Raw closed out 2016 last night with the final episode of the year. On the show, Kevin Owens challenged his Royal Rumble opponent in the main event as he got a shot at Roman Reigns’ US title, Braun Strowman’s rampage continued, Charlotte Flair and Bayley advanced their Women’s Championship program, and The New Day got their rematch against Cesaro & Sheamus.
Though he’s been consistently incredible for the entirety of 2016, this week might prove to be the defining stretch in Chris Hero’s mind-blowing year.
Hero capped off a stretch that previously saw him wrestle Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata to rave reviews in England and included a genuine EVOLVE Match of the Year candidate against Tracy Williams last night by wrestling twice at EVOLVE 73 on Sunday.
In what was another excellent match, Hero concluded his trilogy with Matt Riddle in victorious fashion. Hero ended the match with a short piledriver, jumping piledriver, and Gotch piledriver combination to come out of the series ahead. They traded strikes all match long with Riddle selling Hero’s blows like they were death. At one point, Riddle hit the Bro to Sleep but Hero connected on a rolling elbow to send both men to the mat.
But that wasn’t the end of the night for Hero. Drew Galloway came out after the match and attempted to declare victory in his war against Catch Point and EVOLVE. That brought out “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Fred Yehi, who wanted a shot at the tag team titles. Williams said that Catch Point wasn’t a failure despite what Drew Gulak had said, and he proved that by tapping out Hero last night.
Galloway said that he trusted Hero with his life, and the title match seemed to be set with Hero defending on Galloway’s behalf after noting that he was no one’s solider. But two more teams were added to a four-way elimination match as Gulak wanted to team with his WWE tag team partner Tony Nese and Ethan Page wanted his Gatekeepers to show their dominance.
Interference from Darby Allin saw The Gatekeepers get eliminated first. And the champions were the second team out after DUSTIN tapped out to a crossface from Williams. With Catch Point facing off against Gulak, it was Williams and Yehi who won the titles after Yehi submitted Nese with the Koji clutch. Nese showed good sportsmanship after the match by shaking hands with the new champions, but Gulak denied the Catch Point handshake and walked out on the stable.
After the show went off the air, William Regal appeared in front of the live crowd and offered Nese a WWE contract. Another WWE contracted talent appeared before the show went on the air as well with Tommy End defeating Williams in a dark match that WWE allowed End to participate in after Galloway wasn’t able to wrestle due to injury.
The main event was the result of a change to the card after the scheduled EVOLVE Championship match between Timothy Thatcher and Nese had to be canceled due to Thatcher suffering a concussion last night. Gabe Sapolsky tweeted that Thatcher is doing much better today, but said Thatcher would be cautious in recovering after the injury.
Gulak was in action earlier in the show in an excellent match against Zack Sabre Jr. The two worked an incredibly unique and almost entirely mat-based bout with Gulak picking up the win after submitting Sabre with a dragon sleeper. Sabre tried to use his arm to get the ropes, but Gulak wrapped that up as well as Sabre tapped out.
The match went over 20 minutes as Gulak and Sabre worked their styles masterfully. They previously had a standout match in the Cruiserweight Classic and another in EVOLVE this year, with this around the level of both of those.
Earlier in the night, Page got his second win of the weekend by defeating Chris Dickinson in a largely uninspiring match. And Jason Kincaid continued to shine in EVOLVE in a match against seminar-attendee Icarus. During the finishing sequence, Kincaid hit a diving blockbuster to the outside before jumping off of a pole near the turnbuckle and connecting on a double stomp for the win. Jaka pinned Allin for the second straight night in the show’s opener.
Final thoughts:
The FloSports era kicked off with two good in-ring outings for EVOLVE. This show had two matches worth going out of your way to see. The third match in the Hero vs. Riddle trilogy lived up to the previous two matches, and Gulak vs. Sabre was excellent as well.
It should also be noted that the show was much better off not having Joey Styles on commentary. Aside from his garbage remarks, Styles was genuinely awful last night and really hurt the show. Lenny Leonard was again fantastic solo and continues to be a bright spot on EVOLVE shows.
EVOLVE 73 results:
Fred Yehi & Tracy Williams defeated Tony Nese & Drew Gulak, EVOLVE Tag Team Champion DUSTIN & Chris Hero, and The Gatekeepers in a four-way elimination match to win the tag titles
Chris Hero defeated Matt Riddle
Drew Gulak defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
Ethan Page w/ The Gatekeepers defeated Chris Dickinson w/ Jaka
WWE will be making history tonight at Hell in a Cell.
In addition to Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte being the first ever women’s Hell in a Cell match, Dave Meltzer reports that the plan is for the match to main event the show. It would be the first time a women’s match has ever gone on last at a WWE pay-per-view.
Speculation over which match would main event Hell in a Cell grew earlier this month when Mick Foley seemed to announce in a Facebook post that the Raw Women’s Championship match would go on last, but he later clarified that the match order wasn’t yet finalized. WWE then began promoting Hell in a Cell as featuring a “triple main event” with the show’s three Hell in a Cell matches.
WWE hasn’t yet promoted that Banks vs. Charlotte will main event the show on television or online.
Meltzer reported in last week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there were internal discussions about which match would go on last, with Vince McMahon “digging his heels” on the match not main eventing the show. But Meltzer noted that McMahon often changes his mind and nothing was final.
Pro Wrestling Insider first reported on Sunday that the match was set to go on last.
Miss Monday night’s episode of Raw or want to watch something again? Check out video highlights from a show that featured Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman returning to Raw to respond to Goldberg, Sasha Banks and Charlotte signing the contract for their Hell in a Cell match, Seth Rollins taking on Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho in a triple threat match, and more.
The Big News: Shinsuke Nakamura cut his first promo since his injury at the hands of Samoa Joe, confirming the match with Joe at NXT TakeOver: Toronto
The Medium News: Roderick Strong debuted, teaming with former ROH partner Austin Aries in the Dusty Classic.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Rich Swann & No Way Jose advanced in the Dusty Classic as well, defeating Tony Nese and Drew Gulak
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Rich Swann & No Way Jose defeated Tony Nese & Drew Gulak in a Dusty Classic tournament match
We got a Raw cruiserweight division tag match right here on NXT in the Dusty Classic. No Way Jose and Rich Swann looked good here, with the fans really into the two of them.
The heels got the heat when both Tony Nese and Drew Gulak tried to attack Swann outside the ring and were successful in taking over with a superkick to the jaw. Jose got the hot tag, and the highlight of his offense was throwing Gulak up into the air and punching him in the face before pinning him with the full nelson slam.
They will now face the Authors of Pain in the second round.
After the match, Swann and Jose cut a promo using the others’ catchphrases and asking the Authors of Pain if they can handle this.
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They announced Hideo Itami’s injury, keeping him from teaming with Kota Ibushi in the Dusty Classic.
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We went back to last week where SAnitY debuted and destroyed Tye Dillinger after Bobby Roode walked out on his teammate. Earlier today, Dillinger was mad because Roode is not a man of his word. He’ll face Roode at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.
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Austin Aries was backstage eating a banana when he was asked who his partner is for the Dusty Classic. He wouldn’t reveal the answer and started ripping on Hideo Itami for his neck injury, which made him laugh because Itami called him a coward. Aries said there is only one man he can trust to be his partner tonight.
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Bobby Roode defeated Sean Maluta
Roode has a brand new robe, complete with a cape that reads “Glorious.” He has worn Terry Taylor’s old robe for a decade and it’s so weird to see him wearing something else. Corey Graves claimed that due to Roode there are now three people in the crowd wearing slacks, which proves that they are getting higher class fans.
Despite being the babyface, the fans weren’t too thrilled with Maluta getting in offense. Roode picked up a quick win with the Implant DDT.
Roode did a promo afterwards saying in five weeks he will take over Toronto when he beats the whining, complaining Tye Dillinger. He doesn’t understand why Dillinger is complaining because he begged Roode to be his partner and Roode did it out of the goodness of his heart. Roode tried to bring Dillinger to his level, but he wasn’t able to reach it.
Dillinger ran in for the attack, but got beaten down by Roode. Dillinger fought off Roode and got in several shots before clotheslining Roode to the outside. Roode backed away in anger.
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Liv Morgan cut a promo about her ongoing feud with Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. Before she could say much, she got attacked by Royce and Kay. The women dragged her from the interview area and out into the arena area and beat her some more.
Royce and Kay mocked her and then put the women of NXT on notice, including Asuka, saying this division belongs to them.
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Austin Aries & Roderick Strong defeated Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic in a Dusty Classic tournament match
Otis got a name change, as he was formerly listed as Niko Bogojevic. Roderick Strong got a good reaction for his debut, but it wasn’t the overwhelming reaction that some people have gotten. Tom Phillips listed a bunch of people Strong has faced who are now in WWE, which just reminds you how many people from ROH are now in WWE.
Knight and Dozovic both looked really good in this match and look much better than the Authors of Pain. They would actually make a better “Authors of Pain” than the team we got. Dozovic went for a Vader Bomb, but Aries held his ankle, so Strong kicked him hard in the leg.
Tucker Knight got the hot tag and sent both Aries and Strong flying around before being cut off. Finally, Strong pinned Knight with the gut check and a running boot to the face.
Aries and Strong will now face TM61 in the next round.
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Andrade “Cien” Almas cut a promo earlier today in Spanish, which was translated by Andrea D’Marco. He was mad that he had to remove his mask and didn’t get any respect here in NXT. He had worked his entire life to earn this respect and is upset that no one gave him any. He said he no longer cares about respect, he only cares about Andrade “Cien” Almas.
This was Nikki Cross’ re-debut and she brought all of SAnitY out with her. Kamela didn’t fair any better against SAnitY than Tye Dillinger did last week. Cross bit herself and clawed at her own face before pinning Kamela quickly with a spinning fisherman buster.
After the match, Cross kept beating up Kamela. Eric Young pulled her off, so Cross punched him in the face and continued to attack Kamela. Sawyer Fulton dragged her off and the referee actually reversed his decision. She laughed about it, but Young got pissed and nearly went after the referee.
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Dusty Classic matches for next week:
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. HoHo Lun & Bin Wang
Kota Ibushi & TJ Perkins (replacing Hideo Itami) vs. Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali
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We end the show with the official return of the NXT Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura said he is not done with Samoa Joe. He told Joe to come to NXT TakeOver: Toronto and try to take the title. He dared Joe to use his cheap, dirty tricks and he will still beat him using no mercy.
Out came Patrick Clark, of all people. Everyone, including Nakamura, rolled their eyes. Clark said that TakeOver was the first Joe vs. Nakamura match. He then said he made a mistake, saying we had already seen that match so tonight we should see Nakamura vs. Clark.
Clark got in the ring and Nakamura knocked him out with two kicks. Samoa Joe tried sneaking out, but when Nakamura caught him, Joe just smiled and walked away. Clark got to his knees and Nakamura laid him out with the Kinshasa.
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That does it for this week’s show. I wanted to make note that today is my six-year anniversary of reviewing NXT for F4WOnline. With only a few exceptions, I have reviewed every single show since, which is more than 300 episodes. Needless to say this show has evolved since the days of almost literally no one else watching it. Thank you all for reading the last 312 weeks, and thank you for reading the next 312.
Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Columbus Day was a holiday for some. Not for Joe Bellini. The owner of the east coast’s Warriors of Wrestling was preparing for a hectic week that will see him put on shows this Friday and Saturday in Brooklyn and Staten Island, respectively, while also fitting in a trip to the Legends of the Ring fan fest in Monroe, New Jersey on Saturday morning.
Guess he couldn’t fit in something else for Sunday?
“Football’s on Sunday,” he laughs.
So what does the week hold for Bellini, who’s also been known to take part in the ring action himself as Joey B?
“This one’s gonna be a little different because it’s a Friday,” he said. “Normally on Friday I get everything prepped. I get my cameras ready, make sure my batteries are charged, I go to the bank and get everybody’s pay and all that stuff. Then I go to Costco and get the concessions. But this week is a little different. We’ve got the school that’s open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so today I’m kind of relaxing. I’m doing some minor stuff, getting everything ready for me to do during the week. Thursday we’re going to load up the truck because the Fun Station where we do our shows is a haunted house right now.”
Fun Station USA in Staten Island is the unofficial home base for Bellini’s promotion, which will celebrate its ninth year in operation this December. An arcade with rides for kids and a batting cage, it also houses the Warriors of Wrestling training facility, and several months a year, Bellini and company pushes the ring onto the basketball court and puts on action-packed shows that attract fans from around the New York City area.
Featuring talent home grown from their training program, as well as local indie wrestlers and a revolving array of “name” wrestlers that used to compete in WWE, TNA and other well-known promotions, WOW has carved out a niche by being consistent in its operation and by giving fans their money’s worth every time out.
“We care about the fans,” Bellini said. “We don’t like to insult them. First of all, I try to keep what I advertise, as far as matches or names, and I try to always make sure they show up. They don’t always do that, and we go out and apologize for it and we feel bad. We also try to keep storylines, so if a fan’s coming back to see what happens next, we want to make sure that we give them that.”
It’s not easy to keep it all running as smoothly as it appears to be running, and at this level there are usually more headaches than days of peace. Bellini says with pride that he’s only had to cancel one show over the last nine years, and that was due to Hurricane Sandy. But ask him why he still does it, and he laughs.
“I don’t even know anymore. I really don’t. I have a normal job, I work overnight in the city, and that’s what pays my bills.”
He pauses to ponder the question again, and he then finds his answer.
“This is fun for me.”
And it’s fun for the fans that come out to cheer on their local heroes and boo the villains. A night at the WOW events will see the wrestlers come out to meet and greet fans, the celebrity guests doing the same, and for those who want a deeper experience, videos on the promotion’s YouTube channel can follow along with the storyline’s centering on the show’s in house talent.
“We have a good following on there, and if you watch Raw that’s what it is [storyline driven],” he said. “WWE is the number one company and we kind of want to emulate what they’re doing.”
That can be difficult to do without a television presence every week, but Bellini and company do their best to make it work.
“You always need to have the guys be reliable to be there,” he said. “And especially if we’re going to put a belt on somebody, we want to make sure they’re going to make our shows. So we have that conversation with them, and I would like to think that at this stage of the game, everybody is smart enough to know that. I have a pretty good contingency with guys showing up regularly. And if they always choose somebody else over me, I don’t use them.”
Yet perhaps the biggest takeaway from seeing a WOW show is the looks on the faces of the kids in attendance. This is where they get hooked. Sure, it’s nice to see WWE or TNA on television, but to see wrestling in person, that’s a whole different animal. And maybe that’s the real reason Bellini does this. To see those looks.
“I do see it the night of, even though I’m running around,” he said. “But I also edit all the shows and I always watch the fans’ reaction. Jake [Gomez, aka Logan Black] is more in tune to what’s going on bell to bell, but the five to seven-year-old doesn’t care about that. I don’t want bad wrestling in my ring, but I want entertainment. And the five-year-old doesn’t care about a five star match. He cares about being entertained and I’ll always rewind over and over to see the faces of the kids, and the adults too.”
He tells the story of one loyal WOW fan.
“There’s one kid who’s been coming for years,” he said. “He used to come with his mom at first and he wouldn’t come in. He would hold his head because either the music or the banging of the mat was too loud, and he would stay out near the bathroom area and just look in. But as the months went on, he would slowly come in. Now he’s front row, he’s hugging everybody and slapping hands. So I’d like to think we contributed to maybe helping this kid out a little bit by helping him come out of his shell.”
Joe Bellini is as old school and no nonsense as they come. But he’s also got a heart, and it’s still a hundred percent in wrestling.
Billy Corgan filed a lawsuit against the company and some of its key players in Chancery Court in Nashville, TN, on Wednesday. The defendants listed in the suit are TNA Entertainment, their parent company Impact Ventures, Dixie Carter, her husband Serg Salinas, and TNA Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Dean Broadhead.
A temporary restraining order was issued, and a temporary injunction is set to be heard on Thursday, October 20th. All filings in the suit were placed under seal until further notice.
Further details of the lawsuit are not yet known at this time.
The saga of TNA’s ownership situation has played out both publicly and behind the scenes in recent weeks. Corgan made his intent to buy the company known in interviews across multiple media outlets prior to Bound for Glory, but the show came and went without a sale.
Dave Meltzer has chronicled the subject in exhaustive detail in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in recent weeks. Meltzer reported in this week’s issue that both Corgan and Aroluxe Marketing were still attempting to buy the company, but Aroluxe was most likely to get it at that point.
Meltzer also reported that things were “super heated” behind the scenes with Carter, Corgan, and Aroluxe.
It was announced in August that Corgan had taken over as president of TNA, while Carter assumed the role of company chairman.
The biggest star in women’s mixed martial arts history is making her return to the Octagon.
Dana White announced during an in-studio appearance on the Colin Cowherd show that Ronda Rousey would make her much anticipated return to the UFC later this year on December 30th. Rousey will immediately challenge Amanda Nunes for the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 207 in Las Vegas, NV
Nunes defeated Miesha Tate to win the title in the main event of UFC 200 earlier this year. The Rousey fight will be her first title defense.
It has been a longer than expected road back to the Octagon for Rousey after her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 nearly a year ago. Rousey was dropped by a now iconic head kick in the second round before being finished with punches as Holm picked up the shocking victory.
White was questioned by Cowherd about Cris “Cyborg” Justino facing Rousey, and said that they both want the fight and it will definitely happen if Rousey is victorious against Nunes.
Before the loss to Holm, Rousey had amassed a series of quick victories that led to her becoming one of the biggest crossover stars in MMA history. The only fighter other than Holm to ever take Rousey past the first round was Tate at UFC 168.
Also during the appearance, White said that Conor McGregor told him that he never wants to fight in Nevada again after being fined $150,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday. McGregor was fined for his bottle-throwing incident at the press conference prior to his UFC 202 rematch against Nate Diaz.
Video of White’s appearance the Cowherd show is available to watch below:
Miss Tuesday night’s episode of SmackDown or want to watch something again? Check out video highlights from a show that featured AJ Styles facing James Ellsworth in a non-title match with Dean Ambrose as the special guest referee, Dolph Ziggler taking on The Spirit Squad, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan challenging Raw to three traditional Survivor Series tags, and more.
It’s a pretty great time to be a professional wrestler, and a pro wrestling fan.
WWE’s hiring standards have changed, and those who at one time may have been overlooked are now world champions. Social media, GIFs, podcasts and streaming services have made pro wrestling more accessible and has provided wrestlers with more exposure than ever before.
That exposure has led to many an indie star being noticed, sought after and signed by the titan of the pro wrestling industry, WWE. For those who dream of one day performing on the grandest stage of all, there’s never been a more opportune time of making that dream a reality.
But what of those whose aspirations don’t involve graduating from pro wrestler to WWE superstar? And what about those who have reached “Zion,” but found it wasn’t all they had hoped for?
Two Roads
Kota Ibushi and Cody Rhodes are two such wrestlers. Ibushi, who competed in WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic and is participating in the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, has declined WWE’s offer of a full-time deal, instead choosing to remain an independent wrestler.
Ibushi had a lengthy career in Japan, working for DDT for around 10 years and NJPW for two. He even had a rare dual contract allowing him to work for both promotions at the same time. For Ibushi fans, it was great. I got to see Ibushi work in two of my favorite Japanese promotions.
But Ibushi ended up burning the candle at both ends. In late 2015, Ibushi took time off to recover from a neck injury, and ended up resigning from both DDT and NJPW.
But he didn’t retire from pro wrestling. After literally destroying his body for DDT and NJPW, Ibushi decided to become a freelancer. More specifically, he became a representative (the only representative) of the Ibushi Puroresu Kenkyujo (Ibushi Pro Wrestling Research Institute). If you want to visit the headquarters, I believe they’re located somewhere in Ibushi’s unique imagination.
After leaving DDT and NJPW, Ibushi has made appearances in WWE, IGF, Kaiju Big Battel, DDT and Wrestle-1 under the premise of “conducting research” for the “institute.” Research which will someday lead to…something?
Only Ibushi.
Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes left the “prestigious” life of a WWE superstar to pursue an independent wrestling career. In WWE, despite his best efforts, Rhodes was going nowhere as Stardust. The character had run its course, and Rhodes was ready to strip off the paint and reach the full potential that he believed “Cody Rhodes” was capable of.
But his ideas for creative fell on deaf ears, and he was ordered to remain as Stardust. Feeling stifled and stagnant, Rhodes wished WWE the best in their future endeavors. After leaving, dissatisfied with WWE, but not disheartened with his profession, Rhodes tweeted out his Amazon Wish List of wrestling.
Today, as a truly independent professional wrestler, Rhodes has already ticked off many names from his list, and had even more dream matchups with the likes of Zack Sabre Jr., AR Fox and Sami Callihan just to name a few.
Independence
Though Kota Ibushi and Cody Rhodes took different roads, they have arrived at a very similar destination. Both men are redefining what it means to be a truly independent professional wrestler. They are doing wrestling the way they want to do it, having the matches they want to have, and working for promotions they want to work for without getting locked into undesirable long term contracts or full-time schedules.
Ibushi, as mentioned, has worked dates for WWE and will continue to work more in the future, but has declined their offers of an exclusive contract. That is something nearly unheard of, and really quite admirable of Ibushi. He’s changing the way WWE does business with independent wrestlers, and potentially opening the doors for other Japanese wrestlers and freelancers.
Similarly, Rhodes is breaking down traditional pro wrestling barriers. By the end of the year, Rhodes will have worked for WWE, PWG, TNA and ROH among many others, with more dates lined up in 2017 for promotions such as Germany’s wXw.
In just 2016, Rhodes will have appeared at WrestleMania, the Battle of Los Angeles, Bound for Glory and Final Battle.
While it’s not uncommon for indie stars to work for multiple promotions, it is interesting for someone with the star power and pedigree like Rhodes not to take a big money offer from any single promotion.
But that’s what’s so admirable and unique about Ibushi and Rhodes. They are two guys wrestling because they love the craft, and are no longer willing to compromise when pursuing their passion. They’ve chosen a nomadic lifestyle, adventurers in wrestling, giving up financial security and a peace of mind for freedom and happiness. That needs to be applauded.
Of course, not everyone is awarded that opportunity. Indie wrestlers still making a name for themselves and climbing the ladder would be crazy to turn down a WWE offer, or any big time offer from another major promotion. Some have families to support and need that regular paycheck.
Nonetheless, Ibushi and Rhodes are still taking a huge professional gamble in the pursuit of personal fulfillment, and in doing so, are creating opportunities for other like-minded wrestlers. Kota Ibushi and Cody Rhodes are making pro wrestling better, and for that, I thank them.
Miss Monday night’s episode of Raw or want to watch something again? Check out video highlights from a show that featured Paul Heyman returning to challenge Goldberg on behalf of Brock Lesnar, the announcement of the first ever women’s Hell in a Cell match, Sasha Banks teaming with Roman Reigns against Charlotte and Rusev, Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins and more build to Hell in a Cell.
Paige has once again been suspended by WWE for violating the company’s wellness policy.
WWE’s statement: WWE has suspended Saraya-Jade Bevis (Paige) for 60 days effective immediately, for her second violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.
The suspension is standard for a second violation of the policy. No indication was given as to what caused it.
Paige addressed the suspension over the course of two tweets shortly after the news broke: “Same sh*t different day. Kids. Please don’t get prescriptions or doctors notes. Not acceptable. Rules apply depending on your status.”
The suspension comes nearly two months after Paige’s first violation of the policy. She was originally suspended on August 17th, the same day as her boyfriend Alberto Del Rio was also suspended for violating the policy. Del Rio has since left the company after being granted a mutual release.
Del Rio echoed Paige’s words when speaking about her suspension to ESPN: “It’s just like she said in her statement this afternoon,” Del Rio said. “It’s just the same sh*t, different day my friend.”
He also addressed rumors that WWE was trying to break the couple up in the WWE Draft: “To be honest, I don’t care what they say or what they try to do,” Del Rio said. “We are together and we are happy. I know a lot of people are not happy but regardless of whatever people say, we can be happy. We can be together. And we are going to stay together because we are happy.”
“If someone is not comfortable or happy about it, we just don’t care. We are going to continue our life. Our families are happy and we’re happy. That’s all that matters.”
Shortly before the original suspension was set to expire, Paige took to Twitter to offer an explanation for the violation and claimed that she was suspended due to a procedural issue after not being home when the test was to be administered.
Paige also claimed that she would return to the ring when her health allowed. She recently tweeted that she would be undergoing neck surgery and had two surgery options she had to decide between.
The biggest show of New Japan’s fall season is upon us, as King of Pro Wrestling is set to take place tonight at Sumo Hall. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino of ROH will be providing English commentary for the event on New Japan World.
The show will feature a big interpromotional match as Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji looks to take the IWGP Heavyweight title from New Japan’s Kazuchika Okada. With Okada losing in their first bout on the opening day of the G1, he looks to gain a measure of revenge tonight by retaining the championship.
In other key title matches, we’ll see Katsuyori Shibata (who is battling some injuries, which may play into tonight’s match) defend against Kyle O’Reilly, the IWGP Heavyweight tag team titles will be on the line as The Briscoes defend against the Guerillas of Destiny, and IWGP Junior tag champions the Young Bucks defend against Ricochet and David Finlay.
We’ll also see Kenny Omega defend his championship opportunity at WrestleKingdom 11 as he takes on Hirooki Goto in a rematch from the G1 finals.
This all seems to promote the new Tiger Mask anime that just premiered. The new Tiger Mask has a mask that doesn’t look comfy at all, and he adjusted it several times throughout the match. Not sure who is under either mask. Tiger Mask actually dished out Ibushi’s Golden Triangle moonsault to the floor. Actually, he did several of Ibushi’s moves. I guess we have to get that rumor mill starting. Tiger Mask got the win with a delayed tiger driver that somewhat resembled a last ride powerbomb. Make your own conclusions but I’m pretty sure I have mine.
Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Adam Cole
Pretty good, heated match. Your usuual six man with everyone pairing off and working with one another. Ospreay and Cole together worked great, especially Ospreay who does a great job of being the highlight reel in the match. I wish they had their match in front of this crowd as they were way more receptive to this match than their singles match a few weeks ago. Ospreay does a great dive to the floor that wipes out everyone except Ishii and Yujiro, who go at it for a bit before Ishii pins Yano with a brainbuster.
Great Bash Heel, Ryusuke Taguchi and Bobby Fish defeated Jado, Roppongi Vice and Toru Yano
Announcers were pushing at the start of the match the dissention that Baretta and Romero showed at the Road to from a few weeks ago. Anothe pretty good match, another atypical New Japan eight man tag. They seemed to set up a tag title match down the line with GHC Hevyweight tag champions Yano and Marufuji against Great Bash Heel. Like in his last match, Romero took the pinfall after Honma’s kokeshi from the top rope connected. Baretta didn’t look happy with Romero after the match.
Go Shiozaki, Maybach Taniguchi, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
This got really good twoards the end. It’s another eight man match! The New Japan team looked good throughout a lot of it. Nagata got in the white eyes armbar until Kitamiya stopped him. Nakanishi and Shiozaki had a intense chopping battle .Nakanishi had Shiozaki trapped in the torture rack but Tanaguchi interfered, so Nakanishi threw Shiozaki on him. Shiozaki got the advantage and hit the lariat for the win.
New Japan guys were mad after the match and jumped the NOAH guys. That wasn’t nice! All the NOAH and NJPW young guys came in and eventually broke it up, so this NJPW/NOAH feud must continue.
The Young Bucks defeated David Finlay and Ricochet to retain the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles
Good match, not an out of this world match or anything but plenty of cool spots throughout. Ricochet looked great, doing a great flosbury drop that took out both Young Bucks. Lots of good back and forth. The faces blocked both a Meltzer Driver and a Indytaker attempt but it still wasn’t enough to get the win. One of the bucks wiped out Ricochet on the outside, then followed with the win after the More Bang for Your Buck.
No one challenged after the match. Seems like the next challengers will probably be whoever wins the annual Junior tag team tournament, usually held in the next couple of months.
Guerillas of Destiny defeated The Brisoces to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles
Okay match, the last few minutes helped pick this up. GoD came out and didn’t get much of a reaction. Briscoes looked great in their offense. while GoD was just kind of there. Not bad, but not really doing anything to get me into the match. Briscoes hit a big powerbomb neckbreaker and went to do te Doomsday device on Tama Tonga but Loa came in and broke it up. Loa broke up another Doomsday Device by grabbing onto Tonga when the Briscoes hit their finish.Loa drilled Loa with a powerbomb, Tonga hit the gun stun and hit the Guerilla Warfare for the win.
Guerillas of Destiny, along with the Young Bucks, took care of the Briscoes after the match. Ishii tried to make the save, but was laid out by GoD. Seems whatever the next tag team title program will be will revolve around him.
Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, Hiroshi Tanahashi and KUSHIDA defeated Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA
Naito straight up shoved the referee to the floor and didn’t get disqualified. Elgin came in and did his big power spots. They also had KUSHIDA and BUSHI together since KUSHIDA’s probably getting a rematch next month. There was a spot in the match where KUSHIDA went for a dive and landed badly on the guardrail. Lethal and Elgin isolated Naito as Lethal hit the Lethal Injection, then Elgin followed with the powerbomb for the win.
Elgin posed with the title after the match, indicating he wants the next IC title shot. Evil grabbed KUSHIDA after the match and laid him out with his chair spot. The rest of the Ingobernables laid out Lethal and Tanahashi as BUSHI laid out KUSHIDA with the MX. He cut a promo, challenging KUSHIDA for the next title match. KUSHIDA did a stretcher job after.
Katsyuori Shibata defeated Kyle O’Reilly to retain the NEVER championship
Excellent match! They built everything up nicely and had some really brilliant exchanges during the latter half of the match. Crowd helped make this special too as they were into everything. Sto
They traded stiff shots early. Shibata focused on one of Kyle’s elbows, stomping on it. Kyle responded by working on Shibata’s bad, taped up leg, wrapping himself around it and wearing him down. Kyle locks in a guillotine and manages to transition that into an armbar but Shibata immediately gets to the ring ropes. Back on their feet, Shibata gets in a sleeper then lands a Saito suplex. Back up on their feet they have a crazy suplex exchange, with Shibata ending it with a kick to the chest. Kyle blasts Shibata with the PK but Shibata kicks out. Shibata gets in the sleeper and hits the PK, then followes with a a sleeper. He tries to fight out of it, but passes out, giving the match to Shibata.
Suddenly who should enter the ring but Go Shiozaki. Shibata held the title high but Go stared him down. Shibata pushed him, but Go made clear he was next in line for a title match. But then, EVIL came in and laid him out with the STO, grabbing the championship. Kevin Kelly pointed out EVIL beat Shibata during the G1. He laid the title on Shibata as he made his exit.
It was made clear on commentary that the winners of the next two matches will be the WrestleKingdom 11 main event.
Kenny Omega defeated Hirooki Goto to retain his title shot at WrestleKingdom 11
Another awesome match, best of the show. Just a brilliant back and forth match and the crowd was white hot. Even in losing, Goto looked like a threat and it came off like Omega won, but just by a hair.
Goto decides he’s just going to bring it early and lays out Omega with the briefcase then DDTs him on the briefcase, then wipes out the Young Bucks as the match began on the outside. Omega came back and foot stomped Goto on top of the table. Back and forth follows until the Young Bucks help Goto onto a table. YOSHI-HASHI comes out and distracts the Young Bucks to the back as Goto fights back against Omega and makes a comeback.
Finally Omega goes to springboard but Goto punches him, sending him flying through the table. Goto hits the ushigiroshi and tries for the GTR but Omega counters, only for Goto to hit the shouten kai but Omega somehow kicks out. Omega follows another GTR attempt with a rollup, then follows with a snap German suplex. Goto tries a comeback but Omega cuts him off, hitting two knee strikes then goes for the One Winged Angel but Goto fights back…only for Omega to hit it and score the win.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Naomichi Marufuji to retain the IWGP Heavyweight title
Really good match. I wouldn’t say it’s better than the previous match, or better than their G1 match but this was your normal great main event that had a lot of cool spots and good wrestling overall.
Marufuji dominated early, brawling around rinside. He settles on working on Okada’s arm and applying holds. Okada came back with a dropkick that sent Marafuji tumbling to the floor. Okada countered back, hitting a huge dive over the barricade and into some chairs. But Marafuji soon countered back with a piledriver on the apron. Not really a fan of those spots when they really should be saved for a big angle, because immediately breaking a count out spot sort of invalidates it as a big move.
They do some more back and forth. Marufuji hits a superkick, but Okada immediately shoots back with a dropkick that sends Marufuji down. Okada misses a charge and walks into a big knee that sends him down. Marufuji hit the sliced bread but Okada kicked out. Marufuji went for another one but Okada blocked it and came back with a rainmaker. Okada holds on to him but Marufuji starts countering all rainmaker attempts. Okada counters back with a tombstone, hit a side slam then hit the rainmaker for the win.
That makes it Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada for WrestleKingdom 11. Gedo calls out Omega as he makes his way to the ring by himself. Omega says everything has been given to him by the company and by Gedo. He is the symbol of New Japan, he’s protected Japanese wrestling. He’s taken everything up to this point, and he will take everything that you treasure. He will win at the Toyko Dome and will treat him just like they did in America (refering to the TNA run). Okada said he’ll see him at the Toyko Dome and they had a staredown as Omega exited, and Okada celebrated to close out the show.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This was a really good PPV headlined by three great matches. Actually top to bottom I don’t think there was one bad match on the show. Lots of great wrestling and some strong buildup through the rest of the year and WrestleKingdom 11. Kinda goes to show that one big show is always better than three watered down events.
Yes, we are back again with another WWE pay-per-view. Aren’t you all excited?
This week it’s No Mercy, a SmackDown PPV being held live in Sacramento, CA. The main event is a triple threat match pitting WWE World Champion AJ Styles against the former champion Dean Ambrose and a former 15-time champion in John Cena. All three have disdain for one another, cutting some great promos to build up to the main event. Everything on this show has been nicely built up, but with so many PPVs taking place now, it’s hard to get fully interested.
Here are the latest points following Clash of Champions:
Current prediction points rankings:
Steve Khan: (WWE SmackDown Live Recapper) (54 points)
Kyle S. Johnson: (Columnist) (52 points)
Bryan Rose: (New Japan/CWC Reporter) (52 points)
James Cox: (WWE Superstars Recapper & WWE DVD Reviewer) (50 points)
Jeremy Peeples: (Lucha Underground Recapper) (33 points)
Brian Hoops: (Daily Pro Wrestling History) (32 points)
Ryan Frederick: (UFC Reporter) (23 points)
PeachMachine: (University of Phoenix Online Mascot) (17 points)
Paul “Gramps” Fontaine: (MMA Writer and Recapper and new grandfather) (13 points)
Kevin LaRose: (WWE Main Event and Total Divas Recapper) (4 points)
JJ Williams: (NXT/CWC Roving Reporter) (3 points)
Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin
Bryan Rose: Corbin I guess? I mean if you really want to do something with Swagger you should give him momentum, but it’s obvious Corbin is the one they want to push to the moon.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Brian Hoops: Corbin gets the win here after Swagger won on TV. Corbin has been winning at house shows:
Winner: Corbin
Jeremy Peeples: Swagger won on TV, so Corbin wins on PPV. This feels like an odd use of both guys, but it is better than them just doing nothing.
Winner: Corbin
James Cox: Vince likes Corbin for some reason. They need to reboot Swagger, he has something to offer.
Winner Baron Corbin
Kyle S. Johnson: So, I guess they’re building up Swagger to establish Corbin as a threat to the top guys? Or something? I don’t know. Corbin wins; maybe he feuds with Swagger a bit more thereafter, maybe he doesn’t.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Ryan Frederick: I don’t know how I feel about this one. Baron Corbin should win, but who knows what they do. Coin flipping this one.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Paul Fontaine: Swagger won on TV, so Corbin wins on PPV. Basic WWE booking here.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Steve Khan: Corbin will likely get a cheap win after what happened on SmackDown.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella
Bryan Rose: Nikki’s winning this one, unless they want to continue the feud. Given the lack of depth on this women’s roster, they probably have to. But let’s go with Nikkisawa anyway.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Brian Hoops: Since the Bellas show started, I will anticipate WWE will push her over Carmella.
Winner Nikki
Jeremy Peeples: With Total Bellas being a thing and Brie being pregnant, Nikki’s push is going to continue. Carmella could use the win more, but Nikki should win this one.
Winner: Nikki
James Cox: Nikki to win in four minutes or less. Those Total Bellas figures were poor, though, so who knows.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Kyle S. Johnson: Vince McMahon tweeted this week that Total Bellas is total entertainment. I don’t know that I trust his word on that, but the tweet itself should tell you what you need to know about this match’s result.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Ryan Frederick: I figure the fact that Total Bellas just started gives the outcome away. I don’t expect much from this.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Paul Fontaine: Carmella’s 15 minutes were up about two weeks ago. Nikki should win in a squash, although it will probably be a little more competitive than that.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Steve Khan: I wouldn’t be surprised with Carmella winning again, but with her new show out, Nikki will probably get her win finally.
Winner: Nikki Bella
WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
Bryan Rose: I mean, I don’t think Dolph is going anywhere, so he has to win this time, right?
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Brian Hoops: Ziggler putting his career on line makes you think he has to win.
Winner: The Miz
Jeremy Peeples: This has easily been the best-built WWE feud of the last few months, and the Spirit Squad stuff was unexpected. They’ve been building Dolph up as the ultimate underdog here, so he has to win it and retain his career.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
James Cox: I’m not sure Ziggler is leaving, Miz has been great on the mic in the built up to this, which is what he does best. Should be a decent match.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Kyle S. Johnson: Kudos to both guys for making this feud feel like it means something. Right at the point where Miz seems to be hitting his stride as IC champ, it seems like Ziggler has to take the belt off of him. He’s been tweeting about his post-WWE bookings, which seems too on the nose to mean anything other than him winning, and I would rather see him lose just because that would take the story in a potentially more interesting direction. Things being what they are, Ziggler will just win, and the feud will continue.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Ryan Frederick: The fact that Ziggler is putting his career on the line screams swerve to me. This has been built very well and I’m actually very interested in this match.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Paul Fontaine: Buh bye, Dolph. He’ll probably come back under a mask but I hope he actually leaves. Miz is one of the top three acts in all of WWE and Dolph sucks.
Winner: The Miz
Steve Khan: They did a good job rebuilding this, as I previously had no interest in seeing these two wrestle again. I also have no idea who’s going to win. I’ll go with Ziggler if only because I don’t know how they get out of this otherwise.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss
Bryan Rose: Miss Bliss I think will miss, allowing Becky to get the win and retain her title.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Brian Hoops: No way they change the title here.
Winner Becky Lynch
Jeremy Peeples: This started out with promise, but they’ve been on auto-pilot. Becky lost on TV, so she will win the PPV match and retain the title.
Winner: Becky Lynch
James Cox: No need to beat Lynch yet. Expect this to be short and poor.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Kyle S. Johnson: Bex wins, no question.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Ryan Frederick: It is way too early to take the belt off of Becky, though I think Alexa gets it before the end of the year.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Paul Fontaine: I’m going with Bliss to win the match but Lynch to keep the belt so this feud keeps going. I really like these two together and Bliss has done far better than she had any right to.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Steve Khan: I like these two, but they don’t seem to work well together. Hopefully they can pull it off. It’s too early for Lynch to lose, so I’ll go with her.
Winner: Becky Lynch
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. The Usos
Bryan Rose: The Rhyno/Slater team seems to be de-emphasized over the last couple of weeks, and more focus has been given to the Usos becoming the more dominant team. I think the real goal here is to have Usos and American Alpha feud over these titles, so I’ll go with my gut and say Usos will win the titles here.
Winner: The Usos
Brian Hoops: I think ultimately they are building to Usos vs. American Alpha, but too early to change title from Slater/Rhyno.
Winners: Slater/Rhyno.
Jeremy Peeples: The Usos have been doing way too many TV jobs to American Alpha to justify a title win right now. I’ll go with the Usos losing, but not clean.
Winners: Heath Slater and Rhyno
James Cox: I think The Usos win but the titles stay on Rhyno and Slater. Too early to change the titles, but good to keep the program going.
Winner: The Uso’s (no title change)
Kyle S. Johnson: The direction is clearly The Usos vs. American Alpha, but there’s no reason to rush to get there. Having Slater and Rhyno hold onto the belts for another month is the right thing to do, but I would not be the least bit shocked if they just put the belts on The Usos, either.
Winners: Heath Slater and Rhyno
Ryan Frederick: I wouldn’t be shocked at all if they put the titles on the Usos as that seems the eventual direction. It is way too soon to take them off of Heath and Rhyno. The team is working and they are super over. Keep it going!
Winners: Heath Slater and Rhyno
Paul Fontaine: Times up for Beauty and the Man Beast. The Usos win so they can start feuding with American Alpha over the belts.
Winners: The Usos
Steve Khan: I like the Usos here. They can extend this program with a win and keep building to a rematch with Jordan & Gable, this time for the titles.
Winner: The Usos
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Bryan Rose: Ugh, I really don’t care. The spooky time stuff they do with Wyatt is so bad. Orton wins so we can all move on.
Winner: Randy Orton
Brian Hoops: Orton needs a win after getting killed and left for dead with no revenge by Lesnar. Orton has been going over at all the house shows.
Winner: Orton
Jeremy Peeples: This feud has fallen off the rails. Bray lost to Kane at the last PPV, so he really shouldn’t lose here — but he never wins, and Orton needs to be kept strong for title matches. I’ll go with a Bray win after Luke Harper returns.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
James Cox: Wyatt loses a lot, Orton lost to Lesnar and then they stick them together and do a terrible job with it. At this stage, Wyatt can lose and it won’t mean anything, but it depends what’s next for Orton.
Winner: Randy Orton
Kyle S. Johnson: Last time these two were scheduled to meet, I said that both men really needed a win, but Orton needed it more since he had just been killed by Lesnar. Orton was concussed, the match never happened, and somehow, Bray lost clean to Kane, a character who debuted 19 years ago. Fair to say that Bray now needs that win just a bit more. Harper will probably return to secure the win for Wyatt.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Ryan Frederick: Too much outlandish stuff being put into this feud. And I think it’s all just for Bray to lose. Again. I’m so lost as to what they want to accomplish with him, and with this feud.
Winner: Randy Orton
Paul Fontaine: Who could possibly care? Certainly not me. Let’s go with Bray with help from the returning Luke Harper, which is what I called for their last scheduled match.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Steve Khan: Orton seems in line for the next title shot, so he should win.
Winner: Randy Orton
WWE World Champion AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena
Bryan Rose: AJ’s winning this. Will probably be a great match, too.
Winner: AJ Styles
Brian Hoops: Would be a huge mistake to take the title off Styles at this point. The Cena storyline is good, but could be terrific if it was the focus of WrestleMania.
Winner: Styles
Jeremy Peeples: AJ is riding a huge wave of momentum since winning the title. Cena is embracing the worn-down veteran role, while Dean always looks like he’s on day 14 of a two week bender. AJ should win, but I can see Cena winning at another show — probably Mania, to tie the official flair record. An Ambrose heel turn would make sense here too since they’re building him up as unstable and unpredictable.
Winner: AJ Styles
James Cox: Ultimately I think Cena is taking the belt back, but not yet. It’s only a matter of time before he equals Flair’s record. I think Styles will pin Ambrose. Should be a great match, what an absolutely crucial acquisition AJ Styles has been.
Winner: AJ Styles
Kyle S. Johnson: Too early to take the title off of Styles. He’s been great, and this feud has been pretty great all around. Styles wins; if they’re looking to keep both opponents relevant, Ambrose could have Cena cold before AJ takes him out, and then AJ opts to pin Cena again for more bragging rights.
Cena could survive another loss, and it builds a natural reason for him to chase AJ after Dean drops out of the picture. Or they could just have him beat Dean because that’d be easy enough to do. Either way, this should be a good match.
Winner: AJ Styles
Ryan Frederick: Again, it is way too early to change the title. Taking it off of Styles would be a huge mistake. He’s the best all-around performer in the company right now. The only way they take it off of him is to give it to Cena, but now is not the time for that.
Winner: AJ Styles
Paul Fontaine: I said last month that AJ would keep the title until the Rumble and I’m sticking with that. I would have AJ and Cena do a one-on-one match at Survivor Series and then do a rematch at the Rumble, which is where Cena wins the belt. Ambrose should probably take the fall.
Winner: AJ Styles
Steve Khan: Should be really good, but seems somewhat obvious that AJ Styles is winning.
On a rare Friday night edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez detailed new tiered pricing plans that WWE is considering offering for the WWE Network.
Alvarez noted that WWE is doing market research on the new plans, and Meltzer said they’re looking very strongly at moving to a four-tiered system.
Notably, WWE is considering an enhanced $14.99 a month pricing tier that would include the ability to watch regular content from non-WWE promotions on the Network.
Meltzer said that it’s not a secret that WWE has been talking to TNA about their video library. He noted that they definitely want TNA and Ring of Honor, and there have been rumblings of talks with ROH, possibly about their library.
No deals have been made with any promotions, but Meltzer speculated that EVOLVE and World Wrestling Network content, among other independent promotions, could be a good fit given their preexisting relationship with WWE.
Meltzer compared the system to what the UFC is currently doing with streaming other MMA promotions on UFC Fight Pass. He also noted that there is a competitor looking to get into the business of streaming independent wrestling shows.
The new enhanced tier would offer live episodes of NXT, but Meltzer didn’t know if that meant that NXT would now tape weekly or if their tapings would just be streamed live. The Cruiserweight Classic would also be expanded to a regular series showcasing matches from cruiserweight wrestlers. That show would be available on both the $14.99 and $9.99 a month tiers.
The $14.99 a month plan would also offer exclusive perks, including voting for the WWE Hall of Fame, first access to purchasing event tickets, second screen content, and invitations to exclusive VIP meet ups.
Additionally, WWE is considering adding a free plan and $4.99 a month plan to the purchasing options. The free tier would include access to the WWE Network 24/7 live stream, but the stream would be blocked out during WWE PPVs and episodes of NXT and the Cruiserweight Classic. The tier would also include access to five hours of archived content a month, but all content would include a heavy amount of commercials.
The $4.99 a month plan would be available only on phones and tablets. It would include access to the WWE Network 24/7 live stream and video archive. The “big four” PPVs (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) would stream live, but all other PPVs would be blocked out on the live stream. Episodes of NXT would be available to watch, but wouldn’t be live.
The $9.99 a month plan would be similar to what is currently being offered, but would include the addition of live episodes of NXT and access to the new Cruiserweight Classic series. All WWE PPVs would still be streamed live and it would still include full access to the video archives.
