This season, both the women’s strawweight division and the men’s light heavyweight division will be competing. At the end of the season, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha fight on the TUF 23 Finale with Joanna Champion defending her strawweight title.
Last week, Gadelha’s team won and picked Tatiana Suarez to face JJ Aldrich, putting the two #1 seeds on a collision course in only the show’s third week!
This Week:
Jedrzejczyk is helping Aldrich work on the “small things” to get better. Helen Harper gets injured as they’re working on submissions. Jedrzejczyk gives her a pep talk but Harper is still feeling bummed and “a bit rubbish” even when she gets to the house. Rountree tells her he’s out and can’t even come back but she’s still in the hunt.
We switch to team Gadelha and Suarez talks about how she had to overcome a cancer diagnosis just to be where she is today. “I don’t really talk about it much with people because it’s something very very personal, but I believe if you continue to persevere you can get through anything.”
Cory Hendricks and Khalil Rountree are having a donut eating contest, and the loser has to get makeup done by the girls in the house, while the winner gets a sparkling golden donut. Joshua Stansbury is the emcee/announcer for the battle. Rountree finishes his pile of donuts first and is declared the winner – not shocking he was able to do it given he’s already out of competition and doesn’t have to worry about making weight. Or does he? You never know if me might come back as an alternate.
Back on team Jedrzejczyk we see Aldrich talk about how nobody who meets her believes she’s a fighter, but (cliche coming) getting in the cage “flips a switch.” She says to beat Suarez she’s going to have all the takedowns and light her up with strikes.
Time for the weigh-in! Aldrich is 115, Suarez is 115.5. Fight’s on! Dana White says that five years ago Suarez was the #1 wrestler in the U.S., but that you can’t count Aldrich out because she trains with Rose Namajunas, so he expects a classic fight.
It’s makeup time for Cory Hendricks. He also has to put on a Reebok sports bra. He says he’s not afraid to do it, but that it’s his own fault for underestimating Rountree’s eating abilities. Lanchana Green is impressed that he went all out. Hendricks says that he can’t figure out whether the guys are attracted or upset.
* Tatiana Suarez (Team Gadelha) vs. JJ Aldrich (Team Jedrzejczyk)
Aldrich is in the red and Suarez is in the black. Suarez shoots for the double, Aldrich sprawls at first, but Suarez gets her with the leg trip. She tries to scoot back to the fence to get up, gives up her head in the process, but ultimately gets to her feet. Suarez single legs her back down at 1:45after a warning not to grab the cage and quickly moves to her back looking for hooks. She goes for a choke with only one in and Aldrich escapes and stands back up. Aldrich tries to widen her stance but is taken down again at 2:58. You can see why Suarez comes so highly touted for her wrestling, and she’s bull strong too, able to just drag Aldrich to the ground when the obvious takedown technique isn’t there. She’s going for a standing guillotine with a minute left but Aldrich escapes and survives to R2.
Suarez got “a tiny little cut” in the first round which was so tiny I didn’t even see it in HD, and Gadelha tells her not to worry. Suarez has another takedown at 40 seconds. She’s quickly moving to side looking for the arm triangle. Aldrich escapes at 1:26 but Suarez is all over her from behind. Aldrich stands at 1:55 but is thrown down head first. Suarez gets the left hook and hammers away looking for the RNC.
She gets the second hook in and at 3:14 of R2 Aldrich taps – TEAM GADELHA WINS AGAIN.
Jedrzejczyk is disappointed that Aldrich didn’t scrap harder. Suarez is happy but knows she has two more fights to go. Jedrzejczyk tells all of her team to fight to the end no matter what. Claudia picks Andrew Sanchez to face Myron Dennis. See you next week!
In last week’s main event, Mike Bennett performed a miracle when he pinned Ethan Carter III, his first loss by pinfall since debuting in TNA. Also, Drew Galloway defeated Tyrus to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title. To top it all off, Reby revealed that her husband Matt Hardy had become cold and distant since suffering an injury at the hands of Jeff Hardy.
Last week’s Impact was also significant for being the final television appearance of Bobby Roode and Eric Young. Decay defeated Roode & James Storm for the TNA Tag Titles, while Bram defeated EY for the King of the Mountain title. Both Roode and EY had been with TNA for over ten years.
This Week on Impact:
On tonight’s Impact, Drew Galloway promised to call out Bobby Lashley for a face-to-face confrontation. In addition, Bram will defened his King of the Mountain title in a KOTM match.
Show Recap:
– Earlier today, Bobby Lashley pulls up in front of the gym Drew Galloway is at, looking for a fight. Inside the gym, Galloway is being interviewed when Lashley runs in and jumps him. They brawl in front of the treadmills and eventually to the back. Lashley throws Drew into an Octagon and says “Now you’re in my world.” They continued to brawl until they were pulled apart.
– In the Impact Zone, Josh reminds us that Drew had challenged Lashley for a fight tonight but apparently Lashley couldn’t wait.
– Josh and The Pope officially welcome us to Impact as Mike Bennett and Maria make their way to the ring. Bennett recaps his victory over EC3 last week. He points out that by being the first person to pin EC3 he did something Sting, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy couldn’t do. Bennett mentions that he holds a victory over Drew and wants World title match. Bennett calls himself God and this brings out Jeff Hardy. Bennett brings up Jeff hitting the Swanton Bomb on Matt and the crowd cheers. They argue and Bennett says he’s going to ask his “good friend” Dixie Carter to make a main event match for later. Jeff doesn’t need to ask Dixie and knocks Bennett out of the ring. Bennett calls for a referee and Bennett vs. Jeff is official.
Jeff Hardy vs. “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “The First Lady of Professorial Wrestling” Maria Kanellis
Back from commercial, Jeff is on the top and Maria is standing between him and a fallen Bennett. Maria slaps Jeff and he goes after her, which allows Bennett to hit the ace crusher. Hardy makes a fiery comeback and sets Mike on the top. He sets up for the twist of fate but Lashley sneaks in and spears Jeff. Bennett thanks Lashley and they celebrate. Suddenly, Lashley spears Bennett in half. Lashley demands Dixie Carter come out and give him a title match. Dixie comes out but won’t just give him a title shot.
Dixie makes a major match for tonight when she announces that Lashley will face Jeff and Mike in a number one contenders three-way match with Drew Galloway as referees in tonight’s main event.
– In the back, Rosemary cuts a promo that is scarier then a dead child in a cornfield in a horror movie. She asks Crazy Steve if he’s ready for his transformation. He nods yes and she spits the mist into his mouth. He screams in pain and twitches on the floor. She then tells Abyss to take off his mask and she spits the mist into his face. He also screams in pain but it switches to laughter. Rosemary holds Abyss and screams “Decay! Decay!”
– In the arena, The TNA Tag team champions Decay (Abyss & Crazy Steve) are lead to the ring by Rosemary. Both Steve and Abyss have towels hiding their faces. Rosemary reveals the new Crazy Steve and Abyss. The new Crazy Steve can now speak presumably because of the mist she spit into his mouth. Steve spoke before revealing the new Abyss. He has face paint instead of wearing a mask. Abyss said that he’s free and beautiful. Rosemary said they banished half of Beer Money.
James Storm comes out to Beer Money’s theme. Storm says that Decay might have something with Beer Money not being around but he’s still here. Storm is now on his own. Storm hits the ring and sends Decay to the outside. Storm challenges Abyss to a match.
James Storm vs. Abyss w/ Crazzy Steve and Rosemary
Abyss and Storm brawl around ringside to start the match. Rosemary and Steve distract Storm long enough for Abyss to get the advantage. Storm makes a wild comeback and hits a flurry of offence. Steve tried to spit green mist into Storm’s face but he ducked and took out Steve. Abyss then spit blue mist into Storm’s eyes and picks up the win with the Black Hole Slam.
– In the back, Jeff talks about the three way main event. The interviewer guy asks about Matt. Jeff says that the Swanton Bomb was from 32 Feet and the he broke Matt, the table and their relationship.
– In the ring, the leader of the Knockouts Division Maria is in the ring and demands Knockouts Champion Jade come out. Maria wants Jade to stand behind her and admit her mistake. Maria claims she handed Jade the title and wouldn’t be champ without her. Maria wants Jade to lie down and give her the title. Jade says she doesn’t lay down for anyone not a woman, man or bitch. Maria is offended and brings out the debuting Sienna to take fight Jade.
Sienna tosses Jade around the ring. The crowd is solidly behind Jade and chanted “Jade” and “Badass”. Sienna dominates Jade but she gets in a bit of offense. In a sick looking spot, Sienna picked up Jade in a German suplex/wheel barrow position and swings her head/shoulder first into the steal steps. Sienna finishes Jade off and leaves her lying in the ring.
– In the back, Bram discusses winning the KOTM title and sending Eric Young out of TNA.
– Coming up next, Jeremy Borash is going to have an exclusive interview with EC3.
– In the back, Sienna is asked about being Maria’s muscle. She says that Maria is the leader of the Division and will follow her.
– J.B. is scheduled to interview EC3 but he’s a no-show. Instead he gets Mike Bennett. He says EC3 is scared and that nobody in TNA can beat The Miracle.
King of the Mountain Champion Bram vs. Eli Drake vs. Jesse Godderz vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Andrew Everett w/Gregory Shane helms
Rules for the match, once a wrestler is pinned he goes in the penalty box for 5 minutes. Whoever scores the pin is eligible to climb a ladder and hang the belt up. It’s a typical KOTM match with lots of brawling, quick pin falls and ladder spots. Bram is the first to become eligible with a pin fall on Everett. Shane pushes Eddie off the top and helps Eli score the pin fall. Wouldn’t Shane want to help Everett get the pin?
Everett misses a beautiful looking moonsault, which allows Jesse to score the victory. Everett and Eddie fight to the back. Eli uses the KOTM title shot brief case to knock out Jesse. Bram connects with a drop kick knocking Eli off the ladder. Bram climbs the ladder and hooks up the belt and wins the match. Eli teases cashing in this KOTM Feast or Fired contract but doesn’t at the last second.
– In the back, Eli talked about the fear in his eyes being a reflection of the fear in Bram’s eyes. Bram shows up and chases Eli away. Bram goes looking for Eli.
– We get a recap of “The Swanton from The Heavens” that Jeff executed on Matt. Next we get an interview with Matt. It’s dimly lit and done some place backstage. He says the doctors have told him he can’t wrestle because the injury to his spine is so severe. He asks, “how can Jeff be so cruel?”
– Bennett and Maria come out for the main event, but they’re soon followed by EC3. EC3 congratulates Bennett for doing something he said he was going to do. EC3 accepts his loss like a man and won’t complain about it. EC3 hopes that Bennett wins the three-way and goes onto the win the world title so he can know the satisfaction of winning the title. EC3 vows that he’ll beat Bennett for the title. EC3 says if Bennett is God that must mean he’s the devil. Once again EC3 is the highlight of the night. His promo was fantastic here and is the kind of promo a babyface should cut after losing a major match.
As EC3 left, Lashley made his way to the ring. They had a very brief showdown. They’re teasing EC3 vs. Lashley for down the road, which would make sense to happen at Bound for Glory in the fall.
Jeff Hardy vs. “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley vs. “Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis (w/special ref Drew Galloway)
Referee Drew Galloway is wearing shorts. Match starts with Lashley and Bennett taking turns beating down Jeff. Drew can do nothing but watch as Bennett and Lashley double-team his friend. Hardy fights back and takes out both guys. Jeff sends Lashley and Bennett to the outside. Jeff leaps off the corner and lands on Lashley and Bennett on the floor.
Jeff hits the Twist of Fate on Bennett and hits the Swanton off the top. Lashley takes out Jeff before he can go for the pin. Lashley points at Drew as he holds up Bennett in a delayed standing vertical suplex. Lashley sets up for the spear on Bennett, but he moves and he spears Drew instead. Jeff pins Lashley, but Drew is on the outside in pain and unable to make the count. Instead Jeff goes after Bennett on the outside.
Jeff hits the Swanton onto Bennett who is on the steel steps on the outside. Decay runs down and attacks Jeff. Abyss gives Jeff the choke slam on the steel steps. Jeff lays on the steps and struggles to his feet. In an awesome spot, Lashley runs up the steps and spears Jeff into the ring post. Lashley gives Jeff another spear in the ring. Drew recovers and is forced to count the three. Lashley is the winner and new number one contender.
Post match, Drew checks on Jeff and helps him out of the ring. Lashley demands that Drew raise his hand, which he does reluctantly. They end up brawling to end the show just like they did to start the show.
Next Time on Impact:
The build for one of TNA’s flagship PPV’s Slammiversary will continue on next week’s Impact.
Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson vs. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
This did not last long at all. Fale pinned Captain New Japan quickly with the grenade in under 3 minutes. I don’t know why Yoshitatsu let this guy in his Bullet Club Hunter club, he’s worthless in every way.
Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi & Jay White & David Finlay vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay & Gedo
Fun little match. Usual good eight man match you’d see on the first half of any New Japan show. Ospreay’s offense is so dynamic. He had a great dynamic with Finlay as they did some fun spots together. He did the Sasuke special at one point during the match, taking everyone out in the process. He ended up getting the win for his team after a springboard diamond cutter.
Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta vs. IWGP Junior Tag Champs Matt Sydal & Ricochet
Really good match. I think they’ve had better, but this built up nicely and had some good near falls toward the end. RPG Vice had the heat early. Ricochet did this great move where he caught Baretta in mid air while he was executing a tornado DDT, countered into a northern lights suplex, floated over then gave him a brainbuster. Sydal gave Baretta a reverse rana, then aided Ricochet in laying out Romero with a double Benadryller. They followed with the stereo shooting star presses and pinned RPG Vice to regain the junior titles.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu vs. NEVER Six-Man Tag Champ Kenny Omega & Young Bucks for Never
Good match, though like the previous match, their last bout was a bit better. Unlike their previous match, where they had crazy spots just about everywhere, they mostly kept this in the ring for most of the match. Elgin made a great comeback for his team. Tanahashi and Omega were in there when Omega went to use the hairspray but it hit Tiger Hattori instead. Elite acted like they were helping him, but then Omega low blowed him because he’s mean.
That’s when the weapons were brought out. Elgin powerbombed Matt Jackson into a ladder, but Omega came back and with the help of the Bucks, powerbombed Elgin through a table on the floor. They gave Yoshitatsu the triple kick, then Omega pinned Yoshitatsu with the One Winged Angel to win the titles.
Tanahashi cut a promo after the match, asking Kenny Omega for a rematch, saying he is the next Intercontinental champion. Kenny said no, but then took out the ladder and said if he wanted a ladder match, then he would say yes. They both climbed to the top of the ladder and shook hands, so it’s on.
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa for IWGP tag team titles
Okay match, mostly picked up toward the end. Guerrillas of Destiny just lack something here. Makabe and Honma are great singles guys, and have had great matches but this program just doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere. Tama Tonga and Makabe had some great back and forth that got the crowd into the bout. Tonga and Tanga took out Makabe on the outside as they cornered Honma. He tried to fight his way out of losing, but didn’t work as the brothers laid out Honma with their finish to retain the titles.
This year’s Best of the Super Junior lineups:
A Block: Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Sydal, Rocky Romero, Gedo, Bushi, Matt Jackson
B Block: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Nick Jackson, Will Ospreay, Trent Beretta, Bobby Fish, Ricochet, Volador Jr.
No real surprises other than Volador Jr. He and Will Ospreay make the B block far more interesting. I’d really like to see how their singles match goes down.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata for Never title
Good match. Started off slow with some mat wrestling, then picked up from there. They had a better G1 match, but this was good stuff while it lasted. Shibata went for the penalty kick but Nagata grabbed him and gave him a big boot and backdrop driver. Shibata mounted a comeback but Nagata put him down on the ground, gave him a penalty kick and pinned him with the backdrop driver to win the title. Shinpei Nogami, the biggest fan of Yuji Nagata you’ll ever see, freaked out after the match and kept screaming “JUSTICE!”
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kushida vs. Jushin Liger
Really good match. Different than most junior heavyweight matches. Kushida is one of th best all around workers in wrestling today just by how he’s able to adjust to any style and have a great match no matter what.
This was a more traditional match, working on body parts and applying submissions. Liger worked on Kushida’s leg early in the bout and kept working on it throughout. Liger can’t fly like he did back in the day but as far as technical wrestling goes he’s really good. Liger hit the shotei once, then went for it again but Kushida blocked it and countered with the hoverboard lock. Liger took a while, but eventually submitted.
Kushida grabbed a mic and said that he’d like to see Liger wrestle for many years to come. Liger said if the champion thinks so, he might have to challenge again down the line.
Hirooki Goto vs. Evil
Another good match. Kinda short, but it was explosive as they went at right away. A lot of brawling, and a lot of back and forth stiff shots. Goto kicked out of a fireman’s carry into a spinebuster, but then Evil gave him the STO and pinned him clean in the middle, just like that. Pretty surprising.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada
Really good match. Another match that had some good back and forth early. Sanada’s really good, definitely upper midcard/main event kind of character. Okada did the rainmaker pose but Sanada came back and put him in the Skull End submission. He missed the moonsault. Okada went to go for the rainmaker but Sanada kept dodging and trying for the Skull End. Sanada got him back down to the floor but Okada transitioned back to the tombstone, laid out Sanada with that then pinned him with the rainmaker. That’d probably put him in line for a rematch against Naito soon.
IWGP Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Awesome match, especially in the last ten minutes or so. Sure enough, Okada was out there with Ishii to second him, along with Gedo. They had a straightforward match for a while, pretty solid back and forth offering until Evil interfered, hitting Ishii with a steel chair. Ishii was working on Naito’s leg and had an ankle lock in as Chaos warded off Los Ingobernables.
Eventually they got free, but Ishii held his own until Okada made the save. Ishii hit the sliding D and went for a brainbuster but Naito countered with a DDT. Ishii countered the Destino and laid him out with an inverted brainbuster (that’s a new one!) for a nearfall. Finally, Ishii whipped Naito across the ropes but he came back with a forearm, then pinned him with Destino to retain the title.
Okada took shirt off and stared down Naito after the match. He didn’t respond at first, but eventually they had a staredown as Okada left. After all the ceremonies, Naito cut a promo asking Kidani to see the pop he’s getting in front of his crowd, and that he knows Okada wants a title shot but he has to “tranquillo”.
– This was a really good show. Everything was good for the most part, with the IWGP and Jr. title matches being really exceptional.
This season, both the women’s strawweight division and the men’s light heavyweight division will be competing. At the end of the season if both Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha, they’ll be fighting on the TUF 23 Finale LIVE with Joanna Champion defending her strawweight title.
Coach Gadelha: Tatiana Suarez, Andrew Sanchez, Kate Jackson, Eric Spicely, Amanda Cooper, Abdel Medjedoub, Lanchana Green, Cory Hendricks
Coach Jedrzejczyk: JJ Aldrich, Joshua Stansbury, Jamie Moyle, Khalil Rountree, Ashley Yoder, Myron Dennis, Helen Harper, Elias Urbina IV
Jedrzejczyk picked Khalil Rountree vs. Cory Hendricks for the first fight but that’s later to come. First is the TUF fighters being brought to their palatial estate for the filming of the season. Both Rountree and Harper are super stoked. Medjedoub is the last to find a bed but the only room left with a bed has three women. Being that he’s married and of the Muslim faith Harper completely understands why he doesn’t want to do it. Hendricks offers to stay with the girls to help Medjedoub out.
This leads to Hendricks having both feet checked out at the doctor’s office, and they do look pretty swollen. The doctor says he has contusions but no fractures, and that he should avoid striking with kicks for a few days. From there we go to a Team Gadelha meeting, where she splits up the men and the women to train separately with her assistant coaches, with Gadelha there to oversee and give advice to everyone.
Before Jedrzejczyk’s team can even hit the gym for their session, Gadelha and Jedrzejczyk get into a shoving match — that’s our teaser before the commercial.
As you’d expect everybody gets between them to break it up before it can get physical. Gadelha says she’s not going to let herself be bullied and let Jedrzejczyk get in her head. Dana White: “These two have so much animosity between each other I don’t know how they’re going to make it through the season.”
Jedrzejczyk reveals her philosophy is completely different from Gadelha’s – she believes the women should train with the men. Jamie Moyle is completely down with it because she thinks training like the champ trains will take her to a whole new level. Jedrzejczyk: “I will try to help them as much as I can.”
Hendricks and Rountree are joking about the fact they are both from Syndicate MMA yet have to fight each other. Moyle is heartbroken (she’s from Syndicate too) about it but understands it has to happen. Gadelha and her assistants are trying hard to help Hendricks do alternate training and get the swelling down so he’s able to stand and fight.
Rountree talks about all the reasons fighting changed his life – having no father figure, not fitting into his peer group because he liked punk rock and skateboarding, being overweight – and training with his brother and other fighters gave him something to feel confident about. “I lost the weight of a complete man just to be in this position – just to be on the stage to show the world what I can do.”
Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha get into another smack talking session before their fighters can even weigh-in. Jedrzejczyk wears the title belt around her waist just to rub it in Gadelha’s face, then puts it over her shoulder and talks smack to her boxing coach, which pisses Gadelha off since she says he can’t even speak English. Gadelha claims Jedrzejczyk didn’t even beat her the first time (it was a split decision).
Rountree is 204. Hendricks is 204. Fight’s on!
Helen Harper was sick this whole episode but everybody looked in on her and took care of her – especially Rountree. Dana White is giving out four bonuses this season – two for best performance at $25,000 each and two fighters get $25,000 each for being in the fight of the season.
* Khalil Rountree (Team Jedrzejczyk) vs. Cory Hendricks (Team Gadelha)
Hendricks gets a takedown at 40 seconds but Rountree gets back up quickly. Rountree stuffs the next attempt and Herb Dean forces Hendricks to stand. Hendricks gets another takedown and gets Rountree’s back. He’s got a rear naked choke in. Rountree taps at 2:33 and TEAM GADELHA GETS THE FIRST WIN.
Next week: Tatiana Suarez (Gadelha) vs. JJ Aldrich (Jedrzejczyk). See you then!
The Big News: Samoa Joe is your new NXT Champion, but that’s something you have known for 6 days already.
The Medium News: Shinsuke Nakamura returned, continuing his undefeated streak by beating Elias Sampson.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Asuka kicked Eva Marie’s head clean off her body and then squared off with Nia Jax.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Eva Marie
Miss All Red Everything is the first victim of the new champion. Eva showed way too much confidence walking to the ring, it’s almost like she’s not smart enough to realize she’s about to get killed to death. Corey Graves and Tom Phillips argued about whether Eva being on the winning team at WrestleMania qualified her for a title match.
Asuka used a snap mare in the first minute and kicked Eva so hard in the back that I think she was ready to quit. Eva began getting frustrated as she was unable to connect with any of her moves. Asuka, seeing Eva’s growing frustration, mocked Eva’s gyrations.
After Asuka sent Eva flying outside the ring Nia Jax came out to lend moral support. This helped turn the match around as we came back from commercial with Eva on offense. Eva’s offense, which mind you has improved, looked horribly weak in comparison to the champion. Asuka made her comeback, complete with a dropkick from the middle rope.
Asuka hit several kicks to the chest before actually kicking her right in the breasts, which looked like it hurt just a smidge. Eva did get to do more than you would expect, but she lost with a spin kick to the head.
After the match Nia Jax got in the ring for a stare down. Asuka teased kicking Nia in the head before Nia picked Eva up and they left together.
**********
They showed highlights of the Samoa Joe-Finn Balor match from Lowell last week. This was the first title change on NXT whose entire match was not aired on tv. Anyway, Samoa Joe now joins Seth Rollins, Big E Langston, Bo Dallas, Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor as NXT Champions.
The king is dead, long live the new king!
We got a post match promo with Samoa Joe. Joe declared that he said this was inevitable. The last two times they squared off Finn survived, but this time he didn’t.
**********
The Revival defeated Matt Lee & Jeff Parker
This is Dash & Dawson’s first NXT match since losing the straps at TakeOver: Dallas. This was a better Revival squash than most of their matches as champions. Jeff Parker was beaten like he owed them money, while Matt Lee was busy doing comedy on the apron, leading the crowd in chanting “defense” and screaming that he’s following the rules.
Revival hit kind of a reverse Doomsday Device where Dash picked Parker up in a power bomb position before Dawson came off with the clothesline. Lee tagged in and fared no better and got beaten with the Shatter Machine.
After the match The Revival cut a promo saying they are the absolute best tag team on the planet, causing the fans to chant for American Alpha. They put every tag team in the world on notice that they will destroy all of them until they get their belts back.
**********
Hype Bros defeated Blake & Murphy
I should point out that this is Ryder’s first tv match since the rematch for the IC Title with Miz on SmackDown. Blake & Murphy didn’t have Alexa with them and wow did this trio fall off the face of the Earth lately.
The fans were into the Hype Bros, which is more than you could say about Full Sail lately, but they did not care about Blake & Murphy at all. Mojo got the hot tag and he beat up both Blake and Murphy by himself before tagging Ryder back in to polish off their foes with the Hype Ryder.
After the match the Hype Bros were attacked and beaten down by The Revival, of all teams. Revival gave Mojo the Demolition Decapitation outside the ring after throwing Ryder into the post.
**********
Carmella submitted Aliyah
It’s a full card tonight as Carmella makes her first appearance since her men went to Raw without her. In case you forgot, Carmella got her job on NXT when Enzo Amore went to her hair salon and spilled a bucket of hair cream all over Carmella’s dog, which cost Carmella her job. Carmella then demanded Enzo get her a job on NXT, which he did.
This match was solid, nothing terribly exciting, just a nice, simple match. Carmella won with a head scissors. It’s nice to keep things simple.
**********
Elias Sampson was interviewed backstage about his match with Nakamura. He is annoyed that William Regal misinterpreted his words, but he will show Shinsuke why he is The Drifter. So…he’s going to just wander away during the match?
**********
Shinsuke Nakamura pinned Elias Sampson
I still can’t believe Nakamura is in WWE, much less NXT. This is so incredibly surreal it’s not even funny. It would almost be like Misawa coming to the WWF in 1995 and wrestling Waylon Mercy or Henry Godwin.
Sampson looked pretty good in this match, better than he has in any of his other NXT matches, with Nakamura telling him to lay his stuff in. This match only went 4 minutes, but was as good as you could expect in 4 minutes. It’s so weird that Eva Marie got 3 times the amount of time Nakamura got.
Anyhoo, Nakamura won with the Kinshasa.
That will do it for this week. The only thing promoted for next week is Austin Aries in action, so we’ll see what happens. Until then remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Cage battles Johnny Mundo inside a steel cage, while the trios tag title tournament concludes as well. Rey Mysterio Jr., Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. face off against the current champions of Ivelisse and Son of Havoc, Joey Ryan and The Crew, and the trio of Jack Evans, PJ Black, and the former Gift of the Gods and Lucha Underground Champion Fenix – who aims to claim the first-ever Lucha Underground triple crown.
Show Recap:
The show begins with a recap of the trios tournament, Dario putting the current champions in a four way, and the Mundo-Cage feud is rundown briefly. Bang Data plays us in to this week’s show, with a cage already constructed around the ring. Striker says that Matanza and Mil Muertes will return to action soon after going through Dario’s ceiling. Vamp says that the trios title tourney concludes tonight. Melissa Santos introduces Cage – who is in fact still a machine. Striker says that more experience in a cage benefits Mundo here, who won the only other cage match in the Temple.
Mundo vs. Cage – Steel Cage Match for an Aztec Medallion
Vamp talks about the history of aztec medallions being a bit murky due to the history being tracked by people who were busy making human sacrifices. Cage pummels away in the corner on Mundo and lands 10 strikes and a pair of short-arm lariats. Mundo does a Spider-Man wall crawl up the cage, but gets pulled down and thrown across the ring. Cage tosses him into the steel twice. Striker talks about the history of great cage matches – like Snuka vs. Muraco and Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer. Vamp adds himself versus Sting and himself versus his ex-wife.
Vamp talks about training in BJJ and being surprised that Cage isn’t going for a Kimura during a cover. Cage locks in a Boston crab on Mundo while he is locked into the middle rope – akin to missing a shoulder charge and then getting locked in a crab from there. Cage walks on the rope, but gets crotched by Mundo, who lands a cage-assisted shining wizard and a basement dropkick. Cage and Mundo fight up top, but Taya whips Cage’s hand with her boot and Mundo hits a C4 off the top for 2.
Mundo whips him with Taya’s belt and he rushes in before eating a Samoa Joe-style STO out of the corner. Cage and Mundo fight on top of the cage, and man are the veins in Cage’s forearms crazy. Moonlight Drive off the top gets 2. Taya tries to give Mundo a kendo stick, but Cage nixes that and Mundo goes for a Flying Chuck from the blindside, but gets countered into a deadlift German. Buckle bomb leads to a steel cage powerbomb! Cage goes up, but Taya kinda bonks him a bit to take him down. Mundo grabs it and then lays some sick shots in for 2.
Cage goes to attack with the stick, but Mundo uses parkour to avoid it. Cage canes him and snaps it over his knee before getting 2. Mundo avoids a shot and gets a superkick and a Pele for 2. Mundo sunset flips out of a Weapon X. Taya gives Mundo a chair and he hits him in the head for 2. Mundo goes up and poses before teasing an End of the World off the top and missing. Taya climbs up top and dives into Cage. Magic killer onto Cage gets 2. Taya pulls handcuffs out of her boot, but she gets them put on her against the ropes. Spinebuster to Mundo leads to a Steiner Screwdriver on a chair for the win. This was outstanding – outside of the unprotected chairshot to the head and Taya’s weak cane shots. Trios Title tournament match is next, leading to some nice shots of the title belt.
Dario comes out and interrupts Melissa, getting a “jefe!” chant and then a “we want lucha!” chant. He says he has news – Angelico has had an accident, and he’ll get to the bottom of it. However, the title match will go on and Havoc and Ivie will defend the titles for their team. He wishes them luck and says they’ll need it. Evans walks down the steps on his hands, which seems like a very bad idea for many reasons.
Ivelisee and Son of Havoc vs. Fenix, Jack Evans, and PJ Black vs. Joey Ryan and The Crew vs. Prince Puma, Dragon Azteca Jr., and Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rey debuts new slick silver and red gear here while Striker runs down Rey’s history as a tag champion. Vamp says that the current champs are at a disadvantage in theory, but can use their long-term partnership to turn everyone else against each other. Fenix and Cisco miss dropkicks, and Rey and Ivie each get 2. It’s one person from each team in the ring at all times – so it’s going to be nuts. Superkick to the gut of Ivie and Cisco lands a powerslam and gets a “Cisco” chant. Striker says that he’s now becoming a fan favorite, and that people change.
PJ is in Joker-esque neon green and purple gear. Do-si-doi spot in the corner by Havoc and Puma. Havoc lands some forearms to Castro, but Cisco gets a blind tag. Vamp asks what happened to Bael and Striker says he has no idea – people come and go in the Temple all the time. Dragon misses a kick to Castro, but spins into one on Cisco. Joey grabs Ivie and takes her to the floor. Fenix hits a corkscrew dive onto Cisco. PJ with a dive, and Puma goes for one, but hoists Dragon up for a top rope corkscrew to the pile on the floor.
PJ uses Puma as a launching pad for a flip dive, and then Rey hits his missile dive onto the pile. Havoc hits a space flying tiger drop as well. This is essentially a crazy video game match with everyone doing a dive on the floor. Joey stops Ivie’s dive by trying to impress her with his crotch, but she kicks his chest in and then German suplexes him. Castro comes in and eats forearms Big brainbuster to her leads to Joey wanting the tag, Castro being distracted and being small packaged to eliminate them from the equation.
Jack, Puma, and Havoc go for a three-way tieup before a double dropkick sends Jack to the floor. Havoc hits a high kick and a double stomp followed by a standing moonsault for 2. Striker talks about the illuminati for a bit while Jack says that he is the baddest bitch in the building – not Ivie. Ivie chops him and boots his face off. Sunset powerbomb hits, but PJ superkicks her and Jack pins her – so it’s down to two teams and new champions will be crowned here. A Weapon X highlight reel airs during a break.
Dragon and Fenix square off, leading to Dragon going for a backwards roll and then eating a mushroom stomp to the back of the head for 2. Dragon lands a corkscrew DDT while Vamp asks Striker to give him another quarter to keep the video game going. Puma comes in and hits the Northern Lights into the brainbuster before landing the one-man alarm clock! PJ eats a 630, but Evans kicks him in the nuts. Jack comes in and hits a running double sledge. Jack has his partners hold Puma, but he goes for a wacky kick that kicks Fenix.
Rey sends PJ over the top with a headscissors and lands a springboard crossbody to Jack. Outside-in headscissors puts Jack into the 619 position. It hits and then Jack just kinda stands there while Puma and Azteca set up a double team corkscrew DDT.Rey hits a split-legged moonsault to beat him and win his first title in Lucha Underground. The faces celebrate and we go to Pentagon Jr’s lair.
Vampiro tells him to come, and we see Pentagon wheel himself in on a motorized wheelchair after Matanza broke his back. Vampiro tells him to get up – he doesn’t, so Vamp burns him with the wax of a black candle. Pentagon tries to rise, but falls to the floor. Vamp grabs him and says he’s weak before leaving him in a pool of blood and smoke. Well, this was different and weird. Excellent show overall – with only two matches, and each of them were very good. To see all the screenshots for the show, click here.
Is Crews stuck in an infinite booking loop, or what? Having beaten all four Social Outcasts since his debut against Tyler Breeze, Crews is then given the rematch against Curtis Axel that we were all clamouring for. It’s worth noting that Axel entered alone here, which meant no pre-match Outcasts promo. Crying shame.
Despite dispatching Axel in short order in their Smackdown match a couple of weeks ago, Crews takes 13 long minutes to dispense with the now-chainless wonder here. It was a dull match, most notable for a Crews vertical suplex, with an extended delay to showcase his power. Lawler also referred to Axel as Heath Slater at one point, which drew Rich Brennan’s mirth and derision.
Axel eventually missed a fist drop from the top rope to spur Crews’ comeback, which saw him counter the Perfectplex with a standing enziguri and follow up with the spinning sitout powerbomb for the win.
Summer Rae def. Alicia Fox by pinfall
Yeesh, this was bad. And the crowd, who chanted for New Day, knew it too. Summer Rae at least provided some entertainment during her entrance, singing along to her theme and proclaiming: “It’s the best song!”. Alicia, meanwhile, who is no longer a Bella, was bedecked in sky-blue ring gear and accompanied by her old generic theme.
This lasted four minutes, but felt like fourteen. The seams of the match were very visible, with a lot of awkward spots and miscommunication. Summer eventually won by tossing Foxy neck first onto the ropes and following up with her leg-assisted reverse DDT – the Summer Crush, apparently.
The Big Show and Kane def. Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman
Kane’s entrance gets a big pop, simply by dint of him being the first star that this London crowd had seen at the taping so far. The Big Show gives Kane an uncertain thumbs up upon entering the ring, for fear that Kane might goozle him over the top rope again. Like he did only last month. 28 writers, folks.
The Vintner and Braun enter to Luke Harper’s music and TitanTron, without the injured Bray Wyatt. The match is as dreadful as you might expect, coming in at 15 minutes with TWO (yes, two) hot tags. The lengths they go to avoid having Braun work on television are amusing, with all his part in getting the heat on Show taking place during the commercial break. When we return, Braun immediately tags out!
The first hot tag, to Kane, is quickly cut off by Braun, as he performs his first two actual moves of the match (a bodyslam and an elbow drop!). Then, the heels get the heat on Kane for a while, including the Vintner using my favourite submission – the double noogie. Mark for it every time, bro.
Kane immediately hits Braun with a DDT when he tags in to further prevent the big man from exposing the business. He then crawls to Show to make the second hot tag of the match, which culminates in both babyfaces creaming Rowan with a double chokeslam for the victory.
Final Thoughts
An appalling edition of the show this week, with very little of merit to recommend it by.
This week’s show was our final look at Dominon, held last July at Osaka Jo Hall.
Okada is this week’s interview subject. The interviewer mentions how this is the first wrestling card in over 20 years. Okada says he should be thanked for that, but it also felt good to see the arena packed. As far as AJ goes, he wanted his title back. He’s a great wrestler. It was tough, no doubt about it.
I loved the early parts of this match with the interference. Now, Bullet Club freely interferes on many occasions; this is hardly news. But this felt like the culmination of every other time they ever interfered because this time, Red Shoes had enough of their shenanigans. He told the Bullet Club to suck it, then told AJ to suck it. It’s a little detail in this match, but I thought it was a nice touch.
As for the match itself, it was awesome. It was just two guys who know how to have a great match going out there and giving it everything. Once the Bullet Club was ejected the workrate was high, and they totally delivered. The last few minutes were excellent with Styles and Okada trading some high profile offense until Okada hit his second or third Rainmaker for the win. Another nice touch was that even though Okada laid out Styles with multiple rainmakers, he didn’t pin Styles until he knew he had him beat. In an era where finishers are spammed to death, it’s nice to know New Japan protects them for when it’s most important.
It kinda hit me while watching this match that as good as AJ Styles was in New Japan, he’s never going to be that good in WWE. Not that he won’t have good matches, he’s already proven that in spades. But even if WWE gives someone like AJ enough time to have a PPV quality match, he’s bound to a bunch of road agents who are commanded to tell people how to work a certain way. AJ came to his own in New Japan as a ring general and flourished. In WWE, that ain’t happening. It’s a shame, but this match proved just how much AJ upped his profile within a years’ time in New Japan.
Gedo cuts his usual promo after the match, saying Okada’s at a whole other level and that the future of pro wrestling is in his hands. Okada has three things to say. His first two points is as champion, he’ll definitely compete and win in the G1. The third point…well, he doesn’t have a third point. He promises that it’ll rain money all over New Japan as a big confetti celebration starts
AJ didn’t have anything to say backstage. Okada said it was a great fight, and seeing so many people live was awesome. He was happy to get the result he wanted, and hopes NJPW can do it every year. They have a toast with some beer, with Okada jokingly noting that Gedo is really washing it down.
He was nervous going into the match, but was happy with the result. AJ was a tough person to beat, and was also happy to do it in front of so many people. A lot of wrestlers watch his matches, so he is grateful he faced such a great wrestler as it brought up his caliber. Great show this week. Check it out if you haven’t seen this match before.
Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Roppongi Vice and Gedo
One dude doesn’t fit here. Not only is Nakanishi immobile but he’s a bit heavier than his opponents, I gotta say. Everyone took a bump for him as he threw the trio around. Standard match. There was a funny spot near the end where Taguchi and Tiger Mask did stereo hit attacks, then wanted Nakanishi to do one. He obliged, but his feet barely left the ground in doing so. He submitted Gedo with the torture rack.
Jay White and David Finlay vs. Great Bash Heel
The young lions showed great fire with their back and forth against the champions. Finlay actually took a spike piledriver to the floor. Kinda sad that it used to be one of those moves that used to put you out for months, and now it’s just a spot in a match. Solid work all around regardless. Honma got the win for his team by pinning Finlay with the sitout piledriver, which I think is the first time in forever he’s pinned someone with that.
Juice Robinson and Captain New Japan vs. Guerrillas of Destiny
Captain New Japan has aligned himself with Yoshitatsu as they have formed a “Bullet Club Hunters” faction. Too bad one half of this team is a guy who never wins a match. Mostly a match designed for GoD to look strong, which they did. I think Robinson continues to improve in every match he’s in, though, he looked good here. CNJ was pinned after a elevated DDT finish by GoD.
Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida vs. Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger
These guys had a long match, pretty good in a lot of places. Liger and Kushida worked together and were pretty good. Shibata and Nagata were great as they not only did some grappling but also made sure to strike one another pretty fiercely. At one point Liger/Shibata and Nagata/Kushida worked another, which was pretty cool because you don’t see that happen too often, though it’s been popping up a bit more recently. Liger got a flash pin over Kushida with a bridge pin.
Nagata tore into Shibata after the match, pummeling him with kicks and of course had to be pulled apart. Ended up being another staredown between the two teams.
NEVER Six Man Titles: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu vs. Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi
Yoshitatsu’s new gimmick is that he mimics Triple H by doing his water spot on the apron when making his entrance and now wears the same kind of tights. That’s just as lame as Taguchi doing the Nakamura spots, but at least he’s doing it for comedy. Pretty good match. Elgin and Omega worked together for a bit and worked really well in their preview for next week. Yoshitatsu and Tanahashi did topes to the outside, leaving Elgin and Takahashi. The latter tried to get a sneaky win with a low blow and roll up, but Elgin kicked out and after some back and forth, pinned Yujiro after a buckle bomb and a power bomb.
Elimination match: Yoshi-Hashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Bushi, and Sanada
It was your typical eight man for a lot of the match in that everyone got to work with one another- Goto/Evil, Ishii/Naito, etc. Sanada worked a lot of the match and looked right at home. He’s had potential ever since he was a rookie in All Japan. Naito was the first one eliminated, deciding to eliminate himself. Ishii soon followed after a distraction by Naito sent him to the floor. Goto beat up Evil some more and tossed him to the floor to eliminate him. Bushi came in and briefly got his butt kicked, but managed to get Goto to the apron then sprayed him with the mist to eliminate him.
Okada tried to give Bushi the rainmaker but Sanada blocked him. Bushi and Okada made it to the apron as Okada tried to eliminate Bushi but Sanada dropkicked Okada, sending him to the floor and leaving just Yoshi-Hashi to fend for himself. He managed to eliminate Bushi as he and Sanada went at it. They had some pretty good back and forth between one another. Yoshi-Hashi had the better of it as he went to the top rope but Evil held on to him as Sanada recovered and gave him a superplex, then eventually submitted him with a dragon sleeper into a waistlock.
Everyone from Chaos was laid out after the match. Evil gave Goto the STO, Sanada laid out Okada, Bushi gave Ishii the mist as Naito cut a promo. Ishii tried to attack him again but he was laid out once more as Los Ingobernables made their exit.
This season, both the women’s strawweight division and the men’s light heavyweight division will be competing. At the end of the season if both Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha, they’ll be fighting on the TUF 23 Finale LIVE with Joanna Champion defending her strawweight title. First up though are the qualifying fights for the teams on TUF 23. Let’s do this!
115 pounds: Mellony Geugjes (0-1) vs. Amanda Cooper (1-1)
Geugjes is in the red trunks and Cooper the black. Geugjes claimed in her pre-fight interview that she got into MMA because people refused to fight her any more in kickboxing. Cooper certainly didn’t refuse. Geugjes jumps into her guard after tripping her 23 seconds in and it was a big mistake – Cooper quickly trapped an arm and rolled and tapped Geugjes at the one minute mark.
GEUGJES ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA SUBMISSION.
205 pounds: Eric Spicely (8-0) vs. Kenneth Bergh (3-0)
Spicely is in the red trunks and Bergh the black. Other than his face there doesn’t seem to be an inch of Bergh’s body from the knees up that isn’t tattooed. Spicely quickly double legs him to the ground and takes his back – tapping Bergh out to a rear naked choke in 33 seconds.
SPICELY ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA SUBMISSION.
115 pounds: Ashley Cummins (3-3) vs. Lanchana Green (2-1)
Cummins is in the red and is an Invicta veteran. Green is in the black and runs her own gym with her boyfriend in England. Cummins secures a takedown to side control and Green tries and fails to back her off, eating elbows to the face as they spin. Green tries to grab a leg and sweep but ends up eating left hands to the head. Cummins takes the back with hooks in at2:47 then winds up on top again in half guard. Green keeps surviving but she’s eating lots of rights and elbows. Cummins gets a full mount at 4:18 then takes the back again. Green survives the RNC because the horn saves her.
Green survives two takedown attempts and suddenly Cummins starts getting creamed with knees when she doesn’t break away cleanly from the fence. The ref warns her multiple times to fight back and finally steps in to save Cummins. It’s pretty much the story of Cummins career in a fight that doesn’t even officially count on her record. She always looks good until she makes a mistake – and then “Smashley” gets smashed.
GREEN ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA TKO.
205 pounds: Khalil Rountree (4-0) vs. Muhammed Dereese (5-0)
Rountree has white trunks and Dereese is in the black. Dereese credits his Islamic background for why he’s a fighter instead of in jail. Rountree says MMA is what gave him direction and got him in shape. Dereese gets a takedown 12 seconds in and Rountree gets a warning for shots to the back of the head. Dereese hits a leg trip, takes the back, gets the back and Rountree escapes the submission. Dereese goes for the takedown again and Rountree is lighting him up. Wild action in round one.
Rountree lands a nasty head kick and pours it on with kicks to the body on the ground until the referee steps in and saves Dereese.
ROUNTREE ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA TKO.
115 pounds: Alyssa Krahn (3-1) vs. Jamie Moyle (3-1)
Moyle is the second straight Team Syndicate fighter competing on the show (Rountree was the first). Krahn wants to represent women’s MMA in Canada. Krahn is in the red trunks, Moyle the black. Krahn outwrestles her early on but gives up her back late and gets taped out to a rear naked choke at 4:10.
MOYLE ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA SUBMISSION.
205 pounds: Myron Dennis (12-4) vs. Jamelle Jones (6-2)
Dennis is in the red trunks and Jones the black. Dennis says he’s light-skinned dynamite. Jones says he was a three time collegiate All-American. Dennis lights Jones up standing until the ref stepped in to save him – which was the right call since Jones seemed uncertain where he was. Dennis tells Dana White to get his checkbook out because he’s not a cheap date!
DENNIS ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA TKO.
115 pounds: Ashley Yoder (4-1) vs. Jodie Esquibel (5-1)
Yoder is a Team Quest fighter with Dan Henderson who discovered fighting after her brother passed away in an accident. Esquibel has been friends with Holly Holm for 16 years and her fiancee is former UFC star Keith Jardine – she’s also another Invicta FC veteran. Yoder is in the red trunks and Esquibel the black. Esquibel is landing big kicks and right hands and you can see her striking skill, but Yoder is getting advice from Hendo who tells her to get a single leg – and she does. She’s unable to get the RNC before the horn. After an action packed second round Dana White believes it’s going to a third, but “Big” John McCarthy says it’s over.
YODER ADVANCES VIA SPLIT DECISION – DANA AND THE COACHES ARE APPALLED.
205 pounds: Norman Paraisy (13-4-2) vs. Elias Urbina IV (3-0)
Paraisy was a competitor on season 11 of TUF who quit between rounds of his fight with James Hammortree. He says that mistake made him a better man and now he’s back to prove he can do better. He’s in the white trunks. His brother Hector is in UFC with a record of 17-9-1 (1-1 in two UFC bouts). This fight is cut down to highlights. Dana scores the first round for Paraisy, says the second round both guys were gassed, but Urbina did enough to get it to the third – and ultimately to the judges.
URBINA ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA DECISION.
115 pounds: JJ Aldrich (2-1) vs. Kristi Lopez (2-0)
This is cut down to highlights of Aldrich (who is a training partner of Rose Namajunas) beating the snot out of Lopez over the course of two rounds.
ALDRICH ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA DECISION.
205 pounds: Abdel Medjedoub (3-0) vs. John Paul Elias (3-0)
Elias’ wife is Carly Lauren – Miss October 2013 in Playboy. This one is also cut down to highlights. Dana White says Medjedoub took Elias down and smothered him for the entire fight. The judges agree.
MEDJEDOUB ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA DECISION.
115 pounds: Tatiana Suarez (3-0) vs. Chel-C Bailey (2-0)
Suarez is a cancer survivor. She’s in the red trunks. Bailey is friends with Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate, who are there to offer her advice and support for the fight. Bailey has black trunks. Grappling is the story of round one, allowing Suarez to control position and attack effectively. Even Tate seems pretty clear Bailey didn’t win the first round. Suarez is relentless with the takedowns in R2, and she’s got a full mount with some nasty strikes in the last ten seconds. The winner seems clear.
SUAREZ ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA DECISION.
205 pounds: Phillip Hawes (3-0) vs. Andrew Sanchez (7-2)
Hawes is a training partner for Jon Jones. Sanchez was a four time All-American and apparently can play ukelele judging by the pre-fight clip. Even though the hype was on Hawes, Sanchez was able to outwork him over two rounds.
SANCHEZ ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA DECISION.
115 pounds: Irene Cabello Rivera (6-2) vs. Kate Jackson (7-2-1)
JACKSON ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA TKO.
206 pounds: Cory Hendricks (3-0) vs. Marcel Fortuna (8-1)
Hendricks is a WSOF veteran in the red trunks. Fortuna is the only Brazilian among the men and he’s in the black trunks. Hendricks stuffed almost all of the takedowns in the first round and landed a lot of hard leg kicks. The judges decide Fortuna did enough with takedowns in the second round for there to be a third.
HENDRICKS ADVANCES VIA DECISION – THEY DON’T SAY IF IT WAS SPLIT OR NOT.
115 pounds: Amy Montenegro (7-2) vs. Helen Harper (4-1)
Montenegro is in the red trunks and Harper the black. Harper says she learned martial arts as a survivor of domestic abuse. She goes for Montenegro’s back and trips her to the ground. Montenegro gets back to her feet and delivers a nice elbow to the face, then goes for a single leg of her own. She loses it and Harper gets the back with both hooks in. She goes hard for a sub, Montenegro gets on top and tries to power bomb her way out of it but is ultimately forced to tap.
HARPER ADVANCES TO THE HOUSE VIA SUBMISSION.
205 pounds: Josh Stansbury (7-2) vs. Trever Carlson (10-2)
Stansbury has been here once before but lost a TUF 19 elimination fight when he broke his leg. He’s in the red trunks. Carlson is in the black and works in a gold mine. Stansbury ends up on top pounding the heck out of Carlson 40 seconds into the fight, Carlson tries to roll to save himself as Herb Dean warns him about shots to the back of the head, Stansbury moves to side control and traps the head, but Carlson keesps on surviving. Eventually though he sinks in the americana and Carlson taps.
First fight: Jedrzejczyk picks Rountree vs. Hendricks. Hendricks has a foot injury though and may not be able to compete. Interesting that the two Syndicate MMA guys have to face each other right off the bat next week.
