Tag: mainstory

WWE NXT live results: Tony D’Angelo vs. Kam Hendrix title match

Posted on by Joseph Collins

Kam Hendrix, one of the newest additions to the NXT roster, is looking to achieve the biggest win of his young career.

The NXT Championship will be on the line when Hendrix challenges Tony D’Angelo tonight. He already owns a victory over D’Angelo in tag team action, though D’Angelo did not take the fall in that match. Instead, Hendrix pinned Myles Borne after pushing his own tag partner Mason Rook out of the way, which led to issues between the two NXT newcomers.

Borne, the NXT North American Champion, has another tag match tonight, teaming with Tavion Heights against DarkState.

We’ll hear from NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice, who promises that she’ll have a lot to say after defeating Izzi Dame last week. Also in the women’s division, Zaria clashes with Lizzy Rain.

Plus, the men’s Speed Championship is set to be defended with Lexis King vs. Romeo Moreno.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

Live! From Orlando, Florida. 

Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. 

The competitors in tonight’s main event were shown walking into the building to hype the Tony D’Angelo NXT title defense against Kam Hendrix. 

Zaria v. Lizzy Rain 

Zaria blocked a tornado DDT and knocked Rain to the mat with a pump kick. Zaria whipped Rain around the ring, targeting her injured back. The Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley came out to join the commentators in an attempt to distract Zaria. She was unfazed though, knocking Rain to the floor with a solid forearm shot. 

Back from a commercial, Rain took Zaria to the mat with a super hurricanrana. But Zaria sprang right back up and cut Rain in half with a spear. Both women exchanged forearms, and Rain ducked a charge and hit Zaria with a clothesline. Rain hit a tornado DDT off the ropes for a near fall. 

Zaria came back with a pop-up headbutt. Rain got a near fall with a victory roll. Zaria caught Rain with a knee out of the corner and a rolling lariat for another near fall. Rain fired up and caught Zaria with a cutter and then a modified DVD for a near fall. Zaria came back with a German suplex and a spear. Zaria finished off Rain with an F5. 

Match Result: Zaria pinned Rain (10:32). 

After the match, Zaria tried to beat up Rain some more, but Paxley stopped her by offering up a title match for next week. 

— Saquon Shugars attacked Dark State as they were on their way to the ring. After the break, Vic Joseph announced that the Dark State match would occur later tonight. He also hyped up Booker T as “Mr. Great American Bash” and… really? 

OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) v. The Culling (Shawn Spears & Nico Banks) (w/ Izzy Dame)

Nima and Price attacked Spears and Banks before the bell. Price and Banks had an awkward exchange that I think was supposed to end in Banks flipping over Price, but he didn’t clear him and basically planted his groin in Price’s face. They figured it out and then redid the spot. They went to the floor and Banks threw Price into the ring barricade. 

After a break, Nima suplexed Spears. Price got the tag, then dropped to the floor to suplex Banks on the apron. Price took both Spears and Price down at once. Price press-slammed Banks onto Spears. Price floored Banks with a knee for a year fall. Banks put down Price with a sharp elbow. Price shoved Spears into Banks. Nima and Price hit their finisher on Spears (kind of like a double-team Angle Slam) and got the pinfall. 

Match Result: OTM beat The Culling when Nima pinned Spears (9:27). 

This was moves with no real flow. 

— EK Prosper, Tate Wilder and Kam Hendrix chat in the locker room about their upcoming matches tonight. Well not EK Prosper, who doesn’t have a match. But he’ll get to tell his grandkids he was in the building when Kam Hendrix won the NXT Championship!  

Jackson Drake (w/ The Vanity Project) v. Tate Wilder 

Wilder took down Drake with a sling blade, and he dropped to the floor to regroup. So Wilder took all of them out at once with a cannonball off the stairs. 

CW paid a lot of bills with a long commercial break during this match. When they finally got back to it, Wilder hit Drake with a flying forearm. They fought on the ring apron. Wilder caught Drake with a gamengiri, but Drake came back with a spear to the floor. Back in the ring, Wilder avoided a 450, then hit Drake with a TKO (the move, he didn’t ask him to take a 50% pay cut) for a near fall. 

Wilder went to the top, but Drake hit the ropes and crotched Wilder. Drake went to the top, but Wilder powerbombed him out of the corner. Wilder hit a twisting splash off the top for a near fall. The members of the Vanity Project jumped on the apron, but Wilder knocked them down. He tried to take out Myka Lockwood with a rana, but she blocked it, powerbombed Wilder into the ringpost and then onto the ring apron. Back in the ring, Drake finished off Wilder with a 450 splash. 

Match Result: Drake pinned WIlder (8:35). 

— Robert Stone was interviewed by Emily Agard about the upcoming Great American Bash. Someone comes in to start yelling at him, but Jasper Troy interrupted. They got in each other’s faces, and another member of Dark State attacked Troy and soon it was complete chaos in the back.

Lola Vice Sets Up Her Next Challenger

Lola Vice came out to the ring for a promo and talked up her recent victories in NXT and AAA. She wanted to know who her next challenger was going to be. This brought out Kelani Jordan. Jordan said that she’s proved herself by going to TNA and winning the Knockouts title, but she didn’t get the same praise that Lola Vice did for going out and winning the AAA Mixed Tag Team titles. Vice wasn’t impressed with Jordan’s TNA title right, because “if you blinked, you missed it.” 

Kendal Grey came out (with Wren Sinclair, hobbling behind her) to throw her name in the ring, too. She, after all, won the Iron Survivor and pinned both Jordan and Vice. Lola Vice got sick of all the complaining, and made the match between Grey and Jordan for next week, with the winner getting the title shot at the Great American Bash. On her way out, Jordan pulled at one of Vice’s title belts, causing her to spin into Grey and hit her with an elbow. 

— In the back, Zaria F5’d Tatum Paxley into a storage cage. 

— Mason Rook and Tony D’Angelo talked trash about each other until Robert Stone intervened and made a match for Rook and Naraku for next week. If Rook wins, he “cuts the line” and gets into title contention. (This was later made a #1 Contenders Match at the end of the show.)

Romeo Moreno (w/ Noam Dar) v. Lexis King (w/ Birthright) for the NXT Speed Championship  

Since this is a Speed Championship match, the time limit is five minutes. Moreno caught King with a sunset flip, then a dropkick. Moreno hit a German suplex and a dropkick off the middle ropes for a near fall. Moreno caught King with a cradle for a near fall. King came back and caught Moreno with a diving dropkick in the corner for a near fall. King repeatedly kept trying to cover Moreno, forcing him to kick out multiple times. 

King and Moreno exchanged a series of strikes. King went for a half-crab, but he didn’t lock it in. Moreno rolled King into a vertical suplex, then caught him with a superkick. Moreno tried for a crossface, but turned it into the Rings of Saturn. King escaped and dropped to the floor. Moreno took out the other members of Birthright with a dive off the top. 

Moreno tried for a dropkick off the top, but King stepped back and, if I can be serious for a minute, locked in a half-crab. Moreno escaped and caught King with a cradle. Moreno missed a move off the top, and King finished off Moreno with The Coronation, and modified swinging neckbreaker. 

Match Result: Kingpinned Moreno to retain the Speed Championship (4:34).

— Natalya and Jadia Parker exchanged words in the back. Natalya sees right through Parker’s act. Natalya knows that she’s soft. 

Dark State (Dion Lennox & Osiris Griffin) v. Tavion Heights & Miles Borne 

Cutler James was taken out of this match in the attack earlier by Saquon Shugars. 

There were a few instances of miscommunication between Borne and Heights in the early going. But they still combined to take Lennox out with a double dropkick. Borne clotheslined Griffin to the floor. Soon all four men were on the floor. Heights tossed Lennox over his head with a belly-to-belly. 

Dark State got the heat on Borne during the commercial. Lennox and Griffin worked over Borne in their corner. Borne backdropped Lennox out of his way to make the tag to Heights. Heights hit an amazing belly to belly on Lennox, then tossed Osiris around. Lennox tripped up Heights so Griffin could give him a headbutt. Dark State finished Heights off with the Doomsday Device. 

Match Result: Dark State won via pinfall (11:02). 

This didn’t feel like eleven minutes, probably because most of it was during the break. 

Next week’s show:

  • Kendal Grey v. Kelani Jordan to crown the #1 Contender for the NXT Women’s Championship
  • Mason Rook v. Naraku (later announced to be a #1 Contenders match for the NXT Championship)
  • Tatum Paxley v. Zaria for the NXT North American Women’s Title 
  • Shiloh Hill v. Tristan Angels in the Mr. NXT Pageant 

Tony D’Angelo v. Kam Hendrix for the NXT Championship

I’m not liking Hendrix’s chances here, since they’ve already set up another opponent for D’Angelo in Mason Rook. 

Hendrix hit the Showtime Kick out of nowhere for a near fall. Hangman’s neckbreaker got another near fall. After a DDT, Hendrix got a third near fall. Naraku was shown watching in the crowd. Hendrix started firing away with forearms on D’angleo. D’Angelo caught Hendrix and dumped him like a sack of potatoes. Hendix dropped to the floor to regroup. 

When Hendrix got back in the ring, D’Angelo was all over him with clobbering forearms and clotheslines. D’Angelo tossed Hendrix with a FU. D’Angelo tossed Hendrix over his head with a belly to belly, then clotheslined Hendrix to the floor. Hendrix went to grab the title belt, but Naraku stood up and shook his head at Hendrix, who left the belt alone and headed back into the ring. 

After a commercial break, Hendrix got a near fall after a suplex while Naraku looked on. D’Angelo came back with a series of release German suplexes. D’Angelo hit a spinebuster. D’Angelo hit a modified fisherman’s suplex for a near fall. D’Angelo ran into a knee and Hendrix went for a cradle with his feet on the ropes, but the ref caught him. 

D’Angelo tossed Hendrix down with a suplex. Hendrix hit a Showtime Kick, then followed up with a sit-out powerbomb for a near fall. Hendrix and D’Angelo started exchanging strikes, but Hendrix leapt into a powerbomb from D’Angelo for a near fall. 

Hendrix snapped D’Angelo’s neck against the top rope, then crawled to the floor to get a steel chair. Mason Rook cut him off. D’Angleo backdropped Hendrix onto the announcer’s table. Back in the ring, D’Angelo hit a variation on the Sky High to get the pinfall. 

Match Result: D’Angelo pinned Hendrix to retain (10:48). 

Naraku handed D’Angelo his title belt and offered him a bow after his match. It was made official that Rook and Naraku’s match next week will crown the #1 Contenders for the NXT title. 

WOR: Askren returns, RAW report, CMLL and AAA, Ray Stevens

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Ben Askren returning from near-death and a double lung transplant to wrestle again, Grand Slam Mexico, Balor moves to Smackdown, AAA and CMLL notes, gotta talk about Conor and Ray Stevens, and the RAW report. A fun show as always so check it out!

Timestamps:
Start: Update on WWE PLE lawsuit, Ben Askren returning to amateur wrestling for RAF match
9:10: When AEW Grand Slam Mexico will take place, more on upcoming WWE Mexico tour, Finn Balor moves to SmackDown
14:07: CMLL notes, ratings
23:15: More on controversial Holly Holm decision, Conor McGregor fight ticket sales, BJ Penn found not fit to stand trial
30:58: Why WWE is running Triplemania in Las Vegas, WWE Raw recap
54:26: Dave tells Ray Stevens stories

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WOL: Mask vs. Mask, Clash in Italy, King and Queen of the Ring

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the AAA mask vs. mask match, WWE Clash in Italy, the King and Queen of the ring, Dynamite and Collision ratings, all the news from the weekend and so much more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WWE Raw live results: Clash in Italy fallout

Posted on by Marc Quill

Last night’s Clash in Italy event saw World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns topple Jacob Fatu in Tribal Combat to retain his title.

As a result of his loss on Sunday, Fatu will have to acknowledge Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief at the Acknowledgement Ceremony on Monday.

Additionally, the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will begin. Announced already is the men’s quarterfinal four-way with Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes.

Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee are also set to face Ethan Page and Rusev in tag team action.

The full lineup for today’s show:

  • Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
  • Will Jacob Fatu acknowledge World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns during Acknowledgement Ceremony?
  • King of the Ring tournament begins with Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes
  • Queen of the Ring tournament begins
  • Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page & Rusev

Our live coverage begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

************

– Following the WWE opening signature, we were welcomed live to the broadcast by Michael Cole, who then tossed to a recap of last night’s Clash in Italy PLE.

– As the recap ended, we got the arrival of World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, flanked by Jey and Jimmy Uso.

The Tribal Chief kicks off Raw

The Turin crowd cheered the arrival of the self-styled OTC, fresh off a Tribal Combat victory last night at this same venue. Commentary discussed whether or not Jacob Fatu would adhere to the Tribal Combat rules and acknowledge Reigns as his Tribal Chief, as well as the M.F.T.s staring down the World Champion at the conclusion of Clash in Italy.

Once Reigns and the Bloodline arrived to the ring and the music died down, the Italian crowd serenaded them with many a chant.

Reigns said he had been waiting for this for a long time, because there was no day quite like Acknowledgement Day. Jey Uso demanded that Jacob Fatu show up this instant because he was late for the ceremony. That cued Fatu himself showing up and taking his time to get to the ring.

Reigns demanded that Fatu get to the acknowledgment already, but Fatu approached Jey Uso and stared him down before Reigns reminded him. Fatu approached Reigns knew what he was getting into when entering Tribal Combat, both what would happen if he won and if he had lost. Fatu acknowledged that he took a loss to Reigns last night and he was a man of his word.

“Last night, I lost to my Tribal Chief… but I didn’t lose to your punk ass, Jey,” said Fatu.

Fatu said he was going to keep it 100 by stating that he acknowedged Roman Reigns. He then kneeled and extended a hand as Reigns took it. “You don’t understand this right now, Jacob, but I love you,” said Reigns.

Jimmy Uso said that this was a warning shot to the locker room that they were the twos, and that the Bloodline were the ones. Everyone in the ring threw up the Ones to the sky as the segment ended.

I don’t think you have to look far to get my thoughts on all of this, namely the fact that WWE going back to the Bloodline well, no matter how illogical it may seem, is starting to turn into their version of WCW milking the nWo cow until it ran dry. This stuff with Roman getting the band back together, so to speak, and the teases of them facing off against the M.F.T..s does not interest me at all. The very confusing heel/face dynamic with Reigns and his family does not help matters at all, either. The crowd cheers Reigns as a conquering hero, but very little has changed with him character-wise, and now he’s back to square one as the gaslighting, bullying Tribal Chief character, but with more aura farming.

Just a total mess, is what I’m getting at here. A rough start for tonight’s show.

************

– We learned that an encore presentation of Original El Grande Americano vs. El Grande Americano from Noches de los Grandes on Saturday night would be shown immediately after Raw on Netflix.

King of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa (w/ Talla Tonga) vs. Carmelo Hayes

As Femi made his entrance, his four opponents went at him inside the ring, but all got taken down before Femi struck his pose bathed in the light.

Once the bell rang, Sikoa, Hayes, and Penta all tried to team up against Femi, to no avail. Running uppercuts to Hayes and Penta on opposite corners, but Sikoa intercepted him. The right hand from Femi sent Sikoa out of the ring. Meanwhile, Penta and Hayes fought inside the ring. Penta Driver attempt countered by Hayes, who turned it into the no-look fadeaway legdrop soon after. Near-fall as Penta kicked out.

Penta’s superkick was met in kind with a Hayes superkick, but the leaping springboard clothesline was intercepted by a Penta superkick. Outside the ring, Talla Tonga stared down Femi, who went back in the ring and hit Hayes and Penta with a chokeslam. We took a break with Femi in command of this match.

Back from the ad break as Hayes and Penta exchanged chops in the ring, while Sikoa stepped inside and hit both men with a clothesline. During the break, Sikoa disposed of Femi by throwing him into the steel steps, which allowed him to briefly gain control. However, Femi stepped inside and hit Sikoa with a clothesline. A superkick by Sikoa was followed by a First 48 from Hayes, as Femi missed with a running shoulder attack. Outside the ring, Sikoa and Talla Tonga threw Femi into the ringpost, followed by a rough-looking running big boot that barely sent Femi over the barricade. Tope con hilo by Penta on Sikoa, but Hayes got him with the Fosbury Flop. In the ring, it was non-stop action as Sikoa missed with the Samoan Spike and got hit with Hayes’ Dirty Diana. Penta with the Penta Driver on Hayes. One, two… Sikoa broke it up in time.

Inside the ring, Sikoa noticed Oba Femi rising from the barricade, as the big man took out Talla with a big boot. Back suplex over the announce table to Talla as he then sent Sikoa across the ring. Femi then finished it off with Fall from Grace on Sikoa for the three.

After the match, Femi took the mic and said that Brock Lesnar questioned him whether he could take an ass-whooping. Femi said that after taking an ass-kicking and seven F5s, he took Lesnar’s best shot and was still standing. He promised to win the King of the Ring as he then noted that it was 1-1 in his series with Lesnar. “I’ll see you, down the line,” said Femi.

Oba Femi def. Solo Sikoa, Carmelo Hayes, & Penta via pinfall to advance to the King of the Ring Semifinals

I didn’t like the decision of Femi dropping the rematch with Lesnar last night at Clash in Italy, but I think WWE did as well as they could to make sure Femi’s credibility wasn’t completely shot with this match tonight. He looked very dominant here and it helped him quickly recover after last night. Whether or not Femi will win King of the Ring is honestly up in the air, especially as the allure of a rubber match between him and Lesnar at SummerSlam in Minneapolis could be too strong to ignore for Triple H.

************

– We got a recap of Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker’s history as the two will face off in the Raw main event later tonight.

– Sol Ruca was seen walking to the ring. Meanwhile, Maxxine was once again chatting with Austin Theory in the background. We’d be hearing from Ruca coming up next.

Sol Ruca celebrates her Women’s Intercontinental Title win

The new Women’s Intercontinental Champion was introduced to a great ovation from the Turin crowd. As Ruca entered the ring, she took the mic as Cathy Kelley got ready to ask her the questions.

Ruca was congratulated on her win last night as she was asked that if she thought if she’d be standing as a champion just a month after joining the Raw roster.

Ruca said that she believed that she could be a champion, but most importantly, all the fans believed that she could do it. From the bottom of her heart, Ruca offered a simple “grazie” for the support. The Turin crowd erupted in cheers. Ruca gave props to Becky Lynch, stating that she gave her a chance to test herself against the very best, and she proved Lynch wrong. And it wasn’t just her saying it, everyone was saying it.

Ruca said that we deserved a fighting champion, and that’s exactly what she would be. Ruca said that people might be ready to underestimate her, but at the end of it all, anyone who steps up to her, they’ll hear the same thing that we heard last night: Sol Ruca is your Women’s Intercontinental Champion.

Pretty standard promo from Ruca to establish her title reign. We’ll see if she’s able to turn the recent criticisms her main roster tenure on Raw has gotten so far around in due time.

************

– We got after-show footage of Cody Rhodes running into Roman Reigns from last night, as the two shared a tense staredown. Elsewhere, Reigns gave Jey Uso orders to win the King of the Ring and potentially take “the other one” (i.e. Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship) at SummerSlam. As Jey left, Reigns pulled Jimmy Uso aside and told him that Jey needed to do this alone.

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page & Rusev

Page and Dragon got this match going as the latter ducked the former’s attempts at grapples. Rusev tagged in and took a chop from Dragon, which didn’t do much. Rusev fired himself up and proceeded to stomp away at Dragon in the corner. This was followed by a foot choke along the bottom ropes on a defenseless Dragon. Page re-entered the match and kept punching at Dragon. The powerbomb attempt by Page was reversed by a hurricanrana into the corner. Over-the-top wrecking ball dropkick on Page by Dragon, followed by a running dropkick for the near-fall. Page got sent into the ropes as Rusev tagged in. The unaware Dragon Lee nearly got ambushed by Rusev, but he rolled him up for pin attempt. Rusev had to kick out at two-here as he and Dragon stared each other down. To a loud ovation, Mysterio wasabout to tag in, but Page took him down from the apron. Rusev got wind of this and grabbed Dragon for a spinning slam as we took a timeout.

Back from the break as Dragon sent Rusev over the top rope to the outside and Ethan Page had to stop him with a leglock. The tag to Rusev, who stomped Dragon and slapped Mysterio in the corner, which allowed the ref to be distracted as Rusev and Page stomped on Dragon. Rusev threw Dragon into the corner, but that allowed Dragon to hit Page with a forearm. Rusev’s attempt to play defense was stopped as a superkick floored his foe. As both Rusev and Dragon Lee were down, they headed to their respective corners and made the tag. Mysterio stormed in with an enzuigiri on page, followed by the senton and a springboard press. One, two…. Page kicked out.

Big boot by Page stunned Mysterio as Rusev stepped into the ring and found himself sent out of the ring by a Mysterio hurricanrana. Page tripped up and placed in position for the 619. Rusev grabbed at Mysterio’s leg to stop it. Page sent Mysterio into Dragon Lee, as the roll-up was kicked out at two by the veteran. Mysterio’s hurricanrana was turned into a Boston Crab, but Dragon broke it up. Dragon sent Rusev into Page with a hurricanrana as flew into the Bulgarian with a tope suicida. In the ring, Mysterio connected with 619 and the splash to pick up the win.

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee def. Rusev & Ethan Page via pinfall

Fun, relatively low-stakes match. I’m amazed that Mysterio still moves as fluid as he does even at the age he’s at right now.

************

– Adam Pearce spoke with Penta, who had a match set up with him and Rey Mysterio for next week. LA Knight then confronted Pearce, upset about the recent Bloodline love-in, and stating that Pearce was playing favorites with Roman Reigns and his family. Knight took note of Pearce putting up the ones and stating it made him sick.

– A highlight reel of the Noche de los Grandes Mask vs. Mask match was shown ahead of the actual match itself being shown in its entirety tonight after Raw on Netflix. An odd choice. We then got a recap of what happened afterwards and the “Original” El Grande Americano unmasking as Chad Gable.

Queen of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia vs. Lash Legend

Roxy, SKY, and Giulia went after Legend right away as we kicked off. Giulia was caught by Legend, but a SKY dropkick took her down. Perez struck SKY from behind and battered her with punches, but soon found himself hit with strikes. SKY got sent out of the ring by Perez, as Legend came back in the ring and took her out. Guillotine by Giulia on Legend, but she was placed on the top turnbuckle. Legend held SKY and Perez, but a dropkick fromt he top rope by Giulia took everyone down. We took a commercial break as Giulia hit a back suplex on SKY.

Back from the commercial as Giulia and Perez drove Legend into the steel steps, as the former hit a dropkick on the stunned Legend. Perez and Giulia apparently had an alliance, but the former instead sent the latter onto the commentary table. In the ring, Perez was hit with a shotgun dropkick by SKY, who began to stir as the pace picked up. Another dropkick from SKY as Giulia joined the fray. Double missile dropkick by SKY was followed by her signature taunt. Perez and Giulia were trapped in the corner as SKY barreled into the both of them with the Bullet Train. Legend snuck up but got hit with the double stomp from SKY. Arrivederci Knee to Legend, but Perez broke up the count. Perez then got Giulia and SKY with a double DDT.

In the corner, Perez’s Pop Rox attempt was stopped by SKY as she headed up top looking for the Over the Moonsault. Giulia interecepted her and had the double underhook. Perez recovered and joined the fray. This led to Legend recovering and getting both Giulia and Perez with a double powerbomb. Lash Extension on both Giulia and Perez, but SKY stomped to break the count. SKY then picked up the victory with the Over the Moonsault on Giulia.

IYO SKY def. Giulia, Lash Legend & Roxanne Perez via pinfall to advance to the Queen of the Ring Semifinals

This was a solid match that I think had the wrong winner. I think it would’ve been nice for Giulia to pull off the surprise upset win here.

************

– Maxxine Dupri was a bit upset with Adam Pearce for being left out of the Queen of the Ring bracket. Pearce said when an opening came up, Dupri would be informed. After Pearce left, Otis pointed out that Dupri was talking a lot with Austin Theory, reminding her that Theory was bad news. Dupri stated taht she knew what she was doing.

– We got a video about Danhausen and the New York Knicks, who are playing in the NBA Finals this week against the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps due to Danhausen uncursing them.

– Cathy Kelley interviewed Bayley & Lyra Valkyria backstage. The interview was interrupted when Valkyria took notice of Sol Ruca walking. She pointed out how the stipulation of no longer being challenged for the Women’s Intercontinental Title no longer applied as she called her shot against Ruca, much to the confusion of Bayley.

Next Monday on Raw (Paris, France)

  • King of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: Seth Rollins vs. Ricky Saints vs. Je’von Evans VS. Talla Tonga
  • Queen of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Chelsea Green

– Roxanne Peres was upset about her loss earlier as Liv Morgan talked about her and Dominik Mysterio’s King and Queen of the Ring chances, apparently not caring about everyone else in the process.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman)

As the Turin crowd sang Rollins’ theme, this main event got underway with a staredown. That was before Rollins was forced into the corner by Breakker. The former World Champion responded by punching away at Breakker, but he was thrown for the German suplex. Rollins responded with a Slingblade, followed by the clothesline. Rollins kept the momentum going with a pair of suicide dives. On the third attempt, Breakker caught him and sent him over the barricade and into asome people sitting at rinsgide as the feed headed to commercial.

The Raw main event returned from break as Breakker grabbed Rollins by the chin and mocked him. He paid for that with open hand strikes from Rollins that sent him into the corner. Breakker answered with another German suplex, that forced Rollins out of the ring. At ringside, Breakker drove a knee into the gut of Rollins before he threw him in the ringpost. Breakker then launched himself for a high flying elbow to the face of Rollins. Breakker then smashed Rollins’ face repeatedly on the face of the Italian commentary table before he rearranged the furniture. Rollins was sent back in the ring afterwards, but Breakker caught him and got lifted in the military press position. Rollins countered it into a reverse neckbreaker. Rollins hit Breakker with a series of clotheslines that finally kept Breakker down. The knee to the jaw by Rollins as he headed to the apron and launched himself for the springboard swanton. One, two… no!

Rollins went to the top rope with Breakker still trying to recover. Breakker cut off Rollins and punched him at the top rope. This led to the Frankensteiner on Rollins, but that wasn’t enough to put this one away. Breakker had Rollins dead to rights next to the commentary table, but the dive was intercepted with a clothesline as we took another commercial break on the sports-style replay of that previous spot.

Back from the break as Breakker punched at Rollins in the corner, but he got lifted in position for a sitout powerbomb. Another kickout by Breakker. The action spilled out of the ring yet again as Rollins pulled the steel steps and put Breakker on the steps. Rollins ascended the steps, but took too long as it allowed Breakker to push him into the post. In the ring, Breakker’s ascent to the top rope was intercepted by Rollins, who hit the superplex and Falcon Arrow on the rollthrough. Again, Breakker managed to kick out. Rollins hit Breakker with the superkick. The Curb Stomp, but Breakker got him with the pop-up Spear. Rollins rolled out of the ring as Breakker confronted him and placed him on the announce table. Breakker looked for a Spear from the Italian announce table, but Rollins reversed it into a Pedigree through the English commentary table.

Rollins hit another Pedigree on Breakker but that still wasn’t enough to put Breakker away. Rollins again had Breakker in position for the Stomp, but Austin Theory tried to interfere. He got sent over the top rope as Breakker missed with the Spear. The Stomp from Rollins, no, as Theory got him with the Tag Team Title belt. Montez Ford ran in and leapt over the turnbuckle to take out Theory, but a Spear from Breakker.

In the ring, Breakker got Rollins iwth the Spear, but that wasn’t enough as Rollins kicked out. Rollins with the Stomp, but Paul Heyman put the foot of Breakker on the bottom rope’s. Heyman kept taunting Rollins, which got the Vision’s former leader’s attention. Rollins got in Heyman’s face as Breakker looked to hit Rollins with the “Super” Spear. Rollins got out of the way, which caused him to hit Heyman with the Spear instead. Meanwhile, Rollins had the World Tag Titles around his waist, which worked out in his favour as it acted as a shield when Breakker got him with the Spear, which would make Bret Hart proud. One final Stomp, and Rollins got the win here.

Post-match, Rollins took note of Montez Ford at ringside and seemed to show appreciation for his assistance as he celebrated the win to end Raw, as commentary tossed to the Noche de los Grandes Mask vs. Mask match encore.

Seth Rollins def. Bron Breakker via pinfall

************

I was surprised by how much this main event entertained me. The closing moments actually worked out well and Rollins pulling a page out of Bret Hart’s playbook to counteract Breakker’s stomp was well done. The two fatal four-way matches were also enjoyable, too.

This was an alright edition of Raw, but the Bloodline stuff being reruns from 2023 with a lot more “aura farming” is just not compelling in 2026, and it highlights a major weakness of Triple H’s booking approach. Yesterday, he claimed that the WWE landscape had changed post-Clash in Italy. The problem with that statement is that the landscape that changed certainly wasn’t for the better, and the reheated leftovers of the Bloodline certainly won’t be moving the needle as it did three years ago.

WOR: Clash in Italy, AAA mask vs. mask, CMLL vs. WWE, tons more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the AAA mask vs. mask show, WWE Clash in Italy, tons of AAA and CMLL news notes, Best of the Super Juniors, the Collision report, all the weekend news and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: The Americano mask vs. mask match from AAA Noche de los Grandes
8:35: WWE announces tour same weekend as CMLL Anniversario show, Octagon Jr. injury update
14:33: The rest of AAA Noche de los Grandes night one, CMLL notes
23:36: WWE Clash in Italy recap, King & Queen of the Ring tournament brackets
48:58: When exactly SmackDown moves back to 2 hours, NJPW Best of the Super Juniors update, Holly Holm controversial boxing decision loss
55:46: AEW Collision recap

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B&V: WWE Clash in Italy, plus thoughts on Grande vs. Grande

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about including a few thoughts on the Grande vs. Grande mask vs. mask match from AAA this weekend, an absolutely incredible must-see, and a show that suffered by having to follow it, WWE Clash in Italy which ended with some lame-ass finishes apparently designed to build towards Saudi. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WWE Clash in Italy live results: Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu, Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther

Posted on by Joseph Collins

WWE presents its first-ever PLE in Italy today.

WWE Clash in Italy will take place at the Inalpi Arena in Turin on Sunday. Five matches are scheduled for the show.

Roman Reigns will defend not only his World Heavyweight Championship, but also his spot as Tribal Chief against Jacob Fatu in a Tribal Combat match. Cody Rhodes will put the WWE Championship on the line against Gunther. We will also see a rematch between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi on today’s show.

The WWE Women’s Championship will be on the line as Rhea Ripley defends against Jade Cargill, and the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship will also be on the line as Becky Lynch defends against Sol Ruca.

  • World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu in a Tribal Combat match
  • WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther
  • Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Jade Cargill
  • WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sol Ruca

Our live coverage kicks off at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Pre-Show.

Hosted by: Joe Tessitore, Big E, Peter Rosenberg & Corey Graves.

I’ll briefly run down any new news from the preshow if it occurs. They brought Sol Ruca out for an interview with the preshow panel. They had a prerecorded interview with Cody Rhodes where it felt like they talked more about Randy Orton than Gunther. Jacob Fatu also cut a promo from backstage. The crowd outside was suitably hyped for the event.

Liv Morgan replaced Graves on the panel and the crowd was nuts for her. She lent her expert opinion to Oba Femi v. Brock Lesnar. 

Je’Von Evans hyped up the live crowd in the arena. Tessitore & Big E joined him in the arena to run down the Rhea Ripley/Jade Cargill match. 

In the second half of the prerecorded interview with Cody, he was dismissive of Gunther beating John Cena and AJ Styles at the end of their career. However, he admitted concern about facing what may be the best version of Gunther yet.

Clash in Italy, Main Show.

Live! from Turin, Italy.

Michael Cole & Corey Graves were on commentary.

Gunther v. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship

Gunther is a two-time “World” champion, but this is his first time wrestling for the WWE Undisputed Championship. The crowd serenaded Gunther down to the ring, which was kind of impressive since his theme doesn’t have any lyrics. They also sang Cody down to the ring.  Cody was wearing the same gold mask he wore at WrestleMania this year. 

The crowd was going nuts for everything. 

Gunther landed the first real blows of the match with a pair of chops. Rhodes sprang off the ropes for his Cody Cutter, but Gunther cut that off with another chop. Gunther avoided the powerslam. Gunther nearly got the sleeper very early, but Rhodes escaped with a nice counter. Gunther then put Cody down with a solid boot. The pace was deliberate and entirely in Gunther’s favor. 

Rhodes finally got things going with his speed and caught Gunther with a powerslam. Quick jabs and a bionic elbow followed. Rhodes then hit a Pedigree for a near fall. 

Gunther came back and hit a thunderous powerbomb for a near fall. Gunther went for a splash off the top, but Rhodes got his knees up. Rhodes followed up with a Disaster Kick and hit the Cross Rhodes for a near fall. 

Rhodes went off the top for the Cody Cutter, but Gunther stepped back and locked in a sleeper. Rhodes escaped briefly, but Gunther locked it in again. Rhodes got back to his feet and feel back to break the hold… but Gunther locked the sleeper in again, and cinched in a body scissors as well. Cody finally escaped by getting his foot on the rope. 

Gunther toyed with Cody, who fired back. Gunther and Cody exchanged chops in the ring. Gunther and Cody then exchanged clotheslines. Cody finally hit the Cody Cutter, then floored Gunther with a clothesline. Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes a second time, and got the pinfall. 

But not without controversy! 

On replay, you could see that Gunther’s foot was under the bottom rope at the start of the pinfall, so the referee shouldn’t have counted. He did anyway, and at two Cody pulled back on Gunther’s other leg, causing Gunther’s foot to hit the rope. 

Match Result: Cody retained the WWE Undisputed Championship via pinfall over Gunther (11:35). 

This was very good and I wanted more than 12 minutes of it. But the controversy clearly set up another match down the line.

Jade Cargill v. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s Championship 

Ripley was crazy over, and Cargill was the first performer of the night that the crowd wasn’t going absolutely crazy for. Ripley’s grandparents were from Italy and immigrated to Australia. 

They did one of the longest collar and elbow tie-ups to start that I’ve ever seen. Cargill got the advantage with a knee to the gut and a slam. Cargill taunted Ripley by doing some push-ups, and Ripley responded with a hard slap. Ripley sent Cargill to the floor. 

On the floor, Ripley went for a cannonball. Cargill caught her and slammed Ripley on the ring apron. She bounced Ripley off the ropes on the floor, then smacked her with a knee. Cargill continued her dominance on the floor with a fallaway slam. 

Back in the ring, Ripley tried to come back with some chops, but Cargill continued to stomp away. Cargill whipped Ripley into the turnbuckles hard, then did some more push-ups. Cargill got a near fall after a snap suplex. Cargill pulled Ripley up just to knock her down with an uppercut. 

Cargill got another suplex and another near fall, then slapped on a chinlock. Ripley tried to fight out with punches, but Cargill responded by yanking her down by the hair. Ripley avoided an elbow drop. Cargill charged at Ripley in the corner, but Ripley got out of the way and Cargill hit the post with her shoulder. 

Ripley started to rally with short-arm clotheslines. She dumped her to the mat with a face first back suplex, then followed up with a German suplex. Cargill ducked to the floor, and Ripley followed her out with a cannonball. 

Back in the ring, Cargill hit a dropkick off the top rope for a near fall. Ripley tried for a Razor’s Edge, but Cargill backdropped her way out of it. Ripley caught Cargill with a boot and both women were down. 

Cargill and Ripley exchanged “Boo!/Yay!” punches. Ripley escaped the Jaded and hit a headbutt. Ripley hit a modified Razor’s Edge and then a running knee for a near fall.  Ripley got Cargill up in an electric chair. Cargill flipped them over the ropes, but Ripley held on and then set Cargill face-first into the ring apron. Back in the ring, Ripley got a near fall. 

Ripley went for the Riptide again. Cargill escaped and went for the Jaded, but Ripley escaped that, and Cargill countered the counter with a DDT and got a near fall. Ripley escaped a back suplex, but Cargill caught her with a Blue Thunder Bomb for another near fall. 

Ripley tried to come off the top, but Ripley cut her off. Ripley delivered a backdrop superplex for another near fall. 

B-Fab and Michin came to ringside. Cargill hit a pump kick, but Ripley escaped another Jaded and caught Cargill with a double stomp. Cargill hit the Riptide. B-Fab was supposed to get Cargill’s foot on the ropes and barely did, but the ref saw the interference. Ripley dropped to the floor to deal with B-Fab and Michin, but Charlotte Flair came off the ring barricade with a crossbody to take care of B-Fab and Michin. 

Cargill hit the Jaded near the ropes, and Flair put Ripley’s foot on the ropes to break up that cover. Ripley then hit another Riptide and got the pinfall. 

Match Result: Rhea Ripley retained by pinfall over Jade Cargill (16:54). 

Two finishes in a row involving getting the foot on the ropes? 

— Various Italian celebrities were shown around ringside. Also Michael Cole outed Corey Graves as a Bollywood movie star in some kind of inside joke that went over my head. 

Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) v. Oba Femi

The crowd sang Lesnar down to the ring. Lesnar’s theme is another theme that doesn’t have lyrics. This was Lesnar’s first match in Europe since 2002! The crowd was also nuts for Oba Femi’s entrance as well. Paul Heyman even got big babyface heat for taking the microphone from Alicia Taylor. 

Brock jumped Oba before the bell and hit an F5. Lesnar then hit a second F5. Oba was slow to recover and then ate a third F5. Lesnar hit a fourth F5 and went for the cover, but Oba kicked out at 2. 

Heyman called for the Kimura, and Brock locked it in. Femi spent some time in the hold, but eventually powered up, and then escaped by driving Lesnar down with a spinebuster. 

Lesnar tried for the Kimura again, but Femi escaped by driving Lesnar into the turnbuckles. Femi went for a choke slam, but Lesnar escaped and hit a fifth F5… but Femi kicked out at two again! 

Lesnar went fore the F5 again, but Femi escaped and caught Lesnar with a chokeslam for two. Femi hit a clothesline that sent both Lesnar and Femi to the floor. 

On the floor, Lesnar whipped Femi into the ringpost. He went for the Kimura again, but Femi escaped. Lesnar then put Femi through the commentary table with the sixth(!!!) F5 of the match. Lesnar got in the ring and referee Chad Patton started to count. 

At seven, Femi popped up and walked right back into the ring. Lesnar was slumped over in the corner and couldn’t believe it. Femi came at Brock with a series of back elbows,  and tossed him to the mat. Femi went for the pop-up powerbomb, but Brock escaped, hit a seventh F5, and got the pinfall. 

Match Result: Brock Lesnar pinned Oba Femi (6:21). 

WWE: we put the “E” in “fifty/fifty booking.” 

Yeah, I know there’s no E in there. 

— Guilia, The Vision, and Santino Marella were shown in the crowd. 

— A fantastic comic-book themed recap of the El Grande Americano v. El Grande Americano feud (from the AAA side only) was shown. It was so good I may go watch that show after this one.

Sol Ruca v. Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship 

I think there’s a lot of pressure on Ruca to deliver in this one, and it was on her face as she walked to the ring. Or maybe she’s just that good at selling. Of course, Jessica Karr is the referee for this match. 

Ruca planted Lynch to the mat face first. Ruca then sent Lynch into the middle turnbuckle face first, then hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Lynch sent Ruca to the floor with a clothesline. Ruca hit Lynch with a moonsault off the top rope to the floor. 

Ruca tossed Lynch back into the ring for a near fall. Ruca caught Lynch with a sunset flip out of the corner for a near fall. Ruca tried for a springboard off the ropes, but Lynch tripped her up. Lynch and Ruca exchanged punches, and then Ruca helpfully dived to the floor when Lynch pulled down the top rope. 

On the floor, Lynch tossed Ruca into the barricade. Back in the ring, Lynch came off the top with a legdrop for a near fall. Lynch and Ruca exchanged uppercuts. Lynch caught Ruca with a spin kick to the gut. Ruca came back with a spinning back elbow. Ruca hit a release German suplex, then came off the middle ropes with a shotgun dropkick. 

Ruca got a near fall off a running knee. Lynch rolled out of the ring to regroup. Ruca set up for a dive, but Lynch got back in the ring. Ruca hit a dropkick and then went for the Sol Snatcher, but Lynch countered into an armbar. Ruca countered that and got an STF, but Lynch escaped that and went to the Dis-arm-her. 

Karr had to duck out of the ring to avoid Lynch and Ruca charging at her, and Lynch went for a roll-up. Karr was late to make the count, so it only got two. Lynch complained, and Ruca took advantage with a dropkick. 

Lynch and Ruca fought in  the corner. Lynch set up for a superplex, but Ruca escaped with a headbutt, then yanked Lynch to the mat with a top rope X-Factor for a near fall. Ruca went to the top, but Lynch grabbed Karr. Karr yanked away and went into the ropes, which caused Ruca to crotch herself. Lynch hit a superpex and then went for a DDT, but Ruca blocked that with a handspring and hit a dropkick on Lynch. 

Lynch rolled to the floor and Ruca kipped up. Ruca hit a Flying Space Tiger Drop (barely) and tossed Lynch back into the ring. Ruca came in with a springboard and dove right into a Manhandle Slam. Lynch got a near fall. 

Lynch went for a Sol Snatcher (seriously?) and Ruca caught Lynch with a Manhandle Slam for a near fall. Ruca tried for for a Sol Snatcher, but wound up in a fireman’s carry. Ruca escaped with a sunset flip. Lynch went for another Manhandle Slam, but Ruca jumped onto the middle turnbuckle and came off with a Sol Snatcher and we have our first new champion of the night! 

Match Result: Sol Ruca pinned Becky Lynch to become the NEW! Women’s Intercontinental Champion (14:00). 

Is this tension between Karr and Lynch ever going to pay off with a match? 

— Iso Sky, Je-Von Evans, Lyra Valkyria and Ethan Page were shown in the crown. 

— The brackets for the King and Queen of the Ring will be unveiled on the Clash in Italy post-show. So that’s something to stay tuned in for. 

Jacob Fatu v. Roman Reigns in “Tribal Combat” for the World Heavyweight Championship

This match is no count-outs, no disqualifications, and the first pinfall or submission wins the match. The winner becomes the head of the family as well as the World Champion. And the loser must acknowledge the winner as his Tribal Chief. 

The referee held up the Ula Fala at the start of the match. Because that’s what’s really important. (Actually, the Ula Fala has been around longer than Roman’s world title so maybe I should keep that snarky comment to myself.) 

There was at least 90 seconds of walking around before they touched. Roman went to a side headlock, but Fatu reversed into one of his own. Fatu sent Roman down with a clothesline. Roman came back and floored Fatu with a clothesline. 

Fatu hit Roman with a spinning elbow. He went for the Tongan Death Grip, but Roman escaped. Fatu followed him out with a tope while Cole and Graves on commentary acknowledged (and then buried) the rumors that Fatu was injured. 

Fatu and Reigns brawled through the arena into the crowd. They started to fight up the stairs (which are notably wider than any stairs I’ve ever seen in an American arena). Fatu sent Roman headfirst into the handrail of the stairs. Fatu rammed Roman’s head into a chair. They brawled to a concession stand that had to be set up for them to brawl around. Roman threw some of the food (it looked like boxed Goldfish crackers) into the crowd. 

They brawled their way back to the ringside area. The crowd chanted “we want tables!” Fatu started looking for tables under the ring, which allowed Roman to come back and punch Fatu down. Roman then went to pull a table from under the ring. Fatu came back and tried to set up the table. Roman hit him with a boot, then slid the table into the ring, then turned around into another attack from Fatu. 

So basically, every time one of them went for the table, it was an opening for the other to come back and hit a move. 

The stairs also wound up in the ring (I think courtesy of Fatu). Fatu tried to get back in the ring with Roman, but Roman knocked him to the floor. Roman then threw the stairs at Fatu. Roman stalked Fatu around ringside and hit him with a Drive By, sending the back of Fatu’s head into the ringpost. 

Back in the ring, Roman hit a pair of flying clotheslines. Roman backed Fatu in the corner and laid into him with more clotheslines. Roman booted Fatu to the mat. Fatu ducked a Superman Punch and floored Roman with a clothesline. Fatu dropped on Roman with a senton. 

Fatu splashed Roman in the corner, then headbutted him in the corner dieci (10) times. Fatu hit a hip attack in the corner. Fatu went for a pop-up Samoan Drop, but Roman countered with a Superman Punch for two. 

Roman went for the spear, but Fatu caught him with the Tongan Death Grip. Roman tried to fight out of it, but Fatu sent him to the floor. Fatu went for a dive out of the ring, but Roman caught him with a Superman Punch, and both guys were down and out on the floor. 

You know, I guess the Italian crowd should be behind Reigns, since he’s Roman. (I can’t believe it took me 16 minutes to come up with that one). 

Roman found a toolbox under the ring. Reigns smashed Fatu’s right hand with the toolbox, and now the Tongan Death Grip will no longer be a factor. To make sure, he smashed the toolbox against Fatu’s hand, while Fatu was holding onto the stairs for some reason. 

Roman set up a table in the corner. He went to spear Fatu through the table, but Fatu cut that off and hit him with another hip attack. Reigns dropped to the floor. Fatu charged at Reigns for a spear, but Reigns cut him off with a Superman Punch. 

Reigns then speared Fatu through the barricade and crushed two dudes who were standing behind the barricade. One of them was either selling great or had seriously injured his shoulder. Back in the ring, Reigns hit Fatu with a spear and got a near fall. 

Reigns started talking trash to Fatu about how he didn’t need anyone’s help to win matches, and started yanking the turnbuckles off the top ropes. Fatu tried for the Tongan Death Grip, but his hand was too messed up. Reigns hit a pair of Superman Punches, but Fatu shook them off. Reigns sent Fatu headfirst into the exposed buckles, but Fatu hit Reigns with a spear for a near fall. 

Fatu went for the Best Moonsault Ever, but Reigns got out of the way. Reigns tried for a spear, but Fatu caught him with a pop-up Samoan Drop, then hit the Best Moonsault Ever. Fatu went for the cover, but Roman kicked out at two, while giving Fatu a low blow at the same time. 

Roman and Fatu exchanged punches. Fatu locked in the Tongan Death Grip, but Reigns broke free. Reigns sent Fatu headfirst into the hook holding the ropes together a good 8-10 times, then speared him through the table. And Fatu made it to his feet before Roman did. Roman ran the ropes and hit a final spear to finally finish off his cousin. 

Match Result: Roman Reigns defeated Jacob Fatu to retain the World Title, keep the Ula Fala, and remain Head of the Table, pinning him following a spear (27:11). 

This was every bit of a great WWE main event match.

Tomorrow night on Raw, Jacob Fatu must acknowledge Roman Reigns and “serve him, work for him and love him.” Fatu must acknowledge Roman as his Tribal Chief.

After the match, The Usos came out to present Reigns with the Ula Fala. But then also shown watching from the crowd at the end of the show was Solo Sikoa and the Tongans. The Usos called Fatu to leave with him, but Fatu stayed behind and had stare down with Sikoa. Jey Uso finally got his attention and Fatu left (several steps behind) his Tribal Chief.

Just as the show was going off the air, you could hearing Reigns calling out “QB1.”

In the post-show, Roman cut a promo about how he was “trying to do things the right way” while acknowledging the chatter of guys like LA Knight and Royce Keyes as his next potential challengers. Jacob Fatu was staring daggers through Roman in the background.

Final Thoughts:

They were promising a WrestleMania level show. This wasn’t that, but it was fine. It felt like a blowaway show thanks to the amazing crowd that was into almost everything. Cody/Gunther is fine and Roman/Fatu was great. Brock/Oba was explosive, but Brock’s win was predictable and now I’m not sure if Oba Femi is going to be as special as he was. If you like the Samoan family drama, more of that is coming.

AAA Noches de Los Grandes live results: El Grande Americano vs. The Original Mask vs. Mask

Posted on by Jeff Moss

AAA presents Noche de los Grandes tonight at Arena Monterrey.

The two-week event will start with a live episode tonight.

Scheduled to air on this week’s episode is the mask vs. mask match between El Grande Americano, aka the Ludwig Kaiser version, against the original El Grande Americano, aka Chad Gable.

Also scheduled to air this week is the AAA Latin American title match, with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. defending against El Hijo del Vikingo.

The AAA World Cruiserweight Championship match, with Laredo Kid defending against Rey Fenix, will also air live tonight.

One other match scheduled for the live portion of AAA Noche de los Grandes is Pagano and Psycho Clown defending the AAA Tag Team titles against Erik and Ivar, The War Raiders. The storyline heading into this bout is the distrust that has grown between Pagano and Psycho Clown as a result of the attacks on other members of Psycho Circus.

Our live coverage kicks off at 10 p.m. Eastern.

****************

Noche de los Grandes night one is here and it is packed from open to close with big matches! Tag Titles on the line! Latin American Title on the line! Cruiserweight Title on the line! Plus what could be the final brutal battle in the Americano Civil War! There’s no more time to waste, let’s do this thing!

AAA World Cruiserweight Championship Match: Laredo Kid (c) vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix and Laredo have had a couple of really good matches in the last few weeks, but for some reason Laredo always ends up very rude and grumpy. He resorted to nefarious means and low blows last week to steal a win, so new GM Rey Mysterio made this match to make things right.

Fenix exploded off the bell with a series of dropkicks and went right to the Mexican muscle buster. Laredo was able to get out of that, but Fenix kept the pressure up until Laredo was able to find space for a powerbomb.

Laredo hit a sling blade into a Michinoku driver, but Fenix kicked out of the cover. Laredo started stomping his back and twisting his leg, trying to take away Fenix’s ability to got up top. He locked Fenix in a Texas Cloverleaf, but Fenix grabbed a rope to break the hold.

Laredo took the pad off the turnbuckle (Rey Mysterio said that doing something about it “wasn’t his job” which is great for a GM), but then took Fenix to the other corner and put him in a Cloverleaf around the top and middle ropes!

Laredo threw Fenix off and thens stomped Fenix’s back out of a crab hold. Fenix exploded up with a series of lariats. Fenix hit a splash from the top rope and went back up top for a crossbody frog splash. Fenix then put Laredo in an arm bar until he was able to shimmy over and grab the ropes.

The two traded shots in the middle of the ring until Laredo hit a DDT. Fenix blocked it though and came back with a spin kick and a destroyer DDT. Laredo went for another low blow out of desperation, but Fenix blocked it and hit a rolling cutter. Laredo kicked out of the cover at two.

Fenix hit a picture perfect superkick and then went for the Mexican Muscle Buster but Laredo countered by mocking Penta. That enraged Fenix who managed to pull him in and finally execute the Mexican Muscle Buster. Somehow, Laredo kicked out at two.

Fenix indicated he wanted to use the exposed turnbuckle and when the ref turned to look, Laredo kicked Fenix in the junk. Laredo hit a frog splash, but Fenix kicked out of the cover. Laredo charged and Fenix sent him into the exposed turnbuckle.

Fenix then hit another Mexican Msucle Buster and made the pin to end Laredo Kid’s 500+ day reign and become the new AAA Cruiserweight Champion!

Match Result: Rey Fenix defeated Laredo Kid

After the match, Fenix went into the crowd and celebrated with his family.

AAA Latin American Championship Match: El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. (c) vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Vikingo has been on a depressing roll lately, failing to regain the AAA Mega Championship from Dominick Mysterio and failing to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Penta. He even took a loss to his former protégé, Mini Vikingo. Tonight he takes a swing at the Latin American Championship which has been held by Wagner for 285+ days.

Wagner was in the air with a dropkick as the bell rang and followed that up with a powerslam. Vikingo kicked out of the pin, so Wagner hit him with a senton. Vikingo escaped to the outside and Wagner dove at him, but Vikingo moved and laid a dropkick into Wagner’s knee.

Vikingo then wrapped Wagner’s legs around the ringpost and double stomped him to the floor. He threw Wagner back in the ring and went for a cover, but Wagner kicked out at two. Vikingo sent the writhing Wagner to the floor with a baseball slide followed by a standing Shooting Star Press.

Back in the ring, Wagner started a comeback with a superkick and a cannonball in the corner. He hit a diving splash from the top rope, but Vikingo kicked out. Vikingo hit a perfect crucifix driver and Wagner crumpled to the mat.

That brought out Vikingo’s friend Omos who stomped down to the ring and pulled Wagner off the top rope while Dorian Roldan caused a distraction. Vikingo hit a 450 splash, but Wagner managed to kick out.

Galeno then ran down and Omos cut him in half and threw him over the barricades. Galeno came back with a chair though and beat Omos with it until he collapsed at ringside. Vikingo then took out Galeno, but while the ref was dealing with it Mini Vikingo hit a dropkick on Vikingo in the ring! Wagner went for a cover, but Vikingo wouldn’t stay down.

Omos fought off Galeno and laid a giant right hand onto Wagner. Vikingo hit a 630 and made the cover to win the match and the Latin American Championship!

Match Result: El Hijo del Vikingo defeated El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.

Again, GM Rey Mysterio did nothing. I’m starting to side with Dominick. Maybe he is a deadbeat…

AAA World Tag Team Championship Match: Pagano & Psycho Clown (c) vs. War Raiders

I could write about 75 paragraphs on what’s been going on with the Clowns, but heres the gist: Someone has taken out Panic Clown, Murder Clown and Dave The Clown. Psycho Clown suspects that it was Pagano behind it all, but Pagano denies this. Now they must come together to fend off the War Raiders, reincarnated vikings and beard enthusiasts. I love wrestling.

The Raiders tried to jump the Clowns off the bell, but Pagano and Psycho saw it coming and countered it Pagano and Psycho sent Ivar out and Erik and Psycho fought in the ring. Erik sent him to the outside and Ivar squashed him. Throwing him back into the ring, Ivar went for the cover, but Psycho kicked out.

Erik tagged in and took the fight to Psycho. Ivar tagged in and continued the beat down until Psycho came out of the corner with a clothesline. Pagano and Erik got tags and Pagano hit a back elbow. Pagano hit a second rope code breaker and went to the outside to nail Ivar with a tornado DDT.

Pagano got back into the ring and hit a side slam for a two count on Erik. Tags were made and Psycho and Ivar took up the fight. Psycho stagged Erik and took out Ivar with a suicide dive. He hit a code red on Erik, but could only get a two count.

Psycho hit a Psycho Driver and Pagano dropped a leg from the top rope. Psycho followed that up with a frog splash, but Erik broke up the pin.

Pagano took out Erik on the outside and then sent a kick towards Ivar that sent him careening into Psycho. Ivar sent Pagaono to the outside and the War Raiders hit a DTM. Ivar then pinned Psycho before Pagano could get back into the ring, becoming the new AAA Tag Team Champions.

Match Result: War Raiders defeated Pagano & Psycho Clown

After the match, Psycho was furious at Pagano and a shoving match ensued. They yelled and screamed until Pagano turned his back on Psycho and walked away. The War Raiders took advantage and attacked Psycho. Pagano went back and forth before decided to walk out on Psycho and leave him at the mercy of the War Raiders. They beat him up some more and then posed with their new belts.

Before the Main Event, GM Rey Mysterio left the commentary desk, ran to the back, came out to his music, and then a video package about the Americanos played.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mask Vs Mask Match: “The Real” El Grande Americano vs. “The Original” El Grande Americano

Before we even get into the match, just for clairification, I’ll be referring to the Chad Gable Americano as “OG” and the Ludwig Kaiser Americano as “Real.” Just so everyone knows who is who.

There isn’t enough time to get into how we got here, but know this: The Americano Civil War has been going on since the Royal Rumble when OG appeared and laid claim to the Americano name. Real had been growing a massive following in Mexico and the two fought each other through Rey De Reyes (which Real won) and beyond in all kinds of matches and situations. Tonight’s Mask-Vs-Mask match will give the winner the sole right to the name, legacy and mask of El Grande Americano.

I don’t know if the winner also gets Los Americanos and the Creed Brothers. That may be for the lawyers to sort out.

After Wrestlemania-length entrances and introductions, the match was on and OG started it off by laying out Real with a loaded guitar shot! He smashed it over his head as the bell rang then stomped Real in the corner, choking him on the bottom rope.

In case it was apparent, the match was no DQ.

OG chased Real around the ring, punching and kicking until Real started firing back and it bacame a slugfest. Real got OG up in a staaaaallllling suplex as Rey Mysterio rejoined commentary.

OG set up Real on the apron and went to spear him, but Real moved and OG ran into the ring post. Real dropkicked OG, but OG came back and bounced his head off the ringpost. Real recovered and hit a death valley driver on the concrete floor.

Real went under the ring and pulled out a table. A very small table for some reason. As he was setting it up, OG rushed him and sent him into the steel ring steps face first repeatedly.

Back in the ring, OG went for the cover but Real kicked out. OG started trying to rip the mask off of Real, tearing at it and pulling on the eyes. Real fought back and hit a side slam through the table, though it looked like he took the brunt of the impact becasue the table was so strangely small.

Real went for a spin kick, but OG caught him and put on an ankle lock. OG dumped Real with a German suplex and grabbed a piece of the broken table. He smashed it over Real’s head and then picked up one of the chairs from the commentary desk, throwing it at him repeatedly.

OG suplexed Real on the outside before depositing him on the announce table. Real rolled off and underneath, so OG retrieved him and sent him back into the ring for some stiff right hands, busting Real open.

Real started swinging wildly until OG hit him with a suplex. He then set Real up on the top turnbuckle and dropped him with a belly-to back suplex from the top rope. OG went back to punchingm but Real started to power up. He no-sold some shots then started throwing his own.

Real hit a blockbuster from the top rope, but OG wasn’t staying down. Real chopped him in the corner and began treaing at OG’s mask, ripping it down the side. OG threw a back elbow that sent Real to the outside. OG went after him, but Real saw it coming and dropped him face first on the steel steps.

Real then dropkicked OG’s head into the steps and threw him back into the ring. He hit a running knee and some punches, trying to pull OG’s mask off, busting him open in the process.

Real went to the outside and started throwing chairs into the ring. He set one up in the corner ropes, but that gave OG enough time to recover and hit him with a German suplex. They both got to their feet with chairs. OG whiffed on his shot, but Real connected on his.

That brought out the Creed Brothers to drag Real from the ring and slam him onto the announce table, twice. They threw him back into the ring and OG hit a diving headbutt. Somehow though, Real kicked out of the cover.

Rayo and Bravo then ran down to even the odds and take out the Creed Brothers. They fought up the ramp and to the back, with Bravo diving from the crowd balcony onto both brothers.

A bloodied OG staggered out of the ring and started picking on the Blind Comedian he had beat up a few weeks ago. Real came diving in to make the save and threw OG back in the ring. OG hit a rolling Liger kick and then suddenly, a Mariachi player took out OG with a guitar shot!

The assailant pulled their mask off to reveal Pimipinella Escarlata!

Real went under the ring and pulled out a legnth of bull rope which he then went to whip OG with. OG managed to sneak in a low blow though and turned the tables, whipping Real with the rope. He started choking Real with it and slammed his head into a chair, but Real still kicked out.

Suddenly, Real’s girlfriend arrived after AAA was forced to fire her at OG’s request. OG started stalking towards her. Real flew in and beat him mercilessly with the rope. OG escaped back into the ring but Real followed and DDT’d him onto the chair. OG wouldn’t go down though and kicked out at two.

They started trading shots in the middle of the ring, back and forth until OG managed a back body drop in the corner followed by a moonsault. Real kicked out at 2.5.

OG wrapped Real’s leg around the ring post and hit it repeatedly with a chair. He then put an ankle lock on Real who managed to counter it into la caveranria! He pulled back, but OG reversed it into another ankle lock, grapevined this time.

Real managed to work his way out and suplex OG. He went to charge him but Real’s ankle gave out. OG dropped the straps and hit a Chaos Theory suplex for a two count. The two men stared at each other with hatred in their eyes as they struggled to their feet.

OG charged, but Real sent him into the ringpost. Real then went off the ropes and hit OG with a running headbutt. He quickly made the pin and 1-2-3 won the match!

Match Result: “The Real” El Grande Americano defeated “The Original” El Grande Americano

After the match, Pimpinela embraced the one, true and only El Grande Americano. The mat was filled with blood and debris from the absolute war that these two went through. OG was called to the middle of the ring and addressed the crowd.

He said that he put on the mask to defeat all the luchadores he hated. he learned everything there was to learn about Lucha Libra, Mexico and the Mexican culture. He said that he is man enough to admit that he could not overcome the Mexican spirit.

He said that he will always be the Original El Grande Americano, but tonight and from now on, Real is the only El Grande Americano.

With that, OG, with his family in the ring, pulled off his mask to reveal a bloodied Chad Gable.

Gable explained who he was and what he’s accomplished in wrestling and introduced his family. He said that he doesn’t know when or how, but Chad Gable will be back in AAA one day!

Gable handed his bloody mask to El Grande Americano and left the ring, ending probably the match and feud of the year as Night One of Noche de los Grandes came to an end with El Grande Americano celebrating in the ring, then walking up the ramp to the back, still clutching OG’s mask.

AEW Collision live results: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Daniel Garcia

Posted on by Marc Quill

AEW Collision is live tonight from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Two title matches are scheduled for the show.

Konosuke Takeshita will defend his AEW International Championship against Daniel Garcia of the Death Riders.

Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Orange Cassidy of The Conglomeration will defend the AEW World Trios titles against Trent, Rocky Romero, and Lance Archer of the Don Callis Family.

In a five-minute tag team championship eliminator match, Lena Kross and Megan Bayne, Divine Dominion, will wrestle Anna Jay and Tay Melo. If TayJay can last the five-minute time limit, they will earn a future title shot.

The Infantry will wrestle Jon Moxley and Pac of the Death Riders.

Hazuki will wrestle Maya World, with Persephone on commentary for the bout.

Austin and Colton Gunn will wrestle David Finlay and Clark Connors.

ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty of Shane Taylor Promotions will also be in action on the show.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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– We got right into things as Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness welcomed us to tonight’s live edition of Collision. Tommaso Ciampa made his way down to the ring, here to join Nigel and Tony on commentary. As Ciampa walked down, we went backstage to the Conglomeration with Konosuke Takeshita.

– Takeshita thanked the Conglomeration for having his back as he promised that things between him and the Don Callis Family were far from done. Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, and Kyle O’Reilly headed out for our opening match, but not before O.C. handed Takeshita his own JanSport bag for his AEW International Championship.

AEW World Trios Championship: The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong) vs. The Don Callis Family (Rocky Romero, Lance Archer, Trent Beretta)

Strong kicked it off as he hit consecutive backbreakers on Beretta as Cassidy tagged in and faced off with Romero. O’Reilly stepped in as he and Strong showed some undisputed teamwork against Romero. Cassidy then leapt off the top rope for a “dangerous” elbow on a prone Romero. Cassidy tried to stick his hands in his pockets, but Romero stopped him and then took down Cassidy with a hurricanrana. Romero then took time to do his Azucar taunt to the camera as Cassidy finally put the hands in the pocket. No-hands armdrag by Cassidy, followed by the dropkick on Romero. O.C. then mocked Romero’s taunt as Beretta tagged in and punched away at Cassidy.

With Cassidy isolated in the D.C.F. corner, Romero tagged in and hit the running lariat on a stunned O.C. Archer tried to get a hold of Cassidy, but Romero hit his partner by accident thanks to a well-timed dodge. Cassidy ran around the ring and avoided Archer as O’Reilly got the tag. O’Reilly used his fast strikes to ground Archer as he sent him over the top rope. The goozle by Archer, but O’Reilly swept his legs to get away from the grip of the Murderhawk Monster. O’Reilly hit Archer with a knee from the apron, but a shoulder tackle by the massive Archer took him down. Chokeslam on the apron to Cassidy by Archer, followed a grab of Strong as he tossed him into the barricade. This was our cue to step aside for the break.

We returned from commercial as O’Reilly took down Romero and Beretta, which allowed for Strong to get the tag. The Messiah of the Backbreaker was on fire as he took it to Romero and Beretta with backbreakers. He then grabbed Cassidy and used him as a battering ram on Romero, as well as helping hit a very unique assisted DDT on Archer for the near-fall. Running crossbody by a recovered Archer allowed the tag to Romero. Beretta used himself as a distraction to allow Romero to flatten Cassidy with a DDT. Beretta then got Cassidy with a running dropkick. He then picked up Cassidy for the Gotch-styled piledriver. One, two…. O’Reilly made the save to break the count. Beretta picked up Cassidy and gave him a mocking hug, but a back bodydrop was the Freshly Squeezed One’s response. This led to Strong tagging in as he had Beretta on his shoulders. With Archer locked in a rope submission by O’Reilly, Cassidy stepped on Beretta to hit a diving elbow on a downed Romero for the three.

The Conglomeration def. The Don Callis Family via pinfall to retain the AEW World Trios Titles

This was a terrific opener. Every time I get to see the Cassidy/O’Reilly/Strong trio in action, I’m never disappointed with them in action. Tonight was no exception to that rule.

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AEW Women’s World Tag Title Eliminator: Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) vs. TayJay (Tay Melo & Anna Jay)

This match had a five minute time limit, as was the case with the Divine Dominion’s recent matches. If TayJay was able to last the whole five minutes, they’d get a future AEW Women’s World Tag Title shot.

We got underway with TayJay going right after both Kross and Bayne, using their speed to cause a bit of friendly fire. Their attempt at stereo running attacks were foiled by the Divine Dominion, who dropped Tay and Jay with double fallaway slams. Kross kept Anna Jay isolated in the corner with shoulder thrusts to the ribs, as Bayne followed suit. The double underhook suplex by Bayne was followed by the basement clothesline by Kross on Jay. Bayne tagged in but, Jay battled her way out of the Divine Dominion’s corner. Bayne sent Tay crashing to the outside to prevent a tag as Jay nearly got the win with a rollup at 2:25.

The match still continued as Jay sent Bayne out of the ring and kicked Kross, which allowed Tay Melo to tag in. Tay sent Bayne out again as she teed off on Kross with running pump kicks as the clocked reach under 1:30 to go. Kross was hit with a superkick from Jay, followed by the blockbuster and a double DDT from TayJay. One, two… Bayne broke up the count with under a minute to go.

Jay kept fight as she got fellwed with a suplex from Kross, but she got the left shoulder up with about 35 seconds to go. As time winded down, the Divine Intervention was broken up by Tay, as Jay applied the Queenslayer on Bayne. The time ran down with Kross being held in place by Tay Melo.

TayJay survive the 5:00 Time Limit to earn a shot at the AEW Women’s World Tag Titles

This was a nice sprint and the stakes were quite suitable here. Nice to see TayJay back in the AEW fold.

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– We got a ‘Wednesday Recap” of this past Wednesday’s Dynamite as we saw the situation with Kevin Knight, Speedball Mike Bailey, new AEW Champion MJF, The Dogs attacking Cope & Cage, the Owen Hart Tournament first round matches, and Tommaso Ciampa’s attack on Chris Jericho.

Tommaso Ciampa hates Chris Jericho

Ciampa spoke in the ring as he was told that Jericho was not in the building tonight. He talked about why exactly he hated Jericho. He said that he didn’t have only one reason why he hated Chris Jericho… he had 1,004 reasons:

  1. Fozzy Sucks
  2. Those “stupid lightup sparkly jackets”
  3. Those crappy Jericho Cruises
  4. Jericho’s armbars
  5. That “stupid” full head of hair on Jericho’s head

Ciampa dropped the List as he addressed Jericho stating that he’s walked the same halls that Jericho’s walked. He knows that Jericho’s not fooling anyone. “A snake is always a snake… Jericho, I’ll see you when I see you,” said Ciampa as he kicked the List aside and left the ring.

Jericho vs. Ciampa should be an interesting feud, but it’s kinda funny that Jericho is again fighting another bald man, who seem to grow on trees in “Bald” Elite Wrestling.

Hazuki vs. Maya World

Persephone, Hazuki’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament opponent, joined Tony and Nigel for the call on this match.

Hazuki and Maya locked horns in the middle of the ring to start the match. Maya had Hazuki in an arm wrench, but the STARDOM standout got out of it and went for a pinning combination early. Maya kicked out at two as she turned it into a backslide pin for a near-fall of her own. Symmetrical dropkicks and kip-ups by Hazuki and Maya showcased the two evenly-matched.

Maya took down Hazuki with a shoulder block as grabbed her by the head and ran her head-first in the middle turnbuckle. The cover, but Hazuki kicked out. Scoop slam attempt by Maya was reversed by Hazuki, who hit her foe with a hurricanrana and a dropkick. With Maya prone on the bottom rope, Hazuki hit her with the Shinjiro Ohtani-style grazing running facewashj to the face. Hazuki stared down Persephone as we took a break in the action.

Back from the break as Hazuki hit the German suplex on Maya, which left both women recovering. Once they were back on their feet, Maya hit an amazing springboard powerbomb from the corner while Hazuki was stunned. One, two…. somehow Hazuki kicked out of that impressive move! Rolling elbow by Maya, but she got flattened by the big pump kick by Hazuki. On the apron, Maya got taken for a ride with the rope-hung DDT from Hazuki, which got a near-fall. Hazuki headed to the top rope and missed with the dive, which opened her up from a running roaring elbow from Maya. Suicide dive to the outside by Maya to keep Hazuki grounded at ringside. Maya took a bit too much time trashtalking Persephone, which allowed Hazuki to hit Maya with a suicide dive of her own.

Back inside the ring, Hazuki headed to the middle rope but was caught by Maya. The running attack from Hazuki was turned into a bridging suplex by Maya for the close two-count. Maya with the thrust kick as she headed up top. Moonsault was a swing and a miss from Maya, as Hazuki hit her with the lungblower on the opposite corner. Hazuki then called game as she headed up top and hit the senton for the three.

Post-match, Persephone faced off with Hazuki, with the two facing off in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament next Saturday on Collision.

Hazuki def. Maya World via pinfall

Fantastic, fantastic match. I’ve enjoyed seeing Maya World in action, and this being my first exposure to Hazuki, I was impressed with what I saw here. All in all, a great first impression here from Hazuki. This was really fun to watch.

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– Tony Schiavone took time to pay tribute to the late, great Dennis Condry, a Huntsville hero. He recounted about Condry’s tag team excellence alongside the Midnight Express. Most notably, we got old ROH footage which showed Condry with “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, as well as Jim Cornette. This was a lovely tribute.

– We got a primer on the ROH Pure Champion, Lee Moriarty, who was in action coming up next.

Lee Moriarty (w/ Shane Taylor Promotions) vs. Tim Bosby

Shane Taylor joined commentary for this one.

Moriarty showed his technical prowess as he avoided Bosby’s clothesline between the ropes. Moriarty then took down Bosby with a head stretch, which forced Moriarty’s foe to opt for the rope break. Bosby’s straps were down as he got some strikes in on Moriarty, but that was for naught as Moriarty took him down and finished this off with the Motor City Stretch submission.

Post-match, The Infantry got into the ring and congratulated the longest-reigning ROH Pure Champion in history. Captain Shawn Dean asked the Alabama crowd to respect Moriarty, as he and Carlie Bravo called the crowd stupid. Cue the Death Riders entering to get our next match underway.

Lee Moriarty def. Tim Bosby via submission

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Jon Moxley & PAC (w/ Marina Shafir) vs. The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Capt. Shawn Dean) (w/ Christyan XO)

Shane Taylor remained on commentary for this match.

Moxley faced off with Bravo to start this tag match. Moxley took down Bravo with an arm takedown, as he then hit a running shoulder block on his foe. PAC tagged in and looked to continue the Death Rider advantage as he backed Bravo into the corner. PAC flipped over a running Bravo as he threw him down. Series of kicks to Bravo, but Christyan XO grabbed at PAC’s legs as he ran. This prompted Marina Shafir to stare down Christyan to get her to back off. Back in the ring, Dean tripped up PAC as he and Bravo double teamed PAC. Moxley grabbed a chair to ward off The Infantry, but Shane Tayler waylaid him with a vicious knockout punch with the referee’s back turned. The action turned chaotic as Bravo nailed PAC with the DDT leap through the bottom turnbuckle rung, as we took a break.

Back from commercial as the Infantry kept PAC isolated with a nice tandem suplex while Moxley was out cold at ringside. Capt. Dean hit PAC with the Bronco Buster as he and Bravo taunted the crowd, to the delight of Shane Taylor on commentary. Inside the ring, PAC was locked in a resthold by Capt. Dean, but he broke free. PAC sent Dean out of the ring as he tried to reach for Moxley. Bravo got ahead of that and threw PAC out. Dean tried to leap at PAC from the steps, but he got caught for the German suplex. PAC leapt over Bravo in the ring and got the hot tag on Moxley.

Moxley battered Dean in the corner with bunches of punches, followed by more punches on the top rope, punctuated by a bite to the forehead. Kick to the gut as Bravo also got hit with the double DDT. Moxley missed with the lariat on Dean as the Infantry got a tandem back suplex on PAC. With Moxley out, Dean headed up top, but the double knees stopped the high-risk move. Moxley hit a cutter on Bravo. Dean was left at the mercy of the Death Riders’ trademark barrage of running attacks in the corner. In the end, Moxley put Dean away with the Death Rider DDT.

Jon Moxley & PAC def. The Infantry via pinfall

The Death Riders’ dynamic is kinda interesting given their status as antiheroes moreso than overt heels. There’s a lot of shades of grey here with Moxley and company, and it leads to scenarios where they’re up against heels like STP. That said, this was a fun match.

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– Renee Paquette was backstage with the Triangle of Madness: Thekla, Skye Blue, and Julia Hart. Thekla talked about Forbidden Door, as she had a warning for STARDOM President Taro Okada. Thekla said the one champion she was afraid of was Skye Blue. Thekla apparently had some harsh words for Skye, mocking her injury history, as Skye said she was gunning for that title. There was an “argument”, but Skye and Thekla made up as the AEW Women’s Champion boasted about nobody coming between her, not when she had her Triangle of Madness allies backing her up.

– As The Conglomeration vowed to have Konosuke Takeshita’s back, they were interrupted by an umbrella-wielding Lio Rush, who spoke about “the rain” as he spun his multicolor umbrella. O’Reilly, Strong, and Cassidy quickly left as soon as scurried.

The Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colten Gunn)

Finlay and Connors handed out disposable cameras as a way to mock Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, whom they laid out this past Wednesday. The two were set to offer their own five-second pose, entitled “Gunns Down”, but the Gunns interrupted with their entrance.

Jon Moxley, AEW’s 201-win man, remained on commentary for this match.

Finlay and Colten got things going for this match. Colten took down Finlay with repeated running shoulder blocks as he tagged in brother Austin. The Gunns blasted Finlay with consecutive elbows. Finlay took over and sent him to his corner as Connors tagged in. Austin avoided a running attack from Connors as he tripped him up with a running attack. The bop, bang, and Gunns Up punch sent Connors out. Finlay tried to get involved by the Gunns sent him out of the ring with a double clothesline. With The Dogs left licking their wounds outside, the Gunns offered stereo crotch chops to their foes, as we took a break.

We returned from break as Finlay kept Austin stuck in the middle rope, as they stuck a polaroid of The Dogs on Austin’s forehead. That bit of showboating cost them as it allowed Austin to escape and get the tag to Colten. Connors and Finlay were taken down by Colten’s high-flying offense. Connors recovered and hit a running pounce to save his partner from Colten’s attack. The Dogs showed some good teamwork with the double suplex toss on Colten followed by the unified shoulder charge on their hapless foe. One, two… kickout from Colten. Connors and Finlay stood on opposite corners and had Colten in their sights, but a huge swing and a miss caused a malfunction at the junction as Colten tagged in Austin. Double crossbody from Austin, followed by the Famouser on Connors. Pin broken up by Finlay as both teams got back up and began to exchange strikes in this slugfest.

Connors was left alone by the Gunns, but Finlay hit Colten in his injured leg. Austin was hammered by a strike from Connors as the roll up was broken up by Connors. That sent Austin into a shillelagh strike from Finlay as Connors got the pinfall win.

After the Match, The Dogs looked to continue the punishment on the Gunns, but Ace Austin and Juice Robinson backed them off.

The Dogs def. The Gunns via pinfall

Solid match here. The Dogs are finally finding their ground as a team and we’re seeing Connors and Finlay excel without the third man in the injured Gabe Kidd. This feud between The Dogs and Cope & Christian should be a good one.

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– We got a preview of Kevin Knight defending his TNT Championship against “Speedball” Mike Bailey this Wednesday on Dynamite. Bailey said that he promised that he would not let everyone down and that he would win the TNT Title.

This Wednesday on Dynamite

  • AEW Men’s World Championship: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (c) vs. RUSH
  • TNT Championship: Kevin Knight (c) vs. “Speedball Mike Bailey
  • Owen Hart Foundation Tournament – Women’s Bracket: Alex Windsor vs. Wildcard
  • Owen Hart Foundation Tournament – Men’s Bracket: Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis

Next Saturday on Collision

  • Owen Hart Foundation Tournament – Women’s Bracket: Hazuki vs. Persephone
  • AEW World Women’s Tag Titles: Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) (c) vs. TayJay (Tay Melo & Anna Jay)

– We learned that we’ll have a series of six matches, with the winners of those six matches qualifying for the Survival of the Fittest Match, with the winner becoming the new TBS Champion following Willow Nightingale having to vacate it due to injury. This Survival of the Fittest Match will take place on the July 1st episode of Dynamite from San Diego, CA.

Brian Cage & Jake Doyle vs. Tommy Mars & Jimmy Wild

This was announced as a standby match due to Lee Moriarty’s match being over in such quick fashion.

Doyle didn’t waste any time in taking Mars down with a running boulder attack. Doyle lifted Mars and threw him with a deadlift fallaway slam. Cage tagged in and continued the punishment on Mars in the corner. Suplex from Cage as Wild tagged in. The chops to the chest had little effect as Cage destroyed him with a clothesline. Doyle tagged in as Mars found himself hit with a suplex from the top rope. With both foes in their ring, Doyle and Cage hit them with their respective finishers to win this in short order.

Brian Cage & Jake Doyle def. Tommy Mars & Jimmy Wild

I like the idea of standby matches being established due to previously-scheduled bouts ending earlier than expected, it allows for squashes like this to happen.

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– As Konosuke Takeshita made his way down for the main event, Doyle and Cage had to be held back by referees to prevent the two from going after the AEW International Champion.

AEW International Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Daniel Garcia

This main event got underway as Garcia and Takeshita sized each other up. Methodical, technical start as Garcia had Takeshita trapped in the head-scissors. The champion broke out of the hold and stared down Garcia as we got a reset here. Collar and elbow tie-up between the two until Garcia backed his championship foe in the corner and taunted him. Garcia continued to get a bit cocky as he had a side headlock on Takeshita. The champion took him down with a shoulder block as Takeshita got the first big move of this match with the leaping clothesline. Garcia’s roll-through was blocked by Takeshita, which forced the challenger to take a breather outside the ring.

Garcia didn’t get any time to breathe as Takeshita struck him outside before he threw him in the ring. Garcia took advantage by trapping Takeshita between the ring apron. Dragon Screw by Garcia kept Takeshita on the backfoot as we took a commercial break.

Collision’s main event returned from commercial as Takeshita fought out of the hold. Meanwhile, Marina Shafir joined on commentary while Jon Moxley was Garcia’s cornerman. Back in the ring, Takeshita had Garcia for the tombstone piledriver, but the challenger reversed it into a leglock. Takeshita used his strength to break that hold with a wheelbarrow suplex. Shafir left commentary and yelled motivation at Garcia, who almost fell victim to the Blue Thunder Bomb. Garcia countered it into the STF submission hold as Takeshita was forced to struggle out of it to break free. Takeshita missed with the forearm, as Garcia stomped his hand and then hit the piledriver.

Takeshita rose to his feet and absolutely kayoed Garcia with the knee to the face. Both Takeshita and Garcia were left trying to get themselves back to their feet as the crowd partook in justified “AEW’ chants. Takeshita’s bicycle knee was blocked by Garcia, who took him down with a right hand. Garcia sized up Takeshita, who got himself hyped. The two traded strikes and the match quickened, right as Takeshita nailed the Blue Thunder Bomb flush. One, two…. 2.9999999999!!!!!!

With justified “this is awesome” chants filling the air, Takeshita had Garcia in sight for the knee, but his hurt knee was too much to bear. Curbstomp by Garcia, who put Takeshita on the top rope, looking for some sort of high-risk maneuver. He set up Takeshita for the superplex, but the International Champion hit headbutts to stun Garcia momentariy. The challenger with the avalanche armdrag as he followed it with the Dragon Tamer submission hold in the centre of the ring. Takeshita escaped and almost got the Raging Fire, but a reversal from Garcia. Damaged left knee targeted by Garcia, but he got taken for a ride with the deadlift German suplex from Takeshita. Roaring forearm by Takeshita, followed by Raging Fire, and that’s it, over. Konosuke Takeshita is still your AEW International Champion.

After the match, the Don Callis Family ran in and launched an assault on Takeshita as Moxley was attacked by Shane Taylor Promotions at ringside. Death Riders reinforcements attempted to join the fray, as the Conglomeration and ‘Speedball’ Mike Bayley ran in to make the save. Lee Moriarty stared down Nigel McGuinness as Carlie Bravo got in his face. Bravo got blasted by McGuiness as Moriarty mixed it up with him.

Pure chaos unfolding in the ring as the Don Callis Family were forced to a retreat. Takeshita stood with his Conglomeration allies and Speedball as they and the Death Riders shared a tense standoff. We ended Collision with the babyface Conglomeration standing victorious in the ring.

********************

A very good main event International Title bout between Takeshita and Garcia to wrap up a heck of a night for in-ring action on Collision. The WCW-styled finish with a full-scale brawl breaking out was a nice touch too and made for a fun cap to the evening’s festivities. This Takeshita babyface run has been a long time coming and he’ll be a great good guy to root for not only in his current International Title run, but perhaps, in a true main event run in the near future.

As for the rest of the night’s action, I enjoyed the Divine Dominion vs. TayJay match as well as Hazuki vs. Maya World. Both were great women’s bouts that did their job well in setting the stage for their respective matches on next week’s Collision (Kross/Bayne vs. TayJay for the titles, Hazuki vs. Persephone). It highlights the strengths of AEW’s women’s rosters, as well as those from their partners like CMLL or STARDOM, and it’d serve AEW well to maximize this focus on such a talented roster of women in whatever ways then can moving forward.

Another nice touch was the use of rotating color commentators throughout the night joining Tony and Nigel, which really helped keep things fresh on the commentary tables, and I wouldn’t mind this being a recurring element for Collision from now on.

I’ve been on the record mentioning how much I enjoy Collision for being a no-frills wrestling show, and tonight’s episode delivered on that bout. It’s a show you can sit down every Saturday and just put on to enjoy some wrestling, which is perfect for a show born in the tradition of those old WCW Saturday Night shows on “The Mothership”.

WOR: WWE Clash in Italy preview, AEW DON fallout

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

We talked about:

  • WWE shareholder’s lawsuit
  • Clash in Italy matches
  • NXT ratings
  • AEW DON fallout
  • Scott Coker’s new MMA league

Click here to listen (subscription required) or watch on YouTube

UFC Fight Night 277 live results: Song Yadong vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

After a week off, UFC actions returns as the Octagon travels back to China for UFC Fight Night 277, taking place at the Galaxy Arena in Macau.

The main event is a five-round bout in the bantamweight division as Song Yadong takes on former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Both men are looking to get back into the win column following losses at UFC 324 in January, and a win here will get them right back into the title picture.

The co-main event is a light heavyweight battle pitting Zhang Mingyang against Alonzo Menifield with a spot in the 205-pound rankings on the line. Also on the main card is a battle of ranked heavyweights as Sergei Pavlovich battles Tallison Teixeira; a bantamweight fight between Kai Asakura and Cameron Smotherman; and a flyweight tilt pitting Alex Perez against Sumudaerji.

PRELIMS | 4 AM ET | 1 AM PT

> Women’s Strawweights- Loma Lookboonmee (10-4, 7-3 UFC) vs. Jaqueline Amorim (10-2, 4-2 UFC)

Lookboonmee lands a calf kick. Lookboonmee lands another leg kick. Amorim shoots for a takedown as she pushes Lookboonmee against the fence. Amorim has the body lock on as Lookboonmee is defending. Amorim drops down and attacks a leg as they scramble to the mat, but she ends up letting go and lands from the top. Lookboonmee with a few elbows from the bottom. Amorim passes guard to north-south position, but she moves back into side control and lands a couple of short punches. Amorim looking to attack an arm. Amorim locks in an armbar. It is in deep and Lookboonmee is trying to fight it off, but she ends up tapping! Amorim picks up the submission win.

Fight Result- Jaqueline Amorim def. Loma Lookboonmee by submission (armbar) at 4:04 of Round 1

> Featherweights- Zhu Kangjie (21-4 1 NC, 0-0 UFC) vs. Rodrigo Vera (21-1-1, 0-0 UFC)

Kangjie with a hard leg kick. They both land leg kicks at the same time. Kangjie lands to the body and both land a leg kick. Vera scores a takedown. Kangjie is able to get to his feet against the fence. Vera lands a knee as they separate. They trade leg kicks. Vera lands a left hook. Vera lands a big shot and Kangjie goes down. Vera starts landing on the mat and Kangjie is in lots of trouble and it is all over! Vera scores the big finish.

Fight Result- Rodrigo Vera def. Zhu Kangjie by knockout (punches) at 1:50 of Round 1

> Women’s Strawweights- #14 Angela Hill (18-16, 13-16 UFC) vs. Jingnan Xiong (19-2, 0-0 UFC)

Xiong lands a leg kick and Hill lands a punch that makes Xiong stumble. They clinch and Hill lands some knees against the fence. Hill lands a knee and Xiong connects with a combo as they break apart. They clinch back up and Xiong pushes Hill against the fence, but they break. Xiong lands a leg kick. Xiong lands and they clinch. Xiong with some body shots and Hill lands an elbow and some knees. They separate as Hill lands a head kick. They clinch again and Xiong lands a knee. They separate. Hill lands a flying knee followed by a right hand. Xiong with a spin kick to the body and then a right hand. They trade in close range. Hill with another flying knee and a high kick and then Xiong lands a pair of right hands. They trade before tying up. 10-9 Hill.

They trade kicks. Both land inside the pocket. Both are throwing punches and landing kicks. Hill lands a right hand and then a high kick. Xiong lands a big right hand with her back to the fence. Hill gets the clinch and scores a takedown into side control. Xiong scrambles out to her feet. Hill lands an elbow. Hill with a knee and they trade right hands. They trade in close range. Xiong with a combo and Hill fires back with a right hand. Xiong lands a spinning back fist. Hill lands a body kick. They trade inside the pocket as Xiong lands a rapid fire series of punches. They trade elbows. Hill lands a knee and grabs the neck for a guillotine choke. Xiong escapes and Hill lands a body kick. Hill with another knee. 10-9 Hill, 20-18 Hill.

Hill lands a knee. Hill is pressing forward and both connect. Hill lands a right hand. They trade in close range and Hill ends with a body kick. Xiong with a combo to the body. Hill connects with a right hand. Hill with a jumping knee. Xiong lands a spinning back fist. Xiong with a right hand. Hill with a leg kick followed by a jumping knee and a right hand. They trade in the pocket and Hill lands a pair of knees. Hill continues to press forward as both land. Hill gets the body lock against the fence. Hill landing from the back on the feet. They separate and Xiong lands a spinning elbow before they have an exchange to end it. 10-9 Hill, 30-27 Hill.

Fight Result- Angela Hill def. Jingnan Xiong by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Bantamweights- Rei Tsuruya (10-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Luis Gurule (11-3, 1-3 UFC)

Tsuruya works the jab and lands a left hand. Gurule with a right hand. Tsuruya hurts Gurule with a left hand and then grabs the back of Gurule. Tsuruya lands a knee as they go to the mat. Tsuruya with an elbow and then some big punches from the back. Gurule is covering up as Tsuruya is reigning down punches. Tsuruya is looking for a rear-naked choke. Gurule is able to escape as they get to their feet. Tsuruya has the back and gets a slam takedown, but they pop right up. Tsuruya jumps on the back and has a face crank on as they go to the mat and Gurule taps! Tsuruya picks up the submission win.

Fight Result- Rei Tsuruya def. Luis Gurule by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:19 of Round 1

> Bantamweights- Aoriqileng (26-12 1 NC, 4-4 1 NC UFC) vs. Cody Haddon (8-1, 1-0 UFC)

Aoriqileng lands a combo before Haddon scores a takedown. Haddon gets the back and starts working for a choke, but Aoriqileng is able to get free as Haddon lets go. Haddon landing from the top. Haddon starts landing some elbows and has Aoriqileng in trouble. Haddon with some more ground-and-pound as he’s landing lots of shots, though Aoriqileng is surviving. More big shots by Haddon as the round ends. 10-8 Haddon.

Haddon lands before looking for a takedown, but Aoriqileng defends. Haddon looks for it again, but Aoriqileng grabs the neck for a guillotine choke, but Haddon escapes. They get to their feet. Aoriqileng with an uppercut. Haddon gets the body lock and lands a knee and Aoriqileng goes down. Haddon starts landing lots of shots and it is all over! Haddon scores the big finish.

Fight Result- Cody Haddon def. Aoriqileng by TKO (strikes) at 2:11 of Round 2

> Welterweights- Ding Meng (35-9, 0-0 UFC) vs. Jose Souza (8-1, 0-0 UFC)

They trade leg kicks. Meng with a leg kick. Souza lands a leg kick. Souza lands a snap jab followed by a left hand and a right hand combination. Meng with an inside leg kick. They both land leg kicks at the same time. Meng with a leg kick. Meng with more leg kicks. Meng with more kicks as Souza lands a left hook. Souza with an uppercut. Meng lands a leg kick followed by a right hand. Meng with a right hand. Souza has switched stances and is slowing down as Meng lands another leg kick. 10-9 Meng.

Souza throws a kick, but Meng grabs it, though he lets go. Meng with a leg kick. Meng with a leg kick as he is chasing Souza around. They trade inside the pocket and Souza lands a big knee. Meng does land a counter left hook. Meng with an inside leg kick then another as Souza lands a jab. Souza lands a kick to the groin and timeout is called. They resume quickly. Meng with more leg kicks. Meng catches a kick and lands a leg kick. Souza with a left hand. Souza lands a jab and Meng with a leg kick and a few punches after. Meng with a body kick. 10-9 Meng, 20-18 Meng.

Souza with a body kick and Meng lands a right hand. Meng with more leg kicks. Meng lands a right hand. Meng with a leg kick. Meng lands a right hand. Souza with a left hand. Meng with a leg kick followed by another. Meng chasing Souza down and landing, though there is some damage around his eye. Meng lands a combo that backs Souza up. Souza is just circling around and not landing with much offense. Meng is missing a lot, though. Souza with a quick combo. Souza with a jab. 10-9 Souza, 29-28 Meng.

Fight Result- Jose Souza def. Ding Meng by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

> Middleweights- Yi Sak Lee (8-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Luis Felipe Dias (16-5, 0-0 UFC)

They trade leg kicks. Dias lands a combination. Dias with a right hand and Lee almost goes down, but is on shaky legs. Dias with a leg kick. They trade and Dias drops Lee with a right hand and finishes it off with several follow-up shots. What a finish by Dias!

Fight Result- Luis Felipe Dias def. Yi Sak Lee by TKO (punches) at 3:40 of Round 1

MAIN CARD | 7 AM ET | 4 AM PT

> Flyweights- #11 Alex Perez (26-10, 8-6 UFC) vs. Sumudaerji (19-7, 6-4 UFC)

Perez comes out firing punches. Perez lands a right hand. Sumudaerji with a left hand to the body but Perez rushes in throwing. Sumudaerji lands a left hand then a leg kick. Perez with a right hand before he pushes Sumudaerji against the fence. Perez with some short knees. Sumudaerji lands an elbow as they break. Perez lands a flurry of punches. Sumudaerji with a high kick. Sumudaerji with a combo then he works the jab and lands a high kick. Timeout is called for an eye poke on Perez. They get right back to action. Perez comes out firing. He shoots for a takedown but Sumudaerji lands to defend. Perez shoots for a takedown, but Sumudaerji defends. Sumudaerji gets a takedown, but Perez rolls for a guillotine choke. Sumudaerji defends as the round ends. 10-9 Sumudaerji.

Sumudaerji drops Perez with a left hand. Sumudaerji starts landing from the top as Perez is defending. Sumudaerji gets to his feet and the referee orders Perez up. They trade and Perez looks to get Sumudaerji down, but he defends and they separate. Sumudaerji lands a kick to the groin and timeout is called. Perez is throwing up in a bucket, so, technically, this fight should be stopped. The fight is stopped after Perez is unable to continue following the five-minute timeout period.

Fight Result- Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji ruled a no contest (accidental foul) at 1:45 of Round 2

> Welterweights- Jake Matthews (22-8, 15-8 UFC) vs. Carlston Harris (19-7, 4-3 UFC)

Matthews lands a combination. Harris fires back with punches. They both connect as Matthews comes in throwing. Both land again in close range. Matthews lands a right hand. Matthews lands a combo as Harris landed a leg kick. They clash heads before tying up. Matthews pushes it against the fence. They separate and Matthews lands a combination. Matthews wobbles Harris with a right hand. Matthews with an uppercut. Harris shoots for a takedown but Matthews defends. Matthews with a combination that connects. Both land and Matthews lands a big combination. Matthews with more big punches. Matthews lands two big right hands and they have a heavy exchange at the end. 10-9 Matthews.

Harris immediately shoots for a takedown, but Matthews defends and gets the mount. Matthews looks for a mounted triangle choke but ends up getting into side control. Matthews looks to attack the arm as he controls from the top. Matthews with some right hands. Matthews now looking to set up an arm-triangle choke. Harris looks for a guillotine choke from the bottom but Matthews easily pops his head out. Matthews lands from the half-guard. Matthews goes back for an arm-triangle choke but doesn’t have it fully locked on and lets go. Matthews back attacking an arm looking for a kimura. Harris lands an elbow to defend. 10-9 Matthews, 20-18 Matthews.

Harris lands a left hook. Matthews lands a right hand. Matthews lands a right hand and Harris goes down face first but he’s alert and Matthews gets on top. Matthews takes the back of Harris and lands as he has the body triangle locked on. Matthews ends up switching to controlling from the top. Matthews with an elbow from the top. Matthews with another elbow from the top as he’s controlling from the top. Matthews is pressuring Harris’ neck with his shoulder. Matthews gets the full mount. Matthews ends the fight on top. 10-9 Matthews, 30-27 Matthews.

Fight Result- Jake Matthews def. Carlston Harris by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)

> Bantamweights- Kai Asakura (21-6, 0-2 UFC) vs. Cameron Smotherman (12-6, 1-2 UFC)

Asakura with a heavy calf kick. Asakura with a high kick. Asakura with a right hand and more kicks. Smotherman lands a counter punch. Asakura lands a right hand and Smotherman goes down for a moment but gets up. Asakura pounces and drops Smotherman with a left hand and it is all over! What a knockout by Asakura!

Fight Result- Kai Asakura def. Cameron Smotherman by knockout (punches) at 1:50 of Round 1

> Heavyweights- #3 Sergei Pavlovich (20-3, 8-3 UFC) vs. #15 Tallison Teixeira (9-1, 2-1 UFC)

Pavlovich hurts Teixeira early with some big punches and they back up to the fence as Teixeira is having trouble standing up. Pavlovich lands a right hand and Teixeira goes down and Pavlovich finishes it with shots from the top. Quick finish by Pavlovich.

Fight Result- Sergei Pavlovich def. Tallison Teixeira by knockout (punches) at :39 of Round 1

> Light Heavyweights- Zhang Mingyang (19-7, 3-1 UFC) vs. #15 Alonzo Menifield (17-6-1, 10-6-1 UFC)

Mingyang with a high kick. Menifield lands a calf kick and then clips Mingyang with a couple of punches. They tie up and Menifield pushes Mingyang against the fence. Mingyang with a knee. Mingyang gets the underhooks and reverses position and lands some knees. Mingyang with more knees. They break apart and Menifield lands a flurry of big punches. Both men then connect with right hands. Menifield looks for a takedown against the fence. Mingyang lands a big elbow and Menifield is hurt. Menifield recovers and lands a big right hand and Mingyang goes down. Menifield lands big shots as they stand. Menifield with more big punches and Mingyang goes back down and Menifield finishes him off! What a finish by Menifield!

Fight Result- Alonzo Menifield def. Zhang Mingyang by TKO (strikes) at 4:15 of Round 1

> Bantamweights- #5 Song Yadong (22-9-1 1 NC, 11-4-1 UFC) vs. #7 Deiveson Figueiredo (25-6-1, 14-6-1 UFC)

They’re being patient more than a minute in. Yadong lands a few leg kicks while Figueiredo has done nothing until nearly two minutes in when he lands a body kick. Yadong with a couple more leg kicks. Figueiredo lands a body kick. Yadong with a jab to the body. Figueiredo lands a right hand. Figueiredo looks for a takedown but Yadong stuffs it. Figueiredo looks for a single leg but Yadong escapes and lands a leg kick. Figueiredo lands a body kick. Yadong slips on a kick and Figueiredo gets into the guard of Yadong. Figueiredo with some short punches from the top. 10-9 Yadong.

Figueiredo with a high kick. Yadong lands a right hand. Yadong lands a few punches as both are still feeling each other out. Yadong lands a big right hand. Yadong lands a heavy leg kick. Yadong with a right hand. Yadong lands a high kick after a quick scramble to the mat. Yadong with a jab and a leg kick. Yadong with a high kick. Yadong with a leg kick and Figueiredo gets a takedown, but Yadong quickly locks in a guillotine choke and Figueiredo taps! Yadong picks up the big main event win.

Fight Result- Song Yadong def. Deiveson Figueiredo by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:42 of Round 2

WOL: TNA Impact, WWE preview, wet brine turkey, more!

Posted on by Tom Lawlor

Wrestling Observer Live with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Lance Storm are here ahead of the weekend to give you all the news and notes ahead of WWE Smackdown, Clash in Turin, a full TNA Impact on AMC review, Donald Trump, and an apparent FCC violation for peeing on the Xmas turkey! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WWE SmackDown live results: The Miz vs. Axiom in Barcelona

Posted on by Marc Quill

WWE SmackDown is live from Olimpic Arena in Barcelona, Spain today.

Just one match is official for the show. WWE has announced that The Miz will face Axiom in singles competition.

WWE’s Summer European Tour kicked off in Liverpool on Thursday. After tonight’s SmackDown, WWE will be in Turin, Italy for two straight nights, first for Clash in Italy on Sunday, May 31, then for WWE Raw on Monday, June 1.

On Tuesday, WWE runs a live event in Strasbourg, France before heading to Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday and Madrid, Spain on Thursday. Next week’s SmackDown will take place from Bologna, Italy on Friday, June 5.

After next week’s SmackDown in Bologna, WWE heads to Rome on Saturday, June 6 and Florence, Italy on Sunday, June 7 before closing out the Summer European Tour with the June 8 edition of WWE Raw in Paris, France.

Our live coverage kicks off at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

**********************************

– After the round of wrestler arrivals, we went straight to the arena as Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett introduced themselves, as well as the Spanish team of Miguel Perez and Alvaro Carrera. We then went to a recap of the six-woman tag match from last Saturday Night’s Main Event

Jade Cargill and the Baddies kick off SmackDown

The challenger WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley this Sunday at the Clash in Italy made her way to the ring, flanked by Michin and B-Fab.

As soon as Cargill got into the ring, she soaked all in as the crowd jeered. Cargill said she didn’t ask for permission and that she did what she wanted. B-Fab said that Cargill woild beat Ripley on Sunday and that the future wasn’t coming… the future was now.

The music of Rhea Ripley interrupted the proceedings, and out came the WWE Women’s Champion to a huge ovation. Ripley stepped inside despite being outnumbered three-to-one by Cargill and her Baddies and faced them down.

Ripley said that Cargill was out here every week throwing around her dominance, acting like her successes wasn’t from using people to make herself look better. Ripley pointed out that Cargill forgot one very important detail: when it came to them facing one-on-one, Ripley had her number. She beat Cargill at WrestleMania and she’d do it again this Sunday in Italy.

Cargill responded by stating that Ripley sounded stupid for saying that, claiming that the champion thought the division revolved around her. She called Ripley “weak” for wanting to work with women who didn’t even like her. That was the cue for Charlotte Flair to make her way down to the ring. Of course, Alexa Bliss wasn’t too far behind. The former Women’s Tag Champions made their way down ot the ring with mics in hand.

Flair said that Cargill was out here talking like a Hall of Famer. She respected Cargill, but she thought she got confused with her own successes. Bliss added by stating that Cargill and her crew had the egos of a legend, but they have the resumes of rookies. Bliss warned Cargill that she might end up being embarrassed before Clash in Italy.

Naturally, this brought out Nick Aldis to set up the Bliss vs. Cargill match as he called for a referee. This match would begin after the break.

An alright opening gambit, but this Rhea/Cargill and Baddies/Charlexa story is honestly not moving me one bit.

**********

Jade Cargill vs. Alexa Bliss

This opening match got underway after the commercial with Bliss going right after Cargill with strikes. Bliss leapt onto the back of Cargill, but got thrown aside. After she headed out of the ring, Bliss toyed with Cargill to get under her skin. She once again went after Cargill with strikes, but got thrown into the corner. The running splash was missed by Cargill as she headed up top. However, Cargill caught her and dropped her for a backbreaker. In the corner, Bliss hit Cargill with a boot to the face, but she was lifted overhead for a press drop down to the mat.

On the apron, Bliss tried to leap at Cargill, but she was caught once more and thrown to the barricade for a powerbomb, as we took a break with Cargill in complete control.

Back from commercial as Cargill continued to punish Bliss on the outside, with Charlotte and Rhea Ripley forced to look on. Cargill dropped Bliss onto the apron, but she took too long on a second attempt, which allowed Bliss to hit where with a dropkick. Bliss avoided a running attack from Cargill, which sent her barrelling into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Bliss mounted her comeback with the strikes to the face, followed by the dropkick. The double knees to the back of Cargill’s neck was followed by the flipping senton and the modified Natural Selection. Cargill managed to kick out at two, however.

Bliss set up Cargill for the Sister Abigail DDT, but that was countered. The Baddies and Charlotte and Rhea brawled to the back in the midst of all this. Back in the ring, Bliss headed up top and whiffed on Twisted Bliss after Cargill got the knees up. The pump kick, followed by Jaded got the three for Cargill.

After the match, Cargill grabbed a chair from under the ring and looked to do more damage to Bliss with another Jaded onto the chair. Charlotte and Rhea ran out a bit too late as a satisfied Cargill taunted her Clash in Italy opponent.

Jade Cargill def. Alexa Bliss via pinfall

Just an okay match between Cargill and Bliss. Like i said at the top of things, I am not feeling this feud, so a lot of my reactions to this will be colored by that. The actual match itself on Sunday should be decent, at the very least.

**********

– Cody Rhodes was interviewed backstage about his upcoming match against Gunther on sunday, but Sami Zayn interrupted. Rhodes said he had nothing to say to Zayn, who demanded an apology. Zayn said that Rhodes asked for that fight last week and he stated that Rhodes stuck a “knife in his back” with the Crosss Rhodes. The Undisputed WWE Champion was not gonna have any of it as he got mad at Zayn’s refusal to help him when Gunther was choking the life out of him.

Zayn tried to justify his lack of actions because it was the right thing to do, because Rhodes needed to learn a lesson. Rhodes responded, stating that maybe he was when he was done with Gunther, he’d teach Zayn a lesson of his own.

– Elsewhere, Danhausen was told by Nick Aldis that his science equipment was stuck in customs, but the ever-fascinating Danhausen decided to take matters into his own hands. While The Miz barged in to argue with Aldis, Danhausen was seen futzing around with some equipment in the background.

Axiom vs. The Miz

Axiom kept Miz grounded with some chain wrestling to start. The lights briefly went out before turning back on, presumably due to Danhausen’s experiments. Miz mocked Axiom’s agility and paid for it as he was hit with a nice drop kick. Miz decided to run out, but Nathan Frazer stopped him. Back in the ring, Miz tripped up Axiom as we took an oddly-timed break in the action.

We returned from commercial as Miz and Axiom were down and out. The masked Spaniard kipped up and hit Miz with a snap German suplex for the two-count. Axiom headed to the top as he avoided Miz’s attack. The Skull-Crushing Finale was countered, but Miz got Axiom with the DDT for the near-fall. The “It” Kicks were blocked by Axiom, who hit the Dragon Screw. Now Axiom got some kicks of his own on Miz. Flying crossbody only got the two.

Miz had Axiom in the corner as he hit the signature clothesline, but missed with the splash. Axiom turned it into a Crossface, but Miz tried for the cover attempt. Miz did not miss with the powerbomb as he headed to the top. The lights went out yet again, which allowed Axiom to hit the avalanche Spanish Fly followed by the Golden Ratio to pick up the duke in Spain.

Axiom def. The Miz via pinfall

This was a good match and it was nice to see Axiom get the win in front of his home country.

***********

– Sami Zayn continued to lament his plight to Johnny Gargano as Matt Cardona approached him. Cardona called out Zayn for acting out of line as the Canadian continued to whine about being disrespected. This led to a potential match being set up between the two.

– As Charlotte Flair was checking up on Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley met with her and said that she’d take care of Jade Cargill on Sunday. Flair warned that if Ripley couldn’t get the job done, she’d deal with Cargill herself, because she had a receipt coming.

Damian Priest & Royce Keys vs. Tama & Talla Tonga

Talla and Priest started off this match. Talla withstood Priest’s blows and threw him into the MFT corner. Tama tagged in, but Priest fought out of his predicament as Royce tagged in. Keys dropped Tama and hit a nice powerslam on his foe. A big powerhouse pounce sent Tama out of the ring. Talla entered the fray but found himself taken out of the ring by a double team effort from Keys and Priest as we took a break.

We returned from commercial as Talla had Keys trapped in a resthold. Keys powered out of the submission, but he was still isolated successfully by the MFT duo. Keys created separation with a sitdown powerbomb on Tama as Priest tagged in. Priest unleashed kicks on Tama and Talla, then nailing the two with running splashes on opposite corners. Tama got dropped by a with a Flatliner while Talla was jettisoned out of the ring.

Things broke down as Keys sent Talla put with a clothesline. Samoan Spike by Solo Sikoa with the back turned as R-Trurh ran in to even the odds. Things became chaotic on the outside as the T-Bomb by Talla on Priest got the win for the Tongas.

Talla and Tama Tonga def. Royce Keys and Damian Priest via pinfall

This feud is honestly boring and this match really added to how apathetic I am about another MFT feud.

************

– Chelsea Green tried to talk to Tiffany Stratton, who still wasn’t too receptive over her friendship just yet.

Sami Zayn vs. Matt Cardona

Zayn wrenched at Cardona’s arm as things took a methodical pace to start with neither man on top. Zayn with the arm drag on Cardona with the match still in the early feeling-out process. Cardona threw Zayn out of the ring and immediately took him down with the sliding dropkick to the outside. In the ring, Zayn got the upper hand with a series of rights to the face of his foe. The chops to the chest from Zayn as cardona turned it around with some strikes of his own. Cardona sent Zayn retreating with a missile dropkick as we took a commercial break.

Our match returned from the break as Zayn applied a chinlock on Cardona that would make Davey Boy Smith proud. Cardona got out of the hold and dropped Zayn with a facebuster. In the corner, Cardona knocked Zayn down with a punch, which led to the Broski Boot. Zayn stumbled to his feet, but he avoided the Rough Ryder. Cardona did get Zayn with the double-underhook powerbomb for the near-fall. Cardona countered a Zayn suplex into a neckbreaker, but his Rough Ryder was turned into a powerbomb from the Montreal native. Zayn went for the Helluva Kick, but Cardona finally nailed the Rough Ryder on the third try. Zayn got his foot on the ropes to avoid defeat.

Cardona put Zayn on the top turnbuckle and looked for a high-risk maneuver. However, Zayn pushed him down… Exploder Suplex into the corner, was soon followed by the Helluva Kick and the pinfall win.

Sami Zayn def. Matt Cardona via pinfall

This was a good match, and the current Zayn character is interesting. I did find it a bit odd that he won clean here instead of doing some sort of heelish things to continue that story.

***********

– Nick Aldis was seen talking to Gunther, urging him to keep things civlized when he meets Cody Rhodes later tonight. Gunther said he agrees, but suggested the next time WWE went to Spain, they’d go to Madrid instead (referencing the infamous Barcelona/Real Madrid football rivalry)

Trick Williams speaks

Trick Williams, accompanied by the Trick Stick-wileding Li’l Yachty, arrived to huge cheers from the Barcelona crowd.

Yachty introduced himself as the man with the money, the connections, and who makes it happen. He said that today was the beginning of the Trick Williams campaign. Williams took the mic and said that he was the man holding down the brand for quite some time. The crowd continued to cheer for Williams as the U.S. Champion talked about how he took out The Miz and Carmelo Hayes in the past two weeks. Williams called his shot for King of the Ring, stating that it was only right to declare himself right here in Barcelona, a place that knew a thing or two about royalty.

Carmelo Hayes interrupted Williams and said that his old rival may have been the King of the Entrance and King of the Microphone, but King of the Ring? Not quite. Hayes said once he took care of Ricky Saints, he was going to finish what he started with Wiliams last week.

Williams responded by stating that if Hayes could grow an inch for every excuse he made, he’d be left with no choice but to acknowledge that Trick Williams was better than him. Ricky Saints interrupted and said that Williams thought he’d get the upper and on him last week, but he was going to take care of Williams once he dealt with Hayes.

Saints talked some more trash and got slapped down by Williams for his troubles.

**********

Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints

This match was joined in progress during the break as Hayes hit Saints with a dropkick after a roll over. Hayes kept momentum going with his reverse legdrop on a prone Saints. A lariat from Saints stopped Hayes’ momentum cold as he took over in the corner with the stomps. Hayes recovered and hit a pair of chops on Saints, followed by the running forearm into the corner. Hayes kept the heat up with the punches in the corner, followed by an attempted springboard attack. Hayes was shoved out of the ring by Saints, who threw him into the barricades as he struck a pose in the ring and we took a timeout.

This match continued from commercial as Saints was still in control. Hayes was put on the top rope as Saints looked for a superplex. Hayes shoved Saints to the mat and lookes for the frog splash. Knees up by Saints, followed by the Northern Lights suplex for the near-fall. Hayes recovered and got the leaping DDT on Saints. Both men back to their feet as they exchanged strikes. Hayes connected with the trademark springboard clothesline. That was soon followed by Dirty Diana for the near-fall. Hayes was hit by the reverse DDT from Saints for the near-fall. Saints got sent out of the ring and hit with Hayes’ Fosbury Flop. Hayes then got on the barricade and hit Saints with the clothesline. However, this match ended with a double countout.

Post-match, Saints attacked Hayes from behind, but the ambush was turned aside as Hayes superkicked Saints and delivered First 48.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints ended in a Double Countout

I quite liked this match, and the double countout was honestly a good call. Not really much to complain about here, just a solid match between two really good workers.

**********

– We got a vignette from Blake Monroe that took a direct shot at Rhea Ripley. She said that that she was coming soon… despite the fact we saw her last week in a brief backstage cameo.

Nia Jax vs. Chelsea Green

Jax threw Green across the ring to start, but the wily Canadian soon got the advantage as she sent Jax out of the ring and took her down with a suicide dive, which was our cue for a commercial break.

We returned from commercial as Green’s Rough Ryder attempt was turned into a Jax powerbomb. Jax’s missed legdrop allowed for Green to get a momentary respite with the jumping neckbreaker. That was followed by the Rough Ryder for the close near-fall. Lash Legend tried to get involved, but she got kicked aside. However, that allowed for Nia Jax to hit Green with the Samoan Drop. Was it time for the Annihilator? No, as Tiffany Stratton’s music hit and she ended up hitting Jax with the Women’s US Title in the chaos. Green took advantage and got the pin and win.

Chelsea Green def Nia Jax via pinfall

Not really much of a match and more to advance the kinda-sorta alliance between Green and Stratton, so there’s that.

***********

Cody Rhodes and Gunther’s Final Face-Off

The Undisputed WWE Champion and his Clash in Italy foe made their way down for this final faceoff ahead of their match on Sunday in Turin.

Gunther said he wasn’t here to engage with any of the fans, but he wanted to talk to Rhodes. Gunther said that Rhodes made it all about himself, and that he was a product of the American society that birthed him. Gunther pointed out that Rhodes nickname was fitting as a descriptor of the declining American society. Gunther said his mission was to protect the sacred sport of wrestling from people like Rhodes. He called Rhodes a mark for himself.

Rhodes responded by saying that Gunther didn’t want the responsibility of being a champion and all that it implied. He pointed out Paul Heyman and what he told him to intimidate him. Rhodes said that the world title was addictive and that Gunther was as sick as he was. At Clash in Italy, Rhodes said that Gunther was going to get this close to the title, but we were all going to find out that he just wasnt going to be good enough. “Easy to find, hard to beat,” said Rhodes.

Gunther asked if Rhodes thought he was a liar. He boasted about how he beat Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles. He promised to choke Rhodes out and take the title with him.

Producer credits are up, as well as hype for WWE’s America 250 special, which airs on USA tonight after SmackDown, and we’re out.

***********

I really have to say that this Clash in Italy show feels really weakly built, and that’s largely on the anemic booking WWE has been partaking in as of late. Nothing on the card grabs my interest and tonight’s go-home show kind of did a poor job in building Sunday’s show.

The WWE Title match doesn’t really feel that intriguing, and unless Gunther pulls off the upset, not sure if a likely Cody Rhodes title retention will move the needle. That being said, the closing promo tonight was an admirable effort to add some spice to this match. Gunther, I felt particularly did well to twist the knife against Cody, who came off as a bit more defensive in his response. Whether or not that will be enough to add a little intrigue on Sunday will be a wait-and-see.

Elsewhere, I do like the Hayes/Saints/Williams dynamic in the U.S. Title picture and a lot of that comes down to the strengths of Hayes and Williams, who are very charismatic and talented in the ring, to the point that they carry a lot of the interactions here.

All in all, kind of a poor final show before Clash in Italy. It’s clear WWE didn’t put their best foot forward here for the go-home show.

June 1, 2026 Observer Newsletter: AEW Double or Nothing review & ratings, NJPW ownership shakeup, big WWE shareholder lawsuit developments

Posted on by F4W Staff

After two weeks, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has returned.

Dave Meltzer is back from vacation with lots to talk about including:

  • A full recap of last weekend’s AEW Double or Nothing with ratings
  • A review of WWE Saturday Night’s Main event and preview of Clash in Italy
  • A breakdown of the unexpected ownership change for NJPW
  • The latest in the WWE shareholder lawsuit including a list of witnesses for next month’s trial
  • A look back at all the news, results and even more news from around the wrestling & MMA world the last two weeks

Click here to read (sub needed)