All of 205 Live was booked to build interest in next week’s interbrand bout as both Team 205 Live and Team NXT picked up a win prior to their official meeting next Friday.
Show Recap
The show began with a brief recap of last week’s show. Following the retelling of last week’s events, commentary notified the viewers of Lio Rush’s health status due to the attack at the hands of Jack Gallagher as he is not cleared for next week’s NXT vs. 205 Live match.
To further develop the inner workings of the now captainless Team NXT, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott was interviewed backstage and insisted they would move on without a captain and confirmed that a replacement for Rush had been secured.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott defeated Ariya Daivari via pinfall
After both men entered the ring to a quiet reception, thee exchanged tense words of discontent prior to the bell.
The match began with a lockup, followed by a strike exchange that saw Scott, representing team NXT, taking advantage. Scott used the time gained by his advantage to travel to the top rope. After noticing Scott’s position, Team 205 Live’s Daivari rolled to the outside. Scott was able to adapt and deliver a running punt to the apron. Daivari was then rolled back into the ring and worked over on the mat.
Scott gave up his mat advantage after locking in a brutal arm submission in order to taunt to the crowd. Daivari then took control of the match and struck Scott’s neck. Daivari continued to work the neck with a myriad of moves.
After a “I’m striking you so strike me back” sequence that is all too common in wrestling today, Scott came out of the sequence ahead and followed up with a flatliner and near fall.
The two both traded light moves and pin attempts until Scott once again attacked the arm of Daivari. Scott climbed to the top rope and landed a flush flying double stomp to Daivari and picked up the pin.
All in all, this match was a typical WWE cruiserweight bout with some ultimately pointless limb targeting. Even with the impending 5-on-5 match, there was little heat and the action itself did little to change that.
Tony Nese and Mike Kanellis defeated Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan via pinfall
Burch and Nese started with Nese taunting Burch and Burch flattening him in response. Burch and Lorcan traded tags to dominate Kanellis with double team moves. Nese entered the ring to aid his partner but suffered the same fate.
With Burch and Kanellis as the legal men, Nese acted as a distraction after a rope break provided Kanellis with a breather. Burch eventually tagged out to Lorcan who simultaneously fought both Nese and Kanellis but eventually fell victim to the pair. Kanellis slowed the match to a crawl with a rest hold and soon after tagged in Nese who continued to keep Lorcan grounded with a rest hold of his own.
Nese attempted and missed a moonsault. He was punished by this blunder when Lorcan got a much needed hot tag. Burch cleared the ring of Nese and set Kanellis, who tagged in during the hot tag sequence, up for an avalanche tag team maneuver. The move was broken up by Nese who was once again tagged in following the save. Nese picked up Burch pump handle style, allowing Kanellis to hit a flying knee followed by Nese slamming Burch to the mat, pinning him to pick up the win for Team 205 Live members.
Final Thoughts:
Both of the matches on this week’s show were nothing special. It felt as if they should have meant a great deal with next week’s interbrand match, but they failed to connect with the audience in any significant way.
The NXT number one contender’s match from this week was recapped and showcased how good Lio Rush and Angel Garza are. Rush will challenge Jordan Devlin for the Cruiserweight Championship on NXT next week.
Hometown heroes The Singh Brothers entered to a huge reaction in Vancouver. Well, that doesn’t usually bode well on WWE shows. They danced and a giant Bollywood chant broke out. They talked about getting advice from Wayne Gretzky to enjoy this moment and get out of Vancouver and take Bollywood to Hollywood. They then revealed rival hockey jerseys to get heat.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch came down to stand up for hockey apparently.
Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch defeated The Singh Brothers
Things started off with a brawl until The Singhs got the advantage with some nice double-team action. They got two off a Russian leg sweep/superkick combo.
The Singhs worked over Lorcan until he fought back with elbows out of the corner and got a chance to make a hot tag. Samir Singh tried to block the tag, but he couldn’t and Burch came in and threw hands.
The Singhs recovered, hit a double superkick, and landed the Bollywood Blast for 2.9 when Lorcan dove in to save the match for his team. Lorcan and Burch hit the Snapshot for the win.
Brian Kendrick and Ariya Daivari distracted Lorcan and Burch after the match, allowing The Singhs to attack Lorcan and Burch from behind. Kendrick and Daivari attacked Lorcan and Burch with chairs and paraded around the ring.
A Joaquin Wilde video package showed off his high-flying offense and got across a bit of his charisma in about 20 seconds. Raul Mendoza also got a highlight video to set up a match between them for next week.
A Lio Rush interview from after NXT aired. Rush said he was signed at 21 because he’s the best cruiserweight in the world, so what Devlin says means nothing. He’s beaten every ace and he’s the king of the cruiserweights.
Kendrick cut a promo and said The Singhs proved him wrong. He assumed they were like any other Canadian and would run like cowards the first chance they got. Kendrick cut an anti-Canada promo before quoting the Mountie’s theme. He said the Singhs are brave and honorable and — as far as he’s concerned — they’re now honorary US citizens.
Daivari said that he and Kendrick are 205 OGs — and that reminds me of Jerry Lynn saying being an ex-ECW Champion and having a dollar was good for a coffee. Kendrick mentioned that he and Daivari are contractually obligated to wrestle tonight. He asked who WWE had lined up for them.
Tony Nese entered and pointed to his abs. I guess he’s a face by proxy here? Mike Kanellis then made his return to WWE television to team with Nese. Nese’s pec bounce to the tune of Kanellis’ theme was tremendous.
Tony Nese & Mike Kanellis defeated Ariya Daivari & Brian Kendrick
After a brawl between the teams at the start, Kendrick tripped up Nese. Daivari got the advantage and insulted Canada.
Kanellis worked over Daivari. Nese’s neck was snapped on the rope before Kendrick came in and slugged away at Nese while Daivari held his arms. Kanellis came in and chopped away at Kendrick before charging in and eating a boot. Kanellis hit a spinebuster for two.
Kendrick distracted the referee so Daivari could throw Kanellis into the barricade. Kendrick locked on a kneebar before Kendrick tagged Daivari in. Daivari prevented a tag by knocking Nese off the apron and then applied a long chinlock.
A double-down off a double lariat opened the door to fresh men coming in. Nese came in and ran into Daivari with a spin kick. Nese sent himself over the top to Kendrick and hit a moonsault to Daivari for two.
Nese and Kanellis hit a combo pumphandle slam/flying knee before Kendrick locked the Captain’s Hook on Kanellis. Daivari got the Million Dollar Dream, but Nese sent him into the pile to break both moves up.
Nese hit a 450 on Daivari, but Kendrick broke the pin up. Daivari hit a frog splash, but Nese kicked out at two.
Kendrick got a pair of chairs and they teased using them while the referee threatened a disqualification. Lorcan and Burch came down bandaged up to stop them — and Nese used the distraction to roll up Daivari. The way Nese & Kanellis won didn’t really help them out much at all.
Burch and Lorcan got retribution on Kendrick and Daivari and laid them out with chairs after the match. Lorcan and Burch celebrated with chairs overhead — and it was announced that they’ll face Kendrick & Daivari in a no DQ match next week.
Maria and Mike revealed today that their baby boy was born on Monday, with Maria writing: “Carver Mars Bennett arrived yesterday 2/3/2020 at 3:07pm. 8 pounds and 20 and 1/2 inches. We are so in love!!”
Maria’s pregnancy was first announced on an episode of Raw last July. It was used as part of a storyline that was eventually dropped, with Maria humiliating Mike and questioning whether he was the father of the baby.
Both Maria and Mike signed new five-year deals with WWE last June. In October, Mike posted a statement announcing that he had requested his release from the company. He wrote that wrestling one night a week wasn’t going to cut it for him and he wasn’t okay with just collecting a paycheck.
Mike returned to the ring last month and has been teaming with Tony Nese on NXT house shows.
Maria and Mike’s daughter — Fredrica “Freddie” Moon Bennett — was born in April 2018.
Here are the results from tonight’s NXT event in Melbourne, Florida. The estimated attendance was around 300 people.
This is Kanellis’ first match in WWE since requesting his release back on October 14th. This was shortly after he signed a five-year deal to remain with the company.
The card also features the return of Kacy Catanzaro in singles action. She made her return to NXT this Wednesday, appearing in a battle royal to determine Rhea Ripley’s next challenger for the NXT Women’s title. That battle royal was eventually won by Bianca Belair.
The main event had Kona Reeves taking on Keith Lee. Here are the full results:
Catalina defeated Marina Shafir
Jaxson Ryker defeated Cal Bloom
Cameron Grimes defeated Babatunde
Mike Kanellis and Tony Nese defeated Nick Ogarelli and Mohamed
The most important week in recent pro wrestling history reached strong heights before ending with an embarrassing low.
The Wednesday Night War began, with AEW Dynamite debuting on TNT opposite a stacked episode of NXT on USA. SmackDown made its move to FOX two days later and featured an appearance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a WWE Championship change, and the debut of Cain Velasquez. Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view looked like it was only going to be a footnote, but the main event made the show memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Here’s a look at three stories that defined the week:
1. AEW wins first night of Wednesday night ratings war
Pro wrestling returned to TNT last Wednesday as the premiere of AEW Dynamite averaged 1.409 million viewers. That topped the 891,000 viewers that NXT averaged. In the 18-49 demo, AEW posted a 0.68 rating — second for the night on cable and more than double what NXT did.
Smackdown on FOX, the ratings, what they mean, how this relates to Raw, the Velasquez vs. Lesnar and Fury vs. Strowman matches is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.
This week’s Observer also covers:
How FOX did with the competition, how FOX did compared to last season’s premieres, how the show did in Canada, note on how the kickoff show did, match-by-match and how the ratings changed, who drew big and who didn’t, the usage of legends, the story behind Velasquez’s negotiations, the end of Kingston’s reign, plus match-by-match coverage.
What went wrong with Hell in a Cell, the disaster of a main event, the reactions by fans, Vince McMahon’s reactions to those reactions, how the match order hurt the show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Wednesday night war with ratings, where both sides lost viewers the most, the fall from the first week on TNT, the average viewer age for AEW and NXT and how different the makeup is, how every segment on both shows did.
What segments were strong set with what age groups, and how teenage viewership both shows differs greatly.
Smackdown draft, 205 Live going forward, the plans for Saudi Arabia, why the cruiserweight distinction in NXT makes no sense anymore, new WWE signings, Mae Young Classic, WWE injuries, Goldberg and Matt Riddle situation, Hulk Hogan wants a match with Vince McMahon, former Miss America contestant signs with WWE, U.K. star moves to Florida, remake of “Badstreet USA,” value of WWE stock, most-watched shows on WWE Network over the past week, plus notes on every live event by the WWE main roster and NXT this past week with business notes, results and highlights.
Jeff Hardy’s recent arrest and a look back at his other issues over the years.
A full report on the UFC show from Australia, the record crowd, business notes, and a look at Israel Adesanya.
The situation with Dragon Lee going forward as well as where WWE and AEW may fit in, his being pulled from the New Japan tour as well as a look at this year’s Junior heavyweight tag team tournament that starts this coming week.
A full report on the debut of NWA Power, the new Internet television show Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana have put out, glory days of Georgia Championship Wrestling and its ratings, a look at Nick Aldis as NWA champion, business notes and economic realities regarding the company as well as what kind of Youtube numbers the different shows are doing.
Full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
Additional notes by Joseph Currier
WWE
A special preview of WWE Backstage will air tonight following the Astros-Yankees ALCS game on Fox Sports 1. Triple H will be on the show to announce a trade between Raw and SmackDown. Renee Young and Booker T will be joined by Paige and Christian. Shawn Michaels and Sting will also be on the show to break down their favorite match.
On Twitter, Eric Bischoff commented on Bruce Prichard replacing him as the executive director of SmackDown: “Bruce is a great producer, good friend and I am certain he is going to thrive in his position. He’s going to be working with a great team of the most dedicated and hard working people I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know.” WWE has confirmed that Bischoff is no longer with the company.
Cain Velasquez on Ariel Helwani’s show mentioned that WWE is allowing him to work one more AAA date.
Maria Kanellis on Instagram noted that she has not asked for release and attempted to clear up misconceptions about her and Mike’s situation: “1. Family first. 2. I love and support my husband. 3. I make no apologies for either of my pregnancies. 4. Mike never went to rehab nor did WWE pay for it. 5. Mikes addiction was from about September 2013-July 2017. 6. We debuted in June 2017. 7. He never took time off. 8. I have not asked for my release. 9. You can unfollow me at anytime if you don’t like what I stand for. 10. Suck it. P.S. Have a nice day!”
Roman Reigns spoke to Forbes about how fans reacted to the finish of Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend at Hell in a Cell: “I think you should express your opinions, but it doesn’t hurt anybody if you have a shred of respect. Have a little respect for the performers who were out there killing themselves for you. I didn’t like the Hell in a Cell finish either, but I wasn’t about to cuss some guys out who got hit in the head over and over. Bray Wyatt put his health on the line to entertain some fans to the best of his ability. I didn’t like it, but I respect Bray’s effort and willingness to go out there and do what you have to do. So, if you can, just a little bit of respect.
Tommaso Ciampa tweeted about returning to the ring against Angel Garza on tomorrow’s episode of NXT: “I had neck surgery on March 7th. At the time, I was told that my estimated return date was March 7th, 2020. Tomorrow, I have my first match back. That’s 142 days ahead of protocol. Good luck, Garza.”
WWE posted an AOP video with them reacting to not being picked in the WWE Draft. In the promo, AOP said they’re going to take their frustrations out on somebody sooner than later.
AEW uploaded The Lucha Bros, Jack Evans & Angelico vs. Private Party & Best Friends from AEW Dark with Spanish commentary from Alex Abrahantes and Dasha Kuret (formerly Dasha Fuentes in WWE).
We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s NJPW King of Pro Wrestling, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports from Raw tonight in Denver with Main Event matches and any dark matches, or anything notable off camera, a well as the WWE weekend shows in Odessa, TX on Saturday, Amarillo on Sunday, Evolve weekend shows in Atlanta and Concord, NC and the Saturday Lucha Libre show in San Jose to [email protected]
Raw is tonight from Denver with Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair as a Raw vs. Smackdown match with the winner getting first pick in the second day of the draft. It’s another draft show.
NEW JAPAN AT KORAKUEN HALL WEDNESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD FOR OPENING OF JR. TAG TOURNAMENT
Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura vs. Volador Jr. & Titan
Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TJP & Clark Conners
Sho & Yoh vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado
Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
AEW WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON TNT FROM THE LICOURAS CENTER IN PHILADELPHIA
Kenny Omega & Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley & Pac
Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin no DQ for AEW title
Riho vs. Britt Baker for women’s title
Pentagon & Fenix vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus in tag tournament
Chuckie T & Baretta vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian in tag title tournament
NXT ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT FROM FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY IN ORLANDO
The most important week in recent pro wrestling history reached strong heights before ending with an embarrassing low.
The Wednesday Night War began, with AEW Dynamite debuting on TNT opposite a stacked episode of NXT on USA. SmackDown made its move to FOX two days later and featured an appearance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a WWE Championship change, and the debut of Cain Velasquez. Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view looked like it was only going to be a footnote, but the main event made the show memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Here’s a look at three stories that defined the week:
1. AEW wins first night of Wednesday night ratings war
Pro wrestling returned to TNT last Wednesday as the premiere of AEW Dynamite averaged 1.409 million viewers. That topped the 891,000 viewers that NXT averaged. In the 18-49 demo, AEW posted a 0.68 rating — second for the night on cable and more than double what NXT did.
Smackdown on FOX, the ratings, what they mean, how this relates to Raw, the Velasquez vs. Lesnar and Fury vs. Strowman matches is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.
This week’s Observer also covers:
How FOX did with the competition, how FOX did compared to last season’s premieres, how the show did in Canada, note on how the kickoff show did, match-by-match and how the ratings changed, who drew big and who didn’t, the usage of legends, the story behind Velasquez’s negotiations, the end of Kingston’s reign, plus match-by-match coverage.
What went wrong with Hell in a Cell, the disaster of a main event, the reactions by fans, Vince McMahon’s reactions to those reactions, how the match order hurt the show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Wednesday night war with ratings, where both sides lost viewers the most, the fall from the first week on TNT, the average viewer age for AEW and NXT and how different the makeup is, how every segment on both shows did.
What segments were strong set with what age groups, and how teenage viewership both shows differs greatly.
Smackdown draft, 205 Live going forward, the plans for Saudi Arabia, why the cruiserweight distinction in NXT makes no sense anymore, new WWE signings, Mae Young Classic, WWE injuries, Goldberg and Matt Riddle situation, Hulk Hogan wants a match with Vince McMahon, former Miss America contestant signs with WWE, U.K. star moves to Florida, remake of “Badstreet USA,” value of WWE stock, most-watched shows on WWE Network over the past week, plus notes on every live event by the WWE main roster and NXT this past week with business notes, results and highlights.
Jeff Hardy’s recent arrest and a look back at his other issues over the years.
A full report on the UFC show from Australia, the record crowd, business notes, and a look at Israel Adesanya.
The situation with Dragon Lee going forward as well as where WWE and AEW may fit in, his being pulled from the New Japan tour as well as a look at this year’s Junior heavyweight tag team tournament that starts this coming week.
A full report on the debut of NWA Power, the new Internet television show Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana have put out, glory days of Georgia Championship Wrestling and its ratings, a look at Nick Aldis as NWA champion, business notes and economic realities regarding the company as well as what kind of Youtube numbers the different shows are doing.
Full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, New Japan King of Pro Wrestling, and the rest of the news with Wrestling Observer Radio tonight. You can send questions for the show to [email protected]
This is a good week to sign up. We want to apologize that due to some sort of a corrupted file on our phone, several of the interviews that we taped on Friday were destroyed, but we will have interviews with Becky Lynch and Ric Flair up on the site over the next day or so. Plus there will be a major story breaking in Japan this week unless something falls through and we will have a special show on that.
Mike Bennett aka Mike Kanellis publicly stated today that he was asking for his release, saying he wanted to do more than one match a week (he hasn’t been booked on the road) and said that even though he just signed a new deal in June, he wanted to do more with his career. The last guy who publicly asked for his release was Luke Harper, and he ended up not working for months, although he is in a top program now. He aid that he’s clean, sober and motivated and wants to have 30 minute matches all over the world and wants his daughter to see her father wrestle for his money.
The reason Jon Moxley wasn’t on the New Japan show and travel issues was legit. Zack Sabre Jr. also missed the show, and Kevin Kelly barely made it in time for the show. We’d heard some concern about the guys coming from Australia, Will Ospreay, Robbie Eagles and Gino Gambino, but they all made it. The worst of the typhoon is over although it did a lot of damage to the bottom floor of the New Japan Tokyo dojo.
There was a lot of controversy as woman wrestler Giulia of Ice Ribbon asked for her release from the promotion yesterday and then showed up on the Stardom show earlier today and was announced as the new signee. Ice Ribbon claimed she was under contract and while she asked for her release, she had not been released. Ice Ribbon said that they wanted to set up a schedule for her to have a farewell but she insisted on being released yesterday. They said they did not give her a release and she was advertised for shows upcoming and in Japan false advertising of talent is looked upon very negatively. Ice Ribbon said that Giulia has not turned in a formal resignation letter nor returned her Ice Ribbon health insurance card, nor did they receive anything from the promotion she was looking to transfer to (Stardom). They said they would announce any changes in upcoming shows as soon as possible. Rossy Ogawa, who runs Stardom, said that he was under the impression there was no contract between Giulia and Ice Ribbon.
WWE
Tonight is the final night of the draft. The key names up for grabs are Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Samoa Joe, New Day, Kabuki Warriors, Bayley and many others.
Raw has double competition tonight, with Game Three of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals baseball playoff series on TBS and Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions NFL on ESPN. By all rights the draft, which usually leads to a big ratings increase, should keep the number above last week by a good margin. If not, it’s that they killed the draft concept to enough fans on Friday.
The company’s next investor call will be on 10/31, just two hours before Crown Jewel starts. That’s going to be tough because Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque in theory have to be in two places at the same time. So I’m thinking Vince isn’t going to Saudi Arabia, but then again, it’s such a major show. The key stuff is the updated WWE Network number as of 9/30, the third quarter hour show business and if anyone asks about the Wednesday night wars. Whether profits are big for the quarter or not isn’t that big of a deal, because fourth quarter profits with the new TV deals in effect, will be gigantic.
An interview with Ricochet. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
UFC
Joanna Jedrzejczyk got good news today when X-rays shows her foot was not broken as she believed it was during her fight with Michelle Waterson, that she won on Saturday. She said to MMA Fighting that both of her feet were very swollen but there’s no break,and she won’t need surgery. She said that every exam she had before the X-rays, she was told the foot was broken.
MISCELLANEOUS
MLW announced that this coming Saturday night’s TV show will be produced by Jimmy Havoc. The show will have a death match with Damian 666 vs. Savio Vega and a Tijuana street fight with Joseph Samael vs. El Hijo de L.A. Park, plus a trios match, from the taping before 4,500 fans in Tijuana.
Stardom results from earlier today at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo”: Tam Nakano b Saya Kamtani, Hazuki & Natsuko Tora won gauntlet over Jamie Hayter & Andras Miyagi, Starlight Kid & Saya Iida, Konami & Death Yama-san and Hina & Leo Onozaki, Session Moth Martina & Natsu Sumire b Zoe Lucas & Bobbi Tayler in tag tourney, Mayu Iwatani & Saki Kashima b Momo Watanabe & AZM in tag tourney, Arisa Hoshiki b Kagetsu to keep the Wonder of Stardom title, Bea Priestley b Hana Kimura to keep the World of Stardom title. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Oz Academy results from today in Kawaguchi: Rina Shingaki b Mari Manji, Aja Kong b Suzu Suzuki, Leon & Hiragi Kurumi b Kaho Kobayashi & Akino, Hiroyo Matsumoto won three-way over Yuu and Tsubasa Kuragaki, Mayumi Ozaki & Saori Anou b Sonoko Kato & Kakeru Sekiguchi (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
ICW from yesterday in Glasgow, Scotland: Jordan Devil b Kernan Kelly, Three masked men b Ian Skinner & Darren Vice & Dean Ford, Alvi b Isla Dawn to win women’s title top contender tournament, Kaz Evans b Michael May, Kenny Williams b Scotty Davis, Jason Reed b Sam Barbour, Lewis Girvan b Stevie James, Liam Thomson b Leyton Buzzard.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships has a PPV on Saturday night headlined by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga from Tampa. The last Bare Knuckle PPV died a brutal death.
Action Wrestling on 10/25 in Tyrone, GA has Curt Stallion, Alex Zayne, Joey Lynch and is a benefit show for a local domestic violence shelter.
Defy Wrestling on Saturday night in Seattle at Washington Hall features Cima, Matt Sydal plus Defy champion Shaff vs. Tom Lawlor and Jacob Fatu vs. Amazing Red.
Fashion Nova has released its first T-shirt of a Luchador, with a Penta 0M shirt. The T-shirt is part of Penta’s officially licensed products through Masked Republic’s Legends of Lucha Libre brand and licensing department.
Rise has released its first year of events for free.
A video of Arn Anderson giving Buff Bagwell a spinebuster on a show in Hot Springs, AR on Saturday night.
Kanellis announced the news on Twitter today, though he didn’t reveal whether or not WWE has responded to his request:
Today I asked for my release from WWE. I want to thank everyone in the company who has helped me out and who I have shared a locker room with. I love you all. I’ve been with the company for almost 3 years and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity. However it is time for me to move on. I am only 34 years old and feel I have way to much left in the tank.
Working 1 day a week is just not going to cut it for me. I came to WWE to work and that opportunity does not exist right now. I re-signed with the company back in June because I thought it was what was best for my family, and maybe from a financial standpoint it was. But I quickly realized that bringing my work frustrations and misery home with me, is not good for my family and I no longer want my daughter to constantly see me come home defeated, sad and angry. It’s not fair to her or my wife. Being a pro wrestler was and is my lifelong dream and I’m just not ready to give that up yet. I wasted 4 years of my life addicted to drugs and not caring, when I should have been having the best matches of my life. Now that I am clean, sober and motivated, I want to have those 30 minute matches. I want to travel the world and wrestle in front of UK crowds, German crowds, Japanese Crowds. I want to feel the love and excitement wrestling once gave me. I also want my daughter to be able to see me wrestle. I want her to see her daddy work for his money. I’ve never been ok with just collecting a paycheck and I can’t in good conscience tell my daughter she has to work her ass off to get ahead in life, then not do it myself. I don’t know what the future holds, but for the first time in a long time, I’m hopeful and excited. Thank you to everyone who has ever supported me and had my back. I love you.
Tye Dillinger (now known as Shawn Spears) publicly announced that he had requested his release this February and had it granted. Luke Harper revealed that he had requested his release in April, but WWE didn’t grant it. Harper returned to WWE television last month as part of Erick Rowan’s feud with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan.
In July, Maria announced that she was pregnant with her and Mike’s second child. Her pregnancy has been worked into WWE storylines as part of an angle where Maria has been humiliating Mike.
Mike appeared on this past Friday’s 205 Live episode and helped Brian Kendrick win his no disqualification match against Akira Tozawa. Mike wasn’t listed in the draft pools for either night of the WWE Draft.
An “unsanctioned” match is set for next week’s 205 Live.
On last night’s episode, it was announced that Drake Maverick vs. Mike Kanellis will take place on 205 Live next Tuesday and will have an unsanctioned stipulation.
If Kanellis wins, he’ll get a shot at the Cruiserweight Championship. Drew Gulak currently holds the title. He defeated NXT’s Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (Shane Strickland) in a non-title match in the main event of last night’s 205 Live.
Maverick vs. Kanellis was set up by an angle last week. Maverick attacked Kanellis after he insulted Maverick’s wife Renee Michelle.
The FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee is hosting next Tuesday’s SmackDown and 205 Live. WWE appears to have set up that Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) will face Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville in a non-title match on SmackDown. Rose hyped that she and Deville would deserve a title shot if they win.
Royce & Kay got themselves counted out in a title defense against Asuka & Kairi Sane on SmackDown last week. Asuka & Sane then laid out Royce & Kay.
WWE has announced that Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak will team with Ariya Daivari & Mike Kanellis against Tony Nese, Oney Lorcan & Jack Gallagher on tonight’s episode. The match comes in advance of Gulak defending his title against Nese at Extreme Rules on July 14.
Mike and Maria Kanellis appeared on Raw last night, losing a mixed tag match against Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch. Maria announced that she’s pregnant, and there was a storyline where she berated Mike for being a disappointment.
Gallagher defeated Mike on 205 Live last week. Lorcan has also been feuding with Daivari.
A double main event is being promoted for tonight’s 205 Live. In addition to the six-man tag, The Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik) will face The Singh Brothers in a tornado tag match.
Tonight’s SmackDown and 205 Live are taking place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Mike and Maria Kanellis have re-signed with WWE, confirmed by our Dave Meltzer.
Pro Wrestling Sheet was first to report the deals, while Fightful reported the contract will extend their WWE run by five years which Meltzer also confirmed.
Maria’s second run with the company, and Mike’s first, kicked off at Money in the Bank in June 2017. September of that year saw the couple announce that they were expecting their first child.
Maria took a leave of absence after the August 29, 2017, SmackDown and Mike went from an undercard act to largely absent from television. Maria made a special appearance at the Raw 25th Anniversary show in January 2018, and the couple welcomed the birth of their daughter in April 2018.
Mike saw his television drought end end later that month as he became a regular on Main Event after being shifted to the Raw brand in the first Superstar Shake-up. Maria returned to television as Mike’s manager in October 2018, and their act moved to 205 Live.
An eight man tournament has been announced on 205 Live, where the winner will face Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight title at WrestleMania 35.
205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick made the announcement tonight at the start of 205 Live. The tournament will be an eight man, single elimination tournament that will take place over the next six weeks leading to WrestleMania. Two matches were then announced for tonight, with Humberto Carrillo facing TJP and Cedric Alexander taking on Mike Kanellis. Maverick said that these matches would have big implications heading into the tournament, which starts next week.
A similar tournament took place last year to determine a new Cruiserweight champion after Enzo Amore was stripped of the championship and released from the company. Cedric Alexander ended up winning the title, defeating Mustafa Ali in the finals at WrestleMania 34.
Buddy Murphy defeated Akira Tozawa at the Elimination Chamber pre-show this past weekend to successfully retain the title.
Prior to tonight’s SmackDown at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, WWE taped the 100th episode of 205 Live.
The tapings featured a falls count anywhere main event and Mike Kanellis making his 205 Live in-ring debut. Mustafa Ali and Hideo Itami’s feud led to Ali getting the win against Itami in tonight’s falls count anywhere match.
In his first match for 205 Live, Mike Kanellis (w/ Maria Kanellis) defeated Lince Dorado. Their match was set up when Mike & Maria arrived on 205 Live two weeks ago, interrupted Dorado vs. Lio Rush, and Mike beat down Dorado. A promo aired last week where Mike said it wasn’t anything personal — it was business and part of a bigger plan that includes the Cruiserweight Championship.
With season two of Mixed Match Challenge going on, 205 Live is airing on the WWE Network at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesdays.
After joining the cruiserweight division earlier this month, Mike Kanellis is set to make his 205 Live in-ring debut.
WWE has announced that Kanellis vs. Lince Dorado will be airing on next Wednesday’s episode of 205 Live. The story for the match stems from the angle where Mike & Maria Kanellis made their show debut and interrupted Dorado vs. Lio Rush on the October 10 edition of 205 Live. Kanellis attacked Dorado and laid him out.
A promo with Mike & Maria aired during last night’s show, with Mike explaining the attack by saying that it was just business and wasn’t anything personal.
As was previously announced, Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami in a falls count anywhere match is also set for next week’s 205 Live. It’s the 100th episode of the show, and Tuesday’s 205 Live, SmackDown, and Mixed Match Challenge tapings are being held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Maria Kanellis will be returning to WWE television tomorrow on 205 Live.
During a match between Lince Dorado and Lio Rush taped before tonight’s episode of SmackDown, Maria Kanellis made her return, distracting Dorado. Mike Kanellis then attacked Dorado from behind for the disqualification. It seems like going forward, both will be appearing for the 205 Live brand.
Aside from an appearance during the 25th anniversary of Raw, Maria Kanellis hasn’t been on television since September of last year, taking a leave of absence as she became pregnant with her and Mike’s first child. She gave birth to a girl in April and had been training at the WWE Performance Center prior to her return. She injured her wrist back in August during training and had to spend six weeks in a cast.
Mike Kanellis hasn’t been used on television much during Maria’s leave of abscense. Originally part of the SmackDown roster, he was moved to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-Up earlier this year and has mostly been wrestling during the Main Event tapings.
The Big Takeaway: Mike Kanellis lost again, this time to Zack Ryder in a solid opener. Kanellis is still without a singles win since July 2017. Apollo Crews then defeated Mojo Rawley in a decent bout at the end of the show.
**********
Zack Ryder defeated Mike Kanellis (5:10)
While Zack Ryder spends his free time making podcasts with Curt Hawkins about wrestling figures of old, you have to admire the physical shape both he and Mike Kanellis present themselves in. Both don’t appear to have an ounce of fat on them — with Kanellis looking especially lean here.
This was a solid, entertaining match. Mainly because they looked to be setting up for a quick win for Ryder — with him even hitting the Rough Ryder early on — but Kanellis got his foot on the rope to save the match. Things then switched and went completely in Kanellis’ favor.
Kanellis hit a Samoan driver on Ryder, got a near fall, and teased hitting a Broski Boot of his own. His wicked smile as he mimicked Ryder’s “woos” was great. But Ryder moved out of the way and sprung up to hit the Rough Ryder for the win.
Apollo Crews defeated Mojo Rawley (7:26)
Mojo Rawley has had a good run of late. Over the last few months, he has picked up wins against the likes of Tyler Breeze, No Way Jose, and even Chad Gable. However, it seems that whenever he comes up against Apollo Crews, he comes up short. And that’s just what happened here.
These two took their time and on the opening bell made it look like it had a big-match feel as they squared off in the middle. In another promotion maybe it would be, but Rawley has never had a character that has properly connected with the fans and, despite his talent, Crews has been given a character that just feels lacking in any depth.
Crews got a near fall on Rawley, then connected with an elbow and went for a crossbody, but Rawley caught him. Rawley hoisted him up onto his shoulders and nailed him with a flapjack. After Crews kicked out at two, Rawley taunted and trash-talked him, kicking him in the head and screaming at him.
Crews rolled out of the way and then sprung up and nailed Rawley with an enzuigiri. Rawley sold it like he was knocked out and Crews hit the frog splash for the win.
