Daily Update: Edge, Trevor Murdoch, Matt Cardona

DAILY UPDATE

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WON NEWSLETTER: September 28, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Death of Road Warrior Animal

A look at the Road Warriors, the biggest drawing tag team in pro wrestling history, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We talk about the birth of the team, the background of Joe Laurinaitis, the early days of Hawk, Animal and Rick Rude in pro wrestling, the role of Ole Anderson and Eddy Sharkey in the story, why the Road Warriors did and didn’t work certain territories, why they rarely worked with Bruiser Brody, why they ended up in AWA, JCP, and how they wound up with WWE. We also look at their departure from WWE, Animal leaving wrestling, and their return.

Also in this issue:

COVID in WWE, AEW and CMLL, changes that were made, why AEW and WWE had a breakout in the same week, how AEW is changing its procedures, the belief of how this all started and much more.

G-1 Climax tournament, with an overview of the first shows, this week’s lineups, standings, poll results, star ratings and more covering all the first week shows.

Sports news that affects WWE’s next television deal as well as shakeups at NBCU that also do.  We look at a new WWE marketing idea, Stephanie McMahon’s stock sale, why WWE stock fell, Undertaker talks the end of his documentary, changes at NXT UK, What NXT UK talent were told at meeting this week, NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament, former WWE star talked about returning, more on the Retribution storyline, who is doing the rules and the story behind the finish of the Raw match.  We also have international ratings notes, WWE up for awards, new WWE marketing ventures, Roman Reigns talks changes in his presentation, Dwayne Johnson talks, why Kane is in the news again, WWE market value as well as a look at the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.

Saturday’s UFC show and more thoughts on Colby Covington and the line between playing bad guy wrestler and being offensive is.

WWE’s next two major shows with the cards and backgrounds.

Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate show from this past week.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

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

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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Today’s guests on The Bump included Kyle O’Reilly, Santos Escobar, and Hiram Garcia. Next week’s guests for The Bump will be Wade Barrett, RJ City, and actor Ken Jeong.
  • Edge on the Busted Open radio show said that he didn’t have a time table regarding when he would be able to return from his triceps injury he suffered at Backlash earlier this year. “So, I don’t know yet,” he said. I know it’s a lot slower than I thought it was going to be because I just have this mentality of, ‘Right. No big deal. Surgery, PT and we grind through it, we break down the scar tissue and off we go.’ So, I don’t know if it is the injury itself, if I’m a little older, I don’t know what it is, but it’s not as fast as I would’ve liked.”
  • The Rock revealed the cast of the upcoming NBC show based on his life. Bradley Constant will play 15-year-old Rock, Stacey Leilua will play Ata Johnson, Joseph Lee Anderson will play Rocky Johnson, Uli Latukefu will play 20-year-old Rock, Ana Tuisila will play Lia Maivia, and Adrian Groulx will play 10-year-old Rock. The show is currently slated to premiere mid-season.
  • PWInsider is reporting that Jeff Hardy’s next court date for his October 2019 arrest for driving while impaired has been moved to 10/22 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Sports Illustrated has an article on WWE and their work with children who are fighting pediatric cancer. People Magazine spoke to Roman Reigns and Stephanie McMahon, also regarding pediatric cancer.
  • Bryan Rose has a review of WWE 2K Battlegrounds for the Nintendo Switch.
  • The Singh Brothers spoke to Global News Canada about being unable to return to WWE due to COVID-19 restrictions
  • There will be a WWE panel at the New York Comic-Con on Friday, October 9 that will feature Zelina Vega, Triple H, and Drew McIntyre as they discuss the biggest moments that have taken place on WWE Raw.
  • Cameron Grimes turns 27 today, while Isaiah “Swerve” Scott turns 30.

Other Wrestling

  • Trevor Murdoch defeated Aron Stevens last night on United Wrestling Network’s Primetime Live to win the NWA National championship.
  • Variety has an article on the one year anniversary of AEW Dynamite’s launch on TNT.
  • On the Pro Wrestling Junkies podcast, Matt Cardona says his short-term AEW contract expired on September 5 following his match at AEW All Out. He expressed interest in continuing his run with AEW.
  • Jon Moxley spoke to Bleacher Report about his run in AEW.
  • The latest Aces High article looks at Tanahashi’s thoughts on Antonio Inoki’s shift towards what would be known as Inokism following the departure of Keiji Muto.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Kane wins WWE Intercontinental title

CONTACT INFORMATION

UWN Primetime Live results: Aron Stevens vs. Trevor Murdoch

UWN continued with their opening promo montage, continuing the 80s wrestling show feel. I like this little touch as it gives a reason for all the matches happening and helps us get to know the characters we might not be familiar with yet.

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UWN World Tag Team Champions SoCal Distancing (Andy Brown and Adrian Quest) defeated Real Money Brothers (Big Money Clutch and RMB Suge)

Brown and Quest got the heat on Suge in the early portion of the match. Quest used fast paced striking and offense while Brown was able to control Suge with power. Suge hit a big powerslam on Quest and then made the hot tag to Clutch. Suge tried to hit a double team suplex off the top rope on Quest, but Brown cut them off and SoCal Distancing hit a combo double stomp and death valley driver that got a two count.

Suge hit a full nelson into a flatliner for two. He tried to suplex Quest again, but Brown made the save and Quest hit the 40 Ounce Bounce on Clutch. Brown hit Finish Him on Suge which was followed with a phoenix splash by Quest for the pin.

This was a solid opening tag match that was set up by the Real Money Brothers defeating Friendship Farm last week. I like Brown and Quest as they showed a lot of good ring positioning and an understanding of how to structure a tag match.

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Trevor Murdoch cut a simple promo about the main event, saying that he was going to walk away with the NWA National Championship.

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Papadon defeated Remy Marcel

As Marcel came out, the announcers implied that he has taken people out to the desert to bury them on behalf of criminals running casinos. Well, then. Marcel appeared to be the babyface in this match. Well, then…again. Papadon claimed Marcel pulled his hair when he has no hair. I was briefly distracted by how much tape Marcel has on his shoulders, making me think he is close to having his arms fall off.

Marcel hit a slingshot senton from the apron into the ring, but ate a hotshot from Papadon who then started hitting a series of elbows to his head. Papadon hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Papadon hit a clothesline and argued with the official about the count, which was clearly two.

Papadon hit a suplex and a few kicks to the chest of Marcel. Marcel hit a headscissors takeover, a flying crossbody, and a Northern Lights suplex for two. Papadon hit a clothesline that turned Remy inside out and then hit a really nice spike piledriver for the finish.

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Chris Dickinson told the interviewer to shut up and told the world that he was angry and bitter because he had something to prove. Dickinson said he was professional wrestling and called Gentleman Jervis an insult to professional wrestling. He said that he could keep talking all day and that they would need to send someone to shut him up. Anthony Idol showed up and cut a very 80s style promo, challenging Dickinson to a match and that they could fight tonight.

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Chris Dickinson defeated Anthony idol

Idol and Dickenson collided with shoulder tackles and were unable to knock each other over. Idol hit a back elbow and dropped Dickinson before hitting a back drop for two. Dickinson hit a hard chop and blocked a corner charge with a kick. Dickinson dropped Idol with a DDT and started to trash talk him.

Dickinson went for an armbar, but Idol stacked him and hit a spinebuster for a near fall. Idol hit a chokeslam for two and tried for a few more power moves, but Dickinson managed to hit a death valley driver for the win.

Dickinson continued to call for more competition. I think setting up a match between he and NWA World Champion Nick Aldis might be something that could draw eyes for the NWA and UWN.

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Allysin Kay defeated Nicole Savoy

Kay took Savoy over and they grappled on the mat for a little bit. Savoy invited Kay into her guard and as Kay reached in, Savoy rolled into an armdrag in a nice spot. Kay took out the legs and continued to roll for submissions. Savoy countered into a triangle choke, but her shoulders were down so she had to let it go. Savoy hit a butterfly suplex on Kay, but Kay managed to continue to attack Savoy’s leg.

Savoy hit a Saito suplex and went for a waist lock, but Kay countered with a rolling kneebar. Kay caught a kick and took out Savoy’s knee again. Savoy and Kay exchanged forearms in the middle of the ring, but Savoy hit an uppercut palm strike and a German suplex. Savoy went for a fireman’s carry, but her knee gave out.

Savoy hit a knee to Kay for two. She went for a figure four, but Savoy kicked Kay out of it and rolled her up for a two count. Kay was able to counter into a pin of her own to win the match.

This was pretty good. I liked that they tried to make it mostly submission based and it gave the impression that with one little adjustment, Savoy could have gotten the win.

Kay pointed at the camera and called out NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa — a rematch that should be a big one if they build it right. So far, so good.

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Aron Stevens cut a quick promo about the main event. It’s interesting to note that May Valentine is now doing these interviews. I wonder what her role will be now that Royce Isaacs has left the NWA.

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Ruby Raze defeated Cece Chanel

Chanel jumped into the air to grab Raze’s hand in a test of strength and locked on a wrist lock. Chanel hit a series of hard forearms and then a kick to Ruby’s head. Cece butterfly locked the arms, but was unable to lift Raze. Raze, however, had not been able to get any offense in until she hit a back elbow to Cece’s face.

Raze hit a shoulder tackle and then blocked another butterfly suplex attempt. Raze took the next few minutes using power moves to keep the smaller Chanel down. Chanel dodged a chop, hit a few strikes, and went for a butterfly suplex again, but Ruby countered and hit a Strong Zero for the win.

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Robert Bates defeated Jack Cartwright

Bates came out wearing a painted Storm Trooper helmet that screamed indie geek, complete with goofy facials when he took off his helmet in the match. Cartwright has gymnastics experience and was not afraid to show it. Bates spent the early portion of the match hitting a series of power holds. Cartwright managed to hit a power slam, but missed a shooting star press attempt. Bates then locked on a cobra clutch for the win.

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Trevor Murdoch defeated Aron Stevens to become the new NWA National Champion

Stevens charged right away and Murdoch dropped him with a huge right hand. Every time Stevens tried something, there would be a series of counters that ended with Murdoch dropping Stevens with a punch. Both men exchanged strikes in the corner, charged for clotheslines, and then Murdoch hit another big right hand.

Murdoch slammed Stevens’ head into the ring steps and dropped him again in the middle of the ring with a clothesline. Murdoch hit a second and a third, but Stevens kicked out at two. They spilled on to the entrance ramp and Murdoch threw Stevens off the ramp and toward the wall. Stevens grabbed a spotlight and shone the light in Murdoch’s face to blind him.

Stevens then began to get the heat by hitting a series of elbows in the corner. Stevens choked Murdoch with his black belt in Mongrovian Karate. I don’t know how the ref couldn’t see it as it was clearly hanging there around Murdoch’s neck. Stevens hit the ropes, but Murdoch hit a spinebuster and both men were down. Murdoch got up first and went to the top rope and hit a flying cross body for two.

Murdoch tried to float over in the corner, but Stevens took out his knee and began to attack it with submission attempts. Murdoch shoved Stevens through the ropes and onto the ramp before bringing him in the hard way and hitting a huge full nelson slam.

Murdoch went to the top rope for the bulldog again, but Stevens ducked down and Murdoch crashed to the mat. Stevens hit a rolling elbow, but Murdoch kicked out. Stevens went for a sunset flip, but Murdoch sat down and got the pinfall victory to win the title

I expect that this was where NWA Power was going before the pandemic hit, and it would have been nice to see this happen with a crowd as Murdoch’s story was actually quite nice. He cut a promo after the match about how he did this for his kids and had tears in his eyes. That was great. UWN and the NWA sent us home with a happy ending for the evening which I can’t help but feel great about.

The show ended with a series of highlights from all the matches and credits for all the staff that worked on it. That all felt very old school.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad episode, though not as good as last week.

NWA Power results: Nick Aldis vs. Trevor Murdoch

David Marquez opened the show with NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis and asked him about Kamille, but Aldis said “If she isn’t with me, assume that is her own decision and she’s off doing something she needs to do.”

Aldis directed attention back to the show, then talked about wrestling Trevor Murdoch in an exhibition match.

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NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis defeated Trevor Murdoch in a non-title match

Aldis and Murdoch exchanged some chain wrestling to open the match. Murdoch targeted Aldis’ shoulder. Aldis rolled through and kicked up, but Murdoch spun into a hammerlock.

Aldis went to the ropes to get away, so Murdoch kicked the ropes into Aldis’ crotch and started to work him over with several slams. It appeared that Murdoch was not happy that Aldis wasn’t putting the title on the line.

Murdoch hit a full nelson bomb and went to the top rope and nailed Aldis with a flying bulldog. Aldis managed to get his foot on the ropes. Murdoch went back to the top rope, but Aldis cut him off and went up there with him. Murdoch hit a headbutt to send Aldis to the mat.

Murdoch tried to come off the top and lost his balance, so Aldis grabbed him and locked on a Texas Cloverleaf and Murdoch tapped out.

Solid match here, even if the ending looked a bit weird. I am not sure if the finish was supposed to have Murdoch slip off the rope, but it played very well into it with Aldis being able to immediately take advantage of it and tap him out. Good stuff here from both guys.

Note: I watched the edited version of this show, after Jim Cornette’s offensive comment during this match was edited out.

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The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express came out and announced that they wanted a shot at NWA Tag Team Champions The Wild Cards.

The Wild Cards then came out, and Thomas Latimer said he was going to keep the titles from them. Latimer and Royce Isaacs weren’t taking them seriously and promised to defend the titles. Marquez asked about The Wild Cards’ relationship with Kamille and Latimer said they were only friends.

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NWA National Champion Colt Cabana was on commentary with Joe Galli and Cornette.

The Question Mark and Ricky Starks went to a no contest

The crowd went absolutely insane for The Question Mark. It was easily the biggest pop on this show. Question Mark hit a series of overhead chops, but Starks dodged a corner charge and hit a kick to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Question Mark chopped Starks, and the fans went nuts again.

Starks sent Question Mark to the floor and went for a suicide dive. As they brawled, Aron Stevens came out and attacked Starks.

Question Mark and Stevens double teamed Starks, and Question Mark hit two finger thrusts. Cabana ran from the desk to make the save. The crowd booed Stevens and cheered Question Mark, which made Stevens angry. He’s working a similar gimmick to Miz here, except Question Mark was playing Mizdow.

I have no idea how Question Mark is this over, but I love it.

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Eli Drake came out and immediately talked about how Ken Anderson wanted to come out and make noise. The crowd chanted “Question Mark!” and Drake called them a dummies in a playful way. Drake said that he might have to send Anderson back to Minnesota. Anderson entered and said that they should fight now.

Anderson went towards the ring, and Drake attacked him from behind, firmly making him a heel now.

Drake drove Anderson into the ring. He then grabbed an unused turnbuckle (without padding) from behind the announce table and smashed Anderson with it, knocking him out. Drake had to be dragged away. This was fantastic.

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Thunder Rosa & Marti Belle defeated NWA Women’s Champion Allysin Kay & Ashley Vox

Belle started the match with Vox, with Belle pulling Vox’s hair to get an advantage early on. Belle and Vox exchanged go behinds before Vox hit a drop toe hold on Belle and then a senton for a two count. Belle hit a hard kick to Vox and started to stomp on her before tagging out to Thunder Rosa.

Thunder Rosa chopped the crap out of Vox and started to work over her arm. Rosa was looking at Kay the whole time she was doing this while yelling at her. She had some really great intensity here and looks like a major star. Belle tagged back in and continued to get the heat on Vox for the next little bit.

Belle told the ref to shut up, but ate a dropkick from Vox for losing focus. Vox tagged out to Kay, and she began to brawl with Rosa. Kay went for the inverted piledriver, but Rosa fought out and hit a kick before going to the top rope. Kay cut her off, but both women started to exchange strikes. Kay managed to hit a middle rope superplex that left both down.

As both were down, Melina made her way down from the crowd and Thunder Rosa rolled up Kay and pinned her. Belle ran in and leveled Kay with a rolling elbow, then Rosa hit a double stomp from the top rope on Kay.

It seems that Melina is the one calling the shots in this group, as they left Kay down and out in the middle of the ring.

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Aron Stevens & The Question Mark defeated NWA National Champion Colt Cabana & Ricky Starks

Stevens ran away from Starks at the start of the match, screaming at the top of his lungs. He immediately tagged out to Question Mark. Starks hit a drop toe hold on Question Mark and then tagged out to Cabana, who chopped him. Cabana high-fived the referee, but ate chops from Question Mark.

Stevens tagged in and ran away from Starks again after Cabana tagged him in. Question Mark tagged back in and hit several chops to drop Starks. Question Mark choked Starks in the corner and then chopped his chest. Stevens tagged in and hit an overhead chop, but the crowd booed him and it didn’t look as good. Question Mark tagged back in and hit another, and the crowd exploded.

Stevens came in and mooned the crowd, but then ate a slingblade from Starks. Cabana tagged in and beat Stevens all around the ring. Starks tagged in and hit a flying flatliner on Stevens for a two count. The double teams continued, and they just beat Stevens all over the place.

Starks went for a DDT, but Stevens drove Starks back to the other corner and Question Mark tagged in.

Starks grabbed Question Mark’s mask and tried to take it off, but Stevens cut him off and hit the spike to the throat of Starks. Stevens then tagged in and pinned Starks. The crowd continued to cheer Question Mark and boo Stevens.

This was a very fun main event. Question Mark is wildly entertaining.

James Storm came out and cut a promo about how Aldis is refusing to defend the title and only doing exhibition matches. Kamille entered and whispered something in Storm’s ear. Storm smiled and said “Sorry about your damn luck” before heading backstage.

So, while this episode was fun and I think all the action was great, along with the storytelling, the story coming out of it is going to be Cornette’s comments. Needless to say, what he said was obviously very inappropriate, and one has to wonder how it ever made its way through editing.