Wednesday Wrestling Minutes - Your Weekly Source for NXT, Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor and Independent Wrestling News

NXT 6/17

Opens with the Dusty Rhodes tribute video that they showed on Raw. Means even more on NXT TV because of the contributions that Dusty made to the wrestlers down in NXT. And if that doesn’t bring a tear to your eye every time you see it, you’re heart is a few sizes too small.

Enzo, Cass and Carmella out first to take on Blake, Murphy and Alexa. Enzo does usual entrance promo but what I noticed is that the fans don’t seem to be nearly as hostile to Carmella as they used to be. She says Blake and Murphy are a couple of cheating pigs and that it’s pathetic they use a chick to handle their dirty work. And that Alexa is about to get dissed - disfigured and dismissed. As Cass starts spelling the one word to describe Blake and Murphy their music hits and interrupts him.

Big “You look stupid” chant directed at Blake to start the match. Enzo handling himself pretty well against Blake to start things off. When Murphy tries to get involved, Cass comes in and drives him to the corner and Carmella Thesz Press on Alexa. Drake struggling to restore order.

I like how it’s basically lucha rules when a girl tags in or out. Blake tagged Alexa in and suddenly Carmella was legal and once Alexa tagged out, all of a sudden Cass was legal.

Cass slams Blake and tags in Enzo, tosses him into a splash and they get the win over the tag champs.

Recap of the Owens/Cena match at MITB and how Owens disrespected Cena after the match, after he tried to shake hands, by powerbombing him on the apron.

Devin talks to Samoa Joe. Asks if fighting Owens was the reason Joe came to NXT. Prides himself on competing in places set to take over, places that are on the cutting edge - and that perfectly describes NXT. But Owens - he doesn’t like Owens. He likes to make Owens fear people and what he will do to them in the ring. But intimidation is a tactic of the weak and cowardly, of a man who doesn’t want to fight. And tonight he will make his own statement to the prizefighter, the NXT Champion, and beat him down unmercifully.

Hype video to take a closer look at #1 Contender Finn Balor - “Who is Finn Balor?”. Well not so much a hype video as it is a “getting to know Fergal Devitt.” Talks about his family and growing up and they even have quotes from Becky Lynch, since they knew each other from years back, in Ireland where Devitt trained her. How his dad worked his way up to become a train engineer from being a platform sweep which helped inspire him to be the person he’s become. Talks about how wrestling had a big influence on his childhood and always wanted to be a wrestler. Even includes footage from Insane Championship Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling UK, big rub for them.

Becky says “Without Fergal, there wouldn’t be a Becky Lynch.” Starts to get a little teary as she recalls a quote “Imagine how your life would be if you didn’t meet the one person who changed everything” and for her, it was Fergal. If he never opened a school in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, she wouldn’t be living her dream right now. Her brother was gonna go to England to a wrestling school because there weren’t any in Ireland but then they found out about the one Devitt was opening and went there. Becky was only 15 at the time but told Devitt she was 17 so she could train. Devitt says Becky always had it in her to be great and to see where she started to where she is now is amazing.

Talks about how the president of New Japan was visiting UK and saw him at ICW or maybe Rev Pro and invited him to train at the NJPW Dojo. Didn’t want to leave but he had to do it, to prove it to himself.

Next week is part 2

Charlotte out now to take on KC Cassidy (though they might just be calling her Cassie) Cassidy holding her own against the former Women’s Champ. But Charlotte his a big boot and starts dropping knees, showing her genetic superiority.

Charlotte locks in the Figure Four and bridges into the Figure 8 for the win.

After the match, Devin talks to Dana Brooke. She tells Devin to address her as Miss Brooke. Actually no - Miss Understood because at Takeover they called her a former fitness competitor when she’s a current fitness competitor who took part in the Arnold Classic in Brazil. Trash talks Charlotte about how some people earn their way into NXT while others use their family to get in. So don’t misunderstand her when she says she will shove Charlotte right out that same door and slam it shut.

Main event - Kevin Owens out first to take on Samoa Joe. Man, Joe’s music is just bad. It starts off so good then after a few seconds of build it just kills whatever heat and enthusiasm the intro built.

At the bell Owens jumps to the outside but Joe follows closely and gets right in his face. Back in the ring and they lock up and Joe drives Owens into the corner. Owens breaks it off and yells in Joe’s face about “You can’t do this to me, I’m the champ! The champ is here!” but Joe unleashes a flurry of punches and strikes.

Joe really taking it to Owens, even once Owens tries to turn the tide Joe overwhelming him.

After a break, Owens is inexplicably back in control, choking Joe on the ropes and hits a cannonball in the corner, followed by a standing senton.

Owens trying to wear down Joe on the mat, keeping him in a tight chinlock and yells out “Chinlock City”, which a fan in the crowd actually has a sign of and it starts a “Chinlock City” chant. Crowd trying to will Joe back into it and he finally gets to his feet and lands a few blows to create separation. Joe hits the ropes but Owens hits a big knee. Owens yells “This is my house!” but Joe hits a big boot followed by a senton of his owen.

Joe tries to set up for the muscle buster but Owens blocks it. Sends Joe into the opposite corner and runs in but Joe slams him with a uranage. Owens rolls out and Joe follows and Owens sends him into the post. Owens tries to set up for the apron bomb but can’t get him up and they start brawling. The ref breaks them up and Owens rushes back into Joe and hits the ref and he calls for the bell. They start brawling up the ramp and more refs come out to break them up. They keep fighting and Owens heads back to the ring as they try to take Joe to the back, but he gets away and runs to the ring, sweeps Owens legs and drops punches and security hits the ring to try and separate them. Even with 10-15 guys in there, they can’t keep them apart. They finally get Owens out of the ring and he drops two security guards on his way to the ramp and yells “The champ is here!” as the episode ends.

Lucha Underground, 6/17

Opens with a recap of Johnny Mundo and Alberto El Patron’s feud. Their run-ins, Mundo losing to Alberto in a match then screwing over Alberto during a match with Hernandez for #1 contender.

The entire episode tonight will be Prince Puma defending his Lucha Underground Championship against Johnny Mundo in an “All Night Long” match (iron man match). Konnan not at ring side for this match which is kind of surprising.

No time limit on the screen though there is a pin counter. Puma extends his hand for a handshake to start but Mundo pulls him in and seems to be the more aggressive of the two.

Starts with grappling and technical, chain wrestling. Crowd seems more quiet than usual, watching the back-and-forth intently. Get into the flippy shit quickly, trading ranas and sends Puma to the outside. Mundo flips over the ropes but lands on his feet as Puma slides back, hits the ropes and takes out Mundo with a corkscrew.

Come back from commercial still 0-0 and 33:45 left.  Puma gets the first pin with about 33 minutes left with a victory roll type move. 1-0

Puma in control after that first pin, keeping Mundo on the mat then hits a big standing moonsault. But Mundo starts to get back into it, working Puma’s arm but Puma turns the tables and drops Mundo with a cutter but can’t cover. Puma goes for a cross body but misses and Mundo sets up for End of the World. Puma pulls him down but Mundo turns it into a cover, using the ropes but the ref doesn’t see and we’re tied at 1-1 (about 30 minutes left in ep). Mundo quickly rolls out of the ring to get a brief rest. Puma pleading his case but to no avail. To commercial and when they come back 28:20 left on clock.

They fight to the outside and Mundo goes under the ring. Puma pulls him out but with him Mundo brings a chair, a box and I think a crowbar. They fight for position and Puma hits a Samoan Driver on Mundo through that box. I guess this is no DQ? Must be because Mundo hits Puma in the stomach with that crowbar then bends it around his head with a stiff shot and the ref is allowing it all. Puma dropped like a stone with that shot. Mundo rolls him in and gets a pin, 2-1.

Ref Marty Elias checks on Puma who wants to continue and Mundo hits Moonlight Drive on Puma to take a 3-1 lead. Mundo springboards off the ropes and kicks Puma in the face and hits End of the World to take a 4-1 lead and huge boos from the crowd. Mundo takes a break and drinks some water as Puma is still flat, face down on the mat. Mundo slams the bottle on Puma and gets jeers from the crowd. Puma pulls himself up in the corner and Mundo runs in but eats an elbow. Puma rolls forward and nails a DDT and both are down. Crowd willing Puma back to his feet as Mundo rolls to the apron. On the apron, Mundo hits a crazy neckbreaker which takes Puma down on his neck on the apron and lands hard on the outside as Mundo stands over him.

Back from commercial, 20 minutes flat left and Mundo pulls out a giant ladder. He readies it and takes aim at Puma. Puma pulls himself up and Mundo takes it like a battering ram smashing it in Puma’s face. Mundo now sets up the ladder to a balcony and pulls out a table. And now a second table. The ladder was set up against the bleachers, Mundo on the railing after he set Puma on the tables, but Puma pulls himself up and stops Mundo and the fight through the crowd.

Puma suplex Mundo on the hard in the stands. Puma gets a third table and sets it up on the two already there. Then a 4th! Puma tries to suplex Mundo from the crowd through the tables but he puts on the brakes. Mundo nails a super kick and Puma hits the mats and misses the tables. Mundo transitions the ladder from the stands to the band platform and gets on the mic. Trash talks Puma about the scoreboard (4-1) and the crowd boos him. He yells at the band to play him a song as he takes a water break. Puma pulling himself up the ladder and Mundo swings a 2x4 at him, but Puma blocks it, pulls it out of his hands and nails Mundo in the head, then slams a guitar over Mundo’s head! Then Puma spears Mundo off the platform and through all the tables!

Back from commercial and 11 minutes left. They’re still in the rubble of the tables and Mundo is busted open. Puma is so beaten down, he’s having trouble dragging Mundo’s dead weight to the ring as time is getting close to run down. Puma pins Mundo for 4-2. They start trading punches in the center of the ring and both nail a clothesline. Mundo misses a springboard kick but Puma lands a big kick. Puma gets another pin with the spinning inverted DDT, 4-3.

Puma sends Mundo to the ropes but Mundo pulls himself out and doesn’t seem to want to get back in. Puma tells him to get back in and follows him out but Mundo runs away and jumps in the crowd, trying to run out the clock. Puma into the crowd and Mundo back out and runs away again. Puma gets his hands on him but Mundo slides away again. Mundo at announce table and puts Vampiro between them. Mundo goes back in the ring and Puma knocks him down with a big head kick. He heads up top and misses a Phoenix Splash and Mundo rolls out of the ring.

Mundo runs up the stairs and Alberto El Patron blindsides him! Hammers him with punches and sends Mundo down the steps! He throws Mundo into a wall and into the announce table then lands a DDT with about 5 minutes left on the clock. He throws Mundo into the ring and walks away as Puma lands a 450 to tie up the score 4-4!

Alberto on the mic says if Mundo walks away with the title be ready, because he is going to kick Mundo’s ass. And even if Puma wins, be ready, because he’s coming for the LU Title. But then again, you already knew that.

3 minutes left and they are face to face in the ring. Mundo scoops Puma and rams him to the corner and hammers punches. They both go for pin combos but only 2 counts. Knee to Puma’s face and 2 count. Mundo hits the ropes and standing Spanish Fly but only 2! Mundo puts Puma on top. Not sure what he was going for but Mundo missed and Puma rolls to opposite corner. 40 secs left. Puma shotgun dropkick and goes up top for 630 senton and lands flush! Puma 5-4 with seconds left and Puma retains, 5-4!

No segment after, kinda surprising. Just awarding the belt to Puma and a “That was awesome” chant from the crowd and the show ends.

Ring of Honor

ROH DA 6/17

Decade vs War Machine

War Machine are pretty awesome. They have that "presence" that everyone attributes to Baron Corbin – except War Machine has it for real. After Page has Colby pull up his knee pads Whitmer tells Colby to take his spot in the match because his dad Steve doesn't get it yet but he will and he needs to see it again (as in get his ass kicked by someone way bigger). Page in first and immediately tags out to Colby who tells Rowe to tag in Hanson and Rowe, who Kelly says has known Colby since he was 10, tells him he's not ready and to talk about this with his dad and Colby slaps Rowe, who tags in Hanson.

Corino can't believe the way his son is acting and Colby attacks Hanson as he gets in but it's not very effective. Corino pleading with ref to stop it.  Rowe in and Colby not doing much to him. Rowe tells BJ to get in the ring and Colby keeps attacking so Rowe backbreaker, chestbreaker, powerbomb combo and throws Colby into The Decade corner and yells at Page to tag in. But Page turns his back on Colby and walks away yelling for him to fight. Colby turns around and War Machine hits him with Fallout (Rowe lifts into a backdrop and Hanson leg drop off the top). Whitmer in Corino face and Kelly tries to calm him down.

Next, Cedric Alexander says this time last year he was breakout star but he's not that guy anymore and he needs to prove to his family that his dream of being a pro wrestler aren't a waste. Says he needs to start winning and calls out Moose, who is undefeated.

Really solid match so far, Cedric taking it to Moose. Cedric 7 corner dropkick but Moose won't go down and Cedric rushes in and Moose spear and both are down. Veda tells Stokely Hathaway to distract the ref and she slides Moose a wrench. He says no, he doesn't want to cheat to win and Cedric takes it, hits Moose and wins! He walks off saying "Whatever I gotta do! I know I got what it takes!"

I was incredibly surprised to see Cedric end Moose’s streak right before Best in the World. And after the events of BITW, it seems like they are moving toward a Moose/Cedric feud.

Sydal and ACH vs Naito and Tanahashi. ACH dressed like dude from One Piece (some anime show) for some reason. Tana and Naito don't want to shake??

Next week, Roderick Strong vs Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles and Bucks takes on Okada and RPG Vice?! Daaaaamn.

Really good tag so far with N/T working heel and controlling ACH to set up a hot tag for Sydal. But like tweener heels. Really turn up the intensity and it turns into a crazy, awesome tag match. Tanahashi has ACH in a cloverleaf and Naito stop Sydal, but Sydal gets there to break it up. ACH slingshot downward spiral and Sydal SSP pin on Tanahashi but Naito breaks it up. ACH goes for 450 on Naito and Tanahashi but Tanahashi gets his knees up, Slingblade and Tanahashi pins ACH with High Fly Flow.

Nigel out there for the contract signing. Lethal and Truth out first. Jay with Mark out next. They both sign, no problem but then Lethal gets on mic and says the one reason why he doesn't flip table and put down Briscoe because he wants, no needs Briscoe at his best when he proves he's #1 in ROH. And after he wins, says Briscoe has no business in ROH anymore and by signing, made the biggest mistake of his life like his parents made 31 years ago.

Briscoe says he's gonna beat Lethal so bad he'll have to go back to being Black Machismo. Lethal flips table and they yell and hold their belts up. Lethal yells "I made this! That belt made you!" about how he made the TV Title important but the World title made Briscoe important.

ROH 6/24 TV preview

Roderick Strong vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Gedo vs Michael Elgin

Kazuchika Okada and RPG Vice vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles and the Young Bucks)

Okada, Nakamura and Kushida coming to ROH for shows in Philly and Brooklyn on Aug 21 and 22

Best In The West results

-Mark Briscoe def. Donovan Dijack

-The Decade (BJ Whitmer and Adam Page) def. ACH and Matt Sydal

-Dalton Castle def. Silas Young

(I missed the first two matches admittedly but Castle vs Young was a really solid match. It ended with Castle winning but Young attacked one of his boys afterward to create animosity going between them going forward)

-War Machine def. C&C Wrestle Factory

(OK match but more about furthering Alexander’s heel turn. But with levels since he didn’t seem to want to attack Caprice Coleman)

-Roderick Strong def. Michael Elgin and Moose to become #1 Contender

(This match was a lot better than I thought it gonna be, like way better. I thought Moose was gonna win but I definitely am not mad at Strong winning. This also ended with Moose refusing to cheat again and Veda turning on him and joining with Cedric so I gotta imagine they will be making Moose’s life difficult)

-Bullet Club def. The Kingdom

(This was a stellar match. It was the same pairing as the War of the Worlds show I was at in Philly just with the opposite outcome. The feud between the BC and the Kingdom, who have joined Chaos, is in full swing and it’s hard to say exactly how one group will get an advantage on the other)

-The Addiction retained tag titles against reDRagon

(As great as O’Reilly and Fish are as a team, The Addiction win with the help of Chris Sabin. Hopefully this means that O’Reilly and Fish move into singles competition now. I think O’Reilly is getting a World title shot coming up since he beat  Lethal in a tag match by submission in the past month or two)

-Jay Lethal became the new ROH World Champion def. Jay Briscoe

(This was just a stellar match. It was a little longer and built really well with Lethal getting the win over the unpinned in the last two years Jay Briscoe. I’m sure the Briscoes will try to get the belt off him going forward but hopefully they go back into tag team competition to help build some up-and-coming tag teams to challenge The Addiction. Or to finally start that War Machine feud they’ve been teasing for like, a year)

Matches for Death Before Dishonor XIII, 7/24 from Baltimore, MD on iPPV

Jay Lethal defends World title against Roderick Strong

Addiction defends tag titles against War Machine, reDRagon and the Kingdom

Cedric Alexander vs Moose

ACH vs Adam Page

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Threemendous IV

American Wolves, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards return

Akira Tozawa returns

Jack Evans makes his return as well and Lucha Underground star Angelico makes his PWG debut. And, according to MLW Podcast, Angelico/Evans will face Young Bucks at Threemendous IV. (Though one of the Bucks said on Twitter, in a tweet I can’t find now, that that match isn’t happening. Which could be misdirection but they are working so often in Japan I could see it being the truth.

BOLA participants so far

1. Will Ospreay

2. Marty Scurll

3. Timothy Thatcher

4. “Speedball” Mike Bailey

5. Chris Hero

6. Biff Busick

7. Mark Andrews

8. Brian Cage

9. Ricochet (2014 winner)

10. Tommy End

I’m still really hoping for Zack Sabre Jr to be announced as well as guys like Trevor Lee, Johnny Gargano and AJ Styles. Considering Monster Mafia is no more, Ethan Page could be included as well. And I just had this thought – how insane would it be if Nick Gage got booked in PWG or BOLA? Now that he’s back on the scene he’s been working everywhere lately and they could definitely bring him in in the insane brawler role that Necro Butcher used to fill.

Upcoming shows

AIW – Absolution X

Friday, July 10 at Ohio City Masonic Arts Center

http://aiwrestling.com/absox.html

AIW Absolution Title

Josh Alexander (c) vs. Ricky Shane Page

(This isn’t necessarily a spoiler but I wouldn’t be surprised if RSP wins since Alexander is retiring)

Cleveland Street Fight

Dudes on TV (EC3, Matt Cross, DJ Z, Ray Rowe and Samoa Joe) vs. Team AIW (Josh Prohibition, Johnny Gargano, The Young Bucks and Alex Daniels)

Intense Title Match

Davey Vega (c) vs. BJ Whitmer

Anything Goes

Tim Donst vs. Nick Gage

AIW Women’s Title Match

Veda Scott (c) vs. Athena

I Quit Match

Eddie Kingston vs. Ethan Page

AIW Tag Team Title Match

To Infinity and Beyond (Colin Delaney and Cheech) vs Hot Sauce Entertainment (Tracy Williams and Tyson Dux)

Six-Pack Scramble

Chris Sabin vs Tyler Thomas vs Candice LeRae vs Cedric Alexander vs Flip Kendrick vs Louis Lydon

The Iron Curtain vs Joshua Singh, Kaplan, Frankie Flynn and Brian Carson

And also Big Van Vader will be there!

Allegedly, Nick Gage is going to be running his own deathmatch tournament in September. I have no idea where or who will be in it but he’s been talking about it on Twitter later. I don’t know if it would have the backing of CZW or what but I’m definitely intrigued to say the least.

I’d want to ask him if this is for reals or not but I’m too scared of Gage taking offense to it actually question the things he says so I’ll just keep an eye on the situation from afar.

AAW Pro “United We Stand”

July 17, Merrionette Park, IL

Shane Hollister vs Matt Cage

OI4K defend the AAW Tag Titles against The Hooligans

Ethan Page defends the AAW Championship against Johnny Gargano

Evolve 45

July 10, Tampa, FL

Drew Gulak (c) and Roderick Strong vs Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley

Davey Richards vs Zack Sabre Jr.

Chris Hero vs Trevor Lee

Rich Swann vs Timothy Thatcher

Biff Busick vs Andrew Everett

Evolve 46

July 11, Tampa, FL

Evolve Championship

Drew Galloway (c) vs Trent Baretta

Chris Hero vs Timothy Thatcher

Davey Richards vs Biff Busick

TJ Perkins vs Zack Sabre Jr.

Anthony Nese vs Trevor Lee

Caleb Konley vs Andrew Everett

House of Hardcore 9

July 18

Ted Reeve Community Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Young Bucks vs Team 3D

Matt Taven and Mike Bennett with Maria vs Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian

Tommy Dreamer vs Chris Hero

Rhino issues an open challenge

Also scheduled to appear:

John Hennigan (aka John Morrison aka Johnny Mundo)

Tony Nese

Eddie Kingston

Thea Trinidad

Tommaso Ciampa

Team Tremendous

Traci Brooks makes her final pro wrestling appearance

Also, West End Wrestling is promoting another show coming up on their Twitter (https://twitter.com/westendwrestlng). For a small company with only one show ever promoted before, they announced some pretty awesome talent for their second show. Ricky Shane Page, Gran Akuma and Ethan Page have been announced for the Sept. 26 show at the West End Fire Company in Stowe, PA. And I’m just now realizing it’s been literally one year since their last show (first was 9/27, 2014).

Wednesday Wrestling Minutes - Your Weekly Source for NXT, Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor and Independent Wrestling News

NXT, 6/10

Opens with a hype video for Samoa Joe being on the show later in the night. Graves later says he’s making his in-ring debut tonight.

Zack Ryder coming out to the ring first. I wonder if Ryder is going to overhaul his gimmick or just try and tweak it to become relevant.

Ryder tags with the returning Mojo Rawley and these smarks must have a short memory because they’re chanting for Mojo when they were booing the hell out of him before he got hurt. They take on the team of Mike Rallis and Elias Sampson.

There’s a whole row of people in Mojo Rawley “Stay hype” shirts. Mojo starts first against Rallis who tags out and Mojo slams him around and does some ridiculous dancing into a sitout axe handle. Ryder tags in and the unknown NXT guys immediately get the better of him.

Those guys in the Rawley shirts have been standing the whole time, I bet the people behind them love them.

Rawley is the hot tag for Ryder and gets hype all over Rallis and Sampson. Rawley and Ryder get the win after Rawley lifts up Sampson and Ryder hits the Rough Ryder from the top. After the win, Ryder and Rawley head into the crowd and jump around with the Rawley section. And somehow, they take until the end of the segment to mention that Rob Gronkowski is there.

Finn Balor video package. About how everyone has two sides, some try to ignore or suppress their dark sides while he embraces it. It’s actually a hype video for the Tokyo event on July 4 and it ends with “Finn Balor arrives” which is weird because he’s been here awhile. Why don’t you spoil that he’s winning the title more. Also says it will be live on WWE Network.

Dana Brooke sitting around, reading her Twitter and allegedly read one that said “Dana Brooke is the rebirth of the NXT Women’s division.” Rebirth into what? A boring Divas division where they hire models instead of competent females from the indies? Video package for her about how awesome she is or something. Says she feeds off negativity and haters, like she’s Ryback or something. Keeps calling herself the Total Diva - already angling for a spot on the show.

Evil Emma out next. I love her change of character, how disdainful she is of the NXT crowd and her old persona. She takes on Blue Pants who gets a massive reaction.

Blue Pants dances around and gestures that she hearts Emma but Emma just stands in the corner, arms crossed and looking sour. But when Blue Pants turns around, Emma attacks her from behind. Emma is just handling Blue Pants, really showing an aggressive side that she never has before.

Emma starts trash talking crowd and BP gets two quick covers but Emma puts a stop to it with a big clothesline. BP hits a few big head kicks and an elbow drop type slam and another 2 counts but Emma makes her tap to the Emma Lock.

Devin talks to Enzo, Cass and Carmella. She tells them next week they face Blake, Murphy and Alexa Bliss in a 6-man tag match. Carmella calls them pathetic pigs and cheats. Enzo says Alexa looks like her hair is on fire and a bunch of stuff about Hunger Games or something that I missed cause he talks so fast but Cass says they’re cowards, liars and cheaters and they look ridiculous. And this place would a whole lot better if they weren’t around anymore and they’re taking care of that next week. Enzo says to call them an Uber and he has plenty of time but no time for this.

Tyler Breeze out next, he takes on Bull Dempsey. Bull overwhelming Breeze early. Goes up top for the headbutt but Breeze rolls out. Bull comes after him but Breeze runs away. Bull gives chase but gets winded halfway around the ring and the crowd chants “Car-di-o” at him. I just had an awful premonition of Vince seeing this and giving Bull a gimmick where he’s just a fat dude who gets tired minutes into every match and does embarrassing things but somehow still manages to win by falling on people and pinning them because they can’t kick out because he’s so fat.

Breeze laps him and throws Bull back in the ring and hits the Beauty Shot for the win.

Becky Lynch out now. Good to see she’s still rocking that new look she debuted at Takeover. She takes on Jessie (aka Jessie McKay). Just Jessie, huh? That’s terrible. That’s the best they could do?

Jessie doing pretty well in this match, keeping the advantage over Becky with holds and using her height to her advantage. But Becky hits a hammerlock overhead suplex and then a Mike Quackenbush Black Tornado Slam and transitions into the seated armbar for the win. Byron calls it the “Disgoosting Armbar”, a play off the way Becky pronounces disgusting and I hope to god that’s not what they call it going forward.

William Regal announces that Kevin Owens will be on commentary when Samoa Joe makes his debut. And Bull Dempsey walks in eating a bag of chips, saying “You wanted to see me Mr. Regal?” Regal says he thinks Bull may have a problem. Bull says he can explain, he knows he got a little tired and he was doing really well until that part at the end where he lost but it was because he was up all night training so he was really, really tired and it won’t happen again.

Bull can barely keep from corpsing as Regal takes the chips from him and says “Listen flower, you need to get your act together.”  Regal walks off and Bull shrugs then pulls out an already opened candy bar from his singlet.

Greg “Jeremy Borash” Hamilton talks to Jason Jordan about his match last week. He says last week didn’t work out but he has a new tag team partner now. Then Chad Gable walks in and Jordan is annoyed to see him and says “No Chad Cable, it is not you.” Gable says that he doesn’t want to say I told you so but...I told you. So, when Jordan is ready he’ll be there for him, ready, willing, and Gable. He holds up another towel with his name on it and gives it to Jordan who throws it away and walks away. After he does, Gable writes his name next to Jordan’s on Jordan’s locker.

Baron Corbin out next, he takes on Angelo Dawkins. Crowd doing the counting gimmick but it quickly morphs into “Cor-bin sucks”. Dawkins gets in a little offense but it’s mostly Corbin who wins with the End of Days.

Kevin Owens on commentary for the last segment, Samoa Joe’s in-ring debut. Opens with a shot of the announce table where Owens is already and he has his arm around Byron who looks very uncomfortable. Owens says “Lighten up a little. You’re out here with the champ, nothing’s gonna happen to you.” I feel like he might’ve also called him Barry instead of Byron.

Samoa Joe takes on Scott Dawson. Joe’s music is weird. The intro is great and really ominous but then it switches to this weird, bass line with a drum beat and random horn stabs behind it and it’s not very threatening at all.

Crowd starts with “Joe is gonna kill you” and “Please don’t die” chants at the bell. Dawson holding his own well to start the match but Joe doesn’t have a problem handling his offense. Dawson does well but can’t overcome Joe’s striking and power and Joe wins with a Muscle Buster.

Owens says “Good little first match for Joe. Not as impressive as me.”

Owens leaves the announce table and looks over his shoulder at Joe. But Joe gets on the mic and calls out Owens. He says last time Owens said that if they were in the same ring Owens would drop him but instead he did what he is doing now and ran away. Owens gets on the mic and says first of all, I don’t really run anywhere. Owens doesn’t want to drop Joe after his first match in NXT. And because Joe is a bit of a rookie in NXT, and Owens being a veteran, he tells him you can’t just walk in here and get an NXT Title match after one match. You have to earn those things. And Joe simply hasn’t done that.

But then Regal comes out. He says Joe hasn’t earned the right to a title shot, but he has earned the right to fight. So next week, Owens will face Samoa Joe.

Allegedly, Drew Gulak was the standout of the recent WWE PC tryouts, with Biff Busick in a close second. No word on Chuckie T other than “he did well” but what makes me call bullshit on this news is that Johnny Gargano apparently did terrible in the conditioning portions of the tryout and Gargano seems like he’d be a cardio machine

NXT will beat the “Louder Than Life” Festival on October 3-4 in Louisville, KY, as well as recently announcing that NXT will be at the Aftershock Festival on October 24-25 in Sacramento, CA.

Putting NXT on festival shows like this is a great idea, in my opinion. They seem to be metal/hard rock shows so the crowd should hopefully be receptive to pro wrestling and performing at a festival will get more new eyes on the product than they would get from just touring.

Lucha Underground, 6/10

Recapping the Chavo vs Mexico and Chavo turning on Black Lotus almost immediately. Also talking about Drago’s “unique opportunity” against Prince Puma.

Opening shot of the show is Drago on top of the temple at dusk, in front of the LU sign, and now he’s sporting wings. He jumps off the roof (not really taking flight) and the opening credits start.

Vampiro apologizes as the show starts for letting his emotions get him involved in Pentagon/Sexy Star last week. He’s a broadcaster and that’s where he’s going to be. Still, Striker commends him for doing the right thing and they shake hands.

Dario Cueto is in the ring and announces that in 8 weeks there will be an event so big, no one will ever forget it – Ultima Lucha. Says it will be a yearly event featuring the biggest matches. And it begins tonight where they determine the competitors to fight for the LU Title. Cueto says he’s invited all the competitors who’ve competed with Prince Puma for the title – Hernandez, King Cuerno, Cage, and Fenix. But since Mil Muertes sent him to an early grave, it will just be a three way dance to determine who gets a shot at Ultima Lucha.

He invites Blue Demon Jr. back to the ring, a man who was in the first ever LU match. Cueto says he wants Blue Demon to be part of Ultima Lucha but wants to make sure he doesn’t have any ring rust. So tonight he’s organized a match with another man making his LU return – Chavo Guerrero, who has The Crew with him and seems to be their leader now. Looks like they are his “round the clock protection.”

Chavo is in his gear and Blue Demon is in a suit but Cueto says this match is happening right now and this time – anything goes!

Blue Demon trying to hold his own but soon Cortez Castro and Mr. Cisco get involved and hold him back while Chavo rips his shirt open and gives him a stiff chop. Demon tries to fight back but Chavo hammers him with a kendo stick and chokes him with it, and the Crew stomping him. Cisco and Castro hold Demon down so Chavo can hit the frog splash and gets the pin.

This is followed by a short shot of Drago re-entering the temple.

Chavo with Black Lotus and tells her sorry, business is business. She calls him a liar but he corrects her saying “I’m a Guerrero.” She says he betrayed El Dragon Azteca and he will make sure Mexico finds him. But he says after what he did to Demon, Mexico won’t have the balls to come after him again. As he leaves he says hope you enjoy your view (of Matanza).

Cueto in the bowels of the building and Drago appears behind him. Drago grips him up and says the title opportunity also includes him and Cueto agrees, except that he’s been banished. Drago demands into the match and Cueto relents but says if Drago loses, not only will he still be banished, but he must leave his mask behind.

Catrina leads the Disciples of Death to the ring for a trios match. They face Bengala, Mascarita Sagrada and Pimpinela Escarlata, who are making their returns to the temple!

Pimpy getting the better of one of the DOD skeletons for the early part of the match, doing his usual antics. He even kisses some dude in the front row before the match, then runs out of the ring later on and kisses him again.

Bengala tags in and Vampiro and Striker make cat puns. Bengala is extremely agile, hitting lots of springboard moves and back handsprings into the ropes. He tags in Sagrada who gets overwhelmed almost immediately. The other two DOD attack Pimpy and Bengala from behind in their corner and they all 3 attack Sagrada.

The tide seems to be turning and the DOD are dominating. Working well together to pull of trio maneuvers, though they don’t seem to be completely on the same page with their opponents so the match feels a little off overall. But the DOD looks good as a trio.

Catrina gives Pimpy the lick of death and they pull off a crazy trio finisher for the win.

Johnny Mundo walks into Cueto’s office. He wants to know why he’s not in #1 contender match and if anyone should have a shot at Ultima Lucha, it’s him. But Cueto says he expects him to be champ at Ultima Lucha. He says all their problems are in the past and when he saw what Mundo did to Alberto (throwing him through his window), he saw the new Johnny Mundo. Cueto wants the new Johnny unleashed on Prince Puma and next week, the whole show will be Mundo vs Puma in an iron man match for the title. Mundo says you know what, you might be the best boss I’ve ever had and they shake. (Found it funny Cueto said next week they’re going all night long, which is Ricochet’s theme song in PWG with Rich Swann which the crowd usually chants nonstop)

The main event fourway now. Cage out first. Cuerno next. Next Hernandez. Finally, making his return to the temple – Drago! Drago looks a little different, not just cause of the wings but has paint around his mouth and a darker color scheme.

Cage and Hernandez battling outside while Drago and Cuerno lots of high flying stuff in the ring. They’re all very familiar with each other, especially Cuerno and Drago.

Drago trying to work against Cuerno and Cage but they work together well. They’re teaming breaks down eventually though and they turn on each other. Hernandez back in and shows off his power with a huge shoulder block.

While Hernandez and Drago are in the ring, Killshot appears on a balcony and is just watching the proceedings. Could he be looking for revenge on Cage for what he did to Mack?

Cage showing off his high flying ability in this match including an asai moonsault from the turnbuckle to the floor on Drago and Hernandez and neither really catch him. But he’s all muscle so it looks like it barely phased him. Cuerno sets up for the Arrow from Hell but aims the gesture at Killshot.

Drago spits a mist at King Cuerno and pins him with the Dragon’s Lair pin combo for the win! A big welcome back chant breaks out and Prince Puma comes out and raises the belt in Drago’s face.

Cueto is watching from his office but Catrina sneaks up on him. She says he made a mistake no putting Mil Muertes in that match. Cueto says he never faced Puma for the title. She says that is exactly why Puma is still champion. She grabs the key necklace around his neck and starts choking him, saying Mil destroys everything in his way, so why are you in his way? Cueto struggles and says in two weeks, Mil vs Drago and the winner goes on to face Puma at Ultima Lucha. She says wise choice because even the monster he hides in the cell is no match for Mil Muertes.

Ring of Honor

6/17 TV Preview

Contract signing for Champion vs Champion main event between Jay Briscoe and Jay Lethal

Tanahashi and Naito vs ACH and Sydal

War Machine vs The Decade

Cedric Alexander vs Moose

Best in the World is Friday June 19 from Terminal 5 in NYC on PPV and iPPV

ROH Championship vs ROH TV Championship

Jay Briscoe vs Jay Lethal

One man will walk away with both belts

ROH Tag Team Title No DQ match

The Addiction (c) vs. reDRagon

ROH World Title #1 contender

Roderick Strong vs Moose vs Michael Elgin

The Kingdom (Adam Cole, Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles and the Young Bucks)

Mark Briscoe vs Donovan Dijack

Dalton Castle vs Silas Young

C&C Wrestle Factory (Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman) vs War Machine (Raymond Rowe and Hanson)

The Decade (Adam Page and BJ Whitmer) vs ACH and Matt Sydal

New Japan Pro Wrestling

NJPW on AXS, the 2014 G1 Climax 24 kicks off on June 26 with Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura. With the G1 Climax 25 beginning soon, catching up with last year’s tournament on AXS will be a great way to get ready for this year’s action.

The G1 is an annual heavyweight tournament for New Japan where competitors (20 this year) are split into two blocks. Each block competes against each other round robin style with winners getting 2 points, losers get 0. The winner of each block face off at the conclusion of the tournament and the winner of that bout gets a IWGP Heavyweight title shot at the annual January 4 Tokyo Dome show, WrestleKingdom.

Below is the full listing for what will be on AXS each week coming up, so skip to the next section if you want to be surprised.

June 26 Episode 118 – Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center

Full match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Highlights: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma, A.J. Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada

July 3 Episode 119 – Akita Prefectural Gymnasium

Full Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Highlights: Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Naito vs. A.J. Styles, Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson

July 10 Episode 120 – Sendai Sunplaza Hall

Full Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada

Highlights: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

July 17 Episode 121 – Korakuen Hall

Full Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Highlights: Minoru Suzuki vs. A.J. Styles, Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto

July 24 Episode 122 – Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

Full Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Highlights: Tomoaki Honma vs.  Katsuyori Shibata, Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi

July 31 Episode 123 – Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium

Full Matches: Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki

Highlights: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale, A.J. Styles vs. Tougi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.

August 7 Episode 124 – Seibu Prince Dome Part 1 – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT

Full third place match plus highlights from special single matches.

August 7 Episode 125 – Seibu Prince Dome Part 2 – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Full tournament final.

The Young Bucks did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit and both Nick and Matt answer questions. Nothing too serious or groundbreaking but it’s a fun read if you’re a fan of the Bucks. And it was one of the more highly attended AMAs on r/SquaredCircle that I can remember, which just shows how popular the Bucks are.

Combat Zone Wrestling

Tournament of Death 14 results

June 13, 2015

Townsend, DE

Great set of photos from Tim Jacob on Facebook. I also took some photos which I posted on my Twitter account, @JoeArchy. I didn’t want to post any directly here on this site since blood and violence isn’t everyone’s thing.

Quarterfinals

Barbed Wire Boards Match

Jake Crist def. Ron Mathis

Pits and Strips Match

Matt Tremont def. Josh Crane

Light Tube Bundles Match

Danny Havoc advances def. Rickey Shane Page

Fans Bring The Weapons Match

“Wrench” Conor Claxton def. DJ Hyde and Nick Gage

Non-Tournament

LOL (Ladders, Orange Sacks and Legos) Match

Lucky 13 def. Eric Ryan

Semifinals

Matt Tremont def. Danny Havoc to go to the finals

Conor Claxton def. Jake Crist to go to the finals

Non-Tournament

Scaffold Match

Dave Crist def. Devon Moore

Finals

No Rope, Barbed Wire, Barbed Wire Frames and Panes of Glass

Matt Tremont def. Conor Claxton

I took the trip down to Townsend for TOD14 with a good friend of mine for my first TOD since…geez, TOD 6 or 7? It was ridiculously hot but the turnout was huge.

The earlier round matches were definitely a lot better than the semis or finals, but I guess that’s to be expected since guys aren’t exactly going to perform better after having been through one or two deathmatches. It’s probably better on DVD since you’d get to see every spot, some of which were blocked for me being that they took place in the crowd or outside the ring. (A funny note about the ring – they forgot to bring the canvas and someone had to go pick it up and bring it to the show which is why it shows up half way through the show)

After his deathmatch series to join the Nation of Intoxication, it wasn’t too surprising to see Claxton go all the way to the finals but putting over Tremont as the champ was the right call. The finals were kinda “meh” to me. They took forever setting up these frames – half wrapped with barbed wire and half with a pane of glass in it – but the barbed wire on either frame was never touched. And you’d think the finals of a deathmatch tournament would be the craziest, bloodiest match but it was basically just another match – nothing really felt special about it. (Another note about Tremont – he made the right call using different theme music for each entrance to keep it interesting. While the OI4K guys used the same, awful, awful, awful music [did I mention it’s awful?] for each entrance which means we heard it like, 4 times in one afternoon)

But the highlight of the day, for me, was Tim Donst complimenting my “Da Bryce is Right” shirt (this was after two separate people asked me “Did you get that shirt at the Price is Right?”)

Also at TOD, they announced CZWStudios.com, an OnDemand service to stream CZW shows for $9.99 a month. Looks like it’s got full shows on there going back to 2011 (though not the complete catalogue from that time yet) as well as some WSU shows.

Alpha 1 Wrestling

Josh Alexander (who often partners with Ethan Page as Monster Mafia) is retiring after the Alpha-1 show “Seppuku” on July 12 where Monster Mafia faces the Gym Rats (Alessandro Del Bruno and Scotty O’Shea). Apparently he’s been suffering from neck issues for over a year and in order to ensure that he will be there for his family in the future, he’s making the difficult choice to walk away.

He also did a write up here, where he goes into detail about his physical condition over the past year and the circumstances surrounding his retirement. It’s really, really unfortunate news since I feel like Monster Mafia (Alexander, especially) were on the verge of breaking out in the world of indy wrestling.

http://walkingweapon.blogspot.ca/2015/06/walking-weapon-walks-away.html?m=1

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Tons of insane news about upcoming PWG shows. Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll are making debuts at BOLA and The American Wolves, Angelico and Jack Evans and motherfucking AKIRA TOZAWA will be at Threemendous IV. Check their Twitter

Threemendous IV - July 24

Jack Evans makes his PWG return

Angelico makes his PWG debut

The American Wolves, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards, return to PWG

Akira Tozawa returns to PWG

Battle of Los Angeles 2015 - August 28-30

1. Will Ospreay

2. Marty Scurll

3. Timothy Thatcher

Also, PWG DDT4 from May 22 is shipping this week. There’s a preview vid on the PWG Twitter (@OfficialPWG) but I don’t want to link it or watch it because I don’t want any ruined/spoiled. There was also a note on the DDT4 item page that, due to a camera malfunction, match 1, 2, 5, and 6 use only the hard camera angle.

Beyond Wrestling

Life Sucks and Then You Die - June 28

Kimber Lee and Shynron vs Heidi Lovelace and Chris Dickinson (Grudge match)

Paul London vs AR Fox (Please don’t die match)

World’s Cutest Tag Team vs Team Tremendous (First time at Fete)

Biff Busick vs Donovan Dijack (Fight for honor)

Death by Elbow (JT Dunn and Chris Hero) vs The Best Tag Team In The World (Says open challenge match so I’m not sure who this “Best Tag Team” might be)

Da Hit Squad (Mafia and Monsta Mack) vs The Hooligans (Devin Cutter and Mason Cutter) (Reinforce the ring)

Colt Cabana vs Johnny Cockstrong (Scientific exhibition)

Just announced:

Stockade vs Nick Gage (Stockade wants Matt Tremont in what he says will be “the most violent match in Rhode Island history,” but first he’ll have to get through Gage)

Chikara

“Sword of Destiny,” June 13 from Chicago, IL

-Missile Assault Ant def. Arik Cannon

-N_R_G (Hype Rockwell and Race Jaxon) def. The United Nations (Juan Francisco de Coronado and Prakash Sabar)

Challenge of the Immortals 6 Man Tag

-Battle Hive (Amasis, Ashley Remington and Worker Ant) def. The Arcane Horde (Kodama, Obariyon and UltraMantis Black)

-Kevin Condron and Lucas Calhoun def. Dasher’s Dugout (Icarus and Heidi Lovelace) (w/Mark Angelosetti)

-Silver Ant defeated Blaster McMassive.

Challenge of the Immortals Tag Team Match

-The Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare and Hallowicked) (w/Blind Rage) def. Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Jakob Hammermeier and Soldier Ant)

-Eddie Kingston def. Jaka

Challenge of the Immortals Tag Team Match

The Wrecking Crew (Flex Rumblecrunch and Max Smashmaster) def. The Snake Pit (Ophidian and Argus)

-Dasher Hatfield defeated Tommaso Ciampa.

Challenge of the Immortals 6 Man Tag Team Match

-Crown And Court (Jervis Cottonbelly, El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr) def. The United Nations (Prakash Sabar, The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova and Juan Francisco de Coronado)

Global Force Wrestling

Results, June 12

-Tate Twins def. Best Friends

-Sonjay Dutt def. Jamin Olivencia

-Thea Trinidad def. Lei’D Tapa

-Moose def. Kevin Matthews

-Chris “Adonis” Mordetzky (Chris Masters) def. “5 Starr” Dustin Starr

-Jim Cornette came out to thank the fans and they gave Dusty Rhodes a 10 bell salute. He introduced Jeff Jarrett, who also thanked the fans

-Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) def. The New Heavenly Bodies

Results, June 13

-Tate Twins def. Best Friends

-Sonjay Dutt and Chase Owens def. Jason Kincaid and Jamin Olivencia

-Thea Trinidad def. Lei’D Tapa

-Moose def. Kongo Kong

-Chris “Adonis” Mordetzky def. Devin Driscoll

-Same as before, Cornette and Jarrett thanked the fans and did a 10 bell salute for Dusty

-Bullet Club def. New Heavenly Bodies

Northeast Wrestling hosting several more “Wrestling Under the Stars” events this year.

7/18 in Niles, Ohio at Eastwood Field. Kevin Nash, Jerry Lawler, Mickie James, Matt Hardy and Matt Taven announced.

8/1 in Fishkill, NY at Duchess Stadium. Rey Mysterio, Alberto El Patron, Samoa Joe, Matt Hardy, Young Bucks, Velvet Sky and Mickie James announced.

8/2 Lowell, MA at LeLacheur Park. Rey Mysterio, Alberto El Patron, Mick Foley, Samoa Joe, Mickie James announced.