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

NXT, 8/12

Rich Brennan talks to William Regal as NXT opens. Brennan talks about how Kevin Owens talks about how he can’t trust Regal and if the ladder match is happening.

Regal says his decision won’t be altered because of the way he feels about Owens. He says he talked to champion Finn Balor about it and that Balor will take the match under any stipulation. Regal says it’s the biggest match in NXT history in front of the biggest crowd and then wishes good luck to both competitors.

Looks like Solomon Crowe is in the opening match of NXT this week. We haven’t seen him in a while and they’ve done literally no further character development for him. Don’t know his motives or his goals so he’s just some guy right now.

He takes on Tye Dillinger who is finally debuting the “Perfect 10” gimmick on TV. His music is pretty good too.

They lock up and trade holds but Dillinger gets in Crowe’s face, saying he’s the perfect 10. Crowe boots him in the chest then gives him a few chops.

Dillinger beats down Crowe and pulls his kneepad down like he’s setting up for something but then Crowe starts to mount a comeback. Dillinger throws Crowe outside and when he gets back in the ring, Dillinger pulls Crowe’s face down across his knee and gets the win.

Mojo Rawley finds Zack Ryder and asks where he’s been, he’s been hitting him up forever! And Ryder says he knows, it was 3 am and he was sleeping. Rawley is already in his gear and Ryder asks why and Rawley says it’s because he stays…ready, not hype this time. Rawley says Ryder should’ve been at the club last night because he had 10 chicks all over him! No wait dude, it was 12!

We get it. Mojo is hype and a ladies man. He’s totally cool and we all like him. Are you happy now, WWE?

Baron Corbin out now. He takes on Axle Tischer.

A few weeks ago, Tischer held his own against Samoa Joe for a while so we’ll see how he fares against Corbin, who has been running through opponents for weeks.

Sounds like the crowd turned on Corbin pretty rapidly. The last few weeks, they seemed indifferent. This week they start the “Boring” chant right away at Corbin.

Corbin backs Tischer into the corner and delivers a few punches then End of Days for the win.

After the match he grabs the mic?! He says “This is what happens. Every time I come to the ring, I dominate. I am the real deal. And if you step in the ring with me – the same tired story, nobody gets up from the End of Days.”

Corbin goes to pick up Tischer but Steve Cutler attacks him from behind. Corbin pushes him in the ropes and End of Days puts him down. Then says “Like I said, nobody gets up from the End of Days. I don’t care who you are.

Then Samoa Joe’s music hits and he comes out in his gear, looking for a fight, staring down Corbin. Joe says he’s impressed. He was in the back and heard Corbin moaning that he wants a challenge. Joe says this is an impressive path of destruction that Corbin has laid, he won’t be doing that (End of Days) to Joe. Corbin says he can do this to anyone – and that includes Joe. Corbin says it’s obvious wants to fight, but he just fought two guys. And they can do this – just not right now.

Corbin shoves past Joe as he walks to the ramp. Joe grabs his arm but Corbin throws a few punches that knock Joe down. They are really making Joe look like a chump. But then Joe locks in the rear naked choke and Corbin seems to be out cold, to a big “Thank you Joe” chant from the crowd.

A short video of Bull Dempsey working out like crazy in the gym and it’s ended with the words “Iron sharpens iron.” Iron Bull Dempsey?

Tyler Breeze says he asks for something monumental for NXT Brooklyn and Regal didn’t disappoint. And it’s fitting because the last time Breeze asked, Regal brought in Hideo Itami and Breeze disposed of him like garbage. So domo arigato Mr. Liger for helping Breeze become the face of the rising sun.

Marcus Louis walks down to the ring, looking crazy as ever. He takes on NXT Champion Finn Balor.

They lock up and Balor immediately gets the advantage but he can’t keep Louis down. Louis eventually gets control and whips Balor into the corner but he gets his boots up to stun Louis. Balor sends him to the opposite corner then hits a Sling Blade.

Balor hits the shotgun dropkick followed by the Coup de Grace for the win.

After Balor celebrates and walks up the ramp, Kevin Owens attacks him from behind. Owens sets up to powerbomb Balor on the apron, but Balor hangs on and delivers a penalty kick to Owens’ face. A Balor dropkick then drives Owens through the barricade outside.

Balor rolls him back in the ring and sets up for a shotgun dropkick but Owens reverses it and slams Balor with a pop up powerbomb.

Owens leaves the ring and picks up the NXT Title and carries it into the ring with him. He holds the belt and mocks Balor’s entrance pose over him and drops the title on Balor, stepping on him as he walks out of the ring.

Greg Hamilton talks to The Vaudevillains. He asks if they have a plan to walk out Brooklyn as champions.

Aiden English says they have a plan to counter Alexa Bliss. Then Simon Gotch says with Bliss contained, he and Aiden will be free to take on Blake and Murphy but before he can finish, Alexa Bliss walks in.

She says “You guys have something to take care of little ol’ me?” Then slaps them both and says good luck.

Another Apollo Crews video package. Says when he got into wrestling, he told himself he wasn’t going to stop until he got to WWE. He’s worked really hard to get to this point but that the hard work is just beginning.

Sasha Banks is in the NXT zone to do commentary for the main event between Becky Lynch and Bayley.

Becky starts trying to work Bayley’s arm early, but Bayley reserves it into an arm wringer of her own. Bayley pulling out some interesting moves to try and put Becky on the mat but Becky uses arm drags to take Bayley over and keep her on the mat.

Becky really starts to work Bayley’s arm and keeps Bayley on the mat. Bayley starts trying to mount a comeback but Becky quickly stops her momentum and puts her back down on the mat and locks up her arm.

Bayley gets out of a pumphandle suplex and then gets a series of near falls from cradles and backslides. But Becky eventually works to hit that pumphandle suplex and then she hits series of running leg drops but misses the last one.

Bayley hits a lariat on a seated Becky and then two back elbows in the corner. Bayley hits another flying back elbow off the second rope but only gets a 2 count.

Becky goes up top and Bayley cuts her off and follows her up. But Becky starts landing some body shots to stun Bayley. Bayley hits a powerslam out of the corner but only gets a 2 count. Becky locks in the Disarmer but they’re too close to the ropes and Bayley gets a rope break. Bayley tries to go for a Belly to Bayley but Becky blocks it, trying to take her to the mat for the Disarmer. Bayley spins out of it and rolls up Becky for the pin to become the new Women’s title #1 contender.

After the match, Sasha stands on the announce table holding up the Women’s title and she and Bayley trade words.

Justin LaBar reported that Triple H allegedly stated that they are looking to do an NXT show in England in the future. No other news or concrete info, though. Still, it’s pretty exciting for fans in England and for the NXT brand that they think they will be able to draw a big crowd internationally just with the NXT brand.

No Lucha Underground!

Though the first season of Lucha Underground is over, a movement has begun on social media by fans and wrestlers to get the show on Netflix. Many fans as well as Lucha talents like Son of Havoc and Ivelisse have been tweeting #NetflixNeedsLucha to try and get the series on the popular streaming service.

Ring of Honor

ROH DA 8 /12
ACH vs Watanabe up first. Watanabe trying to keep ACH on the mat and negate his acrobatic offense. ACH hits a big tope con Hilo but show boats too much and Watanabe hits big suplexes. But ACH wins with a 450 in a really good opener.

War Machine against Dijack and Diesel. Lethal on commentary. House of Truth doesn't shake hands, WM gets early lead but Truth comes back. In the end, War Machine looks dominant in the win. Lethal and Hanson have words since, in 3 weeks, Hanson has a TV title shot.

Adam Page vs some jobber named Tim Hughes. They mention Page's win over ACH at DBD. Page gets a quick win with I forgot his finisher already. Whitmer talks up Page and goads Page into calling out Jay Briscoe (even though he knows Briscoe isn't there). After that, Whitmer gets into Corino's face and says he shouldn't be allowed there because he puts his hands on Whitmer last week. Nigel comes out to mediate.

The Kingdom vs reDRagon main event. Adam Cole on commentary. O'Reilly gets the better of Taven first then Fish takes control of Bennett. Kingdom spike piledriver to O'Reilly on the outside and Cole is very upset. Kingdom hits another Hail Mary spike piledriver on Fish for the win. Set up to do it again to Fish but Cole stops them.

On 8/19 ROH TV:

Young Bucks vs RPG Vice

Silas Young vs Dalton Castle

Moose vs Will Ferrara

Aftershock TV tapings

Philadelphia, 8/21

ROH World title rematch

Jay Lethal (c) vs Roderick Strong

Adam Cole vs Shinsuke Nakamura

IWGP Junior Heavyweight champ Kushida vs Matt Sydal

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and RPG Vice vs The Briscoes and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto

Dalton Castle vs Cedric Alexander

Michael Elgin vs Silas Young

Adam Page vs Will Ferrara vs Watanabe vs Moose in a 4 corner survival match

ACH vs Caprice Coleman

reDRagon vs House of Truth (Dijack and Diesel)

The Kingdom vs War Machine

Field of Honor

Aftershock tour

Brooklyn MCU Park, 8/22

The Briscoes vs The Time Splitters

ROH World Champion Jay Lethal and Shinsuke Nakamura vs reDRagon

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Roderick Strong

GHC Heavyweight tag team champions Killer Elite Squad vs War Machine

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto vs Michael Elgin

Adam Cole vs Christopher Daniels

The Young Bucks, Matt Sydal and ACH vs The Kingdom and RPG Vice

Gauntlet match for TV Title shot on 9/19

ROH World tag team champ Frankie Kazarian

Moose

Donovan Dijack

Cedric Alexander

Adam Page

Dalton Castle

Silas Young

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Hiroshi Tanahashi is the G1 Climax 25 winner, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura in the finals, after defeating AJ Styles on the final day of competition to win Block A. Nakamura made IWGP Heavyweight Champ Kazuchika Okada tap out to an arm bar to win Block B on the final day of competition.

This is Tanahashi’s 2^nd G1 Climax win, his first coming all the way back in 2007. He’ll now get an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleKingdom 10 on January 4^th.

Even though I think everyone wanted Nakamura to win, having Tanahashi win making a certain amount of sense. Last year, at WrestleKingdom 9, Tanahashi was the champ and Okada had won the G1 to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight title. Tanahashi retained the title and crushed Okada’s dream of winning in the Tokyo Dome main event and then Tanahashi proceeded to berate Okada as he left the ring in defeat.

This year, the situation is reversed with Okada going into WrestleKingdom with the belt and Tanahashi challenging after having won the G1. It will most likely be the story of Okada’s redemption and one of his biggest tests since becoming the new ace of New Japan. I can’t see Okada losing – though the prospect of Tanahashi making history once again for a record 8^th IWGP title win could be too much for Jado and Gedo (NJPW bookers) to pass up.

Also during the show, ROH booker Delirious made an announcement (yes – he spoke intelligible English which confuses my kayfabe) that ROH would conduct a tour of Japan in 2016. No concrete dates announced yet, but word online is that the tour will be 2-3 shows.

Results from the finals of the G1 Climax 25:

-Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada and David Finlay def. Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu

-TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) and Captain New Japan def. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Jay White

(And I saw this link on Voices of Wrestling http://keepingthespiritalive.tumblr.com/post/126421611285/noah-news-during-the-departure-2015-show-a which said that Nakanishi and Nagata will soon be heading to Pro Wrestling NOAH to join with Maybach Taniguchi as the Maybach Trio.)

-Michael Elgin def. YOSHI-HASHI

(Really great match and Elgin looked awesome in the win. NJPW would be crazy not to have him back)

-CHAOS (Kazushi Sakuraba, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) def. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi)

-Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata and Kota Ibushi def. Tetsuya Naito, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma

(Lots of grudges in this one. Shibata and Naito seem to be on a collision course and Ibushi is coming after Makabe’s NEVER title. Who knows where Goto is going next and poor Honma got pinned after getting a big win over Ishii in the main event of a Korakuen Hall show)

-During intermission, Japanese wrestling legend Genichiro Tenryu called out Kazuchika Okada for a match on November 15. He may be a little older than most of the NJPW roster (he’s 65) but he’s still a legend in Japan.

-reDRagon def. The Young Bucks to become new IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champs

-KUSHIDA def. Ricochet to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

-Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) def. The Kingdom and Kazuchika Okada

(Styles pins Okada in this one so you gotta imagine he’ll get a shot coming up)

-Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Shinsuke Nakamura

(Puro legends Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono are on commentary for the main event)

This isn’t about any American wrestling promotion, but I saw this article (well, more a photo story) on Squared Circle and it was really interesting to me – a look inside the world of professional wrestling in Russia.

Apparently, it’s very underground in Russia, where the sport is considered too “cruel” and “Western” to earn any real popularity. The photos are really cool though. What I found most interesting is the reversal of tropes we see in American wrestling, with Russian wrestlers portraying Americans and getting heel heat. Though, now that I think about it, that’s not a reversal of the trope at all – it’s the exact same idea of the “evil foreigner” and that the hometown boys are the heroes (regardless of the fact that in this case, the heroes are sporting Soviet iconography)

https://meduza.io/en/galleries/2015/08/19/a-cruel-and-western-sport

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Threemendous IV was released recently and I got my copy.

-Team Tremendous def. World’s Cutest Tag Team

-Brian Cage def. Johnny Gargano

-Andrew Everett def. Rich Swann

-Trevor Lee def. Tommaso Ciampa

-Mike Bailey def. Chris Hero

-Ricochet def. Akira Tozawa

-The Young Bucks def. Jack Evans and Angelico to retain the PWG Tag Titles

Overall, not as good as Mystery Vortex 3 but it’s still a fun show. Roderick Strong was at Death Before Dishonor so he wasn’t there to participate in the Mount Rushmore shenanigans (we’ll get to that), which was unfortunate, but Battle of Los Angeles is coming up and I’m sure Mount Rushmore will make their presence felt.

Highlight of the show for me was the Bailey/Hero match. Bailey is perhaps the most sympathetic, likeable babyface in wrestling right and Hero played the villain really well, using his size to bully Bailey. Not quite as good as Bailey/Strong or Hero/Sabre from MV3 but still really good.

Team Tremendous picked up a win over WCTT, which has to put them in the running for a title shot since not many teams (or any, really) have beaten WCTT cleanly in PWG. I’ve been singing their praises for a while, but Officer Dan Barry and Detective Bill Carr are one of the best teams on the indies and I’m really glad to see them getting exposure in PWG.

Cage/Gargano was really good and another size mismatch, though Gargano made up for it by reminding everyone why his nickname is “Johnny Wrestling.”

Everett/Swann felt a little uneven and wonky to me. Everett was jaw-jacking with the crowd and Swann a litte too much and the pacing kinda suffered for it.

Lee/Ciampa was great and if you couldn’t tell by now, PWG is really behind Trevor Lee. He’s been working PWG for about a year now and been racking up impressive wins while getting the support of the fans.

As much as it pains me to say it, Ricochet/Tozawa and Bucks/Angelico and Evans weren’t as great as I hoped. Maybe I built them up a little too much in my mind, but what happened between these matches was more interesting than either.

Ricochet/Tozawa started slow and I was sure they were going to kick into high gear eventually but it never seemed to happen. For two of the quickest dudes in wrestling, this match felt like it was stuck in first gear. It was a good match, don’t get me wrong, but Tozawa isn’t the young, hungry up-and-comer he was during his first PWG run and this kinda felt like they were just going through the motions.

After Ricochet won with that spinning sitout cradle driver (does that move even have a name?), Super Dragon attacked both Tozawa and Ricochet, putting Ricochet down with a Psycho Driver. Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae and Joey Ryan came to the aid of Ricochet but were soon surprised by the Young Bucks, both wearing Super Dragon masks, and put down Gargano and Ryan with super kicks. This left Candice at the mercy of Dragon and the Bucks – and they showed her none. The Bucks and Dragon beat down Gargano, Ryan and LeRae in the corners with simultaneous Violence Parties and then Dragon set up to curb stomp Candice, the Bucks super kicked her, then she got stomped.

Dragon continued the attack on Candice (including a curb stomp on the bottom turnbuckle) while the Bucks watched the entrance, super kicking Everett and Lee when they tried to help. Bailey came through the curtain like a house of fire, threw a chair at the Bucks the put them down then went after Dragon. Bailey got a few kicks on Dragon but it wasn’t long before he was taken out as well.

The main event was good, but not great. It was too much of a spotfest at first and continued to feel like one throughout. I chalk this up to the teams being unfamiliar with each other and instead of going out there and working holds, they went out there and got all the shit in that they could (including an Indytaker spike tombstone FROM THE RING TO THE FLOOR).  Evans and Angelico will be back for BOLA and also wrestling as a team so hopefully next time they’re more acclimated to the Reseda crowd and their PWG opponents.

One last thing – I never realized how tall Angelico is. He never seemed that much taller than anyone else on Lucha Underground but he practically towered over the Bucks and his partner, Jack Evans.

For its 10-year anniversary, IWA-MS uploaded the entire Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher match from “Something to Prove” which was held at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia. I was at this show and to this day, I still talk about how insane and hard-hitting it was.

Evolve

Evolve 47 results

EVOLVE 47 was broadcast live on IPPV on August 15th from Queens, New York.

-Tracy Williams def. Biff Busick

-Drew Gulak def. Rich Swann

-Chris Hero def. Speedball Bailey

-Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley def. Trent? and Rey Horus

Anything Goes Match

-Ethan Page def. Johnny Gargano. (Rich Swann turned on Gargano during the match.)

EVOLVE Championship Match

-Timothy Thatcher (c) def. Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the title

Evolve 48 results

EVOLVE 48 was broadcast live on IPPV on August 16th from Deer Park, New York.

-Anthony Nese def. Ethan Page. (Rich Swann was out with Page, and after the match, Johnny Gargano came out and got in their faces.)

-Rich Swann def. Johnny Gargano. (Page was still out there, and cut a promo trashing Gargano after the match, telling him to go die with the DGUSA Championship.)

-Caleb Konley def. Trent?

-Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams def. Rey Horus and Mike Bailey

-Chris Hero def. Zack Sabre Jr.

No Holds Barred Match

-Timothy Thatcher def. Biff Busick

-The show ended with Thatcher challenging TNA wrestler Davey Richards. Drew Gulak comes out instead with Tracy Williams and both challenge Thatcher for the EVOLVE title. Chris Hero is out next and he ends up taking out everyone with rolling elbow shots.

Couple of things about Evolve:

-I want to like Evolve more and watch it more often but it seems like unless I sign up for WWNLive, there’s no way to since their DVD output is woefully behind. For real – Evolve 47 and 48 just happened. What’s the latest DVD for sale on DGUSA.tv (more on that in a second)? Evolve 34 and 35! From September of 2014! That’s almost a year behind! I guess they want to push traffic to their streaming site and aren’t as focused on DVD sales but still – get with Highspots or something to get that stuff on sale. PWG usually takes about a month to get their recent shows on DVD, which I thought was bad, but Evolve is ridiculous.

-Dragon Gate USA has been defunct for a while now. They haven’t held a show in what feels like years and the last DVD for sale on their site is Mercury Rising 2013 (though they could still just be catching up). What’s weird is that Evolve still uses the DG USA Open the Freedom Gate title as well as the site www.dgusa.tv for their home page. I guess they are keeping their options open in hopes that they can do another DG USA show but it’s been so long since they’ve held a show under that banner that it’s starting to seem a little that they still use that title and home page.

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

NXT, 8/5

A screen for Roddy Piper is the first thing on the broadcast tonight. Kinda lame Piper doesn’t get the same huge send-off that Dusty did, but then again Dusty meant a lot more to the program at NXT than Piper.

Charlotte opens the show this week. She takes on Bayley, who challenged Charlotte two weeks ago after she defeated Emma.

They shake hands to start and it’s clear that they aren’t going to hold anything back. Bayley and Charlotte lock up and try to get the upper hand on their opponent. Charlotte slams Bayley a few times with the figure four neck lock but Bayley gets out of it and right back into it with a dropkick through the corner.

Bayley knocks Charlotte down with a few back elbows and goes for one in the corner but Charlotte boots Bayley in the face and starts to choke her on the mat.

Bayley reverses a Figure 8 attempt into a roll up then comes off the ropes with a back elbow and they both are down. Bayley hits a few back elbows in the corner followed by an overhead belly to belly but doesn’t go for the cover. She puts Charlotte in the corner and hits a top rope hurricanrana but only gets a 2 count.

Bayley kicks out of a spear at 2. Charlotte can’t believe it and covers again for 2. Charlotte locks in the Figure 4 but Charlotte can’t bridge up as Bayley fights it. Bayley reverses the pressure and Charlotte gets to the rope to break it.

Bayley goes for a backslide but Charlotte kicks out. They hold onto the move and Charlotte fights for a backslide but Bayley flips over her with the help of the turnbuckle and hits a Belly to Bayley but Charlotte kicks out!

Bayley release German suplex and Charlotte kicks out at 2. Bayley rushes in and eats a boot and Charlotte roll up into the bottom buckle then sets up for a Natural Selection from the top. But Bayley fights out and hits a Belly to Bayley from the top to win!

Michael Cole sit down interview with Kevin Owens as NXT Takeover: Brooklyn looms on the horizon.

Cole questions the sincerity of Owen’s apology to Regal and Owens catches it and takes offense that Cole would ask that. Owens says it takes a “real man’s man” to make a comment behind his back, like Regal did about wanting Owens to lose at Takeover.

Owens says he needs the NXT Title. He just likes having it but it’s a reminder of what he did to Sami Zayn. Owens says he’s watched WWE his whole life and has seen that Regal isn’t a great person so who’s to say he won’t put a crooked referee in his match and create another Montreal screwjob, since he’s in a position of power and said he wants Owens to lose.

He says there’s only way he can guarantee that won’t happen – make it a ladder match. Cole asks him if he can beat the Demon but Owens takes off his mic, tosses it to Cole, and walks away.

It should also be noted that, per the NXT Twitter, the title match at Takeover will now be a ladder match.

Bull Dempsey watching the #BullFit segment from last week and can’t believe how much of an idiot he looks like. He thinks to himself he has to get into shape and he needs to do it right this time.

He gets back in the gym and starts working out and it just kinda ends when Bull tries to bench too much.

Baron Corbin out next. He takes on Steve Cutler.

Corbin punches him a few times then End of Days for the win.

Bayley talks to William Regal in his office. Bayley says she’s been on a bit of a roll lately. She just beat Charlotte and wants an NXT Women’s title match.

Regal says she has put in a lot of work – but she’s not the only person who deserves one. So next week, Bayley will face Becky Lynch for the Women’s Title #1 contendership to face Sasha Banks in Brooklyn.

Tyler Breeze out next. He takes on some dude…Aaron Solo or something?

Breeze works solo into the corner and yells at the ref not to touch him when he gets pulled out. Still talking about “who will be Breeze’s opponent” at Takeover on commentary.

During the match Breeze complains about his opponent, “This is it? This is who I get?” Breeze wins with a Beauty Shot.

As Breeze checks out his selfie, Regal comes out and says that Breeze has been badgering him about his match at Takeover in Brooklyn (which gets boos). And Regal is pleased to announce that his opponent at Takeover will be Jushin “Thunder” Liger.

And this is followed by a Liger video package.

Uhaa Nation video package. Uhaa working in the ring with guys like Solomon Crowe, Levis Valenzuela Jr. and Axel Tischer. Uhaa saying how he got into this business to be here (NXT/WWE) and to be champion.

But the biggest takeaway – Uhaa has a name! He’ll now be Apollo Crews and it looks like his first match is at NXT Takeover.

Finn Balor sits down with Byron Saxton. Balor says it’s been an emotional year at NXT. Everyone has the same goal and direction and he believes they’re redefining what the industry does.

Balor says he’s known Owens for about a year now, since they came into NXT. At first he liked him but over time, Owens’ actions made it clear that he shouldn’t have been surprised about what Owens did at the contract signing and it was no surprise he hit Regal.

Says Owens is a man of many words but he doesn’t believe anything that Owens says.

Balor says he’s been talking to Sami Zayn a lot about the championship and his match with Owens at Takeover. Zayn has been very helpful in preparing for the match and says to not underestimate Owens.

Balor says, in regard to Takeover being a ladder match, that Owens just wants to up the ante a little. But he’s going to prove that Tokyo was not a fluke and that the outcome of Takeover will be the exact same.

Dash and Dawson out next. They take on the Hype Bros.

Hype Bros have matching gear now which makes them look more legitimate. Ryder and Mojo in control early but Dash and Dawson distract Ryder and take over.

Hot tag to Mojo and he takes out both Dash and Dawson on his own. Hype Bros win with a Hype Ryder. But while celebrating, Dash and Dawson double team Ryder and beat him down in the middle of the ring and hit that double team code breaker, I think called the Shatter Machine.

 The Vaudevillains are talking to Regal about what happened in their tag team title match last week. Gotch says “You don’t exploit chivalry!” And Regal agrees with him and says on Aug 22, they will get a rematch against Blake and Murphy. Regal tells them, word to the wise, to think of some way to “curtail” Alexa Bliss.

So basically, get your own lady to make sure Alexa Bliss doesn’t screw you again.

Another BullFit video package. Bull just working out in the gym and seems to be picking things up. He tries to flip a giant tire but doesn’t go so well for him. But all the people in the gym who have been helping him, rally around him and cheer him on as he flips the tire on his own.

Main event between Rhyno and Samoa Joe now.

Both guys smashing into each other but neither really getting an advantage, until Joe dives through the ropes and into Rhyno. But the advantage doesn’t last long as Joe takes Rhyno down with an STO but he stays down too.

Joe keeps jabbing Rhyno in the face but Rhyno picks up Joe and slams him down in what looked like a TKO. The crowd is solidly behind Joe as Rhyno puts Joe in the corner.

Joe tries to lock in the rear naked choke but Rhyno flips him over his back and belly to belly. Rhyno sets up for the gore but Joe kicks him in the face then locks in the choke. Rhyno backs him into the corner to break it up then gets a 2 count from a clothesline.

Rhyno sets himself on the top rope but Joe catches him with an enzuigiri and then slams Rhyno with a muscle buster for the win.

 

A bunch of NXT wrestlers got new names recently. Along with the newly named Apollo Crews, receiving name changes were:

Jessie is now Billie Kay

Cassie is now Peyton Royce

Axel Tischer is now Alexander Wolfe

Mike Rallis is now Riddick Moss

Lina Fanene is now Nia Jax

Lucha Underground, 8/5

Ultima Lucha – last LU for a long time (maybe ever). Michael Schiavello is on commentary with Matt Striker, since Vampiro has a match against Pentagon Jr. Schiavello does commentary for a wide range of combat sports, usually calling MMA shows.

Johnny Mundo out first to take on Alberto El Patron. Mundo runs away early to try and stay away from Alberto but Mundo crawls under the ring and gets a handful of powder and uses it to blind Alberto.

Mundo takes control for a while but Alberto starts to make a comeback. The ref gets knocked down and Alberto makes Mundo tap with a cross arm breaker – but there’s no ref to call for the bell. After they get back up, Alberto catches Mundo in another cross arm breaker over the ropes but Melina appears out of nowhere and hits Alberto with the AAA title and they roll Alberto back in, and Mundo hits the End of the World for the win.

Afterward, Alberto gets in the ring and attacks Mundo as he celebrates with Melina. Melina is cornered by herself but Alberto throws Johnny out of the ring and follows him, throwing him into the guard rail a few times and into the chairs in the crowd. Alberto throws Johnny through the window of that other room in the temple (where Fenix got powerbombed) and Melina has seen enough and goes after Alberto. She slaps him a few times and Alberto puts her over his knee and spanks her as she goes to check on Mundo.

Mundo is a bloody mess as Melina pulls him from the window and Alberto walks in to mock him and walks away.

Kinda surprised to see Melina show up at the season finale. She’ll definitely be around if LU comes back and she should give Mundo the edge to be a legitimate title contender.

Wasn’t too surprised to see ADR lose this one. Mundo has been around since the first episode and is a big player in LU and getting the rub from beating Alberto along with being a LU cornerstone puts him in a great position for next season.

El Dragon Azteca finds Black Lotus in the temple and says he is going to get her out of there. But Dario Cueto is waiting for him and says Dragon broke an ancient treaty by entering his temple – and that the punishment for breaking the treaty is death.

Cueto takes the key from around his neck and Dragon tells him not to do it. But Cueto says he doesn’t have to as Black Lotus grabs Dragon by the collar and begins choking him through the bars of her cell.

And great, the upload got all fucked up right as Cueto was going to say something then the next thing I see is Lotus hit Dragon in the back, killing him I guess. Cueto opens her cell and wants her to come with him but she says no, she got what she came for. But Cueto tells her she just started a war and the only one who can protect her is Dario Cueto. And she believes him!

Cueto says this place is too dangerous and he must build a new temple. She asks about Matanza and Cueto says he’s coming with them and opens his cell to let him out.

“Cero Miedo” match – no count outs, DQs, anything goes.

Pentagon Jr. out first. Pulling a Minoru Suzuki, wearing all white instead of all black. Vampiro comes out dressed in a crazy outfit – like a priest with a big pope hat and one of those scent things. Has the classic Vampiro face paint too. Has a big V on top of a upside down cross on his pope hat too.

Pentagon blindsides Vampiro as soon as the bell rings, hitting him with a chair several times then kicks his legs out. Vampiro retreats into the crowd and Pentagon follows him. Vampiro uses the opportunity to get a few shots in against Pentagon.

Pentagon picks up the mat outside the ring and slams Vampiro on it back first. But instead of going for a cover, gets out several chairs. He throws a few at Vampiro and then hits the pile with another.

Rick Knox pushes Pentagon away and throws up the X as he checks on Vampiro but Pentagon doesn’t stop and uses a camera cable to choke Vampiro. They go to commercial as paramedics wheel out a gurney to take Vampiro away. They have Vampiro out toward an ambulance but he attacks the medics and walks back to the ring.

Vampiro spreads out a bag of thumbtacks on the mat and slams Pentagon on them. Vampiro goes for a mariposa/tumbleweed but Pentagon moves and Vampiro hits the tacks. And Pentagon gets out a few light tubes!

Pentagon smashes the tubes over Vampiro’s head and he’s bleeding immediately. Pentagon uses a broken piece of tube to gouge Vampiro’s head and then licks Vampiro’s blood off his own hand. Pentagon smashes Vampiro in the face with a few punches then a big kick to his face. But Vampiro pulls himself up as Pentagon pulls out more tubes.

Vampiro reverses an irish whip and hip tosses Pentagon into the tubes then rips open Pentagon’s mask. Vampiro takes a taste of his own blood then smashes Pentagon in the face with more light tubes. Pentagon tries to climb the ropes but Vampiro stops him then overhead belly to belly suplex Pentagon onto the tubes and tacks!

Vampiro sets up a table in the ring and lights it on fire, after spraying it down with lighter fluid. But Pentagon cuts him off and slams him into the table and the ring is on fire a little and Vampiro is on fire a little as he rolls out of the ring and the crew tries to spray him down with an extinguisher. Pentagon pins Vampiro outside the ring for the win.

Pentagon gets on the mic but Vampiro is yelling at him to break his arm and Pentagon is kinda taken aback and stops talking. So Pentagon obliges and breaks Vampiro’s arm. Pentagon on the mic says “Master, I finished what I promised. Where are you, master!”

Vampiro on the mic says, “You’re looking for your teacher? Well let me tell you something…as your teacher…you are ready, my son.” And Pentagon gets down on his knees in front of Vampiro, Vampiro picks him up and they do the Cero Miedo together.

7-way Gift of the Gods match now. Big Ryck taking control early and Sexy Star goes after him but she gets thrown out as well. Aero Star tries to stop Ryck but he gets tossed as well. Ryck teases going for a dive but the 6 others get in the ring quick to stop him. Fenix and Aerostar finally double drop kick Ryck out of the ring.

 Lots of stuff happening, it’s hard to keep track with so many people going in and out of the ring. Jack Evans and King Cuerno were working against each other, then Bengala and Sexy Star but for much of the match, Big Ryck is imposing his will with his size advantage.

Somehow Aerostar got on a platform near the roof above the announcers table and drops down on Fenix, King Cuerno and Bengala. Striker said “He literally fell from space!” which, I don’t think is accurate.

Sexy Star prepares to dive over the top until Marty the Moth shows up behind her and distracts her. She hits a tilt a whirl arm bar and Marty retreats out of the ring and crawls to Melissa Santos who seems pretty creeped out to have Marty so close to her.

Sexy Star up to the top in the corner and dives onto Fenix, Jack Evans and Aerostar and takes them out. But as she picks herself up off the mat, Big Ryck in the ring and pulls her in by her hair. Ryck misses a clothesline and Sexy Star hurricanrana from the top rope. But after she takes Ryck over, King Cuerno attacks her and hits Thrill of the Hunt of Star but rolls her out of the ring as he starts exchanging blows with Fenix.

Jack Evans backslide with a bridge on Aerostar but only a 2. Gets a guillotine locked on Aerostar but Aerostar stands up and DDT Jack. Hits splash on Jack but Sexy Star breaks up the pin. Sexy Star innovative pin on Aerostar but Ryck breaks it up and huge choke slam on Sexy Star. Then Daivari is at ringside and hits Ryck with a chair as he hits the ropes then gets in the ring and smashes him in the head with it. Jack Evans 450 springboard on Ryck but Cuerno breaks it up with a huge line. Cuerno locks Evans in a surfboard dragon sleeper but Fenix breaks it up.

In the end, Fenix rallies through a modified octopus stretch from Evans, moves him into a fireman’s carry, kneed Evans in the head several times then hit a fire driver for the win. And King Cuerno looks pretty unhappy outside the ring. But for now, Fenix is the Gift of the Gods Champion and will have a shot at the LU Championship next season.

Texano out first. The longest reigning AAA Mega Champion ever. Also the youngest AAA Mega Champion ever.

Blue Demon Jr. out next with The Crew, who Striker calls “The Blue Crew” since now they’re wearing suits like Demon usually does and they have blue ties and blue handkerchiefs.

Due to his legendary status, Dario Cueto has granted Blue Demon’s request to make this match no DQ. Meaning that The Crew will be getting involved plenty in this match.

In fact, they get involved right away. Texano puts down Demon with some punches and a line but Cisco and Cortez jump in but Texano takes them out. They bide their time on the outside, as Texano takes it to Blue Demon in the corner.

But before long, The Crew get back in and beat down Texano, holding him up for Demon to hit him with a kendo stick. Then Chavo comes out? He has a chair and Demon and Chavo have words while Chavo seems like who he’s deciding to hit with the chair – Texano or Blue Demon. Chavo smashes Texano with the chair and he and Demon start to square off but Chavo hands the chair to Demon, who hits Texano in the head.

Demon steps on Texano and the Crew forces Rick Knox to count the pin as Chavo, Demon and The Crew stand over Texano and gloat.

Main event time – Prince Puma vs Mil Muertes. Melissa Santos says by order of Dario Cueto, there must be a winner. Catrina is with Mil Muertes but Prince Puma is by himself since Konnan hasn’t been seen since he was taken away by Mil, Catrina and the Disciples.

Puma trying to meet Mil head on but Mil is just too big and strong for Puma and easily hammers him down to the mat. Puma hits a few kicks and a dropkick but Mil is unaffected and runs Puma out of the ring.

The fight up through the crowd and Mil hammers Puma with punches that send him over the bannister and onto the stairs. Then Puma hits Mil and sends him into the crowd on the other side of the steps.

They fight back to ringside where Catrina watches. Puma nearly hits her but stops himself, then picks her up and rams her feet into Mil and swings her around, hitting Mil in the head with her stiletto heels. Mil throws Puma into the chairs in the crowd but Puma uses his agility to evade him and catch him with some kicks.

Puma pulls out a table and sets it up at ringside. But Mil is aware of the table and they fight away from it. This match hasn’t been anything other than a fight. No technical wrestling, no chain wrestling, just Puma and Mil going at each other.

Some crazy stuff happens – Mil powerbombs Puma on the steps. Puma tope through the rope but Mil hits him with a chair in mid-air. Puma hits a version of the Benadryller but only gets a 2.

Puma gets a 2 off the Northern lights/vertical suplex combo. Puma catches Mil with a few head kicks but Mil runs him through the ropes and spear through the table on the outside. They only catch the edge of it and so Mil powerbombs Puma onto the parts which are still standing.

Puma evades a spear and hits several big, looping head kicks and finally knocks down Mil in the corner. Puma goes up top, looking for the 630 and hits it but Mil kicks out! No one has kicked out of that move so far.

Puma goes up top, looking for it again but this time Mil moves out of the way and Puma lands hard. Mil spears Puma out of his boots and basically breaks Puma’s neck with a flatliner but Puma kicks out at 2!

Mil jacks his jaw with a punch and drags Puma to the corner, but Puma keeps fighting and gets to his feet then up to the top rope. But Mil stuns him with a right hand and hits a flatliner from the top rope and pins Puma to become the new LU Champion!

Catrina gives Puma the lick of death as Mil celebrates over him in the center of the ring. And the Disciples of Death make their way to the ring and celebrate next to Mil and Catrina, now that they control all the gold in Lucha Underground.

Big wrap up segment which sets up lots of things for next season:

Black Lotus is in Cueto’s office, looks like she has a bag and is filling it with money from his desk. Cueto is there too and says “Dark times are ahead.” He gathers up some papers from his desk as she grabs the last stacks of money.

They both get into a giant black SUV hooked up to a trailer and we get the first view of Matanza, his face clad in a black leather mask, through a hole torn open in the side of the trailer.

Fenix carries the Gift of the Gods belt out to his Pontiac Trans Am with a giant fiery phoenix on the hood (which, of course he drives one of those). As he pulls out of the building, King Cuerno (in his Sin Carl outfit) follows him in his pickup truck.

Marty the Moth has snapped and apparently kidnapped Sexy Star. He has a crazy look in his eye and asks “You think I’m some kind of joke?” She’s all tied up and Marty says “Well you won’t be laughing…when you meet my sister.”

Son of Havoc walks up to Angelico, who is on a motorcycle, and says “We need to get those titles back.” As Angelico pulls out, Havoc walks over to Ivelisse on a motorcycle and says “What do you say, babe? One last ride?” And she says “Just shut up and get on” and they speed away.

Drago and Aerostar shake hands, putting their issues behind them. Drago explodes in a ball of flames and I guess Aerostar turned into a rocket and took off into space?

Pentagon Jr asks his master where are they going now? Hard to tell what he says but I think Vampiro says “To a dark place.”

That guard, the dude in the hoodie, takes up the mask of El Dragon Azteca and puts it on, then spray paints a big question mark on the Lucha Underground sign on the roof of the temple (couldn’t be any more obvious that about their future).

Cool shot of Dario Cueto exiting the temple as all the lights shut off and says “To Be Continued”

Social media campaign #NetflixNeedsLucha to try and get the first season on Netflix, which would both help grow the awareness and popularity of Lucha Underground. It could also be a home for the series in the future or in addition to appearing on El Rey – since it really needs a bigger distribution network than El Rey can provide.

AAA Triplemania XXIII results

(From what I heard, the PPV was plagued by technical problems like the sound dropping out and the video freezing. AAA released a statement about needing to improve the quality of their broadcast so hopefully they do)

Daga, Mamba, Mini Psycho Clown & Sexy Star vs. Dinastia, Drago, Goya Kong & Pimpinela Escarlata

Winners: Dinastia, Drago, Goya Kong & Pimpinela Escarlata via submission

Villano III's Farewell Match
Los Psycho Circus vs. Los Villanos

(Villanos are allowed by the athletic commission to put their masks back on for this one. And it was said to be awful)

Winners: Villanos via pinfall

AAA World Trios Title Match
Cage Ladder Match
Los Hell Brothers (c) vs. Jack Evans, Angelico & Fénix vs. Pentagon Jr., Hijo Del Fantasma & El Texano Jr.

Winners: Los Hell Brothers to retain the AAA Trios Championships

Blue Demon Jr. & La Parka Vs. El Mesias & Electro Shock

Winners: Blue Demon Jr & La Parka via submission

(And for the record, that’s not the original La Parka from WCW. He lost the gimmick somehow and now goes by La Park. Tribute to the late Hector Garza and Perro Aguayo Jr. and they're inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame)

Hair vs. Hair
Alberto El Patron (w/ Fenix) vs. Brian Cage (w/ El Hijo del Fantasma)

Winner: Alberto El Patron via submission (armbar)

Rey Mysterio Jr vs. Myzteziz

Winner: Rey Mysterio via submission

(Afterward, Pentagon Jr, Averno and Joe Lider attack Myzteziz and Mysterio with a staple gun. Myzteziz and Mysterio fight back together. But then Myzteziz turns full heel, says he doesn’t care about Rey or fans and challenges Rey to a mask vs. mask match. At the end, Konnan is apparently doing something in the ring, but the feed cuts out before the show is over)

Ring of Honor

ROH DA  8/5

Roddy promo to start the show. About their hour draw. Says nothing was settled. Says Lethal couldn't beat him and if time didn't run out, he would have won. Roddy says he's not asking Nigel, he's telling - Lethal is defending that title in a rematch against Roderick Strong.

War Machine vs Young Bucks first match. Bucks don't shake hands, tell then to suck it and War Machine begins the beatdown. But it isn't long before the Bucks hit a few super kicks and turn the tide. But it looks like Nick  may have injured his ankle on a dive onto both Rowe and Hanson. Officials check on Nick and Rowe drags Matt in and he and Hanson goes to work. AJ Styles comes out to check on Nick. Matt getting destroyed by both Rowe and Hanson, smashing him and slamming him into the mat.

Matt tries to count a comeback and AJ gets on the apron and gets tagged in (what? I'm not usually a stickler for rules but I don't think that's legal) but the ref allows it so whatever I guess. AJ starts doing work against Rowe but then he accidentally hits the ref. Hanson goes off the top but Nick back in and superkick him in the face and is apparently fine. Styles hits Styles Clash and Young Bucks, well Bullet Club gets the win.

Adam Cole promo about his match with O'Reilly and how there's no dissension between him and the Kingdom.

Cedric Alexander with Veda Scott out next. Caprice Coleman on commentary. He takes on Romantic Touch. Veda has had a longstanding grudge against Touch, assuring everyone that he is actually Rhett Titus and that she wants to unmask him.
Cedric jumps Touch early, while Touch enters the ring. Touch able to get the momentum but after a dive to the outside, Veda grabs the leg of Touch as the ref checks on Alexander. Cedric kicks rope into his ding ding and hits lumbar check for the win. After, Veda says people have lied to Cedric but she wouldn't and she knows he knows what she needs him to do and tell him to rip Touchs mask off. He starts but Coleman stops him and he shoves Coleman. Then Moose hits the ring and Cedric and Veda run.

Truth says Word title belt smells like a chicken coop and Jay Lethal says he wants to remove the stain of every former champion. Lethal says Roddy couldn't get the job done and that he begged Nigel for a rematch. Lethal says he needs to go to the back of the line...even though the rematch is Aug 21. Then Truth says some stuff about how House of Truth is wrestling cause they control all the gold.

Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly main event time. Christopher Daniels is on commentary for some reason. Kelly calls him Fallen Angel and Daniels says he isn't anymore because that implies he follows a higher power. Not anymore. He's the original main eventer in ROH and now he is "almighty". Guess that's his new name?

Cole and O'Reilly some good technical back and forth stuff while Daniels talks about how they got people to blame the Kingdom for the KRD even though it was him and Kaz and Sabin allowing them to win the titles. Goes outside and Daniels making fun of O'Reilly after he got thrown into the guard rail and Cole pushes him. Daniels attacks both guys and ref calls the match. Daniels hammers on Cole in the ring and O'Reilly makes the save until Kaz hits the ring and it's an all out brawl. Cole on the mic says Addiction have messed with him and O'Reilly for too long and tonight, Future Shock vs Addiction.

FS hits a big double team combo early but then Addiction takes over. Cole starts to fight back, shining wizard followed by Figure 4 on Daniels and Kaz breaks it up. Cole gets the win with a quick O'Connor roll and Sabin hits the ring to help Addiction beat down FS. Fish runs in to help clear house and KRD run off. But The Kingdom on the stage looking kinda upset about Cole teaming with someone else as crowd chants "new reDRagon".

ROH DA 8/12
-Watanabe vs ACH
-War Machine vs J. Diesel and Donovan Dijack
-Adam Page of The Decade is in action
-The Kingdom vs reDRagon

Aftershock TV tapings

Philadelphia, 8/21

ROH World title rematch

Jay Lethal (c) vs Roderick Strong

Adam Cole vs Shinsuke Nakamura

IWGP Junior Heavyweight champ Kushida vs Matt Sydal

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and RPG Vice vs The Briscoes and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto

Dalton Castle vs Cedric Alexander

Michael Elgin vs Silas Young

Also signed:

The Addiction

The Kingdom w/ Maria Kanellis

Field of Honor

Aftershock tour

Brooklyn MCU Park, 8/22

The Briscoes vs The Time Splitters

ROH World Champion Jay Lethal and Shinsuke Nakamura vs reDRagon

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Roderick Strong

GHC Heavyweight tag team champions Killer Elite Squad vs War Machine

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto vs Michael Elgin

Adam Cole vs Christopher Daniels

The Young Bucks, Matt Sydal and ACH vs The Kingdom and RPG Vice

Gauntlet match for TV Title shot on 9/19

ROH World tag team champ Frankie Kazarian

Moose

Donovan Dijack

Cedric Alexander

Adam Page

Dalton Castle

Silas Young

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Get the standings so far for the G1

(As of 8/13)

Block A

AJ Styles – 12

Hiroshi Tanahashi – 12

Bad Luck Fale – 10

Tetsuya Naito – 10

Katsuyori Shibata – 8

Togi Makabe – 8

Kota Ibushi – 6

Toru Yano – 6

Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 4

Doc Gallows – 4

Block B

Kazuchika Okada –14

Karl Anderson – 12

Hirooki Goto – 12

Shinsuke Nakamura – 12

Tomohiro Ishii – 8

Michael Elgin – 8

Yujiro Takahashi – 4

Satoshi Kojima – 4

Yuji Nagata – 4

Tomoaki Honma – 2

8/12 G1

Problems in Bullet Club? 

In AJ/Fale, Fale wouldn't lie down for AJ then they brawled into the crowd but in the end, they Too Sweeted and all was good.

But now Anderson and Takahashi are having issues as well. It seemed to stem from Anderson leering at Mao (Yujiro's lady friend, who, admittedly, is a stripper/prosto) but they really went at each other. Anderson tried to suplex him over the ropes, AJ was yelling at Anderson and they shoved a bit. Yujiro low blow later on. Anderson wins and they make Takahashi apologize and they hug. Then AJ and Anderson huh Mao and they all leave together. 

This crowd loves Elgin, I'm very surprised. They were cheering for him over Goto to start. I wonder what crowd sounded like on his entrance, since he got the muted music cause of copyrights. His strength and power moves have really gotten over in Japan. He comes really close in the end, hitting a buckle bomb and second rope deadlift falcon arrow. He raises Goto's hand too and the crowd loves it. 

Okada gets the win over a game Nagata. But afterward he's holding his right arm. Both the arm he uses for the Rainmaker clothesline and the arm Nakamura could target for submissions. He can't even hold it up for the Rainmaker pose.

Holy shit Honma won! And what a win, he beat Tomohiro Ishii in a crazy battle. His first G1 victory ever and it was in Korakuen too. I wish I could understand his post match promo.

PWG

Threemendous IV preview is out

Evolve

Evolve 47

August 15 at 6 pm

Queens, NY

Evolve Championship Match

Timothy Thatcher vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Anything Goes

Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page

Singles Rematch From Last Queens Event

Rich Swann vs. Drew Gulak

Special Attraction Match

Chris Hero vs. Mike Bailey

Special Challenge Match

Trent Baretta vs. Rey Horus

Bonus Match

Biff Busick vs. Tracy Williams

The Premier Athlete Brand of Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley w/ So Cal Val issue an open challenge

Evolve 48

August 16 at 8 pm

Deer Park, NY

No Holds Barred Match - The Final Showdown - Non-Title

Evolve and DGUSA Champion Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick

Battle Of The Best

Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Former Partners Collide

Trent Baretta vs. Caleb Konley w/ So Cal Val

Special Challenge Match

Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page's Mystery Opponent

EVOLVE 41 Rematch

Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann

Tag Team Attraction

Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams vs. Mike Bailey and Rey Horus

Chikara

I was watching the G1 Climax Wednesday night when I suddenly remembered Journey Into Chikara was on. I went to the website and found the link but as soon as I put it on, the show was over. Guess I’ll try next time.

Full King of Trios lineup announced

Teams are:

Devastation Corporation (2014 King of Trios)

Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Matt and Nick Jackson)

Crown and Court (Kimber Lee and Los Ice Creams)

Fight Club: Pro (MK McKinnan, Trent Seven, & Tyler Bate)

Nightmare Warriors (Hallowicked, Frightmare, Silver Ant)

BDK (Jakob Hammermeier, Nokken, Soldier Ant)

Team Attack! (Mark Andrews, Morgan Webster, & Pete Dunne)

The Gentlemen’s Club (Chuck Taylor, Drew Gulak, Swamp Monster)

Dasher’s Dugout (Dasher Hatfield, Icarus, & Mark Angelosetti)

Battle Hive (Amasis, Worker Ant, Fire Ant)

United Nations (JFDC, Proletariat Boar of Maldova and Mr. Azerbaijan)

Team AAA (Aero Star, Drago, & Fénix)

Arcane Horde (Oleg the Usurper and the Batiri)

Snake Pit (Ophidian, Shynron, Eddie Kingston)

bWo (Big Stevie Cool, Da Blue Guy, & Hollywood Nova)

Battle Born (Kevin Condron, Missile Assault Ant and…some guy. Is that Volgar?)

KOT Night 1 matches

Team ATTACK vs United Nations

bWo vs Devastation Corporation

Crown and Court vs Arcane Horde

Rey de Voladores

A mini-tournament on N2 and 3, the RdV translates to “King of the High Flyers” so look for lots of outrageous high-risk moves in these matches

Matt Cross

Mascara Purpua  (CMLL) (Quack booked AAA guys and CMLL guys on the same show. Though I doubt the wrestlers care – it’s a feud between company owners)

WrestleCon

Tickets for WrestleCon 32, which takes place at the Downtown Hyatt Regency in Dallas, Texas are on sale now.

Visit www.wrestlecon.com for tickets, travel info and more.

Many big stars are scheduled to be at WrestleCon this year, including:

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Justin Credible

Raven

Scott Steiner

Nikolai Volkoff

Jimmy Snuka

Missy Hyatt

Kelly Kelly

Honky Tonk Man

Kurt Angle

And many more