Tag: rocky romero

AEW Rampage live results: Superkliq & Fish vs. Best Friends & Romero

Posted on by Joseph Collins

The Superkliq & Bobby Fish will be in eight-man tag team action on Friday’s AEW Rampage.

The Young Bucks, Adam Cole and Fish will take on Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Trent and Rocky Romero of Best Friends. The two sides have been feuding for several weeks with the Best Friends looking to get revenge after being beaten down by the heels last week after Cole defeated Wheeler Yuta.

In a ten-man tag, AEW Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers will team with Santana & Ortiz and Eddie Kingston to take on Daniel Garcia, 2point0 and The Acclaimed.

In a submission match, Tay Conti will take on Penelope Ford in a grudge match between the two heated rivals.

Friday’s show will also see the return of ATT’s Dan Lambert in his first AEW appearance since ATT and Men of the Year lost to The Inner Circle at November’s Full Gear.

This week’s matches were taped on Wednesday in Garland, Texas, after Dynamite.

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Hosts are Taz, Excalibur, and Ricky Starks 

Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Trent and Rocky Romero (w/ Wheeler Yuta) defeated The Young Bucks, Adam Cole & Bobby Fish (w/ Brandon Cutler) (13:28) 

Confirmed for Dynamite on Wednesday during the entrances is the first TBS Title Tournament semi-final match, Ruby Soho v. Nyla Rose. 

Chuck Taylor and Matt Jackson started out, and Taylor hit the standing sliced bread for an early near fall. Rocky Romero got the tag and hit Matt with a step up hurricanrana, and Matt quickly tagged in Bobby Fish. 

Tags were soon made to make Orange Cassidy and Adam Cole the legal men in the ring. It looked like they’d face off, but Cole thought better of it and tagged out to Nick Jackson instead. This was an excellent exchange that saw both men do a top rope walk the tightrope spot and ended with the heels running in and taking out Cassidy. Then on the floor, The Bucks and Cole powerbombed Beretta on the edge of the ring apron, and back in the ring the Superkliq superkicked Cassidy. The show went to the split-screen ad break. 

Back from break, Cassidy was double-teamed by the Bucks for a near fall. Cole set up Cassidy for the running double superkick from the Bucks, but the Best Friends tripped up the Bucks while they ran the ropes, and Cassidy cradled Cole for a near fall. Cassidy countered a Panama Sunrise attempt from Cole, then got the hot tag to Baretta. 

Beretta came in like a house of fire. He hit a half-and-half suplex on Nick Jackson, then double clotheslined Nick and Cole. Beretta hit a senton on Cole on the apron, then nailed Fish with a spear on the floor. A diving splash on Nick Jackson got Beretta a near fall. Romero and Beretta hit a double knee strike on Nick Jackson. The former Roppongi 3K double teamed Nick Jackson. Romero hit a top rope dropkick on Nick’s back, and Beretta slid in with a knee strike. Then the Best Friends hit the half and half/soul food combination on Cole, and Taylor hit a tope con hilo on Fish and Matt Jackson on the floor.  Beretta went to the middle rope for a move, but he was yanked off the ropes by Nick Jackson, hitting his neck against the turnbuckle. The Bucks and Cole hit a triple team neckbreaker on Baretta, and Fish came in with a  top rope splash for a near fall. 

Fish hit a top rope falcon arrow on Beretta for a near fall, but Cassidy broke up the pin attempt. Cassidy set up the Orange Punch, but Cole cut him off with a pump kick. Romero hit a heel kick on Cole, and then hit a tope suicida on the floor. Nick hit a twisting plancha on Romero and Taylor, and then Cassidy hit the Orange Punch on Matt, sending him to the floor. Cassidy then hit a top rope springboard senton on the pile on the floor. Back in the ring, Beretta hit Fish with the Strong Zero and held him down for the pin. This was crazy bonkers great. It probably should have been the party match that followed Danielson/Page on Dynamite to keep the million viewers that match had at its peak.

– Dan Lambert cut an in-ring promo with the Men of the Year. Lambert trashed Tony Khan, calling him two-faced. Lambert said Khan is giving the title matches to “undeserving EVPs” and started to trash Cody Rhodes, which of course brought out Cody. Rhodes is so screwed as a babyface if he can’t get cheered against Dan Lambert. Rhodes and Lambert took turns stealing the mic from each other in a funny bit, and then without saying anything Cody attacked the Men of the Year. Cody was quickly overwhelmed. Dustin Rhodes ran in to save his brother, but Lambert distracted Dustin and soon both Rhodes brothers  were down. Sammy Guevara finally ran in and hit a double jump cutter on Scorpio Sky, and ran off the Men of the Year. Guevara and Cody Rhodes will fight for the TNT title on the Christmas Night episode of Rampage. 

– Quick promos for the TBS Title Tournament semi-final matches from the remaining women involved. 

Tay Conti (w/ Anna Jay) defeated Penelope Ford (w/ The Bunny) in a submission match (5:20)

Conti jumped Ford before the bell and hit a pump kick early on. Conti got a half-crab early on, but Bunny helped Ford get to the ropes to force a break. Conti also got a juji gatame for another submission attempt, again broken by Ford getting the ropes. Bunny distracted Conti when she locked in another submission attempt. Ford caught Conti in a dragon sleeper. Ford caught Conti with a handspring cutter, then rolled into a cravat for another submission attempt. Conti came back with a pump kick, then countered a cazadora attempt by dropping down. Conti chicken-winged Ford’s arm with her leg, then pulled back on Ford’s neck, and Ford quickly tapped out. 

After the match, Bunny nailed Conti with the brass knuckles, and Anna Jay chased off Ford and Bunny with a steel chair. So I guess this feud must continue. 

– The Owen Hart Cup: Excalibur announced that both men’s and women’s tournaments will take place next May and wrap up at Double or Nothing, and that Dr. Martha Hart would present trophies to the winners. The graphic for the tournaments looked to be the traditional single elimination brackets. More details will come on Wednesday’s Dynamite. 

Run down of new matches for upcoming shows: 

  • Adam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy was added to Dynamite on Wednesday. 
  • Hook vs. Bear Bronson was added to Rampage which will air next Saturday (Christmas Day) at 9pm.
  • And the first match for Battle of the Belts on January 8th, Dr. Britt Baker will defend the AEW World Women’s title against Riho. 

Main Event Face to Face Promo Segment: Mark Henry moderates. Kingston cut off the 2point0 guys from their nonsense, then told Mark Henry it was time to do his thing “and all that jazz.” “It’s TIME for the MAIN EVENT.” 

2point0, Daniel Garcia and The Acclaimed defeated Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz and Lucha Bros (w/ Alex Abrahantes) (8:31)

Kingston and his team attacked the heels on their way to the ring, robbing us of the opportunity to be offended by Max Caster’s rap. Lots of brawling around the ring before the match officially started with Penta and Caster in the ring. Taz tried to claim Penta’s chest protector was loaded with steel, which Excalibur quickly refuted. “Stop sticking up for the masked guys all the time!” The Lucha Bros were incredibly over with the crowd, and Caster took a beating from both Penta and Fenix. Santana and Ortiz hit some wild double teams on Anthony Bowens and the show took its last split-screen break.  

Back from the break, Santana hit a springboard moonsault on both Parker and Lee of 2point0, and got the tag to Penta. Penta hit sling blades on 2point0. Fenix got the tag and hit a punt on Bowens, then a tor-knee-do on Garcia for a near fall. Kingston got the tag so he could get after Garcia, but the 2point0 guys pulled him out of the ring. Penix and Penta hit stereo dives on the 2point0 guys. Santana hit a piledriver on Garcia, and Kingston hit an exploder suplex on Bowens. Garcia then got a rollup on Kingston and held his tights to get the surprise win. 

After the match, Bowens hit Kingston with the boombox. Jungle Boy’s music played, and the heels stood facing the stage waiting for Jurassic Express. Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Christian Cage ran in from the crowd and attack the heels from behind, chasing them off. Then, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus made a point of giving the Lucha Bros their belts back, teasing a future match between the number one contenders Jurassic Express and the World Tag Champions the Lucha Bros.

Final Thoughts: 

I would think Cody teaming with his brother against Lambert’s crew would get the fans behind him again, but if that doesn’t do it, I don’t know what will. Also the announcement regarding the Owen Hart cup was kind of a nothingburger. The 8 man tag was great, the 10 man was fine, and the submission match was pretty skippable. 

Impact Wrestling live results: The fallout from Bound for Glory

Posted on by Antonio Garza

Days after winning the coveted title at Bound For Glory, Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend the title for the first time on Thursday’s AXS show against wrestling journeyman Rocky Romero.

This will be Romero’s singles debut with the promotion after participating in a few multi-man matches over the years. He returned at BFG in the Call Your Shot gauntlet match.

Another new titleholder — Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James — will address the Las Vegas fans following her defeat of Deonna Purrazzo for the belt at BFG.

The war between Violent By Design and Heath & Rhino rages on as Heath takes on Joe Doering in singles action.

After three out of the four women feuded for the better part of the summer, Tasha Steelz will face Rachael Ellering in singles action.

Coming out of a conflict in the Call Your Shot match, Ace Austin will face Chris Sabin in a clash of former X-Division Champions.

The BTI match will see VSK take on Sam Beale in a meeting of former Learning Tree faction members.

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VSK (with Brian Myers & Zicky Dice) defeated Sam Beale on BTI

After the match, The Learning Tree attacked Beale until Rich Swann and Willie Mack made the save.

* * * * * * * * * *

Opening video was a full recap of Bound For Glory, featuring all the title matches from that night.

The new Impact World Champion Moose came out to the ring to open the show. Moose captured the title after cashing in his Call Your Shot win and defeating Josh Alexander after the BFG main event. 

Before Moose could even talk, Eddie Edwards ran down with a kendo stick and tried to attack Moose. They brawled on the ramp until security ran down to break up the fight. Security took Edwards away while Moose returned to the ring. He once again took the microphone and acknowledged all the bad things he had to do to finally win the Impact World title. He said that he had no sympathy for the men he left behind because he now held the title. Moose took shots at many champions around the industry as he considers himself the greatest champion of them all. He finished sending a message to the locker room, but it was then that Josh Alexander ran through the crowd and suplexed Moose. This time around, Moose ran off while Alexander controlled the ring.

Suddenly, Minoru Suzuki of all people came out to confront Josh Alexander. Both men got into a strike exchange after Alexander disrespected Suzuki by focusing on Moose. Security came out again to break up this fight. Alexander ended up busted open from the short brawl.

Backstage, Gia Miller asked Moose if he was prepared to take on all comers now that he was the champion. Moose said that if there was one man that could handle the pressure, it was him. 

Matt Cardona confronted Moose about being the runner up in the Call Your Shot match, and also got into a fight with Moose. Security broke this one up quicker.

X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defeated Rocky Romero to retain the title

Romero appeared in the Call Your Shot match, entering at #2. He challenged Miguel to a title match on social media, a match that Miguel accepted. Miguel defeated Steve Maclin and El Phantasmo to win the vacant X Division title.

Match started with a series of counters and reversals, mixed in with some sneaky style from Romero. Miguel gained momentum after dropping Romero on the apron. Miguel continued with a moonsault to the floor after blocking some of Romero’s offense. 

Back in the ring, Romero cut off Miguel, targeting his arm. Romero dropkicked Miguel to the floor when Miguel tried to do his Spider Trey faint kick on the ropes. Romero went for the armbar, but Miguel countered into a powerbomb to finally stop Romero’s control. 

Both men traded strikes, but at the end, Miguel got the upper hand and hit meteora, only to get countered into a single leg crab. Miguel managed to counter out of the submission. 

Romero hit the forever clothesline, but the last one was reversed into a brainbuster. Miguel followed with another meteora and got the win. Good opener, it was all about showcasing Miguel.

After the match, Steve Maclin jumped Miguel and hit the crosshair to leave Miguel laying. 

– Miller interviewed Jordynne Grace about what being the Digital Media Champion meant. Grace said that she was hoping to be the one that gave this title a meaning and purpose. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans interrupted them to make fun of Ellering for being eliminated at the Call Your Shot gauntlet. Ellering brought up that Steelz was once again trying to talk smack and cause problems, so instead told her to bring whatever she had to say to the ring.

– Backstage, Maclin cut a promo addressing Trey Miguel about him having the title, but not because he was beaten. Scott D’Amore confronted Maclin and told him that he’ll have a title opportunity next week.

Matt Cardona and Eddie Edwards both went up to D’Amore asking for a shot at Moose. D’Amore told them that they and Alexander for now will tag team to take on Moose and two partners.

Suddenly, D’Amore saw Alexander beating up the referee who endangered Alexander’s family for starting a match with them inside the ring. D’Amore calmed Alexander and told him about next week’s match against Moose and told him to control his emotions because it’s a matter of time he goes after the title, but he won’t get there by beating up referees. 

Rachael Ellering (with Jordynne Grace) defeated Tasha Steelz (with Savannah Evans) 

Match started with Ellering in control, using her power advantage to steamroll over Steelz from corner to corner. At one point she blocked a codebreaker and slammed Steelz, forcing her to roll out of the ring to get a breather, only for Steelz to snap Ellering’s neck on the ropes. 

Steelz, now with some momentum, worked over Ellering for some time, but eventually, Ellering made a comeback, striking her way back into the match. Match ended with a backroll from Ellering that didn’t look so smooth. Ok match.

– W. Morrissey cut a promo about his alliance with Moose and how Moose betrayed him after the alliance wasn’t convenient. Morrissey said that it was perfect, since Moose was now the champion and he had his eye on the title. Moose approached Morrissey and told him that he simply acted before Morrissey would have and offered a shot at the title if he helped him take out Alexander, Edwards, and Cardona.

– Gia Miller interviewed The IInspiration. They said that they looked to inspire the Knockouts division, but never actually answered Miller’s questions. They’re fantastic. 

Joe Doering (with Violent By Design) vs Heath (with Rhino) ended in a no contest.

Rhino and Heath finally reunited at Bound For Glory to defea Violent By Design, after a full year apart where Heath healed from injury, and Rhino joined Violent By Design. 

Doering controlled the match ealy on. While Heath kept trying to get offense on Doering, the latter would easily overpower and cut off any attempt. 

At one point, Heath managed to dodge Doering’s running elbow and got him off his feet with a jumping kick, but before he could continue the attack, Deaner tripped Heath. Rhino attacked Deaner and the brawl spilled into the ring, at which point the referee threw out the match. 

After the match, Eric Young joined in the match, he pretended to still be injured, but ended up attacking Rhino from behind. He dropped Rhino with a falling elbow and a piledriver on Heath. VBD controlled the ring at the end.

– The Good Brothers cut a promo about being the tag team of the year and bookers of the year after setting up FinJuice and the Bullet Club as contenders, and they still defeated them. FinJuice confronted Anderson and Gallows about having the match won when they snuck in for the pin. FinJuice brought up that they have never been beaten by Anderson and Gallows, who rejected the title challenge and told FinJuice they needed to earn a shot.

– Gia Miller interviewed The Demon about his return to wrestling at the Call Your Shot gauntlet, before he could answer, Johnny Swinger interrupted him and said that The Demon was only there to make his bad year worse. He complained about everything and said their kind wasn’t welcomed, and by that he meant Demons. Decay backed him up and ran Swinger away. Demon said he was on Impact because Demons were welcomed. Swinger vs The Demon is imminent. 

– The new Knockouts Champion Mickie James came down to the ring. James talked about the excitement of being back and being the Knockouts Champion. She put over Deonna Purrazzo saying that was one of her biggest matches in her career. She said she was waiting for Purrazzo to come back for her rematch, but Purrazzo was nowhere to be found. James welcomed anyone who wanted a shot. 

Out came Madison Rayne and Kaleb. Rayne said that when it came to the pillars of Impact, everyone always included James along with women like Gail Kim and Kong, but Madison Rayne never got the credit she deserved. She said that James always jumped around promotions while Rayne had been supporting the Knockouts. She ended by challenging James to a title match next week, which James accepted. 

Kaleb talked trash to James and earned himself a slap before The Influence retreated. Good little angle. 

– Gia Miller asked Moose and Morrissey about their third partner. Moose said he was working on it and walked up to Minoru Suzuki to join him and Morrissey for next week. Suzuki accepted.

Next week’s lineup: World Champion Moose, Minoru Suzuki and W. Morrissey vs. Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards and Matt Cardona; Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Madison Rayne; and Rohit Raju vs. Steve Maclin vs. Laredo Kid vs. Black Taurus square off with an X-Division title match on the line.

On Impact Plus and Impact’s subscription YouTube channel, Chelsea Green takes on John Skyler with a Digital Media title shot on the line.

Ace Austin (with Madman Fulton) defeated Chris Sabin

Chris Sabin debuted a new entrance theme. 

Both men were part of Bound For Glory’s Call Your Shot match, and it was Fulton’s surprise attack from behind that ended Sabin’s run after he had made it to the end after entering in the first spot. 

Match was a great back and forth match. Early on, Sabin kept getting the better of Austin, managing to counter most of his offense and at one point locking in a great looking surfboard. Sabin focused on Austin’s legs, which ended up becoming a problem for Austin when he finally cut off Sabin. 

Austin mostly worked on Sabin’s arm and hand, in addition to the head as he set up for The Fold. He got a couple of two counts, but none serious enough. 

After minutes of peril, Sabin made a comeback once again targeting Austin’s leg. Sabin got the first big near fall with a fisherman suplex, followed with a cradle shock attempt, but Austin escaped. Both men ended on the mat after trading strikes and kicks. 

Austin hit his jumping kick for a two count and set up The Fold, but Sabin countered into the cradle shock position. Austin escaped, but took a huge springboard tornado DDT for a near fall. 

Sabin distracted himself with Fulton, but was able to take him and Austin down. Austin distracted the referee pretending to have a broken nose, allowing Fulton to sneak in a punch on Sabin and left him open for The Fold for the win. Really good match.

NJPW Summer Struggle results: Rocky Romero vs. El Phantasmo

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s Summer Struggle tour continued today with a show in Korakuen Hall. 

The top two bouts were singles match previews of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match set to take place at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome on July 25. 

In the main event, Rocky Romero took on El Phantasmo in a rematch of a classic Best of the Super Juniors match from May 2019. In the semi-main, Taiji Ishimori faced Ryusuke Taguchi. Ishimori and ELP will defend the IWGP Jr. Tag titles against Romero and Taguchi at the Tokyo Dome. 

The undercard was made up of tag team previews of some of next week’s biggest bouts. 

Here are today’s results:

KENTA, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (12:56)

Yujiro pinned Tsuji after hitting Pimp Juice. 

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI (13:29)

Taichi pinned BUSHI after he and Sabre hit Zack Mephisto. 

Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH defeated El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI (12:55)

Eagles used the Ron Miller Special to submit DOUKI.

Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Taiji Ishimori (14:23)

Taguchi pinned Ishimori with a cradle after Ishimori failed in an attempt to cradle Taguchi by pulling his tights down. Taguchi then used a stinkface on Ishimori. This has to be seen to be believed. 

ELP then ran in and attacked Taguchi. Romero ran in for the save and the main event began. 

Rocky Romero and El Phantasmo went to a time limit draw (30:00)

Taguchi teased throwing in the towel for Romero. ELP intercepted the towel. ELP hit Sudden Death, but Romero kicked out as the time limit expired. 

Here are the lineups for the next week and weekend’s NJPW World events:

NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night one, Thursday, July 22, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
  • SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
  • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI

NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night two, Friday, July 23, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • SANADA vs. Taichi
  • Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
  • Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado

NJPW Summer Struggle in Nagoya, Saturday, July 24, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
  • Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
  • Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
  • Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado
  • Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 

NJPW Strong results: Josh Alexander vs. Rocky Romero

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight’s episode was titled Road to TAG TEAM TURBULENCE, ahead of the upcoming tournament.

Barrett Brown defeated The DKC

Brown came out alone tonight, without Bateman, like he has been doing recently. Brown and DKC were even as they worked on the mat early on. Brown was able to get the upper hand, but only by using dirtier tactics, like his new mentor Bateman does.

The DKC tried using an armbar on Brown, but Brown yanked on DKC’s fingers and forced him to break the hold. Another play out of Bateman’s handbook. The DKC came back with leg sweep, a bulldog, and a running Baba chop to a seated Brown. Later, he flew off top rope with a jump kick, but Brown school boy’d him and pulled tights for leverage to pick up the win, ”Bateman-style.” Brown had a crazed look in his eye after the match and cackled his way to the back. What a heel.

PJ Black defeated Alex Coughin

This match was part of what NJPW is calling the “Alex Coughlin Challenge Match Series.” It’s similar to what both Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura are going through in NJPW proper right now, facing bigger starts on the roster with the idea that once they make it through the gauntlet, they’ll “graduate” onto the main roster, shedding their Young Lion personas.

ROH’s PJ Black was a regular on NJPW Strong last year, though we have not seen much of him on the show in 2021. He locked Coughlin in an abdominal stretch early. The high flyer spent most of the time working over Coughlin on the mat with fundamentals. Black started to fly a few minutes in, landing onto Coughlin with a top rope quebrada. 

Coughlin with a school boy and small package attempt for two, but Black put the brakes on quickly and grounded Coughlin with a couple hard stomps. Coughlin returned with a flying shoulder block and a deadlift gut wrench suplex. Announcer Kevin Kelly called Coughlin’s strength “freakish” in a good way, and he’s right. One of the consistent highlights on the show this year is seeing what kind of ridiculous raw strength we’re going to get out of Coughlin in his matches.

Black landed a Spanish Fly off the top for a two-count. He climbed to the top again to put Coughlin away for good, but Coughlin shuffled over to the opposite corner and out of harm’s way. Black chased after him and landed an avalanche in the corner, but when he went back to the top rope for a cross bodyblock, Coughlin caught Black in the air and rolled through to break his fall, then, without breaking his grip, Coughlin stood up and did a bridging fall-away slam for a two of his own. Black is an aerial wrestler, but that’s not imply he’s small. He’s one of the bigger, taller wrestlers that have been on the show. Coughlin’s a big, strong boy, indeed.

They traded a few stiff elbows before Black put Coughlin away with a new finisher, something I would describe as an inverted crucifix slam, in 9:33.

Black offered his hand to Coughlin, but Coughlin refused it. Black didn’t seem bothered and raised his arms in the air as he exited ringside. Good match.

Josh Alexander defeated Rocky Romero

This was good, but the last two minutes or so were great. The first few minutes of this were evenly matched. The bigger Alexander had the advantage at first, but Romero was in control of the match on the mat within minutes. He used a frankensteiner on Alexander to put him onto the floor, then followed it up with a tope suicida through the middle ropes onto Alexander.

Alexander picked up the advantage soon after this, though. At five minutes in, Alexander was able to slow things down, neutralizing Romero by keeping him grounded with various submission holds and locks. Romero eventually answered back with a spike DDT. He landed a missile dropkick to Alexander’s neck while he was draped across the ropes later.

Towards the end of the match, Alexander tried going for a standing ankle lock but Romero was able to roll through and whip Alexander into the corner, knocking him off balance. After some more action, Romero landed a frankensteiner into an armbar, but Alexander escaped. As the ten-minute call sounded, Alexander used a rolling German suplex on Romero for a close nearfall.

Alexander stomped Romero’s ankle, then re-applied his ankle lock. Romero escaped and landed Sliced Bread for two. Alexander was again able to put Romero in the ankle lock, but again Romero was able to counter, this time into the cross armbar he had on Alexander moments earlier. Alexander avoided that by standing up, and with Romero’s legs still clutching onto Alexander’s body, Alexander hoisted him in the air and power bombed him—onto his own knee. That looked brutal/great. Alexander then put Romero away with a Jaydriller for the win.

The Impact star spoke afterwards and explained how it took him 15 years to get to NJPW, a wrestling company that referred to itself as a sport, and that he wasn’t going anywhere now that he’d arrived. He apologized to Rocky Romero for what he said he had to do to him tonight. “I’m sorry you had to suffer for what I want most,” was the direct quote. He said that now everyone has a target on their back in NJPW and that he was coming for them, whether they’re in the States or overseas.

Final thoughts:

Another solid show with a nice main event. This was a short episode with heavier emphasis on NJPW’s younger talent, or what I assume is their attempt at building momentum towards the Tag Team Turbulence tournament that kicks off on Strong next week.

AEW Dark Elevation results: Ren Narita, Rocky Romero debut

Posted on by Juan C. Reneo

It’s Monday and you know what that means: time for AEW Dark: Elevation featuring the promotional debuts of NJPW’s Rocky Romero and young lion Ren Narita.

QT Marshall (w/ The Factory) defeated Robo

This was a strong showing for Robo on this week’s episode of Elevation, but Marshall still won clean with a diamond cutter. Not much else can be said.

Abadon defeated Leila Grey

Abadon extended her seven-match win streak by defeating Grey in a dominant performance, picking up the victory after Cemetery Drive. Abadon’s finisher is one of AEW’s most protected in the women’s division.

Thunder Rosa defeated Ashley D’Amboise

D’Amboise really worked well with Rosa. As Tony Schiavone pointed out on commentary, Rosa brings something new to the ring every time we see her. She won by submission with the Peruvian calavera choke — her third submission win in a row on Elevation. She is now 13-2 in 2021. Rosa is clearly going to be the next challenger for the Women’s title once Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker settle their score.

Lee Johnson defeated Daniel Garcia

This match was a battle of two great young prospects featuring great work from both. There’s no doubt this could one day main event a big show for AEW. This was Garcia’s best showing on AEW thus far, but Johnson won with the Brain Dog. After a long losing streak last year, Johnson now has an 8-1 record this year.

Nyla Rose (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated Robyn Renegade

Before the match started, Guerrero buried Justin Roberts once again before introducing Rose to the ring. Rose completely dominated this match and destroyed Renegade, winning after the Beast Bomb.

Ethan Page (w/ Scorpio Sky) defeated Alex Reynolds

On last week’s Dynamite, Dark Order prevented Page and Sky from leaving the ring after they were attacked by Darby Allin and Sting. That’s how we got both this match and Scorpio Sky vs. Alan Angels. This was a good match and I feel like they could have a great TV match if they were booked to have one. Page won with the Ego’s Edge and remains undefeated in both singles and tag team competition in AEW so far.

Tay Conti defeated Queen Aminata

This was another solid performance by Conti as her rapid improvement has been amazing to watch. She won this match with the DDTay, but a missed opportunity not winning it with the Queen Slayer (Anna Jay’s finisher) given her opponent. Aminata looked great and her offense looked solid in the loss.

Side note: check out the AEW Unrestricted episode with Conti as it has a lot of information about how she joined the wrestling business and why she signed with AEW.

Penta El Zero Miedo (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Mike Sydal (w/ Matt Sydal)

This was one of the best matches of the night and one you should go out of your way to see. Sydal is one of the most underrated wrestlers in the AEW roster. Penta picked up a win with the Fear Factor. 

Scorpio Sky (w/ Ethan Page) defeated Alan “5” Angels

Earlier on the show, Sky and Page cut another good heel promo segment. Sky and Angels worked really well together with one of the better matches of the night. Sky submitted Angels with a heel hook for his tenth straight win as a singles or tag team wrestler.

Matt Hardy (w/ H.F.O.) defeated Fuego del Sol

We got this match because Del Sol made the mistake of comparing himself to Hardy on Sammy Guevara’s vlog or, as Nick Jackson likes to call it, BTE Dark. Before the match, Hardy cut a promo about making money and why he formed the Hardy Family Office. Unfortunately for Alabama’s top luchador and Guevara vlog star, this was another unsuccessful night as he submitted to the Leech.

Ren Narita defeated Royce Isaacs

This was the AEW debut of Isaacs as a singles wrestler and for Narita overall in AEW. Ren Narita is the first young lion to debut in AEW. Narita is one of NJPW’s young lions with the most potential to be a star one day and this was a perfect example of why that’s the case. Narita won with a bridging suplex. Schiavone hinted on commentary this might not be the end of Narita’s excursion. More of Narita on both Elevation and Dark would be awesome.

Rocky Romero defeated JD Drake (w/ The Wingmen)

There’s no better way to make your AEW debut than having the match of the night in a show packed with solid matches up and down the card. In a hard hitting and competitive match, Romero was able to defeat the man with the most drip in AEW with a cradle after Drake came off the third rope. After the match, The Wingmen were about to attack Romero, but their Best Friends made the save. The Roppongi Vice theme played to close the show. 

This was match of the night.

Final Thoughts:

Along the same lines as other episodes of Elevation, this was another solid show with some interesting matches to check out.

One thing to also mention was a video package about the Gunn Club. It was really well produced and showed the other side from these charismatic brothers and their dad. More people need to watch this as well as the other videos produced by Elevation.

NJPW’s Rocky Romero and Ren Narita set for AEW Dark: Elevation

Posted on by Bryan Rose

New Japan Pro Wrestling talent will be seen on this Monday’s AEW Dark: Elevation

Rocky Romero will be in action, taking on JD Drake. Ren Narita, meanwhile, will face Royce Issacs. It had originally been reported that Narita would be on Dark this week, but that was not the case.

Narita accompanied Yuji Nagata in his match against IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley back on the May 12 edition of Dynamite. Romero was also seen on that show in the crowd.

Both Narita and Romero appear regularly on NJPW Strong.

Also announced for Monday: 

  • QT Marshall vs. Robo
  • Thunder Rosa vs. Ashley D’Amboise
  • Ethan Page vs. Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds
  • Scorpio Sky vs. Dark Order’s Alan “5” Angels
  • Mike Sydal vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
  • Nyla Rose vs. Robyn Renegade
  • Matt Hardy vs. Fuego del Sol
  • Abadon vs. Leila Grey
  • Lee Johnson vs. Daniel Garcia
  • Tay Conti vs. Queen Aminata

Dark: Elevation streams every Monday at 7 pm EST.

WOL: New Raw champion, SAG member Rocky Romero interview, more

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including everything you ever wanted to know about SAG-AFTRA if WWE got involved, notes from a SAG board member, and we talk to Rocky Romero, who is both a pro wrestler and a SAG member. Romero also discusses last Friday’s Talk’N ShopAMania and what’s next.

Also, Raw, Survivor Series, the WWE RAW title change, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Talk’N ShopAMania 2 live results: Rise of the Torturer

Posted on by Josh Nason

When it comes to Talk”N ShopAMania, perhaps the second time is a charm…or something like that.

The brainchild of Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Rocky Romero returns to Fite.tv Friday night with “The Rise of The Torturer” — a follow up to their first-ever PPV which they deemed as the worst of all time.

Featuring the trio in roles from their popular podcast of the same name, the sequel is expected to feature the same level of comedy, guest stars and everything else you wouldn’t expect.

The only thing announced thus far is a Ball for A Ball match between Chad 2 Badd (Anderson) and Sex Ferguson (Gallows) with the deadler Torturer somewhere in the mix.

Our live coverage of whatever this will turn out to be kicks off at 10 PM Eastern. Get your beverages of choice and snacks ready.

**********

Clint Bobski (Chris Jericho) kicked it off running down the card, followed by him really running down the card after he thought the camera was off. This was his character in Southpaw Regional Wrestling. The show looks to be held in Gallows’ property like the first show.

Anderson got out of a black SUV with Romero rolling up in a kids’ Jeep Wrangler. Gallows then appeared via a puff of smoke saying he wouldn’t be outside with them. As they went to go get him, Vernon and the woman from the first show rolled out from under the ring making out. 

We’re off and running.

The guys found Gallows in his bed, clad in a Goldust robe with his wife and Randall The Mannequin. He was talking in an English accent and drinking chamblis because of all the money they made on the first one.

Sex Ferguson drove up in a white pickup truck perfectly designed for him with a man (maybe his dad?) in the passenger seat. Four men with masks on appeared and attacked, kicking Ferguson in the junk. 

We then went to Anderson, Romero, and CGI Gallows (seriously) at ringside ready to call the action. David Penzer is also back to handle ring announcing duties.

Rory Fox made his return after disappearing on the first show, cutting a promo with the guys talking over him and making fun of him the whole time. “Bask in my package,” he said before taking off his trunks to reveal thong underwear. Brian Myers and Swoggle (opponents on Saturday’s Impact Plus show) came out and said something relatively inaudible before Rimjob came out as Fox’s partner, equally clad in a thong.

Brian Myers and Swoggle defeated Rory Fox and Rimjob

The ref was wearing a hunter orange vest and a camoflaughe hat. The guys made fun of Myers for doing Matt Cardona’s moveset saying the would have booked him but he was trying to get into AEW. Swoggle hit an intentionally badly cut crossbody off the top for the win. They announced Myers as Cardona on his way out.

Fox turned on Rimjob with a belly to belly after the match and ran off like he did last time, getting lost. He then re-entered, complete with music, and put a leash on Rimjob as the guys laughed on commentary about there being stains on Rimjob’s underwear.

Romero interviewed Lazer as Detective Gregory Helms showed up, saying he’s investigating a murder. The body was shown right next to where the promo was being cut.

Frankie Coverdale was being introduced for a grudge match before Ball Lameman (a Paul Heyman ripoff) showed up as the advocie for Freight Train. Train then comically said “they f*cked up now” twice. 

Freight Train (w/ Ball Lameman) defeated Frankie Coverdale

Coverdale never took off his jacket and was done up like a classic 80s jobber. Train was basically the worst wrestler intentionally, throwing offense that was laughably bad. He was out in a “I’m a Ball Lameman Guy” t-shirt. 

Helms talked to the referee who was hunting. 

A video package between Chavo Guerrero and Chico El Luchador aired with Guerrero challenging him to a lucha libre death match. Chico suggested they each pick their teams and we’re apparently getting this tonight. 

Helms interviewed Sami Callihan and Madman Fulton who were drinking by the pool and holding hands. He then heard a noise and when he turned back around, both men were dead.

Teddy Long came out to cut a promo for Roll Undershead, a takeoff of Raw Underground. Bryce Cannon, Roman Rosell, Neil Koloff, another Russian, a “Johnny Stromboli off the sh*t” and a few other wrestlers brawled for a while. Lazer jumped out of a tree to lay everyone out. Long said it was the worst sh*t he had ever seen. Rhyno then hit a gore out of nowhere and attacked a few guys. A masked tommy Dreamer and then Justin Credible appeared and Rhyno suggested they go softcore instead of hard. They hit each other with beach toys and stuff animals before Dreamer told Rhyno to gore someone in the buffet area. Dreamer sanitized his hands and Credible laid down for the pin as everyone chanted, “You’re softcore.”

A masked man in a full body outfit appeared to lock a sleeper on Dreamer, putting him out and revealing himself to be Scott D’Amore from Impact. The other wrestlers asked why and he said because he has to sit in booking meetings with him. The guys then chanted for D’Amore to give them jobs before he walked away disgusted.

Helms was back interviewing a man in a blonde wig and a wrestler named Reptila (one of the Russians).

Noxtista (Mike Knox), Nathan Horton, Triple something and “Nature Boy” Paul Lee, playing Evolution showed up in a stretch Hummer but parked too far away. As they began their slow walk, the Triple H impersonator went to take a piss in the woods. As he came out, he spotted Mark Jindrak and ripped on the color of his suit. Jindrak said he’s an international star and speaks two languages before dropkicking Triple H.

George North vs. “Nature Boy” Paul Lee (w/ Nathan Horton and Noxtista)

Noxtista tripped when getting into the ring, a nod to a WrestleMania blunder he had that I don’t remember. The guys joked about the trademark Ric Flair has on “Whooo” and how many Os are in the trademark. They named the group Revolution, then Dickolution, and so on. Lee did a suplex on North’s neck that look like it hurt. The guys were laughing on how bad this was.

Lee had on the figure four which brought up Stump Kowalski who had a chair. They did some bad cuts again and Kowalski’s weapon changed two times. North picked up the win as he and Kowalski ran away. Noxtista then gave Lee a Batista bomb and prompted Horton to play to the crowd. 

Helms was back, interviewing “Balls Deep Billy” who was on a dating app. Helms took the phone and then Billy disappeared.

This show really is something.

After an ad for a live podcast, Helms found Robert Gibson at his gimmick table and asked if he saw anything suspicious. Gibson said, “Ricky’s not here” and Helms walked away.

Lucha Death Match: Team Chico El Luchador vs. Team Chavo Guerrero Jr. 

The guys kicked it to Chris Von Vliet who was in a second location in LA. It was portrayed as in a bad part of town.

Guerrero picked Watts, who had a chainsaw, El Luchador picked Alex Kozlow who came with a gun, Guerrero picked Kozlov’s mom, Luchador picked Socre, and Guerrero picked Taya Valkyrie. Guerrero asked to call a friend and the referee consulted “the rulebook” and said it was legal. He called JTG and Guerrero then picked the referee after consulting the rulebook again. Luchador picked a zombie and Guerero picked Sinn The Clown. Luchador looked around and Taylor Williamson, a comedian from America’s Got Talent who just happened to walk in.

JTG beat up Sinn, saying, “That was faster than your run in New York.” The Zombie then killed the referee before Valkyrie killed Score by ripping out his spine. Seriously. She then set her eyes on the Zombie before Kozlov took her out. His mom then tried to hit him with a belt and spank him before he jammed his thumb up her ass to take her out. Seriously. The Zombie then said he needed to pull his mask over his nose and they had a debate about how to wear a mask. Kozlov was then tossed a machine gun befor Zombie killed him too. Well, that is until Kozlov shot him. Did I really just write that?

Watts then asked who Williamson was and Watts about to beat him up, Luchador made the save. As they talked about social distancing, Guerrero appeared. They argued about if Guerrero had the coronavirus before getting into it. As Guerrero had the advantage, Kozlov’s mom and Valkyrie came in to back him up making Ric Flair jokes. JTG re-emerged and fired a bazooka at the heels. As he and Luchador celebrated, Guerrero appeared and stabbed JTG in the neck before then apparently killing Luchador with a crowbar.

It then cut to the cartoon Gallows, Anderson and Romero created as it was apparently in Luchador’s head. Jericho’s character appeared, along with Nzo, Ferguson, and Badd. They were preparing for their own street fight with wacky weapons. Luchador then got hit with a crowbar and knocked out which brought us back to the warehouse.

Williamson then killed Guerrero with a lightsaber. Everyone acted like it was real and Vilet then did a Twilight Zone-esque “Talk’nShop A Mania Zone” to finish it up. 

Helms interviewed Air Paris in front of a barber shop window. Someone named “Marty” then put Helms through the window and ran away.

Ball For A Ball Match: Sex Ferguson vs. Chad 2 Badd

This was a rematch from the first PPV but the character of The Torturer (also Gallows) was part of the mix, promising to get involved somehow. 

There was lots of ball shot gags, an extended sex swing spot, an attempted recreation of the Effy/Marko Stunt GCW Collective spot, and lots of guest appearances like Scott Steiner, Mr. Hughes, Virgil, Gangrel, Heath Miller dressed as Sting, Callihan and Fulton, Dave Wills (aka the “It’s real to me, dammit” guy), Robert Gibson, Gallows’ wife and Annie Cruz, and a few I’m probably forgetting.

There was also a truck spot where Ferguson’s balls were tied to a rope and Vernon backed up, rolling over his lover from earlier.

In the end, Karate Man Ethan Page appeared to summon some of those luminaries to unleash torture on both guys. Eventually, the Powers of Pain (yes, those guys) showed up to rip out both men’s balls, making the Torturer the winner.

This launched the CWO: the C*ck Torturer World Order. Yes, I just wrote that. Most of the people above are in the group and they did a promo at the end, complete with Virgil’s breadsticks. 

In the credits, various others appeared to bury the show including our Bryan Alvarez, Gail Kim and husband, Ricky Morton, and porn star Julie Ann. Matt Cardona also appeared to challenge Rory Fox to a tuxedo match as their decades long rivalry continues.

Final thoughts:

Alright, then. I think you really have to be a listener of their podcast to really enjoy these shows. I love absurdist humor but I didn’t really find any of this to be that funny or entertaining. One thing that makes it hard is the audio quality as it’s difficult to hear most of the inside jokes which really make these shows worth it.

In any case, if you like weird wrestling stuff, this is for you. Keep your expectations low. Honestly, the guys wouldn’t have it any other way.

Daily Update: Tony Khan, The Rock, Rocky Romero

Posted on by Bryan Rose

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

WON NEWSLETTER: November 9, 2020 Observer Newsletter: The life & times of Tracy Smothers

We take a look at the life and wrestling career of Tracy Smothers with a major feature as the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer.

We look at those he helped teach, his last two decades on the independent scene, his battle with cancer, with comments from his friends and many of today’s major stars.  We look at the unique first time he was in the ring, wrestling bears, playing sports growing up, the famous first TV taping he worked against five Hall of Famers in one night.  We look at his runs in different territories, his first major title, the birth of the Southern Boys tag team, the best match of 1990 in U.S. wrestling, why the Southern Boys name was dropped, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, ECW, Freddie Joe Floyd, The Thugs and much more.

Also in this issue:

Kylie Rae stepping away from pro wrestling and some of the lessons this should teach us.

Preview AEW’s Full Gear show as well as WWE’s Survivor Series, looking at the matches, the booking, selling tickets and what can be expected.

The WWE Twitch situation, a WWE meeting with employees, what is banned at the Thunderdome, A&E specials, where wrestling stands in sports ratings, WWE ratings outside the U.S., college star talks WWE, next week’s TV, most-watched shows on the WWE Network and current WWE market value.

Preview both New Japan tournaments coming up. We look at how much the junior talent in New Japan has dropped over the last year and why.

The last fight of Anderson Silva in UFC and his career, as well as full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show.

Gate of Destiny, one of Dragon Gate’s signature events of the year, the angles, who is getting promoted, the future of the company as well as match-by-match coverage.

DDT’s Ultimate Party.

Ratings breakdowns in every segment for Wednesdays and every category for other shows, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.  

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • This week’s episode of The Bump features Lacey Evans, Pete Dunne, and The Godfather.
  • The Undertaker will be a guest on next week’s The Bump prior to Survivor Series.
  • Adam Pearce will be the guest on tomorrow’s episode of After the Bell with Corey Graves.
  • WWE PC’s YouTube account has a profile on Damian Priest and having his childhood friend play him out to the ring at NXT Halloween Havoc.
  • The company is currently looking for a Talent Brand Manager.
  • Big E will have a role in the upcoming second season of Adult Swim’s Lazor Wulf, which premieres on December 6.
  • Peyton Royce on Twitter said she and Lacey Evans were not a team: “We are not a team. I will only be in a tag team if it’s with Billie Kay. That’s it. The end. I’m dead serious.”
  • Jeff Hardy spoke to Sports Illustrated on admiring the work of Cameron Grimes.
  • WWE’s YouTube page added Undertaker & Shawn Michaels vs. JBL and Vladimir Kozlov from the March 16, 2009 episode of Raw.

Other Wrestling

  • Tony Khan spoke to TSN regarding AEW and continuing to run shows during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also talked about a potential relationship with NJPW, saying: With New Japan, it’s been a little more one-sided where we’ve sent people there and I haven’t really had people from New Japan show up on my TV [programming] yet. I’d like to see more of a two-sided relationship there because I’m honestly one of the easiest people to work with in wrestling. We’ve worked with NWA, we’ve worked with AAA and we’ve sent people to New Japan. I think with Harold [Meij] being gone, I don’t know if it’s going to be easier, but I have a feeling it might be.”
  • Khan also said the third hour of programming on TNT is coming in 2021. “We’ve worked it out with TNT. It’s 100 percent going to launch in 2021. I don’t have the exact date yet, but I would look out for it soon and it’s right around the corner.”
  • Talking to Inside the Ropes, Rocky Romero expressed optimism on the current relationship between NJPW and Impact Wrestling. “I think there’s definitely room in the world – and especially for professional wrestling fans – to see something like IMPACT and New Japan working together. But I think, step by step. Obviously the Good Brothers being a part of IMPACT and being great ambassadors with New Japan and their relationship with New Japan is very important to this kind of whole process – and obviously, me being tied to these guys as well as important to that. I think things are on a very, very friendly, friendly terms and better than they’ve ever been in years – let’s just say that – and I’m excited to see what the future holds because you never know, man. You never know.”
  • The Young Bucks talked to Sports Illustrated about their AEW World Tag Team title win at Full Gear.
  • Black Label Pro announced that their Slamilton event will be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Brandi Rhodes spoke to Bleacher Report on entering the business, training, and her prior career in journalism.
  • Deadline is reporting that The Rock, along with his and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions, will be looking to relaunch The Scorpion King franchise. The article notes that a new actor will be tapped to play the titular character.
  • Here is the latest episode of The Multiverse of Matt Hardy.
  • BayToday has a profile on Lance Storm.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: The Revival win NXT Tag Team titles

CONTACT INFORMATION

NJPW reveals full cards for NEVER episodes of Strong

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW has revealed the full cards for the next two NEVER episodes of Strong, airing the next two Fridays on NJPW World. 

Jeff Cobb & David Finlay vs. KENTA & Chase Owens will headline night one. Finlay tossed both KENTA and Owens in an elimination match on last week’s episode of Strong, throwing both over the top rope. 

On night two, Rocky Romero will headline against “Switchblade” Jay White. Romero threw White over the top rope in the same elimination match on last week’s episode. 

Here are the full cards: 

Friday, October 16, night one

  • David Finlay & Jeff Cobb vs. KENTA & Chase Owens
  • PJ Black vs. Alex Zayne
  • TJP vs. Hikuleo
  • Misterioso vs. Danny Limelight

Friday, October 23, night two

  • Rocky Romero vs. Jay White
  • Flip Gordon & Brody King vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) 
  • ACH vs. Karl Fredericks
  • Fred Rosser vs. Clark Connors

NJPW Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World. 

ROH Pure title tournament rules revealed, updated list of entrants

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ten of the 16 entrants have now been confirmed for Ring of Honor’s Pure title tournament.

It was announced on today’s episode of ROH Week By Week that Rocky Romero, PJ Black, and Tony Deppen will be taking part in the Pure title tournament. This will be Deppen’s ROH debut. He was originally supposed to debut in the tournament when it was scheduled to begin in April.

The three additions join Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Matt Sydal, David Finlay, Tracy Williams, Josh Woods, and the debuting Wheeler Yuta as wrestlers who have been confirmed for the tournament.

The tournament will be featured on ROH television when the promotion returns to TV production this month.

ROH has also clarified the rules for Pure matches:

  • Every match begins and ends with the Code of Honor handshake.
  • Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls. After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts on or under the ropes by his opponent are legal.
  • Closed-fist punches to the face are not permitted; only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other parts of the body are permitted, excluding low blows. The first use of a closed fist will get a warning; the second will be a disqualification.
  • As in standard ROH matches, there will be a 20-count when a wrestler is on the floor.
  • Outside interference will result in automatic termination from the roster for the wrestler that interferes.
  • There will be two blocks, single-elimination format.
  • Round 1 matches have a 15-minute time limit.
  • Block semifinals have a 20-minute time limit.
  • Block finals have a 30-minute time limit.
  • The tournament final has a one-hour time limit.
  • There will be three judges for each match, and time-limit draws will go to a judges’ decision.

ROH revealed this January that the Pure title was being revived, but the tournament was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously confirmed international participants like Yuji Nagata, Doug Williams, Mark Haskins, Slex, Joe Hendry, and Ren Narita will no longer be in the tournament due to travel restrictions.

The Pure title was first introduced in 2004 and was unified with the ROH World Championship in 2006.

Talk’N Shop A Mania live results: Anderson, Gallows & Romero

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Preview by Josh Nason

The comedic world of Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Rocky Romero’s popular Talk’N Shop podcast comes together in a pay-per-view event Saturday night. Talk’N Shop A Mania.

Under their Southpaw Championship Wrestling personas of Sex Ferguson (Gallows) and Chadd 2 Badd (Anderson), the two will main event in a “Boneryard Match,” a cinematic takeoff of the Boneyard match they were part of at this year’s WrestleMania.

The entire show will run 90 minutes and while no official listing of matches has been released, there will be a contract on a tree match and a social distancing battle royal. The event will filmed on Gallows’ property in Georgia between July 6-8 with an average of 14 hours a day of filming, complete with a COVID-19 station.

The event feature a slew of names from the present and past including Chico El Luchador (Romero), Heath Miller, Brian Myers, Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis-Bennett, The Rock’n’Roll Express, Rhino, Willie Mack, D-Lo Brown, Swoggle, Teddy Long, Lodi, Sick Boy, Scott D’Amore, and more. 

Gallows, Romero, and Anderson were all guests on Wrestling Observer Live this week.

The show begins at 9 PM Eastern.

**********

Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and Rocky Romero appeared at the top of show in basically a video version of the podcast. They went out of their way to explain what this event was: for fun and to give back to the fans. Gallows did his spot-on Howard Finkel impression. Before they started, Anderson said to the fans, “Thank you for letting us do this.”

If you haven’t figured it out already, please do not expect a typical recap for this event.

Gallows, Anderson and Romero all appeared together in front of Gallows’ house and confirmed to each other that this would “really suck.”

“Oh sh*t, it’s Teddy Long!” The ex-WWE star appeared early on as, apparently, a part of the Social Distance battle royal.

David Penzer was ring announcer, standing in the ring which was set up behind Gallows’ house. It’s a beautiful backyard. Nice digs, Doc.

Next was a promo package hyping Sex Ferguson (Gallows) vs. Chad 2 Badd (Anderson) in a Boneryard Match. Anderson wore a skintight neon green singlet and did some lightning fast martial arts maneuvers while Gallows did a good hybrid Undertaker impression. The graphics for this match really felt like something from an ’80s wrestling show, down to the awkward still shots of the guys.

Chico El Luchador won a battle royal to become the first Talk’N Shop A Mania Champion

Freight Train appeared and put on his mask before getting into the ring. He eliminated Roman Riselli “or whatever his name was” according to Gallows. Chavo Guerrero showed up on commentary. Michael Bennett did a run-in. An imposter Sting appeared which I believe it was Anderson. It sounded like the guys on commentary really enjoyed Freight Train. Brian Pillman, Jr. was in last with Freight Train. Alex Koslov (of NJPW and Mexican strip club fame) did a run-in. His “bearded mother” showed up and she and Pillman teamed up to eliminate Mr. Train.

Chico El Luchador then appeared and eliminated Koslov’s bearded mom to become the first Talk’n Shop-a-Mania 24/7 champion. After the match, Koslov’s mom beat him up while he was cutting a promo.

– The next segment saw Mike Bennett show up in what I think might have been a Ford Aerostar from the ’90s and “sold” Sex Ferguson a bottle of pills, then sped off.

– Cut to ring announcer David Penzer next. He was in mid-sentence: “… and I thought Sturgis was bad.”

“Nature Boy” Paul Lee vs. Frankie Coverdale

Coverdale didn’t get an entrance though he did get a name graphic. Someone in a red Corvette with “WOOOOOO” emblazoned across the windshield drove up Gallows’ driveway. Enter” Nature Boy” Paul Lee. They cut to Maria Kanellis in a singlet posing and then another bigger girl posing in something revealing. Lee took about five minutes to get into the ring and the Talk’n Shop crew loved every second of it. This was basically a parody of an old Ric Flair vs. local jobber match. The two guys wrestled around Gallows’ backyard. Lee locked on a side headlock, then spun around and yelled “Woo!” a lot. The finish wasn’t shown and instead, we transitioned to the next match.

George North vs. Stump Kowalski

Kowalski was the total opposite of Killer Kowalski, who was really tall while North was someone pretending to be George South. Stump hit North with a 2×4 a bunch and the two brawled around the yard, around the pool, and into his house. Inside the house, they found Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) playing with wrestling figures with Gallows’ sons, one of whom who kicked North in the chest and he collapsed onto Stump.

– Teddy Long came out next and asked Penzer for his money. Penzer didn’t have it. Long then did his “holla holla holla” catch phrase and introduced a team called the ’80s Russians. They went against the Jungle Kittens. It was about two minutes long and one of the Russians pinned a Kitten with a clothesline. The match wasn’t over yet. I guess.

Long cursed on the mic, and then Lodi, Sick Boy and “Yeti” Ron Reis came out. Reis came out in wrapped in some toilet paper but then he realized he was supposed to be doing the old WCW Flock gimmick. Lodi carried a sign that read LODI RULZ. D-Lo Brown appeared next in gym clothes. Rhino was in next in full gear and speared everyone in the ring. Brian Pillman Jr. appeared again. A Kimchee parody named Rimjob appeared. Chavo Guerrero came out riding Pepe the toy horse. He did a frog splash in the ring. “Cold Stone” Willie Mack was next out and stunned a few people. Later, he and Chavo shared beers until Mack kicked Guerrero in the stomach and stunned him, too.

Rory Fox vs. Swoggle

“Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox of MTV True Life fame was out next. He called out Matt Cardona because eleven years ago, Cardona ripped off his trunks and ruined Fox’s career. Myers came out next and called Fox a jobber.

Myers: “I’m gonna give you an opportunity, kid.”
Fox: “Opportunity? I’m 44!”
Myers: “Whatever.”

He then brought out Swoggle as a stand-in and he and Fox had a match. Swoggle ripped Fox’s trunks off to reveal Fox wearing a thong. I guess Swoggle won, because Fox immediately got out of the ring and ran into the woods.

– We saw the finish to Stump Kowalski vs. George North as Stump won after knocking him down a slide into a pool.

– Chico El Luchador was pumping iron backstage when Chavo Guerrero tried choking him during his bench press. Chico called for a ref and demanded he start a 24/7 match in the gym. Guerrero threw Chico into the sauna, hoping he’d sweat into submission. Guerrero accused Chico of being on “the gas” because he is so strong. They exchanged atomic drops before Chavo used a school boy on Chico to win the match and the title. He then told Chico he was going to “have sex all over the belt.”

Chadd 2 Badd pinned Chavo a few seconds later in the next room over to take the title.

Outside, we saw nZo, formerly Enzo Amore. Between rambling and cursing, he also said he lost money because he came to the show. He mentioned Gallows putting himself over in the main event and apologized for giving away the finish.

Pelvis Wesley (Heath Miller) and the Honky Stonk Man (Brian Myers) showed up next, and the bigger lady in the bikini from earlier in the show and another old guy “won” the contract in a tree match.

Talk N’Shop A Mania Chadd 2 Badd defeated Sex Ferguson in the Boneryard match

Penzer made an official announcement for the Boneryard Match. Badd (Anderson) was in a hearse and carried to the ring in a coffin, but the druids dropped him and he fell out. He yelled at the druids and called out Ferguson (Gallows).

A guy played acoustic guitar next and sang a song while Ferguson drove to the Boneryard in an ATV and crashed into the Boneryard. There were lots of insider jokes thrown around while they had a goofy match. The arm of AJ Styles popped up from the “grave” which was a giant pile of mulch. Rory Fox did a run-in and he was still in his thong. Maria Kanellis showed up again and she and Chad 2 Badd did a little merengue dancing before Ferguson inervened, a callback to the New Japan days.

Kanellis then told Gallows she was a mother now and then disappeared. Myers and Miller were sitting in lawn chairs watching the match giving their thoughts and the Rock’N’ Roll Express appeared to say a few choice words to Ferguson and Badd. They set up a gimmick table with photos to sign and nZo showed up. As they negotiated for a price, nZo was superkicked by Ferguson and fell through the table.

There was a flashback vignette in the middle of the match, a spoof of their experiences last year with AEW and WWE negotiations with a September 2019 graphic. The Young Bucks were in the video and they basically did a dramatization of their AEW meeting last year. After the meeting, they showed Anderson and Gallows getting texts from Triple H. They said they were “going up to NY” and the Bucks got angry and superkicked both of them and called them marks, later joking they would go to TNA anyway. Gallows and Anderson were selling and saying something about Aces & Eights.

They cut back to the match where Ferguson and Badd spoofed the Brock vs. Undertaker SummerSlam double pop-up spot. Badd grabbed Ferguson’s ears and tried burying him. Ferguson tried apologizing and asked for a babyface singles run and maybe a title before Badd buried him alive in the Boneryard.

Afterward, Ferguson had a Jason (Friday the 13th) mask on, a possible nod to The Fiend/Bray Wyatt character changes of late. 

The final graphic teased a possible return.

NJPW Lion’s Break Collision results: Tom Lawlor vs. Rocky Romero

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Clips from TJP vs. Danny Limelight aired from last week’s episode. Limelight lost to TJP in his NJPW debut.

Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors defeated The DKC and Misterioso

This was Misterioso’s Lion’s Break Collision debut.

Good match. Fredericks and DKC started things off for their teams. The two pummeled themselves into the ropes for a break. Fredericks slapped DKC hard, then tagged out to Connors. DKC landed a high kick and tagged out to Misterioso, who tore through a series of high flying moves, finishing with an Asai Moonsault to the floor.

Connors countered later with a powerslam and followed up with some loud chops. The small studio setting for this show really shines in that it lets the audience hear a lot more of the details coming from the ring.

DKC fired up and at one point took out both Connors and Fredericks. He landed his version of La Mistica on Fredericks for a submission attempt, but couldn’t put Fredericks away.

Fredericks eventually got the win by locking in a sleeper, then planted DKC with an implant DDT. 

When he and Connors were celebrating their win, Jeff Cobb ran out and planted Fredericks with a German suplex, a little revenge for what happened in the first episode.

Cobb then cut a backstage promo on Fredericks explaining his actions. He showed a lot more energy here than usual.

Fredericks and Connors were next up for promos. Karl walked off without saying anything. Connors said he didn’t have anything to do with what happened just now, referring to Fredericks and Cobb.

Tom Lawlor defeated Rocky Romero

Good technical matches like this actually benefit from no audience. There was a lot of hold-for-hold grappling in the beginning, lots of hard low kicks exchanged. Romero locked in a cobra twist midway through.

Lawlor caught Romero later in a choke sleeper. Rocky was able to break free and fight on for a few more minutes, but Lawlor went back to the sleeper one more time. He used Romero’s right arm to choke while grapevining his left. Romero had no choice but to tap out.

Lawlor masked up in the post-match interview, then explained how Rocky Romero was ”one of many” who thought they could hang in the ring with him. Lawlor said he’ll be the only survivor once this is all done because he’s the filthiest.

Final thoughts:

Another solid show. The opener was short, but good. The Karl Fredericks/Jeff Cobb build is working because of how simple and well executed it is. Both Romero and Lawlor looked excellent in the main event. I’m sure anyone who watched this will immediately start fantasy booking “Filthy” Tom against whomever is available from NJPW later this year. I can get behind that.

Next week Lion’s Break Collision: Tom Lawor vs. Alex Coughlin and Misterioso vs. Danny Limelight.

NJPW Lion’s Break Collision results: Fredericks-TJP vs. Cobb-Romero

Posted on by Justin Knipper

The show opened with an interview between Karl Fredericks and Kevin Kelly discussing Frederick’s new career chapter in NJPW. He is no longer a young lion.

The show opened with a slick opening graphic, and showcased a new production style for the new brand. The show’s ring announcing was in English, with Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, and Gino Gambino calling the action. The setup itself looks good. The ring is smaller than usual, but it works for television.

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata did guest commentary for the Japanese language broadcast.

Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin went to a ten-minute draw

Really good. Lots of tight matwork at the top. Coughlin went after Connors’ arm early on. He looks bigger than before.

They exchanged huge chops and power moves midway through. Coughlin used a creative fall-away slam into a bridging pin for two; Connors responded with a picture-perfect powerslam.

More chops. Coughlin used a big side suplex on Connors for two. He locked in an armbar seconds before the bell, Connors didn’t tap, and the match ended in a draw. Good stuff from these two. They had an intense little exchange in the ring together afterwards.

Connors said in his post-match interview that wins and losses matter in NJPW. He said that he refused to be the last trainee to graduate from the LA Dojo.

Karl Fredericks and TJP defeated Jeff Cobb and Rocky Romero

The story here highlighted TJP and Rocky Romero, as they were a part of NJPW’s first dojo in Los Angeles. Karl Fredericks has a new haircut and red tights with tassels.

This was all action. TJP looked impressive here, especially when he and Rocky were in together. Good chemistry between the OGs.

Fredericks really looks like a superstar now. His exchange with Cobb toward the end of this was impressive, especially when he landed a crazy-looking kuru-kuru dropkick.

At around ten minutes in, TJP landed a slingshot dropkick to the apron, knocking Cobb back to the floor. Fredericks was able to keep Romero down for a three-count with a backslide pin for the upset win.

Fredericks and Cobb got into it right after the match, and it looked intense. In his post-match promo, Fredericks said that Rocky Romero isn’t a real LA Dojo guy anymore, that he’s CHAOS, and that he shouldn’t keep claiming he’s a part of his dojo.

Final thoughts:

This was an easy watch. Two solid matches that featured talent that probably wouldn’t get the proper look otherwise. Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors and especially Karl Fredericks will be important cogs in the NJPW machine going forward.

Next week on NJPW Young Lions Collision: DKC vs. Rust Taylor and Danny Limelight vs. TJP

Havana Pitbulls vs. Bandido & Flamita set for ROH Past vs. Present

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ring of Honor has revealed which team the Havana Pitbulls will be facing when they reunite next month.

It was announced today that The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes) vs. Bandido & Flamita is set for ROH Past vs. Present. Flamita suffered a torn meniscus at Free Enterprise earlier this month and was pulled from Bound By Honor on February 28 and Gateway to Honor on February 29, but ROH wrote that he’s expected to be cleared to return in time for Past vs. Present

Romero & Reyes held the ROH Tag Team titles once together from August 2004 to February 2005. ROH wrote that this is the first time they’ll be teaming up in nearly 13 years.

Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus are the current ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions.

Past vs. Present is being held at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas as part of ROH’s 18th Anniversary weekend. Past vs. Present is taking place on Saturday, March 14, which is the night after the Anniversary PPV.

Here’s the updated Past vs. Present card:

  • Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
  • Xavier vs. Jay Lethal
  • Generation Next (Alex Shelley & Matt Sydal) vs. Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon)
  • Homicide vs. Brody King
  • The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes) vs. Bandido & Flamita
  • Doug Williams vs. Jonathan Gresham
  • Delirious & Grizzly Redwood vs. Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry

Past vs. Present will stream live on HonorClub. Necro Butcher and Allison Danger are also confirmed for the show.