Here are resutls from this afternoon’s Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport event from Game Changer Wrestling.
– Dominic Garrini defeated KTB
Dom took everything KTB had and was still able to wrap him up for a triangle submission.
– Eddie Kingston defeated Tracy Williams
A vicious spinning backlist by Kingston caused the ref stoppage KO.
– Masada defeated Martin Stone
Ref stoppage after elbows despite the commentary team questioning the fast call.
– WALTER defeated Tom Lawlor
Great match up here with WALTER taking Tom’s sleeve off of his injured arm and working it over. Huge chop exchange that WALTER of course got the better of. He wrapped Filthy Tom up in a head and arm choke for the submission.
– Dan Severn defeated Chris Dickinson
An incredible entrance by The Beast with his team carrying various championships while the original UFC theme played. Mat based match early on, Dickinson had what would be an apparent stoppage yet the referee did not make the call. After the non call, Severn choked out Dickinson with a rear naked.
Post match, Dickinson attacked Severn on the outside before it could be broken up by Matt Riddle, among others.
– Nick Gage defeated Timothy Thatcher
These two brawled on the outside which was the first time that had happened today, the people were behind Gage during the striking battle. Gage won via KO after repeated forearm strikes to the head.
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Matthew Riddle
Suzuki was a last minute replacement for Low Ki and the crowd absolutely loved him along with Riddle. They battled all over ringside and using the apron for leverage on various holds. Suzuki and Riddle exchanged chops and while most times Suzuki laughs off his opponents, he was all business tonight and switched to strikes to cut off the powerful chops. Suzuki caught Riddle in a choke that Bro tried to fight out of but it was too deep and the referee called it.
Post match, Suzuki shook his hand before embracing Riddle as the crowd celebrated along with them.
In a surprise move, longtime junior heavyweight Taiji Ishimori announced today that he is leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH effective immediately.
Ishimori, 35, announced that starting today he would become a freelance wrestler after being a part of Pro Wrestling NOAH for over 12 years, starting with the promotion back in 2006. Ishimori said in a press conference at NOAH’s Tokyo office Monday that people like Hideo Itami and Shinsuke Nakamura inspired him to make the move.
“While I personally do like to fight on the front line of things, I have experienced [a] overseas expedition and [am] more interested in the outside world now,” he is quoted as saying in a translation from a Yahoo Sports article. “I have been at NOAH for twelve years and a wrestler for sixteen. If I do not make this decision, I will regret it unless I take the first step.”
“WWE is the goal and I want to keep trying to end up there” he mentioned.
Ishimori had been a big staple of the junior heavyweight division in the promotion, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight championship three times. He most recently appeared for Impact Wrestling where he held the X Division title until this past January when Matt Sydal defeated him for the title.
PWG has revealed the full card for their next event, Time is a Flat Circle.
In the main event, Chuck Taylor will defend his PWG World title against Keith Lee. Matt Riddle will take on Zack Sabre Jr. in the semi-main. And Will Ospreay will wrestle for the promotion for the first time since September 2016, taking on Adam Brooks. Rey Horus will also be back for the first time since October as he faces Joey Janela.
A number of people will be making their debuts on the show. Jake Atlas, Eli Everfly and Douglas James, all regulars in the Southern California indie scene, will take part in the same match alongside Brody King in a four-way. Zachary Wentz, who is a regular with Dragon Gate, will team with Desmond Xavier to take on Bandido, a luchador who has also competed for Dragon Gate as well as the Crash, & Flamita.
Here is the full card:
Chuck Taylor vs. Keith Lee for the PWG World title
Matt Riddle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks
Desmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Flamita & Bandido
Jeff Cobb vs. Jonah Rock
Brody King vs. Jake Atlas vs. Eli Everfly vs. Douglas James
Rey Horus vs. Joey Janela
Time is a Flat Circle will take place on March 23rd. Tickets will go on sale on PWG’s website on February 27th at 8 pm PDT.
EVIL is off New Japan’s anniversary show next month due to injury.
New Japan announced this evening that EVIL is out of action due to a left broken orbital bone, which likely happened during the New Japan tour that took place in Australia. As a result, he will miss the upcoming anniversary show on March 6th.
Originally scheduled to be IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI in a non-title match, SANADA will instead take on YOSHI-HASHI in a singles bout. Hirooki Goto has been moved down the card, now teaming with fellow CHAOS members Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano to take on Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Toa Henare in a six-man tag team match.
New Japan’s 46th Anniversary show will air live on New Japan World and will feature English commentary. The show will be headlined by IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada battling IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in a battle of weight class champions.
From the outside, it could be easily mistaken for a warehouse or barn if not for the adorned signage or the large western-themed mural on the east facade.
Opened in December 1950 on the Stampede grounds in Calgary’s Victoria Park neighbourhood just outside of downtown, the Stampede Corral was intended to be a means to an end when it was constructed. The neighbouring Victoria Arena was showing its age and the popular Calgary Stampeders hockey team needed a bigger place to play.
Thus, the Corral was born and when hockey moved across the street, so did the professional wrestling shows that were also a staple of the old arena.
In the decades since, the Corral has arguably become best known for two things: the intimidating high boards that were a fixture during hockey games, and the building’s place in wrestling history. For over 30 years, it was Calgary’s primary venue for concerts, ice hockey, wrestling, and other major events, holding that mantle until the Olympic Saddledome opened across the street on the grounds were Victoria Arena once stood.
History isn’t without a sense of humour as plans are in motion for the Saddledome to be eventually also be replaced by a new arena built across the street.
Plans are in motion to finally close the doors on the old Corral after the better part of seven decades. As announced last year, the long-term plan is for the Stampede to knock down the building to expand the BMO Centre’s conference capacity. When the money is available to put that plan into action, the Corral will close it doors for good. With an uncertain future for the historic building, WWE came to town last month for potentially one of the final wrestling shows in the Corral’s long and storied history.
Records are a tad sketchy but Heath McCoy’s excellent history of the Stampede promotion, Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, notes that the Corral briefly ran professional wrestling shows from local promoter Darby Melnyk. He sold his territory to Klondike Wrestling promoter Stu Hart in May 1951 and the first show that followed was in September (according to WrestlingData.com and CageMatch.net) with Jim Henry beating Roy McClarty in the main event.
Since then, the building has hosted several hundred wrestling shows over the years with roughly 100 of them being major events with international stars.
Located smackdab in the middle of Stampede Park, the exhibition grounds that host the world-famous Calgary Stampede, the Corral was ideally-suited for large scale wrestling events. Over time, Hart began to utilize the coincident forces of the fairground crowds and the big venue to blow off major angles with supershows during the Stampede itself.
The promotion became known as Stampede Wrestling in 1967, but the July events date back to at least 1956 – online records are a bit spotty – and over time all the biggest names in the professional wrestling world came to town for matches in the Corral. Among those that came to town included Fritz Von Erich, Whipper Billy Watson, Lou Thesz, Pat O’Connor and Bruno Sammartino. Gene Kiniski clashed with Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie in 1968 in a legendary bout. Dory Funk fought Abdullah the Butcher in 1970. Harley Race defended his NWA World Championship in three consecutive years (1978-80), while AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel tangled with Bret Hart in 1981 and 1982.
The arrival of the Calgary Flames in 1980 was the beginning of the end for the Corral. While the NHL club spent three seasons there, their arrival led to immediate plans for a new building in tandem with the development of a bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Saddledome opened in 1983 and as its doors opened, the wrestling shows moved along with the hockey team.
It was an odd sight when Stampede partnered with the then-WWF on Saddledome shows in the mid-’80s. After Stampede folded, the Saddledome was home for wrestling in Calgary, the building’s three decks of seating, jumbotron, and fancy sloping roof a stark contrast to the exposed rafters, steep single lower bowl, and low ceiling at the Corral. The Saddledome was a building built for luxury, while the Corral was seemingly built for intimidation; the entrance gates to the building feature iron bars and the simple concourse features black and white pictures of stern faces from Calgary’s pre-NHL hockey heyday.
The decline of Calgary as an important Canadian city for WWE events has led to a minor resurgence in pro wrestling at the Corral. Rather than running house shows in a sparsely-populated Saddledome for what’s likely a hefty building fee, WWE has opted for the last three years to run the Corral and cram fans into the smaller building. The result has been louder wrestling crowds than the city’s seen in years, even if the WWE product has attracted a much larger amount of small children than the Corral is used to hosting.
The Corral was rocking for WWE’s most recent visit and while it might not have been Dory Funk and Abdullah the Butcher clashing in the main event, it was still wrestling and harkened back to a day where a seat in the building on a Saturday night was the hottest ticket in town.
Until plans are finally set in stone to demolish it, the Corral soldiers on into the unknown much as it has for the past seven decades, and every wrestling event at the storied building could be its very last.
2016 was a banner year for the business of pro wrestling from top stars moving to new in-ring zip codes, new technology affecting everything from how wrestling is presented to how talent gets signed, and several surprising in-ring results and happenings that had our faithful readers buzzing.
Unless something else substantial happens in the next few days (on Wednesday of course), the following is #6-10 of our most viewed news stories for the year that was 2016 — a mix of legal happenings, signings, and injuries.
Well, even those working for pro wrestling websites can get swerved from time to time. And by “those”, I mean “me”.
We got a note from a reader that Bayley had hurt her knee in a match with Nia Jax at a set of late-April tapings, and thanks to our roving reporter JJ Williams, we even had a few pictures. Seeing as she was one of NXT’s biggest stars, this was a no-brainer to do a story on.
However, it was soon pointed out that one of the medical personnel attending to her was actually a developmental talent, so “(maybe)” got inserted into the headline soon thereafter. The injury was part of a storyline and now both Bayley and Jax find themselves on Raw every Monday sans recurring knee injuries.
One of the stranger news stories of the second half of the year was the Billy Corgan and TNA/Dixie Carter business marriage quickly turning into divorce. It culminated with a lawsuit by Corgan in an attempt to gain control of the company based on money owed to him and some terms in the contract he signed.
The documents becoming unsealed moved things forward to what ultimately was a court loss for Corgan. However, he was soon made whole by eventual TNA financial angel Anthem Sports & Entertainment and settled everything with the company. Individuals? Not as much yet, but you can hear more about that in his interview with Dave Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez.
Following in the footsteps of Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor became the latest anti-establishment wrestling star to get injured just when it looked like he had broken through the McMahon double-tempered glass ceiling.
In his eventual successful win over Seth Rollins to win the first WWE Universal title at SummerSlam, Balor suffered a labrum tear on a power bomb spot into the barricade outside the ring, putting him out of action for what was expected to be 8-12 weeks and soon turned into 4-6 months.
After surgery, the injury was worse than they expected and as we turn the corner into 2017, there’s no timetable for his return although plenty of fans are hoping it will be at this year’s Royal Rumble even though that would be at the short end of the recovery spectrum.
He has been making appearances in the UK and was on stage at the announcement of WWE’s UK championship tournament, so he’s not completely out of sight. However, we’ll be more excited to see him back in the ring competing in 2017.
Even if LU isn’t the most watched pro wrestling show out there, a freak injury to one of their top stars was enough to get this story in our top 10.
In a deathmatch against Dragon Azteca, Mutanza (aka Jeff Cobb) punched through a window and sliced a vein in his arm badly enough to the point the match had to be stopped and he had to be sent to the hospital.
Cobb was fine and re-taped the match with Azteca at a later date.
Hero had another fantastic in-ring year on the indies, drawing praise for his matches in PWG, EVOLVE, and in various UK promotions. Regardless of who he worked for and where, reports sent into us always featured glowing remarks about his matches.
That’s what made his soon-to-be inked deal with WWE of such interest. He had already had one run in the company’s developmental group and was a member of NXT before it was truly NXT. That he would be returning to the promotion in any form or fashion was a surprise, but in the Content Era, all bets are off.
As of now, we’re still waiting to hear if all of Hero’s medicals and other pre-contract tests are a go, clearing the way for his signing. Where he goes from there and his course of action will then be another story of interest for our readers.
Later this week, we’ll run down our top five stories of 2016 and will follow up with the top 10 wrestling shows of the year after that.
In Arizona, deregulation of professional wrestling wasn’t a pressing matter by any stretch when the topic was first broached in 1981. There was no major promotion running in the state and little to no full time work, with only one licensed promoter, who was running shows weekly in Phoenix. But when the state’s Office of the Auditor General decided to do a performance audit of the State Athletic Commission, it was one of the topics on the agenda along with improved compliance by licensees, better boxing safety regulations, and complying with the guidelines for how frequently there should be commission meetings.
The performance audit summed up its findings on pro wrestling like this:
“Further, our review found that the Commission has not complied with all statutory requirements dealing with professional wrestling. However, the results of these noncompliances do not threaten the health, safety and welfare of the public or participants. Deregulation of professional wrestling could occur without endangering the health and safety of the public or participants.”
Karl Stern returns with his ongoing look at the history of pro wrestling in the Pioneer era, examining the post-Civil War era, and specifically Theobaud Bauer and the original masked wrestler gimmick.
The “Dragon King” also answers a few emails from his ever-flowing mailbag:
Early examples of ring entrance music which leads to a discussion about Leroy Brown and Ray Candy.
A discussion about the round system in pro wrestling
A discussion about Rick Rude and his best matches
Then, part 3 of the long form history of wrestling series starting with the origin of the mask in pro wrestling, discussion about Theobaud Bauer and wrestling between the Civil War, and the debut of the National Police Gazette as an influential publication
Just how big a risk for WWE is Brock Lesnar’s return to the Octagon at UFC 200? Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa will talk about it from WWE’s perspective on the latest Wrestling Weekly!
We’ll start with Les sharing some thoughts about his good friend and former tag team partner Danny Miller, who passed away this past Monday at the age of 84, as well as remembrances of the late Emily Miller (no relation) who was a longtime fan in the Mid Atlantic area.
From there, we’ll spend a few minutes discussing the one and only Muhammad Ali (18:35). After that, it’s time to look at Brock Lesnar’s return to UFC (22:18) and how it impacts WWE. We’ll wrap the show by discussing the latest NXT Takeover special (35:52), and why it has filled Les with hope for the future of the business.
Subscribers can listen by clicking the link below or right-clicking to save.
Bleacher Report’s Chad Dundas is the guest on this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, talking about a myriad of topics ideal for a non-UFC event week.
A few of the alleys Josh and Chad went down include:
– Leftover thoughts on UFC 198 including Fabricio Werdum’s overuse of his funny face, Stipe Miocic riding for Cleveland, and Lady Cyborg
– The stunning story of how he met Ben Fowlkes, his partner on the Co-Main Event Podcast
– How living in Montana has affected his MMA coverage
– Thoughts on Michael Bisping getting a title opportunity against Luke Rockhold and why the haters need to chill out
– Discussion about his wrestling themed novel “Champion Of The World” and what inspired him to write it
As usual, we get geeky about the process of writing and other media matters. It’s another solid hour of JNPO, so get your weekend kicked off right….now.
Click below to listen or right-click to save on your computer, tech-heads.
Michael Hutter aka Ethan Carter III did a Facebook post earlier today regarding his missing scheduled shows on April 2 for Southside Wrestling and April 3 for Preston City Wrestling in England.
“Unfortunately, due to a previously unforeseen opportunity to continue building a rapport between TNA Wrestling and one our of television network partners, I was forced to cancel my appearances with both Southside and Preston City Wrestling April 2-3. Canceling is not something I take lightly.”
Hutter confirmed what Preston City promoter Steven Fludder had informed us of, that despite how TNA framed the story, Hutter never asked Fludderfor a deposit. He did say that the plane tickets hadn’t been purchased and that he felt he was out more than anyone financially, because he had printed up U.K.-specific T-shirts and EC3 foam fingers to sell at the shows.
Hutter said that neither TNA nor the promotions are to blame for this, and if there was any heat, he would take it. “A set of circumstances arose and I had to make a decision, so blame me.”
He said he promised to make it up to the promotions.
Nattie is doing her mother’s make-up. She does a horrible job. She sends her sister to put make-up on her dad. She takes a picture with her mom. It takes her a long time to take the picture. Her mom’s make-up ends up looking ok.
In Los Angeles. Everyone is getting ready for Hell in a Cell. Nikki fights Charlotte and loses. Nikki is sad but she feels like she is passing the torch.
Nattie, Rosa, and Mandy are at a really fancy restaurant for lunch. They are drinking Perrier. Business people on lunch meetings order lunch around them. Nattie is worried about Rosa because Rosa gets hurt easily. Nattie, who has long been considered the worst advice giver in the whole world and throughout all space and time, advises Rosa to hide her feelings from her fiancé.
Back at Nattie’s house, she looks at old photos with Neidhart and Tyson. Neidhart tells everyone about how he was asked to mate with Russian shot-putters. Nattie would like to have her whole family dress up in pink and write messages on their shirt that say Team Anvil and then take a picture of it. Her mom thinks that is a great idea. Nattie loves taking pictures of herself. She wishes she had more photos than she has. She teaches her family how to take photos. Tyson is annoyed.
Rosa doesn’t want her fiancé to go to Las Vegas. She thinks he’s going to cheat on her. He’s going to Vegas for his t-shirt business. Rosa is so pissed.
Now everyone is in San Diego. Nattie touches R-Truth’s nipple. Mandy asks Nikki what’s up. Carrano shows up and touches Nikki’s shoulder. They walk to a doctor and Nikki learns she has to go off the road. She’s really upset. Nikki doesn’t want to be forgotten. Nikki has a real fear of abandonment. I’m pretty sure it has to do mostly with her father leaving and her grandfather dying. Nikki goes to Tampa to start physical therapy. The physical therapist tells her she has to wear a brace.
Nattie’s family comes over and they strategize costumes for their family photo, which is scheduled to be taken the next day. It’s not going how Nattie wants. She wants the family to act like royalty. She is disappointed because they are acting like a bunch of baboons. She tries to teach her family how to take pictures. They are doing a horrible job learning.
Nikki tells her mom about how she doesn’t want to be forgotten. Nikki and her mom joke about Nikki having sex with John Cena. She calls John and asks him to help her heal. He says ok.
Back in California, Rosa and Mandy are going to the beach. Rosa is so bummed about her fiancé going to Las Vegas. She looks on Instagram and sees that he is at a pool party. This weird dude comes out of nowhere and tells her that her fiancé is probably being bad. Rosa tries to call him and it goes to voicemail. The weird dude tells her that everyone is humping her fiancé. Mandy tries to distract Rosa with activities.
Nikki shows up at Cena’s gym. The trainer tells her she drinks too much. Nikki doesn’t want to hear that. Cena takes Nikki’s phone away from her. He doesn’t think she is working hard enough.
Mandy and the two weird boys show up at Rosa’s house. Rosa is feeling neglected. Her fiancé calls. He’s jealous of the photo he saw where she’s with the two weird guys who are actually Mandy’s brothers. They have an awkward conversation. He’s pissed. Rosa’s pissed. Mandy’s pissed because she feels like she is being used. And oh wow… they are at an amazing looking Japanese restaurant. Rosa tells the waiter what she likes and doesn’t like. Mandy tells Rosa she needs to relax. Rosa tells her that she’s been hurt a lot. She has a hard time trusting people. The weird brothers try to give her advice.
Back in Tampa, it’s time for the scheduled photograph. Nattie’s family shows up and Nattie hates the costumes. Nattie specifically told her sister, “No wine,” but her sister thinks wine is ok. She gives the photographer wine. They take pictures, and Nattie is so pissed. Tyson is really good at taking pictures. Nattie’s sister drops her glass of wine. Nattie is pissed. Tyson hates that Nattie is snapping her fingers at everyone. Later that afternoon, Nattie is sulking in the bedroom. Tyson tells her she can pick her nose but she can’t pick her family. Nattie is so pissed. Tyson tells her to lighten up and Nattie realizes she was acting like a mutant. Nattie goes downstairs and takes a selfie with everyone. That one simple selfie means more to Nattie than any professionally photographed shot ever could.
Cena, Nikki, and her mom are at a bomb ass looking restaurant. They spell grill with an e… Grille. Cena tells Nikki she can only have one glass of wine. Oh no you didn’t. Nikki is pissed. Nikki complains that Cena is a buzzkill. Cena is so mad that Nikki is drinking more than one glass of wine. John Cena hates weakness.
Rosa’s fiancé gets home. Rosa wants to have a one on one talk. I think her fiancé has a secret and I think he’s going to tell her now. He’s really upset that she was posting photos with the weird boys. She’s pissed that he went to a pool party and looked like he was having fun. He tells her he was in Las Vegas because he was looking for rings for Rosa. She cries and hugs him. She tells him she hasn’t told him about all the trauma she had. He tells her she’s got to get over that. He’s wearing a cutoff hoodie without anything underneath. He has a lot of tattoos.
Back at Cena’s house, Nikki turns on the fireplace. Cena tells her to put on the neck brace. She doesn’t want to. Nikki tells Cena he’s acting like a father. Nikki asked him to be her coach and now she’s pissed because he is such a buzzkill. Cena is super-chill, but if you ask him to help you then he expects you to take it as seriously as he does and if you don’t, you let him down. If John Cena was helping me, I’m 100% positive I wouldn’t let him down. I would make him so proud of me. Nikki tells him he is being overbearing. Her mom tells Nikki that Cena was being cool and Nikki was being whack about the whole thing. She tells Nikki to give him a hug and apologize. Nikki goes into Cena’s cigar room and apologizes to him. He tells her he doesn’t want to be a bummer or anything but she asked him for help and he felt put in a tough spot. He tells her he doesn’t want to be her coach anymore because he hates having to be a buzzkill. Nikki tries to make putting on her neck brace a sex act with Cena. That’s the show.
The WWE is in Philadelphia. Brie is watching the crew set up the ring and Renee Young announces she bought a scooter. Brie wants one. Nikki thinks it’s a bad idea. She knows Brie will get frightened in traffic. Renee is really insistent that Brie get a Scooter. The whole scooter thing is really getting to Nikki.
Rosa is eating a ton of food. Nattie comes up and eats Rosa’s food. Nattie asks Paige if she wants to see a picture of her cats. Paige has to go to the ring. Nattie and rosa continue to eat. Paige is stoked that she is such a huge star but she’s bummed about Kevin. She’s decided work is her number one priority. That’s bound to mean bad news for Kevin.
Nikki confronts Renee about the whole scooter thing. Renee doesn’t think it’s a big deal. They tell Zeb Colter about the scooter. He’s confused. They find Brie. Nikki tells her she is not allowed to get a scooter. Renee thinks a scooter is cool and fine. Nikki makes Brie promise she won’t buy one. Brie promises and Renee could not possibly be more disappointed. Brie was actually lying though.
In Orlando, Paige and Kevin are at the grocery store. Kevin is making chili and he needs some stuff. He’s doing a horrible job finding ingredients and Paige is getting pissed. Paige’s mom, Sarya, is coming and she asked him to promise that everything is fine. Paige picks Sarya up from the airport. Sarya asks about Kevin. Sarya loves Kevin. She gives him a huge hug when she sees him.
In Phoenix, Brie and Renee are driving around, I bet they are up to something scooter related. Brie tells her that people are scared of Bryan when he is on a run. They are going to buy a scooter. She found one on Craigslist. Renee is scared of Craigslist. Renee calls the guy and they agree to meet at a pizza place.
Rosa returns home with a ton of food. Her fiancé is pissed that she bought a cake. He tells her she eats too much, it’s keeping him up at night. Rosa thinks its ok because she is one of the healthiest woman on earth. He is pissed but she forces him to eat cake and he loves it.
Bryan is freaked out that the scooter costs $3000. He’s driving a car with Brie in the front seat and Renee in the backseat. They see the man who has the scooter from Craigslist. He’s in a white windowless van. They are scared. He’s a totally normal guy. Renee and Brie go for a ride on the scooter. Brie loves it. Bryan looks cool in the motorcycle helmet. He tells her to negotiate. Bryan actually negotiates and cuts a very good bargain. Now they all have scooters. Nikki is going to be so pissed when she finds out.
Rosa’s fiancé is setting up cameras because she thinks he wants to make sure she doesn’t eat whenever she wants. She is concerned.
Back in Florida, Paige and Sarya are jumping on a trampoline. Then they go out for lunch at a fancy restaurant. Paige tells Sarya she’s going to put her in a home one day. Sarya thinks that’s hilarious. Paige is drinking Bud light. Sarya is worried about Paige. Paige walks out of the restaurant.
Back in Phoenix, the scooter guy comes to deliver the scooters. Renee and Brie go out for a ride. Brie loves it.
Sarya and Paige are back together in the car laughing about old times. Sarya loves Paige so much, and she’s worried about her. She likes knowing Kevin’s around because she thinks he watches out for Paige.
In LA, Rosa, Mandy, and Eva Marie are out to lunch at a nice restaurant. Rosa orders so much food and everyone thinks it’s weird. Rosa is so hungry. Everyone also thinks it’s weird that her fiancé set up cameras to watch the fridge.
Nikki and her mom and everyone are going out to a nice looking restaurant. Brie pulls up in a scooter and Nikki is pissed. Nikki makes the whole brunch about the scooter. Everyone thinks Nikki is acting weird. Back in LA, Rosa makes a disgusting video of her eating whipped cream sandwiches. She asks him if he’s seen it. He says no. She is confused. He admits that he installed the cameras so that he could monitor himself because he can’t control himself around sweets and he’s gained like 20 pounds since Rosa became pregnant. He feels terrible. They decide to work it out like adults, and everything actually ends up ok.
Paige and Sarya go to a park to talk. Sarya is very protective over Paige. She doesn’t want the bad things that happened to her to happen to Paige. Paige comes clean about her issues with Kevin. Sarya is understanding. Paige realizes she’s been worried about nothing. This is one of those moments where WWE produces something actually heartfelt and emotional, something that feels honest and human and real. Maybe this show is turning a corner and we are going to get some genuine humanity.
Back in LA, Rosa and her fiancé are going to the doctor. They do a sonogram and look at the baby. Rosa wants the baby to be an Olympic soccer player, the fiancé wants her to be the female Kobe. I want her to be herself, untethered from familial expectations. Rosa tells the doctor that she’s been eating too much. The doctor tells her not to eat so much because she could get diabetes.
In Phoenix, Brie and Bryan are looking at a calendar. They aren’t going to see each other for a while. Nikki barges in yelling, “Bitches.” She acts all smug because Brie didn’t say hi. Nikki is upset about the scooter and Bryan is pissed because Nikki is trying to tell them how to live. The show devolves back into ridiculousness. Nikki thinks she gives great advice. Bryan hates to be told what to do. She wants Brie to buy a car like a normal person. Nikki all of a sudden realizes she’s flying off the handle about the whole scooter thing.
Back in Florida, Paige is putting Tough Enough Josh to work. Tough Enough Josh speaks in short one or two words bursts. His vocabulary is small, consisting of simple phrases such as “what?” and “for sure.” Paige broke up with Kevin and she’s moving out. She feels bittersweet. Paige moves into a nice new house and immediately calls Kevin. She tells him she’s moved her stuff out. They chat awkwardly. It’s really sad but Paige doesn’t want to be pinned down. She goes back inside and smiles at Tough Enough Josh… That Josh… What a dream boat.
WWE through CBS Sports today announced that Ray Taylor, better known as the Big Bossman, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on 4/2 in Dallas.
Traylor, who really was a prison guard in Cobb County, GA who got his break as an enhancement talent for Jim Crockett, was a surprise and likely a late addition as on the various lists that had gotten out his name wasn’t mentioned. It’s also a surprise since the company likes to not have too many wrestlers who passed away young on the same docket due to wrestling’s issues with young deaths, and this year’s class included Terry Gordy, who passed away at 40.
Traylor was a 350 pound plus prison guard who impressed Dusty Rhodes and others because of how agile he was and how he got up for Tully Blanchard’s slingshot suplex and was hired as Big Bubba Rogers, the huge bodyguard for Jim Cornette.
He left Crockett Promotions in 1988 for the WWF, and had a major feud with Hulk Hogan that was one of the best drawing programs of Hogan’s run on top, as well as frequently headlined against then-WWF champion Randy Savage. The Hogan vs. Bossman feud was blown off in a number of cage matches, including on a Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC, where Hogan superplexed Bossman off the top of the cage.
He then turned babyface after turning on Ted DiBiase and became Hogan’s tag team partner at times, and then had a run against various members of the Bobby Heenan family. His most memorable match was a jailhouse match at the 1991 SummerSlam card as the key match of his feud with The Mountie, played by Jacques Rougeau Jr.
He left the WWF in 1993, and had a brief run with All Japan, before signing with WCW later that year. He started as The Boss, but WWE legal sent threatening letters to WCW, so he became The Guardian Angel, a gimmick that didn’t fly, before reverting back to Big Bubba Rogers and at the end was using the name Ray Traylor. He wasn’t being used well, and returned to WWF in 1998 and worked there until being let go in 2002.
He briefly worked as a trainer for WWF, and passed away from a heart attack on September 22, 2004, at the age of 41.
After a lot of concern given the already taped TV was running out and nothing had been said, TNA finally announced today five days of tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando.
The current set of television taped at the end of January in the U.K. expires with tomorrow night’s show on Pop TV. The tapings were announced for five days, from 3/15 to 3/19. Talent had been told about the dates a few weeks ago but there were still concerns over the lack of announcement and lack of travel itinerary.
TNA announced today that over the five days they will be taping episodes of Impact, Xplosion and One Night Only PPV shows.
They will run 3/15 to 3/19 with all shows starting at 7 p.m. There will also be a 3/17 at 1 p.m. show, a Thursday afternoon event.
Tickets, as always, are free, although they are selling $99 VIP tickets or premium seating and meet and greets.
The names being pushed for the tapings are Matt & Jeff Hardy, Ethan Carter III, Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, James Storm, Gail Kim and Tigre Uno.
