Editor’s note: the following originally appeared in this week’s Figure Four Weekly.
On September 8th, 2013, Keiji Mutoh launched his new promotion WRESTLE-1 into the Japanese pro wrestling landscape. It followed the split of Mutoh and many of his wrestlers from an All Japan promotion that was left in bad shape.
In all honesty, this was the last thing Japanese wrestling needed. The pool was already full and another splintering of promotions just watered things down.
W-1 never really got going to any great degree and — as recently as last year — many felt the promotion might not be long for the world. Conversely, Jun Akiyama had steadied All Japan’s ship and built the company up again on the back of a steady ace in Kento Miyahara. Mutoh had tried with different guys in that role, but it never worked out.
The one thing W-1 did have going for it was that they were quietly developing an impressive pool of young talent in their dojo system under the watchful eye of Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo. This year, that youth movement has given the company the identity it’s been looking for — and right now they are on a major upswing.
Hayashi and Kondo have really taken the reigns as president and vice president of the company, with Muto seemingly taking more of a figurehead position and removing himself from direct involvement. The WRESTLE-1 we’re seeing right now is the Hayashi/Kondo vision, and it’s being carried out by their kids.
Of course, for any Japanese promotion at their level, Korakuen Hall is a huge measuring stick. They have had a string of great shows in the building in recent months and the reactions are getting stronger and stronger from the fans in attendance. The match quality has become really high level and the personalities up and down the card have really clicked with the audience.
On September 2nd, they had a very successful big show in Yokohama that really felt like a coming out party of sorts for both the promotion and the wrestlers. If this were the 1990s, this would be the W-1 show that would be getting passed around in tape trading circles.
They also now have their Miyahara. Champion Shotaro Ashino has been the definition of a top guy this year. Since he won the title from Masayuki Kono in March, he has dominated — knocking off challengers left and right and really establishing his persona, ring style, and attitude. He now has his own stable and comes off like a star.
Other names to watch for are Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio (a charismatic babyface), Koji Doi & Kumagoro (a tag team with great chemistry), Daiki Inaba (a no-frills technician with a great look), Andy Wu (a spectacular high-flying masked man), and Takanori Ito (the Japanese Kevin Owens). It might be a stretch to call this the ground floor, but the W-1 elevator is definitely on the rise. It’s time to jump on.
Six years ago, I moved back from New York to Tallahassee. A mutual friend told Lance Russell that I lived two hours away from him and Lance wanted me to visit him if I was ever near him. Unfortunately, I never took the invite since I would had loved to listen to him discuss his experiences in World War II and wrestling. I was very depressed that I should had visited him since he was one of the best people that I ever worked off of as a heel in CWA in 1988.
At that time, I had less than three years in the wrestling business. I had my persona down, but the verbal exchanges I had with Lance would allow me to have spontaneous reactions based on him chastising me for being disrespectful. There is a simple reason why Lance Russel was great — he was not produced.
Lance didn’t need anybody to feed him lines that didn’t fit his persona. He didn’t use phrases that seemed forced and fed. He had something that almost any modern wrestling announcer lacks and that’s credibility with their audience. When Lance seemed outraged by the antics of Jimmy Hart or would tell a heel that they got what they deserved, you believed it.
Lance had the connection with the Memphis audience of being almost like an uncle/grandparent/neighbor that was calling wrestling, a dynamic that even legendary announcers like Gordon Solie and Jim Ross never had.
One of my favorite moments in my career was when Lance was pitching a trivia contest on live television. I would literally grab the contest question out of Lance’s hand. Eddie Gilbert would whisper the answer in my ear and I would accidently blurt out the answer. The sound of Lance taking the mic and hitting the desk and screaming at me was real and my bratty response was real. Lance felt the product that he was calling, which made the audience feel it too.
Lance was so important in steering the live WMC wrestling show on the air in being the producer, lead announcer, and conducting the interviews. He saved so many wrestlers on the mic when they froze on live television by creating banter or by asking them a question to steer them back to the topic. Lance even had to maintain some sort of credibility when Memphis wrestling at times would go off the rails with Frankenstein, Batman, and other comic book characters that came into the region.
I want to thank Lance for making me look so great in 1988 when Eddie and I were so over the top in messing with him on the live television. Lance even admitted to me once that he never knew when we were really messing with him or just being in character. He made the product feel real me in being disgusted by my antics and it allowed me to play off him, which hopefully entertained the audience at the time.
This is a short list of my favorite Lance Russell moments:
I believe with videos like this available, there will always be a new audience that will discover the greatness of Lance and it will always remind us on why he was great for being himself. If there was ever a Mount Rushmore for “Memphis Rasslin”, Lance would be on it with his banana nose.
UFC is back in Las Vegas for UFC 216 tonight and after the horrific tragedy earlier this week, hopefully a show headlined by two title fights can help clear fans’ minds, even if for just a few hours.
Lightweights Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee will each main event a PPV for the very first time as they meet for the interim lightweight title in both guys’ first tiel opportunity. Ferguson in particular has a penchant for picking up post show bonus awards and both would love a big money fight with divisional kingpin Conor McGregor, should he return to the sport.
The other title bout sees Demetrious Johnson attempt to defend his flyweight title for a record 11th straight time as he goes up against Ray Borg. This fight was originally scheduled for last month in Edmonton but Borg had health issues just a couple days before the fight and it was scrapped.
Former heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum will attempt to rebound from a tough loss against Derrick Lewis, also coming off a loss. The winner will remain in title contention while the loser will probably drop to the role of divisional gatekeeper.
Longtime lightweight vet Evan Dunham will attempt to continue his late career renaissance with a fifth straight win as he goes up against the very tough Beneil Dariush in another main card fight. Rounding out our panel picks is a middleweight clash on the Fight Pass portion of the show as veterans Brad Tavares and Thales Leites meet for the first time.
If you’re new here, our panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelist’s 2017 records is in parentheses, and we also have panel consensus picks as well as a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
Dave Meltzer (45-21; .682) — Wrestling Observer publisher
John Pollock (44-22; .667) — Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Favorites (44-22; .667)
Consensus Picks (41-24; .631)
Tom Lawlor (18-11; .621) – Co-host Filthy Four Daily; pro wrestling undercard fighter; UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
David Bixenspan (41-25; .621) – Deadspin pro wrestling columnist; Between the Sheets podcast host
Mike Sempervive (40-26; .606) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Steve Juon (40-26; .606) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Mike Sawyer (40-26; .606) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Ryan Frederick (36-30; .545) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (35-31; .530) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Front Row Brian (34-32; .515) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
> UFC interim lightweight championship: Tony Ferguson (22-3) vs Kevin Lee (16-2)
Ferguson is on one of the most impressive runs in the entire company since dropping a decision to Michael Johnson in May 2012. Since that loss, he’s won nine straight, including six by stoppage. Perhaps even more impressive, he’s picked up six post show bonus awards in that stretch. Lee has won five straight with the last four coming via stoppage. He’s also coming off a very impressive performance in his first main event, a first round submission over Michael Chiesa.
While these guys might not be big names to casual fans, hardcores have been waiting for this one since the day it was announced. It’s hard to imagine this fight being any less than excellent.
> UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (27-2-1) vs Ray Borg (11-2)
Speaking of great runs, flyweight king Demetrious Johnson has not lost in almost six years since challenging Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title. He’s the only champion in the division’s history and has pretty much run through all the contenders, including some more than once. Borg has a modest two fight win streak but is the remaining top contender DJ hasn’t baten yet. He made weight with a half pound to spare and vows to win the title and then defend against Johnson in a “historic rematch”.
Many feel that if Johnson retains his title and breaks the record, he’ll move back to bantamweight for potential big fights with names like Cody Garbrandt or TJ Dillishaw.
> Fabricio Werdum (21-7-1) vs Derrick Lewis (18-5) HEAVYWEIGHTS
When we last saw Lewis, he lost a tough fight against Mark Hunt after which he “retired” in a post-fight interview. That didn’t last long as he’s back here against former champion Werdum in what is the biggest fight of his career to this point. Werdum desperately needs a win after a tough loss to Alistair Overeem. A second straight loss after the age of 40 could signal the end is near for the former champion, but a win over a rising contender could get him in the title mix of a thin division. He’s lost two of his last three.
One thing is almost for sure. This one shouldn’t take long.
Lewis #10; +221 betting underdog: Frederick, Fontaine
> Evan Dunham (18-6) vs Beneil Dariush (14-3) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Dunham looked to be nearly done in UFC following his third straight loss in July 2014. Since that time, he’s racked up four straight wins including the fight of the night in his last bout over Rick Glenn. He’s on the verge of a top 10 ranking. Dariush came into UFC with a blaze of glory but has been finished in two of his last four. Once thought to be a future title contender, he’s a long way from that now in a stacked division. He badly needs a win here to stay relevant at 155.
> Brad Tavares (15-4) vs Thales Leites (27-7) MIDDLEWEIGHTS
With 32 UFC fights between them, it’s hard to believe these two veterans have never met in the Octagon. Tavares was last beaten by the current interim champion Robert Whittaker. He’s won two straight and three of his last four and another win would be really big for the Hawaiian.
Leites has won two of his last three and has not been finished in a fight in over seven years. The longtime contender is coming off a win over Sam Alvey in which he made him look average. A victory over Tavares would be one of the biggest in his long career.
> Maria Romero Borella (11-4) vs Kalindra Faria (18-5-1) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Borella #17; +190 betting underdog
Faria NR; -195 betting favorite
> Tom Duqesnoy (15-1) vs Cody Stamman (15-1) BANTAMWEIGHTS
Duquesnoy #20; -150 betting favorite
Stamman #43; +148 betting underdog
> Lando Vannata (9-2) Vs Bobby Green (23-8)LIGHTWEIGHTS
Vannata #117; -199 betting favorite
Green #106; +190 betting underdog
> Pearl Gonzalez (6-2) vs Poliana Botelho (5-1) STRAWWEIGHTS
Gonzalez NR; +128 betting underdog
Botelho NR; -135 betting favorite
> Walt Harris (10-5) vs Mark Godbeer (12-3) HEAVYWEIGHTS
Harris #47; -302 betting favorite
Godbeer #72; +279 betting underdog
> Magomed Bibulatov (14-0) vs John Moraga (17-6) FLYWEIGHTS
Bibulatov #8; -500 betting favorite
Moraga #28; +472 betting underdog
Matt Schnell (10-4) vs Marco Antonio Beltran (8-5) FLYWEIGHTS
Schnell #85; -112 betting favorite
Beltran +126; +110 betting underdog
Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 6:30 PM EST and moves over to FX at 8 PM EST. The main card airs on PPV at 10 PM EST, and our own Ryan Frederick will be cageside covering the show.
Editor’s note: The following originally appeared in this week’s Figure Four Weekly.
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“Extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.”
The definition of the word “awesome” is quite appropriate for 44-year-old Masato Tanaka, especially with “The Gladiator” Mike Awesome being the rival he was so synonymous with throughout the 1990s.
It’s a feud that certainly pushed both men to their physical limits, and for Awesome the consequences were tragic. For Tanaka, the fact that he’s here 20 years later wrestling like a man possessed is very much impressive, awe-inspiring, and also something that has to provoke apprehension and fear like the definition suggests.
This weekend I watched Zero1’s Fire Festival final, which pit Tanaka against young pretender Yusaku Obata. The match was nuts. If there were lessons to be learned from what happened to Katsuyori Shibata, they weren’t on display here.
I’m not a wrestler and I’m not a doctor, so I’m not going to try to break down that element of this. I’m a fan, and as a fan I was simply in awe of the level of performance, particularly from the 44 year old. The match went over 30 minutes and was non-stop, with Tanaka especially moving at an incredible pace. The Korakuen Hall crowd was on fire for the closing stretch and the atmosphere harkened back to years prior when Zero1 was in a better place than it is now.
Both men were launching bombs at each other — from hard strikes to huge suplexes. Obata repeatedly hit variations of top rope double knee drops to Tanaka’s chest and stomach, while the former ECW star went to the well of his vicious Sliding D until one final match-ending blow got the job done.
In terms of effort and physical performance, this match is up there with the classics produced by New Japan this year. It may not have had the level of psychology or nuanced storytelling of a Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega match, but it was every bit as impressive from an athletic point of view. Even more so when you consider Tanaka’s age.
We’re exactly 10 years since Tanaka transformed himself from the stocky, barrel-chested (somewhat pudgy) wrestler he was in FMW to the insanely cut, lightweight version of himself that he’s maintained to this day. He was out of action with a shoulder injury at that time, and when he came back with his new look and a somewhat new style based around the Sliding D as his big new move, fans were extremely excited as he began to produce one great match after another.
Nobody thought he’d keep that up into his 40s, and yet here he is. A friend of mine (very much a casual fan) who saw him live at WrestleMania weekend with me a few years ago put it best. “He’s like a greyhound, Alan! There’s no stopping him.” As implausible as it is, for now, there’s no stopping Masato Tanaka.
Editor’s note: The following originally appeared in this week’s Figure Four Weekly.
The announcement of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s King of Pro Wrestling card was notable for a few reasons. Hiromu Takahashi was kept out of the Junior Heavyweight title match, with Will Ospreay and KUSHIDA set to compete one-on-one instead. Also, Kota Ibushi won’t challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi just quite yet, as their Intercontinental title match looks like it will happen in Osaka at Power Struggle instead.
However, the thing that I find not only notable, but at this point I would say is comical, is that yet again the IWGP Tag Team titles are being defended in the same three-way dance that we had on all three Destruction shows — Killer Elite Squad vs. War Machine vs. Guerrillas of Destiny.
More than anything else in the highly successful booking run of Gedo, the heavyweight tag team scene has been criticized for a lack of creativity and care from his pencil. We may have reached the pinnacle of it with this match.
Back in 2012, it was TenKoji vs. KES that was done to death. The matches were always good, but by the 1,000th time nobody was frothing at the mouth for them. Since then it’s been one program after another involving the likes of Gun & Gallows, G.O.D, and the ROH team of the moment where the titles get traded around and end up back where they started. Nothing against any of those teams — for the most part they’ve all worked hard and every program has produced at least one very good match — but there’s been zero juice to any of the rivalries.
For a career tag worker, Gedo’s lack of care for the division he once called home is rather surprising. It’s also disappointing because of the historic significance tag team wrestling has in Japan. The peak of this was probably with 90s All Japan Pro Wrestling where the tag titles were contested for by the top stars who had their regular pairings to go alongside their singles endeavors. As a result, Kawada & Taue, Misawa & Kobashi, and Akiyama & Kobashi are remembered as some of the greatest tag teams ever, in addition to all of those men being legendary singles wrestlers.
NJPW has had their own great tag scene over the years as well. TenKoji’s dominance in the early 2000s saw them wrestle a variety of teams and really elevate the belts. In the 90s, The Steiners and the monster team of Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow proved great opposition for natives like Masa Chono, Keiji Muto, Hiroshi Hase, and Shinya Hashimoto.
Gedo has teased fans with alternatives, but has never followed them through. At the start of 2015, he had a rare combination of native heavyweight stars finally win the belts in Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto. It looked like they were being positioned opposite another newly formed team in Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito. Then the rug was swept out and the titles went back to Gun & Gallows.
Last year, another alternative was explored with a brief integration of the junior heavyweight tag teams with the heavyweights. That got fans excited and the matches which featured The Young Bucks and reDRagon moving up were excellent, but the experiment was forgotten about once 2017 started.
Sadly with this KOPW lineup it seems Gedo’s more set in his ways than ever, and despite what an inarguably great run he’s had as NJPW booker, the tag team scene will forever be pointed to as a black mark against him.
UFC returns to PPV tonight, but instead of Demetrious Johnson attempting to set the record for consecutive UFC title defenses, we’ve got a women’s bantamweight title fight that was originally scheduled to headline July’s UFC 213.
Champion Amanda Nunes will defend against Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch of their 2016 fight which Nunes won by decision. Nunes was fading in the third round of that fight and most observers feel that in a five round fight, Shevchenko may have gotten the best of her. Nunes went on to win the title and Shevchenko defeated former champion Holly Holm and TUF winner Julianna Pena to earn this title shot.
After the main event that was elevated due to the Johnson-Borg fight being scrapped, the card really thins out in terms of marquee value. In the co-main event, former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos continues his run toward a welterweight title shot as he faces perennial top 10 contender Neil Magny. This will be a good test for RDA as Magny is more or less a gatekeeper in the division.
Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez moves down to featherweight against tough veteran Jeremy Stephens. Melendez will fight for the first time in a year after a suspension due to PEDs, but with a win here, he could enter the title mix.
Originally scheduled for the FS1 prelims, past flyweight title challengers Wilson Reis and Henry Cejudo has been bumped up to the main card. Either guy is at least two wins away from another shot after having been easily dispatched by Johnson.
Rounding out our panel picks is Canadian veteran Mitch Clarke vs. Alex White in what could be a loser leaves town fight. White has lost three of his last four coming into this one and Clarke has not won since 2014 although that win was an impressive one over Al Iaquinta.
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Our year-long panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelist’s 2017 records is in parentheses, along with panel consensus picks and a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
John Pollock (43-18; .705) — Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Favorites (41-20; .672)
Dave Meltzer (41-20; .672) — Wrestling Observer publisher
Consensus Picks (39-21; .650)
Tom Lawlor (15-9; .625) – Filthy Four Daily co-host, budding pro wrestling star, UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
David Bixenspan (38-23; .623) – Deadspin pro wrestling columnist; Between the Sheets podcast host
Mike Sempervive (37-24; .607) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Steve Juon (37-24; .607) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Mike Sawyer (36-25; .590) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Ryan Frederick (34-27; .557) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (34-27; .557) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Front Row Brian (31-30; .508) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
> UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (14-4) vs Valentina Shevchenko (14-2) II
Nunes pulled out hours before this fight was originally scheduled in July, leading to UFC immediately rebooked the fight for September. Despite the greater mainstream appeal of former champion Ronda Rousey, Nunes’ run in UFC has been almost as impressive. She has won seven of her eight UFC fights with all but one of those victories being first round stoppages.
Shevchenko’s three UFC wins have come against two former world champions and a TUF winner and her only loss came to Nunes in a very close fight. Her only other career loss early in her career came at the hands of Liz Carmouche, a former world title challenger.
Most feel that Shevchenko is the only fighter in the division with a realistic shot at beating the champion and it’s tough to see who is next for Nunes should she win. She has talked of wanting a run at the featherweight title, but we’ll see how that plays out.
> Neil Magny (19-5) vs Rafael Dos Anjos (26-9) Welterweights
Since losing to the very tough Demian Maia in a short notice fight, Magny has rebounded to win four of his last five fights with wins over former champion Johny Hendricks and former TUF middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum highlighting that stretch. He doesn’t jump to the top of the list when you think of title contenders, but a win here could change that perception.
Dos Anjos is the former lightweight champion who moved up a weight class after losing his title and a followup fight against future interim lightweight title challenger Tony Ferguson. He beat former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine in his welterweight debut and a second straight win here might leave him one win short of a title shot.
> Henry Cejudo (12-2) vs Wilson Reis (22-7) Flyweights
Cejudo was destroyed in his title challenge in the first round against Johnson and went on to suffer his second career loss at the hands of #1 contender Joseph Benavidez. He needs a win here badly to stay relevant in this division.
Reis’ title challenge came in his last fight and he lost via third round submission to the champ which snapped a three-fight win streak for the Brazilian. This could be very interesting as Cejudo’s game is wrestling-based but with Reis being a submission expert, he may not want to go to the ground. A third straight loss may have Cejudo contemplate a move to bantamweight as he has had weight cutting issues in the past.
> Jeremy Stephens (25-14) vs Gilbert Melendez (22-6) Featherweights
Stephens has recently passed the ten year mark in his UFC career and with a recent win over former champion Renan Barao, he’s still relevant in the divison. He has lost three of his last four, but two of those were against current champion Max Holloway and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Like Magny in the co-main, he’s very much a divisional gatekeeper.
Melendez has had a rough start to his UFC career. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion has lost three in a row and four of his five promotional bouts. However, three of those losses were against former champions in Eddie Alvarez, Benson Henderson, and Anthony Pettis. He always seemed to be the smaller guy in his lightweight fights so perhaps a move down to 145 will be good for him. With his name value, he could enter the list of title contenders with a win over Stephens.
> Mitch Clarke (11-4) vs Alex White (11-3)
Lightweights
This fight was originally scheduled as the featured Fight Pass prelim, but was bumped up to the FS1 prelims when the Cejudo-Reis fight was moved to the main card. Clarke, the Canadian, should be the hometown hero and he’ll need that extra support as he’s just 2-4 in his UFC career and hasn’t had a win in over three years.
White has been slightly better with a 2-3 record in UFC. He originally started as a featherweight but moved up to lightweight for his last fight, a loss against the unheralded Tony Martin. They’re not billing this as loser leaves town, but it probably is.
White #343; -195 betting favorite: Sawyer, Lawlor, Meltzer, Nason, Sempervive
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The rest of the card:
> Ilir Latifi (12-5) vs Tyson Pedro (6-0) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Latifi #19; +125 betting underdog
Pedro #26; -125 betting favorite
> Sara McMann (11-3) vs Ketlen Vieira (8-0) WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS
McMann #5; -205 betting favorite
Vieira #20; +205 betting underdog
> Sarah Moras (4-2) vs Ashlee Evans-Smith (5-2) WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS
Moras NR; +240 betting underdog
Evans-Smith #28; -227 betting favorite
> Rick Glenn (19-4) vs Gavin Tucker (10-0)
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Glenn #40; +240 betting underdog
Tucker #121; -230 betting favorite
> Luis Henrique (10-3) vs Arjan Bhullar (6-0) HEAVYWEIGHTS
Henrique #108; +185 betting underdog
Bhullar #86; -200 betting favorite
> Kajan Johnson (21-12-1) vs Adriano Martins (28-8) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Johnson NR; +450 betting underdog
Martins #34; -475 betting favorite
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Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 7 PM EST and moves over to FS1 at 8 PM EST. The main card airs on PPV at 10 PM EST and our own Ryan Pike will be cageside covering the show.
Once coined “The WrestleMania of the summer”, SummerSlam returns tonight to Brooklyn, NY, part of a big weekend that already included a hot TakeOver event and Raw and Smackdown this week.
We asked our writers what they were looking forward to the most tonight. Here’s what they had to say:
The Universal Title match is easily the most interesting part of the entire weekend. The NXT event felt cold going in, but SummerSlam itself feels exciting thanks to this match. Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe stole the show on Raw in a triple threat and then Braun and Roman did it again with the office chair-throwing last man standing match.
The build for this has made everyone involved feel like they are on Brock’s level to some degree which is the highest possible level a non-McMahon can have in WWE. The result is also going to be interesting because with the stipulation being added that if he loses, he leaves Brock seems like a dead ringer to win. This wouldn’t be bad, but with Joe having so much momentum and a limited time to really be a top-level guy, it still feels like the time to pull the trigger on a title win for him.
I’ll be at SummerSlam live, and the match that confirmed that I was buying a ticket was the Universal Championship main event. I’ve had mixed/negative feelings on a lot of Brock Lesnar’s singles matches over the last few years, but it’s almost always great when he’s in a multi-man. Lesnar gets to add his offense to a match instead of completely taking it over.
This may have the most potential of any of Lesnar’s multi-man matches since returning. Raw has been pretty good for a while due to the mix at the top of the card working. Samoa Joe, Strowman, and Reigns are all credible threats and should mix in well with Lesnar.
The stipulation of Lesnar and Paul Heyman leaving WWE if they lose may have been more of a negative than a positive, but Lesnar winning isn’t as much of a lock given the history of “loser leaves” stipulations in pro wrestling. Either way, it should be a fantastic match if everyone works as well together as expected.
The thing I’m most looking forward to at SummerSlam is the reunion of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. The Fatal Four-Way main event should be tremendous, but I’m not that emotionally invested in it. Perhaps because they’ve negated the meaning of the Universal Title, and all the titles, or perhaps because we have a pretty good idea of who’s winning.
A year ago, I wrote about Ambrose finally becoming WWE Champion and why it was significant. His feud with Seth Rollins, after Rollins broke up the Shield, was memorable, and a rarity in today’s WWE programming. Something that had real stakes. The fans wanted nothing more than to see Ambrose get revenge on Rollins. The feud had an unsatisfactory end, but here we are years later, and they’re finally on the same page again.
This is good for Sheamus and Cesaro as well. They’re a good team, but this could catapult tham as a top heel group, as the team preventing the Shield from fulling regaining their glory. Ambrose and Rollins are often at their best when they’re involved with each other, and this should make for an interesting direction for two-thirds of the Shield.
Since I imagine everyone will say the Raw main event, I’ve got to be a bit different and go with Ambrose and Rollins again Sheamus and Cesaro. I think these guys will have a sleeper of a great match and there’s the potential for the elevation of the tag titles if two main eventers and former World champion can take the belts.
NXT returns to Brooklyn for what Triple H said is their version of Wrestlemania. No pressure, guys.
WWE’s third brand prepares for its biggest show of the year with maybe the deepest, most talented roster they’ve ever had – one that is only getting deeper, Bay-Bay. The fact that established stars like Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno, and Nikki Cross can’t even sniff getting on this card is a testament to just how stacked NXT is top to bottom.
There is an argument to be made, that in terms of pure star power, this is the best Brooklyn TakeOver card ever and one of the best TakeOver lineups, period. Top to bottom, there one dud on the card, and every title could conceivably change hands.
With so much uncertainty, and new talent possibly showing up, let’s run down the card match by match and see how many Adam Cole references I can make (one so far).
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
What I would love is for Cien Almas to go somewhere in any type of capacity. Pairing him with Zelina Vega (FKA Thea Trinidad) is a good start towards developing his character, but he’s been in NXT since early 2016. Did it really take 18 months for them to say ‘Hey, maybe give him a valet?” To this point, he’s kind of just been the handsome dude with great hair that loses almost every match.
In his four appearances on TakeOver shows, he has lost to Aleister Black, Roddy Strong, and Bobby Roode and he’s only beaten Tye Dillinger, back when Dillinger was the handsome dude that lost every match.
It’s great to see Johnny Gargano back in NXT, where he is probably their best pure babyface since Sami Zayn. His story is pretty easy to tell; he gets betrayed by his partner and best friend, starts a singles run, and when he finally gets to the top, his partner comes back to ruin it. The Gargano/Ciampa feud that’s going to happen in like a year is going to be like 178 fire emojis, just the absolute best.
If that’s the direction they go with Johnny ‘Sports Entertainment’ (shout out to everyone on Twitter I borrowed that from), then just have him lose here as people are still going to love him no matter what. They have a chance to make two guys in one match, especially if Almas doesn’t go over clean. I’m very into these two feuding for a couple months. But since the story is too easy, Gargano probably taps Almas in like eight minutes and I keep eating and enjoying my Triscuits and hummus.
Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami
Hey, hi, hello NXT fans — are you ready for the best match on the show?
Just let these two cave each others’ chests in with kicks and send everyone home happy. Itami has had the worst luck I can ever remember for someone with all his talent. Each potential push has had to be stopped because of serious fluke injuries. It’s just a shame that Aleister Black is going to kick his head off.
I can’t believe how well Black’s character has gotten over considering he just knocks people’s heads off with a kick and then sits down criss-cross applesauce style. It’s a combination of his incredible look and style that makes everything he does feel like a big deal. Typically when someone gets the type of booking he has, one where he beats everyone, doesn’t talk, etc. It’s usually someone like Braun Strowman before he started talking and having the best lines ever, not someone ‘regular sized’ like Black is. It’s very cool to see. His entrance is very cool to see too, and might be even cooler if they do some kind of live performance to go with it.
These two seem to match up so well on paper and both excel in all out sprint type matches. If we get 10-13 minutes, it could steal the show on the level Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate from the last TakeOver.
NXT Tag Team Champions Authors of Pain vs. SAnitY
Who are the fans supposed to be rooting for in this match? Both are essentially heel teams but still get cheered either because of how good the matches are and/or how captivating their personas might be. Apparently in house show matches, SAnitY are coming off as the faces, so let’s go with that — the group that literally is about causing chaos and interferes in tons of matches as the good guys.
I think the Authors of Pain have had great matches with everyone on every stage and are more than ready to get called up to the main roster. That’s why I don’t mind putting the belts on SAnitY and letting AOP go up to Raw, which has exactly one heel tag team (Cesaro and Sheamus) worth any salt, so they certainly could use an infusion of talent.
SAnity is really in a good spot to carry NXT’s tag team division right now. Outside of them and AOP, they’re really isn’t a whole lot going on which means this is a perfect opportunity for them to have a long run as a dominant heel(-ish?) team. They would be a perfect feud for Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly should WWE decide to reform their old tag team reDragon. They would even be a better match with the stable of ex-Ring of Honor talents that is rumored to soon exist once the likes of Adam Cole and others debut.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Ember Moon
Each time I write one of these previews, it’s usually something like ‘Asuka is the best’. So, Asuka is the best. There is a strong argument to be made that she is the best NXT signing, possibly ever. Completely dominant and tone-perfect in whatever role she plays, Asuka truly is the best performer on NXT, and maybe in the whole company period. She has the winning streak, she’s beaten everyone, and there is nothing left for her to do. There are arguments that the NXT women’s division needs her to anchor a thin division. But with Ember Moon, Nikki Cross, Ruby Riot, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and the potential signings from the Mae Young Classic, the division will be just fine if she moves on.
So, what’s up with this match? Do we care? Kind of? I guess? I’m pretty into Moon not being a supernatural wolf/warrior/thing/whatever and just being a wrestler. Her in-ring talent is never in doubt, but the character and mic work is what is holding her back. She’s shown signs of improvement over the last few episodes of NXT when given time, but her work pales to even lower card acts like Royce/Kaye.
There has never been someone like Asuka in NXT. Usually, you can see the ‘next champion’ or the logical progression of someone up the card. But with someone like Asuka, who is the overpowered, fully leveled up superboss of an entire division, is it ever going to feel like someone can beat them? Nope. It will never feel that way, but she can’t stay in NXT forever…just like Monday Nights can’t have the same four women wrestling each other every week, right?
If they do decide to keep the belt on Asuka, they should absolutely let her go to Raw with it and use the Mae Young Classic to determine who gets to face Ember/Ruby Riot/Nikki Cross for the belt at the next TakeOver.
NXT Champion Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre
As is often the case with Roode’s matches during his title reign, or his entire NXT tenure honestly, this is the match I’m least looking forward to. I think that all of his matches are fine, but they have a finite ceiling, kind of like a low-rent version of Randy Orton who wrestles exactly like peak-era HHH.
You know just about what you’re going to get out of a Roode match and it’s usually good, but I get excited for matches that could be great. That said, I wonder if someone like McIntyre is just the person to get that match out of him. Their styles seem to mesh well from every aspect, so hopefully they can put on something memorable. I would tend to think so considering this is McIntyre’s return to the company from a ‘Live Special’ capacity.
What I love the most about McIntyre, and what shows how comfortable he has gotten as a performer, is that he is doing a version of his gimmick from his time in EVOLVE, but doing it completely as a face. In EVOLVE, he was trying to ‘save’ it, to rebuild it in his image and now he is trying to take back ‘our NXT’ from Roode.
His promos have been great and his ring work is beyond impressive; he really is the guy to be the face of NXT, something that hasn’t existed since Finn Balor. Sure other guys have had the title, but it was Balor that was associated with the brand most heavily. It was Finn you thought about when you thought about NXT. Drew has the chance to be that guy.
The great thing about McIntyre’s current character is that it can flip between face and heel immediately depending on who the next challenger is. He just flips from our NXT to MY NXT and it’s an instant tone shift. If you couldn’t tell, I absolutely love what they are doing with him since his return.
Should he take the belt here? Probably not. My favorite thing about NXT is that no matter when you predict or project a result, you also have to think about where the characters go moving forward. Roode doesn’t need to be on the main roster, and losing the belt here would hurt him tremendously. Let him retain, but not cleanly and then let Drew win the belt and have him be the face that moves NXT into 2018.
Recent years have seen the subject of IP as a hot topic again with several situations involving wrestlers moving through different promotions including Cody Rhodes, Hornswoggle, Ryback, El Cuervo, and the Bullet Club among others, and of course “Broken” Matt Hardy & Brother Nero. In the majority of these situations, names are changed which means we get Cody, Swoggle, the Big Guy, Phantasma Jr, the Club, and the old Hardy Boyz instead of the more updated version.
Fans have become largely accustomed to this process ever since Vince McMahon and WWE standardized this concept. Occasionally, situations arise that puzzle or frustrate the fans such as when Rhodes found himself unable to use his famous wrestling last name despite his father being the legendary Dusty Rhodes and his brother Dustin wrestling for decades as members of the Rhodes family.
Unfortunately for Cody, his first official wrestling match was for OVW, the then-territorial system for the WWF/E, which made the name “Cody Rhodes” the IP of WWE.
To see how this started, you have to go back to the 1980s where McMahon normalized the practice of a wrestling promotion creating new names for their wrestlers. For decades prior, wrestlers created their own personas and nicknames and and like any actor or athlete, your name went with you. But as the 80s progressed, wrestlers joining the WWF saw their names change more and more.
When Curt Hennig was brought in, he became Mr. Perfect, the Dingo Warrior became the Ultimate Warrior, the Sheepherders became the Bushwhackers, Big Bubba Rogers became the Big Boss Man, and so on.
As the decade ended, it was almost a given that if you joined WWF, you would be given a new name. But what this change really meant for the industry wouldn’t be understood until years later when the Ultimate Warrior left and found he was no longer the Ultimate Warrior.
McMahon started this practice for two main reasons. The first was to distinguish the WWF as a world separate and different from the rest of the wrestling community. The second was by creating new names for these wrestlers, the names were legally the intellectual property of the WWF, which gave them exclusive rights to license and merchandise their character.
The name “The Ultimate Warrior” was the IP of the WWF because ultimately usage comes down to when it was done first, and with that legal reality, the Ultimate Warrior re-named himself Warrior in his WCW run. His look and “Warrior” name were established prior to his WWF run, so he had all rights to that sans the “Ultimate” part.
The wrestling world began to understand the new reality that with any talent movement between these major wrestling promotions, a name created and debuted in one organization was the intellectual property of that organization and would not go with them if they left.
The difference with real names
If it’s your real name, you own it which is what makes the sports world a lot simpler. Kevin Durant didn’t have to change his name when he joined Golden State and Chael Sonnen didn’t become Chael P. when he signed with Bellator. Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Jeff Jarrett, Jerry Lawler, Bobby Roode, and many more wrestled under their real names, so name ownership was never an issue with them.
What about CM Punk, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Sting?
They used those names from the starts of their careers prior to joining a major wrestling promotion. As long as you use the name once prior to joining a “publishing house” like New Japan, WWF or GFW, the name belongs to you. If you keep that name depends on the deal they make with their new home. Sometimes you get to stay as Shinsuke Nakamura while other times, you end up as Hideo Itami.
If New Japan owns the Bullet Club, how did they keep that name in GFW and ROH?
The Bullet Club was born in NJPW and therefore, NJPW owns and controls the rights to that name. Like GFW, New Japan has had working partnerships with multiple promotions over the years and woud allow these partners to use their IP. That’s why Big Van Vader competed in WCW but when New Japan’s partnership with WCW ended, he simply became Vader.
Because of this partnership, when Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows wrestled for GFW and ROH, they were the Bullet Club. But since there was no such deal with the WWE, Doc and Karl hooked up with AJ Styles as simply The Club.
But didn’t Finn Balor create the Bullet Club?
When Balor was in NJPW as Prince Devitt, he indeed was the face of the Bullet Club and was their first leader, spokesman and architect of the group that still exists to this day. One could say creatively he may have been the prime driving force along with Gedo, the head of NJPW creative. Regardless of who all played a part in the creation of this character, it was created and debuted in New Japan and is therefore their IP.
*******
Before I joined the wrestling industry many years ago, I worked in the comic book industry and and always appreciated the similarities to wrestling in how comics also operate as a roster of characters controlled by creative who receive pushes, gimmick changes, and sell merch with ongoing storylines told episodically in a “universe”. And when it comes to the legal ownership of characters, wrestling and comics have even more in common.
Marvel continues to churn out movies, TV, licensing, merchandise, comics, and cartoons, from the Spider-Man character. And what many people are aware of is Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee along with artist Steve Ditko and others playeing their part as well. But even with Lee publicly acknowledged as the creator of this character, Spider-Man is still the IP of Marvel, because he was created for Marvel while working at Marvel.
Lee is constantly credited with the creation of these characters and is lauded and heralded by Marvel as such, given a lifetime ambassador job with a hefty salary. But, it does not change the fact that he never owned these characters, Marvel did.
What about the Superman case?
The key difference between Superman and other characters is that Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster actually created Superman before he debuted in DC. Back in the 1930s, these two sold the character to DC Comics. In a weird sense, Superman is to comics what CM Punk or AJ Styles is to WWE where the name was created before he joined the company.
With ongoing public situations like the Hardys’ Broken characters, it can be frustrating to wrestling fans to see talent switch to a new company and no longer be identified by their favorite names. For better or for worse, this is the reality that wrestling adopted in the 80s by McMahon and is the standard for how wrestling operates to this day.
It’s the biggest UFC show of the year so far as Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier step into the Octagon in Anaheim to renew their rivalry. Jones won the first time out to retain the light heavyweight title, but his antics outside the cage cost him his belt.
DC picked up the slack in the meantime, and he looks to defend his belt for the third time against his biggest rival. In the co-main event slot, Demian Maia gets his long-deserved shot at the welterweight title and division kingpin Tyron Woodley.
Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger debuts for the company as she faces former Invicta and Strikeforce featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino. The winner claims the UFC women’s featherweight title, which was vacated by Germaine de Randamie.
Despite the other title fights, the second most anticipated bout on the card may very well be former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler taking on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. This was originally scheduled as one of the featured bouts for UFC 213 during International Fight Week but was pushed back to this show due to injury.
Rounding out the main card, and likely kicking off the pay-per-view, is a fight that could determine the next challenger for the winner of the main event. 205 pounders Jimi Manuwa and Volkan Oezdemir will throw down in a war that promises to be quick and violent.
If you’re new here, our panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelists’ 2017 records are in parentheses, and we also have panel consensus picks along with a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
John Pollock (39-17; .696) — Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Favorites (37-19; .661)
Dave Meltzer (37-19; .661) — Wrestling Observer publisher
Consensus Picks (35-20; .636)
David Bixenspan (35-21; .625) — Deadspin pro wrestling columnist, Between the Sheets podcast host
Mike Sempervive (33-23; .589) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Steve Juon (33-23; .589) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Mike Sawyer (32-24; .571) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Ryan Frederick (31-25; .554) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (30-26; .536) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Tom Lawlor (10-9; .526) — Filthy Four Daily co-host, pro wrestling undercard fighter, UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
Front Row Brian (27-29; .482) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
Main event for the UFC light heavyweight title — Champion Daniel Cormier (19-1) vs. Jon Jones (22-1)
These two may hate each other more than any two fighters in MMA. Cormier needs this win to prove that he’s the real champ. Jones wants to regain the belt that he never really lost. It’s a simple story.
One of the compelling things about this fight is what’s next. Jones pretty much cleaned out the division during his title run, and Cormier hasn’t had much trouble with anyone besides Jones. There are heavy rumors that Jones might move up to heavyweight after this fight, with Brock Lesnar as his most speculated on first opponent in that division.
For the UFC welterweight title — Champion Tyron Woodley (17-3-1) vs. Demian Maia (22-6)
Maia won seven straight to earn this shot, most in dominating fashion. Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler to win the title but escaped by the skin of his teeth after two fights with number one contender Steven “Wonderboy” Thompson that really didn’t settle anything.
What’s interesting here is that all three people who’ve beaten Woodley in his career have also beaten Maia — and by the exact same method. Rory McDonald and Jake Shields hold decision wins over both and Nate Marquardt has knocked them both out. Woodley is four years younger, which could end up being the deciding factor here.
For the vacant UFC women’s featherweight title — Cris “Cyborg” Justino (17-1) vs. Tonya Evinger (19-6)
Cyborg has already fought twice in the UFC, winning both of her fights via KO. She has not lost since her pro debut 12 years ago. Evinger’s run has been impressive as well, with 10 straight wins that took her to the Invicta bantamweight title (which she vacated in order to get the UFC shot).
Much has been made of the fact that Evinger wasn’t “good enough” for the UFC bantamweight division, but two of the women she successfully defended against were signed by the UFC after their fights.
Cyborg has rarely faced anyone the caliber of Evinger. Aside from Marloes Coenen and Leslie Smith, none of her opponents have done much of anything in MMA since facing her.
Evinger #7 at women’s bantamweight; +971 betting underdog — Fontaine
Robbie Lawler (27-11) vs. Donald Cerrone (32-8) (welterweights)
When Lawler was fighting for the middleweight title in Strikeforce and Cerrone was competing for the lightweight title in WEC, who’d have thought this fight was possible? Now they find themselves in the same weight class in UFC and it’s possibly the best fight on the card on one of the biggest shows of the year.
Cerrone hasn’t fought since January, which is like a decade by his schedule. Lawler is one year removed from losing his title to Tyron Woodley, with this being his first fight since. The winner here is probably one win away from a shot at the Woodley-Maia winner.
Jimi Manuwa (17-2) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (14-1) (light heavyweights)
These may be the two best light heavyweights in UFC who have never faced either Cormier or Jones, and this very well could be a number one contender’s fight. Manuwa has won two straight, both by KO, since being knocked out by former title contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
Oezdemir thrust himself into title talk by stunning Misha Cirkunov and knocking him out in under 30 seconds. Both men also hold wins over top contender Ovince Saint Preux and a win here, especially if it’s impressive, is probably a ticket to the biggest fight in either man’s career.
Ricardo Lamas (17-5) vs. Jason Knight (18-2) (featherweights)
Lamas #4; +110 betting underdog
Knight #14; -112 betting favorite
Renan Barao (34-4) vs. Aljamain Sterling (13-2) (140 lb catchweight)
Barao #17 featherweight; +115 betting underdog
Sterling #11 bantamweight; -115 betting favorite
Bryan Ortega (11-0) vs. Renato Carneiro (11-0-1) (featherweights)
Ortega #11; +143 betting underdog
Carneiro #8; -149 betting favorite
Andre Fili (16-4) vs. Calvin Kattar (16-2) (featherweights)
Fili #38; -350 betting favorite
Kattar #130; +336 betting underdog
Jarred Brooks (12-0) vs. Eric Shelton (10-3) (flyweights)
Brooks #29; -141 betting favorite
Shelton #36; +130 betting underdog
Kailin Curran (4-4) vs. Aleksandra Albu (2-0) (strawweights)
Curran NR; +138 betting underdog
Albu NR; -151 betting favorite
Josh Burkman (28-15) vs. Drew Dober (17-8) (lightweights)
Burkman #82; +269 betting underdog
Dober #98; -300 betting favorite
Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 6:30 p.m. ET and moves over to FXX at 8 p.m. ET. The main card airs on PPV at 10 p.m. ET, and our own Dave Meltzer will be cageside covering the show. Check out the links below for more coverage:
Honesty isn’t exaclty a word associated with the wrestling industry. But with Jeanie Clarke, as with a famous brand here in the UK, you get exactly what it says on the tin: that being honesty.
Yes, she has been in the middle of some of the biggest and most well known wrestling angles of all time. Yes, she came with ‘Stone Cold’ when she was married to Steve Austin. But, as she puts it during my recent interview with her, she shouldn’t even be alive.
Jeanie had a well documented pill addiction, but she has come out the other side and is four years clean with a tremendous story to tell. And that story is laced with honesty that is rare in the industry.
During the course of our 40+ minute interview, we discuss her addiction, what caused and furthered it, how she came out the other side and what she is doing now to help others in the same situation.
We talked about how it affected her relationships with her children and how the wrestling lifestyle played its part in it.
We also talk about her relationships with Chris Adams and Steve Austin, and how Debra McMichael-Austin resented Jeanie and was a thorn in the side of allowing Steve to play a part in his kids’ lives.
We discussed the effect that Brian Pillman’s death played in her and Steve’s already strained relationship, as well as why writing her book last year was cathartic for her.
But ultimately, this is an interview about life, about how we can overcome obstacle in our life, always look forwards to what is coming next, and do it with honesty.
UFC is back on Fox on Saturday with four+ hours of fights featuring the promotion’s debut at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum, headlined by middleweight title contender Kelvin Gastelum taking on former champ and hometown boy Chris Weidman in a bout that could determine a future challenger for the 185-pound title.
Featherweights take the co-main event spot as Darren Elkins will try to keep an impressive streak going as he does battle with former TUF finalist and local fighter Dennis Bermudez.
Yet another local fighter, Gian Villante, meets former barista Patrick Cummins in a light heavyweight fight while Jimmie Rivera meets Thomas Almeida in a must-see bantamweight tilt.
For the fifth fight of our panel picks, we’re starting early with the show-opening fight featuring a pair of local lightweights with Chris Wade vs. Frankie Perez.
Panel picks are listed below with the panelist’s 2017 records is in parentheses. Listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. We also have panel consensus picks as well as a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
John Pollock (35-16; .686) — new dad, Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Favorites (35-16; .686)
Dave Meltzer (33-18; .647) — Wrestling Observer publisher
Consensus Picks (32-18; .640)
David Bixenspan (32-19; .627) – Deadspin pro wrestling columnist; Between the Sheets podcast host
Mike Sempervive (31-20; .608) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Mike Sawyer (30-21; .588) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Steve Juon (30-21; .588) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Tom Lawlor (8-6; .571) – Co-host Filthy Four Daily; pro wrestling undercard fighter; UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
Ryan Frederick (28-23; .549) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (26-25; .510) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Front Row Brian (25-26; .490) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
> Chris Weidman (13-3) vs Kelvin Gastelum MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weidman has lost three straight after starting his career with an impressive 13-fight win streak that took him all the way to the UFC title and three successful defences. Now, he’s on the verge of being knocked out of contention thought and badly needs a win here. After having highly publicized weight issues after previous competing at welterweight, former TUF winner Kelvin Gastelum — who won that tournament at 185 — will add his name to a growing list of potential title challengers if he gets a win here.
It’s an intriguing fight with a lot on the line and somewhat surprisingly, the oddsmakers have Weidman as a slight underdog.
> Darren Elkins (22-5) vs Dennis Bermudez (16-6) FEATHERWEIGHTS
Elkins has been on the most impressive run of his career, completely dominating each of his last four fights including a late 3rd round stoppage win over heavily favoured Mirsak Bektic in his last fight. Despite that fact, he finds himself in the underdog position against Bermudez here. Bermudez is coming off a stunning first round KO loss at the hands of The Korean Zombie, which was his third stoppage loss in the last five fights. He needs a win here to remain relevant in the division and to do so, he’ll have to find a way to stop the mauling that Elkins will attempt to put on him.
> Gian Villante (16-6) vs Patrick Cummins (9-4) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
After picking up an impressive KO win in his first fight in his home state in his pro career, Villante suffered a setback in being KO’d by former champion Shogun Rua in Brazil earlier this year. Villante had his moments in that fight, however, and will need all the power at his disposal to smother the wrestling game of Cummins. The guy famous for fighting Daniel Cormier on short notice has lost 3 of his last 5 and shown vulnerability to the KO, being finished in all of his losses. Another loss here could send him packing.
> Jimmie Rivera (20-1) vs Thomas Almeida (22-1) BANTAMWEIGHTS
Rivera dominated former WEC champ Urijah Faber in his last fight to pick up his fourth straight UFC win and 19th in a row overall. The former WEC and Bellator veteran made the most of his second chance in the UFC after dropping an exhibition fight to Dennis Bermudez on the TUF 14 show and now finds himself on the fringe of title contention.
Almeida started his career with 21 straight wins before running into current divisional champ Cody Garbrandt in the main event of an FS1 show last May. He rebounded to KO Albert Morales in his last fight and hopes to keep that run going and eventually get a rematch with the champion.
> Chris Wade (11-3) vs Frankie Perez (10-3) Lightweights
Perez briefly retired after picking up his first UFC win against Sam Stout two years ago in Saskatoon. He returned last December and dropped a decision to Marc Diakese but hopes to rebound here close to his home of New Jersey.
New York State’s own Wade will attempt to kick off the show with a win for the locals in a show stacked with New York fighters. He’s lost two in a row after opening his UFC career with four straight wins and this could be his last chance to keep collecting checks from UFC.
> Lyman Good (19-3) vs Elizeu Zaleski (16-5) WELTERWEIGHTS
Good NR; -155 betting favorite
Zaleski; #49; +160 betting underdog
> Rafael Natal (21-8-1) vs Eryk Anders (8-0) MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Natal #32; +105 betting underdog
Anders #159; -115 betting favorite
> Ryan LaFlare (13-1) vs Alex Oliveira (17-4-1) WELTERWEIGHTS
LaFlare #23; -175 betting favorite
Oliveira #13; +165 betting underdog
> Damian Grabowski (20-4) vs Chase Sherman (10-3)
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Grabowski #83; +220 betting underdog
Sherman #161; -235 betting favorite
> Kyle Bochniak (7-1) vs Jeremy Kennedy (10-0) FEATHERWEIGHTS
Bochniak #202; +225 betting underdog
Kennedy #52; -240 betting favorite
> Brian Kelleher (17-7) vs Marlon Vera (11-3-1) BANTAMWEIGHTS
Kelleher #11; -205 betting favorite
Vera #50; +195 betting underdog
> Timothy Johnson (11-3) vs Junior Albini (13-2) HEAVYWEIGHTS
Johnson #24; -225 betting favorite
Albini #146; +215 betting underdog
Shane Burgos (9-0) vs Godofredo Pepey (13-4) FEATHERWEIGHTS
Burgos #58; -333 betting favorite
Pepey #44; +355 betting underdog
Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 4:00 PM EST and moves over to Fox at 6 PM EST. The main card also airs on Fox at 8 PM EST, and will be covered by our own Ryan Frederick.
For years, UFC president Dana White has wanted a show similar to USA’s long-canceled series Tuesday Night Fights: a weekly fight show featuring a variety of prospects and veterans looking to achieve/get back to prominence and big paychecks.
His dream became a reality Tuesday as Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Seriesdebuted on UFC Fight Pass with five fights airing live from the TUF gym in Las Vegas, NV.
You might be asking why you need more MMA in your life given the current output of the UFC, Bellator, etc. In The Content Era, however, there is no such thing as too much of anything. Hence, we get five more fights every Tuesday this summer.
If you’re deciding on whether to add DWTNCS to your MMA viewing diet, may this look at the first episode be a helpful friend in your decision.
The Production
The show featured former NFL Network host Dan Hellie making his UFC play-by-play debut alongside retired fighter Yves Edwards while Snoop Dogg and Urijah Faber provided gin and juice fueld commentary on an alternate feed called Snoopcast.
For their first outing, Hellie and Edwards were average, but you could tell they hadn’t spent that much broadcasting time together, so it’s tough to be that harsh on them. While insightful at times, Edwards needs to be a little more vocal at higher volumes and less promotional in some of his thoughts, while Hellie is a relative MMA newbie that simply needs more reps. There will be some different pairings throughout the summer, so perhaps UFC is using this as a training ground for future big show backups.
The production of the show is toned down, right down to the lack of the UFC logo on the gloves or the mat, save for the UFC Fight Pass logo. There’s no entrance music, nor a ring announcer. There’s video packages, but no in-cage post fight interviews, just quick backstage interviews after the fight is over. After years of a certain format, it’s a little disarming at first but you get used to it.
If you’re into no frills MMA production, this show is for you.
This opened the show and was kind of a blah fight. Sanchez is a fairly forgettable former UFC fighter who hasn’t been in the Octagon since late-2015 while Vasquez is a prospect from Illinois. Vasquez looked decent in the first, but Sanchez turned it on the 2nd/3rd in relatively unspectacular fashion, taking advantage of an energy-sapped Vasquez. I scored this 29-28 for Sanchez, but I have no idea what the scores were because they didn’t read them.
– Charles Byrd (8-4) def. Jamie Pickett (7-3) by first round submission Middleweights
The 33-year-old Byrd survived a stretch of Pickett pressing him up against the cage, rocking him with a spinning back elbow. He reversed a Pickett takedown attempt, leading to a head and arm choke in the round’s waning seconds for a tap and win. This was quick, but nothing to write home about.
– Boston Salmon (6-1) def. Ricky Turcios (8-1) by unanimous decision Bantamweights
Turcios is a character, a Team Alpha Male guy who was shown jumping off trees in the lead-in package and ran out to the cage screaming. Salmon is Hawaiian and is the exact opposite of Turcios.
Salmon’s steadiness was the key here, leveraging his amateur boxing background to rip up Turcios’ face and body. He was just too much for the game Turcios who had no answer. This was an entertaining fight that would have some implications later on in the night.
Zu Anyanwu (14-4) def. Greg Rebello (22-7) by 2nd round KO Heavyweights
After a plodding first round in which there was a lot of circling and not much action, Anyanwu hit an overhand right in the second round that dropped Rebello, hitting hammer fists that knocked Rebello out. Both guys looked to be carrying some additional weight in the midsection and not the type of heavyweight that is ruling the top 10 of the UFC.
Kurt Holobaugh (18-4) def. Matt Bessette (22-8) by 1st round KO Featherweights
This was the night’s featured fight (not called a main event, mind you). Holobaugh performed like it was a main event though, ripping through Bessette like he wasn’t even there. The ex-UFC vet bloodied up Bessette early on in the first and was unrelenenting, finally dropping Bessette with a right hook that caused ref John McCarthy to call it.
In an appropriately non-descript manner, White told the backstage interviewer that both Hollobaugh and Salmon were being offered contracts. And in 2 hours and 10 minutes, we were done. I would have liked to see the announcement played up a bit more, maybe in the middle of the cage with all of the winners there, but there’s time to improve.
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In general, this wasn’t the worst MMA show I’ve seen but it’s essentially a weekly regional main card with a potential big reward for the winner(s). Since it’s on Fight Pass, it’s playing to the hardest of the hardcores so big numbers aren’t really the game here. What it does give UFC is the ability to essentially do tryouts for young fighters and veterans without having them actually compete in the UFC or TUF.
If you have a FP subscription and just feel like watching fights while doing other things this summer, there are worse directions to point you to. The full impact and relevance won’t truly be felt from the show until the guys that get contracts make waves in the UFC. If they truly get behind this as a developmental group of sorts and not just a summer time filler, the importance could, and hopefully will, grow.
And hey, maybe they could run out CM Punk on one of these someday. He’s certainly not doing anything on the main roster these days.
This week in wrestling, NJPW completed its weekend in Long Beach, Chuckie T went for The Big One in PWG, AJ Styles won the US one at MSG, and WWE finished building to Great Balls of Fire. Here’s my favorite wrestler(s) this week. Who’s yours?
The Young Bucks
Wrestling isn’t typically the place to go to find incredible, sincere gestures of kindness and compassion, yet at the second night of NJPW’s G1 Special in USA, such an act took place. And it was by the Bullet Club’s residents superkick partiers, The Young Bucks, no less.
The moment I’m talking about is, of course, the tribute The Young Bucks made to Dave Meltzer’s father, Herbert Meltzer, who recently passed away. The Bucks hit a new, ultimate version of the Meltzer Driver during their match with Roppongi Vice, naming the move the Herbert Meltzer Driver, in honor of Dave’s father.
I went into the G1 Special expecting some great wrestling, and I was not disappointed. What I did not expect was one of the sweetest, and most dangerous tributes I have ever seen. Certainly not from Young Bucks of all people. No offense to them, but kindness and compassion aren’t typical Bullet Club attributes.
Wrestling in 2017 is just full of surprises. At this rate, I may still have hope that Tomohiro Ishii will someday become IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
It’s UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas, typcially the biggest fight week of the year, with two events. We’ve already had one which featured what may be the best fight you will see this year with Michael Johnson and Justin Gaethje having an instant classic.
Now comes time for what is traditionally the biggest UFC pay-per-view event of the year with UFC 213. However, it lacks the luster of previous International Fight Week pay-per-view events, and it isn’t even the most stacked event this month with UFC 214 and three title fights looming large three weeks from now.
While this show lacks names like Conor McGregor, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey that have made this the can’t miss weekend in the past, UFC 213 is a good card at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena with two title fights.
Amanda Nunes defends the UFC women’s bantamweight championship against Valentina Shevchenko in the main event, the second time they will have fought inside the Octagon. Nunes is wanting to make it 2-0 against her foe, while Shevchenko is looking to end the Brazilian’s title reign before it hits 365 days.
The co-main event sees an interim title being made at 185 pounds as Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker do battle. It remains to be seen what is next for the winner of this fight. Do they get Michael Bisping? Is Bisping still going after a fight with Georges St. Pierre, and if so and GSP wins, what happens then? Perhaps, in the event Romero wins, Bisping immediately announces his retirement. There have been a lot of crazy things going on in this division.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem will fight for the third time, making history as it will be the first time that the same fight has happened in the big three promotions of UFC, PRIDE, and Strikeforce. Former lightweight chapion Anthony Pettis looks to return to lightweight glory as he takes on Jim Miller. Finally, Travis Browne looks to break out of a slump when he takes on Aleksei Olienik on the featured bout of the prelims.
If you’re new here, our panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighters’ names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelists’ 2017 records are in parentheses, and we also have panel consensus picks as well as a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
John Pollock (32-15; .681) — Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Favorites (31-16; .660)
Consensus Picks (30-16; .652)
Dave Meltzer (30-17; .638) — Wrestling Observer publisher
David Bixenspan (30-17; .638) – Deadspin pro wrestling columnist; Between the Sheets podcast host
Steve Juon (29-18; .617) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Tom Lawlor (6-4; .600) – Co-host Filthy Four Daily; pro wrestling undercard fighter; UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
Mike Sawyer (28-19; .596) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Mike Sempervive (28-19; .596) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Ryan Frederick (26-21; .553) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (24-23; .511) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Front Row Brian (23-24; .489) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
> UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes (14-4) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (14-2) II
Amanda Nunes won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship from Miesha Tate at UFC 200 at last year’s International Fight Week event. She earned that title shot on the heels of a win over Valentina Shevchenko, her challenger on that night. Since that night Nunes won the title from Tate, she has defended just once- a first-round mauling of Ronda Rousey that seemingly ended the career of the trailblazer and established Nunes as the dominant female fighter at 135 pounds.
Since that loss to Nunes, Shevchenko has scored an impressive decision win over former champion Holly Holm, and, in January, she dominated and submitted Julianna Pena on FOX. Shevchenko may very well be a future champion at 125 pounds when the UFC adds the flyweight division later this year, but having another championship on her mantle wouldn’t bug her at all.
When Nunes defeated Shevchenko in March 2016, it was interesting in the sense that Nunes started to fade late and Shevchenko won the third round, but Nunes got the decision based on winning the first two rounds. With two more rounds now coming into play in a title fight, it seems to put the advantage in the hands of Shevchenko, who many see enters the fight as the favorite.
> Yoel Romero (13-1) vs. Robert Whittaker (18-4) – Interim UFC Middleweight Championship
When you look at every single fight that could possibly be made, a match-up between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker might be the single-best piece of matchmaking there can be. It is the best 185-pound fight put together in a long time, and perhaps ever, no offense to any other fight made. Romero is a freak of nature at his age, and he looks just unreal. Whittaker fights unreal, as exciting as one can be, with dangerous power.
Romero has yet to lose inside the Octagon, having won eight straight fights, many by vicious finish, making him arguably the single scariest male fighter in the sport. He has never lost at 185 pounds. However, neither has Whittaker, who has won seven straight fights, and is coming off a dominant finish of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in April. No offense to champion Michael Bisping, but the winner of this fight is the best middleweight in the world.
> Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1) vs. Alistair Overeem (42-15 1 NC) III Heavyweights
Two men hunting for the next title shot in the heavyweight division will meet in a trilogy bout. Fabricio Werdum would love to get a chance for a rematch against UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic, who knocked out Werdum in May 2016 to win the championship. Overeem would like another crack at Miocic, who also knocked him out when Overeem challenged for the championship in September.
In order to do so, someone has to win the rubber match. Werdum submitted Overeem in PRIDE in 2006, while Overeem won a boring decision in Strikeforce in 2011. Both mens’ careers have drastically changed since they last fought, and this time they do so inside the Octagon will title shot aspirations hanging in the balance. Werdum last fought in September, scoring a win over Travis Browne, while Overeem last fought in March, knocking out Mark Hunt.
> Anthony Pettis (19-6) vs. Jim Miller (28-9 1 NC)
Lightweights
28 months ago, Anthony Pettis was the UFC Lightweight Champion. The king at 155 pounds. He was on a tear, and he won a championship many were expecting him to win the day he set foot in the UFC from the WEC, and many were expecting him to be champion for a long time. He then ran into Rafael Dos Anjos, who demolished him to win the title. Then came more losses. Then came a drop to 145 pounds. A win followed. A title shot at an interim title came. Missing weight for said title fight happened, and then a destruction at the hands of Max Holloway in that fight sent Pettis back to the lightweight division, where he hopes to regain glory. He needs to if he ever wants to get the fans behind him once again, and he knows his back is against the wall.
Jim Miller will be fighting in the Octagon for the 27th time, a company record. He will be in the UFC until the day he decides to hang the gloves up for good. You rarely seen an unentertaining Jim Miller fight. While he may never get that elusive title shot that he once came oh so close to securing, the fans always have had the back of Miller for his penchant for entertainment, and he is a crowd-pleaser to say the least, and one of the most likeable fighters in the sport. He is looking to get back into the win column after suffering a loss to Dustin Poirier in February, which snapped his three-fight win streak.
Miller #20; +200 betting underdog: Juon, Bix, Sempervive, Nason
> Travis Browne (18-6-1) vs. Aleksei Olienik (51-10-1)
Heavyweights
Travis Browne may have already scored the biggest win outside of his fighting career, having recently becoming engaged to Ronda Rousey. When it comes to what he’s done inside the Octagon, he is in desperate need of a victory on Saturday. Browne has lost three straight fights, and is just 2-5 in his last seven fights. He was knocked out cold by Derrick Lewis in February, which followed defeats at the hands of former champions Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. Many thought he would challenge for UFC gold one day- now he’s fighting for UFC survival.
Aleksei Olienik is a veteran fighter who made his professional debut in 1997. At 40-years-old and entering the 63rd fight of his career, he gets his highest-profile fight in the UFC to date against Browne. Olienik is not the most exciting fighter, but he is effective as evidenced by his three UFC wins in four UFC appearances. He also holds career wins over the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Jeff Monson, while also holding a defeat at the hands of Chael Sonnen.
Daniel Omielanczuk (19-7-1 1 NC) vs. Curtis Blaydes (6-1 1 NC) (heavyweights)
Omielanczuk #35; +570 betting underdog
Blaydes #54; -705 betting favorite
Chad Laprise (11-2) vs. Brian Camozzi (7-3) (welterweights)
Laprise #153; -605 betting favorite
Camozzi #268; +505 betting underdog
Thiago Santos (14-5) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (26-8) (middleweights)
Santos #25; -150 betting favorite
Meerschaert #46; +140 betting underdog
Jordan Mein (29-11) vs. Belal Muhammad (11-2) (welterweights)
Mein #58; +120 betting underdog
Muhammad #65; -130 betting favorite
Rob Font (13-2) vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade (24-1 1 NC) (bantamweights)
Font #30; -295 betting favorite
Silva de Andrade #72; +265 betting underdog
Cody Stamann (14-1) vs. Terrion Ware (17-5) (featherweights)
Stamann #63BW; -245 betting favorite
Ware #66BW; +225 betting underdog
Trevin Giles (9-0) vs. James Bochnovic (8-1) (light heavyweights)
Giles #109MW; -260 betting favorite
Bochnovic #139; +240 betting underdog
Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 6:30 p.m. ET and moves over to FS1 at 8 p.m. ET. The main card airs on PPV at 10 p.m. ET, covered bymyself, Ryan Frederick.
