Daily Update: Logan Paul & Donald Trump, Tony Khan, Sabu

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Joseph Currier

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

June 10, 2024 Observer Newsletter: The evolution of the AEW/AAA/CMLL relationship

Among the topics covered in this issue:

Update on what Mexican talent can work on the same shows as other Mexican talent, the recent changes and how they’ve gone down and the current political situation leading into Forbidden Door
Looking at WWE Clash at the Castle and NXT Battleground
Update on Forbidden Door, ticket demand and AEW’s top programs
Conor McGregor and UFC 303
Full report on UFC 302, business and match-by-match coverage
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s 10-point plan to strengthen New Japan Pro Wrestling. We look at where the company stands and its obstacles as Tanahashi hits the six-month mark as President
Death of El Signo and the heyday of Los Misionero de la Muerte
A look at episode one of Who Killed WCW?
The most detailed look at the ratings for all pro wrestling and MMA television shows over the past week including competition, key demos, segment-by-segment, analysis, standing and how it compares with one year ago.
New promotion gets weekly television on a top 20 station starting in one week, as well as being on the verge of a second deal
Celebration of 20 years of Mistico shows
Arena Mexico continues big crowds
Dream Gate title change
A look at the Dominion show this week
Update on next week’s show featuring talent from a number of major promotions including a rematch of one of this year’s best matches
More on the B Block finals and semifinals of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament
Gable Steveson tries the NFL and how this very much differs from other former top level wrestlers who have had NFL success
Missy Hyatt talks Vince McMahon and details her own experience with him
Wrestling book writers Hall of Fame
AEW star challenges for British title
Notes on MLW Battle Riot
GCW has a major weekend
Update on TNA office cuts and changes
Mike Santana talks about battling drinking issue
Notes on people whose contracts are expiring and updates
Chuck Taylor and his hopes of returning to the ring
More details on AEW doing a residency in Arlington, TX and the economics behind it
Kevin Kelly talks his AEW departure and issues with Ian Riccaboni
Story behind the Collision rating report
International TV ratings
Why certain wrestlers haven’t been on AEW TV of late
Another AEW star comes out publicly
More on the Cung Le antitrust lawsuit settlement
Just how much Saudi Arabia is paying for these big events
How UFC & WWE are doing record grosses
Mark Shapiro talks about how Dana White reacted to the merger and talks about White’s previous problems with Vince McMahon
How McMahon first saved UFC and then became a powerful enemy
Former WWE stars talk about how talent is paid now, why not getting booked is better for your paycheck and how easily it is to get around WWE drug testing
Updated King of the Ring and Double or Nothing PPV notes
Reports on WWE weekend house shows

This week’s Wresting Observer Newsletter back issue

February 5, 2007 Observer Newsletter: WWE Royal Rumble, Doug Gentry

Wednesday Update

WWE

Former President Donald Trump will be the guest on tomorrow’s episode of Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast. Paul posted a picture of himself and Trump posing with Paul’s WWE United States title belt.
Jordynne Grace told Sports Illustrated about how her NXT Battleground match against Roxanne Perez came together:
- The new President of TNA spoke with me about a month ago and told me WWE wanted to have me back. I was like, ‘What is happening?’ We spoke specifically about Battleground, and honestly, I thought I was going to be in the [North American title] ladder match. When I found out it was a singles match, and for the title, I was mind-blown.
- Going back, it’s been a great experience. It’s impressive how much of a well-oiled machine they are in WWE. There is someone with an answer to everything. And they have a barber on-site. That surprised me.
In an interview with Comicbook.com, Ash By Elegance (Dana Brooke) said her appearing at Battleground was a last-minute thing:
- My gosh, it was seriously last minute. I was going about my week and I had an appearance on Saturday in Jacksonville. I get a call, I think it was late Thursday, even maybe early Friday morning, and they’re like, ‘Hey, are you available this weekend? We’d love to have you come back and do something with TNA and NXT. I was like, ‘What?! Oh yeah, count me in!’ They booked my flight from Jacksonville over to Vegas.
- I kept everything on the DL. I was hiding. I had my hat, I had my hoodie, I had my sunglasses. Nobody knew who I was. I made that sneak appearance, sneak attack, and here I am. I took a redeye back to Miami this morning and am enjoying about a day and a half vacation with my family and then I’m back on the road for some TNA action in Chicago. I’m booked and busy, baby.
TKO Group posted a time-lapse video of the UFC Apex being transformed so it could host Battleground.
Drew McIntyre explained to the Metro what was going through his mind when CM Punk indirectly mentioned Vince McMahon during their promo battle on Raw this March. In a segment with McIntyre and Seth Rollins, Punk asked McIntyre which “paragon of good virtue” picked him to be the Chosen One.
McIntyre said:
- What was going through my mind was I could respond right now, and would it be a good look for our company? And I have to make a decision because we’re going O.K. Corral-style, unloading rounds on each other.
- I did what I thought was right for not just the company, but for our roster, and held my tongue on that night. I had a couple of things in mind that would have melted the internet, but potentially hurt us in different ways.
McIntyre noted that he probably could have gotten away with what he wanted to say, but he’s intelligent enough to make it work without going there:
- If you see Drew McIntyre going off those lines, swearing and saying things like ‘wow, this is gonna potentially hurt himself or the company or the roster,’ then it’s because I have lost it.
The Indian Express also interviewed McIntyre.
On his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nash praised Damian Priest:
- I think that Damian has really f**king risen to the occasion. Damian’s star power gave him the appearance of being bigger than he actually is. Like he just looks like a star. He looks like he should have that belt.
Hulk Hogan is launching a “Real American Beer” brand.

AEW/Other Wrestling

While speaking with TV Insider, Tony Khan said he’d love to have actor Paul Walter Hauser back in AEW:
- Yes. I want Paul to come back. He is a really good friend of mine. I met Paul in LA many years ago. He is a great person. Paul and his agent Ryan are two of my really close friends. I like Paul a lot. He is always welcome in AEW to do anything. I have so much respect for Paul Walter.
Khan was asked to give his thoughts on WWE and TNA working together:
- Since we launched AEW we’ve been looking to work with great wrestling companies across the planet. The relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling developed in 2021 and built to the point where we teamed to do a co-branded event like Forbidden Door. We’re approaching the third one. It’s a whole new level of great cooperation between wrestling promotions to see the stars of CMLL and Stardom in addition to the great wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling competing with AEW stars.
- I’m always open to working with great wrestling promotions all over the world. It feels like the spirit of cooperation in worldwide pro wrestling is greater than it has ever been, which is a big positive. Seeing the top stars of AEW go to Tokyo and compete at Wrestle Kingdom, I think that the fans can always count on AEW and New Japan to put on great collaborations. I think this year’s Forbidden Door will be one of the strongest shows any promotion will put anywhere in the world.
NBA broadcaster Mike Breen spoke to Sports Illustrated about the respect he has for Jim Ross:
- Everyone in this profession should know Jim Ross. He’s an icon. I’m always listening to different broadcasters, whether it’s in baseball, football, hockey, tennis, or wrestling. Right away you can feel how much passion he brings to his calls. When you hear Jim Ross, you can instantly tell how much he loves what he does.
Tony Khan and Orange Cassidy appeared on Local 5 News in Iowa.
Renee Paquette conducted an interview with Christopher Daniels.
Deonna Purrazzo spoke with SHAK Wrestling.
On Casual Conversations with The Wrestling Classic, Sabu said GCW wants to host his last match in January. Sabu would prefer to have it take place in Las Vegas this July. He’s also open to having his last match in AEW:
- My goal is to work out until the last match and I know the last match isn’t tomorrow. GCW wants me to do my last match with them in January. I said, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be ready.’ I don’t want my last match in January. I want it in July and I want it in Las Vegas.
- I’m gonna have a final match eventually, I’m not in shape for it yet. I’m hurting too much, but I’m hoping my pain eases up. I’m sure it will. I’d like to maybe do my final match with [AEW] because they have a big platform and a big paycheck.
Sabu named Matt Cardona as a potential opponent for the match:
- If all else fails, [I’ll face Rob] Van Dam, but to me, that’s too predictable. It’s too easy. Of course, we’re going to have a great match. I want something else. Maybe Matt Cardona in an explosion match when the time is right. Maybe not January, but down the line more.
The book “Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro-Wrestling’s New World Order Changed America” is now available for pre-order. It’s written by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi and is scheduled to be released on March 25, 2025.

Sabu returns deposit after no-showing Indie HOF ceremony

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Joseph Currier

The situation with Sabu no-showing his Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame induction has now been fully resolved.

Sabu had been announced as a member of the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2024. But even though he was physically in the same building where it was taking place, Sabu did not appear at the ceremony this past Sunday. He was at WrestleCon while the HOF ceremony was happening.

The ECW legend explained that he didn’t appear at the ceremony because he “changed [his] mind.” GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale responded that there were no hard feelings and he still respected Sabu both as a person and a performer.

In an update on Thursday night, Lauderdale revealed that Sabu has returned the $300 deposit he received for the Hall of Fame event. Lauderdale has donated the deposit to the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia.

“Tonight, Sabu reached out to GCW & returned the deposit ($300) he received for the Indie Hall of Fame. I appreciate the gesture & want to thank/reiterate my respect for Sabu,” Lauderdale tweeted. “I’ve decided to redirect the money in the form of a donation to The William Way LGBT Community Center.”

The William Way LGBT Community Center seeks to “engage and support the diverse LGBTQIA+ communities in the greater Philadelphia area through arts & culture, empowerment, and community connections.”

The Sheraton hotel in downtown Philadelphia was the host of the 2024 Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony. Since 2022, the event has taken place annually during WrestleMania weekend. The Hall of Fame is presented by Game Changer Wrestling and Orange Crush magazine.

The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe), Trent Acid, Steve Corino, Mercedes Martinez, “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, and indie superfan Kevin “Whack Packer” Hogan were the other members of the 2024 Indie Hall of Fame class.

Sabu explains no-showing Indie HOF induction: ‘I changed my mind’

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Joseph Currier

Sabu had a simple explanation for why he no-showed the 2024 Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony: he changed his mind about going.

The ECW icon was supposed to be inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame on Sunday. But despite being in the hotel where the ceremony was taking place, Sabu did not attend. GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale tweeted that, “in the true spirit of independent wrestling,” Sabu decided to keep his deposit and no-show the booking.

Sabu was at WrestleCon while the induction ceremony was taking place. Both events were held at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Philadelphia.

In a social media post on Wednesday night, Sabu addressed why he didn’t appear at the ceremony: “i changed my mind.”

Lauderdale responded to the explanation and said he has no hard feelings toward Sabu.

“Just for the record, I have no hard feelings towards Sabu and still have nothing but respect for him as a person and especially as a performer,” Lauderdale wrote. “The sacrifices he made changed the game (pardon the pun) and many of my favorite memories as a fan are centered around his work.”

The Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame is presented by GCW and Orange Crush magazine. The ceremony takes place annually during WrestleMania weekend.

The 2024 class also included The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe), Trent Acid, Steve Corino, Mercedes Martinez, Eddie Gilbert, and indie superfan Kevin “Whack Packer” Hogan.

GCW says Sabu no-showed Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Joseph Currier

When the 2024 Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony took place on Sunday afternoon, one of the scheduled inductees did not appear.

Sabu was supposed to be inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame as part of its 2024 class, but he wasn’t at the ceremony. Game Changer Wrestling promoter Brett Lauderdale tweeted that Sabu no-showed the Hall of Fame despite being downstairs in the hotel where the event was taking place.

Lauderdale wrote:

In the true spirit of independent wrestling, sabu has decided to keep his deposit and no show the indie hall of fame ceremony today. He accepted the booking and took the money, but doesnt wanna get in the elevator and come upstairs

What a legend

Sabu was present at WrestleCon while the induction ceremony was taking place. Both events were held at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Philadelphia.

The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe), Trent Acid, Steve Corino, Mercedes Martinez, Eddie Gilbert, and indie superfan Kevin “Whack Packer” Hogan were the other members of the 2024 Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame class. Jay Briscoe, Acid, Gilbert, and Hogan were inducted posthumously.

The Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame is presented by GCW and Orange Crush Magazine. It was first established in 2022.

This year’s ceremony is available to watch below:

Sabu to be inducted into Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Joseph Currier

One of ECW’s biggest legends is being inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Game Changer Wrestling announced today that Sabu will be inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame on Sunday, April 7. The induction ceremony is being held in Philadelphia, which was the home city of ECW.

GCW hasn’t announced who will be inducting Sabu.

Sabu joins The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe), Steve Corino, Trent Acid, and indie wrestling superfan Kevin “Whack Packer” Hogan in this year’s Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame class.

One of the best and most recognizable hardcore wrestlers of all time, Sabu is a former ECW World Champion, NWA World Heavyweight Champion, ECW Television Champion, and ECW Tag Team Champion.

Sabu wrestled for WWE from 2006-2007 as part of WWE’s ECW revival.

Last year, Sabu made a couple of appearances for AEW and served as the special guest enforcer for Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho at Double or Nothing 2023.

The 59-year-old Sabu hasn’t wrestled since 2021 but has mentioned the idea of potentially having one last match against his friend Rob Van Dam.

The Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame was established in 2022 by GCW and Orange Crush Magazine. This year’s ceremony will stream live on YouTube for free starting at noon Eastern time on April 7. The ceremony is taking place from the Sheraton hotel in downtown Philadelphia.

Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees —

Class of 2022:

Dave Prazak
Jerry Lynn
Homicide
LuFisto
Ruckus
Tracy Smothers

Class of 2023:

Cheerleader Melissa
Christopher Daniels
Excalibur
Jimmy Jacobs
Michael Modest
Paul London

Class of 2024:

Trent Acid
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
Kevin “Whack Packer” Hogan
Steve Corino
Sabu

Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn: NWA-TNA 21 years ago this week with SUBMISSION LADDER MATCH, plus Granny!

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Bryan Alvarez

The Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn & Granny Show is back with tons to talk about including the GRANNY POLKA SONG CONTEST, her usual weekly Q&A, Wrestling Report and Soap Opera Report, then the boys review NWA-TNA from 21 years ago this week! The best we can say is, it was better than last week. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Sabu named special enforcer for AEW Double or Nothing match

Posted on May 25, 2023May 15, 2025 by Ethan Renner

Sabu made his AEW debut on Wednesday’s Dynamite and was named special enforcer for the Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole match at Double or Nothing.

The former ECW Heavyweight, TV, Tag Team, and FTW Champion made a surprise appearance on Dynamite, introduced by Cole in a contract signing segment between Cole and Jericho for their unsanctioned match set for Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view.

During the contract signing, Jericho was backed up by Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker, while Cole’s only backup was Roderick Strong. Jericho pointed out that Cole was outnumbered, but Cole noted that he had called for backup from someone who was crazy. He then introduced Sabu. Sabu entered, and threw a steel chair at Menard to close the angle.

Sabu, 58, last wrestled in 2021 on an independent show for XWW in California.

The updated Double or Nothing lineup:

AEW Double or Nothing, Sunday, May 28, 7 p.m. Eastern time —

Four-way for the AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara & “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
AEW Women’s World Championship: Jamie Hayter defends against Toni Storm
21-man Blackjack Battle Royale for the AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. QT Marshall vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Aaron Solo vs.
Ladder match for the TNT Championship: Wardlow defends against Christian Cage
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill defends against Taya Valkyrie
AEW Tag Team Championship w/Mark Briscoe as special referee: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal
Unsanctioned match with Sabu as special guest enforcer: Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho
Anarchy in the Arena match: Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. The Elite (Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
Ethan Page, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn vs. Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy & Isiah Kassidy –If the Hardys team wins, Matt Hardy will own the rights to Ethan Page’s contract

ECW legend Sabu ‘doing better’ after serious medical emergency

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Joseph Currier

ECW legend Sabu is “doing better” after suffering a serious medical emergency.

Squared Circle Expo announced on Saturday that Sabu (real name Terry Brunk) will not be appearing at the remainder of their convention due to having a serious medical emergency while on the show floor. Sabu was taken to the hospital after the medical emergency.

Further details about the event haven’t been disclosed.

Squared Circle Expo wrote:

ATTN: Due to having a serious medical emergency while on the show floor, Sabu will not be appearing for the remainder of the Expo. He is currently in route to a local medical facility.

All pro photo op for the ECW pillars pro op and Sabu/RVD pro op will be refunded CASH IN HAND at the pro photo op at their scheduled times.

Our thoughts are with Sabu and all of his ECW colleagues at this time as we await for some hopefully positive news on his status.

Thank you for understanding

After the announcement, Sabu sent out a tweet saying that he’s doing better: “Hello everyone I am doing better and thank you for your well wishes”

Sabu announced his retirement from in-ring competition in November 2021.

Squared Circle Expo is a two-day convention taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8.

GCW announces Sabu, Ricky Morton for Most Notorious

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ethan Renner

ECW legend Sabu and Rock ‘n’ Roll Express icon Ricky Morton have been added to the talent lineup for GCW’s Most Notorious event in January. They will join Rhino on the show, whose appearance was announced yesterday.

The company announced that Sabu would be honored at the event in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan on Friday, January 14, 2022. It is unclear if Sabu will be wrestling at the show. Likewise, it was not announced if Morton will be in action on the event.

Morton was also announced for the January 15 GCW Say You Will event in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. He joins PCO as the first two talent announcements for that show.

Tickets for January 14 and January 15’s events went on sale today.

GCW’s January schedule includes shows on January 1 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Detroit and Hoffman Estates shows on January 14 and January 15, The Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony in New York on January 22, plus The Wrld on GCW in a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on January 23.

Daily Update: Sabu, Frank Riddick, weekend shows

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

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WON NEWSLETTER: November 8, 2021 Observer Newsletter: WWE cuts 18 wrestlers, Jon Moxley enters inpatient alcohol treatment program

In this week’s issue:

Details on all the WWE cuts, reasons some were cut, and new philosophies on talent
WWE finances, its future, how the return of arena shows has impacted business, short and long-term TV rights fees talked about by Nick Khan, why certain cities are getting stadium shows in 2022
How WWE ratings are doing compared to the rest of television
Update on Survivor Series
2021 Hall of Fame ballot, leading candidates to go in, how the balloting works, which active wrestlers have the best qualifications, candidates that aren’t well known in North America, which wrestlers have gotten the highest vote totals in history, the list of first ballot Hall of Famers, which active wrestlers have been voted into the Hall of Fame
Ticket sales for the upcoming major WWE & AEW shows
Jon Moxley talks about a ton of different subjects
An early look at the first AEW special on TNT
Jim Ross talks battle with skin cancer
Television ratings from the past week, international TV ratings
NJPW big shows the next two weeks
Notes from Stardom PPV show
Full coverage of UFC 267

Current subscribers click here to read.

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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

We don’t have a show this weekend with Garrett Gonzalez as he’s out of town to help ring the bell for Monday’s opening of the New York Stock Exchange. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night covering UFC, New Japan Power Struggle, WWE cuts and other news.

Sabu says he’s not going to wrestle any longer unless he’s offered a match with Brock Lesnar that he knows isn’t happening. The following is a couple of quotes from an interview clip: “I’m not doing real good. I hurt my back about a year ago and it’s still been hurting. I wrestled a couple of weeks ago but I shouldn’t have. I’ve only wrestled like twice in the last year [and] I only went to the gym a couple of times the last year ’cause I hurt my back. I’m probably not gonna wrestle no more… I’m probably just gonna do autograph signings and personal appearance-type stuff .” (thanks to James Romero)

Frank Riddick III was today named the new Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of WWE He replaces Kristina Salen, who is leaving the company Riddick’s new contract is for $850,000 per year and he got a $1 million signing bonus.

Smackdown is tonight from Evansville, IN. Roman Reigns is announced for the show along with Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler.

Rampage is tonight from St. Louis with The Bunny vs. Red Velvet, Bryan Danielson vs. Anthony Bowens, Adam Cole vs. John Silver and a confrontation with C.M. Punk and Eddie Kingston.

We’re looking for reports from today’s WWE show in Birmingham, UK as well as all the weekend UK shows, tonight’s AEW in St. Louis with the Dark Elevation tapings, Evansville live Smackdown report with dark matches to [email protected] We’re also looking for reports from Saturday’s show in London and Sunday’s show in Liverpool. We’re also doing polls this weekend for the New Japan Power Struggle show and UFC 268 from Madison Square Garden so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]

Power Struggle is at 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning or 1 a.m. tonight Pacific time on New Japan World. It’s from the Edion Arena in Osaka. Only Japanese language commentary for tonight’s show:

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Douki vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask vs. Tanga Loa & Gedo & Jado
Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Sanada & Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi
Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Evil & Sho & Yujiro Takahashi for Never trios titles
Toru Yano vs.; Great O’Khan for KOPW title in amateur rules match
Robbie Eagles vs. Desperado for IWGP Jr.title
Kazuchika Okada vs Tama Tonga for IWGP title shot
Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for IWGP world title

UFC tomorrow night in Madison Square Garden:

ESPN+ at 6 p.m.

Carlos Vergara (127.4) vs.Ode Osbourne (125.2) – Vergara forfeits 20 percent of his purse or missing weight
Melsik Baghdasaryan (1454.) vs. Bruno Souza (148.4) – Souza forfeits 20 percent of his purse for missing weight
Dustin Jacoby (203.4) vs. John Allan (205)
Gian Villante (260.6) vs. Chris Barnett (263.8)

ESPN+ and ESPN News at 8 p.m.

Ian Garry (169.6) vs. Jordan Williams (1706)
Edmen Shahbazyan (185.4) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (184.6)
Phil Hawks (185.4) vs. Chris Curtis (186)
Al Iaquinta (155.8) vs. Bobby Green (155.2)
Alex Pereira (185.8) vs. Andreas Michalidis (185)

PPV on ESPN+ at 10 p.m.

Justin Gaethje (155.6) vs. Michael Chandler (155.2)
Shane Burgos (145.6) vs,. Billy Quarantillo (145.4)
Frankie Edgar (135.6) vs. Marlon Vera (135)
Rose Namajunas (115) vs. Zhang Weili (115) for strawweight title
Kamaru Usman (169) vs. Colby Covington (169.4) for welterweght title

AEW announced that Full Gear will be available at selected Cinemark, AMC, Regal, Harkins, iPic,Emagine Entertainment and other theaters on 11/13

An article on Tetsuya Naito and the Hall of Fame.

The former Oney Lorcan, now back to Biff Busick, has been announced for the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament for 3/4 to 3/6 in Oberhausen, Germany.

WWE

There won’t be a Takeover show over WrestleMania week at this point. WWE is selling travel packages that list Smackdown on Friday 4/1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, WrestleMania on Sunday and Monday at AT&T Stadium, Raw back at the American Airlines Center on Monday and AXXESS at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas. There is also no word on the Hall of Fame ceremony.

AEW

The Washington Post has a story on AEW and WWE.

OTHER NOTES

Tickets for ROH Final Battle went on sale to the public today.
Kevin Eck looks at the ROH news this week.
Isami Kodaka replaces the injured Yuko Miyamoto as the partner of Takao Omori in the Real World Tag League tournament. Miyamoto suffered a broken leg.
Doc Gallows talks Impact, AEW, WWE and Japan (thanks to DJ Garner)
A story on photographer/manager Brad McFarlin aka Handsome Johnny Bradford getting a lifetime achievement award tonight.
MCW runs 11/12 at the MCW Arena in Joppa,MD and 11/13 in Hollywood, MD. The 11/12 show is the Shane Shamrock Cup show featuring Shannon Moore, Aaron Rourke, Ninja Mack, Sam Adonis, Jake Crist, Action Andretti, Luke Hawx, KC Navarro, PJ Hawk and Myles Hawkins.
Matt Cardona headlines on 10/2 for AIW at the Tadmore Shrine. Effy and Thunder Rosa are also on the show.
Brady Roberts (Brady Malibu) is the guest on today’s Talk is Jericho talking about his new show, “Escaping Denver.” The season finale of the series comes out Monday.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: The Rock wins WCW World Title

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MLW Underground results: CM Punk and Raven in tag team action

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Iain Oliver

The Big Takeaways:

In the final MLW Underground before their restart Wednesday, Mikey Whipwreck and Sinister Minister took their war with Sabu to another level when they blew a fireball into his face during their main event match.
CM Punk and Raven continued their feud as they were on opposing teams in tag action.

Show Review:

CM Punk opened up the episode talking about his ongoing feud with Raven. He said their story is about a lot of disappointment, fallen heroes, and the death of a person who motivated him to join a wrestling school in the first place. Punk said he has sacrificed so much for this feud with Raven, and he will learn why being straight edge means he is better than him.

CM Punk and Michael Shane (w/ Francine) defeated Raven and Norman Smiley (w/ G.I. Hoe) (11:52 televised)

Punk and Shane took the mic to start. Punk mocked both Disney and Micky Mouse (they were in Florida) and said if there was ever evidence of people taking drugs and acid, that was it. He said the fans couldn’t coordinate their chants and had no unity, pointing to himself and Shane as having unity.

When the match started, Punk evaded Raven and quickly tagged out, delaying their eventual exchange. Smiley hit his big wiggle bodyslam on Shane before the commercial after which Punk and Raven finally went at it. Raven battered Punk and Shane around the ring, hitting a bulldog/clothesline combo. Smiley then joined in, knocking them both to the outside.

Smiley eventually got cut off and Shane and Punk took the advantage. Francine got involved and choked Smiley on the bottom rope behind the referee’s back. Raven frustratingly tried to jump in and free Smiley, but the referee correctly got him back on the apron. He was back in shortly to break up a pinfall after Shane hit Smiley with an elbow off the top.

Punk missed Smiley and took out Shane with a whoopie cushion as Raven got the hot tag. He hit right hands, clotheslines, knee lifts and drop toeholds on a chair. Smiley took Shane out of the ring before Raven hit Punk with the Raven Effect DDT. Francine broke up the count, but was quickly dragged into a catfight with GI Hoe. As the referee was distracted, Shane hit Hoe with a superkick.

Smiley tended to Hoe, but Shane hit him twice across the back with a chair. He then swung for Raven, missed, hit the top rope and the chair bounced back in his face. Raven then went for the DDT on Shane but Punk threw powder in his eyes and hit a DDT of his own to pick up the win.

**********

— The Extreme Horsemen were talking about their next set of matches when referee Jon Finnigan interrupted them with a note that said Steve Corino was suspended for 45 days. They said it was a conspiracy against the Horsemen.

— “Dr. Death” Steve Williams and The Sandman were up next. Williams was squatting while Sandman was drinking a beer. Sandman said they didn’t have to train, mocked Simon Diamond being a personal trainer, mocked C.W. Anderson for being “old school”, and mocked the Horsemen as a unit by whooing as they prematurely celebrated their upcoming title win.

— Ekmo (aka Umaga) of the Samoan Island Tribe entered the building and was mistakingly pointed in the direction of Da Hit Squad who were lying in wait for an ambush. They choked him out and cracked hit own luggage across his back.

— Sinister Minister and Mikey Whipwreck said they couldn’t be intimidated by Sabu’s mind games or his family legacy. Minister predicted the future when he said, “if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned”. Sabu and Bill Alfonso responded by promising that Whipwreck would get his ass kicked in revenge for attacking Sabu in the parking lot a few weeks ago.

— Da Hit Squad were outside the building celebrating their attack on Ekmo and were looking forward to their upcoming falls count anywhere match with the Samoans. They said when they get given toys, people get hurt. The Samoans are now playing by their rules, and they will never be the same again.

Mikey Whipwreck (w/ Sinister Minister) defeated Sabu (w/ Bill Alfonso) 05:42 televised)

Sabu was on offense from the get-go. He hit a springboard leg lariat and locked in a camel clutch, but Minister distracted Sabu which allowed Whipwreck to kick him right in the face.

On the outside, Sabu threw a chair at Whipwreck’s face and set him up on a table. He climbed to the top rope, but Minister interfered again and pushed him off the top rope into the ring. Whipwreck followed and clotheslined Sabu from the top rope. After a break, there was a pushed over table in the ring and Whipwreck used it as a tag partner as he dropped Sabu with an atomic drop.

Sabu fought back and set Whipwreck on the table and went up top. Alfonso came in to help hold Whipwreck in place, but Whipwreck switched places with Alfonso and Sabu came crashing down on top of his manager. Whipwreck then hit the Whippersnapper. but Sabu kicked out.

Sabu smoothly reversed a backdrop into a camel clutch, but while the referee was distracted with Alfonso, Minister came in and set a fireball off in Sabu’s face. Sabu was writhing in pain in the corner as Whipwreck attacked him with a chair while Minister took Alfonso’s whistle and danced around Sabu. Whipwreck trapped Sabu’s arm in the chair and hit it with a second one. He then hit an Arabian facebuster with a chair onto Sabu’s injured arm to pick up the victory.

After the bell, Whipwreck hit him with the chair again and Alfonso eventually came to the aid of his fallen warrior to close the show.

MLW Underground results & video: Sabu vs. Mikey Whipwreck

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Iain Oliver

The Big Takeaway:

Hints of a new faction were given as the end of the main event between Sabu and Mikey Whipwreck (with the Sinister Minister) when chaos ensued with the arrival of Christopher Daniels and Jerry Lynn.

Show Review:

We opened with a video package of new MLW World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino and the Extreme Horsemen, highlighting their recent dominance over both the tag team and singles division. We saw CW Anderson and Simon Diamond capture the tag titles, a Horsemen beatdown on Terry Funk, and Corino capturing the title last week with a shocking upset over Mike Awesome.

Joey Styles then delved into more detail of last week’s double title switch as Awesome halted the near one year reign of Satoshi Kojima, but then Corino cashed in on a title shot with a little help from the Horsemen.

Christopher Daniels (w/ Jerry Lynn) defeated Billy Fives (4:55 televised)

Daniels and Lynn entered to Marilyn Manson’s “Disposable Teens” — a nice change to hear some licensed entrance music. Fives seemed to be quite popular with the local audience but Styles said this was his first look at him in the ring. Fives, who still wrestles once a year after a five year stretch of no activity, played up to the fans before slapping Daniels across the face as we went to an early commercial break.

After the short break, Fives was firing up on a comeback and hit a backdrop, clothesline and a running leg lariat into a leg drop for a two count. Daniels stopped him in his tracks with a face first drop (Last Rights) to completely change the momentum. Daniels then hit the Best Moonsault Ever, but only got a two count.

Fives then came close to winning after a reverse DDT. He then hit Daniels’ own Last Rights finisher on him, but Lynn got on the apron and distracted both Fives and the ref. This gave Daniels just the right opening he needed to hit another Last Rights for a second time to pick up the win.

After the match, Styles said Paul London challenged Lynn to a Young Lions two out of three match challenge where London must win two matches to earn his spot on the MLW roster.

**********

– We cut to the parking lot where the Extreme Horsemen’s stretch Hummmer pulled up and they disembarked, along with two bikini laden models.

– We saw footage from the closing moments of the recent Steve Corino vs. Terry Funk barbed wire match and the return of the Sandman who came to Terry Funk and Steve Williams’ aid. Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” played in full as Sandman took his time to rescue his friends. Funk was wrapped head to toe in wire and stuck in the corner of the ring while Williams was being repeatedly beat down and choked with a steel chair as Sandman drank and smoked his way through the crowd before eventually taking out the Extreme Horsemen.

– We went back to more recent footage with Williams arriving at the building and getting jumped by CW Anderson and Simon Diamond while getting out his car. They busted him open and hit him with trash cans before ramming him headfirst into a wall.

– Backstage, CM Punk ran into Simply Luscious and asked her what it feels like to be disappointed in Raven losing his focus. She looked pretty disgusted having to talk to Punk as he rambled on before asking her to think about the future and think about straight edge. Styles connected the dots for the viewers and said that Luscious has some history with someone in the locker room. Could it be Punk? Could it be Raven? Styles then recapped the Punk vs Raven feud.

– The heavyweight title rankings were back this week. Jerry Lynn remained in #10, Michael Shane was back at 9 (falling one place from last week), CM Punk dropped a spot to #8 as did La Parka at #7, Raven at #6, and Sabu at #5, Masato Tanaka jumped right in at #4, and after losing the title last week, Kojima is now #3 ranked behind both Terry Funk and Mike Awesome who are both #1.

– We heard from Homicide who told us he was locked up ten years ago and now he feels like he is locked up again…but he likes it. He is bringing some damage and ruckus to MLW.

– Awesome said that he is going for “two at Taboo” at the next set of tapings in Orlando and wants to challenge Corino to a match where the only way to win is to knock out your opponent.

– Corino had a chance to respond, but he also addressed Funk’s recent challenge. Corino said Awesome gets the first shot and Funk will need to wait his turn. Corino respects Awesome, but his stupidity led him to lose his title last week. He then told Funk that he will sign the World title contract for a match against him after he beats Awesome in Orlando at the next tapings.

Sabu defeated Mikey Whipwreck (w/Sinister Minister) (6:06 televised)

Styles said we were going to see the rubber match between La Parka and Sabu, but it was Whipwreck who entered with a black cloak and a La Parka mask before the Sinister Minister came out and unmasked Whipwreck. Styles questioned what Whipwreck and Minister had done with the real La Parka before we just moved on to the new match.

They exchanged single leg takedowns before Whipwreck took down Sabu with an armbar. Whipwreck then connected with a dropkick before Bill Alfonso made his heroic comeback to ringside after his beating from La Parka.

Sabu locked in a camel clutch, but Whipwreck threw him to the outside. Moments later, Sabu hit the Air Sabu chair assisted plancha from the top rope into the crowd.

After a quick break, it was Whipwreck’s turn to take to the sky as he dove over the top rope onto Sabu on the outside. There was now also a table set up in the corner of the ring which Sabu used as he set Whipwreck against it and hit a chair assisted leg lariat to put Whipwreick through it. A triple jump legdrop was followed by a chair assisted camel clutch, given Sabu the submission win.

After the match, Sinister Minister went face to face with Alfonso, but Sabu came to his manager’s aid and pulled out a spike. Before he could use it, Sabu was jumped by Daniels and Lynn. Whipwreck, Minister, Daniels and Lynn then left together as MLW Underground went off the air.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qzFgwI5vMA

MLW Underground report: Sabu vs. La Parka

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Iain Oliver

Big takeaways:

La Parka levelled the score with Sabu as he picked up the victory tonight in their heavily hyped re-match. Los Maximos came face-to-face with their attackers, The Samoan Island Tribe, but fell short as they were overpowered and outweighed by their larger opponents.

Joey Styles welcomed us to the show and hyped up to the two main stories of the evening: the rematch between Sabu and La Parka, and Los Maximos who will be confronting their mystery attackers from a few weeks ago.

Speaking of Los Maximos, we cut to them as Joel and Jose told us that tonight they will call out their attackers and said they are all about action, and they hope their attackers have the “cojones” to show up.

The Samoan Island Tribe (Samu & Mana) defeated Los Maximos (Jose & Joel) (07:10)

Los Maximos had their names on their trunks which helped identify these identical twins, but it couldn’t help them overpower their much larger opponents and after a spirited effort, eventually fell to the Samoans’ size and strength.

Jose took out the Samoans with a tope con hilo as they made their way to the ring. Inside he dropped a top rope elbow on Samu, but the younger Samoan Mana soon overpowered his two smaller opponents and squashed them both during a “whisper in the wind” attempt.

The Tribe then singled out Joel and took their time beating him down. Styles told us of Samu’s WWF tag title lineage and also the team being related to WWE’s 3 Minute Warning (Umaga/Jamal and Rosey- Roman Reigns’ brother).

Joel tried to rally, but instead of tagging in his fresher brother, he climbed to the top rope and was caught in mid-air in a Samoan drop from Mana. Moments later, he did get his top rope wish by catching Samu with a moonsault.

After getting the hot tag, Jose ran wild hitting a missile dropkick and a step-up crossbody off the top rope, but he then made a pro-wrestling mistake 101- he tried to headbutt not only one Samoan, but two of them. So of course, as any historian would tell you, the Samoan’s have the hardest heads of all the wrestling heads in the world, so no-sold it and walloped poor Jose with some of their own.

Mana then knocked down Jose and placed him on the top turnbuckle before squashing him with a top rope Samoan drop for the win.

Backstage we had a promo from La Parka, but he was blind-sided and attacked by not only Sabu, but also the Cuban Assassin Fidel Alfonso. After the attack Styles told us the Assassin is actually the larger and more muscular brother of Sabu’s manager Bill Alfonso.

Joey Styles then changed our focus to the tag team division and let us know that CW Anderson and Simon Diamond injured PJ Friedman last week, rupturing his orbital bone, separating his shoulder and injuring his knee. We then heard from Anderson and Diamond, who told us that they did what they said they would do, win the MLW tag team titles and resuscitate a dying division. Anderson said that in a blue-chipper there is always a weakness, and for Friedman, it was his leg.

CM Punk was back again this week, telling us that he is straight edge and better than us. He said it was his destiny to win the MLW World title and he is the one guy everyone should be afraid of in MLW.

We then heard from the Samoan Island Tribe backstage after their victory earlier in the night. They were saying they should have been in the tag team tournament and were about to go name their next opponents before Los Maximos jumped them. Similar to their match, however, the Samoans overpowered their opponent and beat them down. I’m pretty sure at the end of their beatdown Samu told the camera and warned the locker room to get ready because everyone is about to get “teabagged”.

The heavyweight title rankings were back this week. Jerry Lynn remained in #10, #9 was Christopher Daniels (dropping one spot since last week), Paul London was up one spot to #8, #7 was Masato Tanaka (dropping from #3 last week), #6 was La Parka (no change), #5 Raven (no change), #4 was Sabu (up from #7 last week) Steve Corino was up one spot to #3, #2 Terry Funk (no change), and #1 was Mike Awesome (no change).

We then saw some Mike Awesome highlights including him powerbombing champion Kojima through a table in the corner of the ring, then also powerbombing Masato Tanaka out of the ring and through another table on the outside.

We then saw highlights from the previous meeting of Sabu and La Parka from the Mexican Massacre match from the War Memorial Auditorium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from December 2002. This was previously covered in the Anthology episode for La Parka.

Sabu defeated La Parka

Parka threw a chair at Sabu’s face before the bell even rang, and that would have normally set the tone for the rest of the match, but they actually began with some chain wrestling as they both tried to gain the early upper hand. Parka locked in an early camel clutch that Sabu escaped from, and rightfully so with it being one of his signature holds, and moments later to rub salt in the wounds he locked in his own version on Parka.

They both found themselves on the top rope. Parka was shoved off, but landed on his feet on the apron but he was still able to clothesline Sabu into the ring, missed but rolled through a slingshot but then ate a tornado DDT from Sabu. A second DDT was dodged and Parka hit a spinning heel kick.

Parka then launched Sabu head first over the guard rail and into the first row. The crowd scattered as Parka hit him with a chair to the head, whipped him into the rail and then flew off the top rope and into the crowd and onto Sabu with a huge crossbody. “The Extreme Chairman” then set up a table at ringside and rocked Sabu with another chair shot to the head. Parka then set up Sabu to spear him from the apron and into the table, but as he ran, Sabu hit him with a dropkick to the knees that sent Parka head over heels over the top rope and through the table.

Sabu then got a pair of scissors and went to work stabbing Parka in the forehead and ripping his mask away before dumping him into the crowd. Alfonso then threw a chair to Sabu in the ring and Sabu then hit his chair assisted top rope cross body into the crowd on top of Parka.

Parka was bleeding heavily from his forehead as he slowly made his way back into the ring. Sabu pummelled him on arrival and went back to work on his forehead with the scissors. Parka hit a standing enzuigiri before setting up Sabu in a tree of woe and dropkicked a chair into Sabu’s face.

Parka then missed a spear in the corner and fell to the outside, only to be squashed by a somersault plancha over the top rope by Sabu. Alfonso then helped set up another table at ringside for Sabu to hit his chair assisted Arabian face-buster from the top rope and through the ringside table.

Sabu came off the top rope, but ate a boot to the face for a two count. Parka went up top, but Sabu caught him and hit a springboard hurricanrana from the top rope and crushed him with an Arabian facebuster. Regardless, Parka kicked out. A triple jump moonsault moments later sealed the deal and won the match for Sabu.

La Parka defeated Sabu (with the Cuban Assassin) (05:38)

La Parka came out dressed as a cross between Rocksteady from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and an orc from Lord of the Rings. Luckily it was just an entrance mask and he was back to his usual family-friendly skeleton attire for this one.

Similar to their first bout, this one started with a couple of minutes of chain wrestling after Parka had danced and played the guitar with his steel chair. Sabu tried a cross arm breaker and a leg lock but Parka powered out each time.

The action spilled to the outside where Sabu threw a chair into La Parka and sent him into the first row. Sabu then hit Air Sabu from the ring into the fans which got a nice pop from the audience.

Back from a break Sabu hit his triple jump moonsault but only got a two count. He lay Parka on a table but while Sabu was climbing the ropes, Parka got off the table, hit the interfering Assassin with a chair and laid him on the table instead, all of which Sabu missed as he came off the top and crushed his companion with a legdrop through the table. La Parka then climbed to the top and hit his corkscrew off the top, connecting his heel with Sabu’s skull to pick up the victory.

MLW Underground video & results: Sabu, Super Crazy, Amazing Red

Posted on August 2, 2020 by Iain Oliver

The Big Takeaways:

Taiyo Kea pulled an upset out the bag by defeating Sabu
La Parka defeated Shocker
Super Crazy defeated Fuego Guerrero (aka Amazing Red)

Show Recap:

Raven opened up this week’s episode of Underground with the same promo that closed last week’s show. He is still waiting on Vampiro to contact him and said if he continues down this road, he will end up in his Clockwork Orange House of Fun. “Quote the Raven Nevermore.”

Joey Styles welcomed us to the Manhattan Center and ran down the schedule for the night: catching up with Global Tag Team title tourney finalists CW Anderson and Simon Diamond and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams and PJ Friedman. We learned the show would feature Super Crazy vs. Fuego Guerrero, La Parka vs. Shocker, and Taiyo Kea vs. Sabu in the main event.

Super Crazy defeated Fuego Guerrero (5:43)

This was a great short Lucha showcase and has aged just fine in the 17 years since it originally aired. Guerrero had all the attributes, size, and agility of a young Rey Mysterio Jr.

Guerrero hit Crazy with a twice around the world headscissors that brought the fans to their feet. Unfortunately, we did not hear the full extent of the crowd pop as the audio issues that the show has dealt with in recent weeks were in play here too. After an ad break, Crazy was in control but Guerrero reversed a powerbomb into a tornado DDT. Crazy regained control moments later and nearly had the match won with a brainbuster.

Guerrero busted out a corkscrew senton from the top rope to the floor that would have benefited from better crowd audio to match the standing ovation from the New York crowd. Inside the ring, Guerrero rolled through another senton but got caught mid-air and planted with a sit-out powerbomb that gave Crazy the win.

**********

– The cameras caught up with Steve Corino as he drove around some nice big beautiful houses in his own neighborhood. He badmouthed Terry Funk about living on a farm.

– We then saw footage from earlier in the week of Williams and Friedman training in the ring. Williams said he and Friedman will be the next tag team champions before he hit the backdrop driver on Friedman and told us all that he has the most powerful moves in all of wrestling.

– Styles ran down the main suspects of who attacked Los Maximos last week: Samoan Island Tribe, Extreme Horsemen, Masada & NOSAWA, and Williams and Friedman.

**********

La Parka defeated Shocker (9:23)

Parka suckered Shocker in for a slap to the face before they exchanged a lightning quick Lucha style back-and-forth pinfall reversal sequence before nipping up to their feet simultaneously. Shocker kicked Parka out of the ring and feigned a dive to the floor by landing a handspring off the ropes and posing in the middle of the ring.

Parka baited Shocker out of the ring and caught him with a boot coming in. He then ran Shocker over with a hard shoulderblock, leading to his famous strut across the ring. Parka was then dumped on the back of his head twice before being slingshotted out of the ring where he ate a springboard splash on the floor.

A few moments and a swing in momentum later saw Parka knock Shocker to the outside with a spinning heel kick and a big corkscrew suicide dive. Inside the ring, he hit a big somersault senton bomb but only got a two count. He then brought a chair into the ring but ended up getting it dropkicked into his own face before being dumped on the outside. Shocker then went for a suicide dive through the ropes but Parka finally got him with the chair, a perfectly timed mid-air shot right between the eyes, something you wouldn’t see today but was common nearly two decades ago.

Shocker got his feet up when Parka came off the top rope to give himself a bit of leeway, but was hit with a dropkick when Shocker tried to come off the top. Parka hit a missile dropkick but was crotched on the top rope moments later. Shocker then hit him with a big superplex from the top rope, a magistral cradle, a spear in the corner, and a bronco buster but still couldn’t put him away.

Parka crotched him with his boot on a second bronco buster attempt before heading to the top rope once again, winning the match after hitting his signature springboard corkscrew body block.

**********

– Anderson and Diamond let us know Friedman’s lack of experience will be his team’s downfall. Anderson talked about being trained by Arn and Ole compared to Friedman’s training. They called Friedman a blue chipper, but that Diamond was the original blue chipper.

– We heard from Funk in response to Corino earlier. He said he was going to give Corino a lesson in the ring and had no intention of going to the extreme, but if Corino does “because you are an Extreme Horsemen, then yee-hah, cowboy.”

**********

Taiyo Kea defeated Sabu (w/Bill Alfonso) (11:12)

A main event featuring the classic Sabu style closed out this week’s episode of Underground. It was filled with the usual dives and stunts that we see frequently now, but still look as good and dangerous today as they did then.

The end result was a bit of a shock but made sense given that Kea has been involved in title shots against MLW Champion Kojima in the 2002-03 timeline of the first few Undergrounds. Before the match, Styles let us know that the uncles of both competitors used to be fierce rivals: the original Sheik and King Curtis Iaukea, and here, the families’ rivalry will continue.

After an early commercial break, Sabu hit his Air Sabu chair-assisted jump from the top rope into the crowd onto Kea before dropping him with a draping DDT when back inside. Another chair-assisted aerial assault followed as he hit a leg lariat but Kea then superkicked the same chair back into Sabu’s face.

Sabu hit back with a top rope springboard hurricanrana, a top rope leg drop through a table at ringside, and a triple jump moonsault but he couldn’t put Kea away. Even after an Alfonso distraction and two chair shots to the head, he still couldn’t put Kea away.

Kea put up a good fight and rallied towards the end of the match. He hit a snap hurricanrana out of nowhere before hitting a series of kicks that knocked Sabu to the mat. He closed the show with a death valley driver into a neckbreaker before putting Sabu away with the H50: a torture rack into a neckbreaker.

Next week:

MLW Champion Satoshi Kojima vs Vampiro
No. 1 contender’s match: Jerry Lynn vs. Mike Awesome
Fuego Guerrero vs. Super Crazy vs. a mystery opponent in a triple threat match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anv8xxGe6q0