Category: News

ROH, TNA and Destination America: Fact or Fiction

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Ben Miller

Oh, what a great time of year. Baseball is in full swing, motion-enabled comics are packing the theaters and middling pro wrestling companies are eating up the news cycles. What does that mean for you, loyal readers? Why, it means that it is time for another edition of Fact or Fiction (a.k.a Coors Light Cold Hard Facts [because Bud Light doesn’t pay me]).

The gimmick of “Fact or Fiction” is that I present four straw men statements, and then determine/predict whether the statement is factual or not. The previous Fact or Fiction covered an MMA-related topic, so I wanted the next one to be on wrestling. And boy, oh boy, did the wrestling Gods give us a ridiculous/interesting/ridiculously interesting topic to discuss: ROH, TNA and Destination America.

Fact or Fiction: ROH is now the number two wrestling company in North America

Fiction.

How does one define success in promoting wrestling? TV viewership? Live attendance? Revenues? Profits? Positive cash flow? Awareness in the culture? “Cool” factor? Least risk of going out of business? Arguments can be made for any or all of these metrics. If ROH has a claim on any of the aforementioned success metrics, it is a tenuous claim. My overall promotional rankings would have ROH below number two: 1) WWE, 2) NXT, 3) TNA, 4) ROH.

It should be pointed out that almost nobody in wrestling would consider NXT to not be a part of WWE. WWE corporate funds NXT, WWE PR publicizes NXT and WWE management schedules NXT shows. WWE talent has no ability to field competitive offers from NXT and NXT is not allowed to air on networks that compete with NBC Universal, which has a contract with WWE. From the inside looking out, NXT is part of WWE.

From the outsiders’ perspective (aka the fans’ perspective), however, NXT is viewed as mostly a separate promotion. NXT runs its own shows. There are numerous fans, myself included, who love watching NXT, but have a hard time stomaching what airs on Raw and Smackdown. And I don’t think that WWE’s ownership of NXT should disqualify them from being viewed separately.

Even if NXT is not considered a separate promotion from WWE, at best ROH has a tenuous case for number two. ROH may be profitable and a have lower risk of going out of business, but they lag in so far behind in revenues, talent payroll and other areas that ranking them above TNA in overall promotional capacity is a stretch.

Still, though, there are television ratings. Television ratings are a very sexy metric for measuring promotional success in the wrestling world. NXT does not have a rated television product, so they cannot be number two by that metric. TNA has a rated television product, but they will soon fall behind ROH technically.

Fact or Fiction: ROH’s television ratings will equal or surpass TNA’s.

Fact. (but fictional)

Once ROH begins airing on Destination America, their aggregate viewership in the United States will surpass TNA’s. According to Dave Meltzer, ROH was viewed in 350,000 households in Neilsen’s top markets over the weekend of May 9-10. At 1.2 to 1.5 viewers per home (a good estimate based on typical pro wrestling viewership), ROH probably drew in the range of 450,000 to 550,000 viewers. That range of viewers is also the range of viewers that TNA gets on Destination America in a typical week for the Wednesday, 9-11 pm (Eastern time) show. So, by adding Destination America and NESN, ROH will draw more total eyeballs each week than TNA.

ROH’s impressive viewership numbers, however, are a house of cards. ROH’s 350,000 households includes viewership for multiple airings of the same show. (To be fair, TNA’s weekly viewership numbers also aggregate audiences from multiple airings.) ROH’s show on Sinclair is broadcast on major local television stations, many of them affiliates of NBC, Fox or other large networks. TNA’s show airs on a little-known, under-distributed cable/satellite network. The fundamental difference is that almost all of TNA’s audience comes from TNA, not the network it airs on. ROH operates with the safety net of popular local television stations that help bring in viewers. On Destination America, ROH will essentially be in TNA’s predicament: whatever viewership they draw will be because of them, and them alone.

This whole thing feels like the Delusional Television Ratings Predictions epidemic of 1999 all over again. In 1999, WCW stunk. The Internet wrestling community loved to hate WCW (and for good reason) more than just about anything. By fall of 1999 WCW ratings had sunk to right around the 2.0 mark. Also in fall of 1999, TNN (now Spike TV) agreed to begin airing ECW’s weekly TV show.

WCW sucked, and it drew a 2.0. Good wrestling, like Raw and mid-90’s WCW, drew way above a 2.0. ECW had a good wrestling product on a relatively well known network. 2.0 was seen (by some Delusional Televisions Ratings Prediction sufferers) as a realistic possibility for ECW’s debut rating.

In reality, what happened in 1999 vis-a-vis television ratings ended up being one of the sad, sad stories in modern pro wrestling history. TNN bigwigs started to believe the Internet hype, and were hoping for a debut that would rival WCW’s 2.0 ratings. Word leaked out on the Internet that ECW’s debut show on TNN was a barnburner, with WCW signee Raven making a shocking return to win a share of the ECW tag team titles with his long time storyline nemesis, Tommy Dreamer, thus stoking expectations ever higher. Then the show aired, and it looked like it could’ve been produced by first-year film school students.

After that, the ratings came out and it did a 0.9, well below even the most pessimistic expectations at TNN. (Memories of certain Internet wrestling journalists’ literary contortions in attempting to spin the 0.9 as a positive still hold a fond comic place in my heart to this day.) TNN almost immediately lost confidence in the show. ECW petulantly blamed the network. The supposed three-year contract between ECW and TNN ended after less than 60 weeks with ECW’s arena and pay-per-view levels lower than before making national television, and with Paul E.’s dream on a clear path to insolvency.

(Oy. What a disaster. Let’s hope that ROH and Destination America have a much better marriage than ECW and TNN.)

So, no, it is in fact unlikely that a relatively unknown wrestling promotion with substandard production values is going to draw more viewers on Destination America than an established product with acceptable production values.

Despite ROH’s impending lead over TNA in aggregate national viewership, an apples-to-apples comparison of television numbers is almost certain to look bad for ROH. There are also worrying parallels between Destination America’s gambit with ROH and that sad, sad story about ECW on TNN. And that’s what leads us into Coors Light Cold Hard Fact number three:

Fact or Fiction: ROH moving to Destination America is a no-lose situation

Fiction.

Read the following, and try to think of where you might have read this before:

In the mid twenty-teens, TNA stunk. The Internet wrestling community loved to hate TNA (and for good reason) more than just about anything. By summer of 2015 TNA viewership had sunk to right around the 300,000 mark. Also in summer of 2015, Destination America agreed to begin airing ROH’s weekly TV show. While ROH had begun showing signs of decline from it’s peak in the late double-ohs, it was probably still the only thing the Internet wrestling community loved more than hating TNA. TNA sucked, and it drew 300,000 viewers. Good wrestling draws way above 300,000 viewers. Even the very first episode of TNA on Destination America drew decisively more than 300,000 viewers. And ROH has a good wrestling product on the same network.

Got the answer? Give up? That was a condensed version of the ECW/TNN debacle of 1999, with a few substitutions made. I took out WCW for TNA, ECW for ROH, TNN for Destination America and 2.0 ratings for 300,000 viewers.

Most likely ROH’s relationship with Destination America is going to be less of a mess than ECW’s relationship was with TNN, but it is far from a no-lose situation. Destination America execs could freak out when they see ROH’s amateurish lighting and presentation. TNA’s ratings from 9-11 pm Eastern Time could double or triple ROH’s ratings in the eight o’clock hour. ROH’s viewership could be good enough for Destination America to choose them over TNA in September, but only if ROH gets Sinclair to spend more money on production. (Something that Sinclair is unlikely to do.) Jeff Jarrett could swoop in and make a deal to replace ROH in December. None of those things would be good for ROH. All of those things would likely have a chilling effect on locker room morale and possibly lead to bigger problems in the future.

Adding ROH to the schedule is also far from a no-lose for Destination America. Unless ROH has made an astonishing leap in production quality in one week, Destination America is about to air a television program that looks like it came straight from a student film festival. Ad buyers — who are the people who really run the television business — might notice that. If the ad buyers who had already been avoiding TNA see that the added wrestling product looks rinky-dink, they may start to wonder if Destination America is a network that is advertiser-friendly.

But at least Destination America heeded advertisers in canceling TNA, right?…

Fact or Fiction: iMPACT Wrestling will no longer air on Destination America after September.

Fact. (But it’s close.)

It seems very unlikely that TNA is going to be on Destination America past September. The move to make ROH’s weekly TV into a lead-in for iMPACT appears to be one last chance for TNA. If Internet hype and a wrestling lead-in and maybe a little bit fresher product can’t boost TNA’s viewership over these last few months, then what would? In September Destination America would be able to cancel TNA with a strong feeling that the network gave the best effort they could at making iMPACT a success.

The problem is that ROH is fool’s gold as a lead-in. Yes, it’s wrestling. But it’s wrestling that has never had a national television presence, that features (talented, enjoyable-to-watch, friendly people, but) relative unknown talent on a show that will instantly be among the most cheap-looking in all of prime time cable television. So, it’s unlikely that the ROH lead-in will boost TNA’s ratings to a level that would ensure iMPACT’s survival into autumn.

There is, however, a more morose scenario that could keep iMPACT on Destination America: ROH’s viewership could be so ugly that it makes TNA look good by comparison. On Destination America, a network which appears to have never had a single hour of prime time television make the top 100 in daily cable/satellite TV ratings, ROH’s viewership could be downright miniscule. Sinclair claims that ROH draws around 500,000 viewers per week. That is viewership on over-the-air television stations, some of which air hit shows from NBC, Fox and other networks that draw over ten million viewers per week, nationally.

Now ROH is on a cable/satellite television network that has no signature shows, 60% distribution and a name that the average ardent television watcher is unfamiliar with. In short, an ROH number in the five figures is quite possible. In fact, if you asked me whether I thought ROH would beat UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1 (which drew 85,000 viewers this week in the time slot that ROH is going to be in) head-to-head, I think I would say, “no”.

A five-figure viewership number for ROH would be bad for ROH and Destination America, but it would not guarantee TNA’s survival on the network. And ultimately, I do think that TNA will be off Destination America after September. I think that TNA’s best chance is the possibility that the ROH lead-in will boost TNA’s viewership enough to make the network reconsider. I think that ROH will flop, and then the network will look elsewhere for what it perceives to be red-state programming.

*****

This is all very negative. ROH’s ratings are going to be awful, the move to Destination America could hurt the company and those events still won’t keep TNA on the network and in a solid number two position. Those are the Coors Light Cold Hard Facts, as I see them.

There is also hope. Some other company (one with a higher quality production) could emerge. TNA could view these events as a warning sign, switch to a fresher product and find a different network. And, of course, there’s NXT (and PWG for us Los Angeles area wrestling fans). As long as NXT keeps producing killer shows in a style that is different from WWE, I’m happy to have them as (what I would consider) the USA’s number two wrestling promotion for English-speaking audiences.

UFC: Ryan Bader on Daniel Cormier fight, the real UFC world champion

Posted on by F4W Staff

The following is from a third party:

Top UFC contender Ryan Bader came on Submission Radio this week to break down the latest updates on his feud with Daniel Cormier.

Thoughts on Jon Jones hit and run:

“Yeah so I got the call, kind of in that morning from my manager, saying there’s rumours around. And then I got, you know I was kind of campaigning to get that fight with Anthony Johnson. I was probably four weeks into my camp with DC and I was feeling good and still had about two and a half weeks left, and I felt like I could go in there and win that belt. And as it plays out, Jon Jones gets stripped and all that kind of stuff. So I think he’ll be out for a li’l while. I do think he’s going to come back at some point. You know, he’s going to have to go through the legal process here and figure out what’s going on with that. That’s going to take a while. Then he might have some civil suits on him and all that kind of stuff from the person he hit. So he’s going to have to deal with that for a while, you know and it definitely shook up the 205 pound division too. He was such a dominant champ and he beat a lot of tough guys, all in a row, all the title defences. And so he really opened this [division] up.”

What went through Ryan’s mind when he was walking to confront Daniel Cormier on stage at UFC 187 post-fight press conference and what he would have done if Security didn’t step in:

“In my mind, when I was walking up there I was like “I wanna get my hands on him somehow”, you know. But walking up there – you know obviously the security guards and everything came up and kind of got in my way and grabbed me. And then you start thinking “I’m not going to make a fool of myself and flip over the table or try to hit him or slap him or something.”

“Going through my mind when I was walking up there, I wanted to slap him. But you know, we’re professionals and he’s actually been through that stuff before, and I don’t want to make a fool of myself and get into that kind of confrontation. So I just kind of backed off at the end there. But when he was yelling over me and he had the mic, ’cause nobody could hear me at all, I decided to walk up there. In my mind at the time it was the right thing to do”

“I’ve been thinking about that guy for a long time now. I was supposed to fight him one other time. Then I was supposed to fight him after Phil Davis. Was supposed to fight him in June. And we had plenty of time. We had lots of time to prepare for that fight, think about him, watch tape. And so I’ve been thinking about him ever since the Phil Davis fight, you know to this day. And for that to get pulled for me, it was just all kinds of frustration. And me not getting that shot, and seeing him as the champ too, and that could have been me and all that. But that’s beside the point. Now I just want to go out there fight him.”

On not getting the respect from DC that he deserves after all his fights in the UFC’s light heavyweight division

“He drops down to 205 pounds, and then he fights Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson, and then gets a title shot. He gets his butt whooped, and then gets gifted another title shot, and then finally wins the belt. You know, that’s pretty much the easiest path that I’ve ever heard or ever seen anybody getting that belt, the UFC belt. So for him to say that, then by his logic, then let’s do it. But I know I can go out there. I know I can beat him.”

“Yeah I haven’t gotten the respect, especially from him. So that’s why I wanna go out there, that’s why I wanna fight him, that’s why I wanna prove to him and everybody else that not only do I belong in the same octagon with him, I’m gonna beat him and I deserve to have that belt around my waist.”

On if Ryan thinks the fact that DC has lost to Jon Jones and never really beat him for the belt takes away from him being the real champion:

“Yeah I kind of do. I have two thought processes on this whole situation. The first is; everybody in the 205 pound division, we didn’t get together and cast Jon Jones out because he was dominating or anything like that. You know? He put himself in this position. So we’re just making the best of what we have. What else can we do? We can’t sign a petition saying ‘Hey we want Jon Jones back, because this belt doesn’t feel right’. You know? So we just carry on business as usual, and our main goal is to fight those fights in front of us, win those fights, and ultimate goal is to have that belt around your waist. So we’re doing what we want, and have been striving to do since we were wrestling as little kids and what not.”

“On the other side of that, it does feel like a consolation prize. And same deal if I go in there and beat DC and I have that belt, I still know there’s somebody out there that never really lost the belt. It was kind of taken from him. So you know, until Jon Jones comes back and that belt holder fights him and beats him, then I would say you’re the real champ. But this belt definitely would make you feel like it’s a consolation prize, for sure. If I had it, if DC has it. Anybody really in the division”

On Ryan’s response to DC’s comments on the MMA Hour, saying he was disrespectful to Anthony Jonson and that Anthony should beat him up for it:

“I think their [Cormier’s comments] are a bunch of BS. I never was disrespectful to Anthony Johnson at all. Like going back to what I was saying before the fight, DC is the one that came out there and did that interview saying I haven’t beaten anybody. I was just responding to that interview and that’s it. I sent out a tweet before the fight [saying] who I thought was going to win, and that was it. I thought DC was going to go out there, it was gonna be tough for the couple of first rounds, then DC would take control. And that’s what happened. And so I was in no way at all disrespecting Anthony Johnson. I was just going at Cormier after that interview, and he’s saying that I was disrespectful to DC also? That’s ridiculous. ”

“I think he talks so much that everything is a tangled web. He doesn’t remember what he said in the last interview and he can’t shut his mouth. So everything, he just keeps spewing out crap and then when you call him on something, you know it’s a whole other story. So he wants to fight me, he wants to shut my mouth, he wants this, and then he thinks I should fight him, and then he wants to fight Jon Jones, but Jon Jones is going to be out for a while, so he’ll fight me again. So who knows. I have no clue what he’s doing.”

Ryan expands on his comments from a recent interview saying that Daniel Cormier has changed:

“Just randomly people come up and just say his whole demeanour [has changed] and he’s not the guy he used to be. And not even fighters or anything, just people; your regular Joe kickboxing, you know cardio-kickboxing people that go the gym. And so that’s what I was just saying, just that whole deal. We come from a wrestling background where we never got any accolades. You go out there, win nationals or become an All-American, you get a hug from your Mom and handshake from your Dad and that’s it. And that’s what we’re used to. And you go through your life humbly and you go into this whole MMA deal and people want your autograph and you’re like “Holy crap. Why do people want my autograph?”. And you respect the fans and just respect yourself and the sport itself. That’s what people love about MMA. They love that there’s no real divas and we’re all accessible, and they can come up and shake your hand and take a picture. And 99 precent of the fighters are like that. You know? I just don’t want to see Cormier or any other fighters start taking that Diva route. And so like you saw right when he came to the press-conference, he goes “address me as champ”. And you know he could be kind of joking around here and there, but you know I’ve been around him, and I can just see it just piling on, piling on, and pretty soon he’s going to be a full blown diva.”

On being able to threaten DC in areas other people can’t in their fight:

“I just feel I can threaten him more than other people can. You know, on the mat, get him down with my takedowns and then put some power on him because I know he’d get hit.”

Official prediction on how he beats DC:

“I’m gonna stop him. You know, I hate doing predictions. I hate doing – you know it’s so hard. You never know. People ask “what round you doing? What’s this?”. You have no clue in MMA. You know? I guarantee I’ll go out there, I’ll put on an exciting fight, and my goal is to go out there and stop him. And I want that belt so bad. I should be in this title fight. I want to fight DC. We’ve been scheduled before. But I guarantee you this, I’ll go out there, put it all on the line and take that belt.”

On this day in pro wrestling history: Rogers beats Gomez, Gordman & Goliath, Baba loses PWF title, Flair vs. Kerry, Lawler vs. son, Taker vs. Edge

Posted on by F4W Staff

by Brian Hoops

1939 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Prospector Pete beat Steve Brody 2 out of 3 falls, Walter Sirois beat Stanley
Buresch, Ede Edner (Ebner) beat Don George and Mike Chacoma beat Dale Wayne. (promoter:  George D. Simpson)

1945 – Bobby Bonales defeated El Santo to win the Mexican National
Middleweight Title

1945 – In Wichita, Kansas; Lord Albert Mills defeated Ray Eckert in 2 out of 3 falls to earn a match next week with Orville Brown. Also, Lee Wykoff beat Jim Parker, Jack Hader beat Bob Hayford and Gene Blakely defeated Pat O’Dowdy.

1948 – Sandor Szabo wins the Minneapolis World Heavyweight Title
defeating Bronko Nagurski in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1948 – The Green Shadow defeated Herb Welch for the Tennessee World
Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee

1950 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated Bill Longson 2 falls to 0, Sonny Myers beat Lee Henning 2 out of 3 falls, also Dutch Hefner beat Pete Peterson.

1956 – Buddy Rogers defeated Pepper Gomez for the NWA Texas Heavyweight
Title in Houston, Texas.

1957 – In Kansas City, Kansas; For the Central States Title, Bobby Bruns went to a time limit draw with Richard Brown, Mike Clancy beat Angelo Savoldi and Wild Red Berry beat Joe Costello

1960 – Édouard Carpentier and Sandor Szabo defeated Art Michalik and
Legs Wilson in Los Angeles, California to win the NWA International TV
Tag Team Title.

1962 – Jack Donovan and Jackie Fargo defeated The Mysterious Medics for
the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Dothan, Alabama

1966 – René Goulet and Pepper Martin defeated Tony Borne and Prof. Hiro
to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1968 – In Chicago, Illinois; AWA Tag Team Champions Mitsu Arakawa & Dr Moto beat Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher,
Dr X beat Mighty Igor Vodik via dq, Bill Watts drew Larry Hennig and Rene Goulet beat Harley Race.

1971 – Brian Maxine defeated Clayton Thomson in Croydon, England for the
British Middleweight Title

1972 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; Omar Atlas fought Roger Kirby to a draw, Black Angus (w/ Percival A. Friend) defeated The Viking and Harley Race defeated Rufus R. Jones

1973 – The Samoans (Tio Tio and Reno Tufuuli) defeated Mike Graham and
Kevin Sullivan to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in St. Petersburg,
Florida.

1973 – Bull Ramos and Clay Spencer (Ken Mantell) defeated Steven Little
Bear and Dutch Savage for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1973 – Black Gordman and Goliath defeated Rey Mendoza and Raul Reyes to
win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title

1974 – Jim Dalton and Bruce Swayze defeated Carlos Colón and José Manuel
Pérez for the WWC North American Tag Team Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

1975 – Bobby Hart and Larry O’Day defeated The Missouri Mauler and Steve
Rackman to win the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title in Sydney, Australia.

1975 – Tauro defeated Dardo Aguilar for the Mexican National Lightweight
Title in Mexico City, Mexico

1975 – In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Verne Gagne & Billy Robinson via dq. Also, Dusty Rhodes beat Baron Von Raschke dq, Ivan Putski beat Boris Breznikoff and Greg Gagne beat Rene Goulet.

1976 – Jim Breaks defeated Bobby Ryan to win the British Lightweight
Title in Wolverhampton, England

1978 – Tor Kamata defeated Giant Baba for the AJPW PWF Heavyweight Title
in Akita, Japan.

1979 – Ron Garvin won the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title, defeating
Alex Smirnoff in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1979 – El Halcón defeated José Lothario defeat Mark Lewin and The
Spoiler to win the NWA American Tag Team Title in Houston, Texas.

1979 – At the Omaha, Nebraska Civic Center; Greg Gagne (sub Verne Gagne) & Mad Dog Vachon beat Pat Patterson & Nick Bockwinkel,
Bobby Duncum beat Doug Gilbert, In a Posedown, Paul Ellering beat Jesse Ventura and Super Destroyer Mark II (Sgt. Slaughter) beat Joe Scarpello.

1981 – Bill Dundee defeated Stan Lane for the Mid-America NWA United
States Junior Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1981 – Jimmy Golden defeated Ken Lucas to win the NWA Southeastern
Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama.

1983 – Lioness Asuka won the AJW Singles Title from Kaoru Matsumoto in
Omiya, Japan. At the same event, Jaguar Yokota defeated La Galactica for
the WWWA World Singles Title

1984 – In St. Louis, Missouri; NWA Champion Ric Flair went to a time limit draw with Kerry Von Erich, Blackjack Lanza & Blackjack Mulligan beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan, Wahoo McDaniel beat Kamala via dq and Jim Duggan beat Luke Graham.

1985 – Black Bart defeated Ron Garvin to win the NWA National
Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

1985 – Invader III defeated Denny Brown for the vacant WWC World Junior
Heavyweight Title

1986 – Marty Jannetty defeated The Shadow (Jaymie Knight) to win the NWA
Central States Heavyweight Title in Marshalltown, Iowa

1987 – Jeff Jarrett won the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title from
Moondog Spot in Memphis, Tennessee

1990 – Kerry Von Erich defeated Matt Borne in Dallas, Texas to win the
NWA Texas Heavyweight Title

1990 – El Dandy defeated Angel Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico for the NWA
World Middleweight Title

1991 – TNT (Savio Vega) defeated King Kong to win the WWC Television
Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico

1991 – The Billion Dollar Babies (Mike Samson and G.Q. Stratus) defeated
G.Q. and T.D. Madison (Tommy Dreamer) for the IWCCW Tag Team Title in
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

1995 – Latin Lover and Panterita del Ring defeated Fuerza and Juventud
Guerrera to win the Mexican National Tag Team Title in Texcoco, Mexico.

1996 – Pitbull #2 defeated ECW World Television Champion Shane Douglas
to win the title in Philadelphia, PA.

1996 – Brian Christopher defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA
Heavyweight Titles in Memphis,Tennessee

1996 – Caveman Broda defeated Bobby Collins for the Canadian Wrestling
Federation Light Heavyweight Title in Dugald, Manitoba.

2007 – At the OVW Summer Sizzler Series event in Louisville, Kentucky; ODB defeated OVW Women’s Champion Katie Lea to win the title, also Jay Bradley defeated Paul Birchill and Idol Stevens in a three-way match to win the vacant OVW Heavyweight Title.

2008 – Edge defeated the Undertaker in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match
for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship

On this day in pro wrestling history (June 1): Rogers beats Gomez, Gordman & Goliath, Baba loses PWF title, Flair vs. KVE, Lawler vs. son, Undertaker vs. Edge

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

1939 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Prospector Pete beat Steve Brody 2 out of 3 falls, Walter Sirois beat Stanley Buresch, Ede Edner (Ebner) beat Don George and Mike Chacoma beat Dale Wayne. (promoter: George D. Simpson)

1945 – Bobby Bonales defeated El Santo to win the Mexican National Middleweight Title; In Wichita, Kansas; Lord Albert Mills defeated Ray Eckert in 2 out of 3 falls to earn a match next week with Orville Brown. Also, Lee Wykoff beat Jim Parker, Jack Hader beat Bob Hayford and Gene Blakely defeated Pat O’Dowdy.

1948 – Sandor Szabo wins the Minneapolis World Heavyweight Title defeating Bronko Nagurski in Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Green Shadow defeated Herb Welch for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee

1950 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated Bill Longson 2 falls to 0, Sonny Myers beat Lee Henning 2 out of 3 falls, also Dutch Hefner beat Pete Peterson.

1956 – Buddy Rogers defeated Pepper Gomez for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas.

1957 – In Kansas City, Kansas; For the Central States Title, Bobby Bruns went to a time limit draw with Richard Brown, Mike Clancy beat Angelo Savoldi and Wild Red Berry beat Joe Costello

1960 – Édouard Carpentier and Sandor Szabo defeated Art Michalik and Legs Wilson in Los Angeles, California to win the NWA International TV Tag Team Title.

1962 – Jack Donovan and Jackie Fargo defeated The Mysterious Medics for the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Dothan, Alabama

1966 – René Goulet and Pepper Martin defeated Tony Borne and Prof. Hiro to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1968 – In Chicago, Illinois; AWA Tag Team Champions Mitsu Arakawa & Dr Moto beat Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher, Dr X beat Mighty Igor Vodik via dq, Bill Watts drew Larry Hennig and Rene Goulet beat Harley Race.

1971 – Brian Maxine defeated Clayton Thomson in Croydon, England for the British Middleweight Title

1972 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; Omar Atlas fought Roger Kirby to a draw, Black Angus (w/ Percival A. Friend) defeated The Viking and Harley Race defeated Rufus R. Jones

1973 – The Samoans (Tio Tio and Reno Tufuuli) defeated Mike Graham and Kevin Sullivan to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in St. Petersburg, Florida; Bull Ramos and Clay Spencer (Ken Mantell) defeated Steven Little Bear and Dutch Savage for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title; Black Gordman and Goliath defeated Rey Mendoza and Raul Reyes to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title

1974 – Jim Dalton and Bruce Swayze defeated Carlos Colón and José Manuel Pérez for the WWC North American Tag Team Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

1975 – Bobby Hart and Larry O’Day defeated The Missouri Mauler and Steve Rackman to win the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title in Sydney, Australia; Tauro defeated Dardo Aguilar for the Mexican National Lightweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico; In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Verne Gagne & Billy Robinson via dq. Also, Dusty Rhodes beat Baron Von Raschke dq, Ivan Putski beat Boris Breznikoff and Greg Gagne beat Rene Goulet.

1976 – Jim Breaks defeated Bobby Ryan to win the British Lightweight Title in Wolverhampton, England

1978 – Tor Kamata defeated Giant Baba for the AJPW PWF Heavyweight Title in Akita, Japan.

1979 – Ron Garvin won the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title, defeating Alex Smirnoff in Knoxville, Tennessee; El Halcón defeated José Lothario defeat Mark Lewin and The Spoiler to win the NWA American Tag Team Title in Houston, Texas; At the Omaha, Nebraska Civic Center; Greg Gagne (sub Verne Gagne) & Mad Dog Vachon beat Pat Patterson & Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Duncum beat Doug Gilbert, In a Posedown, Paul Ellering beat Jesse Ventura and Super Destroyer Mark II (Sgt. Slaughter) beat Joe Scarpello.

1981 – Bill Dundee defeated Stan Lane for the Mid-America NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee; Jimmy Golden defeated Ken Lucas to win the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama.

1983 – Lioness Asuka won the AJW Singles Title from Kaoru Matsumoto in Omiya, Japan. At the same event, Jaguar Yokota defeated La Galactica for the WWWA World Singles Title

1984 – In St. Louis, Missouri; NWA Champion Ric Flair went to a time limit draw with Kerry Von Erich, Blackjack Lanza & Blackjack Mulligan beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan, Wahoo McDaniel beat Kamala via dq and Jim Duggan beat Luke Graham.

1985 – Black Bart defeated Ron Garvin to win the NWA National Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia; Invader III defeated Denny Brown for the vacant WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title

1986 – Marty Jannetty defeated The Shadow (Jaymie Knight) to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title in Marshalltown, Iowa

1987 – Jeff Jarrett won the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title from Moondog Spot in Memphis, Tennessee

1990 – Kerry Von Erich defeated Matt Borne in Dallas, Texas to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title; El Dandy defeated Angel Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico for the NWA World Middleweight Title

1991 – TNT (Savio Vega) defeated King Kong to win the WWC Television Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico; The Billion Dollar Babies (Mike Samson and G.Q. Stratus) defeated G.Q. and T.D. Madison (Tommy Dreamer) for the IWCCW Tag Team Title in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

1995 – Latin Lover and Panterita del Ring defeated Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera to win the Mexican National Tag Team Title in Texcoco, Mexico.

1996 – Pitbull #2 defeated ECW World Television Champion Shane Douglas to win the title in Philadelphia, PA; Brian Christopher defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Heavyweight Titles in Memphis,Tennessee; Caveman Broda defeated Bobby Collins for the Canadian Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Title in Dugald, Manitoba.

2007 – At the OVW Summer Sizzler Series event in Louisville, Kentucky; ODB defeated OVW Women’s Champion Katie Lea to win the title, also Jay Bradley defeated Paul Birchill and Idol Stevens in a three-way match to win the vacant OVW Heavyweight Title.

2008 – Edge defeated the Undertaker in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship

On this day in pro wrestling history (June 1): Edge beats Undertaker in TLC WWE World title match

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

1939 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Prospector Pete beat Steve Brody 2 out of 3 falls, Walter Sirois beat Stanley Buresch, Ede Edner (Ebner) beat Don George and Mike Chacoma beat Dale Wayne. (promoter: George D. Simpson)

1945 – Bobby Bonales defeated El Santo to win the Mexican National Middleweight Title; In Wichita, Kansas; Lord Albert Mills defeated Ray Eckert in 2 out of 3 falls to earn a match next week with Orville Brown. Also, Lee Wykoff beat Jim Parker, Jack Hader beat Bob Hayford and Gene Blakely defeated Pat O’Dowdy.

1948 – Sandor Szabo wins the Minneapolis World Heavyweight Title defeating Bronko Nagurski in Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Green Shadow defeated Herb Welch for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee

1950 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated Bill Longson 2 falls to 0, Sonny Myers beat Lee Henning 2 out of 3 falls, also Dutch Hefner beat Pete Peterson.

1956 – Buddy Rogers defeated Pepper Gomez for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas.

1957 – In Kansas City, Kansas; For the Central States Title, Bobby Bruns went to a time limit draw with Richard Brown, Mike Clancy beat Angelo Savoldi and Wild Red Berry beat Joe Costello

1960 – Édouard Carpentier and Sandor Szabo defeated Art Michalik and Legs Wilson in Los Angeles, California to win the NWA International TV Tag Team Title.

1962 – Jack Donovan and Jackie Fargo defeated The Mysterious Medics for the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Dothan, Alabama

1966 – René Goulet and Pepper Martin defeated Tony Borne and Prof. Hiro to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1968 – In Chicago, Illinois; AWA Tag Team Champions Mitsu Arakawa & Dr Moto beat Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher, Dr X beat Mighty Igor Vodik via dq, Bill Watts drew Larry Hennig and Rene Goulet beat Harley Race.

1971 – Brian Maxine defeated Clayton Thomson in Croydon, England for the British Middleweight Title

1972 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; Omar Atlas fought Roger Kirby to a draw, Black Angus (w/ Percival A. Friend) defeated The Viking and Harley Race defeated Rufus R. Jones

1973 – The Samoans (Tio Tio and Reno Tufuuli) defeated Mike Graham and Kevin Sullivan to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in St. Petersburg, Florida; Bull Ramos and Clay Spencer (Ken Mantell) defeated Steven Little Bear and Dutch Savage for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title; Black Gordman and Goliath defeated Rey Mendoza and Raul Reyes to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title

1974 – Jim Dalton and Bruce Swayze defeated Carlos Colón and José Manuel Pérez for the WWC North American Tag Team Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

1975 – Bobby Hart and Larry O’Day defeated The Missouri Mauler and Steve Rackman to win the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title in Sydney, Australia; Tauro defeated Dardo Aguilar for the Mexican National Lightweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico; In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Verne Gagne & Billy Robinson via dq. Also, Dusty Rhodes beat Baron Von Raschke dq, Ivan Putski beat Boris Breznikoff and Greg Gagne beat Rene Goulet.

1976 – Jim Breaks defeated Bobby Ryan to win the British Lightweight Title in Wolverhampton, England

1978 – Tor Kamata defeated Giant Baba for the AJPW PWF Heavyweight Title in Akita, Japan.

1979 – Ron Garvin won the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title, defeating Alex Smirnoff in Knoxville, Tennessee; El Halcón defeated José Lothario defeat Mark Lewin and The Spoiler to win the NWA American Tag Team Title in Houston, Texas; At the Omaha, Nebraska Civic Center; Greg Gagne (sub Verne Gagne) & Mad Dog Vachon beat Pat Patterson & Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Duncum beat Doug Gilbert, In a Posedown, Paul Ellering beat Jesse Ventura and Super Destroyer Mark II (Sgt. Slaughter) beat Joe Scarpello.

1981 – Bill Dundee defeated Stan Lane for the Mid-America NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee; Jimmy Golden defeated Ken Lucas to win the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama.

1983 – Lioness Asuka won the AJW Singles Title from Kaoru Matsumoto in Omiya, Japan. At the same event, Jaguar Yokota defeated La Galactica for the WWWA World Singles Title

1984 – In St. Louis, Missouri; NWA Champion Ric Flair went to a time limit draw with Kerry Von Erich, Blackjack Lanza & Blackjack Mulligan beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan, Wahoo McDaniel beat Kamala via dq and Jim Duggan beat Luke Graham.

1985 – Black Bart defeated Ron Garvin to win the NWA National Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia; Invader III defeated Denny Brown for the vacant WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title

1986 – Marty Jannetty defeated The Shadow (Jaymie Knight) to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title in Marshalltown, Iowa

1987 – Jeff Jarrett won the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title from Moondog Spot in Memphis, Tennessee

1990 – Kerry Von Erich defeated Matt Borne in Dallas, Texas to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title; El Dandy defeated Angel Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico for the NWA World Middleweight Title

1991 – TNT (Savio Vega) defeated King Kong to win the WWC Television Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico; The Billion Dollar Babies (Mike Samson and G.Q. Stratus) defeated G.Q. and T.D. Madison (Tommy Dreamer) for the IWCCW Tag Team Title in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

1995 – Latin Lover and Panterita del Ring defeated Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera to win the Mexican National Tag Team Title in Texcoco, Mexico.

1996 – Pitbull #2 defeated ECW World Television Champion Shane Douglas to win the title in Philadelphia, PA; Brian Christopher defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Heavyweight Titles in Memphis,Tennessee; Caveman Broda defeated Bobby Collins for the Canadian Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Title in Dugald, Manitoba.

2007 – At the OVW Summer Sizzler Series event in Louisville, Kentucky; ODB defeated OVW Women’s Champion Katie Lea to win the title, also Jay Bradley defeated Paul Birchill and Idol Stevens in a three-way match to win the vacant OVW Heavyweight Title.

2008 – Edge defeated the Undertaker in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship

WWE DVD Review: Jerry Lawler’s ‘It’s Good To Be The King’

Posted on by F4W Staff

By James Cox, WrestlingObserver.com

“A lot of fans are going to remember the combination of Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Many will remember Jerry’s ’Kiss My Foot’ match with Bret Hart. Many of us will always remember Jerry’s amazing work at the announce desk. Jerry Lawler has impacted upon generations of fans.” Jim Ross, It’s Good To Be King: The Jerry Lawler Story DVD, 2015

The Big Takeaway: Although there is plenty of material here that will intrigue and that is not available on the WWE Network, this is not an essential purchase. The matches and interview segments are entertaining, but there is little that is must-see. The documentary feature on Lawler’s life is good and Jerry is tremendous, but it is shorter than it should be. For fans of Lawler, this is worth purchasing; for casual WWE fans, there is arguably nothing too vital here.

DVD Recap:

There’s a rear air of humility about Jerry Lawler as he sits in his home studio, carefully shading some of his artwork – a picture of the McMahon lineage: Shane, Vince Jr and Vince Sr. As he concentrates on the intricacies of the picture, thoughts spill out that feel honest and natural. He seems completely at peace when he is drawing. His talent is unmistakable and, of course, it was his art that got Lawler his first break into the business.

If you have read his 2002 autobiography, It’s Good to be King…Sometimes, you’ll know much of his history. The documentary runs at just over 80 minutes, where we’re shown a truncated version of Jerry Lawler’s life and career in the wrestling business, told by a mellow and reflective Lawler himself. But, largely, this feels like a profile of a WWE commentator who was once a wrestler.

On the subsequent discs, matches on offer include his work against Kaufman, Bret Hart, Roddy Piper and even a Raw match from 2004 against Ric Flair. Many of the best of his King’s Court segments make up the rest of the collection.

Jerry Lawler comes across as grateful and humble, a humility that would seem to stem from his modest upbringing with his mother, father and brother. His dad, a factory worker, earned $99 a week in Memphis until a forced moved to Ohio saw some upheaval in Lawler’s life. But it was Lawler’s father’s heart attacks that forced them to move back to Memphis, where he would stay. It is never stated that this family medical history has worried Lawler and in the last chapter of the feature, when Jerry’s own heart attack is covered, they miss this fact too.

In Memphis, a young Lawler would go to watch the local wrestling with his father, where Jerry would draw caricatures of the wrestlers. Many fans noticed his work and he was encouraged to send them into Channel 13 to be shown on TV. Sure enough, Lance Russell called Lawler to ask for more of his work. Lawler obliged and met Jackie Fargo and, after doing sign artwork and some radio work, Fargo saw his verbal talent and the rest is history.

Given his pivotal role in breaking into the business, his love and respect for Jackie Fargo is clear. After Lawler and Jerry Vickers went over to work in West Memphis, Arkansas, where Aubrey Griffith was running the territory, Fargo got him work instead. Lawler had promised Griffith promotion on his radio station in return for work as a wrestler, but Fargo would pull him back in and train him up properly.

Here, there isn’t too much depth into the trajectory of Lawler’s rise to becoming a huge star in Memphis. His becoming the ‘King’ is covered in minutes and the uninitiated viewer just won’t get that sense of just quite how big he and wrestling were in that territory, in that period.

Jerry Jarrett puts over Lawler’s ability as a promo. His charisma is clear – Lawler was a different type of ‘bad guy’, young, brash, outspoken with a natural ability to think of and deliver one-liners. As Jack Brisco notes when reflecting on their 1974 matches, ‘Jerry was never a great athlete, but he was a great performer’

Lawler’s infamous feud with Andy Kaufman is the main focus of his early career in Memphis. The footage of Kaufman wrestling women and cutting promos that would get easy heat from those living in the South is tremendous. As is the admission from Vince McMahon that they were offered Kaufman and passed, making Vince very jealous of the mainstream publicity that it drew.

Keeping that sort of attention on their product was tough and a now invested Lawler reflects on how Memphis started losing talent and that, although competition made them strong, he “could see the writing on the wall.” He briefly mentions how he filed a lawsuit against the WWF because of their representation and advertisement of ‘The King’ (Harley Race) at their shows in the Mid South area.

Lawler is fairly damning of the Super Clash III title unification match between he and Kerry Von Erich and here the documentary claims that he went over to work for WWF in 1993 (his first work on TV was December 1992), where Vince had already lured Jerry Jarrett in. Jarrett, Lawler states, was brought in to run things in case Vince’s court case against the government had not been fortuitous and had recommended Lawler for commentary.

There is much more focus on Lawler as a colour commentator than there is on his in-ring career with the company, but Bret Hart is gracious enough to call him “a genius as a heel.” We’re shown very little footage at this point of Lawler doing anything other than talking, either behind the announce table or in the ring and it feels very much like the company are keen to paint him as a commentator who used to be a wrestler.

Lawler remembers that Vince was a lot of fun to do commentary with and Jim Ross tells us that he and Jerry, “never met, never sat down, it just happened organically […] he was a perfect foil for my insults.” Lawler goes on to dissect his ‘character’ as an announcer, noting the high pitch, the sexist vernacular, the wide eyes and dreamy expression. All seem very far away from Lawler now when he speaks in calm, soft tones to the camera.
This persona was toned down, too, by 1999 when Jerry ran for Mayor of Memphis – placing third with 11.7% of the ballots. We’re shown his mayoral campaign TV advert where his policies centered around him essentially not being a politician and offering a safer, cleaner city. His then wife, Stacy Carter, remembers how much strain the running for Mayor put on them and said that not winning had been a relief to some extent.

After Carter’s release and Lawler’s subsequent walkout, his return to the company in 2001 is made to look like a huge deal, but his impact is left there. There is no mention of any influence on the company or anyone in it for 6 years, until were shown clips from his Hall of Fame induction in 2007.

From here, we fast forward through to his memories of working a TLC match against The Miz, in 2010, for the WWE Championship. It was, of course, his first and last title match in the company and no reference is made to the fact that it took place on Lawler’s 61st birthday. In fact, age is never mentioned at all. Lawler, at least outwardly, remembers it fondly but the documentary is keen to paint it as a stepping-stone to him facing Michael Cole at WrestleMania 27.
Cole speaks highly and fondly of Lawler but says at WrestleMania the drop kick that he took from Lawler knocked out one of his teeth and the bump that he took into the General Manager’s podium was so hard that he thought he was going to pass out. This fondness then transitions into Cole’s memories of Lawler’s heart attack, live on Raw in 2012.

There’s something very uncomfortable about watching someone having CPR, but the footage make it look like it’s an angle. The camera used to film the backstage footage is in HD, with the same filter as a normal ring camera. Nothing about it looks real and yet it is. Although the sentiment expressed by Cole, Ross and McMahon is one of respect and concern and worry, the images don’t really seem to match. It makes for uncomfortable viewing.

Rather disappointingly, the heart attack is where the documentary ends and we go back to Lawler drawing at his desk at his home in Memphis. Thankfully, closing statements from Cole, McMahon and Ross save the end of this documentary from celebrating a near-death experience rather than this man’s impact on the world of professional wrestling.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5-31 Shizuoka report: Tiger Mask IV vs. Kushida

Posted on by F4W Staff

by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

Here we are, day 8 of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament! Only 3 matches today, since Shelley is out of the tournament. Results are below, followed by the current rankings and links to previous results.

Gedo vs. Chase Owens

Unlike the other matches we’ve seen in the tournament, Gedo was the face here as he gained control of the match after a referee distraction spot and a dropkick. Gedo made a comeback after the ref was knocked down with a low blow and a roll up. Owens cut him off, did the throwback from the top rope then pinned Gedo with a package piledriver. About as basic of a match as you can get, which isn’t a knock but nothing beyond that.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Beretta

This was solid. A lot of the match was Beretta working over Liger. Beretta reversed a hurricanrana off the top rope for a nearfall, but fell trap to a palm strike. Beretta hit his knee strike but Liger reversed a roll up into one of his own for the pinfall.

Tiger Mask IV vs. Kushida

Tiger Mask worked on Kushida’s leg early in the bout. They did a spot where they did stereo kicks to the temple and both fell to the ground momentarily. Tiger Mask laid out Kushida with a butterfly suplex off the top rope but Kushida came back with the hoverboard lock and Tiger Mask submitted. This got more time than the other two matches on the show, and they used that time to have a fine match.

Current Standings:

Block A:

Kyle O’Reilly (6)

Ryusuke Taguchi (6)

Chase Owens (6)

Jushin Thunder Liger (6)

Babaro Cavernario (4)

Gedo (4)

Beretta (4)

Yohei Komatsu (0)

Block B:

Kushida (10)

Mascara Dorada (6)

Tiger Mask IV (6)

Nick Jackson (6)

Rocky Romero (6)

Bobby Fish (4)

Alex Shelley (2) (Out of tournament due to injury)

David Finlay (0)

And here are recaps of the previous shows for quick reference:

Day 1: Gedo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

Day 2: Kushida vs. Nick Jackson

Day 3: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Day 4: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Beretta

Day 5: Chase Owens vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

Day 6: Rocky Romero vs. Tiger Mask IV

Day 7: Kushida vs. Bobby Fish

Feedback to Elimination Chamber

Posted on by F4W Staff

Best Match – Owens vs Cena
Worst Match – Women’s match
Thumbs Up

If you had told me even a year ago that Kevin Owens would be on the WWE roster, and cleanly pinning John Cena, I would have openly laughed. My jaw literally hit the ground when the ref counted for three. A tremendous match and a great effort by both of them. Easily the best match of the night and shows again how versatile that Cena is, no matter who the opponent is. Overall a great PPV, although disappointed in the crowd reaction and how it died off after the Cena/Owens match, even when there was great action going on. Also great to see that the Dusty finish still lives in 2015! After a slow start, Rollins vs Ambrose turned out to be a great match, and looking forward to what the feud has in store on the next PPV (possible Reigns to turn on Ambrose?)

Roy Lucier

Thumbs way up
Best Match: Owens v Cena
Worst Match: Stardust v Ryder

Great event for something that came together so quickly! Owens Cena was just amazing, was looking forward to it the most and it overdelivered. Even if we had the expected non finish it would have been off the charts but Owens going over was that extra level that say Cena Lesnar extreme rules 2012 could have used to cement it. Some of those moves for Cena to trust owens with them says a lot about John and he busted his ass in the match. I want Owens Lesnar in Dallas.

Only a couple chamber matches have been duds and these ones tonight were the norm not the exception. The tag match was a sight only negative was some of that weird climbing by Kalisto and would have liked Cesaro Kidd to be in from the start. Bryan putting Ryback over afterwards was a nice touch and made the title a little more important. Main event was solid we knew there would be wackiness at the end. Thought it would be the dusty finish where it was reversed on Raw ( which might have been a cool story since it hasnt been used for a while?).

Odd announcing of the MITB participants out of the blue. Why not fill Raw with 6 ( or 7 or 8) qualifying matches? But thats nitpicking who can complain too much after a tremendous show!

Michael O’Brien
Brockton, MA

WWE Elimination Chamber: Thumbs Up
Best Match: Cena vs. Owens
Worst Match: Divas Triple Threat

Tag Title Chamber was good, although not to the level I expected.  Was surprised they tried to push the Ascension finally.  Was expecting them out first.  New Day retained which I did expect and it was the right move for now.  Divas triple threat was fine, but nothing special.  They really need to showcase the NXT women and let them show everyone how it is done.  Kind of surprised that Nikki retained.  John Cena vs. Kevin Owens was excellent.  They pulled out all the stops and Owens was tremendous doing some really great moves.  That superplex reversal was beautiful.  Great match and made the show.  Neville vs. Bo Dallas was fine, but maybe a little slow in spots.  Neville is just an excellent talent.  Hope to see him rise up the ladder (no pun intended for MITB).  I-C Title Chamber was also good, but still could have been better.  Maybe too many slow moving guys in it.  Mark Henry and Truth should not have been it since they are so low on the totem poll.  Nice to see Ryback finally pick up a title after all this time.  Hope he doesn’t go on a losing streak now.  Main Event title match was good and of course they took the wind out of everyone’s sails with the Dusty finish.  I had a feeling that would happen or at the very least a reversal the next night.  Overall a very good show.

Robb Block

OVERALL: Thumbs Down
Best Match: Kevin Owens vs. John Cena
Worst Match: Divas Three Way

Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match — I didn’t like this match. And for a minute I thought I was going to be the only one who didn’t but it seems like a lot of people thought this was a trainwreck. Lots of spots but no story and a lot of the spots looked silly. This looked like a bad ROH match. I’ll give credit, though, they worked hard. I thought it was too early to take the belts off the New Day so I was fine with the outcome. I think the match actually would have been stronger if the “extras” like El-Torito and Xavier Woods were kept out of the match. Nothing against them, but they weren’t used well here. Match itself wasn’t good to me at all. *3/4

Divas Three Way Title match — If they’re calling up Charlotte or Sasha and putting the belt on one of them, this was the right call. This match was more unfortunate than bad. They had 6 minutes and because theyv’e been berated by ignorant internet fans and unfairly compared to the NXT girls (who get way more time), they felt pressured to cram 12+ min. of wrestling into a small timeframe. Anytime that happens, you have this kind of match: a dangerous one. Hope Paige is OK. *1/4

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena — This was spectacular. I loved this match. Kevin and Owens and John Cena had way better chemistry than I had anticipated. I honestly think that this was Kevin Owens’s best match since coming to WWE. What a debut for him and I’ve become a huge fan of his. The match at first I thought was going to be one-sided but it was just a great back and forth match. I thought the decision to have Owens defeat Cena was a very good one. Cena is such an established star that he can lose 10 times and will still be John Cena. Kevin Owens has nowhere to go but up from here. I see this feud continuing.  ****

Neville vs. Bo Dallas — The match started off really, really slow for me. Once the match got further along it got a lot better. They weren’t booked to steal the show but they still had a really solid match in the end. I thought this was good. **3/4

IC Championship Elimination Chamber — I liked it for what it was. Certainly better than the last Chamber match. Glad to see Ryback won. I’m a little worried about how Sheamus is going to come out of this because he’s the one that got Shellshocked and powerbombed. I feel like they need to do a little better job protecting him. He had good momentum and has obvious talent in the ring but he’s kind of been waffling without a story for a while. I don’t believe it was right for R-Truth to pinn King Barrett. That only makes your King of the Ring look like a chump. I feel like Rusev could have gotten a lot of heat put back in this match but Henry wasn’t bad in this at all. ***

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins — Awesome match but the booking of this was a complete fail for me. The “Dusty” finish never works. Ever. It is always counter-productive. They could have just as easily had Rollins cheat to win. You have Dean Ambrose now stealing yet another title. The fans were more pissed off by the booking than mad in storyline at Rollins. I love Seth Rollins to death (own one of his T-shirts) but J&J Security has GOT to go. They suck. My old lady is taller than both of them. They ruin every single match they are in. I see nothing in them at all. Ambrose hit an awesome Tornado DDT and still looked like a superstar here even when the booking constantly fails him. I can’t think of anyone in this company who has been so poorly booked for so long yet still the most over person in the company. Seth Rollins sold the hell out of Ambrose’s lariat which I thought looked sick. Great storytelling match here and really good action. Both of these guys are talented. But the booking was stone stupid. ***3/4

Craig Reeves

Hey Dave,I gave the show a thumbs upBest Match: Cena vs OwensWorst Match: Dallas vs Neville or Divas match – take your pickCena vs Owens really delivered and the right way to get Owens over on his first major show.Loved his springboard from the 2nd rope reversing his position to a moonsault as well as him reversing Cena’s superplex into his own sidewalk type slam. He also had that nice tease of the package piledriver setup into another slam. After the “upset” win they had the crowd shots to show the stunned reactions almost like it was the Undertaker Wrestlemania loss shots. Let’s home the Cena vs Owens II match doesn’t turn into even steven booking and Owens beats Cena again.Neville vs Dallas fell into that spot of death on the card trying to follow the Owens vs Cena match and it just seemed flat. Wasn’t horrible but had a bit of a disconnect for me.I don’t think the announcers got over the whole Sheamus spot in the IC title Chamber. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get out of his pod, it was him not wanting to come in by having his cross jam the door shut so the official couldn’t open the door. Having 2 panels come out so easily when Ziggler was thrown into them sort of ruins the impenetrable aspect of them as someone could really just kick their way out pretty easily, they looked pretty flimsy when they came out. This match was OK but the crowd still didn’t seem that into it. Mark Henry looks like he dropped a ton of weight and looked in the best shape of his career.Tag Chamber match was decent but they are really stretching it trying to come up with 6 teams. Didn’t make sense that New Day could have all 3 in the pod rather than them deciding with Freebird rules of which 2 were going into the match. Same with why Torito was in there. Kalisto, aside from climbing to the top of the Chamber and dropping really did nothing all match besides being held down by New Day in their pod. Maybe he was hurt.I was expecting a Reigns turn in the main event when him & Ambrose seemed so buddy buddy in the pre-interviews. Main event was solid and a good match. I think Ambrose needs to lose the slingshot clothesline Nigel McGuiness spots. It just looks so hokey. The Dusty finish…we will see where this goes now. I assume a title can change hands of a DQ match perhaps.Check out my current ebay auctions featuring some great wrestling memorabilia including some fantastic Stampede wrestling programs which feature Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman, Bret Hart, Dynamite Kid, Bad News Allen, Keichi Yamada, Shinya Hashimoto, Hiro Hase and so many more. Seller name is grantsindexEmail me for some recent wrestling observer specials including UFC, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Wrestlemania and more.[email protected]Grant ZwarychWrestling Observer Index
Hey Dave,

Overall: Thumbs in the middle. It was a tale of two shows. The good (Owens/Cena, Rollins/Ambrose) was really good. In fact, I would say Cena and Owens was great. The bad (The Elimination Chamber matches/ Divas match) was quite bad. In fact, these were probably two of the worst Elimination Chamber matches I have seen. I have slanted this way for many years now, but tonight I will strongly declare: I want to see straight up wrestling matches with all of the rules enforced. No more gimmick matches. They have been used at excess and no longer serve a purpose.

Best Match: Owens Vs. Cena was everything every fan hoped for.Worst Match: The women’s match was atrocious. The timing and ring positioning was awful.

Pre-Show:
Miz TV segment was harmless fun. Crowd was tepid at best. Daniel Bryan said he will be back, but he did not specify if he would be back in the ring wrestling.
1.       Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber Match: New Day vs. Cesaro/Kidd vs. The Ascension vs. Los Matadors vs. Prime Time Playas vs. Lucha Dragons. The match had a lot of potential and it was set up to thrill, but in the end it failed to execute. When you have too many guys, doing too many spots, you have too much room for error. In this match, there were a lot of errors. Lots of ambitious ideas, but only about ½ were pulled off. Callisto looked perpetually confused throughout the match. Most of the guys wrestled in spot mode, looking over their shoulder and through the corner of their eye waiting for their turn to hit a spot. I suppose this match was set up to build up the Prime Time Playas and the Ascension. It did not succeed in either regard. To top it off, the finish was flat. **
2.       Divas Title Match: Naomi vs. Paige vs. Nikki Bella. The fans were willing to give the Divas a chance. The divas failed to deliver. Paige’s timing and ring placement was off the whole match. Naomi has started to botch spots on a regular basis. Some of the maneuvers in this match were reckless. *
3.       Kevin Owens vs. John Cena. Fantastic match. Well-paced, well laid out, and solid build to a clean and decisive finish. This was everything every fan could have asked for. It was a highlight reel for Kevin Owens and a testament to the confidence and ability of John Cena. Cena’s goal was to make a star, and Owens did not need much help. It is also refreshing to know that when the announce team wants to, they can help put somebody over. It makes you wonder why they do not do it more often. **** ½ star match and the promo was icing on the cake.
4.       Adrian Neville vs. Bo Dallas. Okay match. It was a little slow, and hence a little disappointing. More changes of pace could have helped the match significantly. For what it was, a solid win for Neville. **
5.       Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber Match: R Truth vs. Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Ryback. With the exception of the final battle between Ryback and Sheamus which was pretty good, this match was a disaster. Obviously, Henry was not supposed to enter the match when he did and his presence totally flubbed the flow of the match. You could tell the wrestlers were attempting to overcome and adapt, but they were never able to find a pace. The announcers completely missed Sheamus locking himself into the pod to give himself a decided advantage. Maybe they should pay closer attention. I do like the fact that Ryback won and the concluding handoff between Bryan to Ryback was a feel good moment. **
6.       WWE Title Match: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. A very good match that bordered on great, but never sustained that level to be considered a classic. These guys have chemistry, and that chemistry was on display. The crowd was tired, but the solid work stirred them into frenzy towards the final stages. The dusty finish accomplished what it was supposed to accomplish; it produced a roller coaster reaction from the live crowd. The fact that many people will complain and critique the finish serves its designed purpose. ***3/4.
 Thanks, Derrick Hubbard

Thumbs in the middle

Best Match: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

Worst Match: IC Chamber match

This would have been a thumbs down show without the Cena/Owens match and the Dusty Finish in the main event didn’t help either.

Tag Title Chamber match was okay better than I expected but the Ascension being put in first is laughable. ** stars

Divas Title match: A terrible match compared to the Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks match from Takeover a few days earlier. Botched spots all over the place, mostly by Naomi. Sad that Paige has to work with these girls until the NXT crew moves up. DUD

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: This match I would put up with some of the great G1 matches from last year. Awesome awesome match. Owens became a made guy tonight. It’s too bad the crowd was awful cause in any other big town the crowd would have gone nuts for the finish. This match is the front runner for the WWE’s Match of the Year. **** 3/4 stars

Bo Dallas vs. Neville: Never had a chance after Cena/Owens. It was a 3rd hour Raw match. * 1/2 stars

IC Title Chamber: Awful. Wade Barrett is the jobber king, R-Truth was nothing, Dolph Ziggler continues to get worse, Mark Henry looked lost, Ryback looked dangerous and Sheamus was there.  -* star

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: Very good match which was to be expected but the Dusty Finish ruined everything, as they usually do. ** 1/2 stars w/ the DF

Josh Hayes

WWE Elimination Chamber

Thumbs in the Middle. Another just good enough but not great WWE show. Crowd was hot at spots but it was clear that it was mostly a small-town house show crowd.


Best Match: Owens vs Cena
Worst Match: Neville vs Dallas

1. Stardust vs Zack Ryder. This aired just minutes before the “official” Pre-Show. They try nobody cared. *1/2

2. New Day vs  PTP vs Cesaro & Kidd vs Ascension vs Lucha Dragons vs Matadores. All action match with some unique creative spots but the Chamber gimmick just don’t work with teams. ***1/2

3. Nikki Bella vs Paige vs Naomi. *1/2

4. Owens vs Cena. Absolutely great match. It will be interesting how Cena explains him losing since it was as clean as any other match he has lost in the past. Even when Punk beat him in Chicago there was some outside involvement. ****1/2

5. Neville vs Bo Dallas. Totally out of place. This match needed to be between the first Chamber match and the Divas. Dallas is a geek and WWE is booking Neville just like one. *1/4

6. Ryback vs Sheamus vs Ziggler vs Henry vs R-Truth vs Barrett. You know that this was a small town crowd when Sheamus totally over reacted being mad about getting stock in the pod and fans there bought it and some of them even chant his name. Marks. Way too long. Crowd was pretty much dead for most of it. This was the perfect scenario to debut a NXT guy. A Finn Balor win would have set a perfect scenario for a match between him and Bryan, hell that’s a Mania caliber match. Anyway none of that matters. Ryback won, who cares ***1/4

7. Rollins vs Ambrose. It was great until the finish. What a lame angle. Guess WWE is celebrating the 30 Year Anniversary of Back to the Future, because that type of shit is directly from the 80’s. Other than that is was a clothesline festival. ***3/4

Leonardo II Mendez Toledo

Thumbs…up?  (-It was down when I saw the decision reversal.)

Best match: Cena v. Owens
Easily.  I think this will become the match that defines our current era of wrestling.  Great back and forth. Cena “PPV” events usually have lots of production and hype going in.  This one focused on the meeting of these two champions and it delivered a championship quality match.

Worst Match: 
Elim 2: IC Belt
Painful stuff here.  I don’t know if anyone was interested in any of these guys winning.  And as that match dragged on, they gave us more reason not to care.  Sheamus stuck in the pod and using the cross was just awful.  Lots of visible standing around moments.  People weren’t acting like they wanted to be in the ring.  Bad match.

Worth mentioning:
There was WAY too much audible ring talking tonight!  I expect some from Cena, but every match people “TALK TOO MUCH.”  
Awful commentary is expected, but they weren’t calling the main event tonight.  There was more commentary from competitors in the ring tonight than from this team during the main event.
I think the J&J interference has been stale for awhile.
That Ambrose decision reversal was touch and go for the whole event.  Things were going to get real ugly.  Keeping the belt with Ambrose, albeit illegitimately, was a smart move.

Divas match:
This looked like it was over scripted.  It meant that botched spots ended out disrupting the whole flow of the match.  
VERY anticlimactic ending, too.  Not a fan of seeing a smiling and fresh Nikki Bella at the end of a championship match.

—

Nick Garcia

Wrestle-1 will have five U.S. shows this month

Posted on by F4W Staff

Wrestle-1, the Japanese promotion owned by Keiji Muto and now run by Sanshiro Takagi, is doing a five date East Coast tour late this months with APWA out of West Virginia.

We had reported a few months ago on the tour but they officially announced these dates today:

6/23 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena

6/25 in Belle Vernon, PA at the Rostraver Ice Arena

6/26 in Parkersburg, WV

6/27 in Shelby, NC at the site of the old Crockett TV tapings

6/28 in Atlanta

Tickets go on sale at the 2300 Arena tomorrow for the first show.

WWE News: Rusev out of Chamber match

Posted on by F4W Staff

Shock of all shocks, barely an hour before the start of the show, the WWE has in fact reported that Rusev will not be wrestling tonight.

So what happens to the final spot in the IC title Elimination Chamber match?  It’s a surprise.

Rusev suffered a leg injury on Tuesday night and it’s been pretty clear for days he’s not wrestling tonight.  However, until minutes ago, WWE was continuing to advertise him, and hilariously, in something written on Friday, Joey Styles even predicted him as the winner of the match.

SUN. UPDATE: Elimination Chamber preview, Destination America, Lesnar sells out, Alves injury, Rollins talks curb stomp

Posted on by F4W Staff

By [email protected]”>Dave Meltzer

We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s Elimination Chamber show, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]”>[email protected]

We’re also looking for reports on last night’s WWE house show in Laredo, TX as well as on tonight’s Evolve show

WWE Elimination Chamber at 8 p.m. Eastern from Corpus Christi on the WWE Network

*Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for WWE title – This isn’t the time for Rollins to be losing the title with Brock Lesnar returning and Roman Reigns still not having gotten his main event title shots.  These two had a really good long match last night in Laredo getting ready and I can’t imagine this bout not being great. 

*John Cena vs. Kevin Owens non-title – While not billed as the main event, most consider it the real main event on the show.  The non-title aspect would seem like a way for Owens to win while keeping Cena as champion.  The fact Owens has laid Cena out at every turn would normally indicate a Cena win.  But I can’t make sense out of Owens not winning here in his first big PPV match unless they’ve got a really creative finish.  Plus, it’s not scheduled as a one-and-done program.  It will be interesting to see what kind of a match the two have and how the crowd reacts.  Tickets were originally for a Sunday house show, which means more kids and families and it’s a small building.  But there were enough tickets left for the TV fans to get enough to where they’ll make enough noise as the minority.  Cena went on TV and practically set up “Fight Owens Fight” chants if people pay attention.  No matter what, this is Owens’ biggest match and it’s really the most important match on the show long-term.

*IC title Chamber match:  Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. ? (formerly Rusev, no official announcement has been made) vs. R-Truth vs. Ryback vs. King Barrett – As of today, Rusev was still being advertised.  There was talk of Bray Wyatt earlier in the week being added.  At one point, Sheamus was scheduled to win, but we’ll see.  Barrett has lost so much late that you almost have to consider his winning as a possibility.  Ziggler is also a possibility.  Ryback would be a surprise and R-Truth would be a shock and also a silly move.

*Tag title Chamber match:  New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension vs. Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores – It’s too early to take the title from The New Day.  On paper, there are enough good wrestlers here that it should be a hell of a match.

*Neville vs. Bo Dallas – This will probably be short and Neville should win with the red arrow.  

*Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi for Divas title – It feels like it’s time for Naomi to win. 

        Every WWE show these days looks good on paper.  They could add a match, but probably don’t have to because the top four matches should all get a lot of time and on paper all should be very good. 

Evolve 44 i PPV tonight at 8 p.m. from the Ronkonkoma Fire Department Hall in Ronkonkoma, NY at www.WWNLive.com for $9.99 plus on the WWN Roku channel 

Rey Hours vs. ?

Biff Busick vs. Mike Bailey

Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee

Anthony Nese vs. TJ Perkins

Drew Gulak vs. Davey Richards

Johnny Gargano vs Ethan Page – If Gargano wins, Page leaves the promotion, if Page wins, Gargano must shake his hand

Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong for Evolve title

Raw is Monday night in San Antonio.

Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Houston.

**** 

The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at the history of popular music being used in pro wrestling, including:

* Who actually did the first pro wrestling music video?

* The role of popular songs gtting major acts over.

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* How “real” songs make wrestlers stand out in a sea of in-house productions.

And much more. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news.

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**** 

The breakdown of the ROH deal on Destination America, how this affects TNA, the time frame of both company’s deals with the station and why this went down is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We also look at Daniel Cormier winning the world championship and questions arising, full coverage of UFC 187, Full coverage of Samoa Joe to NXT and the last special, the AAA World Cup coverage, Bischoff sues TNA and the UFC hall of Fame.

The new issue is up on the site at June 1, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ROH to Destination America, Bischoff sues TNA, UFC Hall of Fame

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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

We look at TNA’s actions over the past week since the original Observer story broke, the expansion in coverage of ROH, why the ROH deal got done, how Dixie Carter handled the situation, the conference call with TNA talent and how it went, the lineup for the first month of ROH on Destination America and the key show to watch, what to expect from the ratings, the ROH PPV schedule and the Samoa Joe situation with ROH.

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We also look at Elimination Chamber, the Rusev injury, Ronda Rousey and next year’s WrestleMania, talk about a gimmick for a future NXT special, notes on the new season of Total Divas, Notes on someone who is a TV star that got a tryout as a WWE star this past week and how it went, A look behind the scenes on the Daniel Bryan/A.J. Lee angle, how WWE is changing its thoughts on talent, another celebrity angle, NXT dates and a look at the upcoming Australia tour.

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We look at the Bischoff-Hervey lawsuit against TNA.

We also have a full breakdown on the UFC Hall of Fame and its new members.  We look at their histories, why they are in and more.

We’ve got first word on the Extreme Rules PPV business.

The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

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Also in this week’s issue:

–A look at CMLL’s new tournament over the next few months and background of the guys

–What pro wrestling event in Mexico will have a number of U.S. reporters from another sort attending

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–Wife of wrestler planning oncoming out of retirement

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–King of Gate finals and rundown of semifinals

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–Trish Stratus talks thinking about doing MMA

–One of the biggest indie show of the summer

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–Latest on Lucha Underground and season two

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–ROH signs action figure deal

–Update on the next ROH PPV show

–TNA changes up television tapings and why

–Dixie Carter reality show

–Christy Hemme leaves company

–History of TNA sale talks

–Samoa Joe on why he left TNA

–Dana White talks UFC 189

–Where ticket sales for the show are coming from

–Dana White talks the PPV numbers

–Update on UFC in New York and where it stands

–Sara McMann thinking of legal action on the Reebok deal

–This week’s UFC show

–Tons of new UFC fights

–Lawsuit settlement results in apologies

–Suspended fighter thinks about going to Olympics

–Hector Lombard talks Josh Barnett

–Ronda Rousey at the  Wall Street Journal cafe brunch

–Fighter who had announced retirement now coming back

–Biggest World Series of Fighting show to date

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

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*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

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To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

  • Bryan and I will be back late tonight covering Elimination Chamber and taking e-mail questions that can be sent to [email protected]
  • The Friday night shows (New Japan and TNA) were really strong.  Very notable that Destination America during TNA did no promotion for ROH in front of the audience mostly likely to watch the show.  If you watched TNA, all the promotion was about 9 p.m. Wednesday, not 8 p.m.
  • Randy Orton, who had the weekend off, was in San Antonio (where Raw comes from tomorrow already today, as was Big Show.  So that would indicate both return to TV.   Show was on the road for the house shows, working last night in Laredo.  Both were kept off TV the past few weeks since they weren’t booked on tonight’ show.  
  • The movie “San Andreas,” starring Dwayne Johnson, is estimated at doing $53.22 million in its opening weekend, beating predictions of $45 million solidly.  It opened at No. 1 at the box office, but that had been a lock ahead of time as nothing was going to be close.  Reviews were mixed that I saw.  It’s also already topped $60 million outside the U.S.
  • The announcement of Brock Lesnar for the 7/4 show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo led to the show having a strong surge in ticket sales to where it is now sold out.  They also announced Hideo Itami would make an appearance on the show, but he won’t be wrestling on it.    
  • Thiago Alves is probably going to need surgery due to the nasty broken nose he suffered last night in his fight with Carlos Condit.  His nose bone ended up lodged in his forehead and that’s why the doctor stopped the fight even though his corner was begging for them to let him continue. 
  • In winning via finish, Condit’s 10 stoppages in his UFC/WEC days ties with Matt Brown for second place all-time in welterweight division history behind Matt Hughes with 11.  It was the first time Alves had lost via  
  • Only combat sport search item that had any traction this weekend was Amir Khan, who was No. 6 on Friday with 20,000 searches.  Elimination Chamber should top 100,000 tonight. 
  • Sasha Banks, who didn’t work NXT TV or house shows last week, was back in action for the NXT shows this past weekend, but used in trios matches instead of singles matches.
  • Jerry Lawler has a 40th anniversary celebration show on Thursday night in Jackson, TN at the Oman Arena.  I’m not sure what it’s the 40th anniversary of because Lawler was a major star there by 1972, but it’s probably the best idea for a celebration they could come up with.  Lawler vs. Tommy Dreamer in an anything goes Hardcore match is the main event, plus James Storm vs. Chase Stevens, Brian Christopher vs. Thorn, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson vs. Chris Michaels & LT Falk, plus Bill Dundee, Sabu and Derrick King are on the show, and there is a Battle Royal.
  • Seth Rollins talks his past, what he wants from his future and the curb stomp
  • USA today on Dwayne Johnson
  • A story on Sami Zayn being a fan of the Montreal Canadiens  Hab at Heart : Sami Zayn – Montréal Canadiens – News
  • Evolve from last night in Queens, NY:  Rey Hours b Anthony Nese, Davey Richards b Caleb Konley (strong match), TJ Perkins b Mike Bailey, Chris Hero b Trevor Lee (also a great match), Rich Swann & Johnny Gargano b Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams to keep the Dragon Gate USA tag titles, Drew Galloway b Biff Busick to retain the Dragon Gate USA title.
  • Jake Roberts will be doing a speaking tour on 7/31 in Kitchener, ONT at the Moose Lodge, with Jim Duggan as his opening act.  Tickets are $30 and $35, with $70 VIP tickets at 226-647-4402.  Only 200 seats are available.
  • Great North Wrestling from Friday night in Smiths Falls, ONT:  Knine b Patrick Shenzy & Big Bad Ray, Bryan Briggs & Nathan Banner b Hart Throbs-DQ,. Soa Amin b ?:, Darko b Spoiler, Eve b Malicia-DQ, Hannibal b Jeremy Prophet, Brutus Beefcake & Grape Crusher b Preston Perry & Sexy Eddy.
  • Great North Wrestling from Saturday night in Ottawa:  Harley Davison’s won six man, Knine won handicap match, The Spoiler b Majic Mario, Nathan Banner b Sexy Eddy, Malicia b Eve, Jeremy Prophet b Darko-COR, Hannibal b Soa Amin, Brutus Beefcake & Grape Crusher b Hart Throbs.
  • In results from today’s Super Junior tournament in Numazu:

Chase Owens b Gedo

Jushin Liger b Baretta

Kushida b Tiger Mask

  • UFC picks from last night.  Me, Josh Nason, Mike Sempervive, David Bixenspan, Steve Juon, Mike Sawyer and Jack Encarnacao all went 3-2 and John Pollock and Frontrow Brian went 2-3.
  • I Believe in Wrestling’s Florida J Cup from last night in Orlando:  Lince Dorado b Jason Cade, Aaron Epic b Josh Hess-DQ, Jesus (Ricardo) Rodriguez b Chasyn Rance, Jonny Vandal b Vertigo, Santana Garrett b Cherry Layne to keep NWA women’s title, Aaron Epic b Jesus Rodriguez, Lince Dorado b Jonny Vandal, Mike Patrick & Leo Brien & Mike Reed & Chico Adams & Tyranus b Rhett Giddins & Jody Kristofferson & Gabriel Black & Joey Mayberry & Josh Parker, Aaron Epic b Lince Dorado.  Next show is 6/13 with Teddy Hart as special guest.     
  • World League Wrestling from last night in Troy, MO:  Air Raid b Michael Magnuson-DQ, John E Rock won three-way over Evan Morris and Dustin Bozworth, Dave DeLorean b Brandon Espinosa, Michael Magnusson b Justin D’Air, Superstar Steve Fender & Derek McQuinn b Leland Race & Trevor Murdoch (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
  • Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls worked last night for Explosive Pro Wrestling in Perth, Western Australia.  They teamed with Jonah Rock (who they sometimes team with in NOAH) & Marcus Pitt against locals Hayden Zenith & Michael Morleone & Scotty Ryan & Emanuelle.  (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • Justin Gabriel faces New Japan’s Chase Owens on 6/26 in Winnipeg at Holy Cross Gym Hall.
  • In response to questions from last night about promotions on their TV promoting stuff from other companies, Stampede Wrestling used to promote WWF house shows in the 80s in Calgary since Stu Hart was the local WWF promoter.  Sometimes they’d have Bret Hart on Stampede Wrestling promoting his matches.  WWF promoted ECW and UFC PPV’s in the 90s as part of deals made for footage. 
  • The WWE web site has a photo gallery on Samoa Joe in the indies, mostly in ROH with Daniel Bryan, Kenta Kobashi, KENTA, Takeshi Morishima, Seth Rollins,. but no C.M. Punk.  They also did a story on his career, talking about his start in UPW, going to Japan for different groups, ROH, but there is no mention at all in the story of TNA, meaning a selective decade of amnesia. (thanks to Jeff Parker)
  • Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno:  Kikyo b Luscious Lynn, Mustafa Saed b Elia So’oalo, CB 3 b Johnny Dynamo, Marcus Ericks b Wiseguy (thanks to Jon Southerland)

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

1946 – El Santo beat Tuffy Truesdale to win the vacant Mexican national middleweight title

1976 – Jim Breaks beat Vic Falukner in Bradford to win the British welterweight title

1979 – Great Kojika & Motoshi Okuma beat The Sheepherders in Noshiro to win the vacant All Asia tag titles

2002 – Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero beat El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas in Mexico City to win the CMLL tag tiles

2014 – Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka beat Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi to win the GHC tag tiles

TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)

2:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.

3:00 AM ET
WWE NXT After the shocking events of NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, NXT Champion Kevin Owens addresses his actions to Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe.

4:00 AM ET
OLD SCHOOL Old School card from MSG features ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper taking on Ric Flair in singles action. Legion of Doom vs. Natural Disasters and more.

6:00 AM ET
WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

9:00 AM ET
WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

12:00 PM ET
WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

3:00 PM ET
WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

6:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.

7:00 PM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

7:30 PM ET
RAW PRE-SHOW From WWE Studios in Stamford Connecticut. Scott Stanford, David Otunga and Corey Graves cover all the events leading up to Monday Night Raw.

8:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.

9:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!

10:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.

11:06 PM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!

WWE Main Event TV Report: Neville vs. Adam Rose, Prime Time Players vs. Ascension

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Chris Aiken, WrestlingObserver.com

WWE Main Event from Wilkes-Barre (taped 5/26/15) was part of the go-home week of programming leading to Elimination Chamber. The theme of the show seemed to be clotheslines or backdrops over the ropes to the floor since all of the matches featured them except the women’s match. Much of the show focused on hyping the special WWE Network exclusive show coming up.

Prime Time Players beat The Ascension

During their entrance, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young brought a kid out from the crowd and danced with him. Ascension attacked the Players before the bell and they began double teaming Titus. When Viktor jumped off the middle rope, Titus caught him and gave him a fallaway slam. Titus then suplexed Darren on to Viktor. Darren ran wild on Viktor until a blind tag by Connor.

The heels got heat on Darren for a while and cut off the ring. Eventually, Titus came in off a hot tag like a house of fire doing power moves. Titus clotheslined Viktor over the ropes to the floor. Viktor ran back in and Darren backdropped back out the floor. Connor knocked Darren off the apron only to get caught with the Clash of the Titus for the pinfall.

Zack Ryder beat Heath Slater

They slugged it out at the outset. After giving Slater a flapjack, Ryder clotheslined him out to the floor and dropkicked him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Slater clotheslined Ryder out to the apron and proceeded to knock him off the apron to set up the heat spot. Ryder made a comeback and hit a missile dropkick off the middle rope. After a broski boot, Ryder went for the rough rider but Slater blocked it and gave Ryder a neckbreaker. Moments later, Ryder hit the rough rider for the pin.

Divas champion Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) beat Summer Rae in a nontitle match

Summer got heat on Nikki early on. Nikki made a comeback. She missed a splash in a corner but still managed to give Summer a disaster kick. Summer cut her off with a spin kick. Nikki blocked another kick and delivered the rack attack for the pin.

Bo Dallas got an entrance as he would provide guest commentary for the next match to build for his match against Neville at Elimination Chamber.

Adam Rose, joined by Rosa Mendes, cut a promo before the next match. He addressed the audience and said he gave them the Exotic Express, gave them the Rosebuds and encouraged them to party all the time. According to Rose, they just didn’t get it though. He called his act “high art” but said it was now all gone and it was the fault of the fans. Rose put over Rosa and called her hot. She called him hot and they called each other hot. Rose referred to her as his muse and they rubbed their noses together.

Neville beat Adam Rose (with Rosa)

After some early exchanges, Neville sent Rose out to ringside and Neville did a flip dive over the ropes to the floor. Rosa caused a distraction and her interference allowed Rose to dropkick Neville in his injured knee (which was taped up). Rose began to work over the knee. He rammed the knee into a ringpost and applied a half crab. Rose continued to get heat on Neville and applied an Indian deathlock.

Neville fired up for a comeback. While still selling the knee, Neville managed to use a standing moonsault. Rose cut him off and Neville continued to sell the knee. Rose picked Neville up and gave him a wicked spinebuster. During another comeback, Neville used a rollup for a nearfall followed by an enzuigiri.

When Neville went to the top rope for his finisher, Bo Dallas jumped on the apron to cause a distraction. Neville superkicked Bo off the apron. The distraction allowed Rose to use a schoolboy for a nearfall. Neville escaped and hit the red arrow off the top for the pin.

Afterwards, Bo ran in to attack Neville but he fought him off and backdropped him over the ropes to the floor to close the show.   

On this day in pro wrestling history (May 31): Killer Kowalski beats Bruno Sammartino in Texas death match

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

1937 – Red Berry defeated Hugh Nichols to win the World Light Heavyweight Title in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1940 – Jules Larance defeated Gil Knutsen for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Ohio; In Kansas City, Kansas; World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Bruns beat Steve Brody (Brody was the World Junior Heavyweight Champion), Orville Brown beat Karol Zbyszko. (Zbyszko was billed as a nephew of Stanislaus and Wladek), Ray Schwartz defeated Fritz Schnabel and Ronnie Etchison and Angelo Martini went to a time limit draw.

1944 – El Santo won the Mexican National Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico from Tuffy Truesdale in a tournament final.

1951 – In Kansas City, KS; Jerry Meeker defeated Hal Keen, Ray Eckert beat Bob Orton Sr., Dennis Clary beat Emil Dusek, The Dusek Brothers (Ernie and Joe Dusek) defeated Ronnie Etchison and Ralph Garibaldi in 2 out of 3 falls.

1965 – Pepper Martin defeated The Mad Russian for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title

1967 – In Denver, Colorado; Verne Gagne (sub Danny Hodge) & Ernie Ladd beat Johnny Powers & Johnny Valentine on a 3rd fall dq, also Lou Thesz beat Larry Hennig and Alberto Torres beat Bobby Duncum.

1968 – Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated El Mongol and Hans Schmidt in Atlanta, Georgia to win the Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title.

1969 – The AWA ran a double shot with a show in Milwaukee, headlined by Wilbur Snyder defeating Dr. X on a 3rd fall dq also, in a Handicap Match, Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon beat The Crusher, Luis Martinez beat Kenny Jay, Rene Goulet beat Johnny Kace and Pampero Firpo beat Angelo Poffo. att: 5,812 In St. Paul, MN; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Lars Anderson. Flying Redheads Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race on a 3rd fall dq, Bill Watts beat Bob Geigel, Joe Scarpello drew Big K and Bob Kappel beat Kenny Yates. att: 5,405

1969 – In Boston, Massachussetts, Killer Kowalski defeated WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino in a Texas death match.

1971 – Tom Jones and Billy Red Lyons defeated The Spoilers for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title in Shreveport, Louisiana.

1972 – Karl and Kurt Von Brauner defeated Robert Fuller and Kevin Sullivan for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee

1972 – The Professional (Doug Gilbert) and Mike Webster won the NWA Florida Tag Team Title from Boris Malenko and Bob Roop in Miami, Florida.

1974 – Gene and Ole Anderson defeated Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller to win the NWA Georgia Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia

1975 – Ed Wiskoski (Col. DeBeers) defeated Jerry Oates for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title in Kansas City, Kansas’ In Minneapolis, Minnesota; AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Larry Hennig, Billy Robinson no contest Baron Von Raschke, Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Rock Riddle & Frankie Hill and Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Shiek) drew Buddy Wolff. att: 3,183

1979 – Great Kojika and Motoshi Okuma won the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Title, defeating The Kiwis (Butch Miller and Sweet William) in Noshiro, Japan.

1980 – Dick the Bruiser defeated King Kong (Bruiser) Brody in Indianapolis, Indiana for the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title

1981 – Jake Roberts defeated The Grappler to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title in Shrevport, Louisiana.

1982 – In Memphis, Tennessee King Cobra defeated NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion Bobby Eaton to win the title

1986 – Ron Bass defeated Tyree Pride in Nassau, Bahamas to win the NWA Bahamas Heavyweight Title; Eric Embry won the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico by defeating Super Medico I

1991 – Los Villanos (I, IV and V) defeated The Hawaiian Beasts (Kokina (Yokozuna), Fatu and the Samoan Savage) for the UWA World Trios Title in Naucalpan, Mexico; Bill Dundee defeated Tom Prichard (subbing for Eric Embry) for the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas

1992 – Chi Chi Cruz (Corey Peloquin) defeated Gerry Morrow in Winnipeg, Manitoba to win the West Four Wrestling Alliance Canadian Heavyweight Title.

1999 – Bam Bam Bigelow and Diamond Dallas Page defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Kanyon and Saturn (subbing for Raven) to win the title during a Monday Nitro event from Houston, Texas; In Moline, Illinois Jeff Jarrett (with Debra) defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Godfather to win the title and The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Kane and X-Pac to win the title during a Monday Night Raw event.

2002- In Louisville, Kentucky Flash Flanagan and Trailer Park Trash defeated OVW Southern Tag Team Champions The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) to win the title.

2003 – In Carolina, Puerto Rico, Carly Colón won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title by defeating Sabu, and Alex Montalvo defeats Pablo
Marquez for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title. Also at that show, Eddie Colón won the vacant WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title by defeating Dominican Boy in a tournament final.

2004 – In Montreal, Quebec La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) defeated WWE World Tag Team Champions Edge and World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit to win the title.