not used that ridiculous “Dummy, Yeah” Button. Decay discusses their match on Sunday until the challengers, BroMans, interrupt them. Josh and The Pope say that BroMans have a new look because they have a new manager. There was nothing new about them.

    BroMans bring out Grado and Mahabali Shera to even the odds. Eli started using the “Dummy, Yeah” button and kept pressing the button over and over. Is there anything more annoying? Yes, there is and its Al Snow with a whistle. The Tribunal ran out and a huge brawl broke out. Al Snow was acting like a coach blowing on his whistle (insert dirty joke here). Bram joined the brawl and we cut to commercial.

    The Tribunal (Basille Baracca & Baron Dax) w/ Al Snow, Decay (Abyss & Crazy Steve) w/ Rosemary and Eli Drake vs. Bram, Grado, Mahabali Shera and BroMans (Robbie E. and Jesse Godderz) w/Raquel

    – We come back from commercial and a ten men tag match is in progress. All these teams are involved in matches at Slammiversary. The Pope says that he talked to Al Snow earlier and he wants to be known as “The Coach”. Al blew on the whistle the entire match. It was very similar to John Tolos’s “Coach” gimmick when he was briefly in the WWE.

    Robbie hit a cross body off the top onto Decay and Jesse on the floor. Bram runs wild on The Tribunal and clears them from the ring. Eli uses a low blow and pins Grado to win the match for his team.

    – In the back, Jeremy Borash interviews EC3 and Gail Kim. Like every week, EC3 cuts an awesome promo. He gets better and better each week.

    – Backstage, Lashley approached Matt who was randomly kneeling. Matt again mentioned that Jeff is gone forever. Lashley isn’t letting anyone stand in the way of his title match on Sunday.

    – The Miracle, Maria and Allie made their way to the ring. Maria has a bag with her.

    – Next we get an UFC style weigh-in for the EC3 vs. The Miracle match for Slammiversary hosted by Joe Rogan…er…Josh Matthews.  Of course it ended in a brawl.

    Ethan Carter III and Gail Kim vs. “The Miracle” Mike Bennett and “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis

    Before the match, Maria takes the mic and announces that she will not participate in the match. Instead, her assistant Allie will take her place. Allie is surprised but luckily Maria brought Allie’s gear.

    The Miracle teased starting the match with EC3 but he tagged out to Allie. Allie screeched at the top of her lungs until EC3 told her to shut up. Gail Kim tagged in and dominated Allie until Maria tripped up Gail. The guys tagged in and EC3 ran wild on The Miracle. EC3 sent Miracle to the outside. Allie attacked EC3, who no sold every slap. Gail hit a cross body onto Maria and Allie from the top to the outside. EC3 chased The Miracle to the back after Miracle tried to use a chair. Gail rolled up Allie to win the match for her team.

    Post match, Sienna joined Allie and Maria in a beat down of Gail. They place Gail’s knee in a chair and Maria hit it with another chair.

    – Before the commercial, we get another short glimpse of Willow, which the announcers didn’t acknowledge.

    – In the back, we see Braxton Sutter warming up. Josh informs us that he’ll make his debut later tonight.

    TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee w/Gregory Shane Helms vs. Eddie Edwards

    As Eddie made his way to the ring, we get a recap of Eddie getting screwed out of the X Division title 2 weeks ago in Ultimate X. Eddie and Lee brawled around ringside to start the match. They have a really good back and forth competitive match. These two should really be on Impact more often. It was full of fast paced action with intense shots and highflying moves.

    Eddie was on top when Andrew Everett pushed him off but Lee only got a near fall. DJ Z came out but Helms took him out with a vicious shot. Helms hit Eddie with the X Division title and Lee pinned him to retain the title.

    – In the back, Lashley and Galloway had a face to face. Drew said that if he can make Kurt Angle tap he could do the same to Lashley.

    – Back from commercial, Gail is being checked on in the back. She’s in agonizing pain.

    – We see the video of Braxton Sutter from last week. He wants to be world champion eventually.

    Braxton Sutter debuts

    They make a big deal out of Braxton’s debut. He seems very nervous which Josh and The Pope point out. This was a good debut for Sutter. It was basically a squash match. Sutter uses the downward spiral to win.

    After the match, J.B. interviewed Sutter at ringside. The fans gave him a great reaction. He said he was going to be at Slammiversary. He ended the segment by saying, “its no B.S”, which are his initials.

    – Next we get a typical Willow promo in the back.

    TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy

    The Pope and Josh point out that they haven’t heard from Jeff but they did just see Willow.

    Drew and Matt always have good matches against each other. Drew gave Matt a backbreaker on the apron and then Matt gave Drew a side effect on the stairs. Matt is in control of the match until Drew counters a submission attempt by Matt. Drew set up for the Claymore when Lashley ran in for the DQ. Pope explained that Lashley interfered because he wants to be the one to beat Drew.

    Lashley and Drew brawled around ringside and to the back.

    Matt’s in the ring and saying that he should be champion. The lights went out and when they came back on the fans in the front are all wearing Willow Masks. This freaked out Matt. Then four guys wearing Willow masks came out. Willow cut a promo on the big screen. Then Jeff’s music hit and Jeff Hardy came out, not Willow. Jeff and Matt brawl in the ring to end the show.

    Next Time on Impact:

    Next week on a live edition Impact, the show will revolve around the fallout and aftermath from Slammiversary. Plus, next week they’ll reveal the 2016 inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame.

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals results: Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    Here are the results for the Best of the Super Juniors 2016 finals, held live this morning in Sendai. A lot of tags fill this card, but there was also some pretty good build towards Dominion, plus we had a stellar main event. Here are the results:

    Jay White vs. David Finlay

    This was different than their other matches as it had an air of intensity that’s sometimes has lacked in their other bouts. Went by pretty fast. Finlay laid out White with a European uppercut and went to grab him but White caught him in a small package and pinned him.

    Yoshitatsu and Captain New Japan vs. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi

    Match was better than you’d think considering who was in here. The crowd helped a lot. Yujiro picked up the win with the Miami Shine. I’m pretty sure this is the first win for Yujiro in 2016. 

    Katsuyori Shibata and Juice Robinson vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata

    Of course, the focus here was on Nagata and Shibata. Pretty solid action from everyone. Nakanishi actually moved pretty well for once, all things considering. He’s even been doing a crossbody off the top rope as of late. Didn’t do wonders for him here though as he was pinned with the penalty kick.

    reDragon and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Roppongi Vice and Tomohiro Ishii

    Crowd popped whenever Ishii and Tenzan were in the ring. RPG Vice tried to help out Ishii but Tenzan is still a bit too strong for them. Solid, quick match with reDragon getting the win with the Chasing the Dragon.

    Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask and Volador Jr vs. Matt Sydal, Ricochet and Kushida

    This was really great towards the end. Lots of high flying and cool dives by everyone. Kushida did a dive that wiped out people on the floor, and even Liger and Tiger Mask did crossbodies off the top rope to the floor. Volador and Ricochet did some great looking back and forth in the ring. Ricochet laid him out with a kick and hit the 630 for the win. Quite the spectacle in the last few minutes.

    reDragon came to the ring. Fish mentions they never lost the Jr. tag team titles. O’Reilly said they want to challenge for the belts. Roppongi Vice follow suit and challenge. Beretta has a contract and mentions that the contract states that they get a rematch. Ricochet says that they’ll accept both challenges for Dominion in a triple threat match. I guess it’s a newer version of the triple threat tag matches they like to do, so why not? Everything seemed to be settled when RPG Vice jump the champions to boos. reDragon make the save, but the champions come back and do stereo moonsaults that wipe out both challengers.

    Satoshi Kojima and Michael Elgin vs. Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega

    Omega brought the broom but discarded it quickly and worked on Elgin for the heat, with Fale working the match as well to keep control. Omega did a great tope con hilo to wipe out Elgin and introduced a ladder for…well, I don’t know what reason but both her and Elgin climbed it. Elgin have Omega a suplex off the ladder. Chase Owens was also out there to distract, and while he did Omega smashed Elgin with the ladder.

    Omega tried to go for the One Winged Angel but Elgin countered and powerbombed him through the ladder. The referee saw this but just stood here, no DQ as Elgin gave him another powerbomb for the win. Fun match but mostly just an angle to build towards the Dominion show.

    Elgin grabbed the title after the match and motioned for Omega to come get it. Omega got a mic and said the challenge Elgin issue has been accepted. Elgin said the belt would be his as he made his exit.

    Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Sanada and Bushi

    Another wild brawl to start things off. Sanada bring a bat to the ring, which he used here while they brawled on the outside. Mostly a pretty good back and forth match, not as long as the other matches on this tour. Bushi scored another win with the codebreaker off the top rope.

    Los Ingobernables try and clear house after the match but Ishii comes for the save. If fails as Bushi mists him. Okada attacks him and tombstones him, pointing at Naito.

    Best of the Super Junior Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    This was of course awesome, one of the best matches in the tournament in terms of drama and selling. Taguchi has a dumb gimmick but is also a very good big match guy and excelled here. Ospreay is already awesome at this stage of the game and will really be something in a few years as he gains more in ring experience.The first few minutes had them feeling things out, a few taunts between one another, etc. Taguchi starts working over Ospreay’s leg to ground him.Ospreay tried for a rainmaker but Taguchi countered into an ankle lock.

    Taguchi remained in control, giving Ospreay hip attacks and a giant flying senton to the floor. It’s funny because even though Taguchi is a hometown guy and even carried a flag to the ring representing his hometown a lot of people were rooting for Ospreay. He made a comeback with a hurricanrana and was going for the springboard stunner when Taguchi countered with an ankle lock. They did a long, great sell here and it even included a dodon nearfall. Ospreay finally back back and superkicked Taguchi to the floor. He hit an inverted 450 splash and followed that with the springboard stunner to win the tournament.

    After being given the trophy, Ospreay called out Kushida, who was doing commentary. He made it clear he wanted a title match and challenged Kushida for the title. Kushida says sure, he is a champion and wants to see who is the strongest between them. He exits the ring as Ospreay thanks his family and his fans as the streamers go off and he celebrates.

    At 23, Will Ospreay becomes the youngest Best of the Super Juniors winner, the first English winner and the fifth gaijin to win the tournament. He has a very bright future ahead of him, that’s for sure!

  • WWE RAW live results: John Cena vs. The Club continues; Teddy Long returns

    With 13 days until Money in the Bank, Raw originates tonight from Oklahoma City. The WWE is promoting the Club as its new top heel group, which is new considering its a pushed faction that has no connection to the Authority. At least, not yet. A.J. Styles, as the group’s mouthpiece, will likely be relied upon to give a promo explaining his attack on John Cena last week.

    It could also be another night of returns. Bray Wyatt has been rumored to return imminently. With only two weeks to go before the show, there’s only three matches announced for Money in the Bank, and even the Money in the Bank match itself is unclear. Originally, there were seven participants announced, but only six are currently listed. 

    **********

    The Big Takeaway:

    This was a show that was full of talking and not much action. John Cena and A.J. Styles had a verbal joust full of inside references. Cena said wrestling Styles at Money in the Bank was a dream match (and was promoted that way throughout the show), then called Styles a bust because he lost to Roman Reigns twice. Teddy Long made a surprise return, booked to look like a out of touch goof who had no idea what the current fans want to see. The only match officially made for Money in the Bank is a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE tag team titles with The New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows vs. Enzo & Big Cass vs. the Vaudevillains.

    Show Recap:

    The show started with the six men involved in the Money in the Bank match already in the ring hovering on top of their own ladders.

    Kevin Owens put down Sami Zayn as being less famous than the other five. Chris Jericho said he was more famous than any of them. Owens said he would be more famous than any of them because he will be the one who will take the Money in the Bank briefcase and the other five will be in his shadow. Dean Ambrose wanted to skip the talking and get to fighting. Owens talked him down and said he would get the briefcase some more and said he would take on all comers as champion. Owens said he wouldn’t defend the title against any of the men in the ring, but he would face anyone else, including the Nation of Domination, Waylon Mercy or the Four Horsemen.

    Alberto Del Rio ignored Ambrose’s pleas to start fighting and said Zayn was a dog covered in fleas compared to him. Crowd actually started chanting “Si, si, si.” Cesaro spoke up before Jericho shouted him down and reminded everyone he created the Money in the Bank match. Cesaro then asked “How come you’ve never won a Money in the Bank match?” Jericho said he had. Zayn asked which one? Jericho mumbled something about the first one. Then he said the sixth one in Appleton, Wisconsin. Cesaro acted like had no idea what Jericho was talking about and called him a stupid idiot.

    Jericho did his new “Gift of Jericho, Drink it in, man” catchphrase. Ambrose climbed up and punched Jericho. They all started brawling.

    Then, out of nowhere, Teddy Long made a surprise return to “Teddy” chants. Long heard that SmackDown was heading to Tuesdays live. Teddy was all over the place on the mic. He said SmackDown was the longest running network wrestling show. Michael Cole had to issue a correction afterwards saying SmackDown was the 2nd longest weekly episodic series in television history. Cole had to explain the entire purpose of the Long cameo afterwards. Ordinarily, Long said he would arrange a disqualification match (that’s what he said), a six-way match and various other stipulation matches. Everyone looked confused.

    Stephanie McMahon came out acting like she had no idea Long was going to be there. She asked what Long was doing. Long said he wanted to run SmackDown. Stephanie said a decision on who would run SmackDown hasn’t been decided yet. Teddy asked to see Shane McMahon. Stephanie said Shane was on vacation and asked him to get to stepping. Long wanted to dance off the stage, but Stephanie ordered that his music not be played.

    Stephanie said Zayn would face Del Rio; Ambrose would take on Owens, and Cesaro takes on Jericho immediately. Then Stephanie ordered Long’s music to be played and she danced to the back. This was a really weird segment that Stephanie actually had to save.

    Cesaro defeated Chris Jericho via submission (12:05)

    Cesaro used a 13-rep Giant Swing then used a Boston Crab to get the tapout. Earlier, Jericho blocked an attempt at the Giant Swing and turned it into a small cradle. Some spots were mistimed, including Cesaro going for a springboard uppercut but Jericho catching him with a Codebreaker. Overall, a solid match.

    – Anybody else notice the Money in the Bank music is also Donald Trump’s WWE music from WrestleMania 23?

    – They honored Muhammad Ali by showing tribute tweets from HHH, Bret Hart, Shane McMahon and Steve Austin. 

    An amazing but perplexing video package aired focusing on Seth Rollins.

    It was basically a five-minute version of the documentary that’s airing on the WWE Network. They showed the debut of the Shield at Survivor Series 2012, where they jumped Ryback. Rollins said, in or out of the Shield, he always wanted to be the best, not one of the best. Rollins said people misunderstand his relationship with Roman Reigns. He doesn’t dislike Reigns, it’s just that Reigns is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rollins said when he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, it was his moment, not Reigns. 

    They replayed his injury in Dublin, Ireland. There were even videos of Rollins as an infant playing with a Hulk Hogan stuffed action figure, pinning it to win the championship. When the video of Rollins’ surgery aired, he was shown cutting a promo from his bed, slurring his speech, saying he was coming back for his championship on day one. Cameras caught him watching Reigns beat HHH at WrestleMania from a luxury suite. Rollins said Reigns was a placeholder, not a real world champion.

    Reigns is just sitting on Rollins’ throne, keeping it warm for him. Rollins said Reigns has never beaten him. It was such a good piece…so how are fans supposed to treat Rollins as a heel now? This is something straight out of Florida Championship Wrestling in the 1970s if an injured babyface sidelined for six months was rehabbing for a run against Dory Funk Jr for the NWA strap.

    U.S. Champion Rusev defeated Jack Swagger via countout in a nontitle match (3:36)

    Rusev and Jack Swagger did a double clothesline spot on the floor that looked still as hell. Titus O’Neal was on commentary. As the referee got closer to a 10 count, Rusev kicked Swagger into O’Neal and got back in the ring for the win. Postmatch, Swagger and O’Neal sent Rusev packing. Odd to see two babyfaces send one heel out of the ring. Swagger was over in his home state.

    John Cena came out.

    He said you don’t know what you got until its gone. Last week, there was energy and excitement when A.J. Styles and Cena was in the ring together. He called it a once in a generation moment. He tried to get it over like it was the 2002 staredown between the Rock and Hulk Hogan, then started doing his own dueling chants to mimmick what the crowd was doing. Cena said he’s only had electricity like that with one other Superstar, the Rock. Cena said for 15 years, people had been curious to see Styles vs. Cena. But Cena wanted to know why Styles chose the easy way out.

    Cena wanted Styles to come out and explain himself. Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came out. Crowd had more dueling chants. Styles said he took the easy way out because he had a plan to punch Cena right in the face. And it worked perfectly. Styles said Cena insults him. He said Cena was great on his morning shows and his movies. But Cena insults him when the bell rings. And Cena knows deep inside that “You can’t beat me.” Styles says his kids ask him all the time why doesn’t he wrestle Cena. He answers because if he did, he would run rings around Cena.

    Cena said Styles’ jokes are as outdating as his jorts. Cena said he looks at Styles as someone who worked two decades to get to the Royal Rumble, and failed. He failed twice against Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Cena said Styles was a bust. Styles said attacking him was desperate. Cena said Styles didn’t know who he was dealing with because he failed twice against Reigns, and now he was going after him?

    Styles shot back that he could go back to Japan tomorrow and sell it out tomorrow. He said he nothing else to prove because he has nothing left to lose, so that makes him dangerous. Styles said after someone wrestles Cena, they get out the shovels and bury Cena’s opponent. Styles said Cena didn’t know who he was dealing with.

    The Club went to the ring and surrounded Cena. The New Day ran down to join Cena and chase them away and it ended. A trios match between the three was announced for later tonight. A strange promo by Cena. On one hand, he compared Styles to the Rock. Then minutes later, he called him a bust. Styles did a promo straight from the heart of every Internet fan, or anyone else who has paid attention over the last 11 years. It was the time for Styles to give the best promo of his life, and it was very good.

    The Vaudevillains defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass by DQ (2:22)

    Aidan English teased throwing out Enzo Amore over the top rope the same way he did at Payback. He threw Amore to the ropes, but Amore slid under the ropes and still sold it like he suffered a concussion. Big Cass went nuts, pounding English in the corner. The referee called for the bell when Cass refused to back off. Fans booed the DQ. Cass gave Simon Gotch the East River Crossing. Enzo got back in the ring. It’s clear they want Cass to break out of the singles pack because he’s tall, but he doesn’t have the charisma that Enzo has. Big Cass quoted Ali. Enzo Amore brought up the Vaudevillains knocking him out and said he could blow a bubble with a Now-A-Later.

    Zayn did an interview saying he would have to consider himself an underdog against Del Rio tonight because ADR has captured the World Heavyweight Championship. Del Rio showed up and said if Zayn won the Money in the Bank briefcase, it would prove all those people who Zayn could never win wrong. But Del Rio said Zayn’s dream is his reality and Zayn was destined to stay in the same spot he’s in now.

    – More tribute tweets to Ali from Cena, Stephanie, Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley.

    Long walked up to Stephanie dancing to his music, which was the ring tone on his phone. Long said if he was running SmackDown, he would take Enzo & Cass, the Vaudevillains, Anderson and Gallows and the New Day in a four-way for the tag team titles. Stephanie blew off that idea and asked Long how he got back security. Long pulled out a dollar bill and said “it makes you go holla holla.” Stephanie just glared at him. Teddy showed himself out. First thing Stephanie did was arrange the Fatal Four-Way tag team match that Long suggested for Money in the Bank.

    Alberto Del Rio pinned Sami Zayn (8:18)

    Surprisingly one-sided match where Del Rio won with the diving double foot stomp off the top rope. Zayn didn’t get much of a comeback after the heat. In fact, he didn’t even get a ring entrance. Del Rio’s first attempt at the double foot stop led to Zayn throwing him off the top rope. But Del Rio was back up in no time for the finish.

    Ambrose walked backstage with Owens laughing at him. Owens said he was concerned for Ambrose, not just because of the Money in the Bank match, but because Ambrose has been more off the deep end than usual. Ambrose asked if Owens thought he was off when he beat him for the Intercontinental Championship. Owens said Ambrose needed help. Ambrose said Owens is the one who needs help.

    Reigns got a video package just like Rollins from earlier.

    They showed Reigns pinning Daniel Bryan to win the tag team titles. Reigns said Rollins thinks he’s the smartest guy on Earth. Reigns said he felt betrayed when Rollins broke up the Shield. He said being in the main event of WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar was a roller coaster by itself. When Rollins cashed in the Money in the Bank contract, Rollins took away his WrestleMania moment. His wife, father and daughter were all there.

    He felt anger, but sometimes anger is the best motivator a man can have. Reigns said Rollins has always attacked him from behind because Rollins is scared of him. Reigns said there will be a big fight feel (Cole used those exact words earlier) at Money in the Bank since it will be in Las Vegas. Reigns said he’s expecting a better Seth Rollins, and he will beat a better Seth Rollins. 

    Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens (6:33)

    Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds. Before the finish, Ambrose went for a tope, but Owens caught him and rammed his back into the apron. Owens followed with a Bullfrog splash. Crowd was quiet for much of the match until Ambrose did a superplex. After the match, Ambrose pulled out a ladder and climbed to the top. Why did he do that? To show he could climb a ladder? The answer, of course, was to give Owens a chance to recover and throw Ambrose off the ladder and scream how he would win Money in the Bank.

    – Life Lessons with Bob Backlund had Darren Young saying he’s been running. Backlund said Young should always be walking and that he hasn’t run since 1978. Young said that was long before he was born. Backlund said he had Young’s car keys and he wanted him to walk eight hours to Backlund’s house. Young just walked off unhappy about walking eight hours.

    Charlotte and Dana Brooke came out.

    Cole said the world was still reeling about what Charlotte said to Ric Flair two weeks ago. I’m still reeling from Stephanie stealing her heat last week. Charlotte acted like she was going to apologize for saying what she said to her father. Charlotte said when she said Flair was dead to her, she meant professionally. She still wants to spend the holidays with her father, work out with her father, etc. But she didn’t want Flair stealing her spotlight.

    Natalya and Dana Brooke came out laughing over Charlotte’s acting routine. Charlotte said Natalya had a trainwreck of a family and they should have their own reality show on E! Lynch said Brooke would eventually get stabbed in the back by Charlotte. Natalya warned Brooke that Charlotte was a master manipulator, something she and Lynch learned the hard way. Brooke looked at Charlotte like she was concerned and started to walk over towards Charlotte and Natalya. Then Brooke punched Natalya, who fell over Lynch. Brooke gave Lynch a Samoan Driver whie Charlotte held Natalya in a Dragon Sleeper and they posed over the babyfaces bodies. 

    Primo and Epico did a promo about how great drinks in Puerto Rico are.

    Tyler Breeze and R-Truth went to a no contest (:53)

    Goldust and Fandango brawled into the ring for a quick DQ. Long came out and ordered the rematch restarted. Everyone just glared at him like he was crazy. Security ordered Long out with no more action between these four, and not a moment too soon. Breeze and Fandango did an inset promo where Breeze shaved Fandango’s back. Fandango said something about how having the right lotion on your body makes your muscles aerogigantic.

    – Long walked out before we got our weekly “Stephanie chews someone out” moment. Stephanie scolded Long and said Raw was going to be in the hands of someone young, vivacious and strong, and it was going to be her, not her brother Shane. She said Raw wasn’t going to be in the hands of old, incompetent, out of touch geezer. The irony alert was instantly activated from the local Emergency Alert System. Then she ordered Long to get the hell out of her building.

    – Ali tribute tweets from Vince McMahon, Booker T and Flair were shown. Cole introduced a tribute package to Ali, showing his knockouts of Sonny Liston and George Foreman. They showed Ali talking about how much Gorgeous George and Freddie Blassie influenced him. There was rare footage of Vince interviewing him with Blassie managing him, I assume for the buildup that aired on ABC’s Wide World of Sports that built up his match with Antonio Inoki. Plus, there was the angle with Gorilla Monsoon. Of course, there was also his appearance at WrestleMania I. Crowd gave the video package a standing ovation.

    – They announced the Ambrose Asylum next week would return with Reigns and Rollins as the guest. So it’s a Shield reunion, even though Stephanie cancelled the Ambrose Asylum a month ago. We didn’t even get Shane texting in an order to revive the show, they just advertised it with no warning.

    – New Day came out and compared The Club with the Mickey Mouse Club. Kofi Kingston said they were the WWE World Tag Team Champions, and that was the only club that mattered. It all started as a three-on-three fight that ended with Styles giving Xavier Woods the Styles Clash on the floor. Woods was carried to the back and they carried on with the bout now a 2-on-3 handicap match.

    The Club defeated The New Day in a handicap match (5:12)

    Styles pinned Kingston after the Phenomenal Firearm. Kingston got a near fall earlier after the SOS. Afterwards, Anderson and Gallows threw Big E. into the dasheboards. Cena ran out for the save and he decked Anderson and Gallows. Styles retreated. Anderson and Gallows jumped back on the apron, and Styles wallopped Cena from behind. Kingston gave Styles a missile dropkick. Big E. gave Anderson the Big Ending, and Cena gave Gallows the AA.

    During the match, Styles gave Big E the Pele Kick on the floor, and Gallows followed with the Yakuza kick. The crowd actually chanted for Cena after that. Cole mentioned it’s been 288 days since the New Day recaptured the WWE World Tag Team Titles.

    SUMMARY:

    The highlight of the show was the video package for Rollins. It was almost as good as the documentary made about him on the network. The timing of the video is the lingering question. Why didn’t they show that in the month preceding his return, then have him come back as a babyface to feud with Reigns? Rest of the show was ordinary in front of the deadest Raw crowd since WrestleMania.

  • NJPW on AXS G1 2015 report: Naito vs. Tanahashi; Ishii vs. Nakamura

    We got two hours to cover this week of G1 2015 coverage, so let’s not waste any time!

    July 26, 2015 in Hiroshima:

    Katsuyori Shibata vs. Togi Makabe

    This, of course, was super stiff, but nothing out of the ordinary. Good, not great. Shibata got the win with the penalty kick.

    AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi

    This was good stuff. I loved the sequence near the end where Kota tried a hurricanrana off the top rope, but AJ blocked hit and hit a hurricanrana just for Ibushi to counter with a rollup, but AJ countered with a Styles Clash attempt. I keep saying this like a broken record, but Ibushi is so great; the last place he needs to be is in IGF where there’s like zero buzz. The burnout is totally understandable, but at the same time I feel like his eccentricities are getting the best of his career. Kota wins with the phoenix splash in a really great match.

    Tetsuya Naito is interviewed. He went to Mexico in May (2015) and mentioned how he met people like La Sombra and Rush and how they wrestled freely; he was jealous. As he teamed with them in matches he felt a sense of joy, so he wanted to bring that to Japan. He felt that he needed to stick to his own style. But after wrestling in Mexico, he realized he needed to branch out. He could say he has no feelings regarding Tanahashi, but that would be a lie. He doesn’t have much more to be say regarding him.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito

    A great showcase for the new Naito here. He took his time taking off his suit (he’s replaced that with just taking a very long time getting to the ring and harassing Milano Collection AT), posed during matches and even took his time brawling around the ring, including a neckbreaker onto a table. In fact, a lot of this match was the two just brawling around, with Naito getting the upper hand. They eventually make their way back to the ring and bust out a ton of great offense.

    I really liked the work on Naito’s knee (he was out for a long period of time a couple of years prior due to a blown out knee) including the two high fly flows on it. Naito got the somewhat surprising win with his new finisher, Destino (a standing sliced bread).

    In a post match promo, he told the Japanese people to calm down. No one can stop him now, He finished off his short promo saying LOS INGOBERNABLES!

    Tanahashi says this was one of his top 5 disappointing matches as he’s helped out backstage. He said the match was what it was – it was destiny. At first, no one could even pronounce los Ingobernables, but as the tournament went on he gained more confidence. He wants Los Ingobernables to gain strength in New Japan.

    Shinsuke Nakamura welcomes us to the second hour of New Japan on AXS.

    This footage is from August 1 in Osaka.

    Karl Anderson vs. Yuji Nagata

    Pretty decent match. I liked the work in the beginning where Anderson worked on Nagata’s ribs while Nagata worked on the arm. Anderson got the win after a gun stun out of nowhere.

    Anderson told Nagata in a very rude manner to make him some food and do his laundry. Nagata didn’t have much response.

    Tomoaki Honma vs. Michael Elgin

    Elgin was such a fresh face in this tournament -literally everyone else was in the tournament a year prior, so seeing some new match ups here was pretty great. Elgin proved just how great a talent he really is by doing some of the best work of his career in this tournament, and prove a lot of his haters wrong with some terrific offense that really got Elgin over.

    This was a great match. People were super into both guys and wanted Honma to get the big win. My favorite spot was the deadlift falcon arrow onto the apron to the mat – such a great spot! Elgin gets the win with the buckle bomb and a sitout powerbomb. Great match.

    Elgin says he’s back on track and how he’s on his way to the finals, because that’s just how good he is. Honma was amazed by Elgin’s power; he really wanted to win, but he will be happy with a win next time.

    Nakamura mentions his elbow injury that kept him off some of the G1 shows and mentions how he wanted to get back in the ring very quickly. He stayed on tour during his injury, saying he would go to different hospitals to get the treatment he needed. It was tough for him to get his way back, and wasn’t until Osaka where he was finally able to return.

    Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

    This was really great. Just built up really well from start to finish and the crowd was totally into it from start to finish. Both guys worked super hard. I loved the spot near the end where Nakamura went for another boma ye, Ishii stopped him but countered with the flying armbar scissors. Is that not the coolest move in pro wrestling? Both guys are awesome and they had, in fact, a really tremendous match. Nakamura got the win after a boma ye.

    Nakamura says he had to give his all against Ishii, and glad he was able to face him. He was also happy he only missed one G1 match due to injury so he’s still in the game. In his reflective interview, he says he was very eager to face Ishii. Each one of their hits was full of passion. He appreciated that Ishii never tried to attack his elbow. He had to bring out everything he had, or he wouldn’t be able to stand. He felt that, even though saying this was weird, that it was a great comeback story.

    Lots of great action on these shows; be sure to check them out!

  • New Japan BOSJ results: Chaos vs. Ingobernables eight man; Ricochet vs. Volador Jr.

    Here we go with more Super Juniors tournament action! Today, the B block begins to take shape as we continue on in Gunma.

    Yoshi-Hashi and Rocky Romero vs. Jay White and Ryusuke Taguchi

    Solid match. White and Yoshi-Hashi had a pretty good sequence towards the end of the match, and White even kicked out of YH’s flipping neckbreaker. Yoshi-Hashi applied an arm scissors, however, and picked up the submission instead.

    Romero mentioned post-match that Yoshi-Hashi is looking to kick Sanada’s ass down the line. They’ve been building a program together during this tour.

    Captain New Japan, Matt Sydal, Juice Robinson, Kushida and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata, Kyle O’Reilly, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay

    Pretty good match as the juniors busted out some cool offense. Shibata and Nagata zeroed in on one another throughout the match. Towards the end there were a lot of back and forth between Captain New Japan and Tenzan – CNJ even did the Mongolian chops, always a big no no. Tenzan got the last laugh, pinning CNJ with a moonsault.

    Tiger Mask vs. Baretta

    Nice match, though the crowd were quiet most of the time and it felt pretty long for what it was – solid work, just didn’t feel like a hot match at the end. Just okay back and forth. Baretta kicked out of a tiger bomb, but Tiger Mask sinked in the double arm scissors and got the win. The loss cuts Baretta from the finals, and Tiger Mask is already eliminated.

    Will Ospreay vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Another pretty solid match. Liger’s good at being the springboard for all of Ospreay’s offense. Ospreay looked pretty good and together they had a very nice match, though nothing too special. The win keeps Ospreay alive but eliminates Liger.

    Chase Owens vs. Bobby Fish

    Nicely worked match. They traded submissions and targeted each other’s legs. The problem was the crowd again as they just didn’t seem to care and just sat there. Fish submits Owens with a leglock. This puts out Owens, but Fish is still in, though it’s a longshot.

    Ricochet vs. Volador Jr.

    This was full of high flying moves, as you’d expect. Volador went for the hurricanrana off the top rope but Ricochet landed on his feel. Volador did an inverted code red. Ricochet went for what looked like an Alabama slam but Volador countered with a hurricanrana and SPIKED him right on the mat for the win. Very cool match, especially towards the end.

    Both are still in the tournament – if Volador beats Ospreay, he wins the block, simple as that. If Ospreay beats Volador, it boils down to how Ricochet vs. Owens goes. Owens pinning Ricochet eliminates him as he’d tie with a winning Ospreay and Ospreay has the tie over him. If Ricochet wins, however, he’d get 12 and beat Ospreay. So still a lot of variables heading into tomorrow.

    Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yoshitatsu, Satoshi Kojima and Michael Elgin

    This got more heat than the other matches for whatever reason. Perfectly fine match, it was all about Elgin looking strong and wanting to get his hands on Omega. Elgin went to use a steel trash can lid on Omega, but he ducked and hit Yujiro instead. He pinned him the sitout powerbomb. He grabbed Omega’s broom after the match and destroyed it, then chased Omega with the trash can lid to the back.

    Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Sanada and Bushi

    Since Milano wasn’t here today, Naito decided to pick on Yoshi-Hashi, who was doing commentary post-intermission. It never got anywhere as Okada jumped him immediately. It was another good back and forth match that these two teams have had for most of this tour. Okada and Naito worked briefly, which the crowd were very much into. Sanada and Gedo were the ones left in the ring after them and Sanada submitted Geod quickly with the skull end.

    Ingobernables cleared the ring after the match. Yoshi-Hashi tried to make the save but Naito isolated him from the others and dragged him into the ring, but managed to escape. Naito finished the show cutting a promo.

    Not as strong as other shows, but good action overall.

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 8
    • Matt Sydal – 8
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 6
    • Bushi – 6
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 10
    • Volador Jr. – 10
    • Will Ospreay – 8
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 8
    • Bobby Fish – 6
    • Baretta – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • WWE Main Event results: The Boss returns to ruin Summer Rae’s “New Error”

    Vaudevillains in-ring promo

    The New Era overload continues as Aiden English boasts that leaving the New Day laying “singlehandedly” on RAW proves, once and for all, that the “New Era” reflects the “Bygone Era”, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. Simon Gotch then introduces English’s “pre-emptive eulogy” for the New Day’s tag team titles “in the form of song”. English makes a unbelievably terrible World’s Fair reference before singing for a little while until Enzo & Cass interrupt.

    Enzo does his “couple of haters” line, prompting Gotch to ask, non-rhetorically, if he remembers Payback. English reckons that the little man’s head is “S.O.F.T.” after the concussion he sustained on that particular Sunday. And then, Big Cass if forced to recite a line so awful that it almost matched the cruddy material he was given on this very show a few weeks ago. Cass threatens to beat their “rusty pipes….back into Prohibition” so they won’t be able to “speak easy”. Wow.

    Enzo & Cass def. The Vaudevillains by pinfall

    The usual 12 minute opening match, four minutes of which is (fortunately) lost to a commercial break. Gotch and English got the heat on Enzo for an absolute eon. Nobody cared. Eventually Cass did his brief hot tag schtick before setting up Enzo for the silly-looking Rocket Launcher.

    Zack Ryder def. Viktor by pinfall

    Viktor, now kitted out with Darth Maul-esque face-paint, delightfully poses the question, “Where’s your ‘woo woo’ now?”, during the heat. His smugness doesn’t last long however, with Ryder wrapping this one up in under five minutes. The finish saw Viktor get cut off while perched on the top rope. Ryder then hit a ‘rana, followed by the Broski Boot and an Elbro Drop.

    Sasha Banks def. Summer Rae by submission w/ Dolph Ziggler on commentary

    Looks like I wasn’t the only one who appreciated Ziggler’s over-exuberant contributions to the announce booth on last week’s show. Despite having no connection to any current Women’s division storyline, he’s back again to lend his thoughts on Banks’ first televised match since April 18. Ziggler does however reference his history with Summer Rae, which is a nice touch.

    Summer cuts a promo before Banks’ entrance, following up a mention of the brand extension with a hilariously apt slip of the tongue: “New Error”. She reckons that the entire WWE Universe is wondering which show she will end up on. Meanwhile, all three announcers are laughing openly.

    Sasha eventually interrupts, but is quickly cut off by Summer, who mocks her for failing at Wrestlemania. The Boss tells Summer that, despite her thoughts to the contrary, Summer “wouldn’t be Women’s champion at Wrestlemania…..you can’t even hold my mic!”. I guess that’s supposed to be a burn in the writers’ universe, but Summer ruins it by catching the thrown mic! The three announcers again laugh uproariously, with Dolph selling the catch like it was the greatest thing he’s ever seen: “BUT SHE HELD IT!”.

    The match itself was short, at six minutes, but perfectly acceptable. Sasha’s comeback kicked off with running double knees into the face of Summer Rae, with The Boss hanging on for a subsequent pinfall attempt (Dolph: “It would be hard for me to kick out of that, King”). More knee-based offence got cut off by a vicious-looking DDT from Summer, before Sasha caught a spin kick attempt and transitioned straight into a Banks Statement. Summer tapped with both hands, which caused Dolph to lose his bowel contents again: “Double tap, TP!”. The final line uttered, as the show went off the air, was also Ziggler’s: “I love this so much!”.

    Final Thoughts

    As weird as it is to say, Dolph Ziggler’s announcing saved this show. I’m as surprised as you are. The guy’s overconfident, handsy, depth-free promos bug the hell out of me, but he appears to have an aptitude for this; more of an aptitude than he has for stand-up comedy, at least. Meanwhile, everything the Vaudevillains touch continues to turn to ice, as Enzo & Cass are finally involved in a segment so badly scripted that even Enzo’s delivery can’t save it.

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Matt Sydal vs. Kushida; Will Ospreay vs. Bobby Fish

    Day 10 and 11 results are here for you all to see. Since Day 10 footage dropped just a few hours before day 11 went live in New Japan, I combined them into one post instead of two.

    6/2 from Aichi, B block action:

    Chase Owens vs. Volador Jr.

    Solid match. Owens has come across better as a heel within the Bullet Club on this tour.Volador hit early with a tope suicida but Owens controlled most of the match, even taking off Volador’s mask and taunting him as he beat him up while wearing the mask. Voldaor made a comeback near the end, and the two exchanged some pretty good near falls. Volador scored the win with the super hurricanrana off the top rope.

    Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Crowd was really into this as the bell rang. They’ve been feuding for a years with one another, sometimes over the NWA Junior Heavyweight title so that may be why. Tiger Mask did a big dive in the first minute of the match, but Liger got a super quick pinfall with a crucifix. It’s one of those finishes that happen just to make you think anything can happen, though it also probably means it won’t be the last time they face off, either.

    Bobby Fish vs. Will Ospreay

    Great match. Ospreay did a bunch of cool stuff here. Fish was really good in laying in stiff kicks and keeping Ospreay grounded during his offense, and Ospreay was great in coming up with dynamic ways of laying him out and getting the edge. He did the Sasuke special and that wiped out Fish at one point. Fish went for a brainbuster but Ospreay turned it into a stunner. Ospreay eventually made one last comeback and won with the springboard stunner. The whole dynamic of this match was pretty great.

    Baretta vs. Ricochet

    Good back and forth match. Ricochet went for the Benadryller but Baretta countered with a reverse Dudebuster for a really great nearfall. Ricochet took a half nelson suplex on the apron, landing on his head and crashing to the floor. If anyone wants to complain about something around here, it should be all the head first spots on the apron. They teased a countout spot, but Ricochet got back in on time. Baretta hit the knee strike for another nearfall, but Ricochet reversed the pin and got the 3.

    6/3 results from Korakuen Hall, live on New Japan World:

    Volador Jr., Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Ricochet vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay and Trent Baretta

    This was really great, one of the best openers on the tour so far. Ospreay wanted to start with Volador, and mostly held his own when doing lucha offense with him, though timing was slightly off at times. Ishii and Tenzan were in and hit each other hard. Ospreay and Ricochet were in (which the crowd liked very much) and had a great back and forth battle. They have excellent chemistry with one another! Volador and Ricochet did some amazing dives to the outside. Volador went for a sunset flip but Baretta simply just sat down on him and got the win. That felt a bit anti climatic.

    Katsuyori Shibata, Jay White, Juice Robinson and Bobby Fish vs. Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger and Manabu Nakanishi

    Fun tag match. Lot of tropes here but the crowd was into it and was never dull. People popped big time when Nakanishi went to the top rope and laid out Robinson with a crossbody.  Nagata and Jay White are the ones left in the ring, as it has usually been as I guess they’re in kind of a mini feud. White doesn’t win, as he’s pinned with a backdrop suplex.

    David Finlay vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Pretty good stuff. The crowd helped this match as they were into it most of the way. Finlay fought out of a half Boston crab and the crowd popped when he grabbed the ropes. Finlay busted out the stretch muffler then hit a German suplex for another nearfall. O’Reilly came back with a brainbuster but Finlay got the shoulder up. O’Reilly followed that with the gogoplata and got the win.

    Gedo vs. Rocky Romero

    So everyone comes out and they start arguing. Gedo wants to know why he brought Trent with him. Rocky says he just wants to see the match. They all act like they’re going to fight, but then stop and hug each other. Gedo then says he has a big surprise – the bell will ring and Romero will cover him 1, 2, 3. Romero likes this idea. So the bell rings. Gedo goes to lay down, Romero covers…but Gedo tricks him and counters the roll up for a near fall. From here its a pretty solid back and forth match. Baretta interfered a lot in the match, sometimes right in front of the referee which is really nice of the ref to let him do that. Romero gets the win with two knee strikes, and everyone makes up after the match.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi came out. It was announced that he is out of Dominion, so the IC title match with Kenny Omega is off. He aims to return in time for the G1 Climax. Kenny Omega comes out, not particularly happy. He says that instead of apologizing to the fans, you should be apologizing to me. Tanahashi told him to shut up, which led to Omega cheap shotting Tanahashi. Bullet Club members came down to beat him up, but suddenly their opponents for the upcoming eight man tag arrive and clear house, Elgin leading the way, dishing out a huge tope con hilo to the floor. This is where we start the next match.

    Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi and Bad Luck Fale vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Yoshitatsu, Captain New Japan and Michael Elgin

    This was mostly just a one man wrecking crew kind of match as Elgin completely dominated the match, disposing everyone with ease. He did all of his power spots, including the powerbomb to the floor that wiped out a lot of the Bullet Club. He powerbombed Chase Owens for the win in a relatively short match.

    Elgin takes out a ladder and says he feels comfortable up here, so maybe he can challenge at Dominion. Omega says your time has come and gone, maybe it’s Captain New Japan or Yoshitatsu’s time but it isn’t yours. Omega finishes off saying he’s looking forward to the rest of the tour, which pretty much means we’ll get a confirmation by the end of it.

    Kazuchika Okada, Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil and Sanada

    Naito’s deal today was he kept trying to make eye contact with Milano Collection AT but it wouldn’t happen. Good match. Crowd was into it, as they have been for a lot of this show. Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada are another duo who have developed a rivalry on this tour. They fought back with some back and forth good action. Crowd was white hot for the ending. Yoshi-Hashi kicked out of a lot of nearfalls but got caught in the skull end. Yoshi-Hashi tried valiantly to escape, but couldn’t, eventually passing out.

    Bushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    Taguchi’s silliness today has him emulating Bushi and Naito, complete with green lipstick and green suit.  Some solid work. Taguchi has been really good in this tournament. He unleashed another tope. There was a blatant low blow towards the end of the match that the ref didn’t seem to care about. This was not a good night when it came down to refereeing a match here in New Japan. There was a ref bump towards the end. Taguchi was on top of Bushi when the referee tumbled to the floor thanks to Bushi, who grabbed him as he was being rolled up. Taguchi got distracted just long enough with Bushi to break free and hit the codebreaker for the win. Pretty decent.

    Kushida vs. Matt Sydal

    Really good match. Solid work throughout leading to a heated, pretty great finish.Lots of mat work early. Kushida zoomed in on the leg quickly. Kushida sprang forward with a swanton bomb to the floor, knocking Sydal loopy. Kushida went to the top turnbuckle, Sydal tried to counter with a standing hurricanrana but Kushida turned it into a roll up for a nearfall. Sydal followed that back with a reverse rana and tried for the shooting star press but Kushida avoided it. He fought back with the hoverboard lock. Sydal tried to escape, but after Kushida rolled him into the middle he had no choice but to submit.

    The two shook hands and bowed after the match. Sydal says he still has a chance of winning the tournament, but even if he doesn’t he still wants a title match down the line. Kushida seemed fine with this and the two shook hands again, with Kushida cutting a promo to close out the show.

    Really good show. Nothing was bad, crowd was hot and everything was good.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 8
    • Matt Sydal – 8
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 6
    • Bushi – 6
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 10
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 8
    • Volador Jr. – 8
    • Will Ospreay – 6
    • Baretta – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Bobby Fish – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • WWE Smackdown results: AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston

    – Air Date: June 2, 2016
    – Location: BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, IL

    – The Big News:

    AJ Styles is a full-fledged heel and won a match with the Styles Clash. Also, it appears the MITB ladder match will just involve the six guys already announced.

    – Show Recap:

    AJ Styles & The Club confront The New Day

    The New Day came out to a big reaction. They mentioned the Vaudevillains robbing everyone of the opportunity to see Stephanie McMahon dance. Xavier Woods seemed particularly bummed about this.

    What was more notable to New Day though was the attack by Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. New Day were about to remind us that they are our WWE Tag Team champions, but Anderson and Gallows interrupted. The Club said the New Day didn’t exactly look like champions on Raw, and the Club would be the champs soon.

    Woods wondered what kind of “club” they actually were, and figured they meet in a treehouse. Big E said they definitely weren’t the hair club for men. New Day challenged them to a fight but figured they wouldn’t accept without their papi AJ Styles with them. That brought out Styles.

    Styles was a full-fledged heel. He said this wasn’t a new day, it’s “our day,” and the WWE belonged to the Club. New Day reminded them who the tag champs were. Styles called Kingston a joke for being in an act like New Day after all these years. Kingston reminded Styles that he was a multiple time IC, U.S. and Tag Team champion, and what was really funny was how long it took AJ just to get to WWE.

    Styles reminded them what happened on Raw and challenged Kingston to a match, which he accepted. Good segment. Styles and Kingston both came off well.

    They announced a tag match between Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn vs. Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens. 

    Non-Title: Becky Lynch beat Women’s Champion Charlotte (w/Dana Brooke) via DQ

    Like JBL, Lawler is not a fan of what Charlotte did to Ric Flair, although he doesn’t seem as disgusted by it. Brooke provided a distraction two minutes into the match allowing Charlotte to take over going to commercial.

    They went back and forth after the break leading to Lynch trying an armbar as Mauro Ranallo let us know she trains in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Charlotte powered out, though, and hit a powerbomb. Charlotte went for a moonsault but landed on her feet as Lynch rolled out of the way. Lynch applied the Disarmer but Brooke tried pulling Charlotte out of it so the referee called for a DQ.

    Brooke finally pulled Charlotte out of the ring, but Natalya cut them off on the ramp. Natalya and Lynch tried to apply their submission moves on the heels but they escaped through the crowd. The action was fine but the finish was crap. The crowd liked Becky.

    MITB Interview Segment

    Backstage, Renee Young interviewed Zayn and Ambrose. With Ambrose standing right there, Zayn tipped his hat at Renee. Zayn said he and Ambrose have a good track record as a team despite Ambrose’s comments on Monday.

    Ambrose was skeptical of Canadians because of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho and the border patrol guy. Zayn told Ambrose he shouldn’t have tried to bring nunchucks into the country. Owens and Del Rio interrupted. Owens tried to convince Ambrose that Zayn was manipulating him. After Del Rio added some insults of his own, Ambrose said they should just fight right now but the heels left.

    The Dudley Boyz beat Golden Truth via pinfall

    Tyler Breeze and Fandango sat in Breeze’s lounge at ringside. Truth rapped a new song on the way out, and they had the lyrics on the screen. Lawler called it terrible, and he’s right.  During the match, Breeze jumped on the apron to take a selfie, so Truth knocked him off. Goldust was distracted, so D-Von pushed him into Truth and used a school boy for the win. Breeze and Fandango made bad jokes afterwards. This was not good.

    They ran a video package for, of all things, Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. Outside of the arena, Renee said Corbin requested for interview time. She asked why they were doing it outside, and Corbin said the crowd doesn’t deserve his presence after they cheered what Ziggler did on Raw. Corbin said the next time he enters an arena it would be to end Ziggler.

    Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose beat Alberto Del Rio & Kevin Owens via pinfall

    Ranallo plugged Raw in Oklahoma City and Lawler namedropped “J.R.” They showed a graphic for the MITB ladder match and there was no seventh mystery guy, just the six guys who already qualified.

    There were some “Ole” and “Let’s go Ambrose” chants early on. There was a dumb spot during the heat where Del Rio hit a version of his double foot stomp finisher and never went for the cover. They double-teamed Ambrose on the outside so Zayn hit a flip dive to take out the heels.

    Ambrose hit the rebound clothesline and went for the hot tag, but Del Rio knocked Zayn off the apron. Ambrose used a neckbreaker and went for the tag again but Zayn was still down. Del Rio tried a running enziguri on Ambrose, but he ducked and Del Rio nailed Owens instead. Zayn made the hot tag and immediately hit Del Rio with the Helluva kick for the win. Really good finish.

    An enraged Owens grabbed Saxton’s headset and said he was sick of his partners costing him matches and he would show them what will happen at MITB. Owens grabbed a ladder to go after the briefcase, but Cesaro ran out and gave him a springboard uppercut – while wearing in his suit. Cesaro climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase, sealing his fate. Ambrose and Zayn appeared nonplussed.

    Non-Title: U.S. Champion Rusev (w/Lana) beat Jack Swagger via submission

    Lana introduced Rusev, and her accent was about 20% as strong as usual. As Swagger made his entrance, Rusev attacked him and tossed him into the steps. The referee asked Swagger if he was ok to start the match and he said yes. I feel like they’ve done this exact angle with these two before.

    Rusev tried a superkick immediately but Swagger caught him for the ankle lock. Rusev escaped to the outside and cut off Swagger with a clothesline and took control. Swagger did get some offense but Rusev won with the Accolade. He refused to break the hold, so Titus O’Neil made the save, and Rusev bailed.

    They actually plugged that after a break they would show the crap angle with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. And then they did. Also, there was another dumb segment with Darren Young and Bob Backlund. Basically, Backlund wants Darren to walk, not run. Literally.

    AJ Styles (w/The Club) beat Kofi Kingston (w/New Day) via pinfall

    They had a quick back and forth exchange and they both did a kip-up at the same time to face off, because wrestling is fake and choreographed. Just kidding. It’s fine. Styles got the better of Kingston with a couple of arm drags and posed with the Club.

    Kingston got the better of the next exchange, which led to a corner dropkick accompanied by Woods playing the trombone. The Club and New Day all jumped in the ring but they were held back from fighting. This led to a commercial break, which was only two minutes into the match. Keep in mind they had already gone to commercial break after the entrances.

    Anyway, after a while, Woods, Big E, Gallows and Anderson all got in each others faces outside the ring. Kingston was distracted so Styles ran him face first into the steel post. Crowd chanted for Kofi as Styles had control. As the announcers discussed Styles’ attitude, Saxton asked why AJ didn’t just show his hand in the first place, to which Lawler replied, “You’ve obviously never played poker.”

    Kingston came back with a monkey flip, dropkick, clothesline and leg drop. Styles ducked the Trouble in Paradise and hit a fireman’s carry into a neckbreaker. Styles went for the Styles Clash but Kingston (sort of) countered and eventually hit a double knee attack for two. Styles set up for the Phenomenal forearm but Woods distracted him with the trombone, allowing Kingston to use an S.O.S. for a near fall.

    Anderson attacked Woods on the outside, so Big E tossed Gallows into the barricade. Anderson lept at Big E, but Big E caught him and hit a belly-to-belly onto the announce table, which was cool. Gallows booted Big E, so Kingston took out Gallows with a crazy flip dive. As Kingston stepped back into the ring through the ropes, Styles caught him with a Pele kick and nailed the Styles Clash for the win. Fun stuff.

    – Final Thoughts:

    AJ Styles as a heel with The Club is cool and freshens things up. Tonight’s main event was pretty good but this was an otherwise normal Smackdown show.