Tag: Report

WWE Raw live results: The WrestleMania 34 go-home show

Posted on by Josh Hamlin

The Big Takeaway: Still no Undertaker, so theoretically John Cena doesn’t have a match at WrestleMania after the Raw go-home show. On a night of long promos, Cena did one where again challenged Undertaker to no avail. Cena then said that Undertaker left his hat in the ring last year at WrestleMania, but left his balls at home.

The show opened with Stephanie McMahon and HHH getting heat on Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle, with Stephanie back suplexing Rousey through a table. The final segment, and possibly the final segment of Brock Lesnar’s WWE career, had Roman Reigns land five Superman punches on Lesnar. Reigns posed with the Universal Championship, but Lesnar rose up to give Reigns an F-5. It was a talk-filled show, but Seth Rollins and Finn Balor had another great match, possibly the best on Raw this year. 

Show Recap: 

Jonathan Coachman was in the ring to preside over the HHH & Stephanie/Angle & Rousey faceoff. There were two tables with two chairs set up with Coachman behind a podium separating them. HHH and Stephanie came out first. Crowd chanted for Rousey after her entrance with Angle. Coachman said the WWE Universe has submitted questions for everyone, but before he could ask the first one, HHH interrupted him and told Angle it was sad that the roar for Rousey would become a deafening silence after Sunday, and it was Angle’s fault. HHH said Angle has intensity, integrity and intelligence when he first came to WWE, and while he understood Angle had intensity and integrity, he couldn’t believe that people thought Angle had intelligence. A prime example was Angle ruining the signing of Rousey by setting her up for a loss on the biggest stage possible, at WrestleMania. HHH asked why would Angle set Rousey up for failure. 

Before Angle could answer, Rousey asked HHH why would he so two-faced to sign her with ulterior motives. Stephanie said Rousey was rough around the edges and she didn’t understand the format yet, but they would polish her up after they rebuild her career after they beat her Sunday at WrestleMania. Rousey said she understood the format and wanted an answer. Stephanie said they signed Rousey because Rousey was a huge star. Everyone wanted to see Rousey in the ring. Stephanie said Rousey had an appalling attitude, but they brought Rousey to WWE because it was best for business. Stephanie told Rousey that Angle had already cost Rousey millions of dollars and derailed Rousey millions of dollars, as well as the company. Stephanie said Rousey and Angle both work for her and asked Rousey who the hell does she think she is?

Angle stopped Rousey from answering and said “She’s Ronda Freaking Rousey” to a huge pop and said she was an UFC champion and this Sunday she was going to make Stephanie tap out. Stephanie laughed it off. H*HH asked Angle what makes him so confident of that. HHH said he gets that the UFC built entire divisions for her (well, that’s Mrs. Cyborg) but in this ring, that means absolutely nothing. HHH said Rousey has been dreaming of coming to WWE her whole life, but to Stephanie and him, the WWE is their whole lives. HHH said in this ring, they know the rules and Rousey has no idea what’s going to happen. HHH said it’s a foregone conclusion, Rousey is going to lose. 

Coachman stepped in and said the first fan question was to Stephanie and HHH “How important is it for you borth to win this match at WrestleMania 34 and how will it imapct the future for the WWE?” Stephanie said it’s important to show the locker room that’s when there’s an uprising, the Authority will quickly bite the head off the snake. They will make quick decision, they will shut you down and everyone else in the locker room will learn to respect authority. 

Coachman’s next question was to Angle and Rousey: “How do you feel about teaming with Rousey at WrestleMania?” Angle said whether it’s a ring, a cage or an octagon, Rousey is the baddest woman on the planet and this Sunday she would prove it by making Stephanie tap out. 

Coachman asked for final thoughts. Stephanie told Rousey that Rousey’s first match in the WWE would be a loss to her, and the whole world knows how Rousey handles losses. Rousey asked Stephanie if she is left or right handed. Stephanie said right handed. Rousey said she was just curious because she still wanted Stephanie to sign her checks after she rips off her arm. Crowd actually popped before Rousey could finish the line. 

Coachman called for a picture between the two teams but said it wouldn’t get out of hand like the UFC weigh-ins. Then it got out of hand. Angle and HHH got face-to-face. Stephanie and Rousey glared at each other. Stephanie extended her hand. Rousey refused to shake it. Stephanie talked trash and Rousey got in Stephanie’s face. Stephanie started to walk out of the ring, but Rousey stepped in front of her. Angle turned his back and HHH hit Angle from behind with the microphone. Rousey grabbed HHH by the throat, but Stephanie took Rousey and back suplexed her throught the table. Rousey looked up at Stephanie with a great facial expression as Stephanie trashed talked her. HHH and Stephanie rose each other’s hands and left amid a chorus of boos. Rousey was standing up within minutes. 

Bayley defeated Sonya DeVille (w/ Mandy Rose and Paige) (9:52)
Bayley kicked out of a Oklahoma Side Roll and pinned Sonya DeVille with a schoolgirl cradle. They had a ragged match with some missed spots early. Bayley got the majority of the offense as they built spots around a side headlock early. The trophy that will be awarded to the winner of the Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania was at ringside. 

Postmatch, Mandy Rose and DeVille jumped Bayley. Sasha Banks ran down and threw Rose out of the ring. Bayley threw DeVille over the top rope. Banks told Bayley to raise her hand for thanks for saving Bayley. Bayley looked surprised and refused to raise Banks’ hand, saying she didn’t need Banks’ help. Bayley threw a forearm and started throwing punches on Banks from the mount. Then Rose and DeVille ran back in the ring to go after Bayley and Banks and left the former best friends laying. 

They played the same package about Asuka detailing her winning streak. 

They showed the Miz’s Instagram to highlight Maryse giving birth to the couple’s daughter.

Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor (22:02) 

Miz came out for commentary. He came off like a man about to turn babyface and he talked about how everything changes when you become a father. He said he’s been pooped on, cried on and wet on, but he has the best daughter and he wants to show Monroe Sky Mizanan that he’s the greatest Intercontinental Champion ever. The match spanned through two commercial breaks and the crowd came alive after Rollins hit a tope. Miz started putting the match over big after a near fall by Balor at around the 18:00 mark. They played off the finish from last month where Rollins hit a superplex and tried to roll into a Falcoln Arrow, but Balor turned it into a small package. This time, Rollins kicked out. Rollins hit the Rainmaker Knee, but Balor kicked out. Rollins went for a frog splash, but Balor got his knees up and immediately turned it into a cradle, but Rollins escaped. Crowd chanted “Finn” at this point. Rollins rolled out of the ring and Balor tried the running kick, but Rollins caught his leg. Rollins teased the power bomb into the barricade, which the announcers emphasized destroyed Balor’s shoulder two years ago, but Balor escaped and threw Rollins into the barricade. Balor tried the Coup de Grace, but Rollins rolled away. Rollins hit a superkick to the midsection but missed a Curb Stomp, Balor got the O’Connor roll but Rollins reversed into a schoolboy cradle, then released the cradle to hit the Curb Stomp for the three count. Excellent match. 

After another video package profiling Reigns vs Lesnar, Paul Heyman was on his phone saying to someone “I can see it now, the Brocktogan.” Angle walked up and told Heyman he wanted his main event to stay intact. Heyman said he was planning nothing more than to have himself to Lesnar to say his peace with no drama. Angle asked Heyman not to say anything that would endanger Lesnar’s well-being. Heyman just laughed about Reigns possibly endangering Lesnar’s well-being. Heyman said he and his client would take it under consideration. 

Sheamus and Cesaro came out. Sheamus said that they don’t care who Strowman’s tag team partner is because as strong as Strowman is, it’s still a tag team match. Cesaro said at some point, Strowman would have to tag in his partner. Sheamus said Strowman will never be part of a real tag team and he will never wear the tag team championships. 

Strowman showed up to “These Hands” chants. Strowman said if the Bar was trying to say he doesn’t play well with others, they were right. But management said he had to get a tag team partner, so he has one. Strowman said he was just talking to his partner in the back and he doesn’t appreciate what The Bar was saying about him. Sheamus said if Strowman’s partner was so upset, why doesn’t he come out. Strowman said he will, but only if he gets a match tonight against either Sheamus or Cesaro. Crowd chanted “yes.” Sheamus said he normally disagrees with the people but he wouldn’t pass up that opportunity. Strowman said he would go get him. Strowman walked to the back and said he was a lot like him, just a little different. Strowman’s music played and Strowman came out wearing glasses that looked like Bubba Ray Dudley and a white dress shirt. He claimed he was Braun Strowman’s brother “Brains” and he’s coming down to knock theirs out of their head. 

The announcers played dumb for a moment but acknowledged that Strowman has still yet to reveal his tag team partner. The Bar double-teamed Strowman, but he fouht both of them off, clotheslined Sheamus and gave Cesaro a Beal throw. The crowd was flat and seemed let down that Strowman didn’t announce his mystery partner. Cole maintained that Strowman will have to name his partner on Sunday. 

Goldust did a promo about Andre the Giant by quoting a line from “The Princess Bride.” Goldust said he was going to win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal and then HBO will have to make a documentary about him, and no one will ever forget the name of Goldust. 

Matt Hardy popped up on the screen and cut a promo on Goldust saying he will be the one to honor the memory of celestial spirit #8 and win the battle royal. Hardy and Goldust are set to wrestle tonight and Hardy said Goldust was set for deletion. 

Matt Hardy defeated Goldust (3:12) 

Hardy hit the Side Effect for a two count, then tried the Twist of Fate, but Goldust sent him to the ropes for a powerslam. Goldust missed an elbow off the second rope, and Hardy kicked out of Goldust’s schoolboy cradle to get the pin with a Twist of Fate. Hardy walked up to the Andre the Giant Battle Royal Memorial Statue and repeated “procure, procure, procure” while hugging the statue. 

Alexa Bliss and Mickie James did a promo. Bliss said that Jax has a face made for radio. Bliss laughed with James about how Jax is going to do a sit-down interview with Renee Young tonight and she wondered if Jax was going to start blubbering tonight. Bliss said after she beats Jax at WrestleMania, Jax was going to be blubbering in her blubber. 

Cena came out. The crowd was more anti-Cena that any time this WrestleMania season and chanted for “Undertaker” right away. Cena said he hates to say it, but we’re out of time and there’s no answer, so he was wrong. In this case, silence means no Undertaker. No one was buying it. Cena said he wasn’t upset because he did everything he could do to get Undertaker out of retirement. He’s still going into WrestleMania fired up and is going to WrestleMania as a fan. Cena said Cole tried to talk him into entering the Andre the Giant Battle Royal or be Strowman’s tag team partner, but he said he lost in the Royal Rumble, lost in the Elimination Chamber and lost at Fast Lane. He said if he took one of those spots, he would be taking the spot of a WWE Superstar who had earned that opportunity. Cena said he called out Undertaker for a larger than life opportunity for the both of them. He said one year ago today, his life changed when he got engaged to Nikki Bella. Cena said maybe this WrestleMania is a time for a change. Crowd still chanted for Undertaker. Cena said he hopes Undertaker hears them, but he doesn’t think he does. Cena said he’s going to WrestleMania as a fan and he’s proud of it. Crowd booed. Cena called out Rollins, Balor, Daniel Bryan, A.J. Styles (who he called the best in-ring performer he knows) as people he’s looking forward to seeing. He’s proud that WrestleMania falls on the same day of Rusev Day and he’s even proud that he knows what WWE stands for, saluting Elias. He called out the women. Cena wanted to take a second to apologize about the Undertaker, he said he did everything he could on social media to stir up the Undertaker in Cleveland, in Dallas and in Atlanta.

Then Cena stopped and questioned whether the fans in Atlanta really tried to summon the Undertaker. Fans gradually started cheering and Cena acknowledged how lukewarm the reaction was by saying the Atlanta crowd was as hot as a Dallas warm-up. Cena got everyone standing and cheering, but no sign of Undertaker. Crowd chanted for Undertaker some more, but again no sign of him. Cena looked despondent and the crowd booed. Cena said for four straight weeks, the Undertaker hasn’t done a damn thing while the people poured their hearts out for them. Cena said the Undertaker can ignore him, but whe Undertaker ignores him, then Undertaker is a dead man walking. Cena said it’s clear to everyone that Undertaker left his hat in the ring, but he left his balls at home. Crowd actually chanted for Cena after that. Cena’s music played and he walked to the back. 

Angle met with Reigns backstage. Angle said he already had one WrestleMania match not happening with Cena vs. Undertaker now “off the card,” so he doesn’t want another one. Angle said Heyman told him that Brock wouldn’t do anything to provoke Reigns and asked Reigns to stay in the back tonight during Lesnar’s interview. Reigns questioned whether Lesnar was even there and why should Angle believe Heyman? Angle confirmed that Lesnar is there. Reigns said he’s staying, but because he has a ton of respect for Angle he’s willing to hear Heyman out. But after last week, the week before that and the last six years of disrespect that Lesnar and Heyman has given him, everyone in the back and every fan, if he hears one bit of disrespect tonight he’s going to confront Lesnar. Reigns told Angle to take his peace treaty back to the pawn show where he hocked his gold medals.

Elias was in the ring for yet another promo. Elias said the last stop on the road to WrestleMania is this dump in Atlanta. He said they should go to a city that actually matters, and after tonight he’s got the performance of a lifetime set for WrestleMania. He asked for everyone to silence their cell phones and shut their mouths, but Rhyno and Heath Slater came out. 

Elias defeated Heath Slater (w/ Rhyno) (1:12) 

Elias pinned Slater after a knee to the jaw and Drift Away.

Strowman walked in the back when Curt Hawkins approached him. Hawkins was wearing a “Pick Me, Braun” t-shirt. Hawkins said that his brother, Brains, can’t be in the same place at the same time. Hawkins asked Strowman to pick him. Strowman asked what was Hawkins’ win-loss record? Hawkins said it wasn’t great but that’s where Strowman comes in, if Strowman picks him, it would be his big break. Strowman threw  Hawkins through a wall and said “there’s your big break.”

Asuka & Dana Brooke defeated Alexa Bliss & Mickie James via tapout (10:37)

Asuka forced James to tap out with the Asuka lock. Dana Brooke worked most of the match as the crowd chanted for Asuka. James hit her Mick Kick finisher but only got two. Cole emphasized that if Jax lost the tag team match, her undefeated streak is over, and the same goes for Jax/Miz in the Mixed Match Challenge against Bobby Roode and Charlotte tomorrow night. 

Postmatch, James and Bliss jumped Asuka. Brooke ran in,  but James and Bliss delivered a double hoist DDT on her. Jax ran out for the save. Jax grabbed Bliss by the hair, but James came up from behind with a forearm to Jax’s back. Jax flipped James on her side and gave her a Samoan Drop as Bliss ran to the exit. 

Lesnar and Heyman were on their way to the ring. Angle stopped them and asked where they were going. Heyman vowed they were only going to say positive things about Reigns.  

After Lesnar and Heyman got in the ring, a group of wrestlers formed a human wall on the ramp in case Reigns tried to rush out. It included Sheamus, Cesaro, Curtis Axel, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Titus O’Neil, Rhyno, Bo Dallas, Apoolo, Slater and several others. Heyman was distracted by this and told Angle just because Angle has proven to be an ineffective mentor for Rousey, this is the perfect example of overcompensatory behavior. Heyman said Angle doesn’t have control because control is defined by the man who holds the Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar. Heyman said it’s true, it’s true. Heyman swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help him God. The truth is before the last WrestleMania that took place in New Orleans, he stood in this ring and vowed that Lesnar would conquer Undertaker’s undefeated streak. Heyman said it wasn’t a prediction, it was a spoiler, which meant it was the truth. And then Lesnar defeated the Undertaker, and no one laughed at them then. They laughed at each and every one of the fans who doubted them. Heyman said in six days and the only two beings on the face of the planet who hold a WrestleMania win over the Undertaker will meet. Heyman said everyone acts like its fate for Reigns to dethrone Lesnar and you can’t help but be impressed by Reigns. Heyman said you have to respect Reigns, but the truth is this Sunday, Lesnar will F-5 Reigns and pin him in the center of the ring 1-2-3. That’s not a prediction, that’s a spoiler. It’s the truth. Now, an unfortunate truth in life is that there are accidents in life, and should Lesnar lose on Sunday, this will be the last time you will see him and Lesnar on Raw. Crowd cheered. 

Heyman will say his goodbyes on social media, but since Lesnar will be saying hello to everyone from UFC, Heyman wanted to dispel something that was out of character for Lesnar. Heyman said the image that he’s built around Lesnar since 2012 that he looks around the locker room and thinks “none of you can shine my boots.” The mystique that Lesnar looks at the fans and thinks he’s worthy of contempt and disdain and disgust. That Lesnar chooses who he fights only on his own merit and on his terms. He said that image is 100% true. Heyman said it’s understated, because Lesnar feels there’s not one member of that locker room that can hold his jock, much less take his title. Heyman said Reigns’ only choice is to accept defeat on Sunday night, because it’s easy to make choices when you have no options. Heyman said Reigns’ choices is like his ass, they’re both owned by Lesnar. Heyman said if Reigns thinks he’s going to have a victory party, he’s going to go up to his wife, his kids, his father and his uncles and say he got conquered by Lesnar. Heyman said Reigns ain’t no Big Dog, this ain’t no yard and he’s going to be another notch on Lesnar’s title belt. Heyman said the truth is Reigns is Lesnar’s bitch. 

Reigns came out and was greeted by O’Neil, Sheamus, Cesaro, Slater, Dallas, et all. Reigns couldn’t get past them as Lesnar mocked him in the ring. Reigns grabbed a microphone and told the wrestlers “all you full-time guys are going to protect that part-time bastard. Think about it, boys.” Sheamus, Cesaro, O’Neil Gallows, Slater, Rhyno talked amongst themsleves and let Reigns pass. Reigns marched to the ring and stared down Lesnar, who told him to think about it real hard. Crowd chanted “Let’s go Roman.” Reigns got in the ring and they stared each other down. Lesnar put down his belt. After they circled the ring, Lesnar rolled out of the ring and just smiled at Reigns as he picked his belt back up. Lesnar picked up a chair, put the belt down and got back in the ring. Reigns didn’t back up as they circled the ring again. Reigns hit Lesnar with a Superman Punch, and then another, then another and then another. Lesnar got up with the chair, but Reigns hit him again with a Superman Punch. Reigns picked up the Universal Championship and held it up to the crowd as he looked to the WrestleMania sign. Then Lesnar quickly got up and hit Reigns with an F-5 on the belt. Heyman told Lesnar that the F-5 put Reigns down. 

NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated four men to win the New Japan Cup. Now only Kazuchika Okada stands in the way between him and the IWGP Heavyweight title.

Sumo Hall will be home tonight to Okada’s 11th title defense. If he is successful, he’ll tie with Hiroshi Tanahashi for the most consecutive successful defenses in the title’s history. Sabre has been outright dominant over the last month, with no one being able to solve the riddle of how to escape from his submissions. Sabre worked on Okada’s arms one day ago at the Road to Sakura Genesis show, so that may play a part in tonight’s match.

Other title matches include Will Ospreay defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Marty Scurll. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru will defend the Junior Tag Team titles against Roppongi 3K and BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi in a three way. And Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa will defend their NEVER Six-Man titles against Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin & Ryusuke Taguchi.

The latest in Bullet Club drama will also transpire as The Young Bucks will open the show against Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi. Meanwhile, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi will take on Cody & Hangman Page in the semi-main event.

Join us for live coverage at 3 a.m. ET. There will be English commentary by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis.

**********

THE YOUNG BUCKS DEFEATED CHASE OWENS & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI

Owens and Takahashi jumped the Bucks after they turned their backs after the teams traded handshakes. The Bucks fired back with dropkicks and stereo planchas. Matt was wearing his weight belt and selling his back. 

Owens and Takahashi worked over Nick with strikes. Owens picked up two nearfalls before Nick was able to make a tag to Matt, who ran wild with kicks. Matt applied the sharpshooter to OWens, but Takahashi broke it up. Matt hit a standing moonsault on Owens, while Nick hit a slingshot legdrop on Yujiro. 

The Bucks went for the Indytaker, but Yujiro pulled Nick off the apron, and Owens and Takahashi worked over Matt. Owens went for a package piledriver on Matt, but Nick broke it up. The Bucks hit Owens with superkicks, and Nick did a tornado DDT off the apron to the floor on Yujiro. Matt applied the sharpshooter on Owens and got the tapout. 

After the match, both teams shook hands. This was a fine opener, but was more about furthering the Bucks storyline than going for a blow away match. 

TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO DEFEATED TAKASHI IIZUKA & TAICHI

Taichi attacked Ishii with his staff before the bell, while Iizuka took Yano outside. Iizuka used a chair on Ishii and Yano while the referee’s back was turned. They brawled on the floor and into the crowd, and Taichi used a mallet to hit Ishii in the head. 

Suzuki-gun continued to break rules, as Iizuka used a rope form his trunks to choke Ishii. Ishii sold a lot more for Taichi than you might expect. Ishii and Iizuka bit each other, and Ishii ran Iizuka and Taichi into each other. He made the tag to Yano, who untied the turnbuckle pad. Taichi whipped Yano into the exposed buckle, and Iizuka worked him over with the rope. 

Yano used a backslide for a nearfall. Taichi shoved the ref down, and Yano ducked Iizuka’s iron glove, hit a low blow, and rolled him up for the pin with an assist from Ishii. This was not a particularly good brawl. 

BAD LUCK FALE, TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE, MICHAEL ELGIN & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI TO RETAIN THE NEVER OPENWEIGHT SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Elgin and Loa started off, trading chops. Elgin applied a headlock. Loa hit a belly-to-back, but Elgin did not release the hold. Elgin hit a powerslam and a missile dropkick from the middle rope. Fale cut Elgin off from the apron and pulled him to the floor. Fale choked Elgin with a microphone cord, before tossing him back into the ring. 

The Guerillas of Destiny remained in control until Fale missed a charge into the corner, allowing Elgin to tag in Makabe. Makabe dropped Fale with a lariat, and scored a nearfall on the big man. Fale hit Makabe with a shoulder block, leading to a double down. 

Taguchi and Tonga got tags, and Taguchi ran wild with hip attacks on Tonga and Loa. Taguchi’s team did their clothesline train spot, but the Guerillas pulled Elgin and Makabe out of the ring and worked over Taguchi. Taguchi’s team recovered, allowing him to hit Tonga with a 619. 

While Fale, Elgin, Loa and Makabe brawled on the floor, Tonga was able to recover, and hit Taguchi with a gun stun, leading to the pinfall victory. This started in slow motion, but the last couple of minutes were fun. 

HIROSHI TANAHASHI, DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO, JAY WHITE & YOSHI-HASHI

Finlay and White started off. They traded strikes, then the action spilled outside. Finlay whipped White into the barricade, and took him back inside. White lawn-darted Finlay into the turnbuckle, and all six men brawled on the floor. 

Back inside, YOSHI-HASHI and Goto worked over Finlay. Finlay escaped a chinlock and hit a dropkick, allowing him to tag in Juice. Juice hit his jabs on Goto, and hit a full nelson bomb. Juice hit a high cross off the top on Goto for a nearfall. Juice got the best of a lariat exchange with Goto, but Goto recovered and hit an ushigoroshi, and both men went down. 

Tana and YOSHI-HASHI tagged in, and Tana hit a dragon screw. He went for a slingblade, but YOSHI-HASHI ducked, and the CHAOS team worked over The Ace. Finlay nailed White with a cutter, Juice hit Goto with Pulp Friction, and those four spilled outside, leaving Tana and YOSHI-HASHI the legal men. 

Tana hit slingblade, and a High Fly Flow, and pinned YOSHI-HASHI. After the match, Finlay stared down White, reminding him that their U.S. title match is just weeks away. This was good, solid, by-the-numbers stuff. Finlay, in particular, showed great intensity. 

MINORU SUZUKI & KILLER ELITE SQUAD DEFEATED TETSUYA NAITO, EVIL & SANADA 

Suzuki and Naito paired off while Killer Elite Squad and SANADA and EVIL went to the floor. Suzuki slapped Naito, who responded by spitting in Suzuki’s face. Suzuki looked to attack, but Naito and SANADA hit him with dropkicks, and the LIJ team went to work on Suzuki. 

Naito worked Suzuki over in the corner, before Suzuki slipped out of the way of an attack and applied a rope-assisted armbar. Both teams brawled to the floor, and Suzuki and Naito went into the crowd. Suzuki used a chair on Naito, while Archer terrorized a child at ringside. Back inside, Suzuki applied a kneebar on Naito, who was barely able to make the ropes. 

Smith tagged in and hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Smith missed a top rope legdrop, and Naito hit a tornado DDT on Smith, and an enziguri on an interfering Suzuki. SANADA got a tag and hit a plancha, before Smith cut him off. Smith hit a bridging suplex for a nearfall. SANADA came back with a springboard dropkick after taking the Ric Flair corner bump. 

EVIL and Archer tagged in, and traded some hard-hitting offense. Archer used a Boss Man slam, but SANADA jumped in to assist his partner. EVIL and SANADA went for the Magic Killer, but Smith cut them off, and Smith and Archer hit SANADA with the Killer Bomb. 

While Suzuki grounded Naito with a kneebar on the floor, Smith and Archer nailed EVIL with a Killer Bomb to pick up the win. So Killer Elite Squad vs. EVIL and SANADA looks to be the direction for the IWGP tag titles. 

Naito and Suzuki cut promos after the match, teasing a future Intercontinental title match between the two. 

This was excellent. Suzuki looked good, and Naito felt like a transcendent star for the first time since Wrestle Kingdom. 

YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & DESPERADO DEFEATED SHO & YOH, & HIROMU TAKAHASHI & BUSHI TO RETAIN THE IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

SHO and YOH dominated thr early going, inlcuding hitting stereo topes on Desperado and Kanemaru before the bell. BUSHI and Takahashi took control, working over YOH. Kanemaru and Desperado broke up an STF by BUSHI on YOH, and continued to work him over. 

YOH was finally able to tag SHO, who hit a dropkick on Kanemaru and a spinebuster on Desperado. Takahashi blind tagged himself in, and ate a spear from SHO. YOH got a tag and hit a flying forearm on Takahashi. SHO and YOH got a nearfall, and SHO hit deadlift suplexes on Takahashi and BUSHI. 

Rocky Romero jumped into the ring and Takahashi put the boots to him. Takahashi and BUSHI double-teamed SHO and YOH, leading to a nearfall. Takahashi hit Time Bomb on SHO, but Kanemaru pulled the referee out of the ring as he attempted to count the pinfall. 

With the referee out, Desperado jumped in and hit BUSHI, Takahashi and SHO with belt shots. Although he was not the legal man, the referee recovered and counted the pinfall as Desperado covered SHO. 

SHO and YOH were impressive as always, but this was missing something, it didn’t have a lot of heat, and the screwy finish didn’t help. 

WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED MARTY SCURLL TO RETAIN THE IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Scurll applied an arm-wringer. Ospreay flipped out of it, but Scurll re-applied it immediately. They did a great sequence with Ospreay flipping and Scurll serving as a base. Scurll teased the chicken wing, and Ospreay teased the Oscutter, leading to a stalemate. Ospreay ducked two lariat attempts, Scurll went outside, and Ospreay hit a space flying tiger drop to the floor. 

Scurll recovered and hit a superkick on Ospreay from the apron. Scurll wrenched on Ospreay’s neck and sent him into the barricade. Back inside, Scurll continued working over the neck with a draping DDT and a torture rack. Ospreay slipped out of a Gory special at the ten minute mark, but Scurll continued his assault on the neck. 

Ospreay slipped out of a chinlock and hit a rebound enziguri. Ospreay really started selling intense neck pain, and was just barely able to hit another enziguri and a standing shooting star. Ospreay hit Cheeky Nandos and a german. Scurll went for a suplex, but Ospreay turned it into a stunner. Scurll developed a bruise under his right eye. 

Ospreay covered, but Scurll bridged out and hit a pumphandle neckbreaker, getting a nearfall off of it. Scurll hit a discus forearm and a lariat for another nearfall. Scurll went for a neckbreaker, but Ospreay escaped. 

They flipped to the apron, then to the floor, and Scurll hit a jumping tombstone on the floor. Scurll tossed Ospreay back inside and got another nearfall. Scurll hit a neckbreaker for yet another nearfall at the twenty minute mark.

A strike exchange ended with Ospreay hitting an enziguri and a powerbomb. Ospreay hit a Robinson Special, and teased the Oscutter, but Scurll pushed him to the floor, and he hit his neck on the apron on his way down. 

Ospreay recovered and teased a suplex on the apron, but Scurll hit an enziguri. Ospreay hit a Spanish Fly to the floor, but smashed his head on the apron on the way down, busting him open, and crushing his neck at a grisly angle. 

Scurll beat the count back inside, and Ospreay hit a Phoenix Splash for a nearfall. Ospreay went for a shooting star, but Scurll avoided it, and hit a kick to the back of the head for a nearfall. Scurll went for the chicken wing, but Ospreay flipped over for a cover and a nearfall. Ospreay hit the Oscutter, but could not make a cover. 

Scurll was up first, and hit a spike piledriver for a nearfall. Scurll did the finger break spot on both of Ospreay’s hands, and stomped on his head, before applying the chicken wing. Ospreay was just able to make the ropes, breaking the hold at the thirty minute mark. 

Ospreay turned another tombstone attempt into a stunner, and hit the Oscutter for the win.

This was insane. The storytelling was incredible. Ospreay finally got a big time win over Scurll, but at what cost? 

Ospreay cut a promo after the match, challenging KUSHIDA, who was at ringside doing commentary. KUSHIDA accepted the challenge. 

CODY & HANGMAN PAGE DEFEATED THE GOLDEN LOVERS 

Kenny and Cody started off, but Cody tried to cheap shot Ibushi, then begged off and tagged in Page. Cody tried to cheap shot Omega from the apron. Omega hit a plancha to the floor on Cody and Page. Omega and Ibushi doubled up on Cody with strikes, but Page jumped in and cut them off. Ibushi and Omega teased the Cross Slash stereo moonsaults, but had to settle for stereo ranas on the floor. 

Cody cut Omega off and nailed him with a chair on the floor, then went to work on Ibushi in the ring. Page and Cody cut the ring in half and worked over Ibushi, concentrating their attacks on Ibushi’s arms. Ibushi hit a dropkick, and made a tag to Kenny, who ran into a double team buzzsaw. Page hit a neckbreaker from the middle rope for a nearfall. 

Page hit a pumphandle fallaway slam for a nearfall, and Cody continued the attack with a butterfly lock. Cody tossed Omega to the floor, and pulled a table from under the ring. They teased a suplex on the table, but Kenny suplexed Cody on the floor. Page made the save and slammed both Golden Lovers on the table. 

Page set Kenny up on the table, and Cody teased comig off the top through the table, but he was interrupted by the Bucks, who came out to express their displeasure with all of this. Omega recovered as the Bucks left, and the action returned to the ring. Omega hit a wheel kick on Cody, busting him open over his left eye. 

Ibushi got a hot tag and ran wild on Cody. The Lovers both hit moonsaults and made a cover, but Cody kicked out. The Lovers hit Cross Slash, and Omega power bombed Cody into a german from Ibushi. Cody escaped a Golden Shower, and hit a suplex on Ibushi. Cody tagged Page, who hit a dropkick on Kenny into a standing shooting star on Ibushi for a nearfall. 

The match broke down into a four-way, with Omega hitting a V-Trigger and a snap dragon suplex. Cody went to the top, but Ibushi hit a backflip kick. They teased a One-Winged Angel through the table, but Page made the save. Page and Cody hit Ibushi with a springboard Doomsday Device, and Page sent Omega through the table. 

Ibushi countered with a double backflip kick, and hit a Last Ride on Cody for a nearfall. Ibushi went for Kamigoye, but Page grabbed his leg from the floor, and Cody rolled Ibushi up, stealing the win. 

Cody and Page tried to attack Ibushi with a chair after the match, but Omega made the save and ran them off.

This served its purpose in furthering the Elite’s stroyline, and was different enough from the previous bout that they didn’t have trouble following a match of the year candidate. 

KAZUCHIKA OKADA DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR. TO RETAIN THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

 The first five minutes of the bout were spent on the mat, with Sabre using his catch style and wide arsenal of holds. The story they were telling was that while Sabre is the master of that style, that Okada was also comfortable on the ground, and willing to try to beat Sabre at his own game. Okada got a pair of one counts that Sabre quickly bridged out of. 

Okada tried for a cloverleaf, but Sabre turned it into a heel hook, then a kneebar, but Okada slipped to a waistlock, and again briefly got Sabre down for a one count. Okada slipped out of a heel hook and a surfboard and got a two count, and hit a European uppercut on the break, the first strike of the match. 

Sabre applied an abdominal stretch, and transitioned to a cobra twist, but Okada reached the ropes. Sabre grapevined Okada’s right leg, and used his legs to torque and twist Okada’s left leg. Okada fought back with strikes and went for the dropkick, but Sabre turned it into a submission attempt, forcing Okada to fight to the ropes. 

Okada taunted Sabre, and dared him to strike him. Sabre was happy to oblige, and hit European uppercuts, but in doing so, played right into Okada’s hands. Okada hit a flapjack, a big boot, a back elbow in the corner, and a DDT. Sabre rolled to the apron and applied an octopus hold on the ropes. Okada fought back and kicked Sabre to the floor. 

Okada sent Sabre over the barricade and hit a running crossbody over the fence, into the crowd. Red Shoes started the twenty count, so Okada brought the action back inside. Sabre applied a headscissors and applied a stretch muffler, but Okada reached the ropes, forcing a break. 

Sabre went to work on Okada’s right arm, teasing that Okada wouldn’t be able to hit the Rainmaker with a bad arm. Sabre missed a charge into the corner, but avoided the dropkick and applied a guillotine. Okada tried to turn it into a slam, but Sabre turned it into a rear naked choke. Okada slithered out and hit a neckbreaker. 

Okada hit a scoop slam and went for the flying elbow, but Sabre caught him off the top and turned it into a cross armbreaker. Okada rolled through and reached the ropes, but more damage was done to the right arm. They traded forearm strikes, before Okada was able to land the shotgun dropkick, leading to a double down. 

Okada turned a backslide into a Rainmaker attempt, but Sabre caught him and went to work on the arm. Okada slipped out, hit a short dropkick, then his trademark dropkick and a tombstone. Sabre grabbed the right arm from the mat, and used wrist control to enter pinning combinations and score two close nearfalls.
Sabre got the best of a strike exchange, but Okada was able to hit another dropkick.

Seemingly unphased, Sabre applied a cross armbreaker, then transitioned to a triangle choke. Okada powered up and hit a Rainmaker, and maintianed wrist control after impact, allowing him to hit a second Rainmaker. 

Okada went for a third, but Sabre applied an octopus. Okada slipped out, hit a tombstone, and a third Rainmaker, then covered Sabre for the win. 

With the victory, Okada tied Tanahashi for the most consecutive IWGP Heavyweight title defenses. And so, as Gedo cut a promo after the match, Tanahashi entered the ring, the crowd chanting his name. The Ace challenged Okada for his IWGP title. 

WWE Main Event results: The Revival vs. Titus Worldwide

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Raw rehash and WrestleMania build dominated the show this week. It otherwise saw The Revival steal a win against Titus Worldwide in the opener and a six-man cruiserweight tag match that ran at under two minutes in the main event.

**********

The Revival defeated Titus Worldwide (w/ Dana Brooke) (5:50)

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder continued their build towards their appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania with a win over Titus Worldwide. Vic Joseph put over on commentary again and again how they always know where the other is and what a successful team they have been of late, leading us to wonder how they will function in an every-man-for-themselves matchup.

Due to their cult following on the NXT roster, The Revival still get a strong crowd reaction when they come out — and that was especially apparent this week on Main Event. Apollo and Dawson started things off in the ring together in a match that was 50-50 throughout.

Titus O’Neil eventually got the heat and bulldozed both Wilder and Dawson, but Wilder managed to get them into a strong position when he blind tagged in so that The Revival were able to double team O’Neil and set up the Shatter Machine for the win.

Kalisto, Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik defeated Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari & Jack Gallagher (1:46)

Last week on Main Event, top billing was given to six-man cruiserweight tag action, but it was frustratingly short with the finish coming at just after two minutes of action. In what was almost a rematch of last week’s match, with TJP substituted for Gallagher, this one was even shorter with Kalisto sealing the victory for the luchador team.

The highlight of the match was when Metalik stood on the apron and ducked his head under the top rope, ushering Dorado to use him to propel him over the top rope. Dorado ran up and launched himself off Metalik’s shoulders to the outside, striking both Daivari and Gallagher onto the floor.

Over on 205 Live, the offerings this week were extremely strong, with Nese and Mark Andrews putting on a really quality singles match. Nese came up short there, just as he did here, when Kalisto nailed him with an enzuigiri and followed it up with the Salida del Sol for the victory.

Impact Wrestling results: Austin Aries collects another belt

Posted on by Dave Bath

Previously: Ethan Carter III made his final appearance on Impact after picking the fired briefcase in the Feast or Fired reveal.

Tonight: Impact World Champion Austin Aries takes on X Division/Grand Champion Matt Sydal. Plus, Brian Cage meets Bobby Lashley.

Show Recap —

– Earlier in the week, Austin Aries ran into Matt Sydal and Josh Mathews. Aries challenged Sydal to a match. He promised to put the Impact World Championship on the line if Sydal agreed to put Mathews’ Grand Championship up for grabs as well.

Petey Williams defeated Rohit Raju, Suicide, and Taiji Ishimori

Raju hit a suicide dive to the floor on Williams and Suicide. Ishimori followed up with the Golden moonsault to the floor, then all four guys rolled each other up and traded near falls.

Ishimori scored a very close near fall after hitting the 450, but Williams hit the Canadian Destroyer on Raju for the win. After the match, Williams announced he’s cashing in his Feast or Fired X Division title shot at Redemption.

– Eddie Edwards got into his car and drove to Ohio in search of OVE.

Su Yung defeated Amber Nova

Braxton Sutter did the ring introduction for Yung. She jumped Nova, dominated the match, and picked up the easy win after hitting the Panic Switch.

– McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Johnny Impact before Jimmy Jacobs interrupted. Jacobs promised to have a surprise for Impact.

– Backstage, Taya Valkyrie bragged about defeating Rosemary. Rosemary was on top of the indoor offices following Valkyrie, with her and Valkyrie having a wild brawl in the back. A bunch of people tried to separate them but failed. Rosemary dove off the top of the offices onto Valkyrie and the other guys.

KM defeated Fallah Bahh (from WrestlePro in Brooklyn)

Bahh was firmly in control until KM took over. Bahh made a comeback after hitting the Samoan drop, but he missed the Banzai Drop and KM rolled him up with his feet on the ropes.

Brian Cage defeated Bobby Lashley

They traded moves early on, including both hitting step-up hurricanranas. Lashley gained the upper hand and took over. Cage fired back and hit a huge flip dive to the floor.

They exchanged stiff shots in the middle of the ring. Lashley regained control of the match and wore down Cage, but Cage made a comeback and hit a springboard tornado DDT. Lashley hit the spear, but Cage rolled to the floor. The finish came when Cage hit the discus lariat for the win.

– In the back, Allie approached Gail Kim and asked for advice on how to deal with Yung. Kim motivated Allie to stand up to her.

Flashback Moment of the Week: AJ Styles defeated Petey Williams and Chris Sabin in Ultimate X

Williams set up for the reverse DDT on Sabin, but Styles hit the moonsault into the reverse DDT on Williams — taking out both. Styles climbed across the cables, but Sabin nailed him with a dropkick that knocked him off.

Sabin and Williams fought over the belt in the middle when Styles springboarded across the ring and grabbed the belt out of their hands for the win.

– In the back, Eli Drake approached Moose and attempted to switch briefcases. Moose turned him down and challenged him to a briefcase vs. briefcase match.

– In Ohio, Edwards invaded a Rockstar Pro Wrestling show and attacked a bunch of guys with a kendo stick. Edwards brawled with Sami Callihan and OVE. They hit Edwards with a bat and a version of the Meltzer Driver.

Impact World Champion Austin Aries defeated Grand Champion Matt Sydal (w/ Josh Mathews) in a title vs. title match

Alberto El Patron watched this match in the back while eating a steak. Aries was firmly in control early on. He attempted a suicide dive, but Sydal cut him off with a spinning heel kick.

Sydal attempted a standing moonsault, but Aries got his knees up. They traded stiff shots in the middle of the ring. Sydal scored a two count with a sliding German suplex. Aries attempted a suicide dive again, but Mathews grabbed his legs.

Mathews tried interfering again until Petey Williams ran down and held him off. Sydal missed the Shooting Star Press and Aries connected with the discus forearm. Aries then hit the brainbuster to win the Grand Championship.

Next Week: Moose takes on Eli Drake in a World title shot briefcase vs. World Tag Team title shot briefcase match.

WWE NXT results: Regal introduces the North American title

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: The NXT North American Championship will debut at TakeOver: New Orleans in a six-way ladder match with EC3, Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream, Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain, and Ricochet.

The Medium News: Johnny Gargano will return at TakeOver, as he goes one-on-one with Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match.

The Little Beaver-sized News: The Authors of Pain will meet Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong next week in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

**********

Earlier today, Tommaso Ciampa showed up at Full Sail for tonight’s event and confronted William Regal about Johnny Gargano assaulting him at his physical therapist and his home. Mr. Regal agreed that was crazy and booked Ciampa vs. Gargano in an unsanctioned match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. If Gargano wins, he gets his job back. But if Ciampa wins, then Gargano’s banished forever.

So if Gargano loses, what’s stopping him from showing up at Ciampa’s physical therapist or at his house at 3 a.m.?

**********

On the other side of the opening credits, we were joined inside the arena by Mr. Regal. He announced that we will crown our first-ever NXT North American Champion at TakeOver: New Orleans. Before he could go on, we were joined by the re-debuting EC3. He debuted a new theme bragging about him being in the top one percent.

He thanked Regal for rolling out the red carpet for him, including giving him a lucrative contract and a wonderful theme song, but he couldn’t believe Regal would create a brand new championship and give it to him on his very first day. He stated that North America is the best region in the world and he is a literal money-printing machine.

Regal cut him off and said he’s not being handed the North American title. He is one of the best, however, and because of that he will be in the North American title match. It will be him and five other men in a ladder match to determine the first champion. The fans were much happier than he was about this.

EC3 did state that no matter how many men he has to go through, he will be North American Champion and prove that he is in the top one percent of this industry.

**********

We were magically whisked away to the NXT Control Center, where Charly Caruso talked about the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. We are down to the semifinals, which will occur tonight.

*********

Earlier today, TM61 were at the Performance Center and were disappointed about losing in the Dusty Classic. They said they need a change in attitude to beat some of these better teams.

Meanwhile, Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler got into a fight behind them, which the cameraman, rightfully, felt was more important. A bunch of people ran in to break it up while the cameraman bumped for them.

**********

The Authors of Pain defeated The Street Profits in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinal match

The incredibly popular Street Profits were here to kick off the in-ring action tonight. They had a hard road to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic ahead of them as they went two-on-two with the reigning tournament winners, The Authors of Pain.

Montez Ford talked trash to Rezar, so Rezar shoved him and yelled back at him. Ford showed his intelligence by immediately tagging out. Dawkins came in and became a punching bag for a little bit, but soon ran wild on both Akam and Rezar. This caused Ford to run around dancing outside the ring before offering Paul Ellering whatever was in his solo cup. Ellering threw it to the ground and threatened Ford.

Ford stalked Ellering up the ramp and didn’t even notice that Akam and Rezar took back over on Dawkins, pinning him after the Last Chapter. Montez Ford is the biggest idiot of the week.

**********

Cathy Kelley interviewed Mr. Regal backstage. He said Adam Cole will be the second competitor in the North American title ladder match. Velveteen Dream walked up and said Regal looked well and then was miffed when Regal didn’t return the compliment. Anyway, Dream wanted to be in the ladder match as well. Regal agreed and made him the third entrant.

**********

Aleister Black has promised to be here tonight, but 30 minutes in he had yet to arrive. To be fair, he may have forgotten this show was at Full Sail and instead flew to Center Stage.

**********

Lars Sullivan defeated John Silver

Sullivan hasn’t been seen in almost three months. To welcome him back they found the smallest and skinniest man in Orlando, put him in tights, and told him to go get killed. If it helps, Silver did do a great job getting killed as Sullivan flung him all over the ring before hitting a military press powerslam and a diving headbutt, of all things.

Sullivan picked up the win with the Freak Accident.

**********

Again, Kelley was wandering backstage and, again, ran into Mr. Regal and, again, asked him who else would be in the North American title match. Regal ran into Lars Sullivan and put him into the ladder match. Sullivan promised to destroy people with a ladder, but he wanted Killian Dain as well.

Regal then put Dain in the ladder match too. Sullivan continued to glare at him, so Regal made Sullivan vs. Dain for next week on NXT.

**********

Dakota Kai was out for the next match when we suddenly went backstage due to a commotion!

Aleister Black had finally arrived at the arena and was brutally attacked by the NXT Champion. Andrade “Cien” Almas laid the boots into his challenger — before trying to drown him in ice water. Almas showed a heart by stopping the drowning, but he dragged Black into the arena and into the ringside area.

Almas threw him into the ring and laid him out with a steel chair. Almas screamed that Black needs to respect both Almas and Zelina Vega before leaving.

Jeez, if I was Aleister Black I would have wished I didn’t show up at all. Oh and Kai’s match has been rescheduled.

**********

Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne defeated SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinal match

Strong and Dunne became allies due to a common foe in the Undisputed Era. They got into the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic due to an injury by Tyler Bate. They somehow won their first round match, but now they must defeat the former NXT Tag Team Champions in Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe of SAnitY.

Strong started the match and Dunne was not going to allow SAnitY to use sneaky underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. Especially since Dunne has his own sneaky underhanded tactics. Dunne worked over the arm of Young, but EY got out of a double wristlock and turned it into a suplex.

Strong and Wolfe tagged in and woke the crowd up with a hockey fight spot. Wolfe used a German suplex and an Attitude Adjustment on Strong, but he kicked out. Young used his wheelbarrow suplex, but Dunne broke it up.

A four-way brawl broke out, which ended with Young using his diving elbow on Strong, but he kicked out of that as well. Strong ran wild, Dunne tagged in, and he pinned Young after a double team pop-up into a flapjack.

Strong and Dunne have defeated one duo of former NXT Tag Team Champions and now are in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic against another team of former champions. It is Strong & Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain in the finals next week.

**********

For Pete’s sake, Kelley was once again outside of Mr. Regal’s office. She, again, asked who would be in the North American title match. Again, Regal said she was in luck and he had the sixth contestant in his office. Regal went into his office and out walked the sixth and final contestant — Ricochet. The show went off the air with the fans in the arena chanting for Ricochet as Kelley look stunned.

So, that does it for this week. It is the go home show for TakeOver next Wednesday! Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

WWE Mixed Match Challenge live results: Last semifinal match

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Images: WWE

The finals are set for the mixed tag team tournament with the last semifinal match taking place on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. Becky Lynch subbed for Charlotte Flair to team with Bobby Roode as they defeated Sasha Banks & Finn Balor.

Charlotte & Bobby now advance to meet Asuka & The Miz in the finals next week. The tournament final has Charlotte and Asuka in the ring against each other on opposing sides just days ahead of their match at WrestleMania for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. 

Charlotte Flair missed the semifinal match after undergoing minor dental surgery last week. Becky Lynch won a fan vote over Lana and Carmella to became the replacement for the match. Even though Becky scored the deciding pinfall for her team, the substitution is only temporary as Charlotte will once again team next week with Bobby Roode. 

Balor & Banks won a fan poll of their own last week, with them getting 40 percent of the vote and earning their way back into the tournament. Last week’s edition of Mixed Match Challenge also saw Asuka & Miz advance to the finals after Asuka tapped out Alexa Bliss.

Becky Lynch & Bobby Roode defeated Sasha Banks & Finn Balor

Becky pinned Sasha with an inside cradle to win the match. Sasha & Finn were running wild in the closing moments when Becky cradled Sasha.

Though Bobby and Finn started the match, the story revolved more around the women. They were having a friendly competition until things got heated. An argument quickly turned into a slugfest.

When the men were tagged back in, Bobby began to work over Finn — building towards a hot tag. Sasha and Becky traded near falls. Becky gave Sasha a superplex that led into a double down. Finn ran wild after a hot tag. Becky made the save to break up Finn’s pinning attempt. Bobby executed a blockbuster for a near fall. Finn fired up and tagged Sasha.

Sasha jumped off the top rope to drop double knees on Becky. After knocking Bobby out of the ring, Sasha followed with a dive through the ropes on Bobby. Finn then dropicked Bobby into the barricade. With victory for her team seemingly near, Sasha rolled back into the ring only to get caught in a cradle by Becky for the pinfall.

Kurt Angle got a hometown pop when he came out on stage after the match. He plugged the finals next week before he put over the charities involved in Mixed Match Challenge.

Next Tuesday either Girl Up or Rescue Dogs Rock will gain $100,000. Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode against Asuka & The Miz determines the winning charity. All other charities represented in the tournament will each receive $10,000.

The brackets for the tournament leading to the finals next Tuesday:

WWE SmackDown live results: Fallout from Daniel Bryan’s return

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 27, 2018
Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

The Big Takeaway —

Daniel Bryan cut an impassioned promo announcing a tag match featuring himself and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34. If Owens and Zayn win, they get the re-hired.

Despite his long history and friendship with Owens and Zayn, Bryan was pissed at them for trying to take away his ability to wrestle again. He was sick of playing GM and is ready to fight them at WrestleMania.

Bryan acknowledged that Shane was at the hospital, placing the blame entirely on Owens and Zayn, but explained he had reason to believe Shane would be ready for the match. The announcers said they would keep us up to date on Shane’s status leading up to Mania.

Show Recap — 

The announcers welcomed us to the show and they aired a video recap of Daniel Bryan’s return and the attack by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Corey Graves said we would find out tonight if Bryan would be able to fight through his injuries and address the Pittsburgh crowd tonight. The crowd chanted for Bryan in the background.

Jinder Mahal & Rusev (w/Sunil Singh & Aiden English) defeated U.S. Champion Randy Orton & Bobby Roode (18:16) 

Sunil came out in a neck brace and his arm in a sling. Mahal blamed his injuries on the attack by Orton and Roode last week. Mahal said they would feel the wrath of the tiger, Sunil, one day but tonight they would face a lion instead. He introduced Rusev who was loudly cheered.

Sunil tried to get involved early on and Roode was going to deal with him, but Orton grabbed him and tossed him into the barricade. After a break, Orton and Roode weren’t on the same page and kept tagging themselves in until Rusev cut off Orton with a kick.

The heels worked over Orton and Mahal even did a chop(~!) off the middle rope. Roode made a hot tag and ran wild on Mahal. He nailed a spinebuster but Rusev broke up the cover. Rusev got ready for Orton to jump in but he didn’t. Roode tossed Rusev out of the ring but the distraction allowed Mahal knock him down and they went to a second commercial break.

They worked over Roode for a while until Orton tagged himself in (instead of waiting for the hot tag) and gave Rusev a powerslam and draping DDT. Mahal was about to attack him so Roode jumped in.

Mahal pushed Roode into Orton and Orton took it the wrong way (the spot looked bad, like Roode hit him on purpose). Orton gave Roode an RKO, then Rusev nailed a Machka Kick for the pinfall win over the champion.

They showed the Mario Lemieux statue outside of the arena.

Backstage, Mahal and Sunil were thrilled about their victory. They ran into Rusev and English, and Mahal invited them to his US Title celebration after Mania. Rusev said he was going to find Bryan and ask that he turn the title match into a fatal four way. English sang that it would be RusevMania. Mahal was pissed and commanded Sunil to take off his ridiculous neck brace.

Shinsuke Nakamura found AJ Styles in the locker room and asked if he was okay. Styles didn’t know what he was talking about. Nakamura noted that Styles didn’t help him last week and wondered if he lost his confidence. Styles said his confidence is never an issue.

Nakamura wanted to ensure both men were at their best at Mania asked him to be in his corner tonight. Styles figured that would even the odds with Chad Gable in Shelton Benjamin’s corner and didn’t want to risk their match, so he agreed.

Becky Lynch defeated Ruby Riott (w/Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan) (6:00)

Riott almost won via pinfall with her feet on the rope but the referee noticed and stopped on the count. Lynch tossed Riott into Morgan, who had jumped on the apron, and won with a cradle after a series of counters. Logan and Morgan tried to attack Lynch afterwards, but she tossed them both over the top as a preview of the Women’s Battle Royal.

A stern-looking Daniel Bryan (with a new t-shirt) was shown backstage. He’s next. 

Bryan came out to huge chants of “Yes” and “Daniel Bryan.” Bryan said he loves being in Pittsburgh (me too) and the crowd chanted Yes. He remained on the stage for his interview. He said he had been waiting for last week for so long and was thankful for the fans. They chanted “You still got it,” but he got serious and cut them off saying he had a job to do.

He said Smackdown was the land of opportunity and was going to give Owens and Zayn just one more opportunity. The crowd booed. Bryan announced Owens and Zayn vs. Shane McMahon and himself at WrestleMania. The crowd cheered. Bryan said the attack on Shane has landed him in the hospital but has reason to believe that he’ll be ready for Mania.

Bryan said if Owens and Zayn lose, they’ll remain fired, but they win, they’ll be reinstated. He said people wonder why he kept giving them opportunities. He spoke of their history together as friends, wrestling together, and whenever he needed a place to stay, they were there for him.

Bryan said it was part of his job to give opportunities, but he has a lot of other duties, like attending meetings, doing paperwork and wearing blazers (the crowd booed these things). Bryan was sick of all of those things and threw down his blazer. He wanted to wrestle and Owens and Zayn tried to take that away from him, but he’s back and will fight at WrestleMania.

He said there are things he is not supposed to say as a GM and role model and underdog. But this was the Daniel Bryan who was fighting for his dreams and wouldn’t take no for an answer. This was the Daniel Bryan would fight Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania and kick their ass. The crowd cheered. Yeah, Bryan is pretty great.

Benjamin and Gable cut a selfie pop-up video promo backstage. They complained about not having a match at Mania despite being the brand’s best athletes and Benjamin said he would take his opportunity tonight against Nakamura.

They did a promo for Mixed Match Challenge tonight. Charlotte isn’t there tonight, so Roode said he would have a new partner.

The US Title match at Mania is officially a four-way.

Bludgeon Brothers defeated Big E & Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston) via DQ  

New Day cut a pre-match promo. Kingston stated that their road to WrestleMania was littered with garbage thanks to the large, smelly, disgusting, sweaty, hairy, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad pieces of trash Bludgeon Brothers. Woods said they made the mistake of leaving the New Day the ability to walk and they would run through them tonight and get back on the road to winning the tag team titles.

The match only went a couple of minutes before the Usos ran down to attack the Bludgeon Brothers (who had taken control and attacked Kingston on the outside) and the referee called for the bell (tough a DQ was not officially announced). My feed cut out, but the segment ended with New Day and the Usos standing together on the aisle staring down Harper and Rowan.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyler Breeze (w/Fandango) (2:09)

Ziggler won quickly with a Zig-Zag. There was a funny spot where Ziggler ran away from Breeze around the ring, but Fandango was also running because he presumably thought Ziggler was chasing him. Fandango kept running even after the participants got back in the ring. Ziggler gave Fandango a superkick after the match. All three of these men will be in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. 

They’re letting fans vote between Lynch, Lana, and Carmella to determine Charlotte’s temporary replacement as Roode’s partner tonight.

The Usos vs. New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers for the tag titles was announced for Mania. There was a video package earlier for Charlotte vs. Asuka.

Shinsuke Nakamura (w/WWE Champion AJ Styles) defeated Shelton Benjamin (w/Chad Gable) (9:26)

They made sure to mention this was the first match between these two in WWE, but not ever. The last time was more than 3 years ago in New Japan.

After a break, Nakamura made a comeback as Gable tried distracting him. Styles yanked Gable off the apron, but Benjamin managed to hit a Northern Lights suplex for two. Benjamin tried Pay Dirt but Nakamura countered into an armbar and eventually a triangle choke. Benjamin powered out and hit an enziguri, but Nakamura came back with a knee off the top and Kinshasa for the win.

Styles applauded the win. Nakamura grabbed a mic and asked him to enter the ring. Nakamura thanked him for being at ringside, but he didn’t need his help. Nakamura only wanted to show Styles how he would beat him at Mania.

Styles said Nakamura was playing games, but he wasn’t. It was a dream match for the fans, but it was a dream match for him too, because outside of himself, Nakamura was considered the best and Styles would prove he was the best by defeating him.

After Nakamura left, Benjamin and Gable jumped Styles. Nakamura ran in to make the save. Styles was left in a prone position so Nakamura set up for the Kinshasa. He ran at Styles but stopped himself before hitting the move. He shouted “knee-to-face” and patted Styles on the head.

I thought this was good and the crowd got up for it. Nakamura is amusing, although at this point, it’s probably perfectly acceptable for Styles to just punch him in the face.

WWE Raw live results: The build to WrestleMania continues

Posted on by Josh Hamlin

The Big Takeaway: Only two weeks before WrestleMania, not that newsworthy of a show. There was no Undertaker in the main event, where John Cena pinned Kane in a no-DQ match. Cena cut another promo on Undertaker to conclude the show. Brock Lesnar beat up Roman Reigns again in the opening segment. Main news item was Bayley and Sasha Banks brawled in the back after an exchange of hostilities. 

Show Recap: 

Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out to mainly cheers. Heyman showed highlights of Reigns getting beat up by Lesnar last week. Heyman said Reigns suspension has been lifted, which means for everyone who’s waiting for Reigns to come out, Heyman said Reigns isn’t here this evening. Heyman said Reigns was raised by WWE Hall of Famers, like his father Sika and his uncle Afa, and the rest of his family to be a badass, to wrestle and to win. But its was a shame they didn’t raise Reigns to be a man. Because a man would be in Cleveland tonight. Heyman said it was Reigns who claimed to be at Raw week in and week out, whether he was advertised or not. Heyman said Reigns was advertised tonight but he wasn’t here two weeks before WrestleMania. And for the record, if Lesnar was the one who was beaten up last week like Reigns was last week, Lesnar would come down that ramp like King Kong on his knuckle, propel himself into the ring, put the Universal Championship on the line and dare Reigns to take it from him. 

Heyman said Reigns isn’t man enough to take another beating from Lesnar, which is why at WrestleMania Reigns isn’t man enough to take the Universal Title away from Lesnar. As Heyman was about to do his catchphrase, Reigns walked out through the crowd slowly. Reigns picked up a chair, but Lesnar clobbered Reigns with a clothesline at ringside. Reigns pushed Lesnar into the ringpost and slammed the chair to his back three times. Reigns jumped off the ring steps in an attempt to hit Lesnar with the Superman Punch, but Lesnar caught him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Lesnar picked up a set of ring steps and rammed Reigns in the head with them hard. Lesnar took the steps and whacked Reigns again, this time in the ring. Lesnar picked up the chair that Reigns hit him with, which was already dented, and slammed it over Reigns’ back repeatedly. 

Just like last week, Lesnar started to leave but went back to the ring for more. Lesnar gave Reigns the F-5 on the ring steps, then climbed the steps and posed with the belt. 

After a commercial, Reigns staggered up the ramp without any help. 

Nia Jax defeated Mickie James (with Alexa Bliss) (7:05) 

Mickie James pounded on Jax’s right knee, using a chop block after Bliss tried to interfere on the floor. Finish came when James went to the top rope, but Jax picker her off the top rope, pressed her and pinned her with a Samoan Drop. 

Postmatch, Bliss came in the ring and forearmed Jax on the back. Jax looked stunned and chased Bliss from the ring. Jax screamed and Bliss and called her a bitch, which they tried and failed to bleep out. 

There was a profile package with HHH and Stephanie McMahon building up their match with Rousey and Angle. HHH said Angle was an idiot and this was all hiis fault. HHH said this wasn’t judo or MMA, this was “their world.” HHH said people can look at them and everything they have and think it was just handed to them, that Stephanie has was she has because she’s Vince McMahon’s daughter. But it has nothing to do with that. Joe DeFranco, a strength and conditioning coach, was interviewed and said HHH and Stephanie train year around, commonly doing midnight workouts. We got HHH doing box jumps and tossing around a medicine ball. Stephane was training like Dana White getting ready to box Tito Ortiz for three rounds in 2006. Stephanie said Rousey looked vulnerable last week and she doesn’t have any clue what she’s in for. Stephanie said she’s ready to exploit Rousey’s arrogance. 

They showed HHH beating Angle several times during Angle’s original WWE run from 1999-2005. Stephanie said Rousey doesn’t scare her because she’s a McMahon, which means she will work for her. Stephanie said they will humble Rousy just the way they’ve humbled every superstar in the WWE. 

Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali defeated TJP and Drew Gulak (4:04) 

Drake Maverick was on commentary. The storyline was Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali will face each other for the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania and they were teaming tonight. Alexander hit a springboard clothesline on TJP, but Drew Gulak made the save. Ali completely overshot Gulak on a somersault tope. Finish was Alexander gave TJP a handspring kick, but Ali made the blind tag. Alexander gave TJP the Lumbar Check, but couldn’t get the pin because Ali had already tagged in. Ali pinned TJP with the 054. Alexander and Ali smiled at each other but was there some tension over Alexander not getting the pin. 

The Miz, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas were out for MizTV. Miz got welcome home chants since they were in Cleveland, but he said “I live in L.A.” Before Miz got to Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, Miz acccused Axel and Dallas of failing him. Miz said the past two weeks, he has been left laying because they let him down. Dallas said they are doing the best they can. Miz said maybe should Bo-Lieve himself back to catering because Dallas would be nothing without him. 

Rollins came out and said this was great to see the MizTourage hash out their problems. Miz said this was an issue he needed to sort out with Dallas and Axel. Rollins said the MizTourage was feeling unappreciated. He asked Miz when was the last time Miz thanked Dallas and Axel. Miz wondered if Rollins was kidding. Rollins said he wasn’t because if it wasn’t for the MizTourage, then the Miz wouldn’t be Intercontinental Champion. Rollins started a “MizTourage” chant. Miz said the MizTourage knows he is grateful for them, and they should be thankful for him because he elevated their careers. Miz said even without the MizTourage, he would still be the Intercontinental Champion, be a huge star. Dallas shot up and said Miz would be a phony A-lister who can’t fight. Rollins asked Dallas to repeat that. Miz asked Dallas to repeat that, too. 

Before he could, Finn Balor came out and said it looks like Miz needs his help and he wanted to hear what Dallas said. Balor claimed that Dallas said the Miz was the biggest jerk he had ever met. Dallas said that’s not what he said, he said Miz was a phony A-lister who can’t fight. Miz looked stunned as the crowd chanted “yes.” Miz looked Dallas in the eye and muttered “say that again.” Dallas started to repeat himself but Miz slapped him. Dallas wanted a piece of Miz, but Axel held him back. Miz said he was trying to motivate Dallas because he was 34 days away from becoming the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, meaning he would be better than Randy Savage, better than Shawn Michaels, better than Mr. Perfect. 

When Miz said that, Axel got mad. Crowd didn’t seem to pick up on the fact that Axel was Curt Henning’s son. Miz was remorseful and told Axel that one slipped. Miz tried to calm everyone down with breathing techniques and said MizTV was now canceled for tonight. Miz wanted to leave, but Dallas and Axel got in his face and wouldn’t leave. Rollins annd Balor laughed. Miz said no one wanted to see this. Crowd cheered and chanted some more. Miz backed up, right into Rollins and Balor. Then Axel and Dallas jumped Balor and Rollins, showing it was all a ruse that Miz had set up. Dallas and Axel tried to set up Balor for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows came out to save Balor. Dallas and Axel brawled to the back with MizTourage. Miz was left alone with Balor, who recovered and gave him a Sling Blade. Rollins tried to give Miz the Curb Stomp, but Miz got out of the ring and left the Intercontinental belt in the ring. Balor and Rollins looked at the belt, and Rollins took it while looking at Balor and held it over his head. Balor pushed Rollins out of the way as Miz tried to jump Rollins and decked Miz. Rollins clotheslined Miz out of the ring. Balor gave Rollins a forearm to the nose and picked up the Intercontinental belt. 

Kane did an interview from the back telling Cena there are demons you should never call out, demons that should Rest In Peace. Kane said Cena wasn’t going to WrestleMania because tonight he was going straight to hell. 

Charlie Caruso did an interview with Jamie Frost, the opponent for Asuka, who said that Asuka likes to say no one is ready for Asuka, but Asuka wasn’t ready for her. 

Asuka defeated Jamie Frost (:30)

Frost slapped Asuka, who responded with a knockout roundhouse kick for the pin.

Michael Cole reviewed the Ultimate Deletion last week, something that he looked like he didn’t want to do. Corey Graves was more than happy to review what happened. Matt Hardy did a promo saying that Bray Wyatt has been deleted and he was entering the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania, the field of which now includes Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder and Baron Corbin.

Bayley was in the back when Sasha Banks approached her. Banks said she got Bayley’s text. Bayley started to walk off, and Banks asked if that was it? Bayley said she was entering the WrestleMania women’s battle royal and that was it. Banks wondered if they were going to talk about last week. Bayley said there was nothing to talk about because Banks knows what she did. Banks raised her voice and said she was sick of Bayley’s passive-aggressive nonsense. Bayley said she thought Banks liked Bayley being passive because that was the type of friendship they wanted to have. The one where Banks gets to do whatever she wants because Bayley gets to be right by her side going along with it. Bayley says Banks loves it that Bayley puts Banks first, that Banks loves that she allows Banks to walk around like Banks is the legit boss. Banks says she is the boss and she does for herself for her career and makes no apologizes for it. Maybe Bayley should do that so that everyone around here doesn’t think Bayley is a complete loser. Bayley said the truth is Banks can’t beat her. Banks said she’s a four-time Raw Women’s Champion. Bayley asked how long did Banks keep it. Bayley started to walk away but Banks grabbed her from behind and rammed her into a locker. They brawled with Bayley making a brief comeback and Banks ramming Bayley into a table. They were pulled apart by Banks broke free. Bayley kicked her back and they were finally separated. 

Sheamus and Cesaro came out to face Braun Strowman. Sheamus wanted to know who Strowman’s partner was. Strowman said he would reveal his partner if Sheamus could beat him. Sheamus got mad and demanded to know who was Strowman’s partner. Strowman said maybe Sheamus would get to find out, but he guaranteed Sheamus would get these hands. 

Braun Strowman pinned Sheamus (with Cesaro) (7:54) 

Jonathan Coachman compared not knowing who Strowman was teaming with to not knowing who LeBron James was going to team with. Graves called that a terrible analogy because James has a professional basketball team around him. After Strowman threw Sheamus around early, Sheamus made a comeback working on Strowman’s left arm. Strowman would ram his shoulder into the post after missing a charge. Sheamus missed a Brogue Kick and Strowman pinned Sheamus with the running powerslam.

Angle came out and introduced Rousey. Angle said WrestleMania was the most intimidating stage for anyone to compete in for the first time, but after watching Rousey train the last few weeks, he knows she’s ready. Angle brought up HHH and Stephanie’s interview from earlier and said they write the rules and make the rules. Angle said this wasn’t going to be easy. 

Rousey, who had blood red under the bottom of her eyes, said it was fine that it wasn’t going to be easy because she wasn’t looking for easy. Rousey said she was there to earn everything that she gets. Rousey said Stephanie talks tough, but she’s trust-fund talk, she’s limousine tough and personal trainer tough. Rousey said Stephanie is going to get everything she deserves, which is her ripping Stephanie’s arm out of her socket. 

Absolution walked out. Paige said the one thing that will absolutely destroy Rousey is not having friends. Paige said this is our show and this is her house. Paige said she understands Rousey grew up watching the WWE, but people will take advantage of Rousey and Paige offered to have Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville as her background. Rousey politely declined saying that Angle had her back. Paige said Rousey could become the fourth member of Absolution. Rousey thanked Paige for the offer but turned it down. Paige said she understands that Rousey made her choice, but it wasn’t a good one because Rousey made some enemies. Rose jumped toward Rousey, but Angle held her back. Then Deville grabbed Rousey by the shoulder, but after some hesitation Rousey decked her with a clothesline. Rousey backed Rose into a corner. Rose tried to kick Rousey, but Rousey caught her leg. Rose could be heard giving Rousey instructions as Rousey gave Rose a suplex into Deville, which was mistimed. 

Angle raised Rousey’s arm, but then Rousey sensed Rose coming from behind and gave her a perfectly timed sword throw. Rousey held Rose in an armbar, threatening to break it like she was Pentagon Jr. In Lucha Underground, but Angle asked her to let Rose off free. Rousey agreed. 

The Good Brothers defeated The MizTourage (5:03) 

Anderson gave Axel the Boot of Doom, but Dallas made the save. Axel went for the Perfect Plex, but Anderson escaped with a flying neckbreaker off the top rope. Gallows pinned Axel after the Magic Killer.

Elias was back with a performance. Elias said in this kingdom of madness, there are those who walk and those who don’t walk yet, but in 13 days at WrestleMania he will give the greatest performance of his lifetime. Elias claimed he sold out Madison Square Garden last week, so coming to Cleveland is a huge disappointment. He was embarrassed to be here tonight,  but he friend LeBron James told him the same thing when he returned to Cleveland. Elias claimed James would be leaving Cleveland soon, just like he would. Elias sang a song about how WrestleMania was on the horizon, but he’s stuck in this town. The only thing that would be more embarrassing is being a member of the Cleveland Browns. Rhyno and Heath Slater were the ones who interrupted him this time.

Elias pinned Rhyno (with Heath Slater) (2:24) 

Elias blocked a Rhyno charge with a knee, followed with a clothesline and got the pin with Drift Away. Postmatch, Elias jumped Slater and gave him Draft Away, as well. 

They’re having another Rollins/Balor match next week in Atlanta. Also next week, Angle & Rousey will have a faceoff with Stephanie & HHH.

John Cena defeated Kane in a No DQ match (14:01)

Cena came out holding a towel with Ellen DeGeneres with a quote reading “Be kind to one other.” About 60% of the crowd responded by chanting “Cena sucks.” Cena tried to lift Kane for the AA, but collapsed under Kane’s weight. They fought on the floor, where Kane threw Cena into the ring steps. That led to a big brawl around the arena floor where Cena rammed a barricade into Kane’s midsection near the commentator’s table. Kane responded by suplexing Cena onto the barricade, which was posted against the table. They returned to the ring, where Kane unloosened a turnbuckle. Then Cena sat up just like the Undertaker, triggering his comeback, which included a Blue Thunder Bomb where Cena failed to get Kane four feet off the ground. Cena threw Kane into the exposed turnbuckle, then made a throat-slashing gesture like the Undertaker before he actually hit a choke slam. Cena went under the ring for a table and set it up in the ring, but Kane sat up this time. Kane tried to lift Cena, but Cena reversed and attempted the AA through the table. But Kane pushed the table over and knocked Cena down. Kane put the table into the corner, where he threw Cena but got only two. Kane pulled out another table and teased a choke slam, but Cena got behind Kane and hit the AA through the table for the pin. 

Postmatch, Cena waited for some sign of the Undertaker. There was no lightning, no bells of terror and no Undertaker. Cena said this was a match with no rules, anything can happen and anyone could be here. He screamed for the Undertaker. Crowd started chanting for Undertaker. Cena said Undertaker wasn’t deaf, he was just a coward. Night after night, city after city, the fans chant Undertaker’s name. Cena said you don’t get to be mysterious here, silence is not an answer, it’s either yes or no. Crowd chanted yes. Cena said he’s fine with no because he will go to WrestleMania as a fan, but he told the Undertaker to get his eyes out of the back of his head when the fans chant his name. Cena said do something, because now Undertaker only has one week left, one week that sums up his entire career. Cena said Undertaker can do something, or he can do nothing. And if Undertaker does nothing, Undertaker will let him down,  let Kane down and let everyone down who ever believed in the Undertaker. Cena said he hopes for the sake of everything that is good inside this ring that he sees Undertaker next week. Cena just left thee ring and that was it. 

NJPW Strong Style Evolved live results: Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks

Posted on by Ethan Renner

New Japan Pro Wrestling returns to the United States tonight with Strong Style Evolved at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.

In the main event, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi team against The Young Bucks. The match was set up when The Young Bucks moved up to heavyweight and took exception to Omega calling his Golden Lovers duo with Ibushi the best tag team in the world. The Bullet Club’s in-fighting will also continue earlier in the night, with Cody Rhodes & Marty Scurll taking on Guerrillas of Destiny.

The semi-main event features Jay White defending his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Hangman Page. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Zack Sabre Jr., who are set to face off at Sakura Genesis on April 1st, will be on opposite sides of a tag match. Okada will be teaming with Tomohiro Ishii to take on Sabre & Minoru Suzuki.

With Rey Mysterio missing the show due to his bicep injury, Will Ospreay is taking his place against Jushin Thunder Liger.

There are nine matches on the Strong Style Evolved card in total. The show airs live on AXS TV at 8 p.m. Eastern and will be live on New Japan World everywhere except the United States.

**********

Per Dave Meltzer, the main event has been changed from a 30 minute time limit to a 60 minute time limit. This breaks from tradition as NJPW only does 60 minute time limits for title maches. 

ROCKY ROMERO, SHO & YOH DEFEATED CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, FRANKIE KAZARIAN & SCORPIO SKY

Roppongi 3K ran wild on Kazarian in the early going. Kaz appeared to tweak his knee coming off the middle rope. He sold it for a minute, but continued working. Daniels hit an Asai moonsault to the floor, and Sky hit a springboard cutter as his team firmly took over. 

YOH was able to make a tag to Romero, who fired up and shifted the momentum. Romero hit a springboard legdrop. SHO and YOH were sent outside, and Sky hit an awesome tope con hilo to the floor.

The teams traded nearfalls, before SHO and YOH hit Sky with the 3K, and SHO pinned Sky. A good opener. 

JUICE ROBINSON & DAVID FINLAY DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO & GEDO

Juice and Goto started off, and traded forearms, shoulder blocks, and elbow strikes. Goto came away from the sequence with a bloody mouth. Gedo and Goto worked over Juice, who responded by hitting his trademark jabs. Gedo and Juice traded thumbs to the eye, before tagging in their partners. 

Finlay ran wild momentarily, but Goto cut him off. All four men jumpd into the ring as the match broke down, before Juice sent Goto outside. Juice landed a plancha on Goto, while Finlay hit Gedo with a cutter, and scored the pinfall. 

DAVEY BOY SMITH, JR. & LANCE ARCHER DEFEATED CHUCK TAYLOR & TORU YANO

This match was built around Smith and Archer working over Taylor, while Yano played chicken and did his trademark comedy spots. 

Smith and Archer jumped Taylor and Yano before the bell, and dominated the first several minutes of the match. Smith hit an impressive deadlift german on Taylor, and Archer did the Spoiler/Undertaker ropewalk spot.

Taylor was able to escape the Hart Attack clothesline, and made a hot tag to Yano. Yano hit an inverted atomic drop, but Archer no-sold it. Yano was sent outside, and tricked Archer and Smith into running into each other, allowing Taylor to hit a tope. Yano teased one of his own, but just untied the turnbuckle pad instead. 

Archer charged into the exposed buckles, and Taylor scored a nearfall. Taylor hit a piledriver on Archer and went for the pin, but Smith broke it up. Smith took Yano outside, while Archer and Taylor traded nearfalls off an Archer chokeslam spot. 

The finish saw Smith jump back in the ring, and aided Archer in hitting the Killer Bomb for the pinfall win. Smith and Archer are a good team, and Taylor looked good here. 

CODY & MARTY SCURLL VDEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA

Cody and Marty did boo/yay spots with the mic. This was not a pro-Cody crowd. “F*** you, Cody” chants. Cody said that there would be no match, as the Bullet Club were friends. Tanga Loa grabbed the mic and said that they would not deny the crowd their match, and that if he and Tonga were on a team, it would NOT be Team Cody. 

The teams traded offense, before Cody and Scurll took over. Scurll teased the chicken wing, but Cody stole his spotlight and tagged himself in. He went for Cross Rhodes on Loa, but Loa reversed and hit one of his own. 

Cody hit a disaster kick and went to the top, but Tonga cut him off and hit a superplex. Tonga went to the top, but Scurll cut him off and hit a superplex. Loa hit a superplex on Scurll, and Tonga, Loa, and Scurll rolled ouside. Cody teased Omega’s terminator dive, but Loa cut him off and hit a spear. 

Loan and Tonga briefly took over, but Cody recovered and hit Cross Rhodes on Loa for the pin.

I know the idea here was to sell chaos and the match was just a backdrop for the Bullet Club dissent angle that is going on, but it felt like the finish came out of nowhere. Not that it matters, as Cody got a megastar reaction, and this had the most heat of anything on the show to this point.

TETSUYA NAITO, SANADA, BUSHI & HIROMU TAKAHASHI DEFEATED HIROSHI TANAHASHI, KUSHIDA, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & DRAGON LEE 

Tana and Naito started off. SANADA jumped in for the immediate double team, but Tana used a headscissors to escape. Lee and Takahashi tagged in and traded dozens of palm strikes to the chest, which got a great reaction. Takahashi went for a flying headscissors, but Lee used a handspring to avoid taking a bump, and hit a tope on Takahashi. 

Taguchi orchestrated his train attack into the corenr on Takahashi, with everyone on the team hitting splashes or clotheslines in the corner consecutively, punctuated by Taguchi’s hip attack. KUSHIDA tagged in, but the LIJ team jumped in and cut him off. They used a quick succession of tags to gain the advantage, with the highlight being SANADA tying KUSHIDA up with the paradise lock. 

KUSHIDA was able to tag Tana, who hit double dragon screws on BUSHI and Takahashi. SANADA tagged in and stopped Tana’s momentum by hitting a springboard dropkick. Tana tagged Taguchi, while SANADA tagged in Naito. Taguchi, Tana and KUSHIDA all attempted submissions at the same time, but Takahashi broke them up. 

Things broke down into a four-way, which ended with Takahashi & Naito double-teaming Taguchi. While Takahashi fended off Taguchi’s team, Naito hit Destino for the win. 

Before the next match, Rey Mysterio came out. He apologized for being hurt, and promised to wrestle in New Japan when healthy. 

WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED JUSHIN “THUNDER” LIGER

Ospreay won with an Oscutter. They worked at Liger’s pace, which is about ten times slower than your typical Ospreay match, but Liger is about as great as you can be at 53 years old. This was fun. 

Liger hit all of his trademarks including the Romero Special, the Shotei, the Frankensteiner, and multiple Liger Bombs. Ospreay sold a knee tweak for much of the match, perhaps to explain working at a slower pace. 

After the match, Ospreay cut a promo. He thanked Liger, and challeged Rey to a future match, saying he needs to beat legends to create his own legacy. 

As he talked, Scurll attacked from behind. Mysterio tried to make the save, but Scurll hit him and took hi mask off. Liger chased Scurll, and gave Rey his mask back. Rey and Liger posed together, and Rey and Ospreay shook hands, concluding the post-match festivities. 

ZACK SABRE, JR. & MINORU SUZUKI DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA & TOMOHIRO ISHII

Okada and Sabre started, and worked to a stalemate. They tagged their partners, but continued going at it on the outside. Suzuki and Ishii also went outside, and Suzuki used a chair on Ishii right in front of the referee. 

Ishii and Sabre double-teamed Ishii with armbars while Okada took the referee. Sabre worked over Ishii’s right leg, while the crowd did dueling chants for and against him. Suzuki tagged in and continued working on the right leg of Ishii. 

Ishii made the hot tag to Okada, who ran wild on Sabre. Sabre grabbed a hold to stop Okada’s momentum, and regained control of the match with a modified octopus hold. Okada made the ropes, but abre quickly re-applied a standing octopus. Okada reversed into a tombstone attempt, but Sabre transitioned to a wristlock. 

Okada tried to apply his Cobra Clutch, but Sabre slipped out. Okada went for the Rainmaker, but Sabre ducked. Sabre went for the double wristlock, but Okada slipped away. Both men tagged out, and Ishii and Suzuki traded chops, with Ishii getting the better of the exchange. They traded hard forearms in the center of the ring, with Suzuki getting the better of that one. Ishii fought back, leading to a double down. 

Suzuki tagged Sabre, who scored a nearfall on Ishii. Suzuki took Okada to the floor and applied a sleeper, while Ishii got his second wind in the ring. Ishii hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Sabre tried for a guillotine, but Ishii slipped out. Okada jumped in and hit his dropkick, leading to an Ishii nearfall on Sabre. 

While Suzuki held Okada down in the corner, Sabre was able to apply his Orienteering with Napalm Death, a calf slicer/single-leg crab combo, and the referee called for the stoppage. 

After the match, Sabre laid out Okada with an octopus hold, seven days before they meet for the IWGP title at Sakura Genesis. Standard, by the numbers booking here, but the crowd loved Suzuki and Ishii, and Okada was treated like the megastar he is. 

They announced a North American return date, July 7 in San Francisco at the Cow Palace for a G1 Special show, Fighting Spirit Unleashed.  

IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPION JAY WHITE DEFEATED HANGMAN PAGE

The first few minutes of the bout saw them trading offense, with neither gaining a clear edge. That changed when Page clotheslined White with the middle rope, sending him to the floor. He whipped White into the guardrail, and threw him into the ring post. 

Back inside, Page deadlifted white, then bridged into an unorthodox pinning suplex attempt. Page typically does at least one spot in every match that I’ve never seen before. White was able to stop Page with a lariat and a double sledge. White got a nearfall with a low suplex into the buckle pad, but started selling his lower back. 

White went for the Kiwi Crusher, but Page turned it into a small package, scoring a nearfall. White hit a bridging german for a nearfall, and continued selling his back. Page countered with a draping DDT for a nearfall. Page went to the apron for a slingshot, but White cut him off. He tied Page in the ropes and chopped him hard, as the crowd got into the match for the first time. 

White went for the Blade Runner on the apron, but Page avoided it. White had to settle for a DDT on the apron, and he hit a gutwrench suplex on Page from the apron to the floor, which got the crowd chanting. They went up top and Page hit a swinging neckbreaker off the ropes to the mat. 

They kneeled on the mat and traded forearm strikes, selling exhaustion. Both men got to their feet and continued trading. White suplexed Page over the top rope to the floor, then went outside and hit another suplex on the floor. White tossed Page inside, and hit another suplex, and then another. 

White went for Blade Runner, but Page countered into a powerbomb. He followed with a piledriver for a nearfall. White rolled outside, and White followed him out, nailing a standing shooting star from the apron to the floor. Page then hit a moonsault from the post to the floor. 

Page hit a lariat for a nearfall. Page went for the Rite of Passage, but White rolled through for a nearfall. White hit a half nelson suplex for a nearfall, and a Kiwi Crusher for a nearfall. White went for Blade Runner, but Page countered. He hit a superkick and went for the Right of Passage, but White countered into a Blade Runner, into a three count. 

This was very good, even great at times, but the lack of heat hurt it. As I said, I appreciate Page’s creativity, but I think that both guys could do slightly less and get the same result that they’re hoping for, saving some wear and tear on their bodies. 

After the match, David Finlay attacked White, and made a challenge for the title on April 24 at Korakuen Hall. 

THE GOLDEN LOVERS DEFEATED THE YOUNG BUCKS

Matt and Ibushi started, but Matt demanded that Kenny tag in. He did, and Matt cheap-shotted Ibushi on the apron, then tagged out. Omega tagged out, leavig Nick and Ibushi the legal men. Ibushi delivered some kicks, but Omega started selling that he was conflicted, allowing the Bucks to take advantage of his kindness and take over the match. 

Omega went for the terminator dive, but Matt hit a superkick. Matt pulled a table from under the ring, in a bit of foreshadowing. Nick hit a springboard dive from the top to the floor onto both Omega and Ibushi. While Omega sold on the floor, the Bucks used tandem offense inside. Ibushi countered, and hit a dive from the post to the floor on Nick. Ibushi’s offense was short-lived, as the Bucks regained control. Matt began selling his lower back. 

Ibushi hit a desperation dropkick, and tagged in Kenny, who went to work on Matt’s back. The Lovers took over, and hit a succession of moonsaults for a nearfall. They hit stereo Golden Triangle moonsaults, the Cross Slash, in an insane spot. Ibushi worked over Matt’s back with kicks. 

Matt was able to tag Nick, who shifted momentum to the Bucks with a bulldog on both of the Lovers. Nick hit a tope to the floor on Omega. Matt hit a blockbuster on Ibushi, and Nick covered for a nearfall. Both Bucks went to the top rope, but Ibushi shoved Nick to the floor. Omega and Ibushi hit a tandem superplex on Matt. 

Omega and Ibushi teased the Golden Shower, but Nick cut them off and hit Omega with a suplex on the apron. The Bucks set up a table bridge from the apron to the guardrail. They teased an electric chair through the table, but Ibushi grabbed Matt from that position and hit a scary german suplex from the top rope into the ring. 

Nick and Omega brawled outside, while Ibushi and Matt traded strikes in the ring. Omega jumped back inside and cut Matt off with a V-Trigger, but Ibushi hit a Last Ride for a nearfall. Matt rolled through into another V-Trigger, which got the Lovers another nearfall. 

Omega whipped Nick over the barricade while Matt and Ibushi worked inside. Ibushi went for a standing moonsault, but Matt got the knees up. Omega jumped in for the save, but ate a superkick from Nick.

Nick hit a moonsault and a tornado DDT to the floor on Omega, while Matt applied the sharpshooter on Ibushi. Matt was forced to relinquish the hold after his back gave out, leading to a double down. Matt got to his feet and tagged Nick. They teased More Bang for Your Buck on Ibushi, but Matt splashed Omega through the table bridge instead. 

With Omega out on the floor, Nick hit a splash onto a prone Ibushi, who was draped on the middle rope by Matt, leading to a nearfall. The crowd started dueling chants for the teams. 

Ibushi ate stereo superkicks, but Omega made it back inside and briefly cut off Matt. The Bucks rebounded with superkicks, but Ibushi hit a bicycle kick on both men. All four men were down, and the crowd chanted “fight forever.”

Omega nad Matt traded strikes as the show hit the four hour mark. Omega hit a dragon suplex, but didn’t get all of it. Matt rebounded with a piledriver. He removed his belt and started whipping Omega with it, Hollyood Hogan-style, but Omega grabbed the belt and tossed it away, choosing to attack Matt with two V-Triggers. He went for a third, but Matt countered with a spear. 

Nick went for the Meltzer Driver, but Ibushi hit a Last Ride through a ringside table. Omega picked up Matt, and Ibushi hit a Meltzer Driver for a nearfall. Omega hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. As Omega sold exhaustion, Matt hit a superkick. Ibushi helped Omega up, and Omega hit another V-Trigger on Matt. 

Omega picked Matt up for the One-Winged Angel, and reluctantly hit it on his former friend. He went for the pin, but Nick dove in to break it up. With Matt down, Nick jumped in and hit both Lovers with strikes. Ibushi cut him off, and sent him outside. Omega and Ibushi hit the Golden Trigger on Matt for the pin. 

Omega cradled Matt’s head in his hands after he covered him, upset that he had to put his former Bullet Club mate down. He came to peace with his decision, and posed with Ibushi in celebration. 

As the Golden Lovers left, Cody ran down to attack the Bucks. Omega and Ibushi ran back in to make the save before Cody could do any damage. Omega offered a handshake to Nick, and they embraced. Omega offered Matt his hand, but Matt refused, and rolled out of the ring. 

Omega cut a promo after the match. He said that there are casualties in war. He’s upset that dissension between The Elite was one of those casualties, but he chooses to find the silver lining. The silver lining is that the Golden Lovers are back, and they’ll be back when New Japan returns in July. He promised to beat up Cody when they return, in a bigger and better building. Omega said he might have broken orbital bone, then finished his promo with a “Goodbye, and Goodnight, bang!”  

This was an insane main event, capping a very good show. 

WWE Main Event results: Curt Hawkins goes 0-188

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins lost to Heath Slater via a small package as they show him getting closer with each passing week to finally breaking his losing streak.

Top billing was given to a cruiserweight six-man tag match that ran at just over two minutes, since the lion’s share of the show was given over to Raw video packages.

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Heath Slater (w/ Rhyno) defeated Curt Hawkins (6:14)

This was a lot of fun this week. Hawkins spent the opening minutes trying to find a cheap way to win: he laid down in the middle of the ring urging Slater to pin him, but was playing possum and then went outside and tried to win via disqualification. Hawkins shoved Rhyno and then urged him to retort in front of the referee.

The commentary team is now really drawing attention to Hawkins’ losing streak storyline, while in previous months it had been glossed over. Hawkins was given a number of near falls here and at every opportunity the camera would zoom in on his face to get his despairing reaction — it is really making him look like a sympathetic figure at this point.

After a Pele kick, a pained Rhyno looked on as Slater just mustered enough strength to kick out. Hawkins then went up to the top rope, but Slater rolled out of the way so Hawkins jumped down. As he approached him, Slater rolled him up into a small package for a win that looked more unfair than ever on Hawkins and took the number to 0-188.

Kalisto, Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik defeated Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari & TJP (2:19)

Not only was this a match where the entrances of the six cruiserweights easily went longer than the actual bout, but it also inexplicably went through a commercial break.

TJP and Kalisto were fantastic to watch in the opening minute, but, like the match, it was short-lived as TJP kicked out of a cover and we headed to a break. They had played up the 205 Live storyline where TJP was taunting Kalisto about the division not being as strong as when he was the champion.

When we returned, it looked like we had missed all the action as the ring was full and the luchadores were hitting Nese and TJP with stereo suicide dives.

Dorado then quickly went to the finish on Daivari, superkicking him into position for the Shooting Star Press. The loss leaves Daivari winless in 34 straight.

Impact Wrestling results: EC3 makes his final appearance

Posted on by Dave Bath

Previously: Moose, Petey Williams, Eli Drake, and Ethan Carter III all won briefcases in Feast or Fired.

Tonight: Kongo Kong takes on Abyss in Monster’s Ball. Plus, somebody will be fired during the Feast or Fired reveal.

Show Recap —

– Alberto El Patron came down to the ring and said he’s here for a fight. Patron started to leave, but Austin Aries interrupted. Aries mentioned that they come from different places but are similar. Patron said they both have something to prove.

Patron told Aries to enjoy the title and kiss it — because it’s coming to him. Patron then told people in the back to play Aries’ music. Patron tried to leave again, but Aries stopped him. Aries pointed out that his music should be played last. However, he then told them to play Patron’s music because this will be the only time it’ll be played last.

– Josh Mathews and Sonjay Dutt ran down the card for tonight. Mathews pointed out that he’s the new Grand Champion and will be in Matt Sydal’s corner later.

Trevor Lee (w/ Caleb Konley) defeated Fallah Bahh

Bahh was in control early until Lee gained the advantage when Konley interfered. Bahh steamrolled over both guys. He set up for the Banzai Drop, but Konley interfered again and Lee rolled up Bahh.

– Sami Callihan stalked Alisha Edwards in her hotel and followed her to her room. He convinced the maid to let him in the room. Eddie Edwards was at the Impact Zone and saw this on the monitors. He ran out immediately.

X Division Champion Matt Sydal (w/ Josh Mathews) defeated Rohit Raju to retain his title

Sydal gained the advantage after hitting a spinning heel kick. Raju made a comeback with a flurry of offense. He attempted a superplex, but Sydal countered into the sunset flip powerbomb. Sydal hit the Shooting Star Press for the win.

Knockouts Champion Allie defeated Sienna to retain her title

Sienna jumped Allie to start the match and was firmly in control early on. Allie fought back and hit the codebreaker for a two count. Sienna attempted the AK-47, but Allie slipped out the back and hit the superkick for the win.

After the match, Braxton Sutter came down to the ring and tried to make up with Allie but accidentally called her “Laurel.” Sutter proposed — but Allie rejected him.

Su Yung made her Impact debut and jumped Allie from behind. She gave Allie a vicious beatdown.

– In the back, McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Ethan Carter III about the reveal later. A bunch of guys including Moose, Johnny Impact, and Bobby Lashley walked by and all said they hope he gets fired.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Abyss defeated Mick Foley In a Monster’s Ball match (Dr. Stevie Richards was the special guest referee)

Foley sandwiched Abyss between two barbwire boards and scored a near fall. Abyss then chokeslammed Daffney through a barbwire board, gave Richards the Black Hole Slam on the thumbtacks, and chokeslammed Foley through another barbwire board for the win.

– Eddie Edwards arrived at the hotel and ran to his wife’s room. He ran past the maid on the way to the room. He entered and found his wife sleeping. He searched around but didn’t find anything.

He left the room and bumped into the maid again, but it was actually Callihan in disguise. They brawled in the hallway until OVE jumped Edwards. Alisha threatened to call the cops.

Kongo Kong (w/ Jimmy Jacobs) defeated Abyss (w/ Father James Mitchell) in a Monster’s Ball match

Kong gained control after tackling Abyss through a table on the floor. He went up to the top for his splash, but Abyss threw him off. Abyss brought in the thumbtacks, but Jacobs interfered with a kendo stick.

Abyss attempted to chokeslam Jacobs on the thumbtacks, but Kong made the save and chokeslammed Abyss on the tacks instead. Abyss fought back and powerbombed Kong through a table for a near fall.

Abyss tried to hit Kong with Janice, but Kong chokeslammed him on a barbwire board. Kong hit the splash off the top onto Abyss (who was still on the board) for the win.

– Jeremy Borash hosted the reveal for the Feast or Fired briefcases. Eli Drake went first and revealed a Tag Team title shot. He was disappointed that it wasn’t the World title and threw the case out of the ring. Petey Williams went next and revealed an X-Division title shot.

Ethan Carter III and Moose both opened their briefcases at the same time. Moose revealed a World title shot. EC3 was so shocked he was frozen and didn’t open his case. He denied the case was his and refused to open it.

Borash opened the case, revealing that EC3 is fired from Impact. EC3 assumed it was a joke and mentioned all of his accomplishments. He brought up being a Carter and screamed that he’s Dixie Carter’s nephew.

EC3 changed his tone and acted humble. He tried to leave on good terms, but he suddenly attacked Borash with the case. This brought out Brian Cage, who attacked EC3 and gave him the Drill Claw.

Next Week: Brian Cage takes on Bobby Lashley.

WWE NXT results: Adam Cole vs. Kassius Ohno

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: Adam Cole defeated Kassius Ohno all by himself in an exciting main event.

The Medium News: Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne replaced Moustache Mountain and defeated Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

The Little Beaver-sized News: A fan named Johnny Gargano jumped the barricade and attacked Tommaso Ciampa before being heaved out of the arena.

**********

Hey, we’re back in Full Sail!

**********

Tommaso Ciampa walked out to start the show. The Full Sail crowd had the same reaction the Center Stage fans did, booing him vociferously and chanting about how much he sucks. There were about a dozen fans who tried to get a chant for Ciampa going, but they were overwhelmed by chants for Johnny Gargano.

Much like the last two weeks, the fans were not interested in what he had to say, booing louder and louder every time Ciampa held the mic up. Finally, Ciampa shouted that Gargano was gone and was never coming back. He didn’t get to say anything else as the fans drowned his voice out with louder boos before Ciampa left the ring.

On his way around, he grabbed several Gargano signs from fans and ripped them up. One girl actually looked like she was going to cry, and then a little old lady stood up to him. Finally, he ripped the sign out of the hands of another fan, who took off his lucha mask — and it was Johnny Gargano!

Gargano leapt over the barricade and beat Ciampa like Ciampa owed him money. Security ran in and dragged Johnny Wrestling away and threw him out of the building.

**********

Charly Caruso announced that, due to Tyler Bate being injured, Moustache Mountain have been removed from the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Bate’s knee injury has sidelined him for two weeks, and that is what led to the team pulling out.

Roderick Strong went to Twitter to plead with William Regal to put him in the Dusty Classic. Mr. Regal granted the request, and it’s now up to him to find a partner.

**********

Adam Cole and Kassius Ohno argued on Twitter and now they are wrestling this week.

Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly joked about Strong getting into the Dusty Classic. After that, they turned their discussion towards Kassius Ohno. Cole said this was a day off and he was so confident in victory he told the other two to stay backstage.

**********

Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne defeated Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round match

Strong is teaming with his one-time foe, the reigning WWE United Kingdom Champion. Lorcan and Burch have been teammates for around nine months and have had as much televised success as a team as they had as singles.

This was a shockingly even match as Dunne and Burch worked very well together. Dunne went for a leapfrog, but Burch tripped him up and turned it into a submission hold and we had a stand off as all four men went face to face. After a commercial break, Strong and Dunne had the heat on Burch, but the fans were into both teams. Lorcan eventually got the hot tag and ran wild on Strong, getting one near fall after another.

Dunne had the match won with an Ex-Plex, but it was broken up. Burch and Lorcan locked on a dual submission, but Strong kicked Lorcan off, and he fell into the Dunne/Burch pile.

Finally, Strong pinned Burch with a release suplex into a backbreaker.

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A video package for Ricochet aired. They used the never-aired match from the Center Stage tapings to showcase him.

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NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon defeated Aliyah in a non-title match

It’s time for Aliyah’s once-every-two-months match on NXT where I keep assuming she is better than she really is for some reason. She’s going up against the champ herself, who is 17 days away from facing Shayna Baszler for the second time when it’s Moon-Baszler II for the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: New Orleans.

Aliyah, who apparently took a class called Circus Skills at university, has improved at least some after two years of training. Baszler came out to do commentary for the match. She put her feet up on the announce desk and looked quite comfortable watching this bout. Anyway, Moon used a Samoan drop as a shoutout to her TakeOver opponent before using a front springboard punch to the face and The Eclipse for the win.

Baszler started screaming that Moon was helpless before standing on the announce table to have a staredown from 50 feet away.

**********

Raul Mendoza came out for a match when he was viciously assaulted by El Idolo! The NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas finally became annoyed with what Aleister Black said about him and Zelina Vega last week. He called out Black, calling him a piece of sh*t.

Apparently Black isn’t here this week and Almas was okay with this.

**********

Lars Sullivan is coming back next week. Black will also be on the show.

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Backstage, Regal announced that next week he will be making an announcement that will change the landscape of NXT forever. I bet he bought a stallion that the wrestlers will ride on the way to the ring! Okay, that’s probably not happening.

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Adam Cole defeated Kassius Ohno

It was time for the main event. Cole was taking Ohno lightly as he left Fish and O’Reilly backstage. The funny part is Cole brings those two out for his jobber matches, so in storyline Cole has less regard for Ohno than the lowest of the low. Ohno now wears a boxing robe to the ring too.

An early sequence saw Ohno break out a leapfrog, which is not easy. Seconds later, when Cole went for a leapfrog, Ohno just booted him right in the chest. And then tragedy struck as Cole tweaked his knee outside the ring. Oh no! This is horrible for Adam Cole. He may not be able to continue — wait, its a miracle. Cole is okay! He leapt up and kicked Ohno right in the head before demonstrating to the crowd that his knee was fine.

Ohno got his second wind and was building momentum. He got the world’s longest two count on a cyclone kick. I think it made the referee dizzy. Cole went bat crap crazy and exploded with a series of forearms and a brainbuster across his knee. Ohno blocked the Shining Wizard, then hit a roaring elbow and a diving elbow, which caused Cole to fall outside the ring.

Ohno got Cole back in the ring, but that was his undoing. Cole hit multiple superkicks and The Last Shot (Shining Wizard) as he picked up a big win on the road to TakeOver.

So, that does it for this week. Until next week, thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

New Japan Cup finals live results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Posted on by Bryan Rose

For Zack Sabre Jr. and Hiroshi Tanahashi, it now all boils down to the final match of the New Japan Cup tonight in Nagaoka.

Tanahashi bested Taichi, Bad Luck Fale and Juice Robinson to make it to tonight’s finals. But the story of the tournament thus far has revolved around Sabre. He defeated Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi and SANADA, which in itself is a pretty great accomplishment. But it wasn’t just that he beat them, he utterly demolished them in devastating fashion, picking all three apart and making them submit to a variety of submission moves that he has developed. He very well may be on course to rectify a Tanahashi loss from last year tonight.

The winner of the bout will be able to challenge either the NEVER Openweight champion (Hirooki Goto), the IWGP Intercontinental champion (Minoru Suzuki) or the IWGP Heavyweight champion (Kazuchika Okada) at Sakura Genesis on April 1. Sabre would probably have no problem challenging Okada if he were to win tonight.

But Tanahashi has a very interesting choice, as prior to the tournament he was utterly destroyed by Minoru Suzuki, much like how Sabre has been destroying people.. It would make the most sense for him to challenge Suzuki and take back the title he took from him, but he could also challenge Okada and break his title defense streak, which is nearing Tanahashi’s own record of 11.

Join us for live coverage tonight at 2 a.m. EDT. There will be commentary in both Japanese and English on New Japan World.

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Shota Umino defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi

A solid, basic match. Both Yagi and Umino have pretty good dropkicks, and looked good here. Umino was the one mostly on offense, as he’s the young lion with more ring time. He picked up the win with the Boston Crab.

Taichi defeated Tomoyuki Oka

Mostly just a squash by Taichi. Oka looked good as a babyface who sold for most of the match. Taichi picked up the win with a superkick in a short match.

Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Roa defeated Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin and Henare

This was alright, but nothing special. Seemed to be kind of just there. Solid action throughout with Henare working a lot of the bout for his team . Tanga Loa picked up the win with the sitout piledriver that he apparently has a vulgar name for.

Elgin and Makabe exchanged words with the NEVER six man tag team champions after the match. Kevin Kelly mentioned that information regarding the cards for Strong Style Evolved and Sakura Genesis will be out tomorrow.

Killer Elite Squad defeated Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano

DBS worked on both Yano and Ishii. Yano managed to slingshot DBS into the exposed turnbuckle but DBS soon followed that with a side suplex and grinded down Yano with a crossface. Archer came in and wiped out Ishii with the pounce, but Yano made the save for him by grabbing Archer as he hit the ropes.

Yano came in after Ishii escaped the killer bomb. With Ishii being thrown into the barricade, DBS goes for a press powerbomb, but Yano escaped and rolled him up. Archer came in and the two laid out Yano with the killer bomb for the win. A pretty decent match with everyone doing their jobs well.

Archer called out EVIL and SANADA after the match, making it clear that they were the next challengers for the IWGP tag team titles.

Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI

A basic, sold tag team match. Kind of reminded me of a WWE-style tag team match. YOSHI-HASHI worked over Juice early. Finlay got a hot tag and cleared house. Juice was tagged back in. CHAOS tried to isolate Juice but Finlay came back in and throw YOSHI-HASHI into the barricade. Goto tries for the ushigiroshi but Juice connects with a punch and hits the pulp friction for the shock win. The crowd popped for that one. That sets him up for a NEVER title match, probably at Sakura Genesis.

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA , BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Suzuki-gun quickly took it to the outside. Suzuki targeted Naito and took him to the entrance, where he choked him with a chair. Back in the ring, Suzuki-gun gets the heat on Takahashi by focusing on an arm. Naito comes in, but Suzuki took down Naito and sinks in a heel hook.

Iizuka and SANADA were in, and Iizuka was about to use the iron fingers of death on SANADA when BUSHI grabbed his feet. SANADA used the distraction to roll him up then sink in the skull end for the submission. Another perfectly fine match that did its job of establishing the next big Intercontinental title match.

Suzuki was far from done following the match and assaulted Naito all the way to the press area, where he choked him a chair. Meanwhile in the ring, Kanemaru and Desperado were having a showdown with BUSHI and Takahashi when Roppongi 3K came in and laid out both champions with the 3K. Seems clear we’ll have another triple threat match for the Jr. tag team titles down the line.

Kazuchika Okada and Chucky T defeated Kota Ibushi and Chase Owens

A focus on the match was between Okada and Ibushi, which was pretty fun. Okada wiped out both of his opponents on the outside with a top rope crossbody to the floor. Chase Owens tags in and gets offense in on Okada. Owens went for the package piledriver but went in too early for it.

Okada came back for the dropkick and went for the Rainmaker but Owens escaped. Ibushi flew in with a dropkick that took out Okada. Okada came back with the cobra clutch, the new submission finisher he’s been getting over on this tour. Owens, like others before him, submitted. Another solid bout.

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the New Japan Cup

I really liked the story that they told here, and overall it was a really well done technical match. This was a more competitive match than the other three matches, but still told a good story of Tanahashi eventually wearing down and, in the last few minutes, unable to fend off Sabre’s relentless ability to lock in a submission at any time.

They start off with mat wrestling, with both at one point getting the advantage over one another. Tanahashi has control of Sabre with a headlock and takes him down with a side Russian leg sweep. Sabre caught Tanahashi and started working on his arm.

Using wrist control, Sabre takes apart Tanahashi’s arm. Tanahashi comes back and takes Sabre to the corner, where they exchange some back and forth. Tanahashi hit the somersault senton, but Sabre came back with the Octopus hold. Tanahashi took down Sabre with the dragon screw, but Sabre came right back with the Octopus hold.

Sabre has Tanahashi in a triangle hold, but Tanahashi counters with the cloverleaf. Sabre tries to for for a cross armbreaker, but Tanahashi countered with a dragon screw. The story seems to be that while others couldn’t outmaneuver Sabre, Tanahashi can, at least during this stage of the match. Tanahashi connected with a high fly flow on the outside, wiping out Sabre.

Tanahashi is thrown out of the ring by Sabre. He skins the cat, but as he does Sabre grabs him by the leg and starts working on it. Tanahashi rallies back and hits a neckbreaker. Tanahashi goes to hit the high fly flow, but Sabre catches him and hits a knee lock.

Sabre sweeps the leg again, but Tanahashi counters and tries another dragon whip, only for Sabre to counter with a bridge for a nearfall. Sabre hits a PK kick, but still no luck. Tanahashi tries to counter with the Dragon suplex, but Sabre escapes, only to walk right into the slingblade. Tanahashi hits the high fly flow, but missed a second and landed right on his bad knee.

Sabre took the opportunity to take down Tanahashi and, despite Tanahashi struggling, managed to get him in the center of the ring an apply the Orienteering with Napalm Death, the name of his new submission that he used against Naito. Tanahashi quickly tapped, making Zack Sabre Jr. the winner of the New Japan Cup.

Taka Michinoku cut a promo after the match. He asked him a question: what is next for him? Sabre thinks about it for a minute, and says there’s no question — he wants Okada. Taka told him to come over here, and Okada obliged. Taka and Gedo exchanged a war of words before Okada and Gedo left, leaving Sabre and Taka to celebrate as the show closes.

That will make it Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Heavyweight title at Sakura Genesis on 4/1.

WWE Mixed Match Challenge live results: The semifinals begin

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Images: WWE

Asuka & The Miz advance to the finals of the mixed tag team tournament after winning their semifinal match in Dallas. Team Awe-suka defeated Team Little Big in the semifinal match as Asuka’s winning streak remains intact. 

Asuka & Miz team again in the tournament final scheduled for April 3rd — which is within the go-home week of programming before WrestleMania. The second semifinal match is set for next week, with Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode against Sasha Banks and Finn Balor.

Sasha & Finn won a second-chance fan vote to re-enter the tournament. They were previously eliminated in week seven of Mixed Match Challenge by losing to Asuka & Miz. Fans overwhelmingly picked Sasha & Finn in the fan vote as they supposedly won by 40% to become the team chosen to face Charlotte & Bobby next Tuesday.

For the philanthropic aspect of the show, Asuka & The Miz represent Rescue Dogs Rock as their chosen charity. Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman supported Connor’s Cure. The winning team in the tournament gets $100,000 donated to their charity, and all other charites represented each receive $10,000.

Asuka & The Miz defeated Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman

Asuka submitted Alexa with an Asuka Lock. Beforehand, Braun tackled Miz through a barricade for a stunt in the timekeeper’s area. Meanwhile, Alexa cradled Asuka in the ring for a great nearfall that teased ending the streak. Asuka moments later countered into a submission hold and Alexa tapped out.

Asuka & Miz progressively show signs of dissent despite being focused on the winning streak. Miz keeps referring to the streak as “theirs” even though Asuka continually corrects him saying it is her streak. She made a save during the match to keep the streak alive. Asuka also had to save the team at the finish after Miz was laid out following a stunt.

Asuka first saved the team in the match when she broke up a pin attempt. Before trying to pin Miz, Braun threw a dropkick. Yep, Braun Strowman throws dropkicks nowadays. It is some sight to see.

During the match, a spot further played up sexual tension between the characters in Team Little Big. Much like in a previous match, Alexa was knocked off the apron into the waiting arms of Braun. He held her as they gazed into each other’s eyes for an enchanted moment. Later in the match, Alexa & Braun slowly went in for a kiss. Suddenly, Miz attacked Braun to ruin the mood. Miz would pay dearly.

Braun pummeled Miz throughout much of the match. Miz tried to attack a leg, but Braun soon hulked up. Miz breaking up the kiss sent Braun into a rage. Braun several times sent Miz into the barricade as he mauled him at ringside.

Dominating in the ring, Asuka ran wild in the closing minutes. A double-down led to Asuka & Alexa selling in mid-ring, which allowed the focus to shift towards ringside where a tackle from Braun sent him and Miz crashing through a barricade. Back in the ring, Alexa got a nearfall only to shortly thereafter tap out when trapped her in the Asuka Lock.

Asuka & Miz become the first finalists in Mixed Match Challenge. In the finals on April 3rd, they meet the winners of a semifinal match next Tuesday with The Robe Warriors (Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode) against the Boss Club (Sasha Banks & Finn Balor).

Heading towards the finals like…

WWE SmackDown live results: Daniel Bryan addresses being cleared

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 20, 2018
Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

The Big Takeaway —

They didn’t waste any time getting Daniel Bryan back in action. Bryan announced his return in the opening segment but did not announce exactly when he would return to the ring. Later in the show, he fired Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for what they did to Shane McMahon.

This led to Owens and Zayn attacking Bryan, who made his own comeback. The crowd erupted as Bryan hit much of his trademark offense (kicks, running dropkicks and a German suplex) but he was eventually swarmed by Owens and Zayn. Finally, Owens gave Bryan a powerbomb on the apron and the show ended with Bryan getting placed on a stretcher.

Show Recap — 

The show started with a quick video package covering Daniel Bryan’s big win at WrestleMania 30, his retirement and the news of his return. They cut to the live crowd, already chanting “Yes.”

Bryan came out to a huge reaction. The announcers gave him a standing ovation and the crowd loudly chanted for Bryan. He didn’t let them go for too long before saying thank you.

He talked about the serious beating Shane McMahon received last week but the two responsible parties weren’t here yet, so he would address them later. He then cheered up and said, “I’m gonna talk about something else!”

He talked about how depressing it was having to retire two years ago, but he wanted to remain focused on being grateful. He spoke about his supportive friends, family and the best fans in the world.

He choked up when bringing up his wife. She told him it was great that he was grateful, but he needed to fight for his dreams. She’s the one who pushed him to see specialists. Every time he received a good review from a specialist, she’d encourage him to see another. The crowd chanted, “Thank you, Brie.”

She encouraged him to fight, so he did. There were times he wanted to quit. Bryan then fired up when talking about Brie pushing him to keep fighting. “Every hard thing seems impossible until it becomes real.” He asked WWE to take another look at his case, so they sent him to the best specialists and they all said the same thing — “You are cleared.” The crowd chanted “Yes.”

Bryan said it seemed impossible he would get cleared, but now it’s real. He thanked the WWE and their doctors because they looked at him as a person, not a wrestler. He also thanked them for giving the case a second look. He thanked every fan here and at home for supporting him the entire time.

Lastly, Bryan thanked Brie, saying no one could understand how much she supported him and he was forever grateful.

Bryan said it was time to move on to the fun stuff. He didn’t know where or when he would return and people started people to the sign, and a big “Wrestlemania” chant broke out. Bryan looked at the sign. He asked the crowd if that was a good idea and they chanted Yes.

Bryan said he didn’t know if that would happen for sure, but knew he would return to the ring and led the crowd in another Yes chant. They played his music, he waived to the crowd and left.

After a break, Charles Robinson congratulated Bryan. Bryan asked Robinson to notify him when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn arrive. Bryan was then approached by Ziggler, who congratulated him, but then added, “I can’t wait to beat you.” Bryan smiled and said he could try.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev (w/Aiden English) (7:47)

AJ Styles watched the match from ringside. Tom Phillips said his Mania match with Nakamura was 20 years in the making. They did not acknowledge Styles’ injury.

Rusev had control through a break until Nakamura came back with a flying kick, strikes, kicks to the chest and face. Rusev slipped out of a Kinshasa attempt and hit a kick to the head for a nearfall. They traded kick attempts until Nakamura caught him with a flying armbar. After a few more counters, Nakamura rolled up Rusev for the pinfall win.

English immediately attacked Nakamura from behind afterwards. English and Rusev put the boots to him as Styles slowly rose to his feet. Styles took his time taking off his vest, and as he did, Nakamura made his own come back and took out both guys. He smiled and bowed at Styles, who appeared somewhat annoyed.

They aired a video package for Asuka. Natalya approached Charlotte Flair backstage and accused her of being afraid. Charlotte said she was excited for her greatest challenge. Natalya claimed she was better than both of them. She said Asuka stole her WrestleMania moment and she’s only undefeated because they haven’t had a match yet. Natalya knows Charlotte can’t beat Asuka. Charlotte let Natalya know they have a match tonight and Natalya was happy with this. Natalya left and the camera focused on Charlotte who stared off into the abyss.

Nakamura approached Styles backstage and told him that he didn’t need him tonight. Styles said, “Yeah, I know, I was out there.” Nakamura was about to say something, but Styles cut him off and said, “You’re going to beat me at Wrestlemania, right?” Nakamura responded, “You should have more confidence,” which got a laugh from the crowd. He told Styles he would beat him with a knee-to-face and Styles was upset.

I like Nakamura antagonizing Styles but they need a better response from Styles sooner than later.

Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger (2:29)

They messed up the finish. Dillinger came off the top and Corbin caught him, went for End of Days, but Dillinger didn’t quite go up right for it and they had to stop what they were doing. Corbin held him in place in a front facelock then tossed him from the ring. He brought Dillinger back in the ring and hit End of Days for the win. Not sure you can blame one over the other on the botched finish, but Corbin did the best he could to recover.

That was just the 9th TV match for Dillinger since last September (if you include the Fastlane kickoff show) and the 6th involving Corbin.

Non-title match: Natalya defeated Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair (14:06)

Charlotte did not get an entrance and Natalya’s entrance was wrapping up as they came back from break.

Charlotte went to the top but Natalya grabbed her and hit a nice spinning sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Natalya applied the Sharpshooter but Charlotte got a rope break. Natalya followed with a discus clothesline for two. Charlotte went for the Figure Eight for the second time in the match but Natalya kicked her out of the ring.

Charlotte speared Natalya on the outside then applied the Figure Four in the ring. They rolled toward the ropes which resulted in Charlotte using the move while hanging from the apron (visually similar to Bret Hart doing the move between the ring post). Charlotte went to the top but Natalya cut her off again and hit a superplex.

Carmella’s music hit and she ran down with a referee. Before she could officially cash in, Charlotte nailed her with a big boot. Natalya then rolled up Charlotte and got the pinfall win. Good match. The announcers told the story that Charlotte has more than Asuka to worry about at WrestleMania.

Tom Phillips gave us an update on Shane McMahon’s fake-sounding injuries and said he was resting at home. After a break, they showed news coverage of Bryan’s return announcement.

Harper (w/Rowan) defeated Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso)

The Usos cut a promo before the match, letting the Bludgeon Brothers know they weren’t afraid and would continue to do whatever it took to remain champions. There was more to it than that, but this was another strong Uso promo.

Jimmy went for a dive but Rowan jumped on the apron to stop him. The distraction allowed Jey to give Harper a superkick and Jimmy gave him another one for a nearfall. Jimmy’s momentum didn’t last long though, as Harper nailed him with a discus clothesline for the win. (The match started during a break but it was no more than 4 minutes.)

Jinder Mahal (with Sunil Singh) came out for a promo. He called the fans hypocrites for booing him. He said he could be doing anything else with his millions of dollars and could be the biggest star in Bollywood with his physique. Mahal claimed he brought prestige back to the WWE Championship and made Smackdown the premier show. He said the fans should worship him and Bobby Roode interrupted.

Roode said the only thing he deserved was getting beat so Roode could win back the US Title. Roode was about to call it Glorious but Randy Orton interrupted. Orton told Mahal to shut up. Orton said people don’t respect Mahal and don’t ever mention his name when discussing the greatest champions ever because without his little stooge, he sucks.

Mahal amped up like he was ready to fight but instead pushed Sunil in his place and bailed. Orton gave Sunil a draping DDT and set up for an RKO, but Roode jumped in and gave Sunil a Glorious DDT instead. Roode went for a DDT on Orton, but Orton countered and went for an RKO and Roode countered that too. They stared each other down as Mahal watched and the crowd chanted RKO. 

Becky Lynch & Naomi defeated Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan (w/Ruby Riott) (2:38)

Lynch won quickly with the Disarmer on Logan. Morgan tried to break up the submission but Naomi knocked her out of the ring and Logan tapped.

Sasha Banks, Lynch, Naomi, Logan, Morgan and Riott are all official for the Women’s Battle Royal at Mania.

Backstage, a producer let Bryan know that Owens and Zayn have arrived. Bryan said he would meet them in the ring.

Daniel Bryan came to the ring and called out Owens and Zayn. Owens and Zayn entered and they appeared giddy. They each hugged Bryan upon entering the ring. Owens said they weren’t going to be here tonight until they heard the news that Bryan was cleared.

Owens said they raced to the arena but were late because they got pulled over by Walker, Texas Ranger for exceeding the speed limit by 10-15 mph. Owens said they talked their way out of it because “everything is dumber in Texas.”

Zayn said Bryan understood them and stuck up for them after everything that happened and he jumped up and down in excitement at the idea of Bryan’s return to the ring. He didn’t care about the Raw vs. Smackdown, “A” show vs. “B” show debate, because any show with the three of them was a dream show and said that they could be a dream team.

Bryan said he wasn’t out there for that and showed a replay of the beating they gave Shane. Owens and Zayn laughed at the replay. Owens said they got carried away a bit and Zayn said Shane kind of deserved it. Bryan said they don’t get it.

Bryan said they were two of the best and Shane was right when he said he was living vicariously through them. But they assaulted their boss. Not only that, they had already won–Shane admitted he was wrong and granted them a match at WrestleMania.

Bryan asked them to imagine if someone told them they would have a match at WrestleMania back when the three of them were wrestling in front of 300 people. They also would’ve had Bryan in their corner with Shane leaving. But now he has no choice. Bryan mentioned that he had been fired twice before by WWE. He fired them.

Bryan said this doesn’t mean they’re gone forever, but they are gone for now. Bryan said they meant a lot to him and offered a handshake. The crowd sang the goodbye song. They both shook his hand.

Owens then ran and knocked Bryan down. Zayn mounted him and punched him in the head. Bryan knocked down Zayn and kicked away at Owens. He killed Zayn with a snap German then gave both guys running dropkicks. The crowd went wild for this.

He kicked the crap out of Owens until Zayn made the save. Zayn held Bryan and Owens gave him a superkick. Zayn then gave him a Helluva kick. The crowd booed and chanted “you suck.”

They yanked Bryan out of the ring as officials pleaded with them to stop. Owens gave Bryan a powerbomb on the apron. Owens and Zayn backed off as EMTs ran down with a stretcher and the crowd chanted, “You’re still fired.”

Final Thoughts —

Count me among the many who have missed Daniel Bryan greatly the past two years and it’s incredible watching the crowd erupt as he beats the crap out of people, even if it was just briefly tonight. Welcome back.