Tag: Report

WWE Raw live results: Brock Lesnar returns, Ultimate Deletion

Posted on by Josh Hamlin

The Big Takeaway: Brock Lesnar returned as a heel. At the beginning of the show, Reigns demanded to Kurt Angle that he face Lesnar before the end of the night. That led to U.S. Marshals coming to the ring to arrest Reigns since he was trespassing (because Vince McMahon suspended him last week). Reigns was handcuffed, but he beat up the Marshals. Then Lesnar came out and destroyed Reigns, whose hands were still handcuffed. Reigns did a stretcher job. Angle ordered Bliss to face Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. John Cena issued another challenge to the Undertaker. Instead of the Undertaker coming out, Kane showed up and choke slammed Cena. It will be Cena vs. Kane next week. The Ultimate Deletion was the tamest of the deletion series, which probably isn’t a surprise. Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt and sent Wyatt into the Lake of Reincarnation. Wyatt’s body was never found in the lake by Senor Benjamin. 

Show Recap:

Kurt Angle came out and said that Reigns was trespassing because he was suspended. But Reigns was there anyway. Reigns came out and said he wanted Lesnar. Angle said that Lesnar hasn’t arrived to the building yet, but he will be there. However, Reigns can’t confront him because he’s supposed to be suspended. Reigns, who was cheered, said this is Dallas, Texas, where he’s made plenty of memories and will make some more tonight. He ordered Angle to go to the back to talk to whoever Angle has to talk to, but he isn’t leaving the ring until he faces Lesnar tonight. Angle left, but three members of the U.S. Marshals came out. While Reigns was sitting in a chair, just like the 1998 Steve Austin build to WrestleMania, the Marshals showed up to arrest Reigns, just like the 1998 Steve Austin build to WrestleMania. One of the Marshals read Reigns his Miranda rights, much to Reigns disbelief. Regins was handcuffed and the crowd booed. One of the Marshals put his hands on Reigns, who told the man not to put his hands on him. Then another Marshall tried to forcefully put Reigns’ head under the ropes, and Reigns gave him a back elbow. Reigns then assaulted and laid out the three Marshals. 

Then Lesnar came out with Reigns still handcuffed. Reigns grabbed the chair with the limited movement his hands had, but Lesnar gave him a German suplex and slammed the chair across Reigns’ back three times. Lesnar gave Regins another German suplex and picked up the chair again, slamming across his chest. Crowd was silent except for some “Roman” chants. Lesnar delivered another German suplex and two more chair shots. Michael Cole did everything he could to paint Lesnar as the heel, calling the attack cowardly and a glorified mugging. Lesnar got some boos as he and Paul Heyman left. The Marshals didn’t come for Lesnar, who returned to the ring, hit Reigns with three more chair shots and another German. Lesnar was about to leave, then came back and gave Reigns the F-5. 

Paramedics came out after Lesnar left to place Regins on a stretcher. There was a small “You deserve it” chant as Reigns was carried away, but that was the minority. 

As Lesnar was placed on the stretcher, Lesnar came back out and tipped it over, sending the personnel and referees scrambling. Reigns was still tied to the stretcher as Lesnar hovered over him and finally walked away. Reigns was finally placed in the ambulance after a commercial. 

Bliss and James came out for the match with Asuka. Bliss did a promo where she admitted she said things about Jax that were hurtful and wrong last week. She claimed she and James were just joking around and it was just girl talk. Bliss said she got carried away in the moment and there was nothing to say except I’m sorry. Crowd booed her. Then Bliss went back heel and said she was sorry she didn’t speak the truth sooner. Bliss said she didn’t lose one ounce of sleep, the word sorry doesn’t fit in her vocabulary and she felt no remorse. She said Nia was humiliated in front of the entire world and she loved every moment of it. Bliss said she never liked Nia, she used Nia. Bliss couldn’t believe Nia would think someone like Nia would think someone like her would be friends with someone like Nia. Bliss said she felt so much better because she dropped 300 pounds of pathetic loser. Now that she doesn’t have Nia dragging her down,  she can finally end Asuka’s winning streak. Bliss got lots of heat. 

Asuka defeated Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss by countout in a nontitle match (11:59) 

There was a cool spot where Asuka tried to build a comeback with a leg sweep, but Bliss jumped over and hit a kick to the back. James interfered freely, including jumping on the apron while Asuka was on the 2nd rope to distract Asuka long enough to give Bliss time to recover and cheap shot Asuka. Bliss hit a Code Red off the second rope for a two count, and Bliss was kicking and screaming when she didn’t get the pin after that. Asuka hit a running hip attack and put on the ankle lock, which popped the crowd. Asuka kept dragging Bliss to the middle of the ring before Bliss finally got to the ropes. Bliss sold her right ankle and walked out for the countout in a finish the fans hated. 

Jax ran out and sent James and Bliss scrambling. Bliss pushed James into Jax, who plowed over her. Suddenly, Bliss’ ankle was fine and she was running for her life. Bliss tried to escape through the crowd and grabbed Bliss’ hair, but James attacked her from behind. Jax threw James into the LED board under the apron and chased Bliss to the back. 

After a commercial, Bliss approached Angle and said that Jax should be suspended and arrested. Angle said he’s had enough attempted arrests tonight. He saw what Jax did tonight,  but he heard what Bliss said last week, and so did his daughters and millions of other girls last week. He said the Raw Women’s Champion should be a role model to girls, not a bully. Angle said Bliss would face Jax at WrestleMania for the Raw Women’s Championship. 

Strowman came out. Cole annnounced that Strowman must have a partner to face the Bar at WrestleMania. Crowd chanted “Get These Hands.” Strowman said he won the tag team battle royal by himself, carved a path to distraction and now he’s going to WrestleMania, but management informed him he needed a partner. Strowman said he didn’t think he needs a partner because he knows he can win the tag team titles by himself. 

Sheamus and Cesaro came out. Sheamus said Strowman was out of his mind if he thinks he can beat the Bar by himself. Sheamus said the Bar was the greatest tag team in the history of the WWE. Cesaro said becoming a great tag team doesn’t happen overnight. You have to travel together, be on the road together, you have to eat together and you have to sleep together. Crowd chuckled over that line, as did Strowman. Sheamus told the crowd to grow up because it doesn’t matter if the Black Panther, Captain American or Jerry Jones, he doesn’t stand a chance against them. 

Strowman told them to shut up before they could give their catchphrase. Sheamus said they’ve beaten every tag team on Raw and Strowman would be no different. Strowman said he has a partner for WrestleMania and Angle said he gets to have a match with one of them  right now. Sheamus acted like he was going to join Cesaro in jumping Strowman, but Sheamus jumped out of the ring at the last second and Cesaro was stuck by himself facing Strowman. 

Braun Strowman defeated Cesaro (8:38) 

Cesaro sidestepped Strowman when he made a mad dash, and Strowman took a bump over the top rope. Strowman threw Cesaro against the dasherboards twice, but Strowman missed a charge into the corner and his shoulder went into the post. Cesaro attempted the Gotch Neutralizer, but Strowman picked up Cesaro and tossed him over the top rope. Jonathan Coachman then compared Cesaro trying to beat Strowman to UMBC beating Virginia over the weekend. Cesaro tried to spring off the ropes with an uppercut, but Strowman caught him with a right hand. Strowman went for the powerslam, but Sheamus jumped on the apron to distract him. Cesaro plowed over Sheamus on the floor. In the ring, Strowman caught Cesaro trying to hit a crossbody block and pinned him with the powerslam.

Matt Hardy was at the Hardy Compound with Queen Rebecca playing the piano, King Maxil and Lord Wolfgang standing by Hardy’s side and Vanguard One the Drone taking instructions. Hardy told Senior Benjamin to prepare the battlefield for annihilaton. 

The Revival defeated Titus O’Neil and Apollo (3:15) 

Neither team got a ring entrance. The match had no heat. Apollo got the hot tag and hit a standing moonsault on Scott Dawson. Dash Wilder grabbed Titus O’Neil and rammed his back to the apron while he was awaiting a tag. Wilder then made a blind tag and pinned Apollo with the Shatter Machine.

Postmatch, Charly Caruso did an interview, Wilder said they would become the first tag team to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania. 

The announcement of Mark Henry as the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Jim Ross, The Godfather, Xavier Woods, The Rock and The Big Show were interviewed. They showed Arnold Schwarzenegger inducting him into the International Sports Hall of Fame. He got a great ovation from the live crowd.

Sasha Banks and Bayley were set for a tag team match with Mandy Rose and Sonya DeVille. Bayley and Banks made separate ring entrances. Banks came out and said she wanted to fix things with Bayley. Banks said she understood she hurt Bayley’s feelings at Elimination Chamber, but Bayley had to understand that was every woman for themselves. Banks said she wasn’t trying to betray their friendship, she was trying to win the Raw Women’s Championship, just like she will try to win the Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania.  But Banks said Bayley wasn’t trying to win anything when she refused to tag her on Raw the follow night, nor was Bayley trying to win when she didn’t come to her aid when Rose, Paige and DeVille jumped her last week. Banks said that was twice that Bayley left her. But since she’s a bigger person and she considers Bayley her sister, she forgives her. Crowd booed Banks and they gave both women the “what” treatment. 

Bayley took the microphone and said the night after Elimination Chamber in their tag match, she acted impulsively. She was angry. The following week, she didn’t cost Banks her match, she helped her win. Then she took off because she can’t get over what Banks did to her at Elimination Chamber. It’s not just that she did it, it’s how she did it. Bayley said the look on Banks’ face after she did it, the glare in her eyes and the smirk that Banks had ate at Bayley’s core. Bayley said Banks grabbed her hand and kicked her down that pod and watched her fall. Banks smiled, and Bayley can’t get that picture out of her head. Bayley asked Banks why was knocking her down that pod so easy like it meant nothing. 

Absolution came out. Paige said Rose and DeVille would show these whiny little girls how real women settle the score.

Absolution defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks (9:55) 

Paige went for the hot tag but DeVille caught her over the shoulder and slammed her UFC style. Banks fought out of the corner for a tag, but Bayley didn’t reach out for the tag. Then DeVille knocked Banks into the corner, and Bayley slapped Banks’ back. Bayley really didn’t play up to the crowd during her comeback. Bayley hit an elbow off the second rope, but Rose made the save. Banks put the fists to Rose in the corner, tying up the referee. Meanwhile, Bayley had DeVille pinned after a backslide, but the referee had his back turned. Bayley and Banks argued, but DeVille jumped Bayley and sent her into Banks. DeVille pinned Bayley after a head kick.   

Cena came out. He said he challenged the Undertaker last week and gave him a choice…yes or no. Tonight, they would find out his response. Cena said he finds it amazing that the Undertaker has been in hiding because he’s embarrassed. Crowd lightly booed, and Cena said agreed because he can’t believe that the Undertaker feels that he no longer belongs here. Cena said that was absolutely ridiculous because as long as there is a WWE the name Undertaker has meaning. He asked the crowd about the Undertaker and everyone chanted “yes.” Cena pointed out a fan dressed as the Undertaker and did some more cheerleading. Cena said the Undertaker’s response to his challenge was…nothing. Silence. Not a yes or a no. Simply nothing. And that was the biggest mistake the Undertaker has ever made.

Cena said he doesn’t mind going to WrestleMania as a fan. But for Undertaker to not get off his ass and give him a yes or no is damn disrespectful to him, and to the fans. Cena said it was disrespectful to an oversized mortician that the Undertaker turned into a God. Cena couldn’t believe, after all these years, he can’t find it within himself to simply say “yes” or “no.” Cena said if the Undertaker is retired, then say you’re retired and say no, then everyone will understand. But if Undertaker isn’t retired, say yes and give everyone what they want to see.

But the Undertaker sits there and drowns in his own insecurity. Cena said the Undertaker is no longer the God the fans made him, he is now the man he’s allowed himself to become. And that man is now a coward. Cena repeated that the Undertaker is a coward. 

Cena pleaded for Undertaker to prove him wrong, roll a casket out here, send down a bolt of lightning, do something. Crowd chanted “do something.” 

There was a moment of silence. Cena said that was the moment that the Undertaker let everyone down who ever believed in him. Cena said Undertaker isn’t a God and right now he should barely be able to call himself a man. 

Then Kane came out. Cena thought Kane was out to give everyone the response they deserve. Cena asked Kane is the answer yes or no? Kane grabbed Cena and gave him a chokeslam. Coachman asked what that a yes or a no? Cole wondered if it meant that Kane will face Cena at WrestleMania.  

At the Hardy Compound earlier today, Hardy asked George Washington the Giraffe for advice on his Final Deletion match with Wyatt and fed him a carrot. 

The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel came out. Miz held up the WrestleMania magazine, which he wasn’t on the cover of. A.J. Styles and Lesnar get to be in singles matches, but he doesn’t get the courtesy of being in a singles match. He can lose his championship without getting pinned or submitted. Miz kept saying “no respect,” which Dallas and Axel repeated. Last week, Miz said he exposed Finn Balor and Seth Rollins for what they are—-liars. Deep down, Miz said Balor and Rollins resent each other and all it took was a little nudge to get them at each other’s throats. At WrestleMania, that little nudge will turn them into a big push when “Tyler Black” and “Prince Devitt” (he actually used those names) when he sends them down to the Bingo Halls when they Too Sweets all of their indy fans. 

Rollins came out and claimed he had won all the WWE Championships except the Intercontinental Championship. He forgot about the Universal Championship. 

Finn Balor, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (10:25) 

Karl Anderson got a hot tag against Curtis Axel and gave him a flying neckbreaker, followed by a crossbody block off the top rope. Miz tagged in and gave Anderson the Pimp Juice DDT. Balor tagged in and did a somersault tope onto Axel and Dallas. Balor was set to hit the Coup de Grace on Dallas, but Axel crotched Balor. Miz went for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Balor reversed it into a cradle. Axel jumped on the apron, but Balor met with him with a right hand. Miz used an O’Connor Role for a two count, but Balor kicked Miz into Axel and pinned Miz with a schoolboy cradle. 

Postmatch, Miz attacked Balor. Dallas and Axel jumped Anderson and kept Luke Gallows out of the ring. Miz choked Balor and had Balor outnumbered 3-on-1. Rollins came down for the save, ending with Miz getting the Curb Stomp. Then Balor and Rollins had a staredown. Rollins told Balor that Balor owed him one.

Next week, Kane faces Cena in Cleveland 

After saying that Ronda Rousey would appear live on every Raw leading up to WrestleMania, Rousey didn’t appear on Raw for the second week in a row. Instead, she appeared on a video package. What aired was a very good interview. She discussed winning an Olympic medal in judo and her reward was living out of her car. After she lost her final fight, she wondered why God hated her. Even after the scripted line about dealing with bully bosses, the company was able to get UFC footage. Rousey put over her husband and the one who was able to take her away from the MMA world and said her trip to WWE continued her ongoing search for respect. It was a really good piece. 

Wyatt walked up to the gates of the Hardy Compound, where he was greeted by Vanguard. An image of Hardy appeared welcoming him to the Hardy Compound and instructed him to follow the music. Wyatt walked through the woods, where Rebecca played her piano beside the ring. Matt said “Bray Wyatt, I knew you’d come” as Wyatt walked up on the apron.

Cole said that he was sorry for what the viewers were about to watch. That was the way they lead into the Final Deletion. 

Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt in the Ultimate Deletion 

Hardy and Wyatt laughed at each other, but Hardy screamed out “Enough! This time for laughter is ovaaa!”

Vanguard hovered around Wyatt and nearly landed on his head, giving Hardy the upperhand. Hardy tried the Twist of Fate, but Wyatt pushed him off and set him up for Sister Abigail. Hardy escaped but Wyatt gave him a clothesline. Wyatt said he forgot to give Hardy a housewarming gift and pulled it a chair. 

Hardy said “Vanguard! Initiate.” Then a burst of fireworks went off as Wyatt looked stunned. Hardy grabbed the chair and hit him in the crotch and the back. They fought into the pasture, well into Dilapidated City near an old barn. Hardy asked “Bray Wyatt….does this remind you of anything?” 

Wyatt got a flashback to the home he grew up in that Randy Orton burned down. Hardy grabbed a kendo stick, but Wyatt quickly turned the tables and whacked Hardy with it. Wyatt screamed at the top of his lungs getting flashbacks of his home going up in flames. 

Hardy disappeared and Wyatt went in search of him. In the Land of Obsolete Men, which looked like a field with oversized chess pieces, Hardy called for Wyatt. In fast motion, Wyatt searched behind every piece but couldn’t find Hardy, even though Hardy could be seen calling for him. 

Further out in the woods, Wyatt found Hardy and shattered a tree limb across his back for a two count. Wyatt threw Hardy into a garage door. The door opened, which revealed the Dome of Deletion. It included a standard wrestling ring, a piano that Wyatt tried to slam Hardy on, but Hardy escaped and punched Wyatt. There was also a ladder, which Hardy used to smash Wyatt in the ribs several times. 

Hardy stepped back, where there was an old wheelchair and a riding lawnmower. Hardy called it the “Chair of Wheels’ and “Mower of Lawn.” “Wonderful!” As Beethoven’s “Ode of Victory” played in the background, Hardy jumped on Mower of Lawn while Wyatt got to his feet. Wyatt kicked Hardy and rammed his head into Mower of Lawn and threw him in the ring. Wyatt dropped Hardy across the apron face-first for a two count. Wyatt told Hardy “This isn’t my Ultimate Solution. It’s yours.”

He dragged Hardy out of the Deletion Dome. Vanguard 1 found Wyatt overhead as they fought aside the Lake of Reincarnation. Hardy crawled for help from the Mighty Skarsgard, which he termed “his old friend.” He said “It can’t end this way.” Wyatt attempted Sister Abigail on Skarsgard, but Vanguard flew in. Wyatt grabbed the drone and appeared ready to destroy it, but said “I’ll deal with you later.” Wyatt turned to face Matt, who was apparently inside Skarsgard, but when Wyatt turned the boat over, it was Senor Benjamin underneath it. Benjamin threw a inflatable globe at Wyatt and said “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” Then Jeff Hardy popped up and said “He’s got the whole wide world in his hands.” Suddenly Matt popped up and gave Wyatt the Twist of Fate for the three count. 

Wyatt crawled away and said “It’s not over, Matt.” Matt said “Oh yes it is.” Matt took a shower and pushed Wyatt into the Lake of Reincarnation.

Matt asked Senor Benjamin to retrieve Wyatt’s carcass from the Lake of Reincarnation. But Senor Benjamin said the body wasn’t there. Matt, as the piano played in the background, said “Delightful! The Great War is over! Bray Wyatt has been deleted!” Hardy screamed “delete” over and over as the show ended.  

WWE Main Event results: Hawkins loses to Goldust yet again

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins lost yet again to Goldust, taking his losing streak to 0-185. Hideo Itami made his Main Event debut, notching up a win in a short tag team bout with Akira Tozawa against Jack Gallagher & TJP.

**********

Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins (5:11)

Hawkins came close to breaking the streak here in defeat to Goldust. The loss marks his 18th to Goldust in this current run and took the overall number to 0-185. Amusingly, Hawkins took to Twitter to mark the milestone with a picture of John Cena, with Hawkins’ head pasted over it, pointing at the Main Event sign where the WrestleMania sign would be.

On commentary, Vic Joseph is now referring to Goldust as “the ageless wonder of WWE.” The crowd wasn’t much into this one, despite some early “Goldust” chants akin to “Goldberg” ones. Goldust gave Hawkins plenty of the match to tease that he might finally get the win in what Nigel McGuinness noted had become an “ignominious statistic.”

They traded near falls at the end with Hawkins escaping the Golden Cross and using a belly-to-back suplex for two. He then followed this up by catching Goldust in a spinebuster for another close two count.

But Goldust got the win when he finally caught Hawkins in a headlock and was able to plant him with the Golden Cross in the middle of the ring.

Akira Tozawa & Hideo Itami defeated Jack Gallagher & TJP (3:11)

When Hideo Itami arrived in WWE, there was never any part of me that expected his stock to fall as much as it has. Seeing him in person live at WrestleMania 31 in San Jose in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal is about as good as it has gotten for Itami in a WWE career, which has thus far been marred by injuries and bad luck.

In his Main Event debut here, he teamed up with Akira Tozawa, who has had a few wins recently over on 205 Live. Despite having arrived from two different companies in Japan, they have a good rapport in the ring and worked well together.

Tozawa took the opening minute, then Itami dominated the main bulk of the action until they went to commercial halfway through Itami’s offense, without warning. Itami and Tozawa worked with purpose, double-teaming their opponents until they quickly put Gallagher in position for Tozawa to hit the Drop Zone for the win.

New Japan Cup night 8 results: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Here are quick results and a recap of the last semifinal match of the New Japan Cup that took place today in Hamamatsu.

  • Shota Umino defeated Ren Narita by submission with a Boston crab.
  • Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, & Bad Luck Fale  defeated Togi Makabe, Toa Henare, & Tomoyuki Oka when Takahashi pinned Oka with a Pimp Juice DDT.
  • Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Taichi and Takashi Iizuka by disqualification after Taichi kicked the ref to break up a count.
  • Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson defeated Kota Ibushi and Chase Owens when Robinson pinned Owens with the Pulp Friction.
  • Killer Elite Squad defeated Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI when Lance Archer pinned YOSHI-HASHI following the Killer Bomb.
  • Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado when Naito defeated Desperado with the Destino.
  • HIroshi Tanahashi and David Finlay defeated Kazuchika Okada and Chucky T when Finlay pinned Chucky after a backslide.

New Japan Cup semifinal bout:

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated SANADA

This was a great match that continued to highlight Sabre as a submission machine that is a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. Much like in his previous matches, Sabre was the aggressor in the match and repeatedly had SANADA’s number on multiple occasions until SANADA was finally overwhelmed and could take no more. Brilliant match in terms of storytelling, and excellent booking in terms of making Sabre look like a threat.

They start off with a feeling out process, then start to grapple on the mat. SANADA is able to transition and gain control on multiple occasions. Sabre bails out of the ring as he’s overwhelmed.

SANADA sends Sabre to the outside where he comes off with a dive. Back in the ring, he goes for the paradise lock and the skull end but Sabre escapes by working on SANADA’s right arm. SANADA tries to find a comeback, but Sabre wraps him in the octopus hold as people started to get behind him.

They take turns reversing the hold until SANADA hits a side suplex. SANADA went for a moonsault, but landed on his feet and took a tackle from Sabre, who followed that up with a penalty kick. SANADA countered with a springboard dropkick, but Sabre counters by focusing on SANADA’s arm again.

SANADA tries to go for the cold skull but Sabre repeatedly escapes until SANADA catches him…or doesn’t, as Sabre escapes again and transitions into a pinning position for a nearfall. Sabre takes him down into a triangle position but SANADA deadlifts him and nails the TKO.

Sabre catches SANADA after a moonsault attempt and wraps him in a double arm chicken wing. SANADA tries to get his feet on the ropes, but Sabre grabs his leg. He repeatedly headbutts SANADA until he verbally submits, putting him in the New Japan Cup finals.

This makes it Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. in the finals of the New Japan Cup, which will take place March 21.

New Japan Cup night seven results: Tanahashi vs. Juice Robinson

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The Ace is still in the hunt.

Hiroshi Tanahashi took another step towards claiming his first New Japan Cup in a decade with a win over Juice Robinson Friday in Tokyo. Tana’s win keeps the possibility of another chapter being written in the epic Okada vs. Tanahashi rivalry, with the winner of the tournament likely to challenge IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada at the Sakura Genesis event on April 1.

Below are the results from the seventh night of the current tour.

Prelim bouts:

  • Yujiro Takahashi & Tanga Loa defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Tetsuhiro Yagi
  • Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Taichi defeated Shota Umino, David Finlay & Michael Elgin
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Togi Makabe & Toa Henare
  • YOSHI-HASHI, Chuckie T & Hirooki Goto defeated Kota Ibushi, Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
  • Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka defeated Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
  • Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Zack Sabre Jr., TAKA Michinoku, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado

New Japan Cup Semifinal bout:

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Juice Robinson

Tana refused a handshake before the bout. They started at a deliberate pace, doing knuckle locks and tests of strength. Tana took it to the mat with a side headlock. Juice escaped, Tana missed a bodypress off the middle rope, and Juice rolled him up for a nearfall.

Tana slid outside and posted Juice’s left leg. He continued stomping on the leg on the floor, exhibiting a mean streak. Back inside, he employed a deathlock and a modified figure four, continuing to attack the lower extremities.

The pace picked up near the fifteen minute mark, as Juice fired up and nailed a lariat. Juice missed a cannonball, which looked painful. They went outside and Juice whipped Tana into the barricade. Back inside, Juice went to the top, but got crotched.

Tana looked for High Fly Flow, but Juice pushed Red Shoes into the ropes, crotching Tana, leading to a double down. Back on their feet, they traded chops and uppercuts. Juice went for a gutbuster, but Tana countered, hitting a dragon screw. He slapped on the cloverleaf, continuing to attack the legs, but Juice made the ropes.

Juice countered a Sling Blade attempt with a full nelson slam, into a nearfall. Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Tana turned it into a Sling Blade. Tana went up top, but Juice nailed him with a jab. He went for a superplex, but Tana shoved him off and hit High Fly Flow. Juice rolled through for a nearfall.

Juice popped up and hit a flying crossbody, followed by a High Fly Flow of his own for a great nearfall. Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Tana slipped out. They traded strikes, selling exhaustion, with Tana getting the best of the exchange. He hit two High Fly Flows on an exhausted Juice to earn the win.

This was an absolute clinic and one of the best matches of the tournament so far. Check it out.

Impact Wrestling results: The return of Feast or Fired

Posted on by Dave Bath

Previously: Impact World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries defeated Johnny Impact at Crossroads.

Tonight: It’s the return of Feast or Fired, featuring Ethan Carter III, Moose, Tyrus, Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, Rohit Raju, Petey Williams, Taiji Ishimori, KM, and Eli Drake.

Show Recap —

Sami Callihan (w/ OVE) defeated Fallah Bahh

Callihan took over after biting the bottom of Bahh’s foot, causing him to lose his balance. Bahh made a comeback and attempted the banzai drop. Callihan superkicked Bahh’s legs and executed a Death Valley Driver for the win.

After the match, Callihan tried to hit Bahh with the baseball bat like he did to Eddie Edwards a few weeks ago. Edwards ran out for the save with a lead pipe.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Feast or Fired (Final Resolution 2008)

Hernandez, Curry Man, Homicide, and Jay Lethal all pulled down briefcases. The match also included Alex Shelley, Consequences Creed, Chris Sabin, B.G. James, Cute Kip, Lance Rock, Jimmy Rave, Shark Boy, and Sonjay Dutt.

– Impact World Champion Austin Aries sat down with McKenzie Mitchell for an exclusive interview. They discussed Aries’s new book “Food Fight” and his vegan lifestyle.

Alberto El Patron interrupted and asked to speak with Aries alone. Patron mentioned that he rules Impact and Aries is his guest. Patron had a surprise for Aries and brought him wine and a steak. He offered him some steak, but Aries ate a banana instead. Patron insisted that he try some, but an irritated Aries reminded him that he doesn’t eat meat.

An angry Patron promised to purchase Aries’ book, but Aries gave him a free copy because he’s making the champion’s purse now. Patron finally left and Aries drank a glass of wine.

– In the back, Kiera Hogan approached Allie and congratulated her on winning the Knockouts Championship last week. Braxton Sutter showed up to talk, but Allie needed some time alone.

– Jimmy Jacobs and Kongo Kong came down to the ring and demanded that Abyss show himself. Father James Mitchell interrupted, making his return to Impact.

Mitchell has been watching Jacobs from afar and said he reminds him of himself. Mitchell said he pushed Abyss so hard that his personality split into Joseph Park, and in the end he lost his monster. Mitchell then thanked Jacobs because he has his monster back. Abyss made his return and brawled with Kongo Kong.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary ended in a double countout

Rosemary was firmly in control until she went for a sunset flip and Valkyrie countered into a double foot stomp. Rosemary attempted the Upside Down, but Valkyrie threw her to the ground.

Rosemary made a comeback after Valkyrie missed a moonsault. She clotheslined Valkyrie over the top rope to the floor, with the match ending when both were counted out. They brawled after the match and Valkyrie gave Rosemary the Road to Valhalla on the ramp.

– In the back, Eli Drake finally got through to Chris Adonis. Adonis decided not to show up because he doesn’t want to risk getting fired. Drake fired Adonis for no-showing.

– Earlier today in the Impact Zone, Bobby Lashley approached Brian Cage as he ate. Lashley was upset with Cage and got in his face, but Cage simply walked away.

– At the LAX Clubhouse, Konnan, Ortiz, and Santana played a game of dominos when Homicide showed up with a briefcase of money.

– X Division and Grand Champion Matt Sydal came out to introduce his spiritual advisor, Josh Mathews. Mathews left commentary and headed to the ring. On commentary, Sonjay Dutt was completely shocked that it was Mathews.

Mathews praised Sydal for his accomplishments and gave him a gift, which was a mask of his sprit animal. Sydal was so flattered that he gave Matthews the Grand Championship. Dutt became so upset that he left commentary but eventually returned.

Dutt called the first half of the main event solo. Midway through the match, Mathews returned to commentary.

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

The participants included: Ethan Carter III, Moose, Tyrus, Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, Rohit Raju, Petey Williams, Taiji Ishimori, KM, and Eli Drake.

Everyone brawled around ringside. Ishimori hit the golden moonsault to the floor, then Williams took out Konley with the Canadian Destroyer. Williams pulled down briefcase two.

EC3 teased a dive to the floor but instead climbed up a corner. Moose shoved him off and pulled down briefcase four. Tyrus almost had a briefcase, but EC3 snuck up and gave him a low blow. EC3 then pulled down briefcase three.

Lee had the final briefcase in hand, but Drake ran up to the top turnbuckle and gave him an insane looking German suplex. Drake then pulled down briefcase one.

Next Week: Abyss takes on Kongo Kong in Monster’s Ball. Knockouts Champion Allie defends against Sienna. Plus, the Feast or Fired reveal and somebody will be fired.

New Japan Cup night six results: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Zack Sabre, Jr. and SANADA punched their tickets to the semifinals of the New Japan Cup tournament Thursday in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.

Both won their quarterfinal bouts on night six of the current tour, setting up a showdown between the two of them on Sunday’s show in Shizuoka. The winner of that bout will go on to face the winner of Friday’s Juice Robinson vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi match.

For start times and more details, you can check out Bryan Rose’s post here.

Predicting winners in this tournament has been an exercise in futility, and that trend continued with Sabre’s win over Ibushi.

Below are the results of Thursday’s show in Tokyo.

Prelim bouts:

David Finlay & Ren Narita defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Shota Umino

YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto defeated Toa Henare & Togi Makabe

Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Takashi Iizuka & Taichi defeated Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale

Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado defeated BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi

Juice Robinson, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin defeated Chuckie T, Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Matches:

SANADA defeated Toru Yano

SANADA attacked Yano before the bell, and pulled his shirt over his head. He rolled him around the ring, and got a nearfall.

SANADA used the Paradise Lock near the ropes, before kicking Yano to the floor. They brawled on the floor, and SANADA tried to tie Yano’s feet with camera cables, but Yano kicked him off into the crowd, and raced back to the ring. They teased a countout, but SANADA made it back in at 19.

Yano choked SANADA with his shirt, but SANADA used a flying headscissors and a plancha to the floor. Yano posted SANADA and went to hit him with a chair, but SANADA moved and Yano hit the post.

They teased another countout. Yano made it back inside and tried to cradle SANADA by his mohawk. Yano untied the turnbuckle pad, but missed a charge into the corner, hitting the exposed buckles. SANADA missed a charge into the exposed buckles, which didn’t look particularly good.

Yano went for Skull End on SANADA, missed, but cradled him for a nearfall. Yano hit an inverted atomic drop and a slingshot into the exposed buckle. Yano went for a Last Ride, but SANADA turned it into a Code Red for another nearfall.

Yano hit a low blow and cradled SANADA again, but SANADA caught Marty Asami’s hand before it could hit the mat the third time. While Asami sold his arm, SANADA hit a low blow, and locked on Skull End for the submission. This wasn’t great pro wrestling, but it had good heat.

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kota Ibushi

Sabre out-wrestled Ibushi on the mat for the first quarter of the match. The first time that Ibushi successfully reversed a hold, Sabre turned to striking, but Ibushi quickly established himself as the better striker, landing forearms and kicks. Sabre grabbed a heel hook, grapevine the leg, then transitioned to an armbar, but Ibushi reached the bottom rope, forcing a break.

Sabre continued working over Ibushi’s legs on the mat, trying to eliminate his kicks and flying ability, but Ibushi made it back to his feet, and commenced kicking. Sabre grounded Ibushi again, this time choosing to work on his arms. Ibushi reached the ropes, made it to his feet, and Sabre missed a charge into the corner, allowing Ibushi to hit a hurracanrana and a kick to the chest. That was the perfect time to do that spot, just as things started to hit a lull.

Ibushi hit more kicks, and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Sabre kicked out and applied an abdominal stretch. Ibushi forced a break, and they traded strikes. Ibushi hit a snap dragon suplex, and bridged into a nearfall. Sabre countered into a bridging pin attempt of his own, before returning to work over Ibushi’s arms again.

Sabre countered a Kamigoye attempt into a roll-up attempt, and they traded nearfalls. They exchanged some slaps to the face, which didn’t appear to be too stiff on the New Japan scale, before Sabre kicked Ibushi in the side of the neck. Ibushi got the better of a strike exchange, and hit a big lariat. Ibushi hit a powerslam, and went for a moonsault, but Sabre caught him in a triangle choke on the landing.

Ibushi tried to turn the triangle into a Last Ride, but Sabre applied an octopus hold. Ibushi slipped out and teased throwing Sabre into the corner like a dart, but Sabre escaped. He charged Ibushi, who went for the Kamigoye, but Sabre forced him to turn it into a bridging suplex nearfall.

Ibushi was spent, and Sabre took his back, tied him up, and hammered him with strikes. With Ibushi unable to defend himself, Red Shoes called for the bell.

Sabre is a master of his craft and Ibushi is an artist. Together, they put on a fine show.

WWE NXT results: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: Pete Dunne retained his United Kingdom Championship over Adam Cole and formed a relationship with Roderick Strong.

The Medium News: Andrade “Cien” Almas and Aleister Black made their NXT Championship match official for TakeOver: New Orleans.

The Little Beaver-sized News: SAnitY and The Street Profits advanced in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

**********

SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinal match

Sabbatelli and Moss broke up about a month ago. But, in the great tradition of Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy, they made up and got back together. They got along, for the most part, while getting the heat on Wolfe. However, a miscommunication spot led to their demise.

After Moss accidentally forearmed Sabbatelli, Young got the hot tag and ran wild on his younger foes. Young nearly picked up the win with a diving elbow, but Moss yanked EY out of the ring. Nikki Cross found this appalling and dove off the ring steps onto him.

Back in the ring, Wolfe and Young hit a combo back suplex/neckbreaker on Sabbatelli for the win.

SAnitY will now face the winners of the match between Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Mustache Mountain in the semifinals.

**********

Tommaso Ciampa stormed out to the ring, this week without a crutch. With hundreds of Johnny Gargano face signs in the crowd, they again did last week’s gimmick of refusing to let Ciampa speak. Every time Ciampa would be about to say something, it would just make the crowd chant louder for Gargano.

Again, Ciampa became a huge babyface by dropping the mic and leaving the ring. He took a lap around the ring, glaring at the fans before leaving.

**********

Dakota Kai defeated Lacey Evans

This was Kai’s first match since being destroyed and injured by Shayna Baszler back in January. Evans, the true southern lady of NXT, began working over the shoulder of Kai. However, Evans was surprised with a roll-up out of nowhere for the quick pin.

Kai’s celebration didn’t last long — as we were joined, once again, by the Queen of Spades, Shayna Baszler herself. Baszler intimidated Kai, who was trapped in the ring. But before anything could happen, Ember Moon’s music distracted Baszler, which gave Kai the chance to leave.

Moon came out and accepted Baszler’s challenge for a rematch at TakeOver: New Orleans. Things got physical and Moon got the better of it early before Baszler knocked her down with a punch to the face. Moon dragged herself to her feet and Baszler went for it again, but got a running knee. Moon went for The Eclipse, but Baszler stopped her and threatened to break her arm off — until Kai returned with a running kick to the mouth!

Moon stood tall after an Eclipse.

After commercial, their rematch for TakeOver was made official.

**********

The Street Profits defeated Heavy Machinery in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinal match

Two sets of babyfaces squared off here for the right to take on The Authors of Pain in the second round. Montez Ford and his well defined six-pack started the match against Otis Dozovic and his….keg.

Dozovic got the best of it, so Ford offered him some of the drink out of his Solo cup. Dozovic drank all of it and the match quickly broke down into chaos. Tucker Knight broke out a dropkick, which would be a lot more impressive if Braun Strowman wasn’t doing them.

This wasn’t very competitive, as Heavy Machinery took 95 percent of the match but did the job at the end. Ford broke up an attempt at The Compactor and pinned Dozovic after a frog splash.

**********

WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne defeated Adam Cole by DQ

This bout was set up last week when Cole confronted Roderick Strong and Dunne came up to back him and Undisputed Era down.

Dunne began the match by intimidating Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, before rolling in and getting stomped down by Cole. Dunne quickly hit a knockout shot and dared the NXT Tag Team Champions to get in the ring, but they stayed out. Dunne worked on the shoulder and elbow of Cole with stomps and kicks.

Outside the ring, Dunne gave Cole the Ex-Plex on the apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. Cole finally took over when Fish and O’Reilly succeeded in distracting Dunne on the middle rope.

Even then, Cole did not stay on offense very long as the UK Champion continued to unleash his arsenal on him. Dunne used a double wristlock, but Cole got out of it and began slapping Dunne, which was a bad idea. They traded strikes and Cole got a near fall with a kick to the head when Dunne was coming down from a moonsault.

Fish and O’Reilly interfered again and Cole hit a brainbuster on his knee for another close count. Dunne came back and went for the Bitter End, but Fish and O’Reilly ran in for the disqualification.

Strong ran out for the save, but he got outnumbered and beaten down. Dunne eventually made a comeback and he and Strong were left standing tall. Strong wanted a handshake, but Dunne fist bumped him before leaving.

**********

The main event segment featured our dapper and dignified NXT GM, William Regal. He was mid-ring to oversee the contract signing for the Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Aleister Black NXT Championship match, which will take place at TakeOver: New Orleans.

Almas didn’t come out and was instead represented by Zelina Vega. She said Almas is not here tonight, but she is. If he was here today, he would destroy Black before their title match. Black moved the table out of the way and sat down on the ground, stating that he’s now on the same level as Vega.

Vega was quite upset by this and said Almas would humiliate him. Black said that just like Vega, at NXT TakeOver, Almas will come up short. Vega got tired of having her height thrown in her face and slapped Black. Black signed the contract and left as Vega screamed at him, calling him a loser.

Black said he didn’t come alone, which brought out Candice LeRae, who attacked Vega. LeRae dropped her with a bulldog and stood tall as the show came to its end.

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

WWE SmackDown live results: Fallout from Fastlane

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 13, 2018
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

The Big Takeaway —

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn gave Shane McMahon a big-time beatdown at the end of the show after Shane announced the two of them would be having a singles match at WrestleMania. Shane had also announced he was taking a leave as commissioner after speaking with Daniel Bryan (who returns next week). Owens and Zayn were pissed at each other too, so the actual direction isn’t totally clear just yet.

Show Recap — 

No intro once again this week. The announcers plugged appearances by Randy Orton, Asuka (a “special guest”) as well as Shane McMahon with his WrestleMania announcement.

AJ Styles came out to a really big reaction. Styles admitted he was in trouble when John Cena put him through the announce table (which the crowd booed) but he found a way and is still WWE Champion. Even better, he’s going to WrestleMania.

Styles recalled how unbelievable it seemed that he would ever even be in WWE, how unbelievable it was that he would become WWE Champion, and now, how unbelievable it was that he would be the defending WWE Championship at WrestleMania. But he made it happen. The crowd chanted, “You deserve it,” and he corrected them saying, “I earned it.”

Styles put over Shinsuke Nakamura and mentioned how similar their paths were, but the comparisons end when it comes to the title. Styles called himself phenomenal and Nakamura interrupted.

Nakamura received a good reaction but it turned into dueling chants. Nakamura said everyone likes the two of them and he respects Styles. He concluded, “At WrestleMania, dreams come true. My dream… knee-to-face, and I become champion.” Rusev and Aiden English interrupted. The announcers said Rusev had a match with Styles and they cut to commercial.

Non-title match: WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Rusev (w/Aiden English) via DQ (11:15)

Nakamura remained at ringside to watch the match. There were dueling chants for AJ Styles and Rusev Day. Styles was in control until Rusev gave him a shot to the throat and a spinebuster for a two count leading to commercial.

Styles slipped out of a superplex attempt, hit strikes and sliding forearm but Rusev came back with a gutbuster and kick to the head for two. Styles ducked a superkick and hit a Pele kick and fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Rusev countered a Styles Clash attempt and tried an Accolade, but Styles countered that eventually into a Calf Crusher.

English immediately jumped in the ring and broke it up for the disqualification. As he pounded on Styles, Nakamura slowly rose to his feet. Nakamura hit the ring and laid out both English and Rusev with kicks. Nakamura gave Styles a look before leaving the ring.

I believe that was the first singles match between Styles and Rusev. It was good while it lasted.

They showed clips of the beating handed out by the Bludgeon Brothers at Fastlane. Dasha Fuentes interviewed Big E, who was alone. Big E wished he was there with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods trying to figure out a way to fill Corey Graves’ car with pancake batter, but the Bludgeon Brothers took away their title opportunity and tried to destroy them.

Big E said Kingston and Woods would be back, and as long as he was standing, he was representing the New Day. Jimmy Uso, with his arm wrapped, showed up and told Big E he wouldn’t be standing alone tonight. He said they would get a chance to tear the house down when everyone recovers, but tonight they would team up to take care of business. The bumped fists and the crowd cheered.

They aired the entire Hall of Fame announcement video for Kid Rock.

Styles found Nakamura backstage and let him know he didn’t need his help. Nakamura responded, “It looked like you did,” which was funny. Nakamura said he would help every single time until WrestleMania when he beats Styles with a knee to face.

Bludgeon Brothers defeated Jimmy Uso & Big E (2:30)

Big E and Uso jumped the Bludgeon Brothers during their entrance. They grabbed steel chairs and dared Harper and Rowan to get in the ring. They grabbed their mallets and entered the ring. The referee ran away which amused the crowd. Harper and Rowan knocked the chairs away with their mallets. Big E and Uso escaped the ring before more damage could be done.

The match began after a commercial break and the Bludgeon Brothers took control almost immediately. Uso made a tag and ran wild on Harper until Harper cut him off with a big boot. Rowan tossed Big E into the steel steps and the Bludgeon Brothers finished off Uso with an assisted powerbomb for the pinfall win. They laid out Big E again afterwards.

Renee Young asked Sami Zayn who he blamed on his failure to win the title at Fastlane. Zayn called that a loaded question and said if it were not for Shane McMahon, he would obviously be WWE Champion. However, Zayn blamed Kevin Owens, explaining that Shane’s obsession with Owens cost him because he’s guilty by association.

Zayn called Owens a talented guy who has been there for him in the past, but when it came to his career, he was a self-absorbed egomaniac. Zayn said he played Owens perfectly but he paid the price for being guilty by association, and that was a price he was not willing to pay again. Zayn was really good here.

Charlotte Flair came out. She was excited knowing Asuka wanted to challenge her. She knew Asuka was here and wanted to be in the ring when she arrived. Asuka came out. Charlotte welcomed her to Smackdown and Asuka said thank you. Charlotte said people always asked her what would happen if she faced Asuka and we would find out at WrestleMania.

Charlotte said iron sharpens iron (after one of the announcers used the same line already) and wanted to face Asuka. Charlotte said she has never faced anyone like Asuka and Asuka has never faced anyone like her. Charlotte claimed she would end her streak and cement her legacy.

Asuka said she challenged Charlotte because she likes a challenge. “You are the queen, but I am the Empress. And Asuka bows to no one — because no one is ready for Asuka.” Asuka’s music played as they stared down.

Like last week, the women’s segment ended when someone came out for the next segment. This time it was Randy Orton. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal is up next.

Orton said he’s been called many things in his career, some good and some not so good, but never, until now, was United States champion. Orton said this put him on an elite list of grand slam champions, a list he actually cares about. Roode earned his respect at Fastlane, but the title is his now and nobody was stopping him from taking it to WrestleMania. (This was an impressively generic promo.)

Roode came out and congratulated Orton. “You got me.” Roode said he has a rematch, which received literally no reaction. Roode said it would happen at Mania which the crowd lightly applauded. He said it would regain his title and it would glorious.

Mahal interrupted. He congratulated Orton who feigned being touched by this. Mahal egged on Orton by saying Roode was only in WWE for a cup of coffee so far and still won the US title before he did. Mahal said he would beat Roode like he beat Orton last week.

Jinder Mahal (w/Sunil Singh) defeated Bobby Roode (6:30)

The crowd chanted “USA” at these two Canadians. Roode took most of the match but fell for the old get distracted by a Singh and get hit with the Khallas finish. (Mahal won.)

Afterwards, Orton ran in the ring with the biggest look of excitement on his face and hit Mahal with an RKO. This was hilarious. Almost as good as that time Orton did a toe-touch leap after RKO’ing Mark Henry years ago.

Backstage, Young caught up with a miserable Kevin Owens (more miserable than usual, I mean). Owens couldn’t believe what Zayn said earlier and reminded us that he got screwed over by Shane first and if that didn’t happen Zayn never would’ve come close to winning. He was also pissed at Zayn’s little stunt during the match and said he could never get it done on his own.

Owens called himself the rightful WWE Champion and said Shane was like all the other McMahons who need the spotlight. He said there was no reason for Shane to be at ringside at Fastlane and was ready to teach Zayn a lesson. Owens was great here. I feel like this is all a swerve, but we’ll see.

They announced the Fabulous Moolah battle royal and showed the same video from Raw. They also showed (positive) Twitter reactions from some of the women wrestlers.

There was a commercial for Raw plugging Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka, the Ultimate Deletion, and Vince’s Brock Lesnar guarantee.

Carmella did a selfie promo where she called herself a “modern-day Moolah,” said she would win the battle royal and teased cashing in the contract at Mania.

Carmella defeated Naomi (3:02)

Naomi went for a Disaster kick, but Carmella kicked her off the rope, yanked her down and cradled her for the win.

Shane McMahon’s WrestleMania announcement

Shane said he wasn’t going to apologize for what he did and reminded us, again, where this all started and recapped the storyline so far. He did say his conduct may not be suited for a commissioner. Shane said he spoke with Daniel Bryan about this today and announced Bryan would return next week. The crowd booed because they wanted Bryan tonight.

Shane said Bryan would be on his own next week because he was taking an indefinite leave as commissioner. Shane’s announcement was that Kevin Owens would face Sami Zayn at WrestleMania. His music hit and he was about to leave, but Owens came out.

Owens said he wanted to wish Shane the best on his future endeavours and said he could beat up Zayn whenever he wanted. Zayn interrupted. Zayn accused Shane of just listening to the fans and was happy he was leaving. Shane was baffled they weren’t grateful about being on the Mania card. Owens said they did appreciate it, then they attacked him.

Shane attempted a comeback but they fought him off. Zayn gave him a Helluva kick and Owens gave him a pop-up powerbomb. Two referees jumped in the ring and they were attacked as well.

They put Shane’s head through a chair and rammed him into the ring post. They grabbed him by the arms and dragged him to the back (as Zayn aggressively sang the goodbye song). When they got to the back, Owens powerbombed him onto a grate (which had no give) and Shane sold it like he was dying. Officials and EMTs ran in to help Shane. Owens and Zayn left.

New Japan Cup night four results: The quarterfinals are set

Posted on by Ethan Renner

After a strange first round of booking that saw two of the tournament favorites eliminated, the 2018 New Japan Cup quarterfinals are set. 

The second round of the tournament will feature Juice Robinson taking on Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi going one-on-one with Bad Luck Fale, Toru Yano vs. SANADA, and in what could make for the match of the tournament, Zack Sabre Jr. will face Kota Ibushi for a spot in the final four. Round two kicks off Wednesday in Shizuoka.

One non-tournament item worth noting from the shows on this tour is that IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada is actually defeating tag opponents with his Cobra Clutch, in an effort to establish that submission as a legitimate finisher. 

Below are the results from Monday’s action in Kagawa.

Prelim results —

  • El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Ren Narita
  • Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, & Tanga Loa defeated Shota Umino, Yuji Nagata, & Tetsuhiro Yagi
  • YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Michael Elgin
  • BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito defeated TAKA Michinoku & Zack Sabre, Jr.
  • Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, & Taichi defeated Toa Henare, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay
  • Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Chase Owens & Kota Ibushi

New Japan Cup first round matches —

Toru Yano defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. by countout

Yano tried to tape Smith to the ropes, but he failed. There were lots of standard Yano spots, including removing the turnbuckle pad. Smith rammed Yano into the exposed buckle. They brawled outside and into the crowd, and Yano barely beat the count back in. 

Smith worked over Yano, getting a near fall with a gutwrench suplex. Red Shoes took a bump, and Smith hit the turnbuckle chest-first. Red Shoes took another bump, and Yano swung a chair but missed. Smith set the chair up in the corner, whipping Yano into it and into the exposed buckle. 

Smith hit a belly-to-back for a near fall, then applied a crossface, but Yano made the ropes. Yano used a slingshot, sending Smith into the buckle, then hit a low blow for a near fall. They rolled outside, Smith crotched himself on the barricade, and Yano beat the count back inside, scoring the victory.

If you like Yano comedy, check this out. If you don’t, it’s not must-see. 

SANADA defeated “Chuckie T” Chuck Taylor

I think SANADA is one of the best guys in the business, because he can wrestle everyone’s style. You want to fly? He can do that. You want to brawl? Sure. You want to try something new? Okay. That was on full display here, as these guys did a little bit of everything.

They started with their state-of-the-art opening sequence, then followed with some crowd brawling, straight out of 1998 WWF. Taylor grabbed a table and teased suplexing SANADA through it, but SANADA reversed and suplexed him on the floor. He teased a suplex of his own from the apron through the table on the floor, but Taylor blocked it.

SANADA worked over Taylor’s legs, but he fired back with a dropkick, a powerslam, and a figure four. SANADA reached the ropes, hit his leapfrog dropkick spot, then a plancha to the outside. They hit the ropes, then Taylor hit a powerbomb for a near fall and followed up with a crazy tope, and an even crazier standing senton over the barricade, landing on the unpadded arena floor. 

Taylor slammed SANADA on a pile of chairs, but SANADA popped right up and powerbombed him through the table. SANADA connected with a springboard dropkick and a belly-to-back for a near fall. Taylor connected with a Falcon Arrow, but he missed when going for a moonsault, allowing SANADA to hit a TKO for two. 

SANADA missed a moonsault off the top. Taylor countered, hitting the Awful Waffle off the top for a close near fall. That really got the crowd into the match for the first time. SANADA used a dragon sleeper and teased the Skull End, but Taylor slipped out and rolled him up for two.

Taylor scored another near fall, but SANADA quickly applied the Skull End. SANADA released it, opting to go to the top for a moonsault. He landed it, and got the pinfall.

This felt more like a collection of spots than a psychological clinic, and the lack of heat hurt the match, but the effort from both guys was there and this is worth going out of your way to see.

WWE Raw live results: Brock Lesnar & Roman Reigns go face-to-face

Posted on by Josh Hamlin

The Big Takeaway: The promised nose-to-nose confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns never happened as Lesnar didn’t show up. This led to Reigns having a confrontation with Vince McMahon backstage, with McMahon announcing that Reigns has been temporarily suspended.

John Cena challenged the Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania and ran down the Undertaker as an ‘egomaniac” who disappears for a year whenever he loses a match. It appears a Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania is brewing between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. That’s after Bliss was caught trashing Jax behind her back, except it wasn’t behind Jax’s back. It was “accidentally” shown on TV, with Jax hearing Bliss comparing her to Shrek and saying she uses Jax.

Braun Strowman won a battle royal that he invaded. It was supposed to be a tag team battle royal where the winning team would get a shot at Sheamus and Cesaro. Instead, Strowman eliminated eight of the ten men (with the exception of the MizTourage eliminating The Revival. You read that right). The lingering question is now who will be Strowman’s tag team partner, if he has one at all? 

Show Recap: 

Angle came out and said that Lesnar hasn’t shown up to Detroit. This brought out Reigns, who said he wasn’t surprised that Lesnar didn’t show up because Lesnar doesn’t respect him, he doesn’t respect the company and he doesn’t respect the people in Detroit. Reigns said Lesnar didn’t show up for work this week or last week and wondered what type of punishment will he face? Reigns answered his own question and said Lesnar wouldn’t face any punishment because Lesnar is Vince’s boy. Reigns said what would happen to anyone if they don’t show up for work. They would get fired. Reigns said Angle was the middle man, the problem was Vince McMahon, the man that he just walked past. But Vince didn’t say anything about Lesnar not showing up, he had to find out from Angle. Reigns said it’s one thing to be disrespected by Lesnar, but it’s something different to be disrespected by McMahon. 

Reigns stormed to the back to the Gorilla Position, where Vince was shown for the first time since the 25th anniversary show in January. He was sitting beside Shane McMahon. Reigns wanted to know what was up. Vince asked that they talk in his office and ordered Kevin Dunn (not pictured) to go to a commercial. 

Renee Young stood outside Vince McMahon’s office. Reigns walked out and refused to answer any questions. Vince came out and said he wasn’t Lesnar’s boy, Lesnar wasn’t Paul Heyman’s boy, Lesnar is a man. Vince said he reminded Reigns may be best to remember the words of his cousin, The Rock, to “know his role and shut his mouth.” Vince said that Lesnar probably doesn’t respect the WWE Universe, but he feels that Lesnar has earned the luxuries he has been afforded from the company. Crowd could be heard chanting “We can’t hear you.” Vince vowed that next week, Lesnar would show up to Raw and he vowed that he would defend the Universal Championship against Reigns at WrestleMania. Vince said everyone had his word on that. He also announced that based on what Reigns did tonight, he has been temporarily suspended. That got somewhat of a babyface pop. 

Sasha Banks (with Bayley) defeated Sonya DeVille (with Paige and Mandy Rose) (7:37) 

Bayley looked disinterested at ringside. Sonya Deville clamped on a body scissors and a running knee to the head. Sasha Banks landed the double knees off the second rope. Mandy Rose jumped up on the apron, but Bayley ran over to pull her down. Banks hit the Bank Statement for the tap. Bayley just walked off instead of celebrating with Banks, who looked hurt. 

Then Rose, DeVille and Paige jumped up on the apron and jumped Banks while Bayley was nowhere to be found. DeVille hit a switch kick on Banks to leave her laying. 

Michael Cole announced Kid Rock as the newest inductee into the celebrity ring of the WWE Hall of Fame. They showed Pete Rose, Mr. T, Bob Uecker, and Drew Carey as other past inductees. Even thought they were in Detroit, where Kid Rock is from, the reaction to the announcement was mixed, at best. 

The Miz came out for MizTV with Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel were absent because they were facing The Bar later tonight for a chance to wrestle for the Raw Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania. Miz took credit for elevating their career. Miz introduced Rollins and Balor. Balor is now wearing royal blue trunks with a blue leather jacket. He looks like the 21st Century Alex Wright. Crowd chanted “Too sweet.” The three sat down. Miz said Balor took away the singles match that he and Rollins had at WrestleMania.

Miz said Balor didn’t have the accomplishments that he and Rollins had. Miz said Balor was always in Rollins’ way. Rollins said he and Balor knew what Miz was trying to do. Miz said that Balor was the man in bingo halls. Miz said Balor’s WWE resume was lacking, but two years ago Balor did defeat Rollins to become the first Universal Champion. Miz turned his back to Rollins and said Balor has proven to be better than Rollins. Balor said Miz just tried this same tactic with Rollins. Miz said he made the Intercontinental Championship prestigious and wondered why everyone thinks he’s the bad guy. Miz asked if he was the bad guy. Crowd chanted yes. 

Miz said Rollins resents Balor because Balor beat Rollins for the Universal Championship. Rollins told Miz to do everyone a favor and shut up. Rollins said Miz didn’t need to fire him and Balor up because it’s the Intercontinental Championship, the fact is he’s going to win the Intercontinental Championship and Balor didn’t stand a chance. Balor said the last time they had a championship match, he beat Rollins with one arm. Rollins said in four weeks, he’s going to stomp Balor’s head into the mat to become the Intercontinental Championship. Balor said he didn’t need to wait four weeks, they can do it right now. Balor took off his jacket and the two got ready to square off as they went nose-to-nose. Miz watched on with a smile on his face, which didn’t escape the attention of Balor and Rollins. Miz tried to run but Rollins punched Miz and Balor clotheslined Miz over the top rope. Then Rollins decked Miz with one punch. Balor was motionless and Miz watched on with a smile on his face. 

It was then announced that Rollins and Balor would face each other later tonight. 

Dallas & Axel vs. The Bar never got going. Dallas and Axel jumped Sheamus and Cesaro during their ring entrance and cleared the ring of them twice before the match officially started. Then the Bar got back in the ring and started brawling with Dallas and Axel when the Revival came down and started brawling. This brought down Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who brawled with the three teams. Suddenly, Rhyno & Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil and Apollo ran out and it was just a huge brawl. There were chants for Rhyno since they were in his hometown. Sheamus left up the ramp and Cesaro existed through the crowd.

They showed O’Neil on a tour of South Africa, where the WWE will be touring after WrestleMania. 

Cena was next out. He said we are less than four weeks away and he’s finally found his road to WrestleMania. He said he’s brave enough to face the truth, which is that he’s had opportunity after opportunity, he gave it 100% but he didn’t get the job done. He blames no one but himself. It’s every superstars’ dream to contribute to WrestleMania. Crowd started chanting for Undertaker. Cena said he hopes “they’re listening,” motioning to the back. Cena said that he won’t be contributing to WrestleMania this year. Some chanted “yes.” Cena said that doesn’t mean he’s going to quit or walking away. Cena said he’s going to be there, but his road to WrestleMania will be the same as the fans. Cena said this year he’s going as a fan, which seems like a surprise. But Cena said without the WWE Universe, there’s no noise and no atmosphere. Cena said he’s going to be sitting in the stands as a fan, then walked out in the middle of the crowd. He walked up to some fan with long hair and drank out of his beer. Cena led the crowd in a “This is awesome” chant. Then he tried to get them to chant “Let’s go Roman.” They booed. 

Cena got back in the ring and led the crowd in dueling chants. He said “Let’s go Cena.” And the crowd said “Cena sucks.” Cena, looking winded, said the only way to hear that was to do the only thing he wasn’t supposed to do. Cena thought about it and challenged the Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania.  Crowd exploded and chanted “yes.” Cena said he was told even though the fan within him wants to see it. Cena wondered why, was it because of the WWE executives? Cena said no because otherwise they would cut his microphone off right now and suspend him just like they did Reigns. Cena repeated the challenge. He said the WWE isn’t keeping that match from happening, and the fans weren’t keeping that from happening. Cena said the only person keeping the match from happening was the Underaker.

Cena told the Undertaker to get over his own ego. Cena said the difference between him and the Undertaker was when Cena fails, he gets up the next morning, puts a smile on his face and goes back to work. But when Undertaker fails, he disappears for a year. Cena said Undertaker shouldn’t use the same, tired excuses that he’s old and washed up because Undertaker wouldn’t be posting photos of himself working out on his wife’s Instagram account if he really thought that. He called Undertaker a self-centered, egomaniac. Cena asked the crowd if they wanted to see the Undertaker tombstone him in front of 75,000 people. They cheered. Cena said the ball was in the deadman’s court and if he was the Taker, he would want one more match. 

Cesaro and Sheamus talked with Angle in the back. They were upset about being jumped by five different tag teams earlier. Angle said all week, the Bar had been on Twitter asking for competition and tonight they got it. Sheamus said he heard rumors of a Superstar Shake-up after WrestleMania and demanded that Angle trade them. Sheamus brought up facing the Bludgeon Brothers, the Usos, Brezzango and the New Day. Angle said he wasn’t trading them and tonight there would be a Raw tag team battle royal with the winner advancing to WrestleMania to face the Bar for the Raw Tag Team Championship. 

Elias was in the ring wearing a neckbrace and in visible pain after taking a beating against Braun Strowman last week in the Symphony of Destruction match. He strummed on his guitar for a second, stared into space and finally said “this is your fault.” Elias got up, left his guitar on his stool and walked out. 

Strowman did a promo saying he dropped a piano on Elias last week. He wondered why he doesn’t have a match at WrestleMania. He’s going to go out to the ring tonight and carve his own path to WrestleMania tonight. Strowman has a new gimmick during his interviews where the words he says to end sentences pop up on the screen while he’s talking. 

Finn Balor defeated Seth Rollins (14:13) 

Rollins sank in a cravat before he kicked Balor across the head on the apron. Rollins blocked Balor’s comeback with a downward spiral into the corner, but Balor got under Rollins’ springboard move and hit a series of forearms. Balor kicked Rollins in the head and caught the Final Cut for a two count. Balor attempted the 1916, but Rollins caught a knee to the head. Rollins went for the ripcord knee, but Balor hit his own knee. Balor hit an overhead kick, but Rollins answered with an enzugiri and they both went down. Balor dodged the Curb Stomp and caught a double stomp, followed by the sling blade. Balor tried the Woo Dropkick, but Rollins greeted him with a superkick for a near fall. Rollins staggered to his feet and forearmed Balor to the corner twice, but Balor dodged a third attempt, kicked Rollins in the head from the apron, then attempted the Coup de Grace. But Rollins got up and kicked Balor. Rollins teased a superplex, then hit it. A great finish where Rollins was going to roll Balor into the Falcon Arrow, but Balor held Rollins in a small package for the pin. It was a takeoff of a finish from the 1985 Wrestling Classic with Randy Savage and Dynamite Kid. Rollins looked stunned he was outsmarted. As Balor smiled, Rollins stormed off to the back. 

They aired a package of the Fabulous Moolah, comparing her to Esther Williams, Babe Didrikson Zaharis and Althea Gibson. They put her over as the longest-reigning WWE Women’s Champion of all time. This year there will be a Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania. 

Asuka came out to explain why she’s challenging Charlotte at WrestleMania. Charly Caruso came out to conduct the interview, but before she could say anything Bliss and Mickie James interrupted her. Bliss said Asuka’s interviews aren’t her strong suit because her English isn’t that great, so she was going to explain why Asuka did what she did. Bliss said Asuka has the longest undefeated streak in the history of WWE. James said how does Asuka keep that streak going? Bliss said it’s because Asuka is smart, which means that Asuka knows not to face her at WrestleMania. Bliss said Asuka knows she can’t beat Bliss at WrestleMania. Bliss said not getting in a fight she can’t win is a smart strategy and that Asuka did a wise thing challenging the champion of the B show. 

Asuka said to beat the woman, you have to beat the woman. She said she challenged Charlotte to face the top champion in WWE. Asuka said she beat Bliss once, and she could do it again right now. Bliss told her to dream on and she would face a woman who has some unfinished business against her. Bliss said “you get this woman.” Everybody waited for Nia Jax, but she didn’t come out. Bliss tried to introduce her again, but Jax again didn’t come out. James and Bliss looked confused and whispered to themselves. James responded by giving Asuka a cheap shot and challenged her to a match. 

Asuka defeated Mickie James (with Alexa Bliss) via tapout (6:34) 

Asuka threw James into the LED display on the ring, but Asuka missed a kick and hit the post, selling her right leg big. After a countout tease, James rammed the right leg into the post. Mickie called for the DDT, but Asuka rolled through,but James held Asuka down for a two count. Asuka hit a roundhouse kick, but again sold her leg. The announcers were screaming about how Asuka’s streak was in jeopardy, but the crowd started chanting “Rusev Day.” Asuka caught a knee to James’ face for two. Asuka missed a buzzsaw kick and clipped Asuka, then hit a flapjack. James went to the top rope, but Asuka crotched her. James hit a sunset flip power bomb for a two count. After that spot, they started chanting for C.M. Punk. James went for the DDT again, but Asuka caught James’ arm and clamped on the Asuka lock for the tapout. Bliss walked off after James lost as James reached out for help. 

Jax was in her dressing room. Bliss walked in and wondered where Jax was when she called for her. Jax said she already has a match tonight. Bliss said they set up earlier a 3-on-1 attack on Asuka after Jax’s embarrassing loss last week. Bliss said she was her friend and she was the one who tried to pick up the pieces after Jax lost last week. Bliss said she loves Jax. Jax said she loves her. They hugged. Bliss said she’s facing Asuka next week and wanted Jax in her corner. Jax agreed. 

Nia Jax defeated Joan King (:46)  

Joan King looked like she didn’t want to be there and tried to run away before the bell. Jax pinned her after a Samoan Drop and legdrop. 

After Jax won, the TitanTron cut backstage where Bliss and Jax were talking privately waiting for Caruso to do an interview. Bliss, who was oblivious to a shotgun mic right behind her, said that when Jax walked through the airport, it was like watching Shrek walk through TSA. Meanwhile, Jax watched this entire scene unfold from the ring in tears. Bliss said she uses Nia because she’s a vulnerable human being. Bliss said “look at her and look at me.” Bliss said next week when she faces Asuka, she will have Nia in the palm of her hands because Nia is just as dumb as she is big. Bliss laughed over how Nia said that she loves her, saying that Jax needed her because Jax had been picked on her whole life and she was Jax’s only friend. James said she couldn’t believe that Jax left her on the hook for Asuka tonight. Bliss said Nia worships the ground she walks on because Jax needs her. Bliss said next week, Jax will do the heavy work while they take the glory. Caruso walked in and informed Bliss and James that everyone has heard every word they’ve said. Bliss and James looked stunned. 

Jax walked away from the ring with tears in her eyes, then made a mad dash to the back. Bliss and James made tracks to get out of the dressing room. Caruso tried to throw it to a break, but Jax was furious, ripping several packs of luggage and a robe with her bare hands. Jax screamed “Where are they?” Caruso told her that had left. Jax screamed in anger over Bliss’ betryal. 

Next week, Matt Hardy will meet Bray Wyatt at the Hardy Compound in the Ultimate Deletion. They showed Senior Benjamin, Ruby Hardy, their children, the lake of reincarnation. Hardy challenged Wyatt to the Ultimate Deletion. Wyatt did a promo that Hardy was a liar, a fool and just a man, a man who has made a very bad decision. Wyatt offered Hardy some friendly advice, when the devil is standing on your doorstep, you should never let him in. Wyatt accepted Hardy’s challenge, saying Hardy had a beautiful family and said it would be a real shame if something were to happen to them. 

Angle was in the back wondering what the heck happened to Matt? I was asking the same question about a different Hardy this weekend. A referee walked in and Angle said he wanted him to officiate the Final Deletion. The referee asked if he had done something wrong. Angle said he just wanted to make sure they were in good enough shape to be at Raw the following week. 

Braun Strowman won an 11-man battle royal to receive a title shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania in a match that also included Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Apollo, Titus O’Neil, Rhyno, Heath Slater, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel (10:59) 

Five tag teams were in the ring for the tag team battle royal ready to go, but Strowman walked out and got in the ring. Strowman ordered the referee to ring the bell and eliminating Apollo in :03 with a clothesline. Strowman chased Heath Slater down outside the ring, then threw him in. Strowman eliminated Slater in :48. The eight remaining men jumped Strowman, but Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder broke off from the pack and eliminate Slater to a chorus of boos at 1:25. Strowman fought off the remaining five men. O’Neil got in the ring one-on-one with Strowman while everyone else stood outside, then thought better of it and left the ring to confer with his fellow competitors. Anderson chop blocked Strowman and Gallows gave him a side kick to send him out of the ring. Dash and Dawson drove the ring steps into Strowman’s shoulder. Dallas and Axel followed suit. Then the Revival and the MizTourage picked up the ring steps together and pushed it against Strowman’s face. Strowman went down around the timekeepers’ table. 

WIth Strowman down, O’Neil hit Clash of the Titus on Dawson. Axel, Dallas and Wilder put the boots to O’Neil. Then the Revival jumped Axel. Dallas threw Dawson over the top rope at 9:04. Then Axel threw out Wilder at 9:17. At this point, Strowman recovered and kicked Dallas over the top rope at 9:43. Strowman clotheslined Gallows over at 9:53. Strowman threw out Rhyno at 10:18, then sent Axel over at 10:24. That left Anderson and Strowman, and Strowman picked up Anderson and tossed him over onto the pile of other eliminated wrestlers at 10:59. So the question now is how will Strowman compete for the tag team titles at WrestleMania.  

WWE Fastlane live results: Six-pack challenge

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Preview by Joseph Currier

WWE’s final pay-per-view before WrestleMania takes place tonight as the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio hosts Fastlane.

We’re looking for your thoughts on this show as well as Friday’s ROH PPV show, so please leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected] for each show.

The show’s main event will decide who enters WrestleMania as WWE Champion, with AJ Styles defending his title against John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, and Dolph Ziggler in a six-pack challenge tonight. The winner will have Shinsuke Nakamura waiting for them in New Orleans.

Nakamura will also be in action at Fastlane as he faces Rusev, Charlotte Flair defends her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Ruby Riott, The Usos put their Tag Team titles on the line as they renew their rivalry with The New Day, Randy Orton challenges for Bobby Roode’s United States title, and Naomi & Becky Lynch take on Natalya & Carmella.

The show is also the last brand-exclusive PPV scheduled before WWE’s move to all dual-brand shows. Following the hour-long pre-show, our coverage of the main card begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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by Dave Meltzer 

TYE DILLINGER & TYLER BREEZE & FANDANGO VS. MOJO RAWLEY & SHELTON BENJAMIN & CHAD GABLE

Usual type of preshow match, shorter, but a lot more reaction than usual.  Some of the action wasn’t crisp looking.  The finish was kind of a surprise since Dillinger pinned Rawley after a superkick and a knee to the face.     

SHINSUKE NAKAMURA VS. RUSEV

This was really good.  One thing positive for tonight is the crowd is very hot.  They did dueling chants loud.  A big spot was Nakamura setting up the Kinshasa but Rusev nailed him with a hard kick.  Rusev went for the Accolade but Nakamura escaped it and hit a Kinshasa to the back of the head and a second Kinshasa for the pin.  Aiden English did a rap before the match that got over big as well.  Really he’s a lot more talented than Elias in doing that. 

BOBBY ROODE VS. RANDY ORTON FOR THE U.S. TITLE

Orton won the title in a very good match when Roode came off the top rope into an RKO for the clean pin.  No Jinder Mahal involvement but they showed him watching so hs’e still in the program.  It was a slow deliberate match, worked solid.  The crowd was into it.  It as like a normal good Orotn match but with a hotter crowd than usual.  The biggest spot was Orton’s top rope superplex and a lot of teasing of the glorious DDT and RKO throughout the match. .

Mahal attacked Orton afgter the match.  Roode then saved Orton and hit Mahal with the Glorious DDT.  Roode laid out Orton with the DDT and his music played when it was over even though he ws the one who lost the match. 

Kevin Owens confronted Sami Zayn.  Owens said he lied and he kicked him in the face on Tuesday. Zayn said that was about Tuesday, tonight he’ll lay down for him as it’s the big one.

NAOMI & BECKY LYNCH VS. NATALYA & CARMELLA

Natalya & Carmella won when Camella pinned Lynch after a superkick.  Natalya jumped on the apron with Carmella’s Money in the Bank briefcase to distract Lynch for the finish.  Solid wrestling throughout and even though the crowd wasn’t nearly as hot as for other matches, they were still into it a lot more than would be normal for such a match in this position.

USOS VS. NEW DAY FOR TAG TEAM TITLES

They were having a good match built around each doing the other teams’ moves.  It was Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods as the New Day.  Kingston did the splash off the top, Woods did a million superkicks and the Usos did the Midnight hour.  Then about 9:00 in, the Bludgeon Brothers came out and destroyed everyone.  They destroyed all five including a double team power bomb on Woods on the ring steps.  Harper powerslammed one Uso on the floor, then Rowan slammed the other on him and then Harper on both and finally Rowan splashed on both.  Rowan tried to kill one of them with a sledge hammer but he moved.  They did a double-team suplex on the floor on Woods.,  The angle was well done but the match was nowhere near what it could have been.   

Woods went out on a stretcher.

A.J. Styles did an interivew.  Nakamura came out and said he hopes Styles wins.  Styles got mad at him and said that he was going to beat Nakamura at WrestleMania.

CHARLOTTE FLAIR VS. RUBY RIOTT FOR WOMEN’S TITLE

Charlotte retained the title with a spear and figure eight for the submission.  This had the least crowd heat given its position on the show.  There was some innovative stuff but some stuff didn’t look so good.  Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan came out and Naomi and Becky Lynch followd.  Late in the match ref Mike Chioda first threw out Naomi & Lynch, but then he caught Morgan & Logan interfering and threw them out. 

Asuka came out to challenge.  The crowd was hot for this.  Big “Yes chant when Asuka pointed to the Mania sign.  Charlotte smiled at this. 

A.J. STYLES VS. SAMI ZAYN VS. KEVIN OWENS VS. BARON CORBIN VS. JOHN CENA VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER FOR THE WWE TITLE

Styles retained the title as expected by pinning Owens with the phenomenal foreearm after Owens had given Cena the pop up power bomb.  Excellent match.  There were a lot of big moves and stories.  Zayn laid down for Owens and then double crossed him going for a small package.  Owens went to superkick Zayn, who moved and he nailed Shane McMaoin.  Shane ended up with swelliing on the side of his left eye.  Owens hit the pop up power bomb on Ziggler but Shane McMahon pulled the referee out of the ring and wouldn’t let Owens win.  Zayn hit Owens with the Helluva kick and  Shane again pulled the ref out of the ring.  Daniel Bryan wasn’t there.  They said he had a family commitment.  Earlier Cena put Styles through a table with the Attitude Adjustment.  They pushed the idea that Cena won’t be going to Mania.   

WWE Main Event results: Curt Hawkins’ streak reaches 0-184

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Apollo was the latest man to defeat Curt Hawkins, taking his tally to 0-181 here and at the time of this writing 0-184. Gran Metalik & Kalisto had a by-the-numbers tag bout with Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese, leaving Daivari still winless since August.

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Apollo (w/ Titus O’Neil and Dana Brooke) defeated Curt Hawkins (4:59)

The streak continues for Hawkins, who went 0-181 here and then lost three times over the weekend (including twice in the same night at Raw’s house show in Minneapolis on Friday) to take the tally to 0-184. With no indication of when or where this losing streak will end, the live reports of Hawkins with this gimmick have been very favorable and there’s no denying that it has been fun covering this on Main Event.

He and Apollo went back and forth here in much the same mold as the matches he’s had on Main Event of late: Apollo gave him lots of the match and they really made it look as though Hawkins had enough to finally end the streak until Apollo was able to snatch the win out of nothing.

After an enzuigiri and his patented standing moonsault, Hawkins kicked out and they traded near falls. The finish saw Hawkins go up to the second rope, looking for a flying back elbow, but he got caught by Apollo, who quickly nailed him with The Chariot for the win.

Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese (4:31)

Meanwhile, in the cruiserweight division, another losing streak is forming. After going 0-31 last week on this show, Ariya Daivari is now 0-33 in all competitions with yet another loss here. He is still without a win in seven months.

Metalik and Daivari started the match, with Daivari calling for Kalisto to be tagged in. After quick covers, Daivari made it to the ropes and Nese came in. When Kalisto dropkicked Nese, he followed it up with a head-scissors and Nese rolled out of the ring. Metalik hit a twisted plancha to the outside on Nese and Daivari as we went to the break. 

The match flew by in the second half and they quickly went to the finish. Metalik hit a senton to the outside on both Nese and Daivari. He then rolled Nese back into the ring and superkicked him to put him in position for the rope-walk elbow drop. Metalik nailed Nese in the middle of the ring with the elbow for the win.

New Japan Cup night three results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Night three of the New Japan Cup is now in the books! Here are results from today’s show in Amagasaki:

Prelim results:

  • Yuji Nagata  and Tomoyuki Oka defeated Ren Narita and Tetsuhiro Yagi when Oka submitted Narita with a Boston crab.
  • El Desperado defeated Shota Umino by submission with a stretch muffler.
  • Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa defeated Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson, David Finlay and  Toa Henare when Loa defeated Henare with a sitout piledriver.
  • Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Killer Elite Squad and Yoshinobu Kanemaru when Yano defeated Kanemaru following a low blow and a roll up.
  • Taichi and Takashi Iizuka defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi when Taichi defeated Taguchi with a superkick.
  • Kazuchika Okada and Chuckie T defeated SANADA and BUSHI when Okada submitted BUSHI with the cobra clutch.

New Japan Cup matches:

Kota Ibushi defeated YOSHI-HASHI

They started off with some good chain wrestling, with Ibushi dominating. YOSHI-HASHI hit a DDT and gained control. Ibushi fought back and brought YOSHI-HASHI to the apron. YH countered and suplexed him, but Ibushi’s landing was softened by hitting the ropes more than the apron.

YOSHI-HASHI took it to the crowd, where they brawled. Ibushi hit a snap hurricanrana out of nowhere and went into the crowd, jumped on a rafter and hit a giant moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, the two slapped each other silly. YOSHI-HASHI hit a Canadian destroyer and followed with a German suplex.

Ibushi blocked karma from YOSHI-HASHI but walked right into a lariat. YOSHI-HASHI followed with a running powerbomb then sunk in the butterfly lock. Ibushi gets to the ropes, but YOSHI-HASHI tried to follow with karma…but can’t get it. Ibushi fired back and tried for the kamigoye, but YOSHI-HASHI escapes. Ibushi tries a second time and connects for the win.

A fantastic match, probably the best of the tournament so far. When YOSHI-HASHI is with a great opponent, he’s great too and Ibushi is one of the best in the world. Loved the story of YOSHI-HASHI using everything in the book to finish off Ibushi, yet couldn’t get it done. It’s one of those matches that was extremely well done from start to finish.

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito

They grappled to start things off. Sabre took it to the outside where he started working on Naito’s arms, pulling and stretching them. He used his leg and forced him into a roll up for a two count. Sabre continued to work on the arms until Naito made it to the ropes with his foot.

Undaunted, Sabre followed up with the octopus stretch. Naito came alive after hitting the satellite DDT, but Sabre trapped him with his legs. Sabre shifted his focus to the legs, torquing one of them. Naito hit a German suplex, but Sabre followed with a penalty kick. Naito tried for the koppo kick to thwart him, but Sabre grabbed the leg and sunk in a leg lock in a cool spot.

Naito hit Gloria and trief for the Destino but Sabre escaped. He went for it a second time, but Sabre transitioned beautifully into another leg hold. Sabre wrapped the other knee across the back of his neck. Naito tried to find a way to escape, but could not and submitted in shocking fashion. Another fantastic match. — it was all Sabre looking dominant, derailing Naito every chance he got and looked super strong in submitting him. This was about getting Sabre over as a threat in this tournament and all parties involved did a fantastic job.

Taka Michinoku, who seems to be serving as a mouthpiece for Sabre on this tour, cut a promo hyping up Sabre, giving him a new catchphrase: just tap out. A great show, with the two tournament matches being good enough that you have to go out of your way to see, especially the co-main event.

New Japan Cup night two results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi

Posted on by Bryan Rose

New Japan returned to Aichi today for the second of four consecutive days of New Japan Cup action. Here’s a rundown of what happened:

Prelim bouts:

  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Ren Narita when Desperado submitted Narita with a stretch muffler.
  • David Finlay and Tetsuhiro Yagi defeated Yuji Nagata and Shota Umino when Finlay pinned Umino with a stunner.
  • Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Michael Elgin and Tomoyuki Oka when Yano pinned Oka following a low blow and a roll up.
  • Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Takashi Iizuka defeated Juice Robinson and Toa Henare when Smith pinned Henare with the bulldog bomb.
  • Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka Michinoku when SANADA submitted Michinoku with the skull end.
  • Kazuchika Okada, Chuckie T, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto defeated Kota Ibushi, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa and Yujiro Takahashi when Okada submitted Owens with the cobra clutch.

New Japan Cup opening round matches:

Bad Luck Fale defeated Lance Archer

They took it out of the ring quickly as Fale brawled with Archer into the crowd. Archer cleared people and looked to throw Fale into chairs, but Fale countered and throws him into the chairs instead.

Archer got the advantage and went to the turnbuckle but Fale took him down. Archer went for the blackout, but Fale avoided it and hit a lariat and a big splash. Archer grabs Fale and went for a chokeslam but Fale pushed him away. then hit the grenade out of nowhere for the win. It was fine, but not really anything of note. Seemed kinda short, too.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Taichi

Taichi did everything in his power to stall early. He finally got the heat on Tanahashi as he outpaced him running back to the ring and stomped on him as he tried to return to the ring. Taichi took Tanahashi to the outside and threw him into the crowd.

Taichi continued to get heat on Tanahashi until he fired back some shots and slapped Taichi square in the face. Taichi took Tanahashi to the outside and looked to powerbomb him onto the stage, but Tanahashi fired back with a hurricanrana that sent Taichi reeling. He then worked on Taichi’s legs and applied the cloverleaf.

Tanahashi continued to work over Taichi until Taichi unleashed a brutal side suplex on Tanahashi.  He followed with a Ganso bomb. Tanahashi fired back with the slingblade and hit the high fly flow, but Tanahashi’s injured knee started to bother him,. Taichi used the bum knee to shove the referee, low blow Tanahashi and landed the Gedo clutch, but Tanahashi kicked out.

Tanahashi revived and hit three twist and shout neckbreakers in succession. Taichi went to use the cane, but Tanahashi grabbed it and threw it out of the ring. Taichi tried to distract the referee again and went for a low blow, but this time Tanahashi blocked it and landed two sling blades. When Taichi kicked out, Tanahashi finished with the high fly flow for the win.

This was way better than expected. The early part of the match was kinda dull but once the stalling stopped it became a tremendously well built match with a lot of great nearfalls. People totally bought that Taichi could get a fluke win and their reactions helped the match a lot too.

This means Hiroshi Tanahashi and Bad Luck Fale will square off on March 14 to decide who will make it to the semifinals.

ROH 16th Anniversary live results: Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Preview by Bryan Rose

All four ROH titles will be on the line as the company celebrates its 16th anniversary in Las Vegas tonight.

Dalton Castle will defend the ROH World Championship against Jay Lethal, The Briscoes will get an ROH Tag Team title shot against Motor City Machine Guns, Kenny King takes on Silas Young for the Television title, and The Young Bucks & Hangman Page defend their Six-Man Tag Team titles against SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky).

We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

Other matches include Flip Gordon vs. New Japan’s Hiromu Takahashi, Cody vs. Matt Taven, and Marty Scurll vs. Punishment Martinez.

Meanwhile, two more matches in the Women of Honor tournament will take place on the pre-show. Sumie Sakai will face Hana Kimura in a first round match, while Tenille Dashwood takes on Brandi Rhodes in a quarterfinal bout.

Join us for live coverage starting at 9 p.m. ET.

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SUMIE SAKAI VS. HANA KIMURA

Sakai advanced in the tournament with the win.

BRANDI RHODES VS. TENILLE DASHWOOD

Not much to this one.  Rhodes faked a knee injury and poked Dashwood in the yes, then hit the crossroads but Dashwood kicked out.  Rhodes missed the missile dropkick badly and Dashwood won with a running kick to advance in the tournament.

Bully Ray is giving a pep talk speech.  He said this ain’t sports entertainment, it’s ROH.  Says the guy who will be putting over sports entertainment big in a few weeks.

FLIP GORDON VS. HIROMU TAKAHASHI

Good match, but not the blow away match these two are capable of doing and probably will do at some point.  It felt a litle too choreographed early on.  Gordon went for a 450 but Takahashi got his knees up.  Takahashi did a  Death  Valley bomb into the corner and won with the time bomb. 

MARTY SCRULL VS. PUNISHMENT MARTINEZ

Good match.  Martinez did three dives, hitting a springboard flip dive, then doing a dive over the corner onto Scurll and several security guards.  The third was Martijez going for a flip dive but Scurll moved and Martinez went through a table.  All action, Scurll won when he pulled out a bag and faked throwing powder and when Martinez went to protect his eyes, Scurll kicked him low for the pin.

KENNY KING VS.  SILAS YOUNG FOR THE TV TITLE

A solid match.  About what you’d expect.  The story was that  Young hit mizery but ref Todd Sinclair was knocked down while he did the move.  By the time Sinclair recovered, King was able to kick out.  King came back to win with the Royal flush. 

Austin Aries came out with a ton of belts.  Aries said he’s been going all over the world collecting belts.  He said he’s also won belts in ROH but the one belt he’s never won is the TV title.  Aries said you’ve got something on your shoulder I want and said the belt collector never gets tired of winning belts.  In other words, Impact and ROH are working together.

YOUNG BUCKS & ADAM PAGE VS. SCORPIO SKY & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & FRANKIE KAZARIAN IN A STREET FIGHT FOR THE TRIOS TITLES 

This was complete insanity.  A million crazy spots.  SoCal Uncensored won the titles  when Page was zip tied to the post,   Matt’s back went out whe he tried to set up the Meltzer driver.  Sky used the diamond cutter on Matt and put him in the dragon sleeper.  Then he started choking Matt with a kendo stick while Kazarian put Matt in the Boston crab and he tapped out for the title change.  Highlights were never ending including Matt coming off the top of a ladder with an elbow drop on Kazarian through a table.  Kazarian was bleeding heavily.  There was a belt used with nails on it.  Shane Taylor interfered after Nick did a 450 on Sky onto a garbage can but Taylor pulled the ref out of the ring.  Page laid out Taylor with a rites of passage which included Nick doing a springboard spike on him.  The match opened with the Bucks doing a double dive.  Page did a moonsault off the apron.  Daniels took a backdrop over the top rope onto a barricade bridge.  Just a nonstop series of big moves. 

Vinny Marseglia and TK O’Ryan beat up the Bucks after the match and laid them out.   Bully Ray ran in.  

CODY VS. MATT TAVEN

Good match.  Cody survived a crossroads by Taven and his climax (the one percenter) but kicked out of both.  There was a ref bump and Marseglia and O’Ryan came out and held Cody. Taven kicked him low but Cody had a steel cup that he pulled out to show why he wasn’t selling it.  Bully Ray chased Marseglia and O’Ryan away.  Cody hit the crossroads for the pin.  Cody got his ring back.  Both guys did dives and worked at a fast pace.  Lots of big moves.  It was tough following the previous match but came off pretty well.

After the match, Bury The Bear, who was at ringside cheering Cody on, unmasked and it was Kenny Omega and he hit the V trigger on Cody.   The place went wild for that,  Brandi yelled at Oemga and was alapping him around.  Brandi then kissed Omega.  She said that Ibushi couldn’t do that.  Omega was all confused.

They didn’t announce it on the air, but should have, but Omega will be at the ROH TV tapings tomorrow in Las Vegas.

CHRIS SABIN & ALEX SHELLEY VS. MARK & JAY BRISCOE FOR THE TAG TITLES

This match was great.  It was really hard to follow the Omega angle so it was hard to get the crowd.  But Sabin was on fire tonight.  Mark bled badly from being thrown into the post.  Again nonstop big moves.  Lots of near falls including Sabin using the cradle shock.  Sabin kicked out of the Jay driller but Jay pinned Sabin next after a doomsday device for the title change.

DALTON CASTLE VS. JAY LETHAL FOR ROH TITLE

Great main event.  Castle went for a bangarang, but Lethal escaped and cradled him but Castle broke out of it and hti the bangarang for the pin to keep the title.  Lethal did a great job , working on the leg.  Castle did cool suplexes including a German suplex off the apron to the floor.  Lethal hit the Lethal injection in the middle but Caslte kicked out.  Lethal did two tope’s at one point and then a third later in the match took out ring announcer Bobby Cruise when Castle moved and Cruise hit his head on the barricade.  .

They shook hands.  Marty Scurll came on to challenge Castle for the title as the show went off the air.