Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including some amazing appearances at TNA this past weekend, Brock Lesnar’s retirement and continued wrestling career, John Cena’s retirement and no falls down policy, the RAW report, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Tag: mainstory
WOR: Lesnar return, Marty, SNME and Double or Nothing, RAW report, BOSJ
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez is back with a solo show as Dave is enjoying a well-earned vacation. Tons to talk about including the return of Brock Lesnar and the idiotic storyline they came up with to explain all of this, Marty Jannetty’s foot amputation, Saturday Night’s Main Event and Double or Nothing, the RAW report from Monday night, Best of the Super Juniors and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE Raw live results: Roman Reigns segment, Women’s Tag title match
WWE Raw is live tonight from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Four segments are advertised ahead of time for the show. World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns will be live to address Jacob Fatu’s attack from last week. The Women’s Tag titles will also be on the line as Brie Bella and Paige defend against Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez, who will have Liv Morgan in their corner.
Oba Femi’s open challenge will also continue this week and a six-person tag match is also scheduled.
The full lineup for the show is below:
- Roman Reigns appears live
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Brie Bella & Paige defend against The Judgment Day (Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez) w/Liv Morgan
- El Grande Americano & Los Americanos (Bravo & Rayo Americano) vs. The Original Grande Americano & Los Americanos Hermanos (Brutus & Julius Creed) in a six-person tornado match
- Oba Femi’s open challenge continues
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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LIVE! from Greensboro, North Carolina.
Corey Graves & Michael Cole were on commentary for Season 34, Episode 20, of Monday Night Raw.
— Last week, Roman Reigns demanded acknowledgment, but Jacob Fatu was somewhat less than willing to oblige.
— The OTC arrived and demanded a few minutes from Adam Pearce to confront Jacob Fatu. But Pearce was all set to fire him tonight. Their conversation was interrupted by Jacob Fatu’s music playing in the arena!
Jacob Fatu Calls Out the OTC
Fatu wasted no time calling out Roman Reigns, but it was the Usos who answered the challenge. Jey brought a chair to the ring, but Jimmy brought a mic to try and talk some sense into Fatu. Jimmy laid it out for Jacob: Fatu lost at Backlash and he had to acknowledge the Tribal Chief. Instead, he attacked management and is about to be fired. Jey had enough of the talking and tried to go after Fatu with the chair, but Fatu handled both Usos easily. He absorbed a solid chair shot from Jey and put both Usos down with the Tongan Death Grip.
Roman’s music hit, and he came out with the title belt and walked faster than usual (but still slower than everyone else) Fatu and Reigns stared each other down. It wasn’t long before Roman and Fatu were exchanging blows, and while Roman got the edge momentarily, he too fell victim to the Tongan Death Grip. Jey freed Roman with a spear to Fatu, Jimmy came off the top with a splash, and the Usos combined for about 80% of a 1D.
The Usos tied up Fatu in the ropes, and Reigns laid into him with a Superman Punch. The Usos fired off a pair of superkicks. The Usos freed Fatu and Roman leveled him with one last spear.
The Tribal Chief and the Usos left, and Adam Pearce entered the arena. Reigns told Pearche he could fire Fatu, but before he could, Jacob Fatu shouted “Roman! Tribal combat!” Pearce tried to wave Reigns off, but of course Roman accepted the challenge.
“Tribal Combat” sounds like a no holds barred match where the loser has to “acknowledge” the winner as their Tribal Cheif.
— Seth Rollins, Oba Femi, and the Judgment Day were shown walking around backstage.
JD McDonough v. Finn Bálor in a Street Fight
This is the 3rd match between Bálor and McDonough, with both guys each holding a victory. Not a minute into the match, and kendo sticks and chairs are all over the ring. Bálor tripped up McDonough and he did a header into the turnbuckle. Bálor followed that up by sending McDonough headfirst into a chair. Bálor went to the floor to get a table, but McDonough came through the ropes with a tope to cut off Bálor.
McDonough took the fight into the crowd, and Bálor whipped McDonough into an equipment case. McDonough came back and sent the back of Bálor’s head into the case a couple of times. McDonough devilered a moonsault from the first row of the lower bowl, and both guys were down. Perfect time to take a commercial break!
After a three minute break, the match was back in the ring and McDonough was down. Bálor beat him with the chair like he owed him money. McDonough came back and gave Bálor an uranage on the chair and a moonsault. McDonough tried to whip Bálor into a table that had been propped up in a corner. But Bálor countered with a slingblade, and then sent McDonough through the table with a shotgun dropkick.
Bálor went for the Coupe de Grâce, but McDonough avoided it and hit a Busaiku Knee. McDonough hit a powerbomb for two. McDonough hit a moonsault for another near fall.
The crowd chanted “JD sucks” while he set up another table in the ring, then put Bálor on top of it. Bálor recovered and crotched McDonough, then put him on the table. Bálor went to the top, but Dominik Mysterio ran in to interfere. This allowed McDonough to superplex Bálor through the table. But Bálor kicked out at two!
The crowd chanted “Dom! You suck!” While the ref cleared the ring of the table and Dominik threw some aluminum trash cans into the ring. Mysterio and McDonough beat on Bálor with the cans. McDonough held Bálor in place for a 619 from Dominik , but Bálor reversed it, and McDonough ate the 619. Bálor stuffed McDonough in a trash can, hit him with a shotgun dropkick, and then finished the job with the Coupe de Grâce.
Match Result: Finn Bálor pinned JD McDonough (14:16).
— Cathy Kelly interviewed Seth Rollins in the back. Rollins knows he’s a marked man with no allies, but he has to put an end to The Vision. Rollins hasn’t a match on Raw in 9 months, but Adam Pearce has given him the main event tonight. And Rollins will take on any member of The Vision. “One of them, two of them, three of them, all of them!” (So they’ll be really dumb if all four of them don’t come out). But Rollins directly challenged Bron Breakker, accusing him of being a “nepo baby” who can’t get the job done.
— Byron Saxton (I’m legit shocked he’s still around) interviewed Sol Ruca, and she’s very positive despite her 0-2 record. She’s only been in the business for four years, after all. Becky Lynch came out to talk some trash, and thinks that having no wins in her first two matches means it’s time to go back to NXT. And so she does… to head out to the arena.
Sol Ruca Calls Out Becky Lynch
Sol’s music hit and she came out to the ring. Ruca wasn’t interested in dealing with Lynch backstage, and called her out. Lynch obliged, and Ruca challenged her to a match right here in Greensboro.
Becky would love to do this in Greensboro, North Carolina, and even though she’s the best women’s wrestler (and it’s not just her saying it, a lot of people are saying it), she doesn’t want to send another young person out of the business. But, if Ruca really wants a match, she can have one at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Ruca is fine with that, and she’ll not only snatch Lynch’s soul, she’ll snatch the Women’s Intercontinental title. But, Lynch didn’t agree to put the title on the line.
— Bron Breakker wanted to accept Rollins’ challenge, but Paul Heyman convinced him it would be better for Austin Theory to take the main event against Rollins later tonight.
El Grande Americano & Los Americanos (Bravo & Rayo Americano) vs. The Original Grande Americano & Los Americanos Hermanos (Brutus & Julius Creed) in a Tornado Tag Match
No tags, so everyone is in and out of the ring. Bravo and Rayo crotched The Original Americano against the ring post. Julio came off the top with a dive on the Bravo and Rayo. After Original took everyone out with a moonsault, he superplexed Rayo off the top for a near fall.
The Original Americano — can I just call him Chad Gable?— took it to all three of his opponents, suplexing Bravo and Rayo at the same time. Gable then suplexed the phony Americano into the turnbuckles for a near fall. Julius hit a moonsault and Gable hit a headbutt off the top on Rayo for a near fall. Julius missed a 450 splash. The new El Grande Americano and his troops all loaded up their masks, but they soon fell victim to triple German suplexes and triple moonsaults.
Rayo took out Julius with a poisoned rana. On the floor, El Grande Americano took out Gable. Brutus (I think) fell victim to a top rope rana, a top rope headbutt, and then a charging headbutt (who a loaded mask) to get the pinfall.
Match Result: El Grande Americano, Bravo, and Rayo won when Americano pinned one of the Creeds (10:43).
Confusing, but good action.
— Jacob Fatu v. Roman Reigns in a Tribal Combat match is confirmed for Clash in Italy.
— Cathy Kelly interviewed The Usos to help set the stakes for the match, but LA Knight interrupted to point out that Knight fought with The Usos to deal with The Vision, but how is what the Usos and Roman are doing any different than what the Vision does? They walked away because LA Knight has a point.
Ethan Page Sits Down with Michael Cole
Michael Cole sat down backstage with Ethan Page. Page immediately provided Cole with a list of questions he wanted asked.
“Do you know how long I’ve been doing this?” Cole asked. (Honestly, I’m shocked every time I think about it.)
Page kept handing Cole pre-written questions that were complimentary toward himself and derogatory toward Penta. Cole got fed up with Page trying to control the interview and told him that his ego would get in the way of beating Penta for the Intercontinental Championship.
Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez (w/ Liv Morgan) v. Paige & Brie Bella for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
The winners will face Nia Jax and Lash Legend at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Paige tossed Perez around by the hair to start. Bella fell victim to a tackle from Rodriguez. Perez slapped Bella and did a mocking “Yes!” chant. Paige and Bella hit some “Yes! Kicks” on their opponents, but Paige missed a dive on the floor heading into a break.
After the break, The Judgment Day crew were working over Paige in the corner. Page managed to dump Rodriguez to the floor, kick free from Perez, and then get the tag to Brie.
Brie hit some clotheslines on Perez. They did a convoluted spot where she gave Rodriguez a hangman’s neckbreaker (which looked bad because of the eye difference between the two), which caused Rodriguez to give Perez a DDT.
Liv Morgan tried to distract the ref, but this didn’t work as the champs combined to powerbomb Rodriguez out of the corner. Perez hit a knee to the back on Bella. Bella got her knees up on a Lionsault attempt. Bella went to the top, but Morgan pushed her down. But the referee saw Morgan’s interference and sent her to the back.
Rodriguez passed one of the tag belts to Perez. She took a wild swing at Bella, who ducked and rolled up Perez for the pinfall.
Match Result: Paige & Brie Bella retained when Brie Bella pinned Perez (10:06).
After the match, Morgan clotheslined the tag champs from behind. The Judgment Day held the 3-on-2 advantage for a minute, but Lyra Valkyria and Bailey ran in to make the save. Bayley dropped Morgan with a Bayley-to-Belly suplex. Valkyria took out Perez and Rodriguez with a dropkick.
— Seth Rollins was standing around in the parking lot, and LA Knight happened by to let Rollins know he would not be helping him later tonight.
— Penta responded to Ethan Page’s comments from earlier. They meet this Saturday on Saturday Night’s Main Event, live on Peacock!
Oba Femi Open Challenge
While Oba Femi was posing in the ring with the lights down, Brock Lesar returned and jumped Oba from behind! Brock hit four straight F5s. The crowd obviously lost it. I guess the rumors of Brock’s retirement were greatly exaggerated. (Just kidding —nobody bought that.)
Brock left Oba laying in the ring.
— Adam Pearce was demanding answers in the back. He went to Paul Heyman. Pearce filed retirement paperwork any everything! Heyman handed Pearce a contract signed by “Brock Legnar” for a rematch with Oba Femi for Clash in Italy.
Clash in Italy feels like it’s shaping up to be a fairly loaded card.
Not a loaded card? Saturday Night’s Main Event:
- The Street Profits v. The Vision for the World Tag Team Titles
- Becky Lynch v. Sol Ruca (non-title)
- Petna v. Ethan Page for the Intercontinental Title.
- Paige & Brie Bella v. The Irresistible Forces
- Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair v. Michin, Jade Cagrill & B-Fab
— Cathy Kelly interviewed The Street Profits heading into their tag title match this Saturday. They want the smoke and the tag team titles. Angelo Dawkins saw Seth Rollins getting ready for his match. While Montez Ford still wanted nothing to do with Rollins, Dawkins appreciated Rollins’ help last week and went to thank him. Rollins was still kind of a jerk to Dawkins. I hope they’re not really teasing dissention between Dawkins and Ford now, after all these years.
Seth Rollins v. Austin Theory (w/ Logan Paul)
Rollins hit both Paul and Theory with a dive while they were taunting him on the floor. Rollins and Theory fought around the ring for a bit while the crowd sang “Fire Logan Paul!”
Back in the ring, Rollins sent Theory into the corner with a Buckle Bomb. Rollins sent Theory to the floor with a boot. Standing on the apron, Rollins tried to kick Theory (who was on the floor), but Theory caught him and smashed his ankle into the ring post. Theory then sandwiched the ankle against the ring steps to further damage the ankle.
Theory worked over Rollin’s leg in the ring. Paul yanked Rollins to the floor, and he landed on his already-injured foot. Theory crotched him on the ringside barricade, then hit him with a rolling forearm.
After a commercial, Theory was working over Rollins’ ankle in the ring. Rollins came back with a Falcon Arrow. Rollins came back so strong it ruined the picture for a minute. He hit a series of clotheslines on Theory, but ate a back elbow. Theory went for a rolling rana, but Rollins countered with a sit-out powerbomb for two.
Rollins tried for The Stomp, but his legs were too messed up. He tried for a Pedigree, but Theory blocked that. A sit-out powerbomb out of a torture rack got Theory a near fall, and he immediately transitioned into a half-crab.
Rollins was down, and Theory went for a stomp… but Rollins caught him with a clothesline. Rollins climbed to the middle rope, but while Theory had the ref’s attention, Logan Paul shoved Rollins down. Theory then stomped Rollins, but that only got two.
Frustrated, Theory pounded away at Rollins. Logan Paul slipped Theory the brass knuckles. Paul distracted the ref, but Rollins came back with a superkick. Rollins went for the brass knuckles, but the ref caught Rollins and took them away.
Theory tried for a rollup on the distracted Rollins, but he reversed it into a Pedigree and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Seth Rollins pinned Austin Theory (12:53).
Paul jumped Rollins after the match. Angelo Dawkins ran in to even the odds, but he got eaten up by the tag champs. Montez Ford ran in to save Dawkins, taking out both Paul and Theory with a over the ringpost dive.
Back in the ring, Ford chastised his partner. Bron Breakker ran in to hit a spear on Dawkins, but Ford pushed his partner out of the way and took the bullet. Breakker took out Dawkins with a gut buster. Seth Rollins went after Breakker, but Paul tripped him up from the outside and he got speared as well.
The Vision then took it to Rollins three on one. Paul and Theory spread out Rollins on the lower half of the ring steps so Breakker could smash him with the other half, but Adam Pearce and his gaggle of geeks ran in to put a stop to the carnage. Breakker hit Rollins with another spear before the Vision walked off.
Final Thoughts:
There was some good action in the opener and the main event, and a big shock angle with Brock’s return. The Italy show feels loaded as Cody/Gunther, Roman/Jacob, and Brock/Oba (although that last match isn’t yet offical) are three big main events.
WOL: Ronda vs. Gina, Baron Corbin, Smackdown, more!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the potential return of Baron Corbin and how he could be used, the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano show, Smackdown from Friday night, plus all the frivolity you expect. A fun show as always so check it out~!
B&V: Smackdown, Collision and Rousey vs. Carano!
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about including thoughts on three big shows, the Smackdown with Royce Keys vs. Gunther in the main event number-one contender’s match, Collision with Darby defending against versus Sammy Guevara, and Ronda Rousey’s fight with Gina Carano! A fun show as always so check it out~!
WOL: You’re wrong about Rousey vs. Carano & I was wrong about Darby Allin
For the first time in nearly three months, Josh Nason has returned to the microphone for the Sunday Wrestling Observer Live, filling in for Andrew Zarian.
And what a fitting time to fill in as Josh returned to his MMA writing & talking roots following Saturday’s inaugural (?) MMA show on Netflix featuring Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano after a combined 27 years of inactivity.
Josh debunks some of the bad faith narratives that emerged after the show and gave his thoughts on the highs and lows.
He then delves into the latest with AEW including the Double or Nothing card a week away from the show, this Wednesday’s killer card for the combo Dynamite/Collision show in his old hometown, and why he admits he was wrong about the Darby Allin AEW World title run.
All that and a bit more awaits at no charge.
You can listen (no sub needed) on our site, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
WOR: Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano recap, AEW & WWE weekend news
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio.
Paul Fontaine joined us to discuss the first MVP MMA show on Netflix featuring Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano in the main event.
Dave and I also talked about:
- AEW Collision & Dave’s thoughts on Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
- Double or Nothing ticket sales
- Mick Foley and Barry Blaustein
- Royce Keys vs. Gunther
- Lawsuit updates
- WWE house shows
- Randy Orton and Baron Corbin
Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)
Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano on Netflix live results: Two legends return to the MMA cage
For the first time ever, Netflix will hold an MMA event as they continue their relationship with Jake Paul’s MVP promotion.
The headliner features former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returning to action for the first time in nearly a decade against former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gina Carano, fighting for the first time in 17 years. It will likely be the final bout for both women.
The co-main event will see former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou battle former UFC fighter Philipe Lins.
In a high-profile fight between two fan favorites, Nate Diaz returns to the MMA cage against Mike Perry who transitioned from MMA to bare knuckle fighting to raise his profile.
The rest of the main card features Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross at lightweight and former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos against Robelis Despaigne.
Our live coverage kicks off with the main card at 9 pm Eastern.
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Former UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is on the analyst desk along with Ariel Helwani. Cain Velasquez is interviewed cageside before the first fight featuring his long time rival Junior Dos Santos and he doesn’t think it will go long.
Mauro Ranallo and Kenny Florian are the play by play team for this card.
Junior Dos Santos (21-10) vs Robelis Despaigne (5-2) – Heavyweights
JDS out to “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky. Gets a nice response from the late arriving crowd. JDS comes in on a 5 fight losing streak, having lost won in 2019. Despaigne lost his last two UFC fights before being cut in 2024 and this is his first fight back. Frank Trigg is the referee.
Despaigne rocks JDS with his first few shots. JDS makes an impact with a hard leg kick. JDS drops him with a leg kick. Despaigne lands a nice punch combo to the head and follows up with an uppercut. Great punch combo and a head kick by Despaigne and JDS is reeling. He’s busted open and bleeding from the mouth. Despaigne knocks him out cold with a beautiful combo.
Winner – Robelis Despaigne (6-2) by KO at 2:59
Ariel Helwani interviews Despaigne after the fight. Asks if he will stay in MMA now after leaving in 2024 or go back to karate. Calls out Francis N’Gannou but says he’d like to do both. He also wants a bonus for the knockout and Ariel tells him to talk to “Jake” (Paul).
Salahdine Parnasse (22-2) vs Kenneth Cross (17-4) – Lightweights
Cross is training partners with Gina Carano, who fights later tonight in the main event. Parnasse is a 2 division champion of KSW in Poland and comes in on a 4 fight win streak. Cross has also won 4 straight but lost his only fight for a major promotion, in Bellator, in 2023. Jason Herzog is the official for this fight.
Parnasse immediately catches a kick and takes Cross down but he gets right up. They fight for control on the cage before Parnasse takes him down again. Cross up fairly easily. Both guys landing wild strikes after they separate. Cross stuffed on a takedown attempt. Parnasse takes him down again and lands some ground and pound. Takes the back and working for a rear naked choke. Parnasse flattens him out with punches. Cross is turtling and the ref warns him to fight back. Cross to his feet but still eating a lot of punches. Parnasse mixing in strikes to the head and body and Cross goes down clutching his liver and the ref stops it.
WInner – Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) by TKO at 4:18
That was the first knockout loss of Cross’ career. Parnasse interviewed after the fight and talks in both English and French. Says he’d be willing to box or fight MMA and just wants another fight in this company. Was asked if he felt pressure for this fight and he said he didn’t because he feels he’s the best fighter in the world. Is asked who he’d like to fight next and says “anyone, anytime”. Then says Diaz or Perry.
One of the promoters was interviewed by Helwani. Says he’s pleased with the show so far. Will not commit to doing another show. Asked if he’ll try to convince Ronda to fight again and he says she’ll always have a place with MVP either as a fighter or promoter.
Francis Ngannou (18-3) vs Philipe Lins (18-5) – Heavyweights
Lins comes in on a 4 fight win streak in UFC, but hasn’t fought since March 2024. Ngannou is being billed as the linneal heavyweight champion, having left UFC as champion in a contract dispute. He is on a 6 fight win streak in MMA. Herb Dean is the referee.
Ngannou throwing a lot of kicks early. Lins with a takedown attempt and Ngannou takes his neck. Gives the choke up quickly. Both guys having good success with leg kciks. Ngannou sprawls out of a takedown attempt and gets Lins on his back. Lands some ground and pound before Lins ties him up. Lins up but Ngannou stalking him with punches. Lins lands a nice hope shot. Ngannou up 22-3 in strikes landed 3 minutes in. Seems to be tiring already. Ngannou starting to work the body in the clinch. They separate with 45 seconds left. Ngannou knocks him out cold.
Winner – Francis Ngannou (19-3) by KO at 4:31
Ariel interview Ngannou after the fight. Says he respects Lins, who was tougher than he thought. Says this was a reminder of just who he is. Says he wasn’t worried about cage rust. It’s an instinct that’s always in him. Ariel asks about Robelis Despaigne. Said he had a good knockout. They are both in the running for performance of the night and they are on a collision course. Jon Jones was watching and Ariel points him out at the analyst desk. Says Joes is a great fighter but he has something to learn about business. Said this fight needs to happen before they retire. But it has to be here. Said that Jake Paul is just a blah blah guy and he doesn’t respect him. He’s glad he found someone to run the business side. Says Jones is tied up but Paul isn’t and if he wants him next. Says if he’s grown up, then maybe. Asks Jake about it. Crowd gives him the loudest boos of the night. Says he’ll fight him. They’re here to get fighters paid more and to get them watched more than people in the UFC. Says he’ll box him, doesn’t seem to want to fight him. Ngannou closes saying he’s the best heavyweight in the world, period while Jon Jones smiles from the desk.
Woodley and Jones talk on the desk. Jones says he’s trying to get out of his UFC contract. Wants to fight Francis and since Dana won’t make the fight it’s got to happen here. Jones says Francis fought a light heavyweight tonight but he looked good. Woodley says that he should get Netflix to pick up the legal tab to get him out of his UFC contract. Jones is asked about the main event. Says that Ronda is the main reason he’s here. He’s close friends with her and think she’ll do amazing tonight. Also says that Gina is the reason Rousey was able to do what she did and puts her over as the most important woman in the history of MMA. Jones closes by saying he’s officially retired. He’s asked about Ronda and Gina coming back after being retired and he says “well they don’t have arthritis and I do”.
Mike Perry (14-8) vs Nate Diaz (21-13) – Welterweights
Perry is fighting MMA for the first time since 2021 where he lost his last two fights in UFC. He last won over Mickey Gall in June 2020. Diaz won his last UFC fight in September 2022 over Tony Ferguson and has gone 1-1 in boxing matches since then. He gets the loudest pop of the night so far for his walkout. Mike Beltran is the ref.
Perry all over Diaz early. Diaz trying to clinch up. Diaz takes him down but Perry takes top position. Perry landing ground and pound. Diaz working a sub from his back. He’s got Perry’s legs all tied up. Loud DIAZ chants from the crowd. Perry gets up and forces Nate to follow. Perry starting to work the body. both guys looking tired. Perry lands a knee to the body and Diaz seems to be in real trouble. Diaz covering up his body which opens up the head. Diaz starting to fight back with 2 minutes left. Diaz is busted open with a cut over his right eye. Diaz firing back with hard jabs. Perry cut open now beside his nose. More DIAZ chants. Diaz takes the back standing but Perry quickly takes control> Elbows to the head to close the round. 10-9 Perry
Mauro brings up that Diaz would like a rubber match with Conor McGregor which is interesting since his return fight for UFC was just announced for July 11. Perry looking really good early in the 2nd, landing a lot of punches standing. Perry mixing in elbows to the head and punches to the body. Diaz still firing back. Perry is definitely looking most tired although Diaz’ face is covered with blood. Perry takes his back standing. Tries for a choke and that allows Diaz to escape. The blood is dripping into Diaz’ eyes, which is bothering him. Perry throws Diaz to the matt and then follows up with punches to the head. Diaz throws up an armbar but Perry escapes easily. Perry backs off, forcing Diaz up. He gets up very slowly. He’s now bleeding from the back of his head as well. The blood is really getting bad and this could be stopped after the round. Diaz needs the cage to hold him up at points. Perry continuing to stalk him. Perry drops him to close the round. 10-8 Perry but this could be over.
The fight is indeed stopped between rounds.
Winner – Mike Perry (15-8) via corner stoppage at 5:00 of Round 2
Ariel Helwani interviews Mike Perry. Says he got tired from hitting Diaz so much. Puts him over as being tough and has no quit in him. Says they did their job. Crowd cheered Diaz and booed him. He’s thankful for the opportunity given by Netflix and MVP. Ariel asks him if he’s disappointed for not winning emphatically, which was kind of a dumb question and Perry says it was emphatic. Couldn’t have been more definitive than that. He calls out Conor McGregor and the fans cheer that. He asks for an MMA fight with Jake Paul and Jake is up for that. Paul beat him in a boxing match. Says cardio wasn’t an issue tonight because he didn’t get to the championship rounds. He’s asked if he’ll stick with MMA now. Says he’s an all around fighter and great in the clinch so seems up to another fight.
He talks to Diaz as well. Congratulates him on a valiant effort. Says Perry did everything he was expecting. Broke his finger two minutes in. Says he’ll come back and get Perry and even says he’ll take out Paul and Helwani. He congratulates Perry on a good fight and says the stoppage was warranted. Perry seems up for another fight.
CM Punk was interviewed at cageside. He’s picking Ronda Rousey to win by armbar. Celebrities shown at ringside include James Cameron, David Spade, Tommy Lee and Michael Irvin.
Main Event – Gina Carano (7-1) vs Ronda Rousey (12-2) – Featherweights
Rousey out to “Bad Reputation” and gets a mixed reaction from the crowd. This is Gina’s first fight since losing to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce in August 2009. Ronda is fighting for the first time since December 2016, having lost her last two UFC fights. Big John McCarthy is the referee.
Ronda takes her down immediately. Gina with a guillotine attempt. Ronda with an armbar and it’s over.
Winner – Ronda Rousey 13-2) via armbar submission in 17 seconds
Ariel interviews both ladies in the cage. Compares it to Cat Zingano in this same city. Ronda says Gina brought her in and is the only person who could’ve brought her back. She’s in tears. “You changed my world and we changed the world”. Ronda thanks MVP and Netflix and says the fans in the building and at home give this show value. They’re here to fight for the fans. She says she was hoping it would go like it did. She didn’t want to hurt Gina. Ariel asks if she wanted more time and Ronda says “hell no!”. Thanks her family and coaches and training partners for getting her here. Says that Gina is her hero and thanked her for bringing her home. Ariel asks if we could see more of Ronda in a cage. Ronda says this was the perfect ending and she wants to go have babies now.
Gina says she wanted it to last longer. She’s never felt that good in the cage. Says that just getting back in the cage was a victory. She is disappointed because she wanted a fight and didn’t really get it. Says she lost 100 lbs and probably added years to her life because of it. Ariel asks if she wants to keep doing this. Being away 17 years and being 44 years old is a lot. She’ll talk about it with her family. Says you never know. Maybe she should’ve matched up against a striker.
Jake Paul says we will definitely see more MVP MMA. Says they’re taking over MMA and Dana White better be prepared.
AEW Collision live results: Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
AEW presents a live episode of Collision tonight from the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland.
The same venue hosted Friday night’s ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view.
Darby Allin will once again put his AEW World Championship on the line tonight as he defends against Sammy Guevara. The TBS Championship will also be on the line, with Willow Nightingale defending against Red Velvet.
In an AEW World Trios Championship Eliminator match, the champions, The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, and Kyle O’Reilly), will wrestle former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty, Shawn Dean, and Carlie Bravo), who dropped their titles to Dalton Castle and The Outrunners on Friday.
Samoa Joe and Anthony Bowens of The Opps will team up to take on Jay Lethal and Lee Johnson.
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion (Lena Kross and Megan Bayne) will wrestle a five-minute Eliminator challenge. Their opponents have yet to be named.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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Collision opened with Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness running down the card, and then went directly to a Jon Moxley promo.
–Moxley talked about his upcoming match with Kyle O’Reilly, and how O’Reilly had his number whenever they have stepped into the ring, and that he tapped out twice to O’Reilly. Moxley did not make excuses or deny that it happened, and by conventional logic, he acknowledged that he should stay away from Kyle O’Reilly, but he was not the same Jon Moxley he was six months ago, and he wasn’t even the same Moxley he was 24 hours earlier, so O’Reilly better be prepared for a Jon Moxley he hasn’t faced before. This was an awesome promo.
Claudio Castagnoli then spoke, saying that Brody King had quite the bark, but that he was going to see if Brody King had any real bite. PAC then stood up and said that it did not matter who you were, it was the Death Riders against the world. Yuta and Garcia agreed, and Marina Shafir challenged everyone to bring it. This segment ruled.
The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty, Shawn Dean, & Carlie Bravo) (w/ Shane Taylor)
Mark Briscoe started the match with Carlie Bravo and he quickly tagged out to Lee Moriarty after a chop from Briscoe’s redneck kung-fu. O’Reilly tagged in and began exchanging some technical wrestling with the current ROH Pure champion, including some creative transitions into pinfall attempts. Moriarty tried to hit a sunset flip, which O’Reilly immediately transitioned into an armbar that his teammates wanted nothing of, so they broke it up. O’Reilly almost locked on an ankle lock, but Moriarty scrambled.
After a series to punches on Moriarty in the corner, Orange Cassidy did a bunch of comedy spots with Charlie Bravo and Shawn Dean. Moriarty cut Cassidy off on the apron and Orange Cassidy was hit with a legdrop on the apron by Shane Taylor as they went to a commercial break on TNT. Throughout the ad break, Shane Taylor Promotions got the heat on Orange Cassidy. When the came back the old leverage with an abdominal stretch spot was being done by all four members of Shane Taylor Promotions. That was quite funny.
Orange Cassidy hit a hip toss on Moriarty and then tagged out to O’Reilly who hit several strikes on Moriarty, but as soon as he went for a submission, Bravo and Dean raced in to break it up. O’Reilly was briefly in trouble, but managed to tag out to Mark Briscoe, who came in with a great hot tag, hitting chops, forearms, and counters to everything Dean and Bravo threw at him until he called for the Jay Driller on Bravo.
Bravo countered, but was soon dumped to the floor. Orange Cassidy hit a tope suicida on Moriarty while Briscoe was going to hit a dive with an assist from a chair, but Shane Taylor got on the apron to block it. Orange Cassidy hit the Orange Punch of Cassidy, Briscoe hit the dive, then threw Bravo back in the ring before hitting the Froggy Bow and a Jay Driller for the pinfall. Very fun trios match.
Result: The Conglomeration defeated Shane Taylor Promotions
–A recap video aired of Tommaso Ciampa’s actions when he betrayed Mark Briscoe, indicating that this feud from Ciampa and Briscoe will be resuming soon.
–Will Ospreay was backstage and apologized for not answering Samoa Joe’s messages, but said that while he respected Joe, and Joe was in the match that made him want to become a professional wrestler (Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles), he needed to learn from the Ace of AEW, Jon Moxley. Moxley may have violent and vile methods, but he could bring Ospreay back to what he needed to be, and make Ospreay even better, and that is why he wants to see what he is like with Moxley in his corner. He isn’t doing this because he thinks Moxley is a good person, but that he believes Moxley is the key for him getting back on track to winning the AEW World Championship, and unfortunately for Joe, that means Joe is not going to survive the first round of the Owen. Excellent promo from Ospreay that explains his motivations clearly for anyone that doesn’t understand it – Moxley has the killer instinct that Ospreay wants.
–The Conglomeration were backstage with Lexy Nair and Kyle O’Reilly talked about how he had an elimination match against Jon Moxley on Wednesday, and he was, again, going to tap out Jon Moxley and then take the Continental title from him. Mark Briscoe called out Tommaso Ciampa again, and it was announced that they would have a match on Wednesday as well. Willow Nightingale then said that she wanted more gold and was going to defeat Red Velvet tonight.
–Red Velvet was backstage and said she was angry that Nightingale was in the Owen and she wasn’t, but she was going to make up for this tonight by defeating Willow Nightingale.
Willow Nightingale vs. Red Velvet for the TBS Championship
The match started with a technical exchange that saw Red Velvet getting the advantage. Velvet also hit Nightingale quite hard several times, and botched a standing moonsault when she landed with her knees on Willow rather than her midsection. The action spilled outside and Velvet continued with hard strikes and then went for a vertical suplex on the floor. Willow Nightingale blocked it and hit a suplex of her own. That looked brutal! Very hard bump there.
Nightingale and Velvet exchanged strikes until Nightingale hit one hard forearm and then Nightingale did an airplane spin and hit a Samoan Drop for a 2-count. Nightingale then transitioned into a submission. Nightingale hit a snap suplex for a 2-count. Nightingale and Velvet ended up on the apron and Nightingale went for her rolling senton off the apron, but Velvet moved and Nightingale crashed to the mat.
Velvet hit a bulldog out of a wheelbarrow back in the ring for a 2-count, but as she hit the ropes Nightingale hit a spinebuster that got a 2-count. Nightingale went for a Oklahoma Stampede, but Velvet countered into a tornado DDT. Nightingale then countered a cravat into a powerslam, and then went for a powerbomb, but Velvet countered. Velvet put herself into a wheelbarrow again going for something, but Nightingale countered into a full nelson slam for 2.
Nightingale went to the top rope but Velvet countered it into a O’Connor roll that planted Nightingale. Velvet hit a knee strike and got a 2-count. Velvet, frustrated, got up and hit the ropes, and Nightingale hit the parallel ropes and hit a pounce before hitting the Babe with the Powerbomb for the win.
Result: Willow Nightingale defeated Red Velvet
This match started a little rough, but they worked so hard to make it work, and my goodness, they did. This was a good match by the end with Red Velvet looking very dangerous. Nightingale did a lot to sell for her in this match, and she looked like she is more than ready to step into one of the title pictures on AEW TV despite being the ROH Women’s Television Champion. Good match.
–A hype video aired showing Sammy Guevara challenging Darby Allin for the world title. He said that he beat Darby Allin 4 times in the past, and that this would be the fifth time. This was followed by a promo where Guevara said many of the same things, but also included comments where he said he would then go to Double or Nothing and shave MJF bald too, but promised to make it more like a nice fade. That was funny.
–Darby Allin was backstage and was interviewed by Lexy Nair. She asked Allin about his title match with Guevara, and Allin answered by saying that a lot of people have wondered why he would keep taking title shots week after week so close to the PPV when he could lose the title before then. Allin said that, unlike MJF, he loved AEW, and loved fighting and defending its greatest prize. He said Guevara was one of the few guys as crazy as he was, and if he succeeded in defending the title he would take Speedball Mike Bailey’s challenge for Dynamite, and that it was showtime. Great promo here from Allin. He has really turned into a good talker.
–As the announcers were talking about this we heard chaos backstage and Tommaso Ciampa and Mark Briscoe were brawling. Briscoe brought Ciampa into the ring and looked to be hit the Jay Driller on a chair, but Ciampa low blowed Briscoe. Ciampa then setup two chairs in the ring and went to suplex Briscoe on them, but Orange Cassidy and O’Reilly ran down to make the save. Briscoe then grabbed a mic and said that the match on Dynamite would be a No DQ match so they can finally settle this. This is going to be a very fun, and violent, match.
Samoa Joe & Anthony Bowens vs. Jay Lethal & Lee Johnson (w/ Blake Christian)
Lethal started the match and indicated to Bowens that he wanted Samoa Joe, facing off against his former teacher. Lethal chopped Joe, who no sold it, then Lethal did a Fargo Strut. Joe responded with a series of jabs and strikes that took the fun out of this for Lethal. It seems Lethal still has some lessons to learn from his former mentor. Lethal went to the floor and Joe tagged out to Bowens. Johnson tagged in and faced off with Bowens.
Eventually Lethal started running around the ring, and Bowens made him pay, driving him into the apron, which brought joy to Samoa Joe. Joe tagged in and hit Johnson with a senton, and then chopped Lethal who went to the top rope. This distracted Joe enough for Johnson to attack, allowing Joe to be hit with a missile dropkick from Lethal as they went to an ad break. They isolated Joe in their corner during the break, and included attacks from Blake Christian as the referee’s back was turned. Lethal hit a dropkick that dropped Joe and screamed, “I hate you!” as he punched him.
Johnson and Lethal hit a combo enziguri and dragon screw legwhip. Lethal hit the ropes but Joe hit a powerslam and tagged out to Bowens for the hot tag, who ran wild, including hitting a neckbreaker on Lethal. Bowens hit an elevated Fameasser on Lethal and then torture rack bomb of sorts for a 2-count. Bowens hit a superkick on Johnson, who ran in, and then Johnson hit one of his own, letting Lethal hit a flying elbow for a 2-count. Lethal tried to hit a Lethal Injection on Joe, but Joe countered it into a rear naked choke, but Lethal fought out, went for a figure four, and Joe countered again into the rear naked choke. Bowens then locked an arm twist on Johnson and got the submission for the win.
Result: Samoa Joe & Anthony Bowens defeated Jay Lethal & Lee Johnson
–Bowens grabbed a mic and said that while he was lost over the last year, he found himself a place he could call home, and he was learning to be the killer he knew he was. Samoa Joe took the mic and said that he was honoured that Ospreay saw his match with him as a dream match, but for Ospreay, it was going to be a nightmare. Short, simple, and effective promo.
–A hype video aired for Swerve Strickland and Bandido, which is a first round match in the Owen Hart Tournament. This included showing highlights of Swerve attacking Bandido at the ROH PPV last night, laying him out with a Vertebreaker on a chair.
–Brody King and Bandido were backstage and King promised Swerve would pay for what he did, but Bandido cut him off and said that it was his fight, and he was going to make Swerve pay for his attack.
–Divine Dominion said that their next 5 minute challenge was not going to pretty, as the first one only lasted
Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) vs. Allie Katch & Kaia McKenna
This went as you would expect, and in 1:50 Divine Dominon pinned Allie Katch.
Result: Divine Dominion defeated Allie Katch & Kaia McKenna
–A hype video aired for the AEW Women’s World Championship, with every woman commenting on the match, with the majority of dialogue given by Kris Statlander, identifying each person and how she felt about them, including how unsure she was of Hikaru Shida at the moment.
–Athena and Mina Shirakawa were backstage and cut promos on each other about their upcoming first round match in the Owen. Athena promised to send Shirakawa to the ditch where Toni Storm was, leaving her for dead.
–A recap video aired of Lio Rush vs. AR Fox, and we saw Action Andretti shoving Lio Rush from the top rope allowing Fox to hit a 450 splash for the pinfall. Nigel McGuinness was backstage earlier with Lio Rush, and Rush claimed that everything was fine. As McGuinness walked away, black ooze came out of Rush’s mouth as he took of his sunglasses to reveal red eyes.
–The War Dogs were making their entrance, and a backstage hand accidentally dropped Clark Connor’s toothpicks, which led to him beating the hand up before walking out to the ring.
The War Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) & Mark Davis vs. The Rascalz (Zachery Wentz, Dezmond Xavier, and Myron Reed)
The Rascalz took it right to Mark Davis, triple teaming him as the match started, which is one way to deal with the size difference, but as they sent Davis to the ropes, Finlay and Connors pulled Davis to the floor to save him. They then decided to make a charge together, but got knocked back to the floor. The Rascalz then tried to hit a dive, but the War Dogs cut them off, and Davis caught Xavier and dropped him. Davis missed a corner charge and at repeated kicks from Xavier, who tagged out to Wentz, and then they resumed the trios attack on Davis, laying him out after some effort.
David Finlay came in, caught Xavier and sent him flying into his own partners before the Dogs and Davis triple teamed Wentz. Turnabout is fair play, it seems. Finlay proceeded to get the heat on Wentz, and Connors was more than happy to take cheap shots as he did. Connors tagged in but Wentz was able to knock Davis off the apron and then shove Connors away. Wentz crawled towards his corner, but Connors cut him off. It was around this moment that Tony Schiavone compared Roddy Piper to Nigel McGuinness, saying Piper would take of his skirt, wrestle, and then go to the commentary desk. McGuinness, with disgust (and correctly) said, “It’s a kilt, Schiavone!”
As the Rascalz tried to hit a triple team move, Finlay hit a uranage into a back breaker, but the Rascalz hit double poisonranas on Finlay and Connors, then Xavier hit a superplex on Davis. The Rascalz then hit dives onto everyone, and Reed and Wentz flipped Xavier into a dropkick on Davis before all three hit different high flying moves, but the Dogs made the save.
Connors hit a pounce that sent Wentz almost flying into the guardrail. Reed went for a cutter over the ropes on Davis, but Davis blocked it and killed Reed with a lariat and piledriver before sending Reed into the Last Clip by the Dogs for the pinfall.
Result: The War Dogs & Mark Davis
–Anna Jay was backstage and said that she just came back, and she was not killed, like Willow Nightingale predicted. Tay Melo walked into the screen and said that she was also back, so it seems the women’s tag division has another team, and we might get a match between Nightingale and Anna Jay in the future if Nightingale retains the title at Double or Nothing.
Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara for the AEW World Championship in a No Count Out Match
Guevara hit a curb stomp on Allin onto the AEW title to start the match, setup a table at the entrance area, and then setup a ladder. Guevara put Allin on the table and then climbed the ladder, and hit a senton bomb off the top of the ladder on Allin through the table. Guevara put Allin into the ring for a two count. Guevara went for Go to Hell, but Allin blocked it and locked on the Scorpion Death Lock, but it seemed that Allin got dizzy and fell to the mat. The referee pulled Guevara away, but he hit a springboard splash for a 2-count, and Allin still kicked out somehow.
Allin manged to fight back into a position to do a Coffin Drop, but Guevara shoved him from the ropes, and Darby crashed butt first onto the ropes, then flipped backwards to the floor hitting his face on the apron on the way down. Schiavone’s call here was excellent, calling it with shock. Guevara hit a kick on the floor, and Allin was laid out again, but he kept getting up. Guevara then hit the three amigos in the ring for a 2-count. Guevara hit a superkick on Allin for another near fall.
Allin blocked a kick from Guevara, who flipped backwards, but Allin hit a shotgun dropkick. Allin then went for a tope suicida, but Guevara countered into a cutter. Guevara then went for a springboard into a cutter in the ring, but Allin caught him in a rear naked choke, forcing Guevara to go to the ropes to break it. Allin then went for a coffin drop on the apron, but before he could, Guevara rolled across the apron. Guevara then hit a flying double stomp onto the standing Allin, which was insane, for a 2-count.
Guevara managed to hit Go to Hell twice a few minutes later, and then Guevara hit a frog splash for another 2-count. Guevara setup a table on the floor, as we are well into overrun territory on the show right now. Guevara then went for a 630 splash to the floor through the table, but Allin moved and Guevara crashed through the table. Allin then rolled Guevara in and hit a Coffin Drop for the pinfall.
Result: Darby Allin defeated Sammy Guevara
Allin looked half dead at the end of this match, which is showing the story of his reign thus far – he is getting worn down. This main event match was excellent, if not a bit too long. That said, it was still very good.
Final Thoughts
This was not as good as last week’s one hour Collision, but it was still a good show. We got some good promos from Moxley and Ospreay, and some development of stories heading into AEW Double or Nothing. All in all, a thumbs up show.
UFC Fight Night 276 live results: Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa
A busy stretch of events for the UFC ends this weekend before a week off as the Octagon returns to the Meta Apex in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 276.
The main event is a battle of ranked featherweights as Arnold Allen takes on Melquizael Costa in the five-round headliner. Allen is looking to get back into both the win column and the title picture following a loss to Jean Silva in January. Costa enters his first UFC main event riding a six-fight win streak and is coming off a big win over Dan Ige.
The co-main event is a featherweight clash pitting the exciting Doo Ho Choi against Daniel Santos. Also on the main card is a bantamweight bout between Malcolm Wellmaker and the debuting Juan Diaz; Modestas Bukauskas takes on short-notice debutant Christian Edwards in a catchweight fight; and welterweights Nikolay Veretennikov and Khaos Williams kick off the main card.
PRELIMS | 5 PM ET | 2 PM PT
> Women’s Strawweights- Shauna Bannon (7-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. Nicolle Caliari (8-4, 0-2 UFC)
Caliari comes out throwing and Caliari gets a takedown as they scramble to the mat but get up and are clinched against the fence. Caliari gets another takedown and is working inside the guard of Bannon. Caliari landing some body shots. Caliari landing more from the top and looks to stand, but Bannon recovers full guard. Caliari controls and stands and lands some punches before getting to side control. Caliari is attacking an arm and looking to set up a kimura. Caliari lets go and lands a pair of knees to the body. 10-9 Caliari.
Caliari comes out landing a pair of leg kicks. Caliari pressing forward and grabs a leg, but lets go along the fence. Caliari has the leg and grabs the back against the fence. Caliari scores a takedown and is in the half-guard. Caliari working from inside the guard and lands. They are put on their feet. Bannon throws a body kick but Caliari grabs the body. Caliari lets go and Bannon lands another body kick before Caliari looks for a takedown. Bannon reverses to the top and lands from the half-guard. Bannon lands an elbow from the top. Bannon lands some elbows from the back late. 10-9 Bannon, 19-19.
Bannon lands a leg kick then a combination ending with a front kick. Bannon with a leg kick. Caliari lands a right hand as Bannon misses a spin kick. Caliari lands a combination to the body before they clinch against the fence. They separate and Caliari lands a stiff jab. Caliari gets Bannon to the ground and lands a big elbow from the top. Caliari lands some punches and elbows from the top. Caliari looking for an arm-triangle choke. She is squeezing and gets the mount and steps over and Bannon taps! Caliari picks up the submission win.
Fight Result- Nicolle Caliari def. Shauna Bannon by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:08 of Round 3
> Flyweights- Daniel Barez (17-7, 1-2 UFC) vs. Luis Gurule (10-3, 0-3 UFC)
They trade leg kicks. Barez lands a right hand. Gurule pressuring and lands a big flurry but Barez is able to grab control and has the back along the fence. Gurule escapes and lands a right hand. Barez gets a takedown and takes the back. Barez looks for a choke and looks for an arm-triangle choke as Gurule reverses to the top. Gurule is looking for an anaconda choke. Barez is able to defend and they scramble to their feet. Gurule lands a few right hands. They trade leg kicks. Barez shoots for a takedown and pushes Gurule to the fence. Gurule reverses position. Gurule with some left hands as they separate. Gurule lands a right hand. They both land late. 10-9 Gurule.
They trade to start the second. Barez lands a right hand. Gurule with a leg kick as Barez comes forward. They trade leg kicks. Barez hurts Gurule with a right hand. Gurule attacks a leg, but Barez escapes and lands some punches. Gurule recovers and they trade. Barez lands a right hand. They trade right hands and Barez lands a combination. Barez landing with more volume at the moment. Gurule lands a right hand. Gurule now starting to pick up the volume as he lands a hard jab and a hard right hand. Gurule wobbles Barez with a left hand and lands some big punches. Gurule is landing against the fence and Barez is hurt. Barez clinches but Gurule grabs the back and lands a German suplex. Gurule has the back and is landing along the fence. Barez gets to his feet. They separate and Gurule lands a right hand. Gurule lands a flurry against the fence. Gurule lands a right hand and another. 10-9 Gurule, 20-18 Gurule.
They trade inside the pocket as Gurule lands a leg kick. Gurule lands a pair of right hands and lands to the body against the fence. Gurule with some uppercuts and right hands. Gurule lands a big combination as Barez looked for a takedown opening. Gurule landing with way more volume as he keeps tagging Barez with short combinations. They trade punches in close range. Gurule lands a big left hand. Gurule lands a right hand. Gurule lands a combination. Barez with a pair of right hands. Gurule with a left hand. They trade punches. Both land at the end. 10-9 Gurule, 30-27 Gurule.
Fight Result- Luis Gurule def. Daniel Barez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Women’s Strawweights- Alice Ardelean (11-7, 2-2 UFC) vs. Polyana Viana (13-8, 4-7 UFC)
They both land a leg kick at the same time to start. They trade more kicks. Ardelean lands a right hand before they trade leg kicks. Ardelean lands another right hand and Viana says she was poked in the eye, but it was a punch and they keep going. They trade as Ardelean comes forward. Ardelean lands some shots. Viana lands an elbow. Ardelean with a big combo and Viana is swinging back. They clinch and Viana lands an elbow. Ardelean lands a big shot and Viana goes to her knees. She gets up and they trade inside the pocket. Viana lands a body kick. Ardelean with a right hand. Viana lands a body kick. Ardelean with a combination. Ardelean landing the bigger punches. They trade late. 10-9 Ardelean.
They trade and Ardelean scores a takedown. Ardelean is controlling from the half-guard, but there isn’t a ton of action going on. Viana lands some elbows from the bottom. Ardelean remains in the full guard of Viana and lands some shots from the top. They are told to work by the referee. Ardelean lands and all of a sudden Viana yells out a verbal submission and the fight is stopped. It looks like Viana hurt her leg or knee as Viana had the body triangle around Ardelean and Ardelean used her back to squeeze Viana’s legs backward and Viana started tapping. A very unique finish.
Fight Result- Alice Ardelean def. Polyana Viana by submission (capsule lock) at 4:36 of Round 2
> Middleweights- Cody Brundage (11-9-1 1 NC, 5-8-1 1 NC UFC) vs. Andre Petroski (13-5, 8-4 UFC)
Petroski lands a leg kick. Petroski with a body shot. Brundage lands a right hand. Petroski with a body kick. Brundage lands a right hand. Petroski lands a leg kick. Petroski with a calf kick. They trade kicks and Petroski lands a knee to the body. Petroski looks for a takedown and Brundage jumps for a guillotine choke. Petroski is in side control and not in danger. Petroski steps over into the mount and lands. 10-9 Petroski.
Brundage drops Petroski with a left hook and he starts teeing off from the top. Brundage landing a lot of shots as Petroski is trying to cover up. Brundage is connecting with big punches and Petroski is taking a lot of punishment and it is all over! Brundage picks up the big finish!
Fight Result- Cody Brundage def. Andre Petroski by TKO (punches) at :44 of Round 2
> Women’s Bantamweights- #5 Ketlen Vieira (15-5, 9-5 UFC) vs. #11 Jacqueline Cavalcanti (10-1, 5-0 UFC)
Vieira lands some right hands and Cavalcanti lands a pair of leg kicks and right hands. Cavalcanti with an inside leg kick. Cavalcanti lands a leg kick and Vieira lands a right hand. They trade punches. Vieira lands a right hand. Cavalcanti with an inside leg kick. Cavalcanti lands a combination. Cavalcanti with an inside leg kick. There is not much going on except Cavalcanti landing leg kicks. Vieira lands a combo. Cavalcanti lands a body kick. 10-9 Cavalcanti.
Vieira pushes it against the fence and lands some short knees to the legs of Cavalcanti. Vieira is trying for a takedown but Cavalcanti defends. Vieira is able to get her down, but Cavalcanti lands a few elbows from the bottom. Vieira gets into the full guard of Cavalcanti and lands a pair of left hands. Cavalcanti with short elbows from the bottom, but Vieira is keeping on top and landing some. Vieira remaining on top and continues to land. Vieira ends the round on top. 10-9 Vieira, 19-19.
Both looking for openings to start the second. Cavalcanti with a short leg kick. Vieira lands a jab. They trade right hands as Cavalcanti is pressuring. Vieira lands a jab as Cavalcanti lands a leg kick. Cavalcanti lands a right hand. Cavalcanti with a leg kick followed by a right hand. Cavalcanti lands a body kick. Cavalcanti lands a right hand and a body kick. Cavalcanti lands against the fence and lands a body kick. Cavalcanti with a right hand. 10-9 Cavalcanti, 29-28 Cavalcanti.
Fight Result- Ketlen Vieira def. Jacqueline Cavalcanti by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Lightweights- Tommy Gantt (11-0 1 NC, 0-0 UFC) vs. Artur Minev (7-0, 0-0 UFC)
Gantt immediately gets the clinch and lands some knees against the fence. Gantt scores a takedown and has the back as they get right back up. Gantt with some knees. They remain clinched up and Gantt keeps advantage as Minev lands to the body. Gantt gets it down for a moment and has the back. Gantt takes it back down but they get up. They remain tied up and Gantt lands a knee to the groin and timeout is called. They get back going and clinch back up with both battling for position. 10-9 Gantt.
Gantt gets the clinch control again and has the body lock. He is controlling Minev against the fence and lands some knees. Gantt gets a big takedown, but they get right up. Gantt keeps back control and lands some punches and knees. Gantt gets Minev down and lands punches from the back. Minev is flattened out and Gantt is landing and it is stopped! Gantt picks up the win.
Fight Result- Tommy Gantt def. Artur Minev by TKO (punches) at 2:51 of Round 2
> Light Heavyweights- Tuco Tokkos (11-5, 1-2 UFC) vs. Ivan Erslan (14-6 1 NC, 0-3 UFC)
Erslan lands a right hand. Tokkos lands a leg kick. Erslan lands an uppercut and Tokkos is stunned. Erslan gets the back along the fence. Erslan separates and lands a combination and then a right hand. They trade in close range and Ersland hurts Tokkos with an uppercut. Tokkos shoots for a takedown and they scramble. Tokkos has Erslan pressed against the fence. They scramble down and Tokkos has the neck as they stand. They separate. They trade punches. Tokkos shoots for a takedown but Erslan sprawls. They break apart. Tokkos lands a pair of jabs followed by a right hand. Erslan lands several right hands along the fence. Tokkos now lands some big shots. Tokkos lands a flurry and Erslan lands some shots. Tokkos lands late. Wild round. 10-9 Tokkos.
Erslan lands the jab early as they trade punches. Tokkos shoots for a takedown but Erslan easily defends and lands from the top. Erslan passes to side control. Erslan gets the back and lands some knees. Erslan lands punches from the back. They roll and Erslan is back on top and lands. Erslan with some left hands from the top. Erslan ends the round on top. 10-9 Erslan, 19-19.
Tokkos lands a leg kick. Tokkos with some short punches. Erslan lands a right hand. Tokkos with a body kick. Tokkos shoots for a takedown, but Erslan ends up on top. Erslan lands some left hands from the top. Erslan keeps on top and continues to land from inside the guard of Tokkos. Erslan lands a right hand. They stand and Erslan has the back and takes it down. Erslan lands from side control. Erslan with some punches from the back. 10-9 Erslan, 29-28 Erslan.
Fight Result- Ivan Erslan def. Tuco Tokkos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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> Welterweights- Nikolay Veretennikov (14-7, 2-3 UFC) vs. Khaos Williams (15-5, 6-4 UFC)
They both come out swinging and landing. Williams lands a leg kick. Williams lands to the body and Veretennikov fires back with a right hand. Veretennikov with a quick combo. Williams rushes in and connects as they tie up against the fence. Williams lands some knees against the fence before they separate. Veretennikov lands a right hand. Williams connects with some big shots and Veretennikov goes down briefly. They get up but Veretennikov is still hurt. Williamslands a right hand and lands again and Veretennikov goes down and it is over! Williams gets the knockout win.
Fight Result- Khaos Williams def. Nikolay Veretennikov by TKO (punches) at 3:31 of Round 1
> Bantamweights- Timmy Cuamba (10-3, 2-2 UFC) vs. Bernardo Sopaj (12-3, 1-1 UFC)
Cuamba lands some early leg kicks. Sopaj lands a jab. Cuamba lands a body kick. Cuamba with another body kick. Sopaj with an inside leg kick. Cuamba with a left hook and Sopaj counters with a leg kick. Cuamba lands a left hand to the body of Sopaj. Cuamba with a right hand to the body followed by a leg kick. Sopaj lands a right hand. Cuamba with a combo to the body. Cuamba lands a right hand. Sopaj with a jab followed by a right hand. Sopaj shoots for a takedown and has the back along the fence. Sopaj jumps on the back and lands a left hand. Sopaj looks to get his arm under the chin but lets go. Sopaj with a neck crank. Cuamba gives a thumbs up. He survives. 10-9 Sopaj.
Cuamba lands a groin strike and timeout is called. They get back to action. Cuamba lands a right hook to the body. Cuamba lands to the body again. Sopaj looks for a takedown and pushes it against the fence. Cuamba defends and they separate. Cuamba lands a combination. Sopaj lands a leg kick. Sopaj drops Cuamba with a left hand and starts landing lots of punches. Cuamba is in trouble as Sopaj is landing tons of shots and now mixes in elbows. Sopaj gets the mount and continues to land as Cuamba is bleeding. Sopaj with more left hands and now locks in a choke and Cuamba taps! Sopaj picks up the submission.
Fight Result- Bernardo Sopaj def. Timmy Cuamba by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:25 of Round 2
> 215-pound Catchweights- Modestas Bukauskas (19-7, 7-5 UFC) vs. Christian Edwards (8-4, 0-0 UFC)
Bukauskas lands a leg kick. Edwards with a hard leg kick. Bukauskas lands a right hand. Edwards with a right hand. Edwards pushes Bukauskas against the fence. They separate. Edwards lands a leg kick and Bukauskas throws his hands, but Edwards pushes it back to the fence. Edwards lands short punches and a knee to the body. Bukauskas forces separation. Bukauskas lands a hard body kick. Bukauskas with a right hand. They trade left hands. Bukauskas with a body kick. Bukauskas with a thudding right hand. Edwards lands a body kick and another. Bukauskas fires back a body kick. 10-9 Bukauskas.
Edwards with a front kick. Bukauskas lands a combination. Bukauskas with a front kick and both land a right hand. Bukauskas lands a right hand and Edwards is on shaky legs. Edwards forces a clinch to recover. They separate after nothing happens. Bukauskas lands a big combination. Bukauskas lands a right hand and Edwards is hurt. Bukauskas tries to land but they tie right back up. They separate after little action. Bukauskas with a high kick. 10-9 Bukauskas, 20-18 Bukauskas.
They trade and Bukauskas with a groin strike, but Edwards says he can continue immediately. They trade punches inside the pocket. They tie up against the fence. Edwards is looking for a takedown. Edwards is just hanging on. He lands an elbow and goes back to hugging. Edwards with a shoulder strike. They break apart. Bukauskas with a left hook. Bukauskas lands a leg kick as Edwards lands a left hand. Bukauskas with a spin kick to the body. Edwards is pressing forward as Bukauskas is circling. Bukauskas lands a right hand. Edwards with a leg kick. 10-9 Edwards, 29-28 Bukauskas.
Fight Result- Modestas Bukauskas def. Christian Edwards by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> Bantamweights- Malcolm Wellmaker (10-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Juan Diaz (15-1-1, 0-0 UFC)
Diaz lands a leg kick. Wellmaker with a body kick. Wellmaker lands another hard body kick followed by a leg kick. Wellmaker with another body kick. Wellmaker lands a body kick. Wellmaker with a jab as he continues to connect with kicks. Wellmaker with a leg kick. Diaz grabs the body lock and pushes it to the fence. Diaz drags it down but they get right up. Diaz gets a big takedown but Wellmaker gets right up. Wellmaker lands a knee to the body. They break apart and Diaz drops Wellmaker with a right hand and then lands a knee as Wellmaker is on the mat. Timeout is called for a potential foul. It hit the shoulder so it’s not a foul. 10-9 Diaz.
Neither is landing nearly a minute into the round. Wellmaker with a left hand. Wellmaker with a left hand to the body. Wellmaker lands a body kick. Diaz grabs the body lock and scores a takedown. Diaz has control as they get to their feet. They go back to the mat with Diaz on the back. Diaz is now in the half-guard of Wellmaker. Diaz has the back as they stand and he drags it back down. Diaz is working for a choke as he traps an arm. Diaz locks in a rear-naked choke and Wellmaker taps!
Fight Result- Juan Diaz def. Malcolm Wellmaker by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:08 of Round 2
> Featherweights- Doo Ho Choi (16-4-1, 5-3-1 UFC) vs. Daniel Santos (13-2, 4-1 UFC)
Santos lands a big body kick. Choi with a heavy calf kick. Santos lands a right hand. Choi lands a jab as Santos lands a body kick. Santos looks for a takedown but Choi defends and lands a knee. Choi with a big calf kick. Santos lands a body kick. Santos with a right hand and both swing inside the pocket. Choi with a left hook and Santos lands a combo. Santos with a right hand. Santos lands an uppercut. Santos connects and Choi hurts Santos with a right hand. Santos with a series of uppercuts. Choi works the jab and Santos lands a big flurry to the head and body. Santos with a couple of uppercuts. Santos looks for a takedown. Santos gets a takedown but they get right up and Santos lands to the body. 10-9 Santos.
Santos lands a leg kick. Santos with a spinning heel kick. They both land combinations. Choi lands a jab. Santos looks for a takedown but Choi defends. Santos has Choi pushed against the fence. They break apart and Choi lands a jab. They trade jabs. Santos lands a combination. Choi lands the jab. They trade punches. Santos lands a right hand and Choi lands a big jab. Choi lands a big right hand. Choi with another right hand. Choi lands a double jab. Santos looks for a takedown but Choi defends and grabs the neck. They scramble apart. Choi lands a big left hook. Santos is backing up. Choi works the jab and is opening up. Santos is tired. Choi lands to the body and then a liver shot drops Santos and it is all over! What a fight!
Fight Result- Doo Ho Choi def. Daniel Santos by TKO (punch) at 4:29 of Round 2
> Featherweights- #7 Arnold Allen (20-4, 11-3 UFC) vs. #12 Melquizael Costa (26-7, 7-2 UFC)
Allen lands a leg kick. Costa lands a body kick followed by a spin kick. Allen drops Costa with a big left hand. Costa is able to get up and they clinch. Allen scores a takedown. Costa looks for the neck, but Allen spins out and has the back. Allen lands a knee. They stand, but Allen has control of a leg and scores a takedown. Costa ends up on top and lands some left hands from the half-guard. Costa takes the back and lands some elbows. Costa rolls and looks to lock on a body triangle. They get to their feet and Costa has the back along the fence. Costa keeps back control as they scramble and jumps on the back on the feet. Allen escapes and lands some punches before getting neck control. Allen with some elbows as Costa attacks the leg. 10-9 Allen.
Allen lands a nice jab. Costa with a short body kick and then a leg kick. Costa lands a jab as Allen lands a leg kick. Costa lands a leg kick. Allen is pressing forward. Allen with a nice combination. Allen lands a jab. Costa with a leg kick. He lands another. Costa lands a combination. Allen with a jab. Costa goes to the mat and Allen lands some leg kicks before he stands. Allen lands a left hand. They trade punches. 10-9 Allen, 20-18 Allen.
They come out and trade as Costa connects with a combination. Costa lands a leg kick and a left hand. They trade leg kicks. Allen connects with a solid left hand. Costa with a pair of leg kicks. Costa lands a knee and both land a leg kick. Allen lands a solid left hand. Costa lands a left hand. Allen connecting more as he is pressing forward. Costa with a combination. Allen lands a double jab followed by a left hand. Allen with a big left hand and follows with a combination. Costa looks for a single leg but pulls guard and Allen lands from the top. Allen with a pair of big elbows. Allen gets to side control and lands a big elbow. Costa is giving up his back and Allen lands. Allen stands and Costa is ordered up. Allen with a big left hand. Costa lands a left hand. 10-9 Allen, 30-27 Allen.
Costa lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Allen with the double jab. Allen lands a solid combination. Costa lands a left hand. Allen fires back with a left hand. Allen with a left hand. Costa lands one. Allen hurts Costa again with a left hand and they tie up against the fence. Allen scores a takedown. Allen controlling from the top. They get to their feet. Allen lands a left hand. Costa with a knee to the body and Allen fires back with a left hand. Allen lands a body kick. 10-9 Allen, 40-36 Allen.
Costa comes out landing as he connects with a combiation. Allen is able to score a takedown and connects from the back. They stand with Allen still on the back of Costa. Allen scores a takedown. Costa gives up his back as he tries to get up. Allen has body control as they stand. Allen lands a knee. Allen gets another takedown and is controlling from the top. Allen with an elbow from the top. Costa looks for an arm for a kimura, but Allen steps over and takes the back. Costa falls back to slam Allen down to try and break the grip, but Allen hangs on and has full control. Allen lands from the back. Allen lands big shots from the back as they go the distance. 10-9 Allen, 50-45 Allen.
Fight Result- Arnold Allen def. Melquizael Costa by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
WWE SmackDown live results: Gunther makes his decision
Last week, Paul Heyman revealed his favor to GUNTHER was getting him an Undisputed WWE Championship match for the upcoming Clash in Italy show, but the “Ring General” refused to officially sign the contract, even as current champion Cody Rhodes dared him to fight.
Tonight, WWE is advertising a segment where Gunther will have to officially decide whether to join the SmackDown brand.
Also announced for the show, Trick Williams will return to the University of South Carolina following his win over Sami Zayn at Backlash. Jade Cargill will also address her attack on Rhea Ripley.
Full WWE SmackDown lineup for Friday, May 15, 2026:
- Gunther decides whether to join SmackDown to challenge Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
- United States Champion Trick Williams returns to the University of South Carolina for a homecoming celebration
- Jade Cargill addresses her attack on WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley
- Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs.
- Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga
- Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints
WWE SmackDown on Friday, May 15, is scheduled for the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our show kicked off with the prerequisite arrivals to the arena, including Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest & R-Truth and The M.F.T.s, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Jade Cargill’s crew. We then got a shot of hometown hero Trick Williams in the middle of the Gamecocks’ stadium as we went to a recap of last Saturday’s Backlash.
Trick Williams’ Columbia Homecoming
The night kicked off with the arrival of U.S. Champion Trick Williams to a massive hometown reaction. He was accompanied by Li’l Yachty and the Gamecocks mascot to the ring. With the “Whoop That Trick” chants loudly filling the air of the Colonial Life Arena, Williams introduced himself and said that he was back home in Columbia.
Williams said he was proud of representing WJ Keenan High School, and the University of South Carolina growing up. Williams said he remembered driving up the road to his favorite restaurant, “Kiki’s Trickin’ and Waffles”, with the chicken wings so good that you had to eat them while standing up. He recounted eating these mythical chicken wings and how they related to his now-famous “lemon-peppa steppas”.
Williams talked about his family being in the crowd as he recounted his days with the Gamecocks. So, to WJ Keenan, to U.S.C., to his mama, Williams declared himself as the star that they helped create.
The Miz rudely interrupted the celebrations, as he mocked the Gamecocks mascot and the Gingerbread Man last week. Miz said that Williams was being a joke by bringing all these costumed characters to WWE. L’il Yachty stepped up and told Miz and Kit Wilson were being disrespectful to the hometown hero, as he pointed out that this was the reason why Miz was cursed by Danhausen. Kit Wilson joined in with some “slam poetry”, as he called himself “Kit Willy”. Wilson read his supposedly-disparaging slam poetry about Williams and Yachty.
Yacht didn’t like what Wilson had to say and offered his own diss verses against him, stating that Miz and Wilson came out cocky because they had “little tiny balls”. Miz angrily shouted that they wouldn’t bring the Tiny Balls talk back as he demanded for a referee to come ou. Miz said he was going to whoop Williams’ ass in front of his mama. Wilson spoke a bit too much trash an paid for it by getting thrown out of the ring. Miz soon found himself flat on his back, and we learned that we would indeed see this match coming up after the break.
I think it’s no secret that I much prefered this over the Gingerbread Man antics of last week. Williams looked like a natural and had the hometown crowd in the palm of his hands for this opening segment. My only complaint is the “Miz has Tiny Balls” running gag is not really as funny as WWE wants us to believe.
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Trick Williams vs. The Miz
We kicked things off right after the break as Miz backed Williams into the corner. A disrespectful shove from Miz was met by a harder push to the ground from the U.S. Champion. Williams fired up and blasted Miz with a flying shoulder block that sent his foe into the apron. Miz dropped William’s head over the top rope to gain the momentum as he headed up to the top rope. Miz’s dive was intercepted by a gut shot from Williams. Miz responded with a Kitchen Sink strike, followed by the running boot to a seated Williams. Miz choked at Williams across the middle rope as he then struck him with the running kick to the back of the head.
Miz held control of the match with stomps to Williams, but missed with the running boot. Williams turned that into a jumping neckbreaker on Miz, followed by the slaps in the corner and the “Whoop That” stomps. Miz got out of the way of a running boot from Williams by leaving the ring. Miz missed the sliding dropkick to the outside as Williams threw him around the barricades. Behind the referee’s back, Wilson struck Williams with a running elbow, as Miz finally connected with the rope-assisted sliding dropkick. We took a break on Miz getting in Li’l Yachty’s face at ringside.
This opening match returned from break with Miz and Williams exchanging strikes, but it was the U.S. Champion who got the best of his foe with his signature strikes. A scoop slam from Williams was followed by the stylish Book-End for a near-fall. Miz went for Williams’ eyes and almost had the Skull-Crushing Finale, but couldn’t connect. He did, meanwhile, nail the torquing DDT on Williams for the close two-count. Miz went for his kicks to a kneeling Williams, but missed on the last one as that got turned into a pin attempt. Williams dropped Miz with a flapjack as he hyped himself up. Kit Wilson pulled at the foot of Williams, as Miz eventually hit a Skull-Crushing Finale on his opponent.Williams kicked out at two as Wilson tried to distract the referee. The Miz went to grab a kendo stick, but Li’l Yachty intercepted him and stole the weapon. Yachty blasted Wilson with the kendo stick, and meanwhile in the ring, Williams finished Miz off with the Trick Shot knee.
Trick Williams def. The Miz via pinfall
Not gonna lie, I kinda enjoyed this opener. It was far from a great in-ring match, but the crowd was hot for it and giving the hometown hero Williams his moment unspoiled really added to it.
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– Backstage, Carmelo Hayes was interviewed about his match against Ricky Saints later tonight, his first in a while. Hayes said that he was shooting for the U.S. Championship as he was interrupted by Ricky Saints. Hayes talked about how “this place” had a funny way of humbling people like Saints eventually. Saints continued to talk trash to Hayes as he left. “Like looking into a dirty mirror,” Hayes spoke of Saints.
– Elsewhere, after Nick Aldis chatted with Rey Fenix, Sami Zayn approached him and said that he needed to do things the right way, and that he wanted to earn a U.S. Title shot. Problem for Zayn, according to Aldis, he already had his U.S. Title rematch. Zayn angrily pointed out that he had supposedly earned his shot after all that he’s done, and it’s something that his “ride or dies” see. Aldis didn’t see it that way, stating that all he saw from Zayn as of late was nothing but “entitlement” as he left. Zayn looked like he was going to blow a gasket, but Rey Fenix returned and tried to calm him down. Zayn was delusional and didn’t think he had changed.
– Paige and Brie Bella were interviewed before their upcoming match as it was clear that the target was on their backs now more than ever. The Irresistable Forces interrupted and stated that they were going to take the WWE Women’s Tag Titles back from Paige and Brie. The Women’s Tag Champs left Nia Jax and Lash Legend hanging as they had a match to get ready for.
Brie Bella & Paige vs. Giulia & Kiana James
James and Brie opened the match for their teams, as the former showed her power off with a forceful shove. Brie avoided a boot from James and followed that with a side Russian legsweep. Paige tagged in as she and Brie showed some nice double team offense with a boot from the Brit and a bulldog from Brie. Giulia entered the match and took it to Paige with hard strikes to the chest in the corner. Giulia then hit the snap suplex and went for the cover, to no success. Paige recovered and hit a version of the Shining Wizard after a snapmare on Giulia. Paige struck Giulia with kicks across the chest, but James tripped her up on the apron. Giulia recovered and threw Paige into the ring post as we took a break in the action.
We returned as Giulia continued to take it to Paige on the top rope. Giulia had her opponent set up for a risky move, but Paige fought back and turned it into a sunset flip powerbomb. Paige struggled to get to her corner, but Brie got the hot tag. Brie went into “Brie Mode” as she blasted both James and Giulia with knee strikes on opposite ends of the ring. Brie then hit them with the Bryan Danielson kicks, followed by the Bella Buster on James. Giulia broke up the count but got thrown out for her troubles. Tag by Giulia as James hit Brie with the lungblower, followed by a Northern Lights Bomb from Giulia. Paige broke up the count. James accidentally sent a running Paige into Giulia, which took her out of the ring.
With James’ partner out of the equation, Paige finished this match off with Rampaige for the three.
Brie Bella & Paige def. Giulia & Kiana James
That was a bit rough, to say the least. The spear that Giulia took from Paige at the end did not look good at all. Not terrible by any means, but really quite evident that there wasn’t any chemistry between Brie/Paige and Giulia/Kiana.
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– Women’s U.S. Champion Tiffany Stratton was interviewed about how the women’s division had strong alliances all around and where she fit in. Just then, Giulia and Kiana James bickering about their loss just now interrupted. Stratton noted that she was doing well enough alone, but Chelsea Green interrupted her. Green tried to get Stratton to be on her team, but got ignored.
Cody Rhodes wants an answer from Gunther
The Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down with the SmackDown contract of Gunther in hand, looking for an answer from his would-be Clash in Italy foe. Rhodes threw some office chairs into the ring followed by a table, looking like he was set to do an impromptu contract signing. With the tables and chairs set up in the ring, Rhodes got down to business.
“Columbia, South Carolina… what do you wanna talk about?” asked Rhodes as he talked about how he had all the formal ingredients for the contract signing, including a SmackDown contract and the Clash in Italy match contract for Gunther, and that’s what they were goind to do right now.
Out came “The Ring General”, and he angrily asked Rhodes about how much time it took to get this roster transfer, and how Rhodes made it all about himself, like a typical American. Gunther pointed out how Rhodes was supposedly complaining and crying every week and made it about himself. All Gunther wanted out of Rhodes was to be professional about it, stating that he had to ask nicely.
Rhodes responded by stating that Gunther was the one who got the drop on him and that he was the one who made the favor with Paul Heyman to get this title match. Rhodes then said “please come sign this contract, so that you’re guaranteed to get your ass kicked at Clash in Italy!”
Gunther said that Rhodes didn’t mean it when he said it, as he was unexpectedly interrupted by Royce Keys. The powerhouse made it simple… “If you won’t sign it, I will,” as Keys made his way down to the ring. Just as Keys was about to sign the contract, Gunther stopped him and got into Keys’ face. Before anything could unravel, Nick Aldis interrupted.
Aldis talked about how that contract was supposed to have Gunther’s name on it, but he overplayed his hand with is antics, so that means the Clash in Italy title shot was up in the air. This led to Aldis making the match: Royce Keys vs. Gunther with the Clash in Italy title shot up for grabs. As Gunther left to argue with Aldis, Rhodes simply told Keys the same thing he told Gunther last week: “I’m easy to find, hard to beat.”
This was a good segment, and setting up a potentially good match in Keys vs. Gunther as our main event is a nice bonus.
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– Solo Sikoa gave marching orders to Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga backstage. Sikoa told Tama to take care of Damian Priest while he and Talla were going to pay Royce Keys a little visit. As Sikoa and Talla left, Shinsuke Nakamura had words for Tama, but Talla charged in and attacked him. Talla chokeslammed Nakamura onto a cargo crate as the ineffective team of backstage staff came too late to stop the carnage.
– Nick Aldis went at it with Gunther backstage, again reiterating that the big man overplayed his hands with his antics and refusal to sign the SmackDown contract. Aldis remarked that maybe Paul Heyman rubbed off on him a bit.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints
Saints got the upper hand with a cheap shot on Hayes as the bell rang. Hayes recovered, but missed on the first dropkick. A second attempt did hit its target as Hayes threw Saints into the corner and chopped him. Saints wrenched the arm of Hayes and went up for a little Old School action that connected. Saints was sent to the apron by Hayes and left in posititon for the springboard leg drop. The former U.S. Champion then soared over the top rope for the Fosbury Flop that left Saints down and out as we took a break.
This match returned from commercial as Hayes pushed Saints off the top rope as he got maximum hangtime on the frog splash for the two-count. Hayes attempted the First 48, but Saints blocked it and hit him with a forearm strike, followed by the high-angle driver for the two-count. Our match was inexplicably interrupted by a “preview” of a movie called Pressure while Saints applied a chinlock on Hayes.
Hayes broke free from the hold and leveled Saints with superkicks a-plenty. He then followed it up with the springboard forearm strike as he had Saints in his sights. The Dirty Diana from Hayes, but Saints kicked out at two. Saints hit Hayes with the boot to the face, followed by a rebound back suplex for the two-count. A frustrated Saints tried to lift Hayes up, but he couldn’t. A couple of stomps from Saints finally had him open for the Revolution DDT. Hayes reversed and turned it into the First 48. One, two….. 2.9999999!!!!!!!!!! Hayes struggled to get himself back up top to the top rope, but he missed the Nothin’ But Net. Saints then followed it with the Revolution DDT, but Hayes somehow kicked out at the very last second.
Saints failed to hit Roshambo, so he pushed Hayes into the turnbuckle and tried to get a dirty rope-assisted pin. Referee Charles Robinson noticed the feet of Saints on the ropes and stopped the count. Saints argued with Robinson as Hayes snuck up and rolled up Saints to get the three… with a little help from the bottom rope.
Carmelo Hayes def. Ricky Saints via pinfall
This was a solid match and a great return for Carmelo Hayes, who was sorely missed after time off from TV. I thought this was Saints’ best match to date in his short time on SmackDown, and Hayes was the perfect opponent for this one.
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– Danhausen was hanging out in his “lab” as he was planning something “even bigger, better, and larger” on the horizon. Danhausen dragged a body on a stretcher with a towel draped over it and was messing about with curious intent on his computer.
Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga
Tama went right after Priest as the bell rang, but soon found himself being pummeled in the corner with the rights. Tama got cracked with a backwards elbow from Priest. The goozle from Priest was broken by Tama, but the New York native hit him with a big boot. Tama got sent out and Priest was locking and loading for a running attack. Tama intercepted with a dive off the steps, and the sport-style replay of that last spot took us to the break.
The match returned from commercial as Priest had Tama stunned in the corner. He then attempted a Razor’s Edge. Tama turned that into a rear naked choke as Priest broke the hold by backing into the corner. Tama then got Priest with the jumping DDT for the near-fall. Priest withstood Tama’s shots, which agitated him and he launched his own strikes. Step-over shoulder block by Priest, followed by the spinning kick. Tama found himself flattened by the Flatliner of Priest. Body splash in the corner into the Broken Arrow from Priest, but that wasn’t enough for the win. Priest tried for his rebound lariat, but Tama smartly rolled out of the ring to avoid it. Priest sent Tama over the announce table with a pounce as he sent him back into the ring afterwards. Priest headed up top and kind of lost balance off the top rope, which allowed Tama to get him with the swinging neckbreaker. One, two… not quite.
Tama went for a double underhook maneuver, but Priest got ahead of that as he had him held by the throat. Tama escaped the hold, but the rebound lariat made its mark. Straps went down and so did Tama as he took a ride South of Heaven and Priest got the win.
After the match, Talla Tonga absolutely pasted Priest with a kick. Solo Sikoa got Priest with the Samoan Spike with no R-Truth or Royce Keys making the save.
Damian Priest def. Tama Tonga via pinfall
Decent match, but again, my general apathy for the M.F.T.s as a unit is quite clear, especially in this broken down form after recent releases.
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– Sami Zayn was speaking about his troubles of being called to the sad-sack Johnny Gargano, who was still lying down, unmoving.
Jade Cargill speaks her mind
The former WWE Women’s Champion, flanked by her friends B-Fab and Michin, made their way down to the ring, as Wade Barrett referred to them as “Baddies”.
Once Cargill got into the ring, she started by saying that everyone acted so tough when she wasn’t in the building. So, when her music hit, everyone seemed to become more quiet. Rhea Ripley found that the hard way, and at Clash in Italy, the WWE Women’s Championship was coming home with her. Before Cargill could wrap up in her usual manner, Charlotte Flair interrupted, with mic in hand. Alexa Bliss soon followed, also with a mic in hand.
Flair said that nobody wanted to hear Cargill talk, because this was Flair Country, according to Bliss. Flair talked about how she and Cargill had been doing this dance for the last few years, but last week finally pissed her off. Bliss stated that B-Fab and Michin were there to make Cargill look good. Cargill demanded a referee to get out so that the tag match could start.
This was dire, if we’re being honest. I’m just not a fan of Cargill’s faction as a trio, when a better version of them exists in the form of Fatal Influence.
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– Yet another vignette for Blake Monroe aired as the debut is still coming.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. B-Fab & Michin
Flair got it going by lifting Michin with a toss, but couldn’t follow it up as Michin grabbed hold of the rope and got out of the ring. Once Michin got in the ring, Flair again dropped her with a takedown, but a shot to the back of the leg turned it around. Flair recovered and threw Michin in the corner as she hit her with a chop and a step-up boot to the face. Michin countered and slammed her after she grabbed her by the hair. Michin kept momentum going with a hurricanrana and a spinning kick afterwards. Flair avoided a drop kick from Michin and wrapped her leg around her foe’s head and slammed her thrice. Bliss and B-Fab entered, as the latte was shelled by a dropkick and the double knees to the back of the head. Michin’s distraction from the apron allowed B-Fab to get the advantage as she punched her repeatedly. Bliss countered with a boot and went up top for a diving attack. B-Fab caught her and slammed her face-first as we took a commercial break.
We returned from the break as Michin and B-Fab kept Bliss isolated for a moment. Michin intercepted Bliss and hoisted her on her shoulder. Too much showboating from Michin led to Bliss capitalizing with a DDT to create some separation. Flair with the hot tag as she launched herself for the crossbody on B-Fab. Flair then leveled both B-Fab and Michin with the chops to the chest. Fallaway slam by Flair to B-Fab and Michin, with the message to Jade Cargill made all the more clear. As Flair headed to the top rope, Cargill stepped to the apron, which allowed B-Fab to trip up Flair. Michin hit a missile dropkick on Flair as she and B-Fab hit a double pump-kick. Bliss broke up the count in the nick of time. B-Fab rolled up Flair for the pin, but that got turned into the Figure-Four leg lock. Michin broke the submission, but found herself clotheslined out of the ring. Bliss blindtagged as Flair delivered kicks to Michin and B-Fab. Sister Abigail DDT from Bliss, but Cargill pulled her from the pin to cause the DQ finish.
Post-match, The Baddies tried to get the jump on Flair, but found themselves waylaid by a determined Flair.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. B-Fab & Michin via Disqualification
This was a fine enough match, but I was not fond of the DQ finish. Seems like a creative crutch that gets used often in WWE as of late.
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– Fatal Influence were interviewed backstage. Jacy Jayne and crew put themselves over a group that believed loyalty was a currency and that it would soon pay dividends with Fatal Influence holding all the gold in SmackDown’s women’s division.
– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were licking their wounds, as the two conceded that they were going to need help to deal with Jade Cargill and her Baddies.
– A recap of Jacob Fatu destroying Roman Reigns on Raw this past Monday was shown.
– Royce Keys was preparing for his match against Gunther when Solo Sikoa approached him and again offered to help out. Sikoa said that Keys should seek his help, because what happened to Shinsuke Nakamura would happen to him if Keys wasn’t careful. Keys calmly said “I got this” and left, as Sikoa noted that Jacob Fatu said the same thing to him a while back.
Next Week on SmackDown (Lexington, KY):
- Talla Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Saturday Night’s Main Event:
- Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. Ethan Page
- World Tag Team Championships: The Vision (Logan Paul & Austin Theory) (c) vs. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
- Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, & Rhea Ripley vs. The Baddies (Jade Cargill, B-Fab, & Michin)
Gunther vs. Royce Keys (Winner Faces Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy)
The SmackDown main event began with a test of strength between these two big meaty men. Gunther pushed Keys in the corner and piefaced him, as Keys responded with a punch to the face of his opponent. Gunther backed out of the ring as Keys beckoned him to fight in the ring. Gunther stepped into the ring and again got out. Once Gunther returned to the ring, he hit Keys with a boot to the gut, followed by a chop to the chest. Side headlock by Gunther was broken by Keys, as the two traded running shoulder blocks. Keys finally took Gunther down with a shoulder block, as he took the knife-edge chops and barely reacted. Gunther took a run at the powerhouse and got dropped with the Bulldog-strength powerslam that sent his foe out of the ring. With Gunther looking for a breather at ringside,. Keys didn’t give him any time to breath with the throw into the LED barricades. Keys then threw Gunther over the announce table as we took our final commercial break.
Our main event returned from the break as Keys attempted a suplex on Gunther, who escaped two attempts and hit his foe with a chop. However, Keys turned that around for the suplex on the third try. Gunther got back on it with the knee to the gut followed by a hard chop to the chest and the near-fall. Keys was thrown out of the ring by Gunther, who took time to mock the crowd before he stepped to the apron. Gunther attempted a big boot from the apron, but Keys caught him and dropped him for three World Strongest Slams onto the announce table. Back in the ring, Gunther caught Keys with the big boot, but failed to connect on the second strike. This gave Keys a brief opening, but he got dropped with the Gunther clothesline.
Gunther tried to ascend to the top, but was sent back down to earth with a Keys superplex for a close near-fall. As the two big men shambled back to their feet, Gunther caught Keys by surprise with the sleeper as he brought him down to the ground. Solo Sikoa appeared at ringside to “motivate” Keys. Sikoa’s appearance seemed to distract Gunther, which allowed Keys to escape the hold and then level his opponent with the flying clothesline. Keys made Big E proud as he struck down Gunther with the hard lariat for the near-fall. Keys put Gunther on his shoulders, but once again found himself in the sleeper hold. Keys again fought back and freed himself from the hold. The pounce from Keys pushed Gunther into the referee, which allowed Sikoa to grab a steel chair and try to give it to Keys. An emphatic rejection by Keys unfortunately opened him up for Gunther’s clothesline and powerbomb, and that’s it, over. Gunther will face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash in Italy.
After the match, as Gunther was taunting the camera, Cody Rhodes got the last word in with a Cross Rhodes on his Clash in Italy opponent.
Gunther def. Royce Keys via pinfall (will face Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy)
*******************
I enjoyed that main event. It was a good “big meaty men slapping meat” contest between Keys and Gunther, and even the expected Solo Sikoa interference worked out well, too to further Keys’ story with him. Keys was fantastic here and hung well with someone as established as Gunther. I think the Rhodes vs. Gunther match at Clash in Italy will be good, so I can’t wait for that.
After a sloppy SmackDown last week weighed down by the Gingerbread Man tomfoolery, this week felt a lot better in comparison. The matches were enjoyable and there weren’t really any overly terrible segments that drew my ire compared to last week.
It was really great to see Carmelo Hayes back in the ring, and his match with Ricky Saints was the standout of the evening. Hopefully, Hayes is back in the U.S. Title picture and gets featured more regularly moving forward.
If there was anything I could call a “negative” about tonight, was, of course, the amount of ads. The promos for “Pressure: The True Story of D-Day” seemed a bit ridiculous, especially when we had one match even interrupted by a promo for the movie. It goes hand in hand with how sometimes, WWE just feels like one big commercial that’s occasionally interrupted by wrestling matches. Thankfully, that wasn’t enough to put a damper for me on this week’s shows, but it’s still an annoyance that can be understandably be too much for some viewers.
ROH Supercard of Honor live results: Bandido vs. Blake Christian, Survival of the Fittest
Ring of Honor presents Supercard of Honor 2026 tonight on pay-per-view.
This year’s event takes place from the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland. Eight matches are advertised for the show, including seven championship bouts.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena’s record-setting title reign faces one of its biggest tests yet as she defends against five top contenders in a Survival of the Fittest match. Bandido will also put the ROH World Championship on the line against Blake Christian of The Swirl.
The full lineup is below:
- ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Blake Christian
- Nigel McGuinness vs. Josh Woods in a Pure rules match
- ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki, Billie Starkz and Zayda Steel in a Survival of the Fittest match
- ROH Women’s Pure Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Diamante
- ROH Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet defends against Viva Van
- AEW National Champion Mark Davis defends against Xelhua
- ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty defends against Ace Austin
- ROH Men’s TV Champion AR Fox defends against Lio Rush
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Zero Hour!
Sammy Guevara v. Action Andretti
Visa problems are keeping Kommander and Guevara’s partner The Beast Mortos in Mexico, and Sammy is unable to defend the ROH World Tag Team titles as a result. So Sammy has a singles match with Action Andretti instead.
Guevara rejected the “Code of Honor” with a middle finger. Sammy and Action exchange arm wringers and cool counters to arm wringers before Action got a couple of quick near falls. Andretti messed up Guevara’s beautiful hair, and Guevara responded with a thumb to the eye.
Andretti came back fired up, hitting a dropkick and sending Guevara to the floor with a clothesline. Andretti followed up with a pair of dives to the floor. Guevara came back with a dropkick and his own dive to the floor. Andretti knocked Guevara to the floor with a superkick, then hit another dive. Andretti tried for a springboard into the ring, but Guevara caught him with a jumping knee.
Guevara dumped Andretti with a Samoan Drop. Guevara shouted that he should be facing Bandido for the World Title tonight and I was honestly thinking the same thing. Andretti did a handspring into a cutter and both guys were down.
Andretti mounted a comeback with a series of strikes. Guevara tried to come back with a knee strike, but Andretti hit an enziguri and a handspring back elbow. Andretti went to the top, and Guevara dropped to the floor to avoid Andretti. So, Andretti dropped to the apron, then sprang into a an Asai moonsault.
Back in the ring, Andretti got a near fall after a springboard clothesline. Andretti went for a split-leg moonsault, but Guevara got out of the way. Andretti then hit almost like a Spanish Fly powerslam for two.
Andretti went for a springboard, but Guevara got his knees up. Guevara put Andretti on his shoulders in a torture rack, then spun him into a DDT. Guevara followed that up with the GTH and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Sammy Guevara pinned Action Andretti (11:22).
RUSH v. LSG
I think that was his name? Anyway RUSH killed him dead with the running dropkick in the corner.
Match Result: RUSH pinned LSG (0:36).
RUSH might have broken his own record for shortest Ring of Honor match.
— Shane Taylor Promotions offer an open challenge tonight to anyone but Mance Warner, Eddie Kingston and Ortiz.
Lacy Lane & Janai Kai v. Mina Shirakawa & Queen Aminata
Shirakawa got the figure-four leg lock on Lane. Kai ran into break up and Aminata floored her with a knee. Kai caught Shirakawa with a knee, and Aminata leveled her with a headbutt. Kai and Lane caught Shirakawa with kicks. Aminata came back with a forearms on Lane and Kai, but she was eventually overwhelmed by the 2-on-1. Shirakawa made the save by hitting both her opponents with a dropkick off the top at once. Shirakawa locked Kai in a figure-four, and Aminata locked Lane in a Texas Cloverleaf. Kai was officially the one to tap out.
Match Result: Shirakawa & Aminata defeated Lane & Kai when Kai tapped out (7:38).
This was kind of a mess.
— Jay Lethal and Lee Johnson challenged Samoa Joe and Anthony Bowens for Collision tomorrow night. Lethal and Johnson were also confident that Blake Christian would win the ROH World Title tonight.
The Premiere Athletes (w/ Mark Sterling & Stori Denali) v. Myron Reed & Dezmond Xavier (w/ Zachery Wentz)
Sterling was appalled that The Rascals like to partake of the “Devil’s Lettuce.”
Tony Nese started out with Xavier. Xavier caught Nese with a dropkick and then taunted him with some jumping jacks. Nese caught Reed with a double chop in the throat and the Premiere Athletes took control.
Reed dropped to the floor to go after Sterling, but this was a set up for Denali to floor him with a clothesline. Back in the ring, Ari Davari hit Xavier with a DDT. Davari dumped Xavier to the floor and all the heels took their shots at him.
Nese and Davari double-teamed Xavier in the ring. Xavier caught Davari with a hook kick and both guys were down. Reed got the tag and took on Nese, catching him with an enziguri. Nese ducked a shot but got caught with a superkick. Xavier recovered and teamed up with Reed for a slingshot neckbreaker for a near fall.
The Premiere Athletes took out Xavier with a double team DDT. Nese spun Reed into a sit-out tombstone for a near fall. Xavier came back with an enziguri for Davari. Xavier hit Davari with a dive, Nese hit Xavier with a dive, and Reed took out Nese and Davari with his crazy over the top rope cutter on the floor.
Sterling tried to interfere, but Wentz cut him off. Denali tried to attack Wentz, but he turned that into a cutter on Sterling.
Back in the ring, Davari took out Reed with a hammerlock clothesline. Nese came off the top with a 450, and Davari followed up with a splash. He went for the cover, but Xavier broke up the pin with a twisting legdrop.
The Rascals hit Davari with a double superkick. Reed picked up Davari for a burning hammer, and Xavier came off the top rope with a stomp to drive the move home.
Match Result: Reed & Xavier defeated The Premiere Athletes with Reed pinned Davari (11:19)
During the match Global Wars: Cincinnati was announced featuring talent from ROH, CMLL and Stardom. This will be on June 17th on Honor Club, with matches from shows taped on June 10th and 11th.
Supercard of Honor Main Show
Ian Riccaboni & Caprice Coleman were on commentary.
Josh Woods v. Nigel McGuinness in a Pure Rules Match.
McGuinness’ t-shirt is perfect and I’m gonna have to run and go buy one right now.
The Code of Honor was adhered to. I love the unique “Pure Rules.” If you’re going to have 18 million titles in a promotion, it’s good to vary up the rules for some of them. But, why don’t they have the clock running on the screen for every match?
In Pure Rules, each wrestler is only allowed three rope breaks. If it goes to a time limit draw, then three judges at ringside will determine the winner. There is a 20 count outside the ring, no closed punches, and anyone who interferes gets fired.
Anyway, Nigel set up Josh to push him into the corner and cause a rope break for Josh, showing his smarts. Nigel went for a side headlock, but Josh countered into a judo throw and grabbed an armbar, and Nigel quickly had to go to a rope break.
Nigel took Woods down with a arm wringer and went to work on the arm. Woods countered an overhead armbar with a small package, but Nigel kicked out at two. Josh backed Nigel into the corner for a hard chop, and Nigel countered that with a thumb to the eye. Nigel tried for the Tower of London out of the corner, but Woods countered that into a sleeper, and Nigel had to use his second rope break! Nigel had to drop to the floor to regroup.
Nigel grabbed a headset to talk to the commentators about how the match wasn’t going the way he planned. Woods grabbed a second headset and said the match was going exactly how he thought it would. The referee found his own headset and told them to get back in the ring before they both got counted out.
That. Was. HILARIOUS.
Back in the ring, Nigel tricked Woods into using his two remaining rope breaks. While this was clever, it fired up Josh, who took the fight to the floor and rammed him into the ring barriers. Back in the ring, Woods hit a backbreaker and locked in an ankle lock. McGuinness had to break that hold by using his last rope break.
On the floor, Nigel hit the Tower of London, sending Woods face-first to the floor (while Nigel twisted to avoid landing flat on his back). Woods recovered and both guys started exchanging forearms. The referee’s count got to 18 before they slid back in the ring. Back in the ring, Woods and Nigel knocked each other out with simultaneous boots.
Nigel recovered first and hit more forearms and a running European uppercut. Woods came back with a backbreaker and a clothesline for two. Woods then went back to the ankle lock. Nigel made it to the ropes, but it didn’t matter. So Nigel rolled through and sent Woods into the turnbuckles.
Nigel went for the “London Dungeon” an overhead armbar. Woods escaped. Nigel hit some weak uppercuts, but sprung back off the ropes and hit a lariat, and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Nigel McGuinness pinned Josh Woods after a lariat (14:57)
Red Velvet v. Viva Van for the ROH Women’s Television Championship
These two are occasional partners in CMLL, now facing off for the Women’s Television Championship.
Red Velvet busted out a short-arm scissors early, but Van countered that into a cradle to force a break. Van then dropped a knee on Velvet’s arm. Velvet came back with a leg lariat. Van hit a rolling leg lariat of her own for a near fall.
Van punished Velvet with a stretch muffler, then went to work on Velvet’s leg. Van stretched Velvet with a bow & arrow. Velvet escaped and got a surprise near fall. Both women exchanged open-handed chops, then exchanged forearms. Van went for a heel kick (at least I think that’s what she was trying) that found nothing but air. Velvet quickly covered for two. Van folded up Velvet with a German suplex.
Van sent Velvet into the corner with an up kick. Van tried an electric chair drop, but Velvet countered with a rana. Van hit a spinning back fist and both women fell down with their arm on their opponent, and it was a double pin attempt, but both kicked out at two.
Van ducked a spin kick, but Velvet caught her with a superkick. Velvet went for her finisher, but Van blocked it and dumped Velvet with an Air Raid Crash for a near fall.
Van picked up Velvet in an electric chair again, and then climbed up to the middle ropes. Velvet escaped and pulled Van out of the corner with an Iconclasm for a near fall.
Van tried for an electric chair suplex, but Velvet spun out of it, but Van drove her down with a sit-down powerbomb for two. Van went for the electric chair again, but Velvet turned that into a cradle for two, but Van reversed that again for two. Velvet then popped up and hit a spin kick on Van to get the pinfall.
Match Result: Red Velvet pinned Viva Van (11:19).
That makes 12 wins in a row for Red Velvet.
AR Fox v. “Blackheart” Lio Rush for the ROH World Television Championship
Fox won the belt “last night” on ROH TV. Whatever this gimmick is for Lio Rush, it’s not going to fail because Rush isn’t putting his heart into it.
Rush has messed up contacts in his eyes and black ooze coming out of his mouth. The Code of Honor was not followed when Rush hit Fox with a clothesline before the bell rang.
Rush took control early with his usual speedy tactics. Fox tripped up Rush on the apron, then flipped over the ropes into a double stomp. Fox followed up with a moonsault to the floor.
Back in the ring, Fox hit a clothesline in the corner and followed up with elbows. Rush came back with a heel kick to send Fox to the floor. Rush went to the top, but Dox followed him up. Rush bit Fox, then wedged him between the turnbuckles and gave him a stunner. Rush hit a crossbody to the floor.
On the floor, Rush threw Fox about the ring barricades. Back in the ring, Rush drove Fox to the mat with a brainbuster. Fox tried to fight back, but Rush cut him off with a running back elbow.
Rush ran into a boot from Fox. Fox hit a spinning DDT off the ropes for a near fall.
With both men down, Action Andretti came out to cheer on the match. Fox hit a flying back elbow in the corner, then a rolling cutter for a near fall. Fox went to the top, but Rush tried to try him up in the ropes. Fox spring into a cutter off the ropes, then hit another cutter, but it only got two.
Fox went for a 450, but Rush avoided it and hit a pop up powerbomb. Rush followed up with a spear for two. Rush stretched Fox, then hit a springboard cutter to send Fox to the floor. Rush followed up by hitting a dive on the floor. The crowd was going crazy for Rush.
Back in the ring, Rush hit another springboard cutter for two. Rush gave Fox a stunner and locked in a cravat. Rush forced Fox into the corner and bit his head. Fox ducked a charge from Rush bt fell victim to a Spanish Fly. Rush then came off the top with a frog splash, but it only got two.
Rush dropped to the floor and took the title belt. He climbed up the ropes with the title belt, but referee Stephon Smith took the belt away from Rush. With the ref looking away, Andretti shoved Rush off the top rope. Fox hit a 450 splash and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Fox pinned Rush to retain the ROH TV title (15:40).
— Sammy Guevara reminded the world he’s beaten the AEW World Champion Darby Allin four times, and tomorrow night on Collision he’ll do it for a fifth time and win the AEW World Title.
Deonna Purrazzo v. Diamanté for the ROH Women’s Pure Championship
Purrazzo folded Diamanté up with a big powerbomb and went right into a Fujiarwa armbar. Diamanté immediately used a rope break to escape.
The fight went to the floor, and Diamanté targeted Purrazzo’s leg, then hit a stunner on the floor.
Back in the ring, Diamanté worked over the leg some more. Diamanté grabbed an ankle lock on Purrazzo while she was leaning against the ropes, which basically forced her to use a rope break.
Purrazzo came back with chops in the corner. Diamanté hit a closed fist on Purrazzo, which is her one free closed fist. If she does that again, it will be a disqualification.
Diamanté hung Purrazzo upside down in the ropes, then dropkicked her to the floor. Purrazzo got back in the ring, and Diamanté worked over the knee some more. Purrazzo came back with a Russian Leg Sweep. She rolled right into an armbar from there, but Diamanté countered with a cradle and hit a kick.
Diamanté blocked another powerbomb attempt and went back to a spinning toe hold, then transitioned into an ankle lock. Purrazzo flipped out of it, but Diamanté caught her with a forearm. Diamanté hit a bridging German suplex for a near fall.
Diamanté caught Purrazzo with an armbar, but Purrazzo countered with a cradle. Purrazzo hit a closed fist and got a warning from the ref. Purrazzo caught Diamanté with a draping DDT, then went back to the arm bar. Diamanté used her second rope break to escape.
Purrazzo tried for a Gotch style piledriver, but Diamanté escaped. Diamante set up something like a Cross Rhodes, but Purrazzo escaped and went for the arm bar. Diamanté escaped and Purrazzo struck with a Gotch Style piledriver for two.
Diamanté flipped off Purrazzo and slapped her, trying to taunt her into using a closed fist. Instead, Purrazzo drove her down with a short powerbomb, the locked in the Venus De Milo double armbar. Even though she was close to the ropes (and still had one rope break), Diamanté tapped out.
Match Result: Deonna Purrazzo retained the Women’s Pure Title over Diamanté by submission (13:01).
— Action Andretti turned on his partner Lio Rush because he was nowhere to be found when RUSH laid him out in the pre-show.
— Coleman and Riccaboni confirm Darby Allin v. Sammy Guevara for Collision tomorrow night.
Ace Austin v. Lee Moriarty for the ROH Pure Wrestling Championship
Moriarty is the longest-reigning ROH Pure Champion and the longest-reigning men’s champion of any kind in ROH.
Austin used a rope break very early to escape a pretty rudimentary hold, so that might have been Moriarty leading him to the ropes. Moriarty went to the arm, but Austin countered with a backbreaker. Moriarty tried for a chicken wing, but Austin slipped out and caught Moriarty with a cradle. Austin locked Moriarty in a Muta Lock. Moriarty escaped by jamming Austin’s fingers against the mat.
Moriarty again went for the chicken wing, but Austin escaped by backing into the corner. Moriarty went to work on Austin’s arm some more. Moriarty tied up Austin in a straight jacket. Austin was able to reverse that into one of his own. Moriarty escaped and locked in an octopus. Moriarty then leaned towards the ropes, basically leading Austin into using his second rope break.
Moriarty has used none of his rope breaks.
Moriarty missed a dropkick, and Austin locked in a Koji Clutch. Moriarty had to use a rope break to escape.
Moriarty swept Austin’s leg. Austin floored Moriarty with a short arm clothesline and dropped a leg. Austin hit a Death Valley Driver. Austin hit a bridging German suplex for a near fall.
Moriarty avoided an offensive move from Austin by going to the ropes, and some in the crowd called for a rope break. The ref didn’t see it that way.
Moriarty hit a springboard lariat, then locked in the Border City Stretch. Austin countered with a cradle for two. Austin countered an arm bar with a deep cradle for two.
Austin tied up Moriarty’s legs and bridged back for a cover, but Moriarty used a rope break to escape.
This leaves both men with just one more rope break.
And just like that, Moriarty locked in another arm bar while Austin was tied up in the ropes, forcing Austin to use his last rope break.
Moriarty escaped a tiger driver and hit a forearm. Austin sprung off the ropes with a spinning kick. Austin charged, but Moriarty caught him with another armbar. Austin got to the ropes, which didn’t break the hold, but he was able to use the ropes to dump Moriarty to the floor.
Moriarty slid back in the ring, and Austin drove his head into the mat for a near fall. Austin spun Moriarty into a flatliner and locked in the Koji Clutch again. Moriarty had to use his last rope break to escape.
Austin went for a rollup, but Moriarty escaped and locked in the chicken wing. Austin escaped, but Moriarty rolled him up with a bridge, and in bridging back grabbed the ropes for additional leverage and got the pinfall. This is apparently legal, since all the rope breaks were used up.
Match Result: Moriarty retained over Austin via pinfall (16:08).
— Red Velvet feels good about retaining her ROH TV Title, but doesn’t feel good about being left out of the Owen Hart Women’s Tournament. So she’s going to Collision tomorrow night to beat Willow Nightingale for the TBS Championship.
— Lexi Nair brought out Jordan Oliver and Alec Price. They are “Busta and the Brain.” They plan to be first in line for the ROH Tag Team Titles. But they’re ready for any other tag teams in ROH that are feeling froggy. And just like that, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, the Kingdom returned to ROH. Surprisingly, this didn’t end in violence, but both teams shaking hands and pretty much agreeing to a fight down the line.
Shane Taylor & The Infantry (w/ Anthony Ogogo & Christyan XO) v. The Outrunners & Dalton Castle for the ROH Six Man Champions
The Outrunners and Castle answered the open challenge that Shane Taylor Promotions made during Zero Hour. Castle still gets a big pop from the crowd.
Castle went for the Bangarang on Dean, but Dean was quick to counter. Castle leveled Dean with a forearm, but Bravo caught Castle with a knee from the apron. Truth Magnum got the tag and took Bravo down with blistering chops.
Magnum missed a dive in the corner, and Dean caught him with a springboard cutter. Bravo drove Magnum into the apron with a cutter, and Taylor followed up with a big leg.
Magnum tried to fight out of the STP corner, but got triple-teamed by his opponents.
Magnum almost got to his corner to make the tag, but his opponents made sure there was no one to tag by yanking his partners to the floor. Taylor followed up by splashing Truth in the corner. Taylor also took out Dalton Castle with a splash on the floor.
Turbo Floyd finally got the tag and took it to the Infantry. He hit Taylor with a dropkick and slammed Bravo and Dean. The Outrunners started gearing up for the Mega-Powers handshake, but Taylor leveled them both.
Floyd got triple-teamed in the corner by the heels. Castle was still out on the floor. Dean came in with a pendulum elbow drop, then dropped another elbow in the ring for a two count. Taylor and Bravo crotched Floyd against the ringpost.
Dean suplexed Floyd. Bravo tagged in and he suplexed Floyd. Shane Taylor tagged in and he gave Floyd a big delayed vertical suplex. Dean went back in to suplex Floyd again, but Floyd reversed it. Bravo tried to keep Floyd from getting the tag. Flyod got him with a back suplex, but Dean lured Magnum away from his corner and there was no one for Floyd to tag.
Taylor charged in and missed an avalanche. Floyd went for a slam, but Taylor is huge and Floyd was exhausted so that didn’t work. Taylor easily slammed Floyd and leveled him with a headbutt. But Taylor missed another avalanche, and Floyd was able to get Taylor up for a slam. Meanwhile, Castle had finally recovered and got back to his corner to get the tag!
Suplexes for all the heels, including a massive German suplex for Taylor. Castle went for the Bangarang on Taylor, but couldn’t hold him up. Christyan XO distracted Castle, and the heels got the advantage on Castle. Taylor hit a stuff piledriver on Castle, but the Outrunners made the save.
The Infantry went for a double team on Castle, but the Outrunners crotched them on the ringbolt. Castle hit a massive Bangarang on Taylor. The Outrunners dropped a double-elbow, and Castle caught Taylor with a jackknife cradle and held him down for the three!
Match Result: The Outrunners & Dalton Castle are your new Ring of Honor Six Man Champions after Castle pinned Shane Taylor (17:47).
After the match, Shane Taylor Promotions laid out the new champs, but cue the Pixies, Orange Cassidy came out. Mark Briscoe, Cassidy’s Co-Conglomerator, ran in for the save with the chair. They ran off Shane Taylor Promotions, and celebrated with the new six man champions.
I’m so glad to see Dalton Castle with ROH gold. And the way this match was laid out, watching it I was practically begging for the title change.
Xelhua v. Mark Davis for the AEW National Championship
You could hear Tony Khan giving Ian notes on commentary. First, to remind the audience that since it’s an AEW title match, there’s only a ten count outside the ring. And then talking about Mark Davis’ big victory over Jack Perry.
The fight went to the floor, and Davis ran through Xelhua with a tackle. Back in the ring, Davis stomped Xelhua and leveled him with a punt. Xelhua fell back on a bodyslam attempt. Davis hit Xeluha with a lariat, then sent him off the apron to the floor with another lariat.
Xelhua beat the count to get back in the ring, then got immediately slammed. Davis set Xelhua on the turnbuckles and tried to pull off his mask. Xelhua blocked that, then sent Davis down to the mat. Xelhua came off the top with a crossbody for a near fall.
Xelhua took Davis down with a Northern Lights suplex for a near fall. Xelhua tied up Davis with a hammerlock and drove him down to the mat. Xelhua punched Davis in the corner “diez” times in the corner, with the crowd helpfully counting along for him in Spanish.
Davis went for a lariat, but Xelhua tripped him up and tied up his ankle. Davis crawled to the ropes to force a break. Davis came up selling his knee, and Xelhua went to work on it… until Davis killed him with a snap piledriver.
Xelhua tried to set up a superplex, but Davis countered it and avalanche suplexed Xeluha out of the corner.
Xelhua slammed Davis, then went to the top. Xelhua went for a senton, but Davis got out of the way. Davis dropped Xelhua with a piledriver, then hit the lariat for the pinfall.
Match Result: Mark Davis pinned Xelhua to retain the AEW National Title (14:10).
— Lexi Nair interviewed Shane Taylor Promotions, and they lay out some challenges for the Conglomeration and the new ROH Six Man champions tomorrow night at Collision.
Collision Tomorrow night:
- Darby Allin v. Sammy Guevara for the AEW World Title
- The Divine Dominion five minute challenge
- The Opps Samoa Joe & Anthony Bowens v. Jay Lethal & Lee Johnson
- Willow Nightingale v. Red Velvet for the TBS Title
Next Wednesday:
- Tommaso Ciampa v. Mark Briscoe
- Jon Moxley v. Kyle O’Reilly
— Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy accept the challenge from Shane Taylor Promotions, and the word of the day is “hometown a$$ whooping!” Kyle O’Reilly will likely be the third partner.
Bandido (w/ Jay Lethal & Lee Johnson) v. Blake Christian for the ROH World Championship
Christian flipped off Bandido rather than adhere to the Code of Honor.
After a feeling out process, Christian caught Bandido with a dropkick to send him to the floor. Christian went for a dive, but Bandido got back in the ring and took him down with a snap rana. Bandido sent Christian to the floor and followed him with a dive.
Lee Johnson distracted the referee, allowing Lethal to clip Bandido’s knee. Christian hit Bandido with a twisting through the ropes tope.
Back in the ring, Christian worked on Bandido’s knee. The referee caught Lethal and Johnson interfering again, and this time he ejected them from ringside. But, not before Bandido took them out with a dive.
Christian took control with a short-arm scissors. Christian went to the top, but Bandido rolled out of the way. Christian casually dropped back down to the mat and attacked Bandido’s knee. Christian charged into a boot from Bandido. But Christian tied up Bandido’s legs in the ropes and caught him with a tiger feint kick to the back.
Bandido tried to gorilla press Christian, but Christian slid into a arm scissors out of it. Bandido powered Christian up into a sit-out powerbomb to escape. Bandido came out of the corner with a twisting moonsault. Bandido hit a running knee for two.
Bandido went for the 21-plex, but Christian escaped and caught Bandido with a splash. Christian took Bandido down with a dragon screw leg whip. Christian tried to roll into a figure-four, but Bandido countered and dropped Christian with a suplex.
Christian flipped off Bandido while he was on his back, so Bandido came up with a Northern Lights 21-plex, springing off the ropes and pulling up Bandido into the Northern Lights suplex. I think the 21-plex is kinda dumb, but that was pretty awesome.
Christian staggered Bandido with a kick that sent him to the apron. Christian followed him on the apron. Bandido tried for a press slam again, but Christian escaped and sent Bandido to the floor. Christian then dove through the middle ropes and pulled Bandido into a tornado DDT that looked like it about killed Bandido.
Back in the ring, Christian hit the Lethal Injection for two. In a great touch on commentary, Riccaboni explained how just because that’s a finisher for Jay Lethal (who has perfected the hold), doesn’t mean it will work that way for Christian.
On the floor, Christian cleared off the commentary table like it’s a WWE main event. Christian set up Bandido for a suplex, but Bandido reversed it and turn it into a brainbuster on Christian.
Back in the ring, Bandido hit the 21-plex, but Christian kicked out at two. Bandido tried for a top rope fallaway slam, but Christian countered and turned it into an avalanche poisoned rana! Christian followed up with a 450 splash for two.
Christian tried for a 21-plex, but Bandido blocked it and flipped him over the ropes. Bandido pulled Christian into the ring off the middle rope for a deadlift superplex. Bandido went for a shooting star press, but Christian got his knees up. Bandido went for a springboard, but Bandido caught him with a dropkick and both guys were down.
Bandido got to his feet first, and Christian was out on his feet… until he hit a superkick and a knee out of nowhere. Christian went for a Lethal Injection, but Bandido countered with the X-Knee. Christian came back with a Spanish Fly for a near fall.
Christian dropped to the floor, and grabbed the ROH title belt from the timekeeper’s table. He went to use the belt, but the ref grabbed it from him. The ref turned his back, and Christian hit a low blow, then a double stomp. But that only got two.
Christian went for… something, but it got turned into a Styles Clash from Bandido. Christian was flat on his back, and Bandido hit the Deadlift 21-Plex and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Bandido retained the ROH World Title by pinning Christian (26:05).
Tremendous match. After the match, while Bandido was on his knees looking down at the championship he retained… Swerve Strickland ran in with a House Call to the back of Bandido’s head. Prince Nana came out to applaud his boss as he hit the House Call a second time. Just when it looked like he was going to leave, Swerve went back and dropped Bandido with a gringo killer on a chair. Officials tended to Bandido, who was laid out in the ring.
Athena v. Yuka Sakazaki v. Billie Starks v. Maya World (w/ Hyan) v. Trish Adora v. Zayda Steel (w/ Christopher Daniels) for ROH Women’s World Title in a Survival of the Fittest Match
Bliz sang Steel’s music on her way to the ring. Athena is on her way to a 1300 day title reign, the longest reigning ROH champion in history. She’s also catching up to the longest days holding any championship over any number of reigns, nearing Mark and Jay Briscoe, who set the record over 13 tag team title reigns.
This is elimination rules.
Athena toasted Starks to the floor and told her to “stick to the plan and let them fight,” but the other women surround them on the floor and attack.
Adora powerslammed Starks in the ring. Steelz came off the top rope with a double stomp. Starks and Athena went to suplex Steelz, but she countered that into a double-DDT on her opponents. Athena dumped Maya World and Sakazaki with a fallaway slam.
Steelz grabbed a steel chair and went after her opponents. She wedged the chair between the ropes and tried to whip Athena into it. But Athena reversed it, sent Steelz into the chair, and cradled her with her feet on the ropes to get the first fall (about five minutes in).
Sakazaki got a near fall after a suplex. Athena popped up and hit Sakazaki with a superkick. Athena went for the chair. Before she could use it (while, we she had it up waiting), Maya World came in with a kendo stick. Starks got a chair and laid in a weak chair shot on Sakazaki (she should never do chair shots again). Adora got the kendo stick and worked over Maya World with it. More kendo sticks, chairs and a trash can made it into the ring.
Athena set up a bunch of chair on the floor. Adora worked over World on the floor with the kendo stick. Starks pulled a table out from under the ring to the delight of the crowd. Starks and Sakazaki fought near the table. Starks whipped Sakazaki into the ring barricade.
Back in the ring, Maya World gave Adora a head scissors, and she flew into Athena with a spear. Athena and Adora got into it on the ring apron, and Adora chokeslammed Athena off the apron and into the 30 chairs that Athena and set up earlier.
Starks saved Athena from further abuse from Adora. Starks and Adora fought up to the commentator’s table. Starks went to suplex Adora off the table, but Adora blocked it and gave Starks a Death Valley Driver on the commentator’s table—which did not break.
Athena recovered, and Adora laid her out with a forearm than sent her onto the table. Sakazaki then came off the top with a Magical Girl Splash to send Athena through the table.
Back in the ring, Adora dropped Sakazaki with a backbreaker. Adora hit the Lariat Tubman on Athena, but Sakazaki took out Adora with a spinning slam and got the pinfall (15:37).
Athena, Starks, Maya World, and Sakazaki are the remaining competitors.
Sakazaki grabbed the trash can and hit a Magical Girl Splash with the can on Athena. Starks saved Athena, then gave her like an avalanche pedigree to get the pinfall (17:21).
Athena was down on the floor (but still alive in the match), which left Maya World and Starks to brawl in the ring. Starks ran into a superkick from World. Starks came back with a destroyer for a near fall.
Athena rolled back in the ring with a pair of kendo sticks. She tossed one to Billie Starks, and they worked over World with the sticks.
Starks and Athena piled chairs on top of the prone World. Athena pulled a ladder out from underneath the ring. While they’re setting up the ladder, a fan shouted “where’s the briefcase?” That was pretty funny.
World caught Starks with a dropkick, which sent her into the ladder. They brawled up to the top, and Athena accidentally hit Starks. World then hit Starks with a sunset flip powerbomb and got the pin. (21:43)
This left World v. Athena. With roughly a billion weapons around the ring, Athena grabbed her belt to use as a weapon. Athena took a wild swing and missed. World drove Athena’s head into the apron with DDT, but only got two. Maya World hit her finisher, but that only got a near fall.
World locked in an ankle lock. Athena made it to the ropes, but Mike Posey said no rope breaks. Billie Starks (still at ringside despite being eliminated) was about to throw in the towel for Athena (Starks is Athena’s “licensed second”) but Athena grabbed the towel and drug Starks in the ring, breaking up the hold. Athena powerbombed World, then hit her with a chair.
Athena stepped on Starks back on her way up the giant ladder. She came off the the ladder with a super-dooper O-face on World, and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Athena pinned Maya World in the final elimination to retain the ROH Women’s World Title (26:09).
The main event was pretty disappointing. It devolved pretty quickly into a weapons match and the outcome wasn’t ever really in doubt. Especially once Starks was eliminated.
Diamanté came out to celebrate with the World Champion. Billie Starks sat on the ladder looking upset with herself. Athena yelled at Starks for being upset, and Starks left the ring while Athena and Diamanté celebrated.
Overall the show was a fine way to spend a Friday night. I don’t know if there’s anything you need to go out of your way to see. I really enjoyed the six man titles change and the world title match. I thought the pure matches were a slice of something different, which was fun. This also set up a lot of things for Collision tomorrow night which has me thinking about driving 3 hours to see the show live.
But overall, this show did not disappoint. Also, even though it was 5 hours long, it didn’t feel that long to me.
May 18, 2026 Observer Newsletter: WWE Backlash review & ratings, Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano preview, Tenzan to retire
The new Wrestling Observer Newsletter has arrived.
Dave Meltzer leads off with a look back at last weekend’s WWE Backlash, including his match ratings and analysis.
He also does a deep dive into this Saturday’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight on Netflix and all the news and interesting quotes from Rousey leading into it.
Dave looks at Hiroyoshi Tenzan’s retirement announcement, the Triller legal in-fighting drama and how AEW is involved, a preview of ROH Supercard of Honor, plus all the news and happenings from all around the world of wrestling and MMA.
Please note there will be no WON next Friday as Dave takes a well-earned vacation, virtually ensuring a massive news story will break.
B&V: AEW Dynamite and NXT TV, plus backstage notes!
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about as we break down everything great about AEW Dynamite and to a lesser extent NXT, talk about what could be better and why, plus the usual backstage news and notes. A fun show as always so check it out~!
TNA Impact live results: Leon Slater vs. Cedric Alexander
TNA Impact is live tonight from the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. The company will return to the venue for TV tapings again on Friday.
Scheduled for tonight’s show is a number one contenders battle royal for a shot at the TNA World Championship.
The main event will see The TNA X-Division Championship on the line as Leon Slater defends against Cedric Alexander in a best two-out-of-three falls match.
There will be a SacTown Street Fight between KC Navarro and AJ Francis. Athletics Play-by-play announcer Chris Caray will join the broadcast team for that match.
The new TNA Knockouts World Champion Lei Ying Lee will be on the show.
We will also hear from TNA World Champion Mike Santana on the show.
Rosemary and Allie will team up to take on Victoria Crawford and Mila Moore.
Our live coverage kicks off at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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Many moons ago, when the expierment that was SpikeTV was a thing, I stumbled upon a quirky little wrestling program with an “X” division and a six-sided ring called TNA. Fast forward 20+ years later and here I am sitting down to watch the current iteration of the show on AMC of all places.
This is my first week recapping TNA and my first time watching it in quite a while and based on the card laid out, I think I picked a good time to jump back in. So let’s get ready for some Action that’s going to be Total and Non-Stop on a show that’s sure to make an Impact!
Sorry, had to get those out of the way. Let’s get to it, shall we?
A video package opened the show recapping Leon Slater’s rise to X Division Champion and reminding us all that if he wins tonight, he’ll be the longest-reigning X Division Champion, which is pretty cool.
TNA World Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal
No better way to start a show than with a giant battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the TNA World Championship. Most of the participants were already in the ring, but The System, Mustafa Saed and Elijah (cosplaying my E-Fed character from about 30 years ago) got their own intro and entrance.
Saed threw trash can lids, Kendo sticks and chains into the ring and before the match even started, Bear Bronson ate a shot to the head with a trash can lid. No one really knew what to make of Saed, so they attached him Steven Segal style, ie one at a time.
Saed was also the frist to be eliminated as he got tossed over the ropes by Agent Zero. Zero and Dutch of the RIghteous were next to go over and Zero was not happy about it, tearing up the ringside area. ECE was eliminated next follwed by Mr Elegant.
Brian Meyers got thrown out next along with Skylar and Vincent. Elijah hit a high knee on Jason Hotch to eliminate him and we were down to about half a dozen left in the ring. The Hometown Man was eliminated with Frankie Kazarian going next to bring us to four.
Kazarian came back to pull Elijah’s hair, but that just gave him an opening to eliminate Eddie Edwards and Bear Bronson. That left Elijah and Erik Young as the final two.
They battled on the ring apron (the royalest part of the ring!) with Young hitting a low blow on Elijah, causing him to fall to the floor and give Young the victory.
Match Result: Eric Young won the Battle Royal to become the #1 contender to Mike Santana’s TNA World Championship.
-Backstage, Leon Slater was interviewed about his match later tonight. Slater said that he is ready to make history by winning tonight. He touted the legacy of the X Division and tonight he will go from the Youngest to the Greatest X Division Champion.
The Hardys arrived and said that Slater has a chance to become a legend tonight and wished him luck.
-Back from break, Mr Ali cut a promo about rubbing a lamp and getting three wishes. He said that his open challenge for the TNA International Title will continue next week.
Eric Young stormed in next to remind us he just won a battle royal. Thanks Eric!
TNA Knockouts World Champion Léi Yǐng Lee Addresses The Fans
Lee Street-Fightered her way to the ring and grabbed a mic. “You deserve it” chants started as Lee said that she has been waiting her whole life for this moment (which is interesting since this is her second run with the title).
Lee said that she doesn’t have the words in English to express her gratitude to the fans and she thanked them. As she did that, Xia Brookside came out to interrupt.
Brookside said that sooner or later, the title will come to her. Lee said that she was sick of Brookside and then yelled at her in Chinese. Brookside ran her down for her limited Engish (classy) and Lee said let’s do it right here, right now!
Brookside pretended to accept, but then said she would never fight Lee in a cesspool like Sacramento. Rude.
She then called Lee a bitch in Mandarin and stormed out, leaving Lee incensed in the ring.
-Back from break, the System was interviewed (again) about the loss they suffered in the Battle Royal. Meyers and Bronson called out Moose and Cedric Alexander said that he is going to spoil Leon Slater’s party tonight. Because apparently, you can’t beat the System.
-Back from another break, Keith Jardine was interviewed at Ringside about the new movie “Over Your Dead Body.” It has a lot less to do with wrestling than you think, but Jardine said that it was violent and fun but then The Congierge, Mr Elegance and the Elegance brand came down to the ring and made fun of him for not being as greasy as they are. Security came down and sent them to the back, ending the segment.
-Back from a third break, it was time for the Street Fight!
Sactown Street Fight: KC Navarro vs. AJ Francis
Navarro and Francis used to be friends and tag team partners, but now they are looking to tear each other apart in a street fight, which is also how I settle disputes with my former (and current) friends.
The voice of The Oakland A’s, Chris Carey joined the commentary team for this match, which I’m sure is exciting for the people who enjoy Oakland baseball before it inevitably moves to Las Vegas.
The match started with a brawl on the outside and Navarro going until the ring for a table. Francix knocked him down and very nicely put it back for him. He threw Navarro into the ring and went for a Down Payment, but Navarro countered it with a 305.
The fight moved outside the ring where Francis went for a lawndart, but Navarro countered it into a DDT. He pulled the table out from underneath the ring again, but Francis threw him into the steps. Navarro grabbed a chair form under the ring and belted Francis with it before sending him into the steps head first.
We came back from commercial just in time to see Francis throw Navarro into the ring post. Francis grabbed a baseball bat, but couldn’t connect on a leaping Navarro. Navarro grabbed the bat and a batting helmet from Chris Carey and belted Francis with it.
Francis escaped into the ring only to get clocked in the head by the bat again. Navarro set him up in the corner with a trash can and rounded the bases to hit a dropkick, driving the trash can into Francis’ midsection. He followed that with a Fame-Ass-Er, but Francis kicked out at two.
Navarro threw half a dozen chairs into the ring and set them up in the middle of the ring. he set Francis up on them and went up top, but Francis got up and cracked him with the bat. Francis joined Navarro up top and hit a massive Down Payment but halfway down, Navarro countered it into a cutter, sending Francis through the chairs.
Navarro went back to basics, hitting Francis with a chair and burying him with the others in the ring. He went up top, but Francis exploded out of the chairs with a big boot. Francis then hit a Down Payment over the top rope, sending Navarro through two tables that were set up on the outside.
Francis threw Navarro back into the ring and pinned him to get the victory.
Match Result: AJ Francis defeated KC Navarro
Note to wrestling fans in the audience: When you chant profanity, it’s really annoying to people at home who have to warch with AMC cutting the audio in and out. Just saying.
TNA World Champion Mike Santana addresses the Sacramento crowd
Santana entered through the crowd, which probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but if you’re going to do that, you should probably make sure that you’ve sold out the venue so your champion isn’t entering in front of empty seats.
Santana grabbed the mic and asked what was good. He said that he was taught to speak through actions, not words, and it’s gotten him to the TNA World Championship. He then addressed the new #1 Contender, Eric Young.
Santana said that he recognizes Young’s legacy, but he’s beaten those with legacy before. That brought out Daria Rae.
Rae congratulated Santana and said that Young wasn’t actually the next contender for the title. Steve Maclin is still owed a rematch. Maclin has been cleared for in ring action, so next week it will be Santana vs Maclin for the TNA World Title.
That conjured Director of Authority Santino Marella. He had some announcements of his own: First, Indi Hartwell has just re-signed with TNA. That ended up being the only announcement though as Santana interrupted Marella and Rae jawing at each other about Stacks.
Santana said this was terrible, and accepted the match for next week and left.
Allie & Rosemary (w/Mara Sade) vs. The Diamond Collective (Mila Moore & Victoria Crawford) (w/Tessa Blanchard)
Rosemary and Moore kicked things off with Rosemary doing some biting early on. Allie also got a nibble in and Rosemary tagged her in for a double team. Allie chopped Moore and screamed at her while splashing her in the corner.
Blanchard got involved, pulling Allie off the turnbuckle and giving Moore a chance to change the momentum. Moore got some shots in then tagged in Crawford who bounced Allie’s head off the turnbuckle.
Moore tagged back in and stomped Allie, isolating her in the corner. Crawford and Moore exchanged quick tags while throwing hands at Allie. Allie managed to connect with a neckbreaker on Moore and crawled over to tag in Rosemary.
Crawford also tagged in and Rosemary hit a sling blade on her followed by and exploder suplex. Crawford came back with a big boot, but Rosemary countered it with a reverse DDT. Moore broke up the pin attempt but Rosemary fought off the double team.
Sade took out Blanchard on the outside and Allie sent Moore into the steel steps. She picked her up and hit her with a spiccoli driver on the outside while Crawford at a “So Below” in the ring to get pinned 1,2,3.
Match Result: Allie & Rosemary defeated The Diamond Collective
-Back from break, Broken Matt Hardy cut a promo that was WONDERFUL! as he called out The Righteous to meet them next week on the battlefield where the action is total and non-stop!
TNA X-Division Title Best Two Out Of Three Falls Match: Leon Slater (c) vs. Cedric Alexander
The record that Slater is looking to capture tonight has stood for over 14 years, so this match is a pretty big deal. Slater and Alexander are 2-2 against each other since last August and the show has done a great job building up this match all night, so let’s do it!
The bell rang and Slater dodged a charge from Alexander. They started trading punches and Slater went for a quick Styles Clash, but Alexander countered it. He went for a lumbar check, but Slater rolled him up and scored the first pin of the match.
Back from a break, Alexander sent Slater careening into the corner and it was revealed that during the commercial, Alexander hit a snap German suplex that had Slater landing on his neck. In the here and now, they traded forearms in the center of the ring with Alexander going for a pin that Slater kicked out of.
Slater hit a chinbreaker and a dropkick, but Alexander stayed on his feet until Slater clotheslined him. He hit one hell of a kick in the corner and went up top. Alexander moved and went for another Lumbar Check but Slater countered with a spin kick and then a cross body from the top turnbuckle.
It was here that they announced that Ultimate X will return on June 28th at Slammiversary.
A busted open Slater ate a Michinoku driver, but Alexander wasn’t able to get the pin. Slater grabbed a headlock to cut off a Lumbar Check and Alexander punched him in the back about it. Slater responded with a high kick with both men starting to look worn down.
Alexander finally got a Lumbar Check in and pinned Slater to even the score 1-1. We moved into next pin wins territory as they went to another commercial break.
Back from said break, Slater was on the top turnbuckle and Alexander caught him with a high kick. Alexander went for a hurricanrana, but Slater countered it into a Super Styles Clash from the top turnbuckle! He went for the cover, but somehow Alexander kicked out.
Slater went back to the top, but Alexander kicked his legs out from under him. On the way down, Slater caught his leg in the ropes, wrenching his knee. Alexander then slammed Slater’s head into the ring steps. Alexander started getting cocky and grabbed the belt from Carlos Silva.
He then put it back gently and held Slater’s head to the camera to show his multiple lacerations. Rolling Slater back into tyhe ring, Alexander set him up for a suplex, but Slater tried to steal one with a rollup. Alexander came back with a brainbuster, but Slater kicked out.
Slater staggered to his feet and Alexander hit another Lumbar Check. Somehow, Slater kicked out and ducked a Blue Thunder Bomb. He went up top, literally slipping in his own blood and landed a 450, but Alexander had moved. Alexander hit another Lumbar Check and then one more for good measure. He pinned Slater and that was it. 1-2-3 and Cedric Alexander is the new TNA X-Division Champion.
Match Result: Cedric Alexander defeated Leon Slater 2 falls to 1 to win the X Division Championship.
After the match, who should come waltzing out? Fabian Aichner of all people! He and Alexander stared each other down as the show went off the air.
Well, I have to say, that was a really fun show! From the opening battle royal to the barnburner of a main event, it was really entertaining. I did not see Alexander winning the title, so that was a great surprise. I’m stoked to be in TNA land and can’t wait for the World Title match next week! See you then!