Wrestling Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer and myself, guest co-host Garrett Gonzales, is back. We first talk about Les Thornton’s passing. Dave talks about Les’ history in pro wrestling. Then, we talk about the Haltime Heat experiment and discuss the match. We followup on yesterday’s WOR story about WWE house shows.
Dave watched MLW SuperFight and talks about that show, while Dave and I talk about some newcomers to MLW who we’ve seen at Bay Area independent shows. We talk about Amanda Nunes versus Holly Holm and Nunes mentioning retirement. Lastly, we discuss ESPN+ and their schedule around the UFC and Top Rank boxing.
Timestamps:
Start – 4:30: SuperBowl
4:30 – 21:39: Les Thornton
21:39 – 36:51: Halftime Heat, KUSHIDA
36:51 – 40:51: WWE injury updates
40:51 – 45:26: New Japan World login problems
45:26 – 52:45: MLW
52:45 – 58:03: Amanda Nunes/Holly Holm
58:03 – 1:01:32: UFC/ESPN + timing, thoughts
1:01:32 – 1:02:47: Boxing
1:02:47 – end: Raw preview
Below, you can watch what went down during Halftime Heat, which took place during the Super Bowl Halftime show.
The match had Ricochet, Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream team up to take on Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano in a six man tag team match. It aired live at the WWE Performance Center, with Vic Joseph and Shawn Michaels calling the action.
The video in its entirety lasts four hours and features a number of big NXT matches in the past featuring the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, Bayley, Sasha Banks and more. It streamed across multiple platforms including WWE.com, WWE Network, Twitter and Facebook.
The name Halftime Heat was first used back in 1999 for a special edition of Sunday Night Heat where Mankind defeated the Rock to win the WWE title for a second time in an empty arena match. It was used again the following year for an exclusive interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was recovering from neck surgery at the time.
This year’s Halftime Heat starts at the 3:33:20 mark.
Twenty years after Mankind defeated The Rock to win the WWF Championship, Halftime Heat makes its return tonight.
Velveteen Dream, Aleister Black & Ricochet will team up to face Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano & Adam Cole in an NXT six-man tag match. It will take place at the Performance Center and air live on the WWE Network, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, WWE.com, and the WWE app during halftime of tonight’s Super Bowl.
The tag match was set up by a brawl that took place after NXT TakeOver: Phoenix went off the air. Velveteen Dream confronted Ciampa and Gargano as they were on the stage, Cole, Black, and Ricochet joined them, and it led to the sides needing to be kept apart.
Vic Joseph and Shawn Michaels will be on commentary for Halftime Heat.
The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams are facing off in tonight’s Super Bowl, with Maroon 5 headlining the halftime show.
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While a maraton of NXT matches air on the Halftime Heat live stream, the Super Bowl itself had one pro wrestling reference during the game. Deatrich Wise Jr. of the New England Patriots clotheslined Los Angeles Rams running back CJ Anderson during the first play of the second quarter.
Retired pro football player and color commentator Tony Romo said “Hulk Hogan would be proud” of what Romo called a “fantastic clothesline.”
“About 300-400 people inside the Performance Center for Halftime Heat, seems like largely a friends and family Super Bowl party with wrestling,” Bryan Alvarez noted in a tweet.
An introductory video explained what is NXT as the live feed opened from the Performance Center. The set had a vibe similar to studio wrestling TV shows back in the day — but retrofitted with LED screens and HD cameras.
Aleister Black, Ricochet & Velveteen Dream defeated Adam Cole, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano & NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa
Dream pinned Cole in a great PWG-style match. It was mostly all action. Gargano started the match with Ricochet, and Ricochet soon thereafter launched into a flurry of flight. Gargano used a heelish tactic to cut him off with an eye poke. Vic Joseph on commentary played up Gargano being reluctant to tag Ciampa. He instead tagged Cole.
Cole traded strikes with Black until Black mowed him down with kicks. Dream made a bling tag before springboarding into the ring to clothesline Ciampa. Dream was on fire when he crouched down into a football stance, but Ciampa punched him in the face. Dream answered back with a springboard ax handle off the middle rope.
The babyface team cleared the ring and then one by one they flipped into a pose. Moments later the match turned into a Gordon Solie Pier-Sixer — which the heels capitalized on as they posted Dream. They began working him over. Gargano snuffed out a hope spot with a slingshot spear on Dream.
Cole jumped off the middle rope only to meet a superkick from Dream. A hot tag led to Ricochet running wild. After a springboard elbow by Ricochet, a standing moonsault press got him a two count. Black was in next to ran wild on Gargano — leading to another near fall.
Black did a springboard moonsault to the floor that began a chain reaction of highspots. Gargano dived through the ropes. Dream flew off the top rope. Ricochet dived over the ropes. Back in the ring, Black with a meteora for a close two and half count.
A series of exchanges too rapid to recall led into another close near fall where Gargano kicked out of cover by Dream. In a callback or sorts to an infamous spot on a TakeOver show, Ricochet moonsaulted off the top rope to meet a superkick in mid-air from Cole. Somehow, Ricochet kicked out. He also avoided the Last Shot and schoolboyed Cole.
All six squared off as brawl erupted inside the ring. Gargano gave Ricochet a reverse rana to send him rolling outside. Black then dispatched Gargano with a knee strike. Dream and Ciampa spilled over the top rope doing a suplex spot. Cole leaped off the ropes into a Canadian Destroyer on Ricochet. Again, Ricochet somehow kicked out.
The heel team had a three-on-one advantage with Ricochet surrounded in the ring. They measured him for a triple superkick, and Cole covered him. Black jumped into the ring at the last moment to make a save.
Dream faced off against all three. He was cleaning house until eating a double superkick. Meanwhile, Black Mass wiped out Gargano. A Dream Driver on Ciampa sent him rolling outside. Cole was hit with Black Mass before taking a Dream Driver.
Ricochet re-joined the party with a springboard 450 on Cole. To finish the match, Dream leapt off the top rope with a flying elbow drop — and he then covered Cole for the pinfall.
The babyface team celebrated their victory as the show closed. While a world title change twenty years ago was more newsworthy at the time, this six-man tag match was arguably much better than the empty arena match during the first Halftime Heat. Overall, the special was great showcase for NXT.
For the second straight year, WWE went with two fan-pleasing choices as their Royal Rumble winners. WWE followed up on Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka’s wins from last year by having Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch win their respective Rumble matches on Sunday night. The results were entirely predictable, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t the right choices. While there are other stories that WWE can tell, top babyfaces beginning their road to WrestleMania by winning the Royal Rumble will pretty much always work.
A quick note that the format of this issue is different due to the fact I messed up my left hand in a bicycle crash on 1/24 making typing extremely difficult.
This issue has complete Royal Rumble and NXT results with eliminations, stats, and facts, plus Dave’s comments. It also includes star ratings, NXT awards, and notes on the post show angle.
Roman Reigns is going to be in the Rock’s new movie. There were some photos of Roman Reigns last week from where he’s been filming the new sequel of the Fast and the Furious franchise, which had been kept kind of quiet. Reigns is playing Rock’s character Hobbs’ brother…
AEW released a short video with Cody Rhodes talking about signing Jungle Boy and the announcement that on February 7th, there is a Ticket Announcement Party at the MGM from Las Vegas. Brandi teased announcing more women at that event. There is a lot of talent expected at that event. CIMA is likely going to be there…
NJPW is very confident that it will not be an issue by the time the MSG G1 Supercard show comes up, with it being several months away…
From reports of the Dallas, TX Road to G1 Supercard show, Shibata’s students, Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks, and Alex Coughlin are all seemed as really good in the technical aspect, with all their basics down, as they’re being trained with the Japanese New Japan Dojo mentality. Shibata, who is the lead trainer in the US Dojo, has interpreters with him at all time during training…
Matt Sydal’s contract with Impact Wrestling ended January 1st. He should be ready in a couple of months from a minor knee surgery he got last week…
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Post Wrestling has a number of updates regarding people who missed WWE house show events over the weekend:
Seth Rollins is currently dealing with an injury that went down before the Brock Lesnar attack this past Monday. It is reported that he will be off house shows for the time being and won’t be used on Raw this Monday. He is also expected to only do promos with no physicality for the next month.
Sasha Banks wasn’t cleared after her match against Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble, but is expected to be cleared before Raw tomorrow.
AJ Styles is “dinged up”, but should be cleared by Tuesday.
Becky Lynch is selling the storyline knee injury from the Royal Rumble and is off house shows for the time being. It is reported that it’s an angle that will be played out on this week’s television.
WWE’s YouTube stream for Halftime Heat is already up. They will be airing matches from previous NXT events until halftime begins, where the six man tag pitting Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream and Ricochet against Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano will start. This will also stream on Twitter, Facebook, the WWE Network and WWE.com.
Kairi Sane made a surprise appearance last night at WWE’s house show in Vancouver, saving Carmella from an IIconics beatdown. She teamed with Carmella to defeat the duo.
Killian Dain on Twitter: “Last night my tag partners where with Smackdown in Vancouver and my wife with Raw in Regina. Whereas I’m….at home. Was it something I said? #WHEREISSANITY”
Drew McIntyre and King Booker’s Superstar Picks will be added to the WWE Network tomorrow.
PWInsider is reporting that Impact will be taping shows at the 2300 Arena, or the ECW Arena, in May.
AEW talent including Cody, Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks, SCU and Hangman Page are at the Superbowl this afternoon.
Sammy Guevara has been added to CZW’s Best of the Best 18.
UFC/MMA
Amanda Nunes is considering retirement after a potential fight with Holly Holm later this year: “I went home to see my family and stay a little bit with my family and my mom [told me] ‘I think you should retire. [She said] ‘You’ve done everything in the sport already, you’ve got everything you want, you’re double champion and I feel like you should take a little bit. Maybe if you want to fight one more time and take a little break, maybe after a long break come back and fight one more time, but I feel like you should.’ I think [about it] a little bit. We’ll see with this next stage what’s going on.”
Brian Ortega seemed interested in a Jose Aldo fight following his win last night.
RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara expressed interest in partnering with grappling promotion QUINTET in the future.
Anthony Johnson has signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting. Not as a competitor, but what he describes as “fighter relations”. Despite retiring from MMA in 2017, Johnson is still under UFC contract.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
Twenty years after Mankind won the WWF title from The Rock, Halftime Heat is making a return.
WWE has announced that a six-man tag match with wrestlers from NXT will air live on the WWE Network, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, WWE.com, and the WWE app during halftime of next Sunday’s (February 3) Super Bowl. It will be Velveteen Dream, Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano & Adam Cole.
The six-man tag was set up with a brawl that took place after NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. As Ciampa and Gargano were on the stage, Velveteen Dream interrupted them. It led to Cole, Black, and Ricochet getting involved and officials trying to break it up. The brawl spilled to the back and into Gorilla position, with Triple H making an appearance and attempting to settle things down.
It was noted that Shawn Michaels will be doing guest commentary for the match.
The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams are facing off in this year’s Super Bowl. Maroon 5 are headlining the halftime show, with Travis Scott and Big Boi joining them.
The first Halftime Heat aired in 1999 and featured Mankind defeating The Rock in an empty arena match to win the WWF title.
