The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Thursday night’s estimated attendance: 350 people.
– Brennan Williams defeated Freak Beast Nick Comoroto
– Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir defeated Xia Li & Karen Q
– Jermaine Haley (w/ Court Moore) defeated Babatunde via countout
– Keith Lee defeated Samuel Shaw
– Albert Hardie Jr. defeated Trevor Lee
– Deonna Purrazzo defeated Lacey Lane
– Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch defeated Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner
– KUSHIDA defeated Roderick Strong
From the University Area CDC Gymnasium with an estimated attendance of 500
– Albert Hardie Jr. defeated Boa
– Kacy Catanzaro and Lacey Lane defeated Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke
– Shane Thorne defeated Jeet Rama
– Mansoor and Brennan Williams defeated 3.0
– We got an In-ring interview with Robert Strauss who introduced his new team of Riddick Moss and Dan Matha, called The Outliers
– Erik of The Viiking Experience defeated Luke Menzies
– The Street Profits defeated Rinku and Suarav
– NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defeated Jessie
– Keith Lee and Kushida defeated The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish)
Shane Strickland and Garza Jr. are officially WWE bound.
An article on WWE’s website confirmed that Stephon (Shane) Strickland and Humberto Garza (Jr.) are the latest recruits to the Performance Center. Kushida, whose signing was revealed during NXT TakeOver: New York, has also started training at the Performance Center.
Strickland has been an indy standout for some time, most recently working under the WWN umbrella including recent EVOLVE events. In the past, he’s also worked for DEFY, CZW and MLW. He had recently declared himself a free agent after leaving the latter.
Garza Jr. is the nephew of lucha libre and WCW star Hector Garza and the cousin of 205 Live’s Humberto Carrillo. In recent years he has been best known for his run in The Crash, but has also wrestled for AAA, MLW, Pro Wrestling NOAH and the Mexican independent scene.
Kushida is a former NJPW Jr. champion and at one time was considered the ace of the division, winning the championship six times. He left the promotion in January after a losing effort to Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Saturday night’s estimated attendance: 350 people.
– Brennan Williams defeated Jeet Rama
– Reina Gonzalez defeated Kavita Devi
– Danny Burch defeated Brendan Vink
– Riddick Moss, Luke Menzies & Sam Shaw (w/ Robert Strauss) defeated Jeff Parker, Matt Lee & Albert Hardie Jr.
– Punishment Martinez defeated Trevor Lee
– NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler & Jessamyn Duke defeated Candice LeRae & MJ Jenkins
– NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream defeated Dan Matha
– Matt Riddle & KUSHIDA defeated Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly
By Joseph Currier and JJ Williams
Days after being introduced as the newest member of the roster, KUSHIDA made his debut at tonight’s NXT television tapings.
KUSHIDA defeated Kassius Ohno at the tapings. KUSHIDA wore his Marty McFly jacket and silver sunglasses, with there being a 3-2-1 countdown as he emerged through the stage in fog. They had a long match, ending when KUSHIDA hit his Nomo punch and submitted Ohno with the Hoverboard Lock.
KUSHIDA dropped the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Taiji Ishimori at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January. At a press conference after Wrestle Kingdom and New Year Dash, KUSHIDA confirmed that he would be leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling when his contract expired at the end of that month. His farewell match for the company was against Hiroshi Tanahashi on January 29.
In NJPW, KUSHIDA was a star of the junior heavyweight division and held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title six times.
WWE officially announced the signing of KUSHIDA last Friday. He also appeared in the front row at NXT TakeOver: New York.
One of Japan’s best is officially coming stateside.
Just hours before TakeOver New York kicked off Friday, NXT officially announced the signing of former NJPW star Kushida, something that has been known for months.
The contract signing was aired during the TakeOver broadcast and Kushida himself was shown in the crowd following the Velveteen Dream-Matt Riddle match.
The 35-year-old made his name in New Japan rings where over a nine year run, he won six IWGP junior heavyweight titles and two IWGP junior heavyweight tag titles with Alex Shelley. He’s also a two-time winner of the Best of the Super Juniors tourney.
He made his ROH debut in 2013 and was a frequent presence during NJPW’s joint War Of The Worlds shows in the U.S. and Canada. He won the company’s TV title in 2017.
With @TripleH & @RealKingRegal looking on, international Superstar @KUSHIDA_0904 signs his #WWENXT contract! pic.twitter.com/aCaDOCQIrC
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 5, 2019
The latest group of WWE signees have officially reported to the Performance Center.
WWE announced this month’s Performance Center class via Twitter today, which features wrestlers Trevor Lee, ACH, Rachael Ellering, Karen Q, Samuel Shaw, Jonah Rock, Elliot Sexton, Team 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews), and Nick Comoroto.
Former college football players Omari Palmer and Ricardo Miller, who had WWE tryouts last summer, are the two other members of the new Performance Center class.
Lee officially confirmed last month that he had signed with WWE. He finished up with Impact Wrestling in November and had farewells for PWG and AAW this January but still holds the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. ACH also said farewell to AAW last month.
As “Rachel Evers,” Ellering took part in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments. Karen Q was an entrant in last year’s Mae Young Classic as well.
Shaw formerly wrestled for Impact and was involved with the NWA before signing with WWE. Rock and Sexton are both from Australia, and Rock had been a regular for PWG.
3.0 are a tag team from Canada who have also made appearances as enhancement wrestlers for WWE. Comoroto is a graduate of the Monster Factory wrestling school.
NJPW’s Road to the New Beginning tour continued today in front of a reported overflow crowd in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
The main event saw one of the most decorated junior heavyweights in NJPW history, KUSHIDA, say farewell to the promotion in a memorable non-title main event match with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The WWE-bound KUSHIDA is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, as well as a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion.
KUSHIDA also captured the Best of the Super Juniors crown twice, won the Super J-Cup, and won the Super Junior Tag Team Tournament.
Full results and match recaps are below:
REN NARITA DEFEATED YUYA UEMURA (6:25)
A nice opening contest. I think this is the best I’ve seen Uemura look. He showed great intensity, and sold great frustration at taking the loss.
They exchanged holds, backdrops, and dropkicks in the early going. Uemura took a good portion of the match, working over Narita’s lower back and selling his own.
Uemura hit a double underhook suplex for a near fall. Narita hit a belly-to-belly into a bridge for the pinfall win.
MANABU NAKANISHI & HIROYOSHI TENZAN DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & AYATO YOSHIDA (7:31)
Solid match here, with the Young Lions looking good in defeat.
The teams engaged in some pushing and shoving before the opening bell. Once the action started, Nakanishi and Umino locked up. Umino refused to break cleanly against the ropes. He went for a slam, but Nakanishi turned it into a slam of his own.
Yoshida and Tenzan tagged in. They traded strikes, and Tenzan hit some Mongolian chops. Tenzan and Nakanishi hit a double shoulder block. Tenzan hit a Kokeshi, then Nakanishi hit a splash. He covered, but Umino broke up the pin attempt.
Nakanishi chopped away at Yoshida and knocked Umino from the apron. Yoshida fired back with chops and an enzuigiri, then tagged Umino. Umino hit running back elbows in the corner on both Nakanishi and Tenzan, then hit Nakanishi with a slam and got a two count.
Nakanishi hit a spear, and Tenzan and Yoshida tagged in. Yoshida knocked down Tenzan, then kicked Nakanishi off the apron. Yoshida hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Yoshida hit a mid kick, but ran into a Mountain Bomb.
Yoshida hit big boots on Nakanishi and Tenzan. The match broke down and all four jumped in. Nakanishi and Tenzan hit a combination facebuster for a near fall. Nakanishi racked Umino, while Tenzan used an Anaconda Vice on Yoshida for the submission.
TAIJI ISHIMORI & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & TOA HENARE (8:51)
Taguchi had his serious working boots on tonight. He saved his comedy for the pre-match, for the most part.
Ishimori and Taguchi kicked things off. They traded arm drags. Taguchi hit a hip attack, sending Ishimori outside. Both tagged out. A nice opening sequence.
Henare and Yujiro came in and the pace slowed considerably. Henare hit a tackle. Yujiro and Ishimori used an illegal double team, allowing Yujiro to hit a low dropkick. They traded chops. Yujiro hit a yakuza kick and covered, but Taguchi broke up the pin attempt.
Ishimori tagged in and hit some knee strikes. Henare hit a clothesline in the corner, then hit a Samoan drop. Taguchi got a tag and hit hip attacks on Ishimori and Yujiro. Taguchi hit a springboard plancha to the floor, then a springboard hip attack in the ring.
Ishimori came back with a seated senton. Taguchi used a standing switch and rolled into an ankle lock. Ishimori broke the hold, then hit a handspring enzuigiri.
Henare and Yujiro tagged back in. Henare hit a diving shoulder block, then a sloppy Samoan drop for a two count.
The match broke down. Taguchi jumped in with a rugby ball. Ishimori hit a pump kick. Taguchi hit a hip attack. Henare hit a spear for a near fall on Yujiro. Yujiro reversed a brainbuster attempt into a fisherman buster for a near fall, then used a DDT for the pin on Henare.
TOGI MAKABE, TORU YANO & TOMOAKI HONMA DEFEATED TAMA TONGA, TANGA LOA & CHASE OWENS (10:24)
Loa and Makabe brawled to a stalemate at the outset. Tonga and Honma entered, and they did some comedy based on Tonga’s pretending to be a good guy now. Tonga would hit a move and then apologize to Honma. This was pretty funny and the crowd loved the shtick.
They got the heat on Honma, which is pretty much the blueprint for all Honma matches now. Honma and Loa traded clotheslines, and Yano and Tonga got tags. Yano untied a corner pad. Tonga tried to put it back on, while Yano untied another pad. Yano hit a back elbow and tagged Makabe.
Tonga missed a splash in the corner, allowing Makabe to hit ten punches in the corner. Makabe hit a northern lights suplex, bridging into a pinfall attempt. Owens and Loa jumped in for the illegal triple team. Honma and Owens jumped in to even the odds.
Owens went for a package piledriver on Makabe, but Makabe escaped. Makabe got sent into the referee, who took a bump. The Bullet Club triple-teamed Makabe with the ref down. Yano and Honma jumped in. Honma went for a Kokeshi on Owens, but Jado hit him with a kendo stick.
Makabe hit a double lariat on Tonga and Loa. Honma hit a Kokeshi on Owens, and Makabe hit Owens with the King Kong Knee Drop for the upset win.
SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE & BAD LUCK FALE DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA & YOSHI-HASHI (11:53)
A good match with a lot of heat.
Bullet Club jumped Okada and YH before the bell. Fale and Okada brawled on the floor. White joined them, and he attacked Okada with chops. Okada got sent into the barricade, allowing White and Fale to focus on YH in the ring.
White repeatedly sent YH into the barricade and into the ring frame. Okada made it back to the apron, while White hit a back elbow on YH for a two count. Fale tagged in and worked over YH near the ropes. Okada jumped in for the save, but Fale fought him off, then tagged White.
White used a chinlock. YH missed an enzuigiri, then finally hit a spin kick and was able to make a tag. Okada hit a running back elbow on White. Fale jumped in, and Okada nailed him with a DDT. Okada hit a flapjack on White, picking up a two count.
Okada went to the top for an elbow, but White popped up. White used a Saito suplex, then tagged Fale. Okada sold his neck. Okada and Fale exchanged strikes. Okada fired up and hit a series of strikes, but Fale hit him with a backdrop.
Okada went for a hangman’s DDT or a guillotine, but Fale turned it into a slam. Fale went for the Bad Luck Fall, but Okada backdropped out of it and tagged YH. YH hit a headhunter, a corner lariat, and a superkick. He hit a blockbuster off the top.
White jumped in and teased a blade runner, but Okada hit him with a dropkick. Fale used the distraction to hit a splash, but YH kicked out.
Fale went for a grenade, but YH hit a codebreaker. YH hit two lariats. He went for a third, but Fale countered with a lariat. Fale hit a Grenade and got the pin.
Okada jumped in after the bell, but Fale hit him with a Grenade as well. Fale went for a Bad Luck Fall on Okada, but the ringside Young Lions jumped in for the save.
TETSUYA NAITO, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, ZACK SABRE JR., TAICHI, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & EL DESPERADO (16:43)
This was really good. Lots of crazy brawling, and the crowd was into it from beginning to end.
LIJ attacked Suzuki-gun before the bell, in a nice break from tradition. There was a wild brawl around ringside, while Sabre and EVIL grappled in the ring. Sabre used a wristlock, but EVIL slipped out and hit some strikes.
Sabre and EVIL used a flurry of reversals and counters, then tagged Suzuki and SANADA. SANADA went for the paradise lock, but Suzuki would not allow it. They traded forearms. SANADA took the Flair corner bump and went for a springboard, but Suzuki cut him off and used an armbar over the ropes.
The match broke down into a crazy brawl, with Taichi going after Naito. He hit him with a chair, then dragged him into the crowd. Suzuki attacked SANADA with a sign and a guardrail, leaving him laying in the crowd. They teased a countout, but SANADA made it back in at 19.
Desperado got a tag. He made an immediate cover, but SANADA kicked out. SANADA got sent back outside, and Suzuki and Sabre worked over his left arm. Back inside, Desperado hit a back elbow for a two count.
Kanemaru tagged in and continued working over SANADA, focusing on the left arm. Sabre got a tag and torqued on the arm. Suzuki got a tag and did the same. The guys not in the match continued to brawl on the outside.
Suzuki and SANADA traded forearm strikes. SANADA hit a dragon screw, then a second rope dropkick. Naito and Taichi tagged in. Naito hit a dropkick in the middle, then another in the corner. Taichi grabbed the referee, and they teased a ref bump. Naito hit a tornado DDT.
Shingo and Kanemaru got tags. Desperado jumped in for a double team, but Shingo fought him off. Kanemaru went for a DDT, but Shingo escaped. Shingo teased the pumping bomber, but he had to settle for a brainbuster.
BUSHI tagged in, and Shingo and BUSHI hit a double team backstabber. Desperado speared BUSHI, while Kanemaru hit a dropkick to Shingo’s knee. Kanemaru hit BUSHI with Deep Impact, but SANADA and Naito came in for the save. BUSHI hit a swinging neckbreaker, then tagged EVIL.
EVIL knocked Sabre off the apron, then hit a lariat. EVIL hit Darkness Falls on Kanemaru for a near fall. Everyone jumped in and delivered a move. Taichi took his pants off. Naito hit Taichi with a low blow, then a Destino.
Shingo hit a pumping bomber on Kanemaru, and EVIL hit him with Everything is EVIL for the pin.
Naito attacked Taichi after the match. He sent him into the barricade. He teased hitting him with the microphone stand but backed off.
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED KUSHIDA IN A NON-TITLE MATCH (23:35)
KUSHIDA got a hero’s welcome. They passed out thank you signs to the crowd, everyone held them high. A KUSHIDA chant broke out before Tana’s music played.
KUSHIDA shot for a takedown, but Tana backed off. He went for a low kick, but Tana evaded that as well. KUSHIDA shot again, but Tana grabbed a front facelock. KUSHIDA slipped out. They locked up with a knuckle lock. Tana had the power edge, but KUSHIDA was able to bridge, avoiding a pinfall attempt.
KUSHIDA slipped to a front facelock of his own. He tied up Tana’s leg, but Tana slipped back to a front facelock. KUSHIDA slid out of the hold and rolled to the floor to collect himself.
They tied up in the center of the ring. Tana drove KUSHIDA to the mat, maintaining the tie-up. KUSHIDA powered up and sent Tana to the ropes. KUSHIDA broke cleanly, but quickly grabbed a single-leg takedown. Tana hooked an arm, but KUSHIDA tied him up, floated over, and hooked an arm. Tana kept his hands together, blocking an armbar attempt.
Tana floated over and tied up KUSHIDA’s legs. He used an inverted leglock and cranked on the legs, but KUSHIDA reached the ropes, forcing a break. KUSHIDA went after Tana’s legs, but Tana quickly took control again, and went after KUSHIDA’s left leg. Tana hooked the leg over the ropes, and he attacked it with kicks.
KUSHIDA fired back with slaps, and used a sliding kick to go after Tana’s legs again. Tana came back and posted KUSHIDA’s legs, which actually elicited some boos from the crowd.
Tana went for a dragon screw, but KUSHIDA fought it off, and hit a Pele kick. KUSHIDA hit a series of kicks, then hit a handspring back elbow. KUSHIDA missed a Buzzsaw Kick, but grabbed a waistlock. KUSHIDA bounced out and hit a cartwheel dropkick.
Tana blocked a DDT attempt. He went for a cloverleaf, but KUSHIDA turned it into a small package for a near fall. KUSHIDA hit a German suplex, then followed with a Buzzsaw Kick for a two count.
KUSHIDA went for a slam, but his leg gave out. Tana hit an inverted dragon screw, then another. They traded strikes from a kneeling position. Back on their feet, they exchanged short elbows. KUSHIDA hit a series of kicks to the back of Tana’s left leg.
KUSHIDA hit a running dropkick to the left arm, hoping to soften it up for a Hoverboard Lock. KUSHIDA hooked the left arm, but Tana grabbed the damaged left leg and hit a dragon screw.
Tana missed a charge into the corner. KUSHIDA hit an enzuigiri, then applied the Hoverboard Lock. KUSHIDA transitioned to an armbar on Tana’s right arm. Tana was in the hold briefly, but was able to clasp his hands together. He used the position to attempt a cloverleaf, but KUSHIDA prevented it and again slipped to the Hoverboard. Tana was able to keep his hands clasped, preventing the hold from full effect.
Tana turned a back to the future attempt into a twist and shout, then hit a slingblade. Tana hit a standing High Fly Flow. He went to the top for another, but KUSHIDA got his knees up. KUSHIDA hit Back to the Future for a near fall.
KUSHIDA kicked at the left arm. He again went for the Hoverboard Lock. Tana kept his hands together, but KUSHIDA kept the hold locked in. Tana finally powered out, then used a straightjacket German into a bridge for a near fall.
Tana hooked on the cloverleaf in the center of the ring, and KUSHIDA tapped.
Tana embraced KUSHIDA after the bell.
As they were down on the mat, Jay White ran in with a chair and attacked Tanahashi. He hit a chair shot to the back. He placed a chair around the right leg of Tanahashi, then Pillmanized it with another chair. White posed with Tanahashi’s title before leaving.
Tana was helped out, but again embraced KUSHIDA on his way to the back.
KUSHIDA then cut a promo, thanking Tanahashi for showing him what wrestling was. KUSHIDA thanked the fans for the last eight years in NJPW, and he said he’ll never forget this night. He said his new journey is beginning and thanked the fans. He bowed to the crowd, then slapped hands and hugged fans on his way to the back.
KUSHIDA’s final match with New Japan will be against the top heavyweight in the promotion: IWGP heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The match will take place during The Road to New Beginning tour that will take place on January 29 at Korakuen Hall, just a few days before KUSHIDA’s contract with New Japan expires. It isn’t known where he is headed, but Dave Meltzer reported last month that WWE had interest in signing KUSHIDA.
Other highlights of The Road to New Beginning tour include elimination matches between the Los Ingobernables de Japon and Suzuki-gun stables that will take place on 1/28 at Korakuen Hall and 2/7 in Aichi.
A rematch from New Year Dash will also take place, as NEVER six man tag team champions Guerrillas of Destiny and Taiji Ishimori take on Togi Makabe, Toru Yano and Ryusuke Taguchi on 1/30 in Miyagi. On the same card, BUSHI will take on El Desperado and Shingo Takagi will face Yoshinobu Kanemaru in singles bouts.
KUSHIDA is officially leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling.
It was announced at tonight’s post-Wrestle Kingdom 13 press conference that KUSHIDA will be departing NJPW after his contract expires on January 31. KUSHIDA made an appearance at the press conference and, without directly revealing what his next destination is, spoke about his decision.
“As Sugabayashi said, I will leave NJPW on January 31,” KUSHIDA said (translations via Chris Charlton). “This was an extremely tough [decision] made with Meij, Sugabayashi and Kidani [NJPW management]. It was a very big decision in my life and I’m thankful they understood. I will head overseas to see the world of pro wrestling.
“I have been here in NJPW for 8 years. I was surprised at the scale of the business when I first came in and proud of being able to work here. The warm reception and words from the fans made me who I am and I am so grateful to them.”
Though he got emotional during the press conference, KUSHIDA said he wasn’t sad to be making his decision and said he was crying “happy tears.”
“If there was anything left for me to achieve and do, I wouldn’t be leaving,” KUSHIDA said. “But I’ll put my all in this last month. There’s been a lot of people who have influenced me over these 8 years. Liger, Tana. Shibata, Makabe, Tiger Hattori. They all enjoy wrestling.”
KUSHIDA has been one of the top stars in NJPW’s junior heavyweight division over the last several years. He lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Taiji Ishimori at Wrestle Kingdom 13. At New Year Dash the next night, Will Ospreay pinned KUSHIDA in a six-man tag match.
Dave Meltzer reported last month that WWE was interested in signing KUSHIDA.
Ring of Honor’s Global Wars tour began in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday night.
This was a low-stakes house show. The gymnasium was clearly half-empty on camera, but the crowd was enthusiastic throughout the night. Only the Matt Taven-Dalton Castle angle was furthered to build Final Battle.
Two of the matches (The Briscoes vs. Cody & Hangman Page and Silas Young & Bully Ray vs. The Young Bucks) were interrupted by streaming issues and/or power outage issues in the town of Lewiston, according to Ian Riccaboni. Viewers were not able to see the finish of the Young & Ray vs. Young Bucks match
A small but excited crowd were on their feet at the start of this show. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary tonight. They introduced the card.
Rookie Eli Isom came out with Cheeseburger and Ryan Nova. Gordon got a noticeable pop from this Wednesday night crowd. Cabana brought up the “bird incident” from the Jericho Cruise last week.
Gordon and Isom began the match with a smooth set of chain wrestling and rope-running sequences. Gordon hit a great looking dropkick to Isom in the corner. He followed up with his nip-up Pele kick spots, finishing the sequence with a tope con giro.
Back in the ring, the two traded chops. Gordon’s one-foot dropkick is real pretty. Isom was pushed on commentary as a promising rookie. He didn’t look bad here. Isom hit a nice backdrop suplex onto Gordon. They did a wild spot that consisted of Gordon nipping up off the apron, a jump enzuigiri kick, and them rolling back into the ring for another kicking sequence. It was all at lightning speed, and the crowd was on their feet after this.
Isom’s suplexes are solid; he used a nice wheelbarrow German suplex for two at one point. Gordon responded with a Falcon Arrow, and later a springboard spear, before finally hitting a Flip 5 for the win. The two shook hands and posed afterwards.
A quick but satisfying opening match. These guys had great chemistry together, but Gordon was the obvious star meant to shine here.
The New Age Out–I mean SoCal Uncensored came out and did their pre-match promo work in the ring. They were very over with the crowd. The gymnasium looked empty on some camera shots but the fans down in front were enthusiastic, mitigating any embarrassing camera work.
The match itself was mostly fun old school-styled tag team wrestling. The Bouncers played big bully heels, and Beer City Bruiser did a few high spots to the outside.
There was a mildly funny moment where the ref accused Bruiser of biting. The camera zoomed in just as he said “I don’t have no teeth!”
Cabana said “Oh, mylanta” at one point during this match.
The Bouncers abused Kazarian for a long while. Sky broke up a number of near falls. The pace was slowed toward the end of this match because the Bouncers aren’t athletic. It weighed the match down. Milonas is impressive to a point but is very slow.
Sky and Kazarian powerbombed Milonas off the top rope to win the match. The teams shared beers afterwards.
Cheeseburger came out with Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. The two shook hands before the bell.
The story was clear from the start of this bout: Cobb is massive and strong, Cheeseburger is wily, scrawny, and tenacious. Cobb rag-dolled Cheeseburger around the ring and it felt more like an exhibition than a contest for a lot of it.
A big, long bear hug spot, a bigger dropkick, and an insane dangling vertical superplex from Cobb to Cheeseburger all got just two.
Cheeseburger countered a few of Cobb’s moves and was able to use a Shotei in the corner, then a springboard cannonball senton for a pity two-count.
Cobb used a tremendous spinning backdrop suplex, then hit Tour of the Islands for the win.
A fine match that was more like an enhancement match for Cobb. The crowd seemed to enjoy it.
Rhett Titus came out before the match. He posed, then joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana on commentary.
It sounded like it was a surprise to the announce team that this had been scheduled to be for the Six-Man titles. Bobby Cruise announced it as such, though.
The crowd was into Castle and chanted for him before the match started. Marseglia attacked one of the Boys before the bell. While Castle screamed about the Boys’ bags to the referee, Taven and O’Ryan attacked. The bell finally rang.
This was chaotic from the start. Taven and company pounded on Castle with flurries of punches and kicks in the corner. O’Ryan worked over Castle’s injured back. Castle is still taped up around his left thigh, has a weight belt, and has some other serious looking knee compression gear.
O’Ryan did a cool running spot with the Boys. He carried one Boy in powerslam position and swung one Boy at the other.
The Boys did a flashy double stomp spot, then a wild nonstop sequence of “topes” that were basically just Castle taking the guys by the hair and repeatedly tossing them over the ropes onto The Kingdom.
Three red balloons flew up in the air at this point in the match.
Castle used a Bang-a-Rang on Marseglia for a near fall. Later, Taven countered out of another Bang-a-Rang attempt and booted Castle hard in the face.
One of the Boys came back into the ring wearing a rugby sweater. He was acting like Freddy Krueger and started back-raking Marseglia with his “claw.” He did a number of cool spots, like a standing Sliced Bread, and then Castle screamed “What have you become?” at the Boy, who then snapped out of it.
Taven and Castle squared off and did a Frye-Takayama punching spot all the way to the floor. The two other Kingdom members did a special tag team finisher — a modified double powerslam thing — on one of the Boys for the win here.
Taven cut a good promo on Castle. He claimed he owns this Kingdom of New England, and that he’ll get to him at Final Battle soon. The crowd booed without fire.
This match did its job. It built Taven and Castle for Final Battle, which could be better than people may expect.
The camera got an excellent shot of a very excited Briscoes fan, someone’s mother, I imagine, hopping up and down before the match.
Mark Briscoe tossed a chair into the ring for no apparent reason. The crowd woke up for this.
Mark and Page started off the match. There was a presence that all four wrestlers carry with them into this match that is very different from the wrestlers I watched in the matches before. Their body shape and size stood out, along with the conviction in the way they got into each other’s faces and locked heads.
The way Cody would rile the crowd up was something worth mentioning. His ring instincts are so attuned to the crowd regardless of what the plan is.
The ROH feed cut out in the middle of this match. The ROH logo spun around for a few minutes until it came back to the match. Riccaboni explained that the power in the building went out and that’s why the stream went out.
The match stayed on track in the building, with the crowd fiercely behind the newly-anointed Elite members (Elitists?). When the stream came back, Cody was in the middle of a hot high spot sequence inside the ring. It was eventually slowed to a halt, with both Jay and Mark Briscoe showcasing their unsung talent as vicious heels who are mostly always exciting to watch.
Page got a hot tag into the match later on. He and Jay traded a lot of punches and elbows and they really laid them into each other.
Page used a Shooting Star shoulder block off the apron, essentially out of nowhere, onto Mark on the floor. He hopped back into the ring and German suplexed Jay for only two.
Jay and Page brawled on the outside, and Cody and Mark got into the mix. Back in the ring, the Briscoes used the Redneck Boogie powerbomb/neckbreaker combination on Cody for a two count.
They exchanged uppercuts and straight right punches. Brandi Rhodes stood on the apron and was quickly knocked off it by Mark. There was some chaos outside the ring, which was capped off by a huge moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the outside.
This turned into a wild, fast-paced brawl in and outside the ring. Jay used the Jay Driller and then Mark smashed Page with a Froggy Bow for the win.
Despite the technical difficulties in the middle of this match, this was very much worth the watch. The Briscoes are having an under-the-radar type year of very good to excellent matches in various promotions. They are a great heel matchup with any of the Elite members, and this was all without a real storyline.
If there was a just a hair of narrative between these two teams, aside from the lightly touched upon history Riccaboni mentioned over the broadcast, it could make for a very hot two to three month program in either the United States or in Japan. Keep an eye out for matches featuring any combination of these four.
Riccaboni put Robinson over as an international star. The wrestlers shook hands before the match started. The crowd seemed split over Daniels and Juice. I’d say 60/40 in Robinson’s favor.
This was a well-paced match, organic and smooth in every exchange. Daniels slowed things down for a while for a chinlock, but not to the levels of stagnancy often seen in some WWE matches. Daniels later used an Arabian press on Robinson for two.
People sounded to have sided more strongly with Robinson as the match went on. They did more back and forth, with one sequence of Robinson firing up. They fought to a double knockdown spot until Robinson headed to the top turnbuckle and Daniels crotched him onto the ropes.
After a long-ish lull in the match, Robinson started doing the Terry Funk/Dusty Rhodes cowboy punches. He tried Pulp Friction a few times and eventually landed it for the win.
This was good but not great, everything the sixth match on a Wednesday night card should probably be.
Bully Ray came out to only boos. He screamed at ring announcer Bobby Cruise to shut up and was generally bully-ish. As he should be. He and Matt Taven were the most loudly booed wrestlers of the night so far.
People threw ribbons in the ring for the Bucks before the match. Bully Ray was very, very loud. He did a lot of crowd work here; he screamed “Your heroes SUCK!” at someone in the crowd. It was all very house show-ish, charming in its aesthetic.
The Bucks finally were able to tope their way onto the offense. Young was the pawn in the match, the way to let the Bucks shine without devaluing Ray as a heel.
As the match slowed, the heels took over. The crowd began chanting “Yankees suck!”
Matt Jackson used a spear on Bully Ray. Young put Matt into a Boston crab, working his storyline-injured back. Nick came into the ring with energy and made a few attempts to connect with the crowd after doing some of his signature moves to Young.
Young used a handful of power moves on Nick Jackson, including an Anarchy suplex. Nick was able to turn things around quickly with a couple of superkicks and a moonsault from the apron onto Bully Ray outside of the ring.
More superkicks inside the ring, and just as things were getting exciting, the stream went out again. The ROH logo spun around Windows 98 screensaver style for a couple of minutes until the feed came back and, apparently, Silas Young pinned one of the Bucks to win the match for his team.
Between the matches, Riccaboni explained that there may have been a power outage issue in Lewiston tonight and apologized for the other stream outage.
LIJ were introduced one by one, each of them in full character garb. The crowd roared for Naito. They looked like absolute superstars tonight, with a visual charisma that carries across the screen in an almost jarring way.
His name is “Constellation” Chris Sabin now. Colt Cabana was as surprised as you and I were about this because he found out when we did. “Constellation’s” hair is in currently at AJ Styles soccer-mom length.
Gresham and Naito started the match. Naito looked gigantic compared to Gresham. He quickly tagged out, rudo style, allowing for SANADA to enter.
The crowd started chanting “Sa-Na-Da!” He had a fun but forgettable exchange with Gresham. EVIL and Sabin had it out for a bit in the ring. EVIL was popular with the crowd and received loud chants.
Sabin and KUSHIDA did some good tag work to EVIL. Lethal and Gresham double-teamed EVIL for a while and showed off some of the offense they’re using together these days as a semi-regular tag team. Gresham worked over EVIL’s arm and elbow.
Naito stepped in by tripping KUSHIDA, allowing for SANADA to dropkick KUSHIDA in the face. LIJ dominated from here, using a strategy of two wrestlers standing on the apron and two seemingly guarding the area around the ring, something we see much more in Japan than in the States.
Naito and later BUSHI finally showed up in the ring. A BUSHIroonie happened. Fans rallied behind KUSHIDA minutes later, but he wasn’t able to escape SANADA’s Paradise Lock and shotgun dropkick to the posterior.
KUSHIDA fired up and used a handspring back elbow. He was able to tag Lethal back into the ring. Lethal cleaned house and soaked in some of the louder crowd reactions of the night.
The ROH/NJPW team did a triple plancha spot. SANADA did a slingshot swinging neckbreaker suplex to Lethal.
BUSHI and Gresham worked well together. I found it fresh since BUSHI was the big guy. He’s usually a few kilos lighter than whomever he’s in the match with in NJPW matches, so this matchup felt like it could lead to something new or interesting.
The finishing sequence consisted of Lethal hitting a Lethal Injection on BUSHI, then EVIL using Darkness Falls on Lethal, and finally Naito using Destino on Gresham for the win.
This was a good match but, again, not a great one. It felt like a warm-up match, a match where some of the guys who haven’t worked with each other much before (BUSHI and Gresham, for example) can feel each other out and plan a tighter set for the bigger shows this weekend.
It was announced that due to an injury, Taiji Ishimori is off tonight’s show. The opening tag match is now a singles bout between Yota Tsuji and Robbie Eagles.
Robbie Eagles defeated Yota Tsuji
Eagles was in control for a lot of the match. The size difference was real — Tsuji definately has size. Tsuji cut off Eagles with a dropkick. He fired back with punches, but Eagles grabbed him and pinned him with what I would describe as a snapmare into a falcon arrow. Okay match.
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask and Tomoaki Honma defeated Volador Jr., Soberano Jr. and Ren Narita
This turned into a pretty good match. Narita worked a lot of the match, either being in control or selling and looked good in doing both. He and Honma worked a lot of the match together. Narita rolled up him for a big near fall, but Honma took him down and applied an STF for the submission win.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado defeated ACH and Shota Umino
Much like the previous match, Umino worked a lot of this bout. Maybe it was because he was working Desperado and Kanemaru here, but he seems to be a bit bigger than usual. Umino managed to escape from a Kanemaru camel clutch. ACH finally made a hot tag, then tagged back in Umino, who scored several nearfalls but fell to a stretch muffler.
Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Ayato Yoshida
Tetsuya Naito arrived with the LIJ pair and observed the bout in the crowd. Taguchi worked a lot of this match and looked great. Yoshida came in and worked with Takagi. Takagi hit a lariat and a gory bomb for a nearfall. Takagi then finished off Yoshida pumping bomber for the win. Pretty much the same formula as the other matches on the card so far.
Naito left the crowd and joined up with both BUSHI and Takagi after the match.
Tomohiro Ishii and Rocky Romero defeated Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku
Ishii and Suzuki continued the brawling they’ve done all tour outside of the ring while Romero and Michinoku worked in the ring. Ishii and Suzuki continued to brawl around the arena and finally found themselves in the ring. This match is gonna be wild on Saturday. Suzuki went for the Gotch piledriver. Ishii escaped and countered with a side suplex.
Michinoku and Romero were tagged back in, where they traded near falls until Romero countered a crossface with a la magistral cradle for the surprise win. This was fun.
Once again, Ishii and Suzuki had to be seperated from one another after the match.
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toa Henare
One spot during the match had Owens going to the top rope, teasing he was going to do the high fly flow, but Henare caught him with a boot instead as he jumped off the top rope. Heels continued to get heat on Henare. Tanahashi did get a hot tag, but this crowd was dead for most of the show and the match never really got going except for the last few minutes of the match. Henare tagged back in and eventually fell to the package piledriver by Owens.
SHO & YOH defeated KUSHIDA and Chris Sabin
KUSHIDA and YOH started things off with some chain wrestling. SHO entered but was also taken down by KUSHIDA. Both he and Sabin worked on SHO’s arm. YOH is tagged in and starts to gain the upper hand, but gets cut off by the other team’s, well, teamwork, being taken out with a doomsday device dropkick.
SHO starts taking Sabin out with German suplexes but KUSHIDA catches him. Both he and Sabin kick SHO while his feet were resting on the referee with a cool spot. KUSHIDA misses a moonsault and somehow all four men are down. Sabin starts attacking both but out of nowhere they manage to connect with the 3K, YOH pinning Sabin for the win. This was fine but had no real heat at all. Never felt like it really went to the next level either.
So that makes it a three way tie between Roppongi 3K, Desperado & Kanemaru and BUSHI & Shingo Takagi. After some initial confusion, the announcer said that it would be a three way match at Power Struggle. The other two teams made their way to the ring. Desperado ran down both teams after the match. He promised to win clean.
BUSHI took the mic after, saying they’ll get payback for their loss. Romero then promised that 3K would beat up both teams at Power Struggle.
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Gedo defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Beretta and Chuckie T
Bullet Club worked on Beretta for a good while, teasing a tag to Okada until he finally escapes and tags him in. Okada used the dragon screw on Fale, which is interesting given Okada and Tanahashi’s recent relationship change. Best Friends and Yano get their shine in. Okada comes in and bodyslams Fale and dropkicks Tama Tonga.
Chuckie T came in and missed a moonsault. He and White fought as he blocked a low blow. Gedo came in and blasted Chuckie with brass knuckles. White connected with the bladerunner, and that was it. A solid main event.
White and Okada went at it after the match, eventually being seperated. White mouthed off and walked to the back, but Okada ran after him and brawled in the aisle. White beat up some young lions then leaves. Okada grabbed the mic and promised that White would meet a rainmaker at Power Struggle.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman called the action on this week’s episode, which was taped in Las Vegas at the end of September.
Page, who has been on a roll, took it to Sky early. Page put a hurting on Sky and launched him head-first into the ring post on the outside.
After the break, Sky had regained his composure and had the edge until Page caught a crossbody block and turned it into a slam. Page connected with a running dropkick into the corner, a cradle fallaway slam, and a bridging German suplex, but only got a two count.
Sky fought back and used an inside-out slingshot cutter that nearly won him the match, but Page kicked out. He followed it up with a variation of the fisherman’s suplex. Page broke free and went for the Buckshot lariat, but Sky countered with a roll-up. Page nailed him with a kick and was able to hoist him up and land the Rite of Passage for the win.
Matt Taven and The Kingdom continued their degradation of the ROH World Champion Jay Lethal and his “fake” title.
In a complete show of disrespect, Taylor spit in Isom’s palm. However, Isom was not intimidated. He started off hot until Taylor blasted him with a punch, which set up a draping stunner. Taylor slapped Isom with a thunderous chop, which led to the commercial break.
It was all Taylor until he missed a big splash. That allowed Isom to come back with jumping forearms, and amazingly he was able to pick the big man up onto his shoulders and hit a Samoan drop. Taylor kicked out, but Isom turned it up a notch. His fury didn’t last long as Taylor ended his efforts with a Greetings from the 216 for the pin.
After the match, Taylor continued the attack until Cheeseburger came to the rescue. Burger’s save was thwarted as he too took the Greetings from the 216. Undeterred, Flip Gordon came to the ring with a chair and laid out Taylor. He grabbed a microphone and called out Bully Ray, and said he was open to any stipulation match.
Bully responded and told Gordon that he’d make a deal. Both he and Gordon would pick a representative to have a match next week, and if Gordon’s man beats Bully’s man, then Gordon gets to do whatever he wants to Bully. If Bully’s man wins, Bully can do whatever he wants to Gordon.
Silas Young will be the man to grapple on Bully’s behalf. Gordon did not announce a selection.
Kenny King came out to help call the main event.
Mutual respect was shown by all four to begin the match. Liger used his patented offense, but Gresham hung with him. Lethal tagged in and went toe-to-toe with Liger as well. A blind tag from Gresham allowed him to snap off a German suplex on the legendary Liger.
Lethal and Gresham attacked the lower back of Liger as they cut off the ring and used some double-team attacks until Liger was able to battle back. Liger made the tag to KUSHIDA, who propelled into the ring and went to work using some of Lethal’s own offensive moves to get the advantage. A pinfall exchange with Gresham took us to the final commercial break.
After the break, Liger used his elevated surfboard and KUSHIDA used an armbar for a double submission attempt. KUSHIDA used an interesting hammerlock and octopus on Gresham. KUSHIDA and Gresham exchanged submission holds until Gresham tagged in Lethal.
Lethal hit the Lethal Combination on KUSHIDA and went for the Lethal Injection, but KUSHIDA kicked him in the head as he was inverted. KUSHIDA tagged in Liger, who used the rolling heel kick on Lethal.
The match then broke down into a melee. Gresham hit a running knee off the apron, taking out KUSHIDA. Inside the ring, Lethal finally was able to hit the Lethal Injection on Liger for the pinfall finish.
We began with commentators Kevin Kelly and Andy Boy Simmonz doing a sports-style introduction from ringside. They talked about the main event and hyped the appearance of “The Dominator” Great O-Kharn with accompanied graphics.
In a move right out of UFC, Kelly talked over a graphic that listed the rules of pro wrestling, going as far as explaining what pinfalls and countouts are. A great opening that established the sports-feel of the program, and made a conscious effort to explain the sport to new fans.
This was a fun opener with these two working well. While Brookes often works at a sprint, here Liger controlled much of the match with grappling, including an early Gory Special. Brookes would gain the initiative as they brawled outside following Liger hitting a cannonball on the outside.
In a rare instance of heel work from Brookes, he used the ring apron to trap Liger’s head so he could stomp on it. Liger would ultimately win with a brainbuster.
There was a display of sportsmanship between the two before Brookes kicked Liger low. He then tried to take Liger’s mask off, with El Phantasmo running in to scare him off.
Advertising Break
Lord Gideon Grey came out. Dressed in a sharp three-piece suit, he combines the standard aristocratic gimmick with the sense that there’s something not quite right about him. Think Lord Steven Regal crossed with George “The Animal” Steele. He announced that he has acquired the services of The Great O-Kharn.
This was a complete squash, with The Great O-Kharn just dismantling his opponent. Tomoyuki Oka debuted with this gimmick at Strong Style Evolved UK, and he certainly seems much more comfortable with it now than he did back then. He won with the iron claw slam.
Afterwards, Grey stole the microphone to announce his charge as the victor.
They then aired promo shots of Zack Sabre Jr. and KUSHIDA posing to continue the hype for the main event.
Kelly explained that O-Kharn’s opponent was part of Revolution Pro Wrestling’s contenders division, and that he was now joined by another example of that division, Dan Magee. They did a deliberately stilted interview before Sha Samuels interrupted. He pushed Magee out of the way, ranting to Kelly about being a former British Heavyweight Champion and having signed a huge contract to return.
Samuels literally shoved the contract at Kelly. Magee was hovering behind Samuels and Kelly, doing a good job of selling his annoyance at the situation, and ultimately interjected to tell Samuels to leave Kelly alone. Samuels then suckerpunched Magee, and they had a short brawl before security broke it up. This was a really good angle in which Samuels came across as a bigger star in three minutes than he did in three months of World of Sport.
They then threw to a pre-recorded interview between Andy Boy Simmonz and Colt Cabana from the balcony of York Hall. In a segment that spliced in archive footage of Cabana’s previous matches in RevPro, they talked about why Cabana is a fan of British pro wrestling, has traveled the world, and how he’s a former British Heavyweight Champion. They then announced that Cabana will be in action next week. Nothing complicated, but an effective tease for a match.
Advertising Break
Before the match, there was again another nod to UFC, as they brought a “tale of the tape” style graphic. Simmonz predicted that ZSJ will win.
They had a very good match that went almost 20 minutes, with Sabre winning by submitting KUSHIDA with Orienteering With Napalm Death after countering an attempted bridging pin. During the match, it was confirmed that Chris Brookes would face El Phantasmo next week.
This match very much conformed to Sabre’s formula in New Japan, with him dominating on the ground — but ultimately getting goaded into a striking exchange. There were fun grappling exchanges throughout, with KUSHIDA repeatedly trying for the armbar. From early on in the match, Chris Ridgeway came out to watch from the entrance ramp, and while he didn’t interfere, Sabre’s patronizing reaction to him afterwards hinted at a future match to come.
The show ended with Sabre walking to the back.
The wrestling was good throughout, while the pacing and format made it a very easy show to watch. York Hall looked great, which speaks to the return on investment of bringing in a specialized production company considering that RevPro is often being criticized for RPW On Demand’s production values.
There were a few issues with the sound, with the sound of the entrance music being captured over the live microphones, which made it challenging to mix the sound so you could hear the music and the commentators. This did seem to get better throughout the show, so maybe it can be explained as an example of teething problems.
The commentary team were good throughout, with Simmonz playing the heel well. One note is that the UFC-style presentation would work even better if Simmonz could provide more technical rationales for why he predicts certain outcomes. Likewise, while they did a really good job of setting up things for next week, throwing back to Kelly and Simmonz so they can do a hard sell for next week’s episode would be a good idea.
But these are minor issues. This was not just a great British pro wrestling television show, but a great pro wrestling show full stop.
Two more wrestlers from NJPW have been confirmed for November’s ROH Global Wars tour.
ROH announced today that KUSHIDA will be wrestling at the four Global Wars shows in November. BUSHI has also been added to the tour, with him joining fellow Los Ingobernables de Japon members Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, and SANADA.
Earlier this week, Juice Robinson was also announced for the Global Wars tour.
KUSHIDA last appeared for ROH at September’s post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings, where he teamed with Jushin Thunder Liger against Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham. KUSHIDA faced Lethal at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view in June and wrestled Gresham at a set of tapings after that PPV.
BUSHI also wrestled at Best in the World and the June tapings.
The Global Wars tour begins in Lewiston, Maine on November 7. There are also shows in Lowell, Massachusetts on November 8, Buffalo, New York on November 9, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 11.
