Tag: Gabe Kidd

Bloodsport XIII live results: Josh Barnett vs. Gabe Kidd, Natalya debuts

Posted on by Justin Knipper

The 13th edition of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport returns as part of WrestleMania week in Las Vegas, live from the Palms with a slew of WWE talent on the show.

Barnett himself will compete in the main event, taking on former NJPW Strong champion and Barnett disciple Gabe Kidd.

WWE’s Natalya will make her Bloodsport debut as she goes one-on-one with Miyu Yamashita. She will be flanked by roster mate and Bloodsport regular Shayna Baszler who takes on Konami.

The men’s WWE main roster will also be well-represented as Karrion Kross fights JR Kratos while Pete Dunne goes heads-up against Timothy Thatcher.

NXT will also have a presence with Tavion Heights vs. Royce Issacs; Charlie Dempsey vs. Shinya Aoki; and Karmen Petrovic fighting Maika.

The card is rounded out by former IWGP World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. former ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham, and former AEW/ROH wrstler Leyla Hirsch against Jordan Blade.

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Bloodsport rules: Fights are won by KO, submission, countout, DQ, or referee stoppage. If a fight falls out of the ring, fighters must allow their opponent the chance to get back into the ring. There is a 10 count on the outside. No biting, no eye gouging, no hair pulling, no small joint manipulation, no low blows, no foreign objects, no fighting after the bell. Any violation can result in a disqualification.

The Las Vegas crowd was hot for all competitors during the introductory ceremony before the fights. Karrion Kross got on the mic and hyped the show, thanked Josh Barnett for bringing it back to Vegas, and then said they had the best in the world on this show.

Leyla Hirsch (0–0) vs. Jordan Blade (0–0)

The Las Vegas crowd was hot for all competitors during the introductory ceremony before the fights. Karrion Kross got on the mic and hyped the show, thanked Josh Barnett for bringing it back to Vegas, and then said they had the best in the world on this show.

Leyla Hirsch (0–1) def. Jordan Blade (0–0) via TKO in 3:34

Jimmy Smith and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor on commentary for this event tonight. Jordan Blade was super-stoked to be there, slamming her hands on the mat upon entrance into the ropeless ring. The venue and camera setup looked really cool for this show and might be the best looking of all the Bloodsport events so far.

Hirsch with a quick double-leg seconds into the fight. Blade took her back and slammed crossfaces across Hirsch head, then picked her up with a waist lock and German suplexed her before mounting her and laying down fists. Blade attempted an arm bar but then went to an omoplata but Hirsch rolled out of it, stood up, went for a straight ankle lock but Blade tried reversing it, swept her, and tried a footlock of her own. Smith referenced Bas Rutten vs. Frank Shamrock when they were trading slaps in while they fought for leglocks. That’s what it looked like.

Hirsch went for a fireman’s carry, but Blade blocked it and sprawled. Hirsch rolled out of it and went for a cross-arm breaker. She looked like she had it locked in, but Blade was able to stack her, lift her up, and then powerbomb her to the mat, breaking the hold. Blade then pounced and went into mounted ground-and-pound before attempting a cross-arm breaker of her own. Hirsch broke out of it and kicked Blade in the leg, then gave her a German suplex of her own. Blade was stunned.

They traded open palm strikes on their feet for a bit until Hirsch caught Blade with a power slam and followed up with ground and pound and the ref called for the TKO.

Maika (0–0) defeated Karmen Petrovic (1–0) via submission in 4:27

Petrovic debuted at Bloodsport last year and impressed with her karate background on display. She beat Sumie Sakai previously. “The Crimson Cannon Empress” Maika is one of STARDOM’s top stars.

Petrovic was quick with her low leg kicks early on. Maika took her down to the mat but neither could gain the upper hand and both ended up on their feet shortly after. The crowd was split cheering for both. Maika slammed Petrovic a few times with mat returns. Maika slapped Petrovic on the ground and broke away.

On their feet, Petrovic took Maika down with a spinning sweep and followed with a rear headlock. Maika was able to balloon-sweep her way out of Petrovic’s grips and later caught Petrovic with an armlock. Crowd got hot towards the end of this.

Petrovic with a flurry of kicks towards the end, but when she went for a spinning kick, Maika caught it, locked her ankle, then transitioned to a sleeper before taking her over, slamming her backwards, then finished Petrovic off with the rear naked choke. The fights continue to heat up.

Charlie Dempsey NXT (3–1) defeated Shinya Aoki DDT (0–0) via TKO

Dempsey has become somewhat of a Bloodsport regular in the past few years. He picked up a win over Tracy Williams and a loss to Royce Isaacs since he’s been appearing. Aoki, on the other hand, hasn’t appeared on any of the Bloodsport shows, but he’s perfect for the setting. At a time in the 2000s–2010s he was arguably the best grappler from Japan. He has plenty of MMA experience, recently picking up a win for ONE FC, but regularly wrestles atypical matches for DDT.

They began with a Greco-Roman knucklelock test-of-strength that showed off both wrestler’s power and flexibility. Dempsey was eventually able to suplex Aoki over, but Aoki slipped away and went for a double wristlock. He’d move to a kneebar attempt but couldn’t sink it in, nor the heel hook. They’d fight in a figure-four that Aoki’d lock in but Dempsey broke out of it, again with power. He’s the bigger of the two here.

Aoki attempted a full nelson but Dempsey broke out of it. Aoki has Dempsey back on the mat with a headscissors. The crowd started chanting for Dempsey. They fought for armlocks again.

Dempsey fought for a suplex but Aoki answered with a cobra twist. Dempsey used a sneaky toehold to escape. He went for a bridging calfslicer but Aoki caught Dempsey in a choke. Dempsey went back to the toehold and bent himself backwards with it. Aoki scored a toehold of his own. Quite literally hold-for-hold in these moments, nonstop.

Dempsey went for a butterfly suplex but he couldn’t bring Aoki over. Aoki again went to a sleeper but Dempsey reversed it with a Regal Plex, TKO’ing Aoki. This was technical grappling heaven. Really good stuff.

Karrion Kross WWE (1–1) defeated JR Kratos (1–1) in 7:41 via submission

Both Kratos and Kross return to Bloodsport after a while away. Kross had one of the best Bloodsport matches ever against Davey Boy Smith Jr. on the first of Barnett’s Bloodsports. This is another Bloodsport “dream match,” one where you think to yourself “huh, why hasn’t this one happened yet?”

Kross fought in his jiu-jitsu gi; Kratos in just his gi pants. Kross had a big hometown advantage in Las Vegas and sounded to have a lot of fans in the house. He bowed to each side before the bout.

They were cautious at the beginning of this. Kratos was on top early in this and the crowd booed a bit even then. They cheered when Kross reversed and got on top. Kratos came back with control from the side as Kross was in turtle position; Kratos threw a few knees.

Kross tried a choke from behind but couldn’t cinch it in. This was a slower power match with two big, big dudes. Kross attempted an armbar but no dice. Kratos got on top, pulled Kross’ gi top over his head and threw a couple knees to the grounded Kross—which is legal in Bloodsport. Kross didn’t look too happy and whipped off his gi and the crowd hyped up for it. They chanted “you f’d up” at Kratos.

They traded strikes on their feet from here. They talked trash. Kratos dropped Kross with one shot but Kross was up quickly afterwards. At the five-minute call they were trading chest chops. Kratos said something about WWE and insisted Kross lay in harder chops, which Kross did. Kratos then leveled Kross with a lariat, then folded him with a German suplex. “F*ck you, Kratos!” was Kross’ response to that. Kratos answered with a power bomb. Kross flipped him off. Kratos grabbed his middle finger. Kross shoved him off and drilled Kratos with a backdrop suplex. This looked awesome. The crowd chanted “one more time!” and he obliged them.

Kratos somehow came back with a jumping knee, but Kross was able to grab an arm triangle from the back position and get Kross to tap with it. This was really fun, really violent and everything you’d want out of a “hoss fight” like this.

Next on the card was a tribute ceremony to Combat Icons Tank Abott and Don Frye, who appeared on stage between bouts.

Pete Dunne (0–0) defeated Timothy Thatcher (2–3) via submission in 11:15

Thatcher is another Bloodsport stalwart and holds a big and special win over Josh Barnett in the past. This will be Dunne’s Bloodsport debut and I think a number of fans are eagerly awaiting for Dunne to be “let off the leash,” so to speak.

The two locked up early and traded positions. They targeted each other’s shoulders. Thatcher went for an armlock but Dunne countered out and then went after Thatcher’s legs and ankles. Thatcher offered a standing straight anklelock as an answer before moving into a single-leg crab, and from there to a bow-and-arrow submission.

Thatcher and Dunne began trading fists on the ground after a while. Thatcher would return to the single-leg crab and really wrenched on it. Dunne threw some upkicks but Thatcher dropped to his back and went for an achilles lock. The two booted each other in the face on the ground. Thatcher rolled into a hammerlock using his legs, then went after Dunne’s joints, his fingers and knuckles, before transitioning to a head-and-arm shoulder lock. Dunne slipped out of that but Thatcher would then go for an STF but couldn’t finish it. Dunne with an armlock attempt but Thatcher was able to escape into Dunne’s closed guard. Dunne threw closed fists at Thatcher and then was able to catch Thatcher with a triangle choke. Thatcher moved out of that back into the single-leg crab. Dunne had a nice escape, then he tried snapping Thatcher’s fingers while he held him in a scarf hold.

Dunne went for an STF of his own and had a bit more luck than Thatcher did, kind of. Neither of these guys could cinch anything in for more than a few seconds. Dunne finally locked in a heel hook, a deep one, but Thatcher tried slapping his way out, then stomping his way out, which worked. The 10-minute call sounded. Thatcher slapped Dunne in the face on the ground and move into a cross ambreaker. Dunne escape and started stomping Thatcher’s head. Thatcher fired back with huge uppercuts. Dunne with a gamengiri kick to Thatcher’s head before snapping Thatcher’s fingers and tapping him out with an armbar. The crowd chanted “Brusierweight!” afterwards.

Nattie Neidhart WWE (0–0) defeated Miyu Yamashita TJPW (0–1) via submission

Neidhart has been vocal on social media about her passion for this match. It will be the first time in 18 years she’ll have stepped inside a non-WWE ring. Yamashita’s Bloodsport debut was a violent spectacle of a main event against WWE’s Shayna Baszler.

Crowd was excited for Nattie during this. They were tentative early, with Yamashita throwing kicks and Neidhart trying to grapple Yamashita to the mat. Yamashita threw knees but Neidhart caught her with a double-leg. She’d pass Yamashita’s guard, but Yamashita went for a guillotine choke.

Yamashita went for a straight ankle lock on the ground. She slapped Neidhart will they were on the ground, with Yamashita attacking the legs. The crowd sounded split between the two wrestlers at this point. Yamashita came down on Neidhart with a heavy spinning kick to Neidhart while she was on the ground.

Neidhart fought out of Yamashita’s back control and found Yamashita in an ankle lock, then later a rear chinlock. She almost caught Yamashita in a leglock.

The two traded hard strikes on their feet. They jaw-jacked and slapped the snot out of each other. Neidhart grounded Yamashita and locked in an Americana lock. Yamashita moved back to the guillotine lock before Neidhart slammed Yamashita to the mat to break the hold.

Neidhart went for the sharpshooter but no luck. Yamashita caught Neidhart with a massive wheelkick to the face that looked like it KO’d Neidhart but it didn’t. Neidhart shoved Yamashita into the ring post, then rolled her over and slapped on the sharpshooter. Yamashita was passed out, so the ref called the match. The crowd went wild for Neidhart. A “both these women” chant broke out.

Neidhart offered a handshake afterwards, but Yamashita shook her head “no” and then flipped her the double bird. This set Neidhart off, and the two started fighting again. Neidhart flipped her own double bird before high-fiving fans walking to the back. She’d run into Kenzie Page from NWA who then flipped her own double bird, which sparked another mini-brawl in the crowd. Security broke that one up.

Tavion Heights (0–0) defeated Royce Isaacs (1–2) via TKO in 8:38

Isaacs, longtime Bloodsport competitor, secured a victory over NXT’s Charlie Dempsey at Bloodsport XI on July 28, 2024. Tavion Heights was a Greco-Roman bronze medalist in the 2020 Olympics and competed in NOAH’s N1 Victory tournament in 2024.

Heights with a big suplex early on. Isaacs rolled into a leglock or kneebar after this. Heights used an anaconda roll on Isaacs but couldn’t keep him down. Isaacs with a double wristlock from guard position as Heights tried rolling out of it. He eventually did and locked in a scarf hold. Isaacs picked Heights up by the leg before headbutting him to the mat and going for an armbar. Filthy Tom made a good point mentioning that many competitors had gone for armbars all night but no one had been able to finish with one, at least not yet.

When the five-minute call sounded, the two traded fisticuffs before a big German suplex from Isaacs, who’d then move back into an armlock submission, then to a leglock. Heights escaped and leveled Isaacs with a lariat. He then took Isaacs over with a deadlift capture suplex that could have turned out to be a disaster but they pulled it off in the end. Heights moved into an arm triangle but Isaacs escaped. He’d answer with a big sit-out power bomb on Heights, then mounted him and dropped elbows before transitioning to an armbar, then to a toehold. Heights was figuratively on the ropes.

Isaacs locked in a guillotine choke but the two ended up spilling out of the ring onto the floor. Heights suplexed Isaacs back into the ring, the hit his super high-angle belly-to-belly before TKO’ing Isaacs with headbutts on the mat. Really good bout with a different flavor from the others tonight.

Shayna Baszler (2–0) defeated Konami (1–0) via TKO in 5:58

Konami has appeared on Bloodsport: Bushido in Japan last year. Baszler is back for her third Bloodsport after two matches against Miyu Yamashita and Masha Slamovich, respectively. 

Michin from WWE was in Baszler’s corner. She went for a takedown early on. Both were aggressive from the get-go. They traded footlocks on the mat until they rolled out onto the floor. Well, Konami more so. She took advantage of the ring post and cranked on a leglock.

Konami took Baszler out with two heavy kicks of her own, one of the running, sliding kind. Baslzer collected herself on the floor before getting back into the ring.

The two traded high and low kicks in the center of the ring before Baszler caught Konami with a huge cradle suplex. Konami was back a few moments later with a takedown that smoothly transitioned her into an armbar.

Konami had both hooks in as she locked Baszler in a rear naked choke, stuck to her back like a spider, before Baszler escaped by locking Konami’s foot and twisting it into an ankle lock, thus forcing Konami to break the choke. She then held Konami in a standing ankle lock, but Konami rolled out of it and then kicked Baszler in the back, which forced Baszler face-first into the ringpost. Konami followed with a German suplex. Baszler answered with a modified Fisherman’s buster and followed with a flurry of stomps to the back of Konami’s head. The ref called for the bell. Baszler wins via TKO.

Zack Sabre Jr. NJPW (0–0) defeated Jonathan Gresham (0–1) in 2:34 of Overtime via TKO

Gresham returns to Bloodsport after a long time away. Gresham’s memorable match was against hardcore wrestler Masashi Takeda. Sabre is making his debut. I think this is a total dream match for a lot of people, especially for those who love World of Sport-style wrestling.

The speed of which they were exchanging holds was smooth, quick, fluid. At one point Sabre kicked Gresham so hard across the ring that Gresham flew out onto the floor.

They traded holds at a mile a minute, stretching and bending and rolling and folding. They’d move from the head and neck to the legs and feet and back up again at a fast pace. Sabre again kicked Gresham away in the ass and sent him out onto the floor. Gresham would later get his revenge and boot Sabre to the floor while he was on the edge of the apron.

This match is great in that it completely fits at a Bloodsport event, but on the other hand it feels very different, fresh, and the pace and flow they were moving at, the story that was told, it really worked.

Sabre and Gresham stood toe-to-toe. Sabre emphasized their height differential. This caught boos from the crowd. He put his chin on top of Gresham’s head. He slapped at Gresham, which Gresham kept brushing away. Gresham caught Sabre with a big chop that awed the crowd. He’d then take Sabre over with two suplexes before methodically moving into a wild pretzel lock that involves so many different limbs that I just don’t know what to call it. He was twisting Sabre’s ass up. He’d eventually fall into a single-leg crab while he peppered Sabre with hammerfists to the head.

On their feet, Gresham chopped Sabre, but Sabre answered with a huge palm strike. Blasted him. Gresham eventually came back with one of his own. They traded hard uppercuts, chops. Sabre threw kicks. Gresham furiously grappled Sabre back to the mat. The pace in this was wild.

Gresham locked in a figure four with two minutes left in the match. Sabre tried reversing the hold but Gresham rolled him back. With one minute left, they both rolled out onto the floor while tangled up in the figure four hold. They scrambled back into the ring with thirty seconds to go. They traded hard strikes, hard ones; Gresham took Sabre down and tried hammerfisting his way to victory but the time limit expired. A draw.

We find out that we are going into a five-minute overtime period.

Gresham and Sabre pick up right where they left off, trading really hard strikes, chops, kicks, the works. Sabre eventually went down after a chop. The two looked exhausted. Sabre was back up and they again traded kicks for chops. Sabre caught Gresham with some hard slaps behind the ear.

The finish saw Sabre block Gresham with a hard fist to Gresham’s arm, then a hard Penalty Kick to the face for the TKO.

It’d be fair to put this on your top matches of the year lists. It was really good. Very high level pro wrestling.

Gabe Kidd NJPW (0–0) defeated Josh Barnett (10–2–1) via TKO

Kidd made his Bloodsport debut here. He lost the NJPW Strong title to Tomohiro Ishii recently at Windy City Riot.

Barnett threw a fast hands early on. Kidd went for a single-leg. Kidd yelled at people in the crowd. Fans chanted “STFU” at Kidd. He’d sweep Barnett, but Barnett would reverse it and throw palm strikes. Kidd is nearly Barnett’s size and his body matches well.

Kidd would abruptly step out of the ring to shout at a fan in the crowd, more towards the second level.

When he was back in the ring, he’d bully Barnett out of it, shoving him to the floor before flying onto him, then locking in a front facelock. Barnett would toss Kidd onto the apron and rain down elbows.

Barnett hunted for a double wrist lock. Lawlor and Smith argued on commentary about whether it’s called a double wrist lock or a Kimura. Barnett locked Kidd in a butterfly neck crank that Kidd fought out of.

Barnett would sweep Kidd into a straight ankle lock with a smooth technique, almost like a schoolboy rollup into the submission.

Barnett held a headlock on Kidd for a bit, up until Kidd stood up and drilled him down with a backdrop suplex. They’d trade hard shots on their feet and Barnett landed some hard knees. Kidd launched Barnett with an exploder suplex, and would finish Barnett off with knees of his own and a brutal piledriver for the TKO victory. Excellent main event finish.

After the match, Kidd grabbed the mic and yelled at the same kid he was yelling at during the match and said he’d kick his arse. He then mentioned how there were lots of different promotions on the show but the guy from New Japan won the main event. He then asked for anyone to name him someone other than Barnett who’s done more to defend pro wrestling more than him. He said Barnett’s a champion in his heart and that he owed his life to Barnett. He offered a life’s worth of respect to Barnett for everything he’d done for Kidd. It was a solid speech.

Barnett got on the mic and put Kidd over and how much stronger, wiser and better Kidd had become after he’d gone through his darker days. Barnett thanked the fans and wrestlers for everything.

Final Thoughts: Maybe I’m just high on it from the last two matches, but I truly think this was the strongest Bloodsport of them all. Production-wise, it was the best next to Bloodsport Bushido. The crowd was extremely it, every match. The bouts themselves had a good variety and the competitors all looked stoked to be a part of the show. Every match was excellent but Sabre vs. Gresham was something else, and the main event was a great heavyweight match with good drama. Again, everything on this is very much worth watching. Go out of your way to watch. And I hope they continue to film at similar venues with similar production value. Bloodsport continues to come into its own. Well done to all involved.

Josh Barnett vs. Gabe Kidd slated for Bloodsport XIII

Posted on by Josh Nason

The namesake of Bloodsport finally has his opponent set for next week’s event from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Announced on Wednesday, Josh Barnett will take on NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd in what is expected to be the headliner of the 13th edition of the event.

Barnett is riding into the show on a five-fight win streak under Bloodsport rules, last defeating Tom Pestock (the former Baron Corbin) at January’s The People vs. GCW. For Kidd, it will be his Bloodsport debut and first time competing against Barnett.

Barnett posted on X, “A relationship that spans years. One that saw a master impart his knowledge to a young and hungry wolf. A pup now grown into a ravenous, mad dog. Will the teacher have to put a bullet into this rabid predator or will the student bite that hand that feeds completely off?”

This year’s show will feature even more WWE and NXT talent including the debuting Natalya and the returning Shayna Baszler among others.

Here’s the final card for next Thursday from The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada:

  • Josh Barnett vs. Gabe Kidd
  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jonathan Gresham
  • Karrion Kross vs. JR Kratos
  • Shayna Baszler vs. Konami
  • Natalya vs. Miyu Yamashita
  • Pete Dunne vs. Timothy Thatcher
  • Leyla Hirsch vs. Jordan Blade
  • Charlie Dempsey vs. Shinya Aoki
  • Karmen Petrovic vs. Maika
  • Tavion Heights vs. Royce Issacs

Gabe Kidd match added to Joey Janela’s Spring Break

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The latest addition to the Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9 card features NJPW star Gabe Kidd in action.

Kidd will face off against Mance Warner when Spring Break takes place in Las Vegas on Friday, April 18. It’s a rematch of their bloody brawl from GCW/JCW Jersey J-Cup 2025, which lasted over 30 minutes and ended in a no contest when the referee called off the match. There must be a winner this time.

It’s also been announced that Kidd will be competing at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIII in Vegas, but an opponent for him has not been named yet. Bloodsport is happening on April 17.

The Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort is hosting Game Changer Wrestling’s events during WrestleMania week. Spring Break has a start time of 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific airing live on TrillerTV+.

Seven matches are now official for Spring Break (with three more still to be announced):

  • Sabu’s final match: Joey Janela vs. Sabu
  • The Wagner Family (Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal) vs. Los Desperados (Gringo Loco, Arez & Jack Cartwheel)
  • Minoru Suzuki vs. Matt Tremont
  • Megan Bayne vs. Bozilla
  • Loser Leaves GCW match: Atticus Cogar vs. Fuego Del Sol
  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. 1 Called Manders
  • Gabe Kidd vs. Mance Warner

Daily Update: WWE Elimination Chamber fallout, Gabe Kidd, Ric Flair

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Highlights:

  • A complete look at  WWE & UFC business, the numbers, the trends, prospectus for 2025, why profits were so low, Saudi Arabia, media rights, crazy gates, boxing, , new TV shows and more.
  • The return to WWE of Dwayne Johnson, why it happened, where it has the most effect, the Rhodes angle and more.
  • Vince McMahon legal updates, latest arguments in the Grant case, as well as notes from the shareholder lawsuit against WWE and members of the board or letting McMahon back in the company, charges about the investigation and lots of new news regarding the board of directors actions from the day of the first Wall Street Journal article until the McMahon return.
  • Osamu Nishimura passes away, one of the smoothest wrestlers of modern times
  • Ryan Nemeth’s lawsuit against AEW, Tony Khan and CM Punk, legitimacy, silliness, claims and more details on those claims
  • Preview of Elimination Chamber and AEW Revolution, odds, cards and consumer demand
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major U.S. wrestling shows
  • What is notable about Torneo Escuelas
  • Stardom has excellent PPV show
  • Fantastica Mania notes
  • Promotion sues a fan
  • Queen of the Ring notes and history form that period
  • Death of Portland announcer Don Coss
  • Lawsuit involving WWE Hall of Fame settled
  • Woman star has health issue
  • Major injury updates
  • WBD business
  • Lots of new AEW matches
  • Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
  • More on UFC & WWE 2026 business prospects with new deals coming in
  • Why the TKO stock price dropped greatly
  • Dark Side of the Cage notes
  • More on discontent with WWE employees
  • Goals of the WWE/UFC/PBR weekend in Kansas City
  • Stephanie McMahon update

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Sunday Update

[email protected]

— We have two weekend shows on the site. Garrett Gonzales and I talked about the news of the week and did an interview that is a must for those interested in forgotten wrestling history with Ian Douglass. We talk about his new book on the original Roughhouse Rufus Jones (not the 70s and 80s wrestler but the 30s and 40s wrestler) and Jack Claybourne, the first major black main eventer and first black wrestler to have a lengthy run with a significant title (one year as Hawaiian champion for Al Karasick) and talk history including Rocky Johnson, Bobo Brazil, put into perspective Joe Louis doing pro wrestling and how wrestling was ahead of real sports first and then way behind for decades as well.  

— Bryan Alvarez and I talked about Elimination Chamber, Smackdown and Collision on last night’s show.

— The Chamber show in my mind was one of the best WWE PPV shows ever. Three excellent bouts out of four plus the angle where John Cena turned heel with Rock and Travis Scott on Cody Rhodes.

— We didn’t hear much in the way of other great bouts over the weekend other than the Chamber and some of the Friday night Lucha stuff from Tokyo and Mexico City. We’ll talk more about that on tomorrow’s show covering Raw.

— I expect a big number for Raw (which we don’t get until a week from Tuesday). One thing notable is that we will get a Chamber viewership number outside the U.S. from Netflix on Tuesday. The comparison would be 2.1 million views that the Rumble did. Rumble in theory would do more but with Dwayne Johnson a focal point on Chamber, we’ll see how close it comes. Collision, on the other hand, going against Chamber, will undoubtedly be much lower than the last three weeks. The show had good wrestling but was low on marquee type matches.

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

— The man who is widely considered the greatest freestyle wrestler of all-time, Buvaisar Saitiev, an Olympic gold medalist in 1996, 2004 and 2008, died earlier today at the age of 49. The early reports were that he died of cardiac arrest after suddenly getting sick in front of his home and being rushed to the hospital.

— The Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano loser leaves Stardom match for the World of Stardom title will be airing free on YouTube starting at about 5:45 a.m. Eastern time. The entire show will air on the Stardom streaming service but they are putting up the main event for free. This is a gigantic match. Nakano did an appearance at Aminate in Ikebukuro and Kamitani attacked her  yesterday.

— Raw tomorrow in Buffalo, NY has Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky for the women’s title, Lyra Valkyria vs. Ivy Nile for the IC title, War Raiders vs. Creeds for the tag title plus CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair and Gunther doing promos.

— As far as Google trends, from Chamber, John Cena had 200,000 searches, Travis Scott had 20,000, WrestleMania had 20,000, Jade Cargill had 20,000, Randy Orton had 20,000, Elimination Chamber had 200,000 and Trish Stratus had 50,000.  Nothing from last night’s UFC hit 20,000.   A few of the fights were at 10,000.

— Ric Flair did a post about it being 25 years since he won his 16th world title according to WWE. The real number would be 18 minimum and more than 23 max, depending on a few matches like Victor Jovica, Midnight Rider and Jack Veneno and how you categorize them.  Flair said he loved and respected John Cena but he’d fight his way through security and take a day off blood thinners to save Cody Rhodes if he had to. That is not going to happen.

— For AEW on Wednesday there will be a contract signing for Ricochet and Swerve Strickland, Adam Copeland vs. Wheeler Yuta, and Thunder Rosa & Kris Statlander vs. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford.

— They did an off-TV angle where Gabe Kidd ran down Mark Briscoe, leading to a backstage brawl. So they are building that as a match, but not on the PPV since Briscoe teams with Orange Cassidy & AJ vs. MxM Collection & Johnny TV on the Revolution show.  

— On last night’s show, we did get complaints about if you started the show in the middle while it was live that it was difficult for some to scroll back.

— Lance LeVine mentioned to us that the issue with DirecTV and Collision where for weeks it was hit and miss if the DVR would record the show has happened the past few weeks for Impact. He noted that if you have DirecTV you should check for this Thursday.

— On last night’s show I brought up the Toronto crowd booing the U.S. national anthem and how that never happens with real sports. However, that’s not the case. It’s been a major story in the  NHL and during the 4 Nations Cup that ever since President Trump talked about annexing Canada and the tariffs, the national anthem has been heavily booed at NHL games throughout Canada. (thanks to many)

— Manami Toyota, the best in-ring woman pro wrestler who ever lived, turns 54 today.  

— Dylan Playfiar, a Canadian actor who was a former minor league hockey player, wrestled in a Rumble match for the BOOM promotion in Vancouver, BC, last night.  Boom, which has sold out 32 straight shows in a 250-seat building, has booked an 850-seat building for 7/26 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Playfair is best known for playing Reilly in the TV series Lettrekenny from 2016 to 2023 and also played Marty Howe in the 2013  movie “Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe story.”

— Nixon Newell (Tegan Nox) made an unannounced appearance last night at Attack Pro Wrestling in Cardiff, Wales. It is streaming on the Attack Pro YouTube channel. This was to set up a 5/18 match in Penarth, Wales against Dani Luna.

— On Memphis Wrestling, Nic Nemeth was challenged by Aaron Roberts, a huge WWE ID prospect. That match will air on TV in Memphis in two weeks. Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes beat Cappuccino Jones & Sean Legacy in a battle of WE ID talent who will be on the Evolve TV show.

— Matt Hardy was at the Memphis WrestleCenter to wrestle and do a signing. Last night the Memphis Grizzlies had a wrestling night where Matt Hardy & The Grizz, the mascot for the Grizzlies, beat Aaron Roberts & Sycho Simon at the game. Dave Brown and Dustin Starr did commentary for the live fans. (thanks to Brian Tramel)

— Empire State Wrestling on 3/15 in Niagara Falls, NY at the Frontier Fire Hall.

— Jonathan Gresham will wrestle on the Bloodsport show over WrestleMania week in Las Vegas.

— Moose has been announced for ACW Aftershock on 5/17 at the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie NY.

— 18 episodes of AEW Dynamite were uploaded to MAX this week. They are shows from early 2020.

— Longtime reader Tom Mele noted he’s doing an ISPW Weekly kayfabe show on the ISPW Facebook page. They also have a 3/14 show in Hackettstown, NJ at the High School with appearances by Bret Hart, Vampiro, Tony Atlas and Jimmy Valiant.

— Lucha Va Voom on Thursday night at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles with Misterioso Jr., TJP, Magno, Xtreme Tiger and Mr. Iguana.

AEW Collision live results: Chris Jericho vs. Bandido ROH World title match

Posted on by Suit Williams

Chris Jericho will defend the Ring of Honor World title against former champion Bandido on tonight’s AEW Collision from Phoenix, Arizona.

Bandido has targeted Jericho since his December return from injury and this will be a rematch from September 2022.

The AEW Trios titles will be on the line as the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) defend against TNT Champion Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker.

IWGP men’s Strong Champion Gabe Kidd will make his Collision debut as he takes on The Butcher while Max Caster will host another open challenge in search of his first win in months.

Hologram will make his in-ring return for the first time since last October as he battles The Beast Mortos, and Julia Hart will try to rebound from her January loss to Jamie Hayter as she takes on Queen Aminata.

The Murder Machines (Brian Cage & Lance Archer) will be in competition as they hope to score a future Tag Team title match.

**********

Collision began with several AEW stars walking through the back. Toni Storm was one of them until she got attacked by Mariah May, who dragged her to the stage and headbutted her. May took a microphone and called for a spotlight. May said that Storm never knew how to write an ending, and that May will write one in Storm’s blood. She wanted them to have a Hollywood ending at Revolution.

(I was hoping the Grand Slam Australia match was the blowoff, but in hindsight, they probably weren’t going to end this year-plus long feud at 1:30 AM on a Saturday.)

We cut from that to a recap of the Continental Championship match from last week’s Grand Slam: Australia. Kazuchika Okada was in the back, talking about how he put the dog down last week. He promised to do the same to anyone else who stepped up. The announce team for this week was the original Dynamite team of Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Jim Ross.

Hologram defeated The Beast Mortos

Hologram is still great, and his rollout continues to rock. His chemistry with Mortos is fantastic, as even if they flub a spot, they seem to transition into something just as cool as what they had planned. Komander teaming up with Hologram is a good sign, as those two can be a quality team in a quickly-rebuilding tag team division.

We got a recap of La Faccion Ingobernable attacking Hologram in October, putting him on the shelf until his return two weeks ago. We got a hot start, with Hologram taking Mortos to the floor with a triple-rotation headscissors and a hurricanrana off the top rope to the floor. Mortos evaded a splash off the top rope and pounced Hologram out of the ring, then followed him out with a tornillo to the floor.

After a commercial break, Hologram cut Mortos off on the top rope with a kick, but Mortos came back with an Avalanche Gorilla Press Slam for a nearfall. Mortos set Hologram up for another move off of the top rope, but Hologram reversed it into a top-rope headscissors. Hologram hit a big torpedo dive to the floor. Some more back and forth led to Mortos avoiding a springboard dive and hitting a sick crucifix bomb on the stage.

Mortos went for a gorilla press off the stage, but Hologram slipped away and hit a crucifix bomb on the stage. Hologram followed it with a ropewalk into a crucifix bomb for another nearfall. Mortos came back with a pop-up Samoan drop for a nearfall. Mortos hit a Bane-style backbreaker but lost Hologram on a powerbomb attempt, allowing Hologram to hit a Spanish Fly. Mortos immediately came back with a lariat.

Mortos took Hologram to the top rope again, but he countered another Gorilla Press into a headscissors before hitting the rolling sunset bomb for the pin and the win. After the match, Mortos jumped Hologram and tried to rip his mask off before Komander made the save to return the favor from two weeks ago. Hologram and Komander teamed up to take Mortos down and out with a double sliding kick.

We got a hype video for Speedball Mike Bailey, who Tony Schiavone said would be debuting soon in AEW.

Harley Cameron Town Hall

Lexy Nair was in the ring to interview Harley Cameron, who came out to a big ovation. Cameron talked about a little blonde girl in Australia who grew up with big dreams, watching wrestling with her grandmother. She told her grandmother that she would grow up to be a professional wrestler. That little girl was Harley Cameron…’s next door neighbor Suzette Dickinson. Cameron didn’t know what ever happened to Suzette, but she took Suzette’s dream and ran with it. Cameron promised to keep going until everyone in AEW felt the wrath.

(A good promo from Harley to rebound from last week’s loss. The loss didn’t hurt her in Phoenix, as she was still over with this crowd.)

Gabe Kidd defeated The Butcher

This was a very good showcase for Kidd, who has rocketed up my list of the best wrestlers in the world. The Butcher matched his style well as the two laid in heavy strikes, but Kidd won decisively. The Don Callis angle is very interesting as both men have feuded with Kenny Omega since he’s returned from injury.

The announcers put over Kidd’s performance at Wrestle Dynasty against Kenny Omega. Kidd charged Butcher at the bell and clubbered on him at the bell. Don Callis was seen watching backstage as Kidd took the Butcher over with a Saito suplex. Butcher took control on the floor with punches and chops, but Kidd sent Butcher up and over with an Exploder suplex.

Kidd rocked Butcher with a lariat on the floor, then sat cross-legged in the ring as Butcher crawled back to the ring. Kidd had Butcher’s handprint across his chest, and Butcher made sure to leave a few more with some chops across the ropes. Kidd hit a rebound lariat and a piledriver to get the win. Kidd laid in some shots after the bell.

Kyle Fletcher & Don Callis were backstage with Lexy Nair. Fletcher kept interrupting Nair, who eventually asked about Will Ospreay’s steel cage challenge for Revolution. Callis wanted Nair to stop trying to gaslight them. Callis said that Ospreay was physically impressive but mentally deficient. Fletcher accepted Ospreay’s challenge for Revolution.

(Revolution is a packed card already, but Fletcher/Ospreay III is my most anticipated match. If they stick the landing, this could be one of the most effective and best feuds in AEW’s short history.)

Julia Hart defeated Queen Aminata

A good TV win for Hart. I don’t know where exactly to fit her in, but Aminata needs to start being highlighted in this women’s division. Her work is clean, and I think she can hang with the top names in the division.

Aminata snuck a quick nearfall in before laying Hart out with a pair of strong kicks. Hart came back with a flurry in the corner as we went to a commercial. After the break, Aminata hit a pair of snap suplexes before hitting a twisting Perfect-Plex. A face wash boot in the corner scored Aminata a pair of nearfalls.

Hart came back with a thrust kick and a running forearm for a nearfall. Hart went up for a moonsault but caught boots from Aminata. Aminata hit a pair of German suplexes, but Hart cut off a third and caught Aminata in an Octopus Hold for the submission win.

Murder Machines (Brian Cage & Lance Archer) defeated two victims

Cage and Archer dragged their unnamed opponents to the ring and demolished them. They hit one of these poor geeks with the Murderbomb for the quick win.

After the match, Cage called out the Hurt Syndicate and said that this was a preview of what the Murder Machines were going to do to them. The Hurt Syndicate came out, with MVP asking who they thought they were calling out the champs. MVP called out the Murder Machines for making their hay on locals trying to make names for themselves. The Hurt Syndicate were the champions, and they called the shots. MVP said that if the Murder Machines beat a real tag team, then they would talk business.

We got a stylized video from Action Andretti & Lio Rush, announcing their new team name of The Cru.

We got a recap of Wednesday’s scene with Megan Bayne, Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, & Thunder Rosa. We got video from after Dynamite with Statlander and Rosa, with Statlander saying to swing first the next time Ford & Bayne tried to laugh them off.

AEW World Trios Title Match – Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) (c) defeated Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker, & Matt Menard

A solid trios title match for TV, and a solid defense for the Death Riders. Wheeler Yuta is getting a lot of good heat in these trios matches. This will sound like a wild comparison to make, but Yuta reminds me of Rocky Maivia in the Nation of Domination as the underling that gets the most heat of the group. The post-match angle was very good, with the babyface army working together long enough for Cope to take PAC out.

Parker & Yuta started as Excalibur brought up how PAC was the first man to hold two AEW titles simultaneously, and that TNT Champion Garcia had the chance to be the second. Castagnoli tagged in took control of Parker. Yuta tagged in as the crowd chanted We Hate Yuta. Parker snapped Yuta off the ropes and tagged in Menard, who ran wild and got a nearfall on PAC. Castagnoli cut him off as the match broke down. The challengers laid in the punches in the corner and posed as we went to a commercial break.

The champions were back in control as we came back, with Yuta tagging in and getting more Yuta Sucks chants. The champs ran an uppercut train on Menard in the corner for a nearfall. PAC feigned a springboard attack and mocked Menard for attempting to counter, but Menard caught him with a powerbomb. Garcia tagged in and ran wild with side suplexes, including getting Castagnoli up for one after some 2.0 assistance.

Garcia hit a Twist and Shout on Yuta for a nearfall, then locked him up in the Dragon Tamer. Parker fought off PAC as he tried to interfere, but Castagnoli lifted Garcia up into a Jackhammer to break the hold. Yuta and Garcia traded forearms, with Yuta resorting to biting Garcia’s head. Castagnoli tagged in and hit a lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli swung Garcia into boots from PAC for a nearfall, prompting a Don Leo Jonathan reference from Jim Ross.

PAC went for the Black Arrow on Garcia, but 2.0 cut him off. Parker tagged in and took PAC down with a superplex for a nearfall that Yuta made the save on. Castagnoli cut off a double team elbow with an uppercut on Parker, allowing PAC to lock on the Brutalizer for the tapout and the win. PAC refused to release the hold as the champs laid boots in to Garcia and Menard. The Undisputed Kingdom came out to make the save, and the babyfaces fought off the Death Riders. Cole and Garcia stared each other down before bumping fists, and the Kingdom hit their finish on PAC.

Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir came out to even up the numbers, but Cope came out with a pair of chairs. The babyface army walled off the Death Riders as Cope hit PAC with a Con-Chair-To. The crowd chanted for an encore, so Cope obliged by hitting a second Con-Chair-To to PAC. The Death Riders looked dismayed as the ringside doctors checked on PAC.

Deonna Purazzo & Taya Valkyrie were backstage with Lexy Nair. They had issue with Harley Cameron getting all of this attention and told her to move to the back of the line or be moved out of the way.

Max Caster came out for his Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge. He said that he was disrespected by “Hangperson” Adam Page, who attacked him before the bell and chased him around the building before he was ready. He asked whoever answered his challenge tonight should shake his hand like a man.

Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge – Brody King defeated Max Caster

As someone who was sick of the Acclaimed, the turnaround I’ve done on them since the breakup angle is astounding. Caster being so overbearing that he turned his own teammates against him, then consistently getting beaten up in these open challenges has been very entertaining. My guess is that Anthony Bowens will answer one of these challenges at some point to get his singles run started.

King offered a handshake to start the match, then held onto Caster’s hand before chopping him down. Caster tried escaping a head trap, but failed as King chopped him in the chest. King hit his cannonball in the corner to win the match and send Caster to 0-3 in his Open Challenge Series.

The Outrunners were backstage with Lexy Nair, who congratulated them on their win on the Ring of Honor Global Wars show in Australia. They were talking their talk before The Hurt Syndicate walked past. The Outrunners asked about facing the Murder Machines, and what would happen if they won. MVP said that the good news is that if they beat the Murder Machines, they would get a title shot. The bad news was that if they beat the Murder Machines, they would get a title shot. Lashley and Benjamin chuckled as they walked away.

Harley Cameron vs. Deonna Purrazzo was announced for Wednesday’s Dynamite. Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Keith was also announced, as Don Callis put a bounty on Ospreay’s head ahead of Revolution.

ROH World Title Match – Chris Jericho (c) defeated Bandido

This was the best Chris Jericho singles match I’ve seen in a while. Bandido worked well with him and had the crowd behind him. Jericho got a clean win, but not in a manner that would kill Bandido’s momentum on his return. A very good main event to another quality episode of Collision.

Both men adhered to the Code of Honor, with both men pulling each other in before Jericho poked Bandido in the eyes. Bandido came back and sent Jericho to the floor, following him with a pair of dives to the floor. Bandido sent Jericho back in the ring and went for a springboard, but Jericho caught Bandido with a Codebreaker for a nearfall. Jericho hit the ten punches in the corner before taking Bandido off the top rope with a hurricanrana.

Bandido fought back with chops on the apron before taking Jericho off the apron with a headscissors to the floor. After a commercial break, Jericho took Bandido down to his knees with chops. Bandido fired back with chops of his own before poking Bandido in the eyes again. Bandido came back with a head kick and a top rope tornillo before hitting a pendulum facebuster for a nearfall.

Jericho came back with a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. The two traded boots and punches before they knocked each other down. The two went back-to-back and took their paces for a duel. Bandido went for the X-Plex, but Jericho caught Bandido’s leg and locked on the Walls of Jericho. Bandido got to the ropes, then picked Jericho up with a one-handed Gorilla Press Slam before scoring a nearfall with a Frog Splash.

Jericho cut Bandido off with a dropkick, but Bandido cut off his triangle dropkick with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the ropes for a nearfall. Jericho held onto the ropes on a dropkick attempt and hit a Lionsault for a nearfall. Bandido caught Jericho with an inside cradle for a nearfall before Jericho came back with a flying headscissors – which Schiavone noted he called “The Hi Spot” – for a nearfall.

Bandido cut Jericho off on the top rope and hit an avalanche moonsault powerslam for a nearfall. Bandido hit the X-Plex and went for the 21-Plex, but Jericho countered it into a Victory Roll for the win to retain the title.

Two title matches, Gabe Kidd return announced for AEW Collision

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

Two title matches and the return of NJPW star Gabe Kidd highlight this Saturday’s AEW Collision lineup, being taped Wednesday in Phoenix, Arizona.

After Bandido began targeting Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho (seen above) at last December’s ROH Final Battle, the former ROH World Champion will get his shot at regaining the title he hasn’t held since late-2021.

It will be a rematch from a September 2022 Dynamite where Jericho successfully defended the title in his first title reign.

The AEW Trios titles will be on the line as the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) will put the gold on the line against TNT Champion Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker. The champions recently defended against the Undisputed Kingdom’s Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong.

NJPW men’s Strong Champion Gabe Kidd will make his return to AEW for the first time since last June’s Forbidden Door against an opponent to be named. Kidd’s last AEW TV appearance came just before that PPV in a tag team match on Rampage.

Max Caster will held another open challenge in hopes of scoring his first AEW singles win since a June 2023 house show.

The Murder Machines (Brian Cage & Lance Archer) have called out AEW Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate in hopes of scoring a future title shot.

In a rematch from last October’s WrestleDream where they competed in a best-of-three falls match, Hologram will take on The Beast Mortos. Hologram picked up the win that night, but missed the better part of five months due to an injury and welcoming a new child into his family.

Here’s the current lineup with spoilers from the show coming shortly to our website:

  • ROH World Champion Chris Jericho defends against Bandido
  • AEW Trios Champions The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) defend against TNT Champion Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
  • The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram
  • Gabe Kidd vs. TBA
  • Max Caster vs. TBA

Daily Update: Penta, Seth Rollins, Gabe Kidd

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Observer is up on the site today:

  • All-time records for WWE business that will be broken at the Royal Rumble
  • What 38 years old company attendance mark goes down this week
  • Rumble favorites and news on the show
  • Things AEW should look to do regarding the creative on Dynamite to avoid things like redundancy, not getting key people over, and examining what the actual purposes of angles are and making them work
  • Full coverage of Saturday Night’s Main Event from this past week, business numbers and what they  mean, Dory Funk Jr., Jesse Ventura and match-by-match coverage.
  • Paul Levesque goes into the Paul Levesque picked WWE Hall of Fame
  • One of the most notable pro wrestling arenas in the world closes this year after nearly 50 years of running major shows. A look at some of the biggest matches held there including Inoki, Jack Brisco, Hogan, Andre, Monsoon, Hansen, Dusty Rhodes, Backlund, Volk Han, Nobuhiko Takada and even the Crush Gals.
  • The life and times of Ed Wiskoski aka Col DeBeers. A look at a 25 year career that went all over the world with a variety of gimmicks, including rises and falls of major territories, the making of his most famous gimmick and its controversial nature.
  • The GFL draft is basically admitted to be a fraud as to how it was presented and all the major names from the past part of the new team-based promotion.
  • Bryce Mitchell says some of the dumbest things possible and Dana White counters. But should the company cut ties with him.
  • The life and times of 50s and 60s star Bill Melby, including the angle that put the Cow Palace on the map as a regular wrestling building, and the most accomplished wrestler/bodybuilders.
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the television shows, as well as WWE shows on Netflix.  Quarters, year-to-year comparisons and more. Plus competition and demo numbers
  • CMLL’s second biggest show of the year coming
  • Hot Arena Mexico main event
  • Announcer leaves promotion after 30 years
  • TripleMania news for 2025
  • Stardom awards
  • Dark Side of the Ring 2025 notes
  • How the major TV cable stations are doing
  • Former WCW star in jail
  • AEW international TV notes
  • Lots of notes on AEW Grand Slam Australia
  • International TV numbers
  • Christopher Daniels talks the end of his career
  • AEW star wants to box and do MMA
  • Giant fight talked about is for sure not happening
  • Death of legendary sportswriter Michael Katz
  • WWE star in one of the top box office movies of all-time
  • Jordynne Grace talks leaving TNA
  • WWE injury notes and thoughts about the policy of not stopping matches
  • Top YouTube numbers for the week

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • The full Oba Femi & Trick Williams vs. A-Town Down Under main event from last night’s NXT can be watched here.
  • WWE uploaded post-show interviews with Charlotte Flair and JDC (the former Fandango) after NXT.
  • In an interview with CBS Sports that was conducted before the Royal Rumble, Penta responded to reports that WWE has very high hopes for him and is excited about what he brings to the table in the ring and in merchandise sales:
    • It’s very surprising for me. Last night someone called me to tell me how many of my masks WWE sold. I said, ‘Wow! Really? This number?!’
    • I remember 20 years ago when I started this dream. The most important thing was I never doubted my talent, passion or anything. Now I’m living the dream.
  • Penta said he feels comfortable as either a singles wrestler or in a tag team:
    • I’m very comfortable because Penta myself in the ring is more aggressive, you know? More violent – more different style around the world. But when my brother is with me with the tag team, it’s different. More dynamic, you know? More special, more high-flyer. This is the difference, but I feel comfortable [with] both.
  • Director Chris Killian explained to Comicbook.com why Seth Rollins’ character was cut from his “Captain America: Brave New World” film. Killian said he decided to take the Serpent Society (which Rollins would have been part of) in a different direction after actor Giancarlo Esposito became available:
    • You know, when you’re taking characters like Serpent Society from publishing, who, as you know, are individuals dressed up as snakes and have snake adjacent powers, you’re always iterating and trying to figure out the version that totally works best in a movie like this. I love Seth, Seth’s incredible. But as we were evolving and we knew we had an additional photography period, just one that we did early on in the process that’s planned. We were trying to figure out, ‘Hey, who’s somebody that can bring a very specific kind of gravitas that works with this tone.’ And when Giancarlo became available, it was such a no brainer. I have a very particular history with him. He’s iconic for working with Spike Lee. I interned with Spike Lee when I was 19 years old.
    • And of course, fans have been fan-casting him for a long time in the MCU. So it’s really about making sure that all the elements worked in the grounded tone and vision that I have for this film. And as we evolved and iterated, Giancarlo just made sense. And what a blessing to have in this film.
  • The Undertaker addressed whether he felt bad for Hulk Hogan after Hogan got booed at Raw’s Netflix premiere:
    • I got feelings for people. Sometimes, in life, things come back. He was bigger than life, Americana kind of deal, then he gets caught on tape saying some derogatory, racist things. In this day and age, where all of that is such a hot-button deal, I don’t know what you expect. People are going to react, and they are not going to react in a positive way.
  • Lyra Valkyria joined Sheamus on this week’s edition of Celtic Warrior Workouts.
  • No-Contest Wrestling put out a new episode featuring conversations with Roman Reigns & Paul Heyman, LA Knight, Bayley, New Day, and Carlito from Royal Rumble weekend.
  • WWE produced a video with commentary teams from around the world reacting to Jey Uso’s Royal Rumble win.

Other Wrestling

  • While speaking with TV Insider, Tony Khan was asked about his approach when it comes to working with others and collaborating with talent to formulate AEW creative:
    • I love working with talented people. I really do enjoy the creative collaboration. It’s a really exciting time for AEW. We’ve been on a strong run of shows. We kicked off 2025 with a very successful debut on Max and had some great shows to launch this new era of simulcasting. I love pro wrestling so much. I’m very focused on the shows each week. Seeing some of our greatest stars return to the fold and adding some very exciting stories. There have been stars who have been there from the beginning and flourishing right now. In particular, the return of Kenny Omega. There was also Will Ospreay and Ricochet and many others. I think it’s a great mix of some of AEW’s greatest names ever. One of the great things about AEW is our wrestlers seizing an opportunity. I believe AEW is where the best wrestle. When they latch on to something special, it’s amazing to see how far they’ll take it. 
    • I’m very impressed by both a long-time star and former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and Ricochet, who is a relative newcomer in AEW and arrived on a big stage at All In London. I offered a new opportunity for Ricochet in recent months and am so impressed how he has seized it. In November, when we announced the Continental Classic participants and upcoming matches, I made an opening for Ricochet. What he did with it was very impressive. I thought Ricochet had one of the strongest stories coming out of the Continental Classic with Swerve Strickland. There are a  lot of times it’s possible to create specific opportunities for wrestlers to thrive, but it’s really a testament to the wrestlers and their talent when they seize those opportunities and score big. I love collaborating with talent and giving them those opportunities and trying to take the best ideas. My own ideas or suggestions that people make along the way, either the staff or wrestler’s themselves and trying to build the best version of it.
  • NJPW’s English-language website posted an in-character interview with Gabe Kidd. He said he wants a rematch against Kenny Omega when the time is right:
    • I’ll give him credit. He isn’t the phony I thought he was, or that I said he was before. He is the best of the best and that’s who I deserve to be in the ring with. He got me, but I do want round two.
    • When the time is right, I do [want a rematch]. And you know, it’ll be harder a second time. Tokyo Dome was his first match back, his first step back into the wrestling ring. A second time and he’ll be more confident, he’ll have been wrestling consistently. There’s no doubt, I could feel and you can see watching the match back that he was nervous in there. It’s a credit to him as a wrestler that he was able to beat me, because I was 100%. It’s given me things to work on, and that’s what I’m doing with my coaches, so next time we face off I’ll be 100% better than the 100% I was then.
  • MLW announced that Summer of the Beasts 2025 will take place from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City on Thursday, June 26. Tickets are going on sale next Tuesday (February 11) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
  • An interview with Women’s Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo has been added to the lineup for MLW’s SuperFight event in Atlanta this Saturday. Exo will address what’s next for her:
    • Fans and competitors alike are eager to hear from Exo as she addresses her reign, potential challengers, and the ever-evolving landscape of MLW’s women’s division. Will a new contender emerge to step up to The God Queen, or does Exo have her own plans for SuperFight?
  • Chris Jericho interviewed Chris Van Vliet on a new episode of Talk is Jericho.
  • WrestleMobs spoke with Ryan Nemeth and Jimmy Jacobs.

Big Audio Nightmare: Tokyo Dome debrief, Kidd vs. Omega, Chris Charlton controversy

Posted on by Adam Summers

Image: NJPW

The Big Audio Nightmare is back as myself and Mike Sempervive talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.

This week’s topics include:

  • Thoughts on Wrestle Dynasty and Wrestle Kingdom attendance and buzz
  • A long form discussion on Shota Umino’s weekend and whether he met the moment
  • The absolutely incredible Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd match
  • Konosuke Takeshita’s big weekend
  • Praise for Yota Tsuji and David Finlay
  • AZM and Mayu Iwatani have a great but too short match…and much more

Click here to listen (sub needed)

Kenny Omega makes pro wrestling return at Wrestle Dynasty

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Kenny Omega is back, and didn’t lose a step.

Omega’s first match in over a year saw him defeat Gabe Kidd in the semi main event of Wrestle Dynasty. The match was brutal at times, with both men bleeding towards the end of the match. Tables were used, with both men going through them at various points. Towards the end, Kidd planted Omega with a ganso bomb but was unable to put Omega away. Omega ended up winning the match after a kamigoye and the One-winged Angel.

After the match Hiroshi Tanahashi, who was on commentary, could be seen in tears as both men were helped to the back.

Tony Khan commented on the match shortly after it finished.

Omega’s last match was on the December 5, 2023 edition of Collision, defeating Ethan Page. Shortly after he was taken off the road after due to diverticulitis, which he eventually underwent surgery for. After making an appearance at Power Struggle in November, he was confronted backstage by Kidd, setting up the match.

At Worlds End last weekend, Omega made his return to AEW by handing the Continental title to Continental Classic winner Kazuchika Okada, teasing a future match between the two. He is set to appear on the next episode of AEW Dynamite.

Daily Update: CM Punk, Sami Zayn, Kenny Omega & Gabe Kidd

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The  new issue of the Observer is on the site today (after a snafu):

  • Full coverage of the lessons of Saturday Night’s Main Event, from ratings to execution
  • The Athletic story on Lee Fitting, plus our thoughts on the subject
  • B.J. Whitmer alleged victim Jaime Hawn comments on current and former AEW legal heads
  • Full coverage of New Japan’s show in Long Beach with the Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki main event
  • Update on Worlds End and the Battle of Orlando
  • CMLL’s international based show on Friday and what went right and wrong
  • Dragon Gate’s lastest major show of the year
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling TV shows and UFC shows including segment ratings, standings for the week and night, demos, comparisons with last year and a lot more
  • Annnouncer leaves company after more than 30 years and why
  • Stardoms’ end of year show
  • Comedy wrestler retires
  • CyberFight (DDT, NOAH and TJPW) financials looked at
  • How sports ratings are doing
  • Notes on a movie on one of the most legendary woman wrestlers of all-time that will be out  in March
  • Chris Jericho and Matt Cardona angle in GCW and how it came about
  • Tessa Blanchard to TNA notes and the bigger picture
  • WWE, AEW and TNA PPV numbers updates
  • Notes on changes in WBD structure
  • More on AEW move to MAX
  • Ticket advanceds for WWE & AEW shows
  • UFC business updates
  • More on WWE to Netflix and international TV notes
  • Dwayne Johnson box office notes

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • CM Punk (along with comedians Bert Kreischer and Nate Bargatze) will be a special guest on Netflix’s pre-game coverage for its Christmas Day NFL games today. 
  • Zelina Vega tweeted that this was the “best Christmas ever” with her husband – AEW star Malakai Black – getting their wedding rings updated:
    • Best Christmas ever I’m so blessed to have you @malakaiblxck
    • He updated our wedding rings ‘Will you continue to be my wife for the rest of our lives?’
  • While speaking with the Battleground Podcast, Sami Zayn discussed what it was like to watch Kevin Owens headline the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event:
    • If we really stop and think about it, considering we started together some 20 years ago in little church basements and community centers in Quebec, to all of a sudden see him standing [on] Saturday Night’s Main Event, holding [Cody Rhodes’] Winged Eagle title over the champion. I mean, that’s kind of surreal when you really stop and think about it.
    • I think sometimes, I’m sure he would say the same about me, but seeing it with Kevin sometimes opens my eyes more than when I’m doing it myself. Because, you’re on your own little path, and you’re on the hamster wheel and you’re focused on what you’re doing.
    • But if you’re lucky enough to have someone who’s been with you on the ride from the jump, like I have Kevin, or he’s got me, it’s like this constant reminder, like, ‘Man, I remember that guy when he was here. Now he’s doing this,’ it is wild. It’s a crazy story.
  • Casual Conversations with The Classic interviewed Michin.
  • WWE uploaded the full main event segment from NXT last night where the NXT Championship match for New Year’s Evil was made into a triple threat between Trick Williams, Oba Femi, and Eddy Thorpe.
  • The WWE Vault YouTube channel uploaded Tajiri vs. Super Crazy in a Mexican Death Match from the January 21, 2000 episode of ECW on TNN.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • For Christmas, the TNT YouTube channel is streaming a “Holidays With The Hangman” yule log with the image of Hangman Page sitting outside Swerve Strickland’s house this September after burning it down: “Celebrate the season and one of the most spiteful things a human being can do as you sit in front of the warming glow of Hangman Adam Page’s hatred for Swerve Strickland.”
  • Matt Camp recapped week four of the AEW Continental Classic.
  • Camp, who was formerly a co-host of WWE’s The Bump, tweeted: “It’s been a very rewarding first month officially part of @AEW and I’m thankful to be working with such a fun, driven group of people across the board. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive. Looking forward to creating more ways for fans to enjoy it all! Merry Christmas!”
  • In an interview with Inside The Ropes, Shelton Benjamin explained what the biggest surprise of his AEW run has been so far:
    • My biggest surprise is that the fans really appreciate what I bring to the table. I found that I have a lot of great chemistry with the guys I’ve been working. I feel like I’ve been having nothing but just great matches with pretty much everyone I’ve been in the ring with.
    • Just the fact that I’ve been able to gel so well with guys who I never have worked with before and put on great performances, that has been the biggest surprise to me. It shouldn’t be, because again, these are some of the best athletes in the world, some of the best professional wrestlers in the world. But it’s definitely a pleasant surprise.
  • Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald spoke with Mariah May.
  • AEW wished happy birthday to Miro and referee Paul Turner.
  • NJPW shared messages from Kenny Omega and Gabe Kidd ahead of their match at Wrestle Dynasty.
  • MLW uploaded its Holiday Rush 2024 special to YouTube, headlined by Satoshi Kojima vs. Ultimo Guerrero for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
  • Diamond Dallas Page shared video of him working with Lex Luger as Luger attempts to increase his mobility.

Gabe Kidd issues challenge for NJPW Battle in the Valley, Sumie Sakai retirement match set

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The card for Battle in the Valley started to shape up on Sunday.

After retaining the NJPW Strong Championship against Ryohei Oiwa at NJPW Strong Style Evolved, he cut a promo running down Kenny Omega before focusing on NJPW Battle in the Valley, which takes place on January 11. He singled out Tomohiro Ishii, calling him out for the San Jose event.

Kidd is set for a busy 2025, already taking on Kenny Omega at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. Ishii meanwhile is scheduled to face the winner between Shingo Takagi and Konosuke Takeshita the previous night at Wrestle Kingdom 19. If Takeshita remains champion up to January 4, the match would be for both the NEVER and AEW international titles.

Following the show, Sumie Sakai asked Hiromu Takahashi to be in her retirement match that will take place at Battle in the Valley. Takahashi agreed, but suggested a mixed tag match, with himself teaming with two women and Sakai teaming with one man and one woman.

Another title match was seemingly agreed to for Battle in the Valley earlier on Sunday. After Royce Issacs and Jorel Nelson captured the NJPW Strong Tag Team titles, they were met by Rocky Romero. He issued the challenge for next month, saying his former Roppongi 3K partner YOH would be teaming with him. The new champions responded by taking out Romero.

Kenny Omega in-ring return official for Wrestle Dynasty

Posted on by Bryan Rose

After nearly a year out of action, Kenny Omega’s return match is set.

NJPW announced on Friday that Omega will face Gabe Kidd at Wrestle Dynasty, which takes place January 5 at the Tokyo Dome. This follows a promo by Omega in the last week saying he was ready to wrestle Kidd at Wrestle Dynasty. NJPW made the match official after Kidd accepted Omega’s challenge.

At Power Struggle earlier this month, Omega was confronted backstage by Kidd after he had cut a promo saying he considered the promotion home and wanted to face new talent. The two ended up getting into a physical altercation.

This would mark Omega’s first match since December 2023, having been out of action due to complications from diverticulitis. In his last AEW appearance, The Elite attacked Omega, sending him out of the arena in an ambulance.

Here is the updated card for Wrestle Dynasty:

Wrestle Dynasty (Sunday, January 5) —

  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ricochet
  • Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd
  • Jack Perry vs. Yota Tsuji
  • Tomohiro Ishii challenges either Shingo Takagi or Konosuke Takeshita for the NEVER Openweight Championship (will be a double title match with the AEW International Championship also on the line if Takeshita is still champion going into Wrestle Kingdom 19)
  • International Women’s Cup four-way

Ring of Honor TV live results: NJPW stars return

Posted on by Jeff Moss

Several NJPW stars will be part of tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub — a show that will also feature a men’s TV title defense.

In a non-title match, NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi will battle Ariya Daivari in Takagi’s first match for the promotion since June 2023.

NJPW men’s Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd will battle Angelico in non-title action. It’s Kidd’s second ROH match and first since October’s title defense over Anthony Henry.

Tomohiro Ishii will face Mike Bennett as he looks to keep momentum going ahead of his challenge of ROH World Champion Chris Jericho Wednesday.

Kevin Knight will make his ROH debut as he faces Serpentico.

ROH men’s TV Champion Brian Cage defends against AR Fox while ROH Women’s World Champion Athena will also be in action, taking on Leila Grey in a Proving Ground match.

Shane Taylor & ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty will face JD Drake & Beef while The Righteous will make an appearance.

**********

All right, friends! You know the drill: Thursday, Ring of Honor, Honorclub. Now let’s get to the fights!

NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd defeated Angelico

KIdd brings to ROH the NJPW STRONG Openweight title, which you know is important because it has a lot of CAPITAL LETTERS. He retained that title against Anthony Henry on episode #85 of ROH on Honorclub back in October. Angelico would love to add that title to his collection, but sadly, this was a non-title match. No worries though, he’s cool.

Kidd started things off just like his title; strong. He rained down chops, shoves, kicks and stomps on Angelico. It wasn’t until Angelico managed to duck a lariat and deliver his own clotheslines that he got some offence in. Once he got moving though, Kidd seemed confused b the fluid style of Angelico. A punch to the face fixed that and brought the match back under Kidd’s control.

Kid launched himself at Angelico and managed to fold him up like an accordion. 1-2-3 and it was over, Kidd wins, and delivered a parting kick to the head for good measure.

Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor) defeated BEEF & JD Drake

STP beat up a lot of people a couple of weeks ago. After adding The Infantry and Trish Adora to their ranks, they brawled with some nameless NPC’s in the back, and made their intentions to take the ROH tag belts away from Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara vary, very clear. BEEF and Drake (which sounds like an excellent dinner special at a mid-sized pub) have been reluctantly teaming together since BEEF’s 2nd cousin and Drake’s normal tag partner Anthony Henry got hurt. 

Moriarty and Taylor are an excellent team. They both have a particular set of skills that perfectly compliment each other. Drake started off against Taylor, but tagged BEEF in fairly quickly. The crowd was chanting for BEEF, but Taylor’s experience level was too much for him and Taylor sat him down hard.

This match was interesting in that it featured a lot more yelling at each other than a normal match would. Taylor’s trash talk is legendary, but BEEF was able to get a few shots in verbally too. Moriarty tagged in and matched up with Drake, who brought the chops until Taylor made a blind tag and clotheslined Drake into next week.

Taylor and Drake stood each other up and spent about 60 seconds just hitting one another. Not wrestling, just a brawl, and it was awesome. Drake got a hot tag to BEEF who fed some right hands to Moriarty. BEEF hit a big bulldog (or BEEFdog, as they kept calling it) and drake tagged in to slam Moriarty. Drake missed a big splash from the top and Taylor tagged in got a big splash on Drake to get the pin.

After the match, Top Flight jumped in and all of STP laid a beating on Drake and BEEF. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the Undisputed Kingdom of all people! Bennett and Taven ran off STP and jawed at them as the helped BEEF and Drake to their feet.

-The Righteous cut a promo from an undisclosed location. Dutch read a poem to Dustin Rhodes, his “long-lost brother.” He talked about how Rhodes’ father Dusty had loved him like a son. Soon, the Righteous will take those tag titles, and then everyone will know who Dusty really thought of as his son.

Kevin Knight defeated Serpentico

Kevin Knight (who I discovered quickly is NOT my cousin of the same name) has been hanging out in NJPW for the last couple of years with a guy named KUSHIDA. This would be his ROH debut, and who better to go up against than the Laid-Back Luchadore, Serpentico? Last week he and his SAP partner Angelico picked up a win (and Angelico a singles loss this week) and a singles victory would be icing on the very delicious cake. 

Knight had a bit of a size adventage on Serpentico, buy you can never count Serpentico out (unless he leaves the ring for 20 seconds. But that didn’t happen). Anyway, it was a fast one off the top with Knight showing why his nickname is “the Jet” and Serpentico keeping up in a neon green blur.

Serpentico laid in a bunch of SuperPunches on Knight in the corner, but couldn’t put him away. Knight fought back and took Serpentico’s head off with a lariat. Knight hit a sky high slam followed by a running frog splash that was really impressive. Knight hit one hell of a kick (clearly inspired by Sami Zayn) and follow it up with a big clothesline to put Serpentico down for the count.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Mike Bennett

You have to go all the way back to May of this year to find Bennett’s last singles match, which was a loss to Matt Menard. Since then, he’s been a big part of the Undisputed Kingdom stable, winning (and losing) the ROH Tag Titles and warring with The Conglomeration. Said Conglomeration features the membership of Tomohiro Ishii, so these two know each other well. Ishii has a date with Chris Jericho for the ROH title in the wings on Dynamite, so this was a heck of a warmup.

Ishii refused a code of honor from Bennett and the two locked up. Ishii had the power, but Bennett was able to match it as they two traded chops for what seemed like 45 minutes. It was actually about 5 though, as Ishii nailed Bennett with a shoulder and sent him into the corner. Bennett fought back with a lariat and knocked Ishii off his feet.

Bennett hit Ishii with a spear, but it seemed to hurt him more than Ishii. A big spinebuster followed that, but Ishii kicked out at two. Bennett tried to go up top but Ishii caught him and put him in a stalling suplex from the top rope. Ishii went for a brain buster and that was it for Bennett. Ishii nailed it and got the pin.

ROH CLASSIC MATCH: Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki (Final Battle 2008, December 27, 2008)

The attempted to give a reason for showing this match that made sense in-story, but it did not work. I’m pretty sure they showed this classic ROH match because it’s someone in production’s favourite match. That’s not a bad thing, mind you because it was a very, very good match! It deserves to be the favourite of the guy in production! Anyway, back in the here and now:

Shingo Takagi defeated Ariya Daivari

Takagi spent a lot of time in ROH between 2005-2008, but has only made a handful of appearances since then, choosing NJPW as his home where he’s done, well, just about everything. His last ROH match was in 2023 as part of a 6-man affair against pre-crisis Cage of Agony, The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona). Daivari has been having mixed singles results lately, having lost to Tomohio Ishii, Komander and Sammy Guevara. With Mark Sterling in tow, Daivari and the Premier Athletes as a whole, needed a win here. 

Daivari’d have his work cut out for him though with the much larger Takagi standing across the ring. Trying to outpower him did not work as Takagi returned everything Daivari threw at him with gusto. Even a cheap shot from behind that sent Takagi out of the ring didn’t really seem to do much to hurt him.

Daivari relied on his technical skills to work the arm of Takagi, taking away his big lariat. Takagi fought back though, drawing his second wind from the turnbuckle. He peppered Daivari with massive elbows, both front and back. Takagi went for a pumphandle slam but Sterling caused a distraction, letting Daivari hit a hammerlock DDT.

Daivari tried a clutch, but Takagi fought out of it and delivered a DDT of his own. Daivari ascaped up the ropes and tried a frog splash, but Takagi wasn’t done. On pure instinct he hit a massive lariat and then Last of The Dragon, a truly terrifying finisher, to get the pin.

PROVING GROUND MATCH: ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defeated Leila Grey

For those just joining us, this was a Proving Ground match. If Grey could pin the champion or last to a 10-minute time limit, she would get a shot at the ROH Women’s World Championship at a later date. Athena retained her title in October against Abadon, but there are plenty of women waiting in the wings to try and dethrone the Forever Champion, including disgruntled Minion in Training, Billie Starkz.

Athena took things with her usual seriousness, playing with Grey’s hair and running around the ring like an airplane. Grey jumped on this underestimation though, and got a couple of near falls off of some hard-hitting offense, and then sending Athena to the outside.

Athena turned the tables there, sending Grey’s face into the steel steps. Athena returned to the ring and Grey followed, right into the hands of the Champion with over three minutes gone in the match. All Grey had to do was last seven more minutes and she would get her title shot.

Grey started to pick up steam, hitting a bulldog that Athena kicked out of at two-and-three-quarters. Athena then started to bring out the big guns. Handspring slams in the corner, big power slams and lariats. She went to the top rope for the O Face, but Grey beat her to it and hit a sunset bomb from the top rope!

Time was running out though and Athena resorted to raking eyes and drawing Grey into a triangle choke. Grey lasted a few seconds, but was forced to tap before time ran out, dashing her hopes of a title match.

ROH WORLD TELEVISION TITLE MATCH: Brian Cage ( c) defeated AR Fox

In the Main Event: AR Fox has actually been on something of a roll in ROH the last couple months. He’s posted wins over Jack Cartwheel and Josh Woods and was part of a few tag victories as well. This is enough to earn him a shot a Brian Cage’s ROH World TV Title. This will mark Cage’s second defense of the belt, as he retained vs Komander a few weeks ago and has been hanging out with the Don Callis Family ever since. He even brought a Lance Archer with him!

Cage, in a very subdued outfit compared to his usual gear, was the same height as Fox, but about twice as wide. In a normal situation, this would be a case of Speed vs Strength, but as anyone who’s seen him wrestle knows, Cage has just as much speed as he does strength.

Fox tried everything he could including a Shooting Star Press and then a full moonsault onto Cage on the outside. Cage was resilient though, getting to his feet every time. Fox let Cage get to close, and got his eyes raked for his trouble. Cage moved into a series of power moves and suplexes to knock Fox silly.

Cage did some bicep curls with Fox, ending his set with a slam. From there, Cage tried a simple chin lock to wear down the challenger. Fox battled back though, hanging Cage up in the ropes. Fox pulled an Elix Skipper and matrix-dodged a big lariat. Cage looked a little sluggish at this point as Fox hit a DDT.

Cage managed to catch fox and hit a blue thunder pumphandle bomb. He tried to lock in a reverse cloverleaf, but Fox was able to get to the ropes. Fox responded with a Code red, but only got the two count. Fox then hit Cage with a spiccoli driver followed by a big 450 splash. Somehow, Cage kicked out though.

Fox set Cage up on the top rope, but Cage swatted him down and hit a satellite DDT, followed by a series of powerbombs, but still, Fox kicked out. Cage hit a discus lariat and a brainbuster and that finally put Fox on his back and out of his misery. Excellent match though! Excellent show!

Kenny Omega ready to face Gabe Kidd at Wrestle Dynasty

Posted on by Ian Carey

Kenny Omega says that if the fans want it and NJPW requests it, he’ll wrestle Gabe Kidd at Wrestle Dynasty.

Omega returned to NJPW at Power Struggle earlier this month. He cut a promo in front of the live crowd, expressing interest in facing one of NJPW’s younger talents at the January 5 show in The Tokyo Dome. Omega was later attacked backstage by Gabe Kidd.

In an interview recently posted by NJPW1972.com, Omega says he’s spoken with NJPW executives and has decided that if Kidd wants a match, he’ll wrestle him in the Tokyo Dome.

Omega said:

“Well, I’d like to address recent circumstances, and things that have happened with Gabe Kidd. I’ve had time to reflect after Power Struggle, and I feel I would regret not being able to make things right. I would hate for this situation to cause a rift between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. So after conversations I’ve had with President Tanahashi and other executives in NJPW, I’ve decided that if New Japan requests it, if Gabe requests it, and if the fans want it, then I will wrestle Gabe Kidd, as a professional at Wrestle Dynasty January 5.”

He later added:

“I wasn’t even sure if I would be medically cleared for January 5, but what Gabe did and said was enough to push me over the finish line. I might have been known as the Best Bout Machine in the past, but my goal isn’t to elevate Gabe Kidd to a world class performance. My goal is to show Gabe Kidd the reality of the situation he’s in right now, and show what embarrassment in front of 20, 30, 40,000 people and many thousands more watching around the world looks like.”

The backstage confrontation at Power Struggle was partly due to Omega accidentally referring to Kidd by the name “Greg” rather than “Gabe.”

“I wanted to talk about the young talent in New Japan. I wanted to shine a light and say something positive, and I started listing a bunch of names. Now, I know way more Gregs than I do Gabes, and when I tried to say Gabe Kidd’s name, ‘Greg’ popped out. I chuckled about it, because I didn’t think it was going to come out, and I said we should cut it, but it was left in.”

Omega also addressed concerns that his return to NJPW is an opportunity for AEW to scout and perhaps sign away more wrestlers from the promotion.

“I can tell you as someone that knows: someone like Gabe Kidd will not set foot in AEW. Maybe if we’re passing through town, grab your boots kid, have a dark match. He will never see the light of TV unless he gets a very positive review from yours truly. I would love to forgive and forget one time years from now, but I don’t see it happening.”

“For anyone that thinks that Gabe might end up the same way as Jay White, or Kazuchika Okada, or Will Ospreay? Gabe Kidd is all your responsibility. Look, I’m throwing my hat in here, I’m taking the bigger step. I’m saying to NJPW that if this is what the company wants, if it’s what’s the fans want and if it’s what Gabe wants. If this is what’s most interesting, then let’s do it, I’ll give you that chance, Gabe. Let’s see what your answer is.”

NJPW has yet to make the match official.

Wrestle Dynasty (Sunday, January 5) —

  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ricochet
  • Jack Perry vs. Yota Tsuji
  • Tomohiro Ishii challenges either Shingo Takagi or Konosuke Takeshita for the NEVER Openweight Championship (will be a double title match with the AEW International Championship also on the line if Takeshita is still champion going into Wrestle Kingdom 19)
  • International Women’s Cup four-way

Kenny Omega attacked by Gabe Kidd backstage at NJPW Power Struggle

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Kenny Omega may have a future opponent in Gabe Kidd.

After Omega cut a promo expressing interest in wrestling at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5, he was confronted backstage by Gabe Kidd, which ultimately led to a brawl. NJPW’s social media shared photos of the confrontation.

https://twitter.com/njpw1972/status/1853347537245086169

Omega told the crowd at Power Struggle that while he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return, he would be able to wrestle in “a little bit.” He also expressed interest in facing one of New Japan’s younger talents, saying that he would love to wrestle at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. Omega said that while he is an AEW-contracted wrestler, NJPW is still the King of Sports, the best pro wrestling in the world, and considers NJPW home.

Omega has been out for most of 2024 after undergoing surgery for diverticulitis. In recent weeks, Omega has spent time in Japan, including sitting with Hiroshi Tanahashi for an interview where they discussed their Wrestle Kingdom match from 2019.