Category: Other Wrestling

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My Favorite Wrestler (This Week): Braun, KO, remembering The Animal

Posted on by Zach Dominello

Welcome to My Favorite Wrestler (This Week). Each week, the Wrestling Observer team chooses, you guessed it, their favorite wrestler of the week. The criteria are that there are no criteria. Except it has to be a wrestler. And it has to be because of something that wrestler has done this week. So there’s at least some criteria.

This week’s panel —

This week, the biggest news in wrestling has been the saddest kind of news, with the passings of George “The Animal” Steele, Ivan Koloff, and Nicole Bass. But the show, and this column, must go on. Here are our favorite wrestlers this week. Who’s yours?

George “The Animal” Steele

By Zach Dominello

One of, if not my earliest, wrestling memories is George “The Animal” Steele. I was four or five years old, and being introduced to professional wrestling on my nonna’s living room floor. Instantly, I was captivated by these absurdly large and colorful characters with their bandanas, shiny sunglasses, wispy blonde hair, and bicep tassels. But nobody caught my attention more than The Animal.

He was like nothing I had ever seen before. Just the amount of hair alone on that man’s body blew my five-year-old mind. He was like Shrek before Shrek even existed. A real life monster. Except he wasn’t. Behind the layers and layers of hair (so much hair) was this gentle, caring, turnbuckle eating, green tongued man. The other characters looked their part. Hogan looked like the hero, King Kong Bundy looked like the (enormous) villain. But George was different. His outward appearance didn’t match who he was. I found that so intriguing as a kid.  

It’s what’s inside that counts, and don’t judge a book by its cover. Such simple lessons that we’re usually taught by our parents and our teachers. They were taught to me by George “The Animal” Steele. And Sloth from The Goonies.

Kevin Owens

By Jeremy Peeples

Kevin Owens won the week with his incredible promo on Raw. WWE has struggled to make him feel like a top guy — let alone the top guy on Raw since his title win. He was greatly hurt by effectively being handed the title by Triple H, which was made worse by it being his first World title-level win in the company — so he already had an uphill battle to climb.

Months of being a comedy sidekick to Chris Jericho hurt his credibility, but his promo on Raw gave him a serious edge that he has lacked for the better part of the past year. It’s a shame that we didn’t see more of this side of Kevin Owens’ character during his title run, because with that seemingly ending at Fastlane, it’s hard to imagine him being put in the title scene any time soon with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman seemingly being the focus of Raw’s top tier in 2017.

Kaito Kiyomiya

By Alan4L

“NOAH the REBORN” was the subject of my article in this week’s F4W newsletter and my dude right now on the Green Mat is young Kaito Kiyomiya.

Now the protege of the Japanese Cyborg Killing Machine Takashi Sugiura, Kiyomiya has taken on an even fierier attitude than he had in his first year of wrestling. He’s stepped up big in recent weeks against Naomichi Marufuji and even got knocked out cold as a result. But Kaito keeps coming and has all the heart and fight in the world. He’s going to be a star.

Emi Sakura

(Image: Oli Sandler of Ringside Perspective)

By Alan Boon

My favorite wrestler (this week) is Emi Sakura, the Japanese veteran who heads up the Gatoh Move promotion. Over the weekend she returned to UK joshi promotion Pro Wrestling EVE, where she is a former champion, and worked both shows in their A Day & A Night At The Resistance double-shot.

She won the pinfall in the main event of the matinee show, a six-woman affair also featuring joshi legend Meiko Satomura, and lost a tooth to an errant kick from her compatriot, before facing EVE Champion Rhia O’Reilly for the title at the climax of the evening show, when she again bled for her efforts.

The following day, Sakura led a training seminar and then hand-picked the best of that class for a free show, showcasing the talents of girls from all over the UK, and giving back to a scene which has embraced her on her regular trips over here. Reassuring existing fans that she is not slowing down, and winning over new ones by the dozen, Sakura is deservedly This Week’s Best Thing Ever.

Braun Strowman

By Mike DellaCamera

It was February 23rd, 2017. I woke up, went to work, came home, walked my dog, and realized Braun Strowman was my favorite wrestler of the week. The thought of that is almost too much for me to comprehend. Go back six months. If someone told you their favorite wrestler, at any point, was Braun Strowman, how would you react? What would you feel? How did someone go from something thrown into the Wyatt Family to the main event of Raw? It’s really a lot to process and I’m not entirely sure I have.

His match with Big Show on Raw was…perfect? Incredible? It exceeded every reasonable expectation I had for it by miles. The things he can do at his size are outrageous. His physical gifts are preposterous. But the most incredible thing he did this week? He showed us he could tell a story in the ring. He utilized all of his physical attributes and proved that somewhere in him, is the ability to be as good as anyone. His ceiling was effectively removed, and where he goes from here is only limited by what WWE writes for him. Man, what a time to be alive.

Kassius Ohno

By Ryan Frederick

After a legendary run on the independent scene, Chris Hero made his television return to NXT under his former moniker, Kassius Ohno, and he gets my favorite wrestler of the week.

No, he didn’t compete in a televised match, though he has been working on NXT house shows for the last month, but Ohno, as Hero, is coming off one of the best years in the business in 2016, and he has a lot of new momentum in coming back to WWE. Time will tell whether he eventually moves to the main roster, but his popularity is at an all-time high, and I’m very invested in what they will do with him this time, as they completely missed the boat on him the first time.

It was for the best, though, and I’m hopeful for an even more incredible future from Ohno with WWE.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/23): WWE Elimination Chamber 2014

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1939

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– World Title: Jim Londos beat Joe Savoldi to retain title
– Hans Steinke beat Housepainter Hogan 
– Vic Christy beat Tom Mahoney (default) 
– Jules Strongbow beat Ernie Powers 
– Hardy Kruskamp beat Cardiff Giant

1944

Des Moines, Iowa:
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ray Steele and World Junior Heavyweight Champion Ken Fenelon wrestled to a 90 minute draw

1964

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher beat Moose Evans & Verne Gagne to regain the AWA tag team title
– Wilbur Snyder beat Angelo Poffo
– Mitsu Arakawa beat Tiny Mills
– Rene Goulet beat Hans Schmidt by DQ
– Doug Gilbert beat Marquis DeParee

1969

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– The Sheik beat Might Igor
– Lord Athol Layton beat Masked Assassin by disqualification
– Whipper Billy Watson and Bulldog Brower took 2 of 3 falls from Al Costello and Mighty Ursuy 
– Paul DeMarco beat Joe Christie
– Fred Atkins beat Eric the Red
– Rocky Johnson drew Ivan Kalmikoff

1970

Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Harley Race
– Non Title: The Crusher & Edouard Carpentier beat AWA Tag Team Champions Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon 
– Red Bastien drew Lars Anderson
– Pepper Gomez beat Dr. X 

1971

Portland, Oregon:
– Kurt Von Steiger & Karl Von Steiger beat Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon to win AWA World Tag Title (title change only acknowledged in Portland. The Vachons were on their way to Japan for a lengthy tour and decided to drop the AWA Tag Straps to the Von Steigers in Portland without Verne Gagne’s knowledge or permission)
– Stan Stasiak beat Sailor White
– Dutch Savage beat Les Thornton
– Bobby Nichols drew Haru Sasaki
– Eric Froelich drew Moose Morowski

1978

Jacksonville, Florida:
– Dusty Rhodes & Eddie Graham defeated Karl Kox & Bobby Duncum in a taped fist match
– Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Mike Graham & Terry Gibbs (sub. for Steve Kiern) to retain US tag titles
– Ivan Putski defeated the Bounty Hunter
– Ivan Koloff & Mr. Saito defeated Rocky Johnson & Pedro Morales
– Mr. Wrestling II defeated Tank Patterson (sub. for Hiro Matsuda)
– The Fabulous Moolah defeated Vicki Williams
– Porkchop Cash defeated Randy Brewer
– WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund fought NWA World Champion Harley Race to a draw

1986

Chicago, Illinois:
– Sgt. Slaughter went to a no contest with AWA Champion Stan Hansen
– Road Warriors beat Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin
– Curt Hennig & Scott Hall & Brad Rheingans beat Boris Zhukov & Mongolian Stomper & Nord The Barbarian
– No DQ Match: Larry Zbyszko beat Nick Bockwinkel
– Midnight Rockers beat The Alaskans
– Colonel DeBeers beat Buck Zumhofe
– Leon White beat Doug Somers

1987

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler & AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Austin Idol & Humongous
– Alan West won Bunkhouse stampede
– Big Bubba & Goliath beat Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis to win Southern tag belts
– Paul Diamond beat Johnny Boyd by DQ
– Cobra & Lou Winston beat The Hunter & Tony Burton
– Tarzan Goto & Akio Sato beat Alan West & King Cobra
– Soul Train Jones beat Don Bass

1990

WWF Main Event: Detroit, Michigan:
– WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage (Buster Douglas, who had just defeated Mike Tyson in Tokyo for the World Championship in Boxing was the special referee. After the match, Savage shoved Douglas and Douglas knocked out Savage)
– Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior defeated Dino Bravo 

1991

Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Larry Zbyszko pinned Tommy Rich
– Brian Pillman & Tim Horner defeated Scott Sandlin & Rob Morgan
– Ricky Morton pinned Rip Rogers
– Tom Zenk pinned Bobby Eaton
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger defeated Stan Hansen via disqualification when Hansen began choking Luger with his bullrope
– Sting defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification
– WCW Tag Team Champions Doom defeated Barry Windham & Terry Taylor (sub. for WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson) in a streetfight

1997

WCW SuperBrawl: San Francisco, California:
– Syxx defeated Dean Malenko to win thee WCW Cruiserweight Championship
– Konnan, La Parka and Villano IV defeated Juventud Guerrera, Super Caló and Ciclope
– Prince Iaukea defeated Rey Mysterio, Jr. to retain the WCW World Television Championship
– Diamond Dallas Page defeated Buff Bagwell by disqualification
– Eddy Guerrero defeated Chris Jericho to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
– The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) and The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian)
– Jeff Jarrett defeated Steve McMichael (with Debra McMichael)
– Chris Benoit (with Woman) defeated The Taskmaster (with Miss Jacquelyn and Jimmy Hart) in a San Francisco Death match    
– Lex Luger and The Giant defeated The Outsiders to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship
– Hollywood Hogan defeated Roddy Piper to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

2002

Ring of Honor debut show: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Low Ki defeated Christopher Daniels and Bryan Danielson 
– The Amazing Red defeated Jay Briscoe 
– Super Crazy defeated Eddy Guerrero to become the first IWA Puerto Rico Intercontinental champion

2004

Omaha, Nebraska:
– Victoria defeated champion Molly Holly, Jazz and Lita in an elimination match to win the WWE Women’s Title

2008

ROH 6th Anniversary Show: New York City:
– ROH Tag Team champs Davey Richards & Rocky Romero defeated Ruckus & Jigsaw
– Bryan Danielson defeated ROH champ Nigel McGuinness by DQ
– FIP champ Roderick Strong won a three-way No DQ match over Necro Butcher and Erick Stevens

2014

WWE Elimination Chamber: Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– WWE Intercontinental champion Big E beat Jack Swagger to retain the title
– WWE Tag Team champions The New Age Outlaws defeated The Usos to retain the title
– Batista defeated Alberto Del Rio
– Elimination Chamber: WWE World Heavyweight champion Randy Orton defeated John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Sheamus and Christian to retain the title

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/21): WCW SuperBrawl 1993

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1951

Sioux City, Iowa:
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated Mike DiBiase

1961

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Gene Kiniski by countout
– AWA Tag Team Champions Hard Boiled Haggerty & Len Montana beat Stan Kowalski & Tiny Mills
– Wilbur Snyder beat Nick Roberts 
– Jim Hady drew Bob Geigel 

1974

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Ronnie Etchison defeated Taro Kabayoshi
– Bull Bullinski defeated Billy Howard
– Jim Brunzell defeated Bob Orton
– Reggie Parks defeated Baron Scicluna
– Tokyo Joe defeated Kit Conway
– Don Fargo fought Omar Atlas to a double-DQ
– Texas Death Match: The Viking defeated Lord Alfred Hayes
– Harley Race defeated Bob Brown via DQ in three falls

1982

Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan
– Hulk Hogan beat Bobby Duncum
– Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Heenan
– Ken Patera beat Baron Von Raschke

1983

Memphis, Tennessee: 
– Jerry Lawler won by forfeit over AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel when Nick failed to show
– No DQ Match: Austin Idol beat Jerry Lawler
– Sheepherders beat Bill Dundee & Steve O
– Southern Champion Terry Taylor beat Austin Idol
– Sweet Brown Sugar beat Bobby Eaton to win Mid American Title
– Adrian Street & Jesse Barr beat Fabulous Ones to win Southern Tag Title
– Jacques Rougeau beat Dutch Mantel by DQ

1993

WCW SuperBrawl: Asheville, North Carolina:
– Barry Windham defeated The Great Muta to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title
– WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Sting in a non-title Leather Strap match
– Brian Pillman & Steve Austin defeated Erik Watts & Marcus Alexander Bagwell
– 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Chris Benoit 
– Davey Boy Smith defeated Bill Irwin 
– Cactus Jack defeated Paul Orndorff in a Falls Count Anywhere match
– The Rock N’ Roll Express defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Pritchard & Stan Lane) via disqualification
– United States Champion Dustin Rhodes defeated Maxx Payne via disqualification

1999

WCW SuperBrawl: Oakland, California:
– Barry Windham & Curt Hennig defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko to win the WCW World Tag Team Titles 
– Scott Hall defeated Roddy Piper to win the United States Title 
– Booker T defeated Disco Inferno
– Chris Jericho defeated Perry Saturn via countout
– WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr
– Kevin Nash & Scott Hall (subbing for Lex Luger) defeated Konnan & Rey Mysterio Jr
– WCW World Television Champion Scott Steiner defeated Diamond Dallas Page
– Bill Goldberg defeated Bam Bam Bigelow
– WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair

2010

WWE Elimination Chamber: St. Louis, Missouri:
– John Cena won the WWE Championship in the Raw Chamber match, but lost the title in an impromptu match against Batista
– Chris Jericho won the SmackDown Chamber match to win the World Title

2013

TNA Impact: 
– Velvet Sky defeated Brooke Tessmacher, Tara and Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts Title
– Rob Van Dam defeated Kenny King to retain the TNA X Division Title

2014

ROH 12th Anniversary Show: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– The Decade defeated Adam Page & Mark Briscoe & Cedric Alexander
– Matt Taven beate Silas Young
– ROH TV Tomasso Ciampa beat Hanson to retain the title
– Michael Elgin defeated Rowe
– Jay Briscoe beat Michael Bennett
– ROH Tag Team champions ReDragon defeated ACH & Tadarious Thomas to retain the titles
– AJ Styles defeated Jay Lethal
– ROH champion Adam Cole beat Chris Hero to retain the title
– Streetfight: Kevin Steen defeated Cliff Compton

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/20): Flair vs. Steamboat at Chi-Town Rumble

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1962

Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Pat O’Connor wrestled AWA Champion Mr. M to a 1 hour time limit draw
– AWA Tag Team Champions Bob Geigel & Stan Kowalski beat Joe Scarpello & Tiny Mills
– Nikita Kalmikoff beat Roy Collins
– Duke Hoffman beat Jack Daniels

1964

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bill Miller & Bob Geigel defeated Pat O’Connor & Sonny Myers in three falls
– The Stomper defeated Fritz Von Erich via DQ

1965

Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat The Crusher
– Mighty Igor Vodik beat Larry Hennig by DQ
– Billy Red Cloud beat Bill Green
– Ivan Kalmikoff beat Jack Allen
– Bob Boyer drew Sid Freeman

1967

Chicago, Illinois:
– AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Verne Gagne by DQ
– Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher no contest Devils Duo, Angelo Poffo & Chris Markoff
– Wilbur Snyder beat El Mongol
– Jack Lanza drew Moose Cholak
– Mitsu Arakawa beat Reggie Parks

1973

Tampa, Florida:
– Florida Title: Buddy Colt defeated Jack Brisco to win the title
– Lights Out Match: Mark Lewin defeated Hans Schmidt 
– Florida Tag Titles: Mike Graham & Kevin Sullivan defeated Bobby Shane & Gorgeous George, Jr. to win the titles
– Johnny Walker defeated Black Jack Slade 
– Great Malenko defeated John Wolfman Smith

1974

Miami Beach Florida:
– Canadian Death Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Jos LeDuc 
– Paul Jones defeated The Texan by DQ
– Florida Title: Buddy Colt no contest Ron Fuller 
– Cowboy Bill Watts defeated The Jackal 
– Kevin Sullivan & Haystacks Calhoun defeated Skull Von Stroheim & Tony Romano 
– The Psycho defeated Tom Jones 

1975

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Oki Shikina & Chuck O’Connor defeated Tony Russo & Omar Atlas
– Mike George defeated Bobby Jaggers
– Central States Women’s Champion Jean Antone defeated Betty Niccoli via DQ in two straight falls
– The Interns (w/ Dr. Ken Ramey) fought Lord Alfred Hayes & Bob Brown to a double-DQ
– Jerry Oates & Ted Oates defeated Terry Martin & Tommy Martin in three falls

1977

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Andre the Giant ddq AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Ray Stevens beat Bobby Duncum
– Chris Taylor beat Super Destroyer by DQ
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Roger Kirby & Blackjack Lanza (sub Bobby Heenan)
– Pedro Morales beat Blackjack Lanza
– Angelo Mosca beat Bill Francis

1978

Madison Square Garden: New York City:
– SD Jones defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna via disqualification 
– Spiros Arion defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via referee’s decision 
– Dusty Rhodes pinned WWWF Tag Team Champion Prof. Toru Tanaka
– Ken Patera defeated Peter Maivia via count-out
– Mil Mascaras pinned WWWF Tag Team Champion Mr. Fuji 
– WWF Jr. Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Ted Adams 
– Bob Backlund defeated Superstar Billy Graham to win the WWWF World Heavyweight Title
– Wee Willie Wilson & Hillbilly Pete defeated Little John & Billy the Kid in a Best 2 out of 3 falls 
– Tony Garea & Larry Zbyszko defeated Butcher Vachon & Stan Stasiak in a Best 2 out of 3 falls bout

1981

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Nick Bockwinkel
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & John Studd
– AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Tito Santana & Ray Stevens
– Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
– Buck Zumhofe beat Bill Howard
– Curt Hennig beat Kenny Jay

1986

AWA/NWA Star Wars: Baltimore, Maryland:
– Cage match: Road Warriors beat Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff
– NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Dusty Rhodes by DQ
– Sgt. Slaughter beat AWA Champion Stan Hansen by DQ
– Midnight Express beat Rock & Roll Express
– Magnum TA beat Baron Von Raschke
– Nick Bockwinkel no contest Larry Zbyszko
– Tully Blanchard beat Jimmy Valiant
– Scott Hall beat Boris Zhukov

1989

WCW Chi-Town Rumble: Chicago, Illinois:
– Mike Rotundo defeated Rick Steiner to win the NWA Television Title
– Lex Luger defeated Barry Windham to win the United States Title
– NWA World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors defeated Steve Williams & Kevin Sullivan 
– Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title

1992

Niagara Falls, New York:
– WWF Intercontinental Champion Rowdy Roddy Piper defeated WWF World Champion Ric Flair in a non-title, steel cage match

Dallas, Texas:
– Ricky Morton pinned Mike Graham
– Van Hammer defeated Abdullah the Butcher via disqualification 
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Steve Armstrong & Tracy Smothers 
– Tom Zenk pinned Terrence Taylor with a roll up
– Sting & Ricky Steamboat defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude & WCW TV Champion Steve Austin 
– Ron Simmons, Dustin Rhodes, & Barry Windham defeated Larry Zbyszko & WCW Tag Team Champion Arn Anderson in a steel cage match

1993

Bland, Virginia:
– Brian Lee defeated Killer Kyle 
– Bobby Eaton defeated Greg Maddox 
– Tim Horner defeated The Nightstalker 
– Tracy Smothers defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy 
– Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard

2005

WWE No Way Out: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
– Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Doug and Danny Basham to win the titles
– Chavo Guerrero Jr. won the Cruiserweight Title in a gauntlet match
– John Cena defeated Kurt Angle

2011

WWE Elimination Chamber: Oakland, California:
– Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel defeated WWE Tag Team champions Vladimir Kozlov & Santino Marella to win the titles
– WWE Champion the Miz retained the title over Jerry Lawler
– John Cena won the Raw Elimination Chamber over CM Punk, Randy Orton, R-Truth, John Morrison and Sheamus

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/19): Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker at No Way Out 2006

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1920

Newark, Ohio:
– Paul Bowser defeated Billy Schoeber for the American Middleweight Title

1942

St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Marshall Estep defeated Steve Brody to win the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title 

St. Louis, Missouri:
– Bill Longson defeated Sandor Szabo to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title

1943

Houston, Texas:
– Bill Longson defeated Bobby Managoff for the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title 

St. Louis, Missouri:
– Ronnie Etchison beat Cowboy Luttrall 
– Orville Brown drew Babe Zaharias 
– Tom Zaharias beat Bad Boy Brown 
– Jim Coffield beat Frank Frogge

1957

Chicago, Illinois:
– Wilbur Snyder defeated Hans Schmidt to win the Chicago NWA United States Heavyweight Title 

1959

Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– Don and Luke (Bobby) Fields defeated The Corsicans (Jean and Joe) to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles

1963

Tampa, Florida:
– Hiro Matsuda defeated Eddie Graham to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title

Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Boot Match: Crusher beat Moose Evans 
– Hercules Cortez beat Karol Kalmikoff
– Rocky Hamilton beat Jack Pesek
– Doug Gilbert drew Ivan Kamilkoff
– Dick Steinborn beat Gordon Nelson

1966

San Francisco, California:
– Bill Watts defeated Kinji Shibuya for the San Francisco NWA United States Heavyweight Title 

1969

Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Gene Kiniski won the Hawaii NWA North American Heavyweight Title from Toru Tanaka 

1970

Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Non Title: The Crusher & Edouard Carpentier beat AWA Tag Team Champions Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon 2 falls to 0
– Pepper Gomez beat Dr X
– Red Bastien beat Luke Graham
– Larry Hennig beat Bob Brunelle
– Lars Anderson drew Billy Red Lyons

1975

Miami Beach, Florida: (Colt, Shane, McCord, and Hart would be in a plane crash later that evening that would end the life of Shane)
– Dusty Rhodes defeated Dick Murdoch 
– Handicap Match: Dick Slater & Chris Taylor & “Cowboy” Bill Watts defeated Bob Roop & Jim Dillon & Mongolian Stomper & Gary Hart
– Bobby Shane & Buddy Colt defeated Tony Parisi & Dominic DeNucci 
– The Patriots defeated Mike Pappas & Pat Barrett 
– Bob Armstrong defeated “Iron” Mike McCord (Austin Idol)
– Larry Zbyszko drew Baron Scicluna 
– Johnny Weaver defeated George McCreary 

1976

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bob Brown & Otto Von Heller fought Ray Candy & Pat O’Connor to a draw
– Ed Wiskoski defeated Mike Pappae
– Ripper Collins fought Tank Patton to a double-DQ
– Bob Geigel & Akio Sato defeated Ron Bass & Dutch Mantel
– World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk defeated Mike George via DQ

1978

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– AWA World Tag Team Champions The High Flyers (Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne) defeated AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan to retain the titles
– British Heavyweight Champion Billy Robinson defeated Duncan McTavish to retain the title
– WWWF Heavyweight Champion Billy Graham defeated Édouard Carpentier to retain the title
– Dusty Rhodes defeated Ken Patera
– Angelo Mosca defeated Chief Peter Miavia
– Dewey Robertson beat the Wildman
– Stan Stasiak beat the Wolfman
– Billy Red Lyons drew Chris Tolos

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Stan Frazier and Terry Sawyer defeated Dennis Condrey and Phil Hickerson to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles 

1979

Fort Worth, Texas:
– Mark Lewin and The Spoiler defeated David and Kevin Von Erich for the NWA American Tag Team Titles

1982

Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– Hulk Hogan & Tito Santana & Buck Zumhofe beat Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Duncum & Bobby Heenan
– Sheik Adnan beat Jim Brunzell by countout
– Greg Gagne beat Sgt Jacques Goulet
– Brad Rheingans beat Tom Stone 

1988

Las Vegas, Nevada:
– AWA Champion Curt Hennig beat Jerry Lawler by DQ
– AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Nasty Boys
– Wahoo McDaniel & Greg Gagne beat Bob Orton Jr & Curt Hennig by DQ
– Badd Company, Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond beat Midnight Rockers
– Greg Gagne beat Steve Olsonoski
– Baron Von Raschke beat Sheik Adnan

1993

Knoxville, Tennessee:
– Killer Kyle fought the Mongolian Stomper to a double count-out
– Tim Horner pinned the Nightstalker 
– SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy defeated Tracy Smothers 
– Brian Lee defeated Kevin Sullivan in a first blood match
– Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, & Dutch Mantell defeated Bobby Eaton, SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard
– SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson

Jacksonville, Florida:
– Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Joey Maggs
– Vinnie Vegas pinned Erik Watts 
– The Wrecking Crew defeated Johnny Gunn & Tom Zenk
– 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Chris Benoit
– Paul Orndorff pinned Cactus Jack
– WCW US Champion Dustin Rhodes pinned Barry Windham in a bunkhouse match
– WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Sting via disqualification
– WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas defeated Steve Austin & Brian Pillman

1994

Taylor, Michigan:
– The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Prichard) defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) for the SMW Tag Team Titles

1995

Tokyo, Japan:
– Koji Kanemoto defeated Norio Honaga to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title 

WCW SuperBrawl: Baltimore, Maryland:
– Paul Orndorff defeated Brad Armstrong    
– Stars and Stripes (Marcus Alexander Bagwell and The Patriot) defeated Romeo Valentino and Dino Casanova
– Arn Anderson defeated Johnny B. Badd in a Lumberjack match for the WCW World Television Championship    
– Alex Wright defeated Paul Roma
– Jim Duggan defeated Bunkhouse Buck (with Col. Robert Parker and Meng)    
– Kevin Sullivan (with The Butcher) defeated Dave Sullivan    
– The Blacktop Bully (with Col. Robert Parker) defeated Dustin Rhodes    
– WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) with Sister Sherri, defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) by reverse decision to retain the title
– Randy Savage and Sting defeated Avalanche and The Butcher
– WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan with Jimmy Hart defeated WCW US Heavyweight Champion Vader by disqualification to retain the title

1999

North Richland Hills, Texas:
– Brian Adias defeated Khris Germany to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title 

2000

Cornelia, Georgia:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) defeated Bad Attitude (Rick Michaels and David Young) to win the NWA Wildside Tag Team Titles

Barnegat, New Jersey:
– Chris Candido won the vacant NWA Jersey Heavyweight Title by defeating The Equalizer

Carolina, Puerto Rico:
– Ray González won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title by defeating Carly Colón

2002

– Billy and Chuck with Rico defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Spike Dudley and Tazz to win the titles

2003

Louisville, Kentucky:
– Nick Dinsmore defeated champion The Damaja and Doug Basham in a triple threat match to win the OVW Heavyweight Title

2004

Tokyo, Japan:
– Shiro Koshinaka and Takao Omori defeated Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka to win the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Titles 
– Low Ki and Leonardo Spanky (Brian Kendrick) defeated Ikuto Hidaka and Dick Togo to win the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles

2005

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– A.J. Styles defeated Simon Diamond
– C.J. O’Doyle defeated Rob Eckos
– Simon Diamond and Mike Kruel defeated Damian Adams and Monsta Mack to win the vacant 3PW Tag Team Title
– Matt Striker defeated Rockin’ Rebel
– Slyck Wagner Brown defeated 3PW Heavyweight Champion Christopher Daniels to win the title

2006

WWF No Way Out PPV: Baltimore, Maryland:
– Chris Benoit defeated Booker T to win the US Championship 
– Randy Orton defeated Rey Mysterio
– Kurt Angle defeated The Undertaker to retain the World Title

Tokyo, Japan:
– El Samurai and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto and Minoru to win the title
– Tiger Mask IV defeated NWA World and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Black Tiger IV (Rocky Romero) to win both titles
– IWGP U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Yuji Nagata
– IWGP Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Akebono and Riki Choshu
– IWGP Tag Team Champions Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Giant Bernard and Manabu Nakanishi to retain the titles

2007

Bakersfield, California:
– Melina pinned WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James to win the title 
– Umaga (with Armando Alejandro Estrada) pinned WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy to win the title

Ivan Koloff passes away at 74 years old

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Previous reporting by Dave Meltzer contributed to this post

Ivan Koloff has passed away at 74 years old after a lengthy battle with liver disease where his health had recently started to decline considerably.

As Dave Meltzer previously noted, Koloff was best known for giving Bruno Sammartino his only pinfall loss at Madison Square Garden on January 18th, 1971. Koloff ended Sammartino’s nearly eight-year run as WWWF Champion in that match, which remains one of the most iconic moments in pro wrestling history due to the reaction of complete shock that the crowd had at the finish.

Koloff dropped the title to Pedro Morales shortly after beating Sammartino and left the promotion for a period due to the fear that him being there would create a bad incident because of the emotion the fans had after Sammartino’s loss.

Born as Oreal Perras, Koloff was a territory era star who worked as a top heel across the country. His last major run on television was as part of the Russian trio in Jim Crockett Promotions alongside Nikita Koloff & Khrusher Khrushev.

Koloff became an ordained minister after his full-time career in major promotions ended in 1989. He was voted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in 2015.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/17): Sid Vicious wins the WWF title

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1949

Kansas City, Kansas:
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat Bob Wagner 2 out of 3 falls
– The Red Phantom beat Tarzan Kowalski 

1972

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Rufus R. Jones defeated Benny Ramirez
– Bob Geigel fought Black Angus to a draw (20:00)
– Bob Orton & Blackjack Black defeated Steve Bolus & The Viking
– North American Tag Team Champions Chati Yokuchi & Yasu Fuji defeated Terry Martin & Omar Atlas in three falls
– Harley Race fought Danny Little Bear to a draw

1974

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Death Match: The Sheik defeated Andre the Giant (Sheik throws fireball)
– Johnny Valentine defeated Big Brutus
– The Beast/Dominic Denucci defeated Hans Schmidt/Johnny Fargo by DQ
– Reginald Love and Hartford Love defeated Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Dane
– Mighty Igor/Ivan Kalmikoff wrestled to a draw with Chris Tolos/Executioner1

Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– The Crusher & Mad Dog Vachon beat AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens (no title change, wrong man pinned)
– Billy Robinson beat Horst Hoffman by DQ 
– Larry Heiniemi beat Wahoo McDaniel 
– Chris Taylor beat Moose Morowski 
– Baron Von Raschke beat Tony Rocco 
– Greg Gagne beat Bob Remus (Sgt. Slaughter)
– Ric Flair beat Paul Perschmann (Buddy Rose)

1980

Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Greg Gagne & the Crusher beat Nick Bockwinkel & Super Destroyer Mark II
– Adrian Adonis beat Mad Dog Vachon
– Bobby Heenan beat Lord Alfred Hayes by DQ
– Jesse Ventura beat Steve Olsonoski
– Farmer Blackwell beat Super Destroyer Mark II (sub Dino Bravo)
– Dino Bravo beat Chris Markoff 

Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– Non Title Cage Match: The Crusher beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura no contest Greg Gagne & Dino Bravo
– Super Destroyer Mark III beat Super Destroyer Mark II 
– Farmer Blackwell beat Steve Olsonoski 
– Chris Markoff (sub for Ron Ritchie) beat Buck Zumhofe

1981

Mexico City, Mexico:
– El Canek defeated Tiger Jeet Singh to win the UWA World Heavyweight Title

1984

St. Louis, Missouri:
– NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Barry Windham
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Harley Race by DQ
– Dusty Rhodes beat Luke Graham
– AWA Tag Team Champions Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell beat Buck Robley & Ron Ritchie
– Dick Slater beat King Cobra
– Blackjack Mulligan beat Bulldog Bob Brown
– Grapplers beat Mark Youngblood & Jay Youngblood

1986

Madison Square Garden: New York City:
– WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage in a Lumberjack match 
– Lanny Poffo defeated Rene Goulet
– King Tonga defeated Les Thornton
– The Hart Foundation vs. The Killer Bees ended in a draw
– King Kong Bundy defeated George Wells
– Ricky Steamboat defeated The Magnificent Muraco in a Martial Arts match
– Tony Atlas defeated Barry O
– Adrian Adonis defeated George Steele by DQ
– The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff defeated Corporal Kirschner & Dan Spivey

1989

Dallas, Texas:
– Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden defeated Kevin & Kerry Von Erich to win the World Class Tag Team Titles

1996

Baltimore, Maryland:
– Lex Luger defeated Johnny B. Badd to win the WCW World Television Title 

Memphis, Tennessee:
– PG-13 defeated Jesse James Armstrong & Tracey Smothers to win the USWA Tag Team Titles

ECW CyberSlam: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– ECW Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu went to a 30-minute draw
– Shane Douglas defeated Cactus Jack
– ECW World Champion Raven defeated The Sandman 

1997

Nashville, Tennessee:
– Psycho Sid (Vicious) defeated Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Title 

Tampa, Florida:
– Prince Iaukea defeated Steven (William) Regal for the WCW World Television Title 

1998

Waco, Texas:
– The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) defeated The Rock N’ Roll Express to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles

2000

Louisville, Kentucky:
– Flash Flanagan defeated Rico Constantino for the Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Title

2002

WWF No Way Out: Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Rock defeated The Undertaker
– Kurt Angle defeated Triple H
– Chris Jericho defeated Steve Austin to retain the Undisputed World Title

Tokyo, Japan:
– Yuji Nagata and Jun Akiyama defeated Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi

2008

WWF No Way Out: Las Vegas, Nevada:
– The Undertaker won an Elimination Chamber match over Batista, Finlay, Big Daddy V, MVP and the Great Khali
– World Champion Edge defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the title
– Ric Flair defeated Ken Kennedy
– John Cena defeated WWE Champion Randy Orton by DQ
– Triple H won an Elimination Chamber match over Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chris Jericho, JBL and Umaga

2013

WWE Elimination Chamber: New Orleans, Louisiana:
– WWE World champion Alberto Del Rio defeated Big Show
– WWE United States champion Antonio Cesaro defeated The Miz
– Elimination Chamber for World title shot at Wrestlemania: Jack Swagger defeated Mark Henry, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Kane and Daniel Bryan
– The Shield defeated John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus
– WWE champion The Rock defeated CM Punk

My Favorite Wrestler (This Week): Styles, Ospreay, Bayley, more

Posted on by Zach Dominello

Welcome to My Favorite Wrestler (This Week), the new weekly column where the Wrestling Observer team chooses exactly what the title says: their favorite wrestler of the week!

Our criteria is based on anything a wrestler has done in a given week. We may make our decision based on their work in the ring or as a promo, because of an entertaining appearance on a podcast or something interesting they said in an interview, for an appearance they made in other media, like John Cena on SNL, for a tweet they sent out or something they posted on Instagram, anything really.

This week’s panel —

Here’s our picks! Who’s yours?

The Kotatsu table —

By Zach Dominello

What a week to start this column. What with New Japan’s New Beginning, to WWE’s Elimination Chamber match, to the Women’s Championship match on Raw, to the worst thing to happen to TV friendships since Scrubs went off the air, I find myself hard-pressed to choose a favorite wrestler this week.

I was in two minds, well three actually, trying to choose between Tetsuya Naito, Michael Elgin, and Hiromu Takahashi, but then I watched DDT “DRAMATIC NERIMA THE FIGHTER 2017” on DDT Universe, and any doubt I had just disappeared. My favorite wrestler this week is the current DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion (though knowing that title, it’ll probably change hands, or in this case legs, ten times before I finish this sentence): the Kotatsu table.

Yes, a table currently holds a title in DDT. Watching a table interfere in a match, have a promo cut on it by a wrestler who then beats it down and tries to steal its title, only to be stopped by another wrestler who also tries to steal its title, but then the two wrestlers take each other out and leave the Kotatsu standing tall in the ring, is really quite something. Only in DDT.

Austin Aries —

By Paul Fontaine

My favorite wrestler for this week didn’t even wrestle but that doesn’t matter. It’s Austin Aries, and if you’re not watching him on 205 Live…well, you’re really missing out.

The highlight for me, and what makes him my favorite of the week was simply one comment after a Rich Swann promo (that was also pretty good). Swann was taunting his opponent, Noam Dar, and finished his promo by saying, “I’m dedicating this match to the lovely and talented…Alicia FAAAAAWWWWWWWWWKKKKKKSSSS,” mimicking the way Dar says Alicia Fox’s name.

Aries responded by saying, “What did he say she does?” It doesn’t take much to entertain me, but that was it for me this week!

AJ Styles —

By Bryan Rose

My favorite wrestler this week is none other than AJ Styles. This was the week that I realized just how big of an asset he is to the SmackDown brand. I don’t know one match so far this year of his that was bad — he’s consistently awesome, and he proved to be no different this week in the SmackDown main event.

It was one of the better matches I’ve seen on the show since the brand split, full of spectacular action. And this follows his great performance in the Elimination Chamber from Sunday! Just a tremendous wrestler and is the first person who comes to mind as my favorite wrestler of this week.

Trent Seven —

By Will Cooling

My favorite wrestler this week has to be Trent Seven. I felt the owner of pro wrestling’s finest beard was underserved by the WWE UK Championship tournament due to his elimination at the quarterfinal stage. He deserved better than to be lost in the shuffle. Seven has genuine charisma, with his unique look and mannerisms allowing him to instantly grab peoples’ attention.

Despite being larger than the average UK wrestler, he is able to keep the pace with smaller rivals, combining athleticism and power. Plus, did I mention how great that beard is? So it was reassuring to see him get the chance to showcase what he can do on NXT against his (*cough* tag team *cough*) partner Tyler Bate.

Obviously the WWE imposes limitations on what is and isn’t possible, but Seven seized the chance to remind people that he’s every bit as good as the WWE UK title tournament’s final four.

Will Ospreay —

By Alan Boon

My favorite wrestler this week — and for many of the weeks over the past two years — is Will Ospreay. There are times when I can’t believe it’s the same guy I didn’t get the first time I saw him but he never fails to impress with his timing, athleticism, innovation, and sheer talent.

This week, in the space of 36 hours (and with a flight from Osaka to London in between) he fought in three completely different matches. The first, against Katsuyori Shibata, on New Japan’s New Beginning in Osaka, was a hard-hitting grudge match, the culmination of weeks of them going at each other with all the brutality usually associated with Shibata. The second, also part of a feud, was the opener at WCPW’s True Destiny iPPV, where he and Ricochet had to come up with a completely different type of match to the one they’d usually have because the top rope broke in the first few minutes.

And finally, about an hour later, he pulled double-duty to win the WCPW Tag Team titles with Scotty Wainwright, in a car crash of a ladder match, with stunts and bumps aplenty. He’s got something special, alright, and we’re only just finding out how special.

Bayley —

By Joseph Currier

Monday night wasn’t the right time for Bayley to win her first Raw Women’s Championship, but none of that really mattered to me as it happened. Bayley’s title win represented the best of professional wrestling. And while the timing could’ve been better, the moment was perfect in a way that WWE rarely ever manages to achieve.

Bayley’s promotion to the main roster had been neither an overwhelming success nor a failure up until Monday night. She was a valuable part of the Raw women’s division, though often was secondary to Charlotte and Sasha Banks’ title feud.

I’m of the belief that Bayley can be a star above anyone else in the women’s division. While Banks and Becky Lynch have a real connection with the audience, Bayley’s character and her genuine personality allow her to stand above everyone else. Whether she can truly be the star that she was in NXT remains to be seen, but her Raw main event against Charlotte was the most obvious example since her promotion that Bayley is translating with the WWE audience.

The actual match was secondary to the moment, but Charlotte and Bayley put on a great showing that is a legitimate contender for the best WWE main roster women’s match ever. The finish in particular was excellent and used outside interference to elevate what was already a stellar match.

Bayley may not hold the title for long. And we’ll see if WWE can recapture the atmosphere from Monday night when she wins the title again, whether that’s at WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or some other destination. But Monday night was perfect, and Bayley is an obvious choice for my favorite wrestler this week.

Chris Jericho —

By Mike DellaCamera

My favorite wrestler this week is one who didn’t even wrestle and that wrestler is Chris Jericho.

After being a part of one of, if not, THE best segments in the last 5-10 years of Raw, Jericho continues to prove that there has never been anyone like him. The amount of characters he has played is equal parts astonishing and impressive. From a cruiserweight in the halcyon days of WCW, to the top-knot wearing troll version of Jericho, the iconic Y2J version, the suit wearing “Best in the World at What he Does,” and (my personal favorite, and the most recent edition) the devastated best friend.

We all knew what was coming Monday, it wasn’t exactly the most shocking turn of all time, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t absolutely crushing. When Jericho dropped the over-the-top shtick and told Kevin Owens that working with him was the best time of his life, and then called him his brother? My grinch heart grew three full sizes. And when he saw his name on the list? That same grinch heart shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Luke Harper —

By Ryan Frederick

My favorite wrestler this week is Luke Harper. Harper is finally getting some good momentum behind him from the fans and turned in his best singles performance against Randy Orton on Sunday at Elimination Chamber.

While he didn’t wrestle on SmackDown this week, he let his presence be felt when he attacked new WWE Champion Bray Wyatt (who was also a contender for my pick this week), laying him out with a superkick, prior to Wyatt’s triple threat match on Tuesday. It’s nice to see Harper get that push as he’s an excellent worker, and I hope it’s a sign of big things to come with him.

Nicole Bass passes away at 52 years old

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Nicole Bass, who was a well-known female bodybuilder who later went into pro wrestling passed away today at the age of 52.

Bass suffered a massive stroke earlier in the week and never recovered. Her Facebook page noted that that she got very sick a few days ago and they did everything they could to help her in the hospital but there was no more they could do.

Bass was a giant muscular woman, 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, and was controversial in bodybuilding circles because of her size. Although bigger and more muscular than any other woman of her era, she never won a major contest until a few years after her start of competition. By 1995, she was starting to place highly in contests and eventually won the NPC nationals.

Her being the butt of jokes about really being a man led her to be regularly featured on the Howard Stern show and she had achieved a measure of cult celebrity status before pro wrestling.

After Chyna became a star in the WWF, other organizations tried to copy her success by hiring woman bodybuilders. Paul Heyman hired her for ECW on the guise they had someone much larger and more muscular than Chyna.

Bass was actually bigger than most of the men in the promotion and more muscular than any of them, but was put in the ring with limited training and she never picked up the in-ring. Still, she was hired by WWF in 1999, a bad decision because she was much bigger than Chyna and it worked against the Chyna gimmick. 

Bass never got the wrestling end down and her stay in WWF was short before she was let go. She later sued WWE claiming sexual harassment, a case that went to court but she lost.

She had battled health problems for the past decade.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/16): Bret Hart wins WWF gold at In Your House

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1956

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Gorgeous George beat Wild Red Berry 2 falls to 0
– Women’s World Champion June Byers beat Penny Banner 2 falls to 0
– Mike DiBiase beat Guy Brunetti 
– Joe Tangaro drew Bibber 

1961

Rochester, Minnesota:
– Special Referee: Bronko Nagurski: AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Hard Boiled Haggerty by DQ
– Jim Hady drew Gene Kiniski
– Wilbur Snyder beat Nick Roberts
– Len Montana beat Bob Rasmussen

1966

Denver, Colorado:
– Mighty Igor Vodik won a battle royal
– Verne Gagne beat Larry Hennig
– The Crusher beat Moose Cholak
– Danny Hodge drew Chris Markoff
– Mighty Igor Vodik beat Mitsu Arakawa
– Chris Tolos beat George Drake
– Wilbur Snyder beat Harley Race

1969

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon beat The Crusher & Pampero Firpo
– Bill Watts beat Larry Hennig (sub Lars Anderson) 
– Dr. X beat Pat O’Connor2 out of 3 falls
– Billy Red Lyons drew Larry Hennig
– Rene Goulet beat Mike Riker

1970

Orlando, Florida:
– 6 Man Elimination Match: Man Mountain Mike & Jack Brisco & Louie Tillet defeated Mephisto & Dante & Sir Roger Mitchell 
– Missouri Mauler defeated Hiro Matsuda by DQ
– Sailor Art Thomas & Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Jim Dalton & Pancho Rosario 
– Jose Lothario defeated Dale Lewis 
– Danny Miller drew Mr. Saito 
– Bob Roop defeated Jose Betancourt 

1971

Tampa, Florida:
– Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated The Infernos to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles
– Dewey Robertson & Salvador Garcia defeated Alex Perez & Krusher Karlson 
– Bob Roop defeated Bob Kaiser (Unmasked Medic) 
– Danny Miller defeated Mike Bowyer 
– Southern Title: Rene Goulet defeated Louie Tillet by DQ
– Steel Cage Match: Jose Lothario & Cyclon Negro defeated Great Malenko & Tarzan Tyler

1982

Quebec, Ontario, Canada:
– Dino Bravo won a 16 man battle royal 
– Gilles Poisson & Sailor White defeated Gino Brito & Tony Parisi 
– Dino Bravo defeated The Destroyer 
– Raymond Rougeau defeated Michel Dubois 
– Edouard Carpentier defeated John White 
– Richard Charland defeated Mr. Hito 
– Jos Ventura (Chief Jos Lightfoot) defeated Robert Orlando

Oakland, California:
– Baron Von Raschke (sub Nick Bockwinkel) beat Pat Patterson by DQ
– Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Hulk Hogan & Tito Santana
– Weasel Suit match: Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Heenan
– Sheik Adnan beat Greg Gagne
– Brad Rheingans drew Jerry Blackwell

1985

Waukegan, Illinois:
– Non Title: Nick Bockwinkel beat AWA Champion Rick Martel
– The Crusher & Baron Von Raschke beat AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors by DQ
– Jerry Blackwell beat Mr. Saito
– Jim Garvin beat Curt Hennig
– Billy Robinson beat Tom Zenk
– John Nord beat Steve Regal

1986

Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Curt Hennig & Scott Hall beat Mongolian Stomper & Nord The Barbarian
– AWA Champion Stan Hansen beat Leon White (Big Van Vader)
– Greg Gagne beat Scott Irwin by DQ
– Boris Zhukov beat Brad Rheingans by countout
– Colonel DeBeers beat Frankie DeFalco
– Marty Jannetty beat Bill Irwin

1987

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler & AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Austin Idol & Tommy Rich by DQ
– Barbed Wire Cage Match: Stan Lane & Steve Keirn & Paul Diamond beat Johnny Boyd & The Sheepherders
– Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis beat Big Bubba & Goliath
– Jimmy Snuka & King Cobra beat Tarzan Goto & Mr. Rising Sun by DQ
– Soul Train Jones beat The Hunter

1988

Louisville, Kentucky:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers drew Rock & Roll Express
– Jerry Lawler beat Tommy Rich by reverse decision
– Jeff Jarrett beat Bill Dundee by DQ

Frank Bonema Memorial show: Portland, Oregon:
– The Grappler no contest AWA Champion Curt Hennig, title held up
– Assassin won battle royal for vacant TV title
– Cage Match: Mike Miller beat Rip Oliver
– Steve Doll & Scott Peterson beat CW Bergstrom & Moondog Moretti
– Strap Match: Brian Adams beat Abudda Dein
– Assassin beat Avalanche Paul Neu (PN News)
– Coco Samoa beat Destroyer

1989

WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event: Hershey, Pennsylvania:
– Hulk Hogan defeated Bad News Brown 
– Ted DiBiase made the first defense of his Million Dollar Belt, defeating The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) 
– Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty wrestled Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson to a double countout

1992

Norfolk, Virginia:
– Terrance Taylor & Greg Valentine defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Tom Zenk
– Richard Morton pinned Johnny B. Badd
– Abdullah the Butcher pinned PN News
– Mr. Hughes pinned Van Hammer
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Steve Armstrong & Tracy Smothers
– Barry Windham defeated Larry Zbyzsko in a Texas Death Match
– Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, & Ron Simmons defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude, WCW TV Champion Steve Austin, WCW Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton in a steel cage match

1997

WWF In Your House Final Four: Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin, Vader and The Undertaker to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Title in a “Final Four” elimination match 
– Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley 
– Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon defeated World Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith via disqualification

2002

Tokyo, Japan:
– Tadao Yasuda defeated Yuji Nagata to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Title in a tournament final

2004

Bakersfield, California:
– Booker T & Rob Van Dam defeated Ric Flair & Batista to win the WWE World Tag Team Titles

2010

Kansas City, Missouri:
– Ezekiel Jackson defeated Christian to become the final ECW Champion before the title is retired

Why the former Pentagon Jr. is happy again

Posted on by Tom Gerbasi

The wrestler formerly known as Pentagon Jr. is happy again.

Now wrestling under the moniker Penta El Zero M, the Lucha Underground star has pulled off a rare double play since announcing that he was leaving the AAA promotion and going out on his own. He’s looking firmly at the future while returning to his roots at the same time.

“I feel good, I feel calm,” he said through translator Javier Clorio. “I’m the owner of my own time and of my own decisions, and I’m doing what I love, which is lucha.”

For a long time, that wasn’t the case, and as his career became more successful, he was also becoming more disillusioned with the business. Last month, he made his move.

“It was just the right moment in my career,” he said of his departure from AAA, which he announced at a show in Tijuana last month. “There’s a lot of stuff I wanted to do but wasn’t able to do, and I felt like I was being held back by the company. It became work and I wasn’t very happy or very comfortable with any of the decisions that they were making. Now I’m going back to doing lucha and wrestling with whoever I want wherever I want.”

The move was a shocker to the lucha libre world, but Penta’s friends, family, and fans have been nothing but supportive to the man who made “Cero Miedo” a buzz phrase in rings around the world.

“I’m happy with the support I’m getting from the fans, the promoters, and my lucha family,” he said. “They know I wasn’t very happy and I wasn’t accomplishing what I wanted. Now, they see me and they know that I’m doing better with the decision I made.”

This Sunday, February 19th, he will be in Queens, New York, making his third appearance for Tier1 Lucha Libre. It’s an appearance that comes with some drama, given his departure from AAA. But general manager Clorio is making sure that the show goes on.

“This has been a show that has had a few bumps,” Clorio said, noting a broken leg that scrapped Matt Cross (“Son of Havoc”) from the card, as well as the ongoing dispute between Penta and his former promoter.

“It is a business, it’s about money, and we understand that. But we support him (Penta) because he has done right for us in the past events. We know we’re taking a risk and we’re going against AAA, but it’s not personal. We have a deal with them and we did everything possible to work with them. They simply did not want Penta in the show and they didn’t even notify us a week after he was gone. We had to get in touch with them. So we did everything to do things the right way and we have a contract with them. And he (Penta) took full responsibility. He said, ‘I’m going to come in and do the match.’ The person is very valuable. The guy behind the mask is valuable to us, and supporting the indie events is crucial.”

Penta’s first two bouts in the Big Apple were rousing successes as he wrestled his brother Rey Fenix in matches that resulted in fans throwing money into the ring at their conclusion. You can’t buy that kind of response.

“I love the New York fans,” Penta said. “Every time, they ask me when I’m coming and every time I’m gone, they always ask when I’m coming back. (Laughs) I’m happy about the fans’ reaction and they’re always really good to me here.”

He returns that respect to the fans, not just with meet and greets and matches featuring his usual punishing style, but with a brand of in-ring storytelling that isn’t easy to pull off without the benefit of TV spots and high production values.

“Thank God it’s something that comes natural to me,” he said. “I don’t study or over think what I’m doing in the ring — my movements, the way I react, the cheers of the crowd or how I look at my opponents. Fortunately, it comes natural for me. And when I come out for the match, the audience decides what I do in the ring. I always dreamed that I was gonna be a bad guy and was going to be liked as a heel, and now it’s just what I do.”

It’s paid off too, as Penta’s star has risen in the last couple years, largely in part to his stint on the El Rey Network’s Lucha Underground. But the Tijuana product insists that he’s remained true to himself as his profile gets bigger.

“Lucha Underground is something that pushed me and made me become more popular, but as a person, I haven’t changed,” he said. “I have grown, and I want to keep growing and accomplish more goals.”

The future looks bright. But for the moment, all that matters is hearing that crowd roar on Sunday.

“When that happens,” he said, “I feel my effort in the ring was worth it and it motivates me to push myself and to give them more so they keep cheering ‘Cero Miedo’ during and after the matches.”

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/15): Eddie Guerrero wins the WWE Championship

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1923

Kansas City, Kansas:
– World Heavyweight Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis beat Joe “Toots” Mondt 2 out of 3 falls to retain the title

1934

St. Louis, Missouri:
– AWA World Heavyweight Champion Ed “Don” George beat Gino Garibaldi 
– Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Joe Malcewicz wrestled to a 30 minute draw
– Abe Coleman beat Joe Cox 
– Karl Davis and Dick Raines wrestled to a 30 minute draw 

1950

Des Moines, Iowa:
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz beat Lee Henning by DQ in 2 out of 3 falls
– Billy Goelz and Billy Parks beat Gypsy Joe and Jack Hader in 2 out of 3 falls

1962

Tokyo, Japan:
– Rikidozan & Toyonobori defeated Luther Lindsay & Ricky Waldo to win the All Asian Tag Team Titles

1963

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Non Title Death Match: Crusher beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne when Gagne suffers a broken shoulder in the 5th fall
– Doug Gilbert & Dick Steinborn & Moose Evans beat Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff & Rocky Hamilton
– Eddie Sharkey beat Johnny King
– Jack Pesek beat Gordon Nelson
– Hercules Cortez beat Stan Kowalski

1969

Tampa, Florida:
– The Medics (Billy Garrett & Jim Starr) defeated Bobby & Lee Fields in a rematch to win back the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles

1970

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Cage Match: The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon 
– Dr. X beat Billy Red Lyons
– Edouard Carpentier beat Butcher Vachon
– Pepper Gomez beat Larry Hennig
– Red Bastien drew Lars Anderson
– Luke Graham beat George Gadaski
– Bill Howard beat Buddy Smith

1975

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell on a 3rd fall DQ 
– Dusty Rhodes beat Horst Hoffman
– Billy Robinson beat Larry Heiniemi
– Geoff Portz drew Buddy Wolff
– Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Sheik) beat Paul Perschmann (Buddy Rose)

1977

Omaha, Nebraska:
– Andre the Giant & Greg Gagne & Ray Stevens beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum & Nick Bockwinkel
– Pedro Morales beat Baron Von Raschke
– Peter Maivia ddq Angelo Mosca
– Super Destroyer beat Billy Francis

1980

Star Wars 80: Hollywood, Florida:
– NWA World Title in a Steel Cage: Dusty Rhodes defeated Harley Race by DQ
– International Junior Title: Mike Graham defeated Tatsumi Fujinami (Graham wins title) 
– Andre the Giant & “Cowboy” Bill Watts defeated Ernie Ladd & Bad Leroy Brown 
– Florida Title vs. $10,000-Super Destroyer defeated Manny Fernandez by DQ
– Florida TV Title: Tommy Rich defeated Bugsy McGraw by DQ
– Jack & Jerry Brisco & Jim Garvin defeated Bryan St. John & Stan Lane & Frank Monte 
– Nikolai Volkoff defeated Don Diamond 
– Women’s World Title: Fabulous Moolah defeated Wendy Richter 
– Twin Devils defeated Gordon Nelson & Bubba Douglas 
– Hector Guerrero defeated Mike Miller 
– Geoff Portz defeated Terry Taylor

1986

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Randy (Macho Man) Savage retained the Intercontinental title by pinning Ricky Steamboat
– Rowdy Roddy Piper beat Adorable Adrian Adonis on a DQ
– The Killer Bees, Jin Brunzell and Brian Blair defeated WWF tag team champions The Hart Foundation, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart in a non- title match
– Paul Orndorff defeated Pedro Morales
– Outlaw Ron Bass defeated S.D Jones
– Sika the Samoan defeated Moondog Spot
– Corporal Kirschner beat Johnny K-9

WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event: Phoenix, Arizona:
– WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Don Muraco via disqualification
– WWF World Tag Team Champions Brutus Beefcake & Greg Valentine defeated The British Bulldogs

1987

Quebec, Ontario, Canada:
– Abdullah the Butcher defeated Hercules Ayala for the International Heavyweight Title 
– Kendo Nagasaki and Richard Charland defeated Armand Rouguea and Dan Kroffat by DQ 
– Gino Brito Jr. beat Pretty Boy Simms 
– Gilles the Fish Poisson no contest The Hangman 
– Rocky Delassera wear Sunny War Cloud 
– Denis Goulet defeated Leo Burke 
– Pretty Boy Simms won a battle royal 

1988

Memphis, Tennessee:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers drew Rock & Roll Express (simultaneous pins, belts held up in Memphis only)
– Jerry Lawler beat Tommy Rich by DQ
– Bill Dundee no contest Jeff Jarrett
– Don Bruise drew Zebra Warrior II
– Prince Samu beat Billy Travis
– Giant Kokina beat Zebra Warrior I
– Riki Nelson beat Jimmy Jack Funk by DQ
– Max Pain beat Ron Bruise
– Ken Wayne beat Gary Young by DQ

1991

Dallas, Texas:
– Eric Embry defeated Bill Dundee to win the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title

Jacksonville, Florida:
– Tim Horner pinned Dutch Mantell
– Brian Pillman fought Terry Taylor to a draw
– Ricky Morton, Tommy Rich, & the Junkyard Dog defeated Buddy Landel, Dan Spivey, & Black Bart
– Sid Vicious & Stan Hansen defeated Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong
– El Gigante defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification 
– Tom Zenk & Bobby Eaton defeated WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson & Barry Windham
– WCW Tag Team Champions Doom defeated Sting & WCW US Champion Lex Luger 

1992

Baltimore, Maryland:
– Larry Zbyzsko pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell
– Steve Armstrong pinned PN News 
– Van Hammer (sub. for El Gigante) defeated Abdullah the Butcher via disqualification 
– Richard Morton pinned Johnny B. Badd
– Ron Simmons pinned Bobby Eaton
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Cactus Jack & Mr. Hughes 
– Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude, WCW TV Champion Steve Austin, & Arn Anderson 

1993

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Ron & Don Harris defeated the Moondogs (Spot & Splat) for the USWA Tag Team Titles

1998

WWF In Your House: Houston, Texas:
– Justin Bradshaw defeated NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett via disqualification 
– Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, Chainz (Brian Lee), Eight Ball (Ron Harris) & Skull (Don Harris) defeated Faarooq, Rocky Maivia, D’Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa & Mark Henry 
– Kane defeated Vader 
– Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) & Owen Hart defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn & Savio Vega (subbing for Shawn Michaels) in a no-disqualification match 

1999

Birmingham, Alabama:
– The Rock defeated Mankind for the WWF World Heavyweight Title in a ladder match
– Shane McMahon pinned X-Pac to win the WWF European Title in a tag team match with Shane & Kane vs. X-Pac & Hunter Hearst Helmsley 

2004

Tokyo, Japan:
–  In a tournament final, Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Genichiro Tenryu to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title 

WWE No Way Out: San Francisco, California:
– Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE World Title
– Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin defeated the APA
– Chavo Guerrero Jr defeated Rey Mysterio Jr to win the WWE Cruiserweight Title

2009

WWE No Way Out: Seattle, Washington:
– Triple H won the Raw Elimination Chamber to win the WWE Title
– Edge won the World Title in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber (Edge lost the WWE Title in the Raw Chamber match)

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/14): Austin vs. McMahon at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1935

St. Louis, Missouri:
– Ed “Strangler” Lewis beat Jim Browning 
– Otto Kuss beat Tommy Marvin 
– Bronko Nagurski beat Joe Cox

1945

Des Moines, Iowa:
– World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat World Junior Heavyweight Champion Ken Fenelon 2 out of 3 falls
– Bill Kuusisto beat Jerry Meeker in 2 out of 3 falls
– Kurt Von Zuppi defeated Jim Lefkis 

1957

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– “Whipper” Billy Watson and Yukon Eric wrestled The Miller Brothers, Bill and Ed to a draw 
– Killer Kowalski defeated Ilio DiPaolo 
– Dick Hutton and Pat O’Connor wrestled to a draw
– The Brunetti Brothers, Guy and Joe beat the Gallagher Brothers, Doc and Mike

1958

St. Joseph, Missouri:
– United States Heavyweight Champion Verne Gagne and Don Curtis wrestled to a one hour draw
– Sonny Myers beat Bob Geigel by DQ
– “Baron” Von Krupp beat Danny O’Shocker 
– Rip Hawk and Bull Montana went to a draw

1961

Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Gene Kiniski (a fan hit Kiniski with a chair)
– Wilbur Snyder beat Roy McClarty 
– Hard Boiled Haggerty beat Nick Roberts 
– Len Montana drew Jim Hady 
– Joe Scarpello beat Bob Rassmussen

1974

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Reggie Parks defeated Tokyo Joe
– Don Fargo defeated Omar Atlas
 Texas Death Match: Harley Race defeated Bob Brown
– Jim Brunzell & Mike George defeated Baron Scicluna & Bob Orton
– Andre the Giant & The Viking defeated Lord Alfred Hayes & Roger Kirby

1982 

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Dutch Mantell defeated Jerry Lawler to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title

1983

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler dcor AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Terry Taylor beat Jacques Rougeau to win Southern Title
– Fabulous Ones beat Executioners by DQ
– Bobby Eaton beat Sweet Brown Sugar in a tournament final to win Mid American title

1984

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Austin Idol beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
– Mad Dog Match, Anything Goes: Jos Leduc beat Buzz Sawyer
– Zambuie Express beat Koko Ware & Norvell Austin to win the Southern Tag Title
– Handicap Match: Dutch Mantell & Bugsy McGraw beat Randy Savage & Angelo Poffo & Jimmy Hart
– Brett Sawyer beat Rick Rude by DQ

1994

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Eddie Gilbert defeated Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title 
– Brian Christopher defeated Doug Gilbert for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title

1996

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Brian Christopher defeated Tommy Rich for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title
– Jesse James Armstrong & Tracey Smothers defeated PG-13 for the USWA Tag Team Titles

1999

WWF St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: Memphis, Tennessee:
– Steve Austin defeated Vince McMahon in a steel cage match
– WWF World Heavyweight Champion Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia in a “Last Man Standing” match ended in a draw
– World Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett defeated Mark Henry & D’Lo Brown 

2010

TNA Against All Odds: Orlando, Florida:
– The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3-D
– TNA champion AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe to retain the title

2015

NJPW New Beginning: Sendai, Japan:
– Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (ReDRagon) defeated Jay White & Tiger Mask IV
– Mascara Dorada, Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA defeated Kenny Omega, Nick & Matt Jackson
– NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship: Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Chase Owens
– NWA Heavyweight Championship: Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Rob Conway
– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Tama Tonga, Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson
– Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale
– NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii defeated Tomoaki Honma
– IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Yuji Nagata

Fan Feedback: NJPW New Beginnings, UFC 208

Posted on by F4W Staff

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2017 | Thumbs Up

– Best Match: Michael Elgin vs. Testuya Naito
– Worst Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Kushida & Yoshitatsu

What a great show. Hiromu and Dragon Lee had an incredible match, super reckless and risky but remarkably crisp. Naito and Elgin had to follow that, and they tore the house down. Two outstanding matches with very different styles.

Ospreay vs. Shibata was excellent as well, but the crowd just didn’t believe Ospreay had a legit chance to win, which hurt on the near falls.

– Lou Pickney

**********

The Worst

TenKoji vs Kushida/Yoshi Tatsu: I felt bad for Kushida having to tag with Yoshi. Tatsu wasn’t awful in this match tho.

Toru Yano/Tomohiro Ishii (IWGP HW Tag Team Champions) vs Makabe/Honma vs Takashi Ilzuka/Harry Smith: This match almost caused me to fall asleep and I got a full nights sleep before the show! It was a relax match before the final two matches. I laughed at the finish. I look forward to the day Ishii is freed from this tag team.

The Middle

Tiger Mask/Jushin Thunder Liger/Juice Robinson/Yuji Nagata vs Jado/Gedo/Yoshi-Hashi/Hirooki Goto: A good match. I was more interested in the fact that Juice vs Goto isn’t over and are set up for another match.

Kazuchika Okada/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta vs Minoru Suzuki/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Taichi: Minoru destroyed Okada’s leg some more. Taichi stunk. Everybody else did a good job and the finish set up a future Juniors Tag Title match good booking.

The Best

Ryusuke Taguchi/Manabu Nakanishi/Hiroshi Tanahashi (Never Six Man Champions) vs Bushi/Evil/Sanada: Brawling and comedy wrestling done really good. I hated the refs bumps and mist finish. With the constant targeting of Evil on Tanahashi over the last month. I’m just gonna assume they will have a singles match at some point.

Katsuyori Shibata (RPW HW Champion) vs Will Ospreay: I enjoyed everything about the match but Ospreay not selling the elbow work done by Shibata. The constant tease of using The Rainmaker and failing is funny but it would be nice if he hit it once successfully. It will be interesting to see where Shibata goes from here.

Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP JR HW Champion) vs Dragon Lee: These two young men never disappoint vs each other. But as much as they bring out the best in each other. They also bring out the worst in each other. They take so many risks in this match that it scared the hell out of me. Great match hopefully the next time they wrestle it will be just as great but less risks. Because I want them to be around for many years.

Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champion) vs Michael Elgin: Great crowd participation, momentum swings, kickouts and an excellent conclusions. Best match of the card and an early candidate for match of the year.

– Trevor Dixon

**********

thumbs up

– best match naito vs elgin 
– worst match kojima and nagata vs tatsu and kushida 

thought the undercard was better than last week’s.henare continues to impress an taka showed he’s still a solid hand.liked the commentators building the story of tatsu not being good enough to foreshadow his upcoming excursion. I’m fine with Suzuki gun vs chaos continuing for a while,gives them something for the 45th anniversary show till the new japan cup sets up new challengers.have been pleasantly surprised with kanemaru given his lackadaisical reputation but he’s seemed pretty decent,perhaps being on a bigger stage is motivating him.I’m also looking forward to evil vs tanahashi after the tour long build for it.

Really enjoyed shibata vs ospreay was a good clash of styles and showed ospreay can do serious intense matches.Found the tag titles fun,Davey boy looks great,is aggressive and his suplexes are textbook hopefully they find something for him while archer is injured.Felt they got around lizukas shortcomings pretty well. Hiromu vs Dragon lee had all the reckless awe inspiring  danger I anticipated,while am sure they’ll regret such spots in later life I can’t deny the visceral thrill they provide.was surprised at taguchi challenging then I remebered he pinned sanada during the week and the announcers have been hammering home that there’s a talented wrestler underneath the goofy shtick.

Loved the main event,great pacing.Elgin looked like a bona fide main eventer and has to be the best powerhouse in the business at this point.A great story of elgins power vs naitos cunning,and the ungovernable one showed why he’s the most over guy and biggest merch seller in the company with his character work.

– Scott Mcewan

**********

Thumbs up

– Best: Dragon Lee v. Takahashi
– Worst: TAKA vs. Henare

2017 is off to a ridiculously amazing start in terms of truly epic and memorable matches and Lee/Takahashi and Elgin/Naito just added two more to the pile. Lee and Takahashi put on a performance with so many out of this world spots that it actually made me yell out loud enough during the match that I fear I startled the neighbors. Okada/Omega, Okada/Suzuki, Tanahashi/Naito and AJ/Cena were all amazing matches but never actually had me yelling at the tv like a crazy person. I’d say overall this was the second best show of the year, just behind WrestleKingdom and ahead of Royal Rumble. 

– Nick Randall

********** 
Best match: Elgin v. Naito (c)

New Beginning in Osaka didn’t quite meet the high bar set by recent NJPW  PPVs (WK11, Power Struggle, KOPW 2016), but this was a really good show 
highlighted by outstanding semi-main and main events.  This show,  however, appeared to be hurt by injuries and lineup shuffling.

It remains bewildering how this company could lose world class talent 12  months ago and it already seems to be overflowing with great performers again. Heading into the mid-season NJPW schedule, it should be  interesting to see if Gedo and Jado can utilize the roster effectively for upcoming split PPVs, New Japan Cup, BOSJ, and G1 27.

– Casey Goldman

**********

Thumbs down. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

– Best fight: Dustin Poirier vs. Jim Miller
– Worst fight: Glover Texiera vs. Jared Cannonier

Biggest thing about this show was the abysmal judging and refereeing. Why New York didn’t have Herb Dean and John McCarthy for this show, especially a title fight, is beyond me. Holm got screwed by terrible refereeing and questionable scoring. That fight should have been a win for Holm with two points deducted, or at the very least a tie with one point deducted. Highway robbery.

Anderson Silva also won due to bad judging. The judge that scored it 30-27 for Anderson, Eric Colon, should be fired immediately. Anyway, when the fight was over, Silva cut a really great promo. He barely speaks English and he cuts better promos than anything in WWE.  Guess all that shitty verbiage is for naught.

I voted Texiera vs Connonier the worst fight since it was the worst fight on the main card, but I didn’t really dislike it at all. It was fine. Nothing special but didn’t deserve the boos it got. This is UFC, not Glory. I don’t get the point of going to an MMA show and then booing when MMA happens.

Also, I heard there was at least one more robbery during the prelims. NYSAC needs to get their shit together. We can’t have this.

– Brandon Marshal

**********

New Beginning in Osaka – Thumbs Up

Even though the main event of the show last week was great and really different, overall I enjoyed this show more. Naito vs. Elgin was top notch. Mike is freaky strong, and I’m kinda surprised he didn’t go over, but whatever. Dragon Lee vs Takahashi was crazy. I know the dudes are really amazing athletes and that they have a lot of hype to live up to, and also this was a few steps above a typical spotfest, but they could cut out some of the super crazy bumps. Kinda takes me outta the match seeing these guys do stuff that could be chipping years off of their career. Plus, sometimes less is more, right?

Shibata might be my favourite wrestler around today. I don’t follow much UK wrestling, I don’t know how Ospreay is booked there, but maybe in America / Japan it my be time to push him to the next level? It seems like he’s always buried in tag matches or losing important fights. I know he’s young, but the guys has a great look and a hell of a performer. Maybe NJPW doesn’t need him to be elevated, but why wouldn’t ROH want to push this guy as a star?

Outside the main singles title matches, typical NJPW show. I’ve only been following the company on New Japan world for about a year now. Quality of the shows is usually the best on the market, but the multi-man matches full of low-level and old dudes are starting to seem repetitive. Also, it seems weird that every show, another one of the four factions looks strong while the others don’t do as well, and it never really goes anywhere. Like, Suzuki Gun comes back, looks strong, then CHAOS has a good night last week, LIJ was on top tonight, and back before WK11, Bullet Club was on top only for CHAOS to dominate that event. Again, the matches are great, but I’d love to see some more, I dunno, story or something (I hesitate to say “sports entertainment”, but, ya know…)

Also, Tanahashi is one of the best in the world. He was at the top for a long time, and making room for new people in that roll is important, but is this the best use for him? Losing him in the midcard? I have no idea how important his draw is for their tour shows and ppvs, and this might be a crazy idea, but why not let him go work ROH as a top guy for a year? ROH could use a bonafide star, dude would probably be a solid attraction for them and a great match for top talent. Something similar to what happened with Morishima maybe? Just a thought.

UFC 208 – Thumbs Up (ish)

Only caught the main card, so that’s all I can comment on.

Miller vs. Poirier was MOTN. It might have even been a better idea to have these guys headline prelims? Having an exciting lead-in fight is usually what they want, isn’t it? Whatever. Good opener on the main card. Dustin needed a win, Jim’s one of those great long-term LW gatekeepers that’s always entertaining. Loved it. Those leg kicks…

Glover fight wasn’t so great. But that would have been a devastating loss for him. Same could be said for Souza, but unlike Glover, he did exactly what he needed to. 

Silva didn’t win that fight. It’s a feel good moment and Brunson didn’t make a huge statement, but Silva didn’t win. At least not 30-27. Fuck. Seemed chill and happy to be there, but like some many other times, you just wish he’d pull the trigger sometimes and unload. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the guys actually fighting him, seeing him look like he’s going to do something but he never does. I can understand why guys get baited in.

Main event was alright. This title needs Cyborg, and this division needs people in it. I’m not saying they can’t make it happen, but if you’re gonna do it, then, ya know, do it. Book some fights for 145. Fight itself was okay. Those late shots sucked. The ref wasn’t great. Judging tonight was questionable to. NY needs to step up its game. Tough loss for Holm. She needs a gimme fight next, if she comes back at all? Might she go back to boxing after this? About halfway through this one I thought that it would be funny if it ended up being a draw, and if that ref had deducted a point like he should have, it could have been.

– Colin Faucher

**********

Thumbs in the middle

– Best Fight – Porier vs Miller
– Worst Fight – Teixiera – Cannonier

The bar I was at watching it was actually more crowded than I anticipated. Not sure if its indicative of Holm becoming more of a draw than she is, but I was surprised.

I thought Brunson won the fight with Silva myself. I had a feeling they’d give it to Silva right before it was announced. In either event, there is no way one round should have been scored 30-27.

I also think Holm-de Randamie should’ve been scored a draw due to the punches after the bell ended in both those rounds.

– Jeremy Rudomektin

**********

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Will Ospreay review: My most awaited New Japan match up in a quite some time. I loved all of their interactions in their multi-man tag matches, and this singles meeting between them sure was as spectacular as expected. Fantastic styles clash with Ospreay first trying to ground Shibata, only for Shibata to get out of everything he tries. Ospreay used his amazing flips to avoid Shibata’s deadly strikes. He tried to go toe-to-toe with The Wrestler a few times w/ the strikes, only for him to get absolutely destroyed by him. This had everything I expected it to have – fantastic sequences, intensity, great counters, memorable moments + really good storytelling with Ospreay getting more & more frustrated as he tried everything he could to put Shibata down – the story of a cocky youngster getting humbled, but also earning the respect of the veteran he pissed off. Amazing match.

Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi: An absolutely wild match. These 2 always go balls to the walls when they face each other – and this match was no different, they put on one helluva spotfest which was filled w/ some sick, dangerous looking spots. My favorite spot of the whole match was when Hiromu started slapping Lee, and then Lee busted out a sick looking Armbar. They probably went on a bit too long for my taste, I would’ve preferred if it had gone just a tad bit shorter, but it was still a very good match.

MIchael Elgin vs. Tetsyua Naito: Typical New Japan main event ‘epic’. The first half was completely forgettable, the work Naito did on Elgin’s leg was sold very badly by Big Mike. The match only got interesting once they kicked into the finishing gear w/ them just throwing big bombs at each other, but even then, it wasn’t very interesting. 

Robbie Grill

**********

Thumbs Up

– Best Match: Takahashi vs. Lee
– Worst match: Wasn’t one, even the Yoshi Tatsu match was entertaining.

Thought the main was incredible, went on a bit too long for my taste, but still a tough match to beat. Takahashi vs. Lee beat it though, in my opinion. Big, dangerous spots, but my gosh this might have been their best outing which is saying a hell of a lot. Takahashi has STAR written all over him in black and red ink and my understanding is that Lee is already a star in Mexico, or very close if not. Takahashi’s charisma, to me, is off the charts and hopefully we get to see him get built into a superstar.

– Jonathan Beckner

**********

Big Thumbs up

– Best Match: Ospreay/Shibata 
– Worst: Suzuki/Okada six man and the tag title match tie. 

Three of the last four matches were excellent but at a price. Dragon Lee will be in a wheelchair before he’s 30 if they keep having matches.  And now in every match every kicks out of moves that should be certain pins. Every match is treated like it’s the blow off match at mania or the dome.  Where do you go from here?  Elgin and Ospreay better bring guns next time if they want to win. One the reasons the Omega/Okada match was so good was that they saved Omega’s finisher.  That has not been the case in any of the big matches in NJPW or WWE since.  Everyone kicks out of everything.

Russell Griffith

**********

– Best fight: Miller/Porier

– Worst: Holm/GDR

Thumbs (way) down. 

The bar I was watching out probably emptied out by like 50% after the Silva fight.  It was clear most people were there for his fight only. I also noticed that everybody left at this point had at least one woman in their party, so Holly definitely meant something to the women.  That said, even as the Holm/GDR fight was ongoing, more people started to leave. 

One other thing you might find interesting: I built a simulation model that estimates the likelihood of a UFC card having x number of specific finishes based on a dataset of every UFC fight in history.  The odds of a 10 fight show having 9 fights go to a decision were .00272.  That’s 1 out of every 367 shows. For reference, there have been 389 shows in UFC history.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/12): Christian Cage wins gold in TNA

Posted on by Brian Hoops

1943

Kansas City, Kansas:
– World Champion Bobby Managoff beat Orville Brown to retain the title
– Ronnie Etchison beat Babe Zaharias  

1957

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:
– Bill and Ed Miller defeated Guy and Joe Brunetti to win the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Title 

1959

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Dick Hutton beat Bob Ellis when the match was stopped due to blood loss  
– Bob Geigel and Mighty Atlas beat Bobby Bruns and Sonny Myers 
– Lee Henning defeated Dino Bravo 
– Farmer Don Marlin and Rip Hawk went to a draw

1960

Houston, Texas:
– Adnan Kaissey and Hogan Wharton defeated Joe Christie and Man Mountain Managoff for the Texas NWA World Tag Team Titles 

1962

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jackie Fargo and Lester Welch defeated Dante and Mephisto to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles

1965

Mobile, Alabama:
– Chin Lee defeated Dick Dunn to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title 

1966

Sydney, Australia:
– Dominic DeNucci defeated Killer Kowalski to win the International Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title

1967

St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Verne Gagne beat Killer Kowalski
– AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Doug Gilbert & Reggie Parks
– The Alaskan beat Billy Red Cloud
– Eddie Sharkey beat George Gadaski
– Bob Boyer beat Mark Starr

1974

Mobile, Alabama:
– Duke Miller defeated The Mysterious Med to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title 

1975

Miami Beach, Florida:
– NWA Title: Jack Brisco defeated Mongolian Stomper to retain the title
– Andre The Giant won a 21-man Battle Royal 
– Florida Title: Bill Watts defeated Bob Roop by DQ
– Buddy Colt & Bobby Shane defeated Tony Charles & Jos LeDuc 
– Mike Graham & Tony Parisi defeated The Patriots 
– Bob Armstrong drew Dick Slater 
– Jim Dillon defeated Mike Pappas 
– Chris Taylor defeated George McCreary & Beauregard 
– Dominic DeNucci defeated Baron Scicluna 
– Johnny Weaver defeated Beautiful Bruce

1976

Kansas City, Kansas:
– Mike George defeated Ed Wiskoski for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title 

1977

San Bernardino, California:
– Toru Tanaka defeated Chavo Guerrero to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title 

Indianapolis, Indiana:
– Moose Cholak and Paul Christy defeated The Bounty Hunters (David and Johnny Novak) for the World Wrestling Association World Tag Team
Titles

1978

St. Louis, Missouri:
– Ted DiBiase defeated Dick Slater to win the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title 

1981

Sioux City, Iowa:
– The Crusher beat Jerry Blackwell

1982

Los Angeles, California:
– Sweet Brown Sugar defeated Bobby Lane for the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title 
– The Scorpions defeated Carlos Mata and The Kiss to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles

1983

Chicago, Illinois:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell no contest Jerry Blackwell & Sgt. Goulet (sub Sheik Adnan)
– Hulk Hogan beat Jesse Ventura by DQ
– Jerry Lawler beat Ken Patera
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Bobby Duncum
– Rick Martel beat Sgt. Goulet by DQ
– Bobby Heenan beat Buck Zumhofe
– Steve O drew Tom Lintz

1984

Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Ric Flair retained the NWA  World championship by defeating Harley Race in a steel Cage match 
– Handsome Jimmy Valiant and Dusty Rhodes defeated The Assassins on a count out
– Leo Burke retained the North America Championship over Vinnie Valentino
– Buddy Hart (Bret Hart) defeated J.J. Dillon

1985

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler defeated Eddie Gilbert for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title

Tampa, Florida:
– Jesse Barr defeated Brian Blair to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title 

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada:
– NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Dino Bravo
– AWA Champion Rick Martel beat King Tonga

1988

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Ivan Koloff and The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The Warlord) defeated Paul Ellering (subbing for Road Warrior Animal), Road
Warrior Hawk and Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Titles 

1990

Gainesville, Georgia:
– Brian Pillman and Z-Man (Tom Zenk) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes) in a tournament final to win
the vacant WCW United States Tag Team Titles

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Steve Doll and Rex King defeated Robert Fuller and Brian Lee to win the SWA Tag Team Titles

1993

Houston, Texas:
– Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Steven Dane
– Iceman Parsons defeated Scotty Flamingo
– Shanghai Pierce & Tex Slazenger defeated Johnny Gunn & Tom Zenk
– Chris Benoit fought 2 Cold Scorpio to a draw
– WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas defeated Steve Austin & Brian Pillman 
– WCW US Champion Dustin Rhodes defeated Barry Windham in a non-title bullrope match

Harlan, Kentucky:
– Tim Horner defeated The Nightstalker
– Bobby Eaton defeated Dutch Mantell 
– Brian Lee defeated Kevin Sullivan 
– Tracy Smothers defeated The Dirty White Boy 
– Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard via disqualification

1994

West Liberty, Kentucky:
– Tracy Smothers defeated Chris Candido
– SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee defeated the Dirty White Boy
– The Bruise Brothers defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee & Chris Candido
– SMW Tag Team Champions Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray wrestled Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
– The Dirty White Boy won a battle royal

1997

Toyohashi, Japan:
– Battlanger and Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Lance Storm and Yuji Yasuraoka for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles

1999

Springfield, Missouri:
– Steve Sharp defeated Greg Valentine to become the first World League Wrestling Heavyweight Champion

2000

Oberhausen, Germany:
– Creative Control (Ron and Don Harris) defeated The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) to win the WCW World Tag Team Titles

2000

Denver, North Carolina:
– Leilani Kai defeated Strawberry Fields in a tournament final to become the first NWA Mid-Atlantic Women’s Champion 

Memphis, Tennessee:
– Derrick King won the Pro Wrestling Young Guns Title by defeating Chris Michaels and Allen Steel in a three-way match

2003

Nashville, Tennessee:
– Kid Kash defeated Sonny Siaki to win the TNA X Division Title 

2005

Cauyguas, Puerto Rico:
– Ricky Banderas defeated Glamour Boy Shane to win the IWA World Heavyweight Title

Columbus, Georgia:
– A.J. Styles and Damien Steele defeat Glenn Gilbertti and Johnny Swinger to win the Georgia Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title in Columbus, Georgia.

2006

TNA Against All Odds: Orlando, Florida:
– Rhino defeated Abyss (with James Mitchell) in a Falls Count Anywhere match
– TNA X Division Champion Samoa Joe defeated A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels in a three-way match to retain the title
– Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) defeated Team Canada (Bobby Roode and Eric Young) with Scott D’Amore
– Christian Cage pinned NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett to win the title

2007

Kobe, Japan:
– Matt Sydal defeated Masato Yoshino to win the Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Title

2012

TNA Against All Odds: Orlando, Florida:
– TNA Knockouts champion Gail Kim (with Madison Rayne) defeated Tara
– Samoa Joe & Magnus defeated TNA Tag Team champions Crimson & Matt Morgan to win the titles
– TNA X-Division champion Austin Aries defeated Alex Shelley