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The “OH MY GOD!” Review: ECW In Bensalem, PA 11/30/96 & ECW TV 12/3/96

By
Heels Inc
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0

1996-11-30 at Boomerang Nightclub in Bensalem, PA

Champions
World: Sandman
TV: Shane Douglas
Tag Team: Gangstas

We learn that Taz isnt here tonight. Tod Gordon comes out to offer a refund but tells the fans that tonight’s show is going to be awesome. Bill Alfonso comes out and they fight. Little Guido comes out and breaks them up. He makes nice with Gordon but then turns on him and attacks. Tag Team Champion New Jack comes out and chases him off. Alfonso for some reason hangs around in the ring so New Jack goes after him. D-Von Dudley hits the ring and we get a bell.

Tag Team Champion New Jack vs. D-Von Dudley, ref Jim Molineaux

They go to the floor. Piledriver on a bar by Jack. D-Von comes back and brings it back into the ring but misses a head butt off the second buckle. New Jack grabs his belt and comes off the top rope with a shot to the face of D-Von. Jack gets the fast win in 2.42. Joel Gertner comes out and announces D-Von as the winner. New Jack goes after him but D-Von saves him before any damage is done. Axl Rotten comes down and joins in on the action. Buh Buh Ray Dudley returns the favor from the past few weeks and makes the save for New Jack.

Axl Rotten vs. David Morton Tyler Jericho, ref Jeff Jones

Can Axl duplicate his wrestling classic from last night? Well he makes it through 3 and a half minutes before going to the floor and using a weapon. Its only once though and then they head back into the ring. Axl misses a top rope elbow that looks awful. Morton hits a flying forearm and top rope drop kick for 2. A cross body from the top gets another 2. Axl finishes things just like last night a big clothesline as Morton is coming off the top for a third time. Axl got in the win in 5.34.

Some local TV or radio guy comes to the ring to announce the next match. The fans of course shit all over him.

Pitbull 2 vs. Rick Rage, ref Jim Molineaux

This was the SAME EXACT match as last night. Move for move it even ran the same length! Pitbull 2 picks up the win in 1.52.

The Eliminators vs. Dudley Boys (w/ Sign Guy Dudley), ref Jim Molineaux

Spike starts with Saturn and hits two ranas and a head scissor but then he eats a super kick. Tag to Kronus and they hit some of their kicks. Buh Buh comes in but he is also nailed with some kicks and dumped to the floor. Total elimination to Spike and this one is over in 1.43! WOW Saturn and Kronus make super short work of the Dudleys. Another spirited match from the Eliminators.

Chris Candido vs. Rob Van Dam, ref Jeff Jones

I’m excited for this match, should be a good one. Feeling out process between the two has the crowd chanting boring because its been 3 minutes and the match isn’t over yet. Were about five minutes in with things still pretty even between the two when out comes the BWO to a big ovation. They stand on a stage and pose distracting Van Dam. Candido attacks from behind and now has the upper hand. Van Dam makes a come back and hits the double under hook flap jack. Split legged moonsault and Van Dam gets the pin but Candido has his feet on the rope and the ref says the match must continue! Candido uses the confusion to get back into things and hits a swinging neck breaker. Headbutt off the middle rope for 2. Van Dam comes back with a power slam and then he goes up to the second rope. Candido stops him and gets a super rana. Cover gets a 3 but now Van Dam gets his foot on the rope and the ref says the match will go on. Candido gets into a shoving match with the ref and Van Dam rolls him up but only gets 2. Candido with an overhead belly to belly for 2. They each get a few near falls on roll ups. Candido with a power bomb and he’s inches away from the win. Van Dam comes back a bit and we get a bell at 14.24 for a time limit draw. Fans want 5 more minutes. They shake hands and hug. Candido then keeps trying to sneak up on Van Dam but he keeps turning around and Candido makes like he just wants to shake his hand again. Candido leaves and they dont come to blows.

TV Champion Shane Douglas (w/ Francine) vs. Tommy Dreamer (w/ Beulah), ref Jim Molineaux

HAHAAHHAHA Douglas promo before the match. He says he has a bone to pick and wants Tod Gordon to come out so he can pick it out of his ass. Douglas is pissed because he wants to have a wrestling match with a wrestler but instead has to fight a brawler. Dreamer says if that cunt Francine gets in the way he’s going to beat the living shit out of her. I think he would probably be arrested for saying that. Douglas attacks from behind and they go to the floor. Camera goes out and we jump ahead to Dreamer piledriving Francine. Douglas hits a low blow on Dreamer and belly to belly on Beulah. Pitbull 2 hits the ring as does Primetime Brian Lee. Douglas with a single arm DDT on Dreamer and he gets the pin. 5.14 is filmed and the match is announced as 8.13. They’ve been pretty close with their announced times tonight also so we missed around 3 minutes. Pitbull and Dreamer run off Lee and Douglas.

World Champion The Sandman vs. Raven (w/ BWO), ref John Finnegan

Pretty sure you guys know how this one goes by now. Raven attacks in the crowd, they brawl. Ref bump Sandman with a DDT and cover. Out from the back comes Lori Fullington, she gets smacked. Raven with a DDT for 2. Steviekick nails Raven by accident. Tyler comes out now. Steviekick connects this time. Sandman back up attacks with the cane. DDT on Raven and Sandman picks up the win in 5.18.

My thoughts on the show…

This show was held in a night club where it was standing room only. With only 36 minutes of wrestling I feel it was booked perfectly. The fans wouldn’t have been able to hang for long matches. They were getting bored with the Candido/Van Dam match and that wasn’t even very long, and while not awesome it certainly wasn’t boring. A pretty solid show.

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TV 1996-12-03 (Taped 1996-11-22 at The Town Hall in Webster, MA & 1996-11-29 at Farmers Market in Downington, PA)

Champions
World: Sandman
TV: Shane Douglas
Tag Team: Gangstas

We see what went down to end last weeks episode with Taz and Sabu. Something I hadn’t noticed the other two times watching this is the wrestlers at ringside are freaking out over the stare down right along with the fans.

Opening video.

Joey Styles is our host and he is hyped over what happened last week and has been the talk of the wrestling world since N2R.

We go to ECW Fan Cam footage from the 29th of November for the match between Taz and Rob Van Dam. Remember a few months ago Van Dam told Bill Alfonso and Taz about Sabu’s hurt neck. Joey says now that Sabu has told Van Dam about Taz’s weaknesses. Taz locked in the tazmission and wouldn’t release it until a bunch of guys came from the back and pulled him off.

Joey talks about the match between Chris Candido and Mikey Whipwreck from N2R. Joey talks about how close of a match it was and that Candido showed his respect for Mikey at the end.

Back on November 22nd Mikey was scheduled to tag with Hack Meyers to take on the Eliminators. Since Hack lost a loser leaves town match to 2 Cold Scorpio back at N2R Mikey found himself alone. Candido came out to his aide and said he would be Mikey’s partner. Mikey got isolated in the match and the Eliminators destroyed him with tons of kicks. Candido got repeatedly knocked off the apron and continued to hold his eye making no attempt to help Mikey out. The Eliminators finally end things with total elimination.

Joey talks about how Candido didn’t exactly abandon Mikey but wasn’t very helpful. Candido shows up and says he was doing great until he tagged Mikey and then Mikey got the crap kicked out of him. Candido questions if his lip is still bleeding and says he has been having trouble hearing and seeing since the match.

Hype Central with Joel Gertner is next. ECW heads to Jim Thorpe, PA on the 6th and they return to the ECW Arena this Saturday the 7th for Holiday Hell! Gertner brings in the undefeated D-Von Dudley. Dudley talks about how he is unbeaten and righteous.

Joey talks about the Gangstas run on top of the ECW Tag Team Title scene. New Jack and Mustafa join Joey via satellite. Joey questions if they are worried about all the teams that are coming after them. New Jack says he doesn’t care who is after them.

Joey talks about the feud between Raven and World Champion Sandman and what has gone on over the past few months between them. This Saturday Raven and Sandman will have a barbed wire match.

Joey reviews what has happened between Francine and Beulah in the past and how it as lead up to today with their feud being reborn because of TV Champion The Franchise Shane Douglas and Tommy Dreamer. Joey says a mixed tag team match has been signed. Tommy Dreamer cuts a promo and says everything that has happened is his fault because he brought Shane back to ECW. Beulah does some posing with some song playing in the background. My lord she is hot. They edit in lots of footage of Dreamer and Beulah to the video.

Dreamer took on Douglas on the 29th at the Farmers Market but was unsuccessful in his bid for the TV Title thanks to Primetime Brian Lee. Pitbull 2 made the save as Douglas was about to hit Beulah with a belly to belly. The b.W.o. is backstage and Taz comes up with Bill Alfonso and tells them if they ever interfere in his match again he will choke them all out. Blue Meanie says they were just having some fun and gets slapped.

My thoughts on the show…

Some good led into Holiday Hell coming up this weekend. Taz and Van Dam continue their battles that started at N2R tonight and will face each other again this weekend. A mixed tag team match is coming up steaming from all that’s been going on between Dreamer, Beulah, Douglas and Francine which we saw more from tonight. The Eliminators have been on an absolute tear the past few weeks as we saw here as they continue to look towards the tag team titles. Good episode tonight.

Fighting Spirit Review: WRESTLE-1 “New Year Love” on 1/11/15

By
Kevin Wilson
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0

Date: January 11th, 2015
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,150

WRESTLE-1 has returned for another year, now with two new shiny titles to go along with it. This event had a WRESTLE-1 vs. DESPERADO for the first half of the card, and almost just as important this event didn’t have any silly comedy matches. The main event sees the WRESTLE-1 Tag Team Championship being defended. Here is the full card:

– Hiroki Murase vs. Masayuki Kono
– NOSAWA Rongai and MAZADA vs. Ryota Hama and Rionne Fujiwara
– Andy Wu and El Hijo del Pantera vs. TAJIRI and KAZMA SAKAMOTO
– Jiro Kuroshio vs. Koji Doi
– Hiroshi Yamato and Daiki Inaba vs. Minoru Tanaka and Seiki Yoshioka
– Keiji Mutoh and Hiro Saito vs. Manabu Soya and AKIRA
– KAI vs. Masakatsu Funaki
– WRESTLE-1 Tag Team Championship: Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yusuke Kodama 

Onto the matches.

Hiroki Murase vs. Masayuki Kono
Murase chops Kono to start off the match but Kono knees him in the face. Chokeslam by Kono and he hits a running knee for the three count cover. So now we have established that Kono is better than Murase, but didn’t we already know that? So not sure what the point was. Made Kono look strong anyway. Score: 3.0

NOSAWA Rongai and MAZADA vs. Ryota Hama and Rionne Fujiwara
NOSAWA and MAZADA attack their opponents before the match starts, they isolate Fujiwara and hit a series of double team moves. NOSAWA stomps on Fujiwara and kicks him in the back. NOSAWA stomps on him some more and tags in MAZADA. Fujiwara snaps off a lariat and he tags in Hama. Hama tosses around NOSAWA and MAZADA, and Hama squashes MAZADA in the corner. Hama hits a running butt smash on MAZADA, then Hama knocks down both NOSAWA and Fujiwara. Hama hits a Ookido Press on MAZADA and he picks up the three count. In theory this could have been good if it was longer and Hama wasn’t in it, but as it was…. not much to it. Score: 3.5

Andy Wu and El Hijo del Pantera vs. TAJIRI and KAZMA SAKAMOTO
Wu and SAKAMOTO start off the match, with SAKAMOTO quickly getting the advantage. He tags in TAJIRI and he twists on Wu’s leg. TAJIRI kicks Wu in the back, cover, and he gets a two. TAJIRI tags in SAKAMOTO who elbows Wu in the corner. Wu elbows TAJIRI back but TAJIRI hits a back kick for another two. Wu hits a tornado DDT and he tags in Pantera. Dropkick by Pantera in the corner and he hits a sliding kick to TAJIRI. Handspring back elbow by TAJIRI and he tags in SAKAMOTO. Chops by SAKAMOTO, SAKAMOTO tumbles to the apron and to the floor, then Pantera sails out onto him with a tope con hilo. Wu then hits a springboard plancha down onto both of them, Pantera goes up to the top and hits another somersault plancha to the floor. Pantera and SAKAMOTO get back in the ring, Wu goes for a missile dropkick but he accidentally kicks Pantera. Michinoku Driver by SAKAMOTO and he gets a three count. Odd to see TAJIJI in such a nothing match, I guess his stock has fallen in his new promotion. But a fun little match with people flying around and too short to really be offensive. Score: 5.0

Jiro Kuroshio vs. Koji Doi
Doi attacks Kuroshio before the match starts and throws him around outside the ring. He eventually throws him back in and applies submission holds before stomping him in the back. Irish whip by Doi but Kuroshio hits an enzigieri followed by a missile dropkick. Thrust kick by Kuroshio and he hits a sitout slam for a two count. Kuroshio then hits two PKs followed by a quebrada but it gets two again. Kuroshio goes up top but Doi gets his knees up on the dive. They trade strikes and Doi kicks Kuroshio low. Sit down powerbomb by Doi and he then hits a lariat for a two count. Doi hits the Motherfucker and he picks up the three count. After the match Kuroshio took some really unnecessary unprotected chairshots to the head. They really tried to put over Doi as a badass, which made the distraction spot/low blow seem out of place since he didn’t need that to beat Kuroshio. Solid in getting him over but Doi is no Hino. Score: 5.0

Hiroshi Yamato and Daiki Inaba vs. Minoru Tanaka and Seiki Yoshioka
Inaba and Yoshioka start off and they trade elbows until Yoshioka delivers a running kick. Inaba comes back with an elbow and they go back and forth until Inaba hits a vertical suplex. Yoshioka kicks Inaba into the corner but Inaba hits a spear. Combination by Yoshioka and he tags in Tanaka. Tanaka throws Inaba out of the ring and then dropkicks Yamato off the apron. Yoshioka kicks Inaba on the floor, Inaba is thrown back in the ring but he hits a jumping shoulderblock and tags in Yamato. Yamato spears Tanaka in the corner and hits a suplex. Yamato jumps back on Tanaka, kick to the chest by Tanaka but Yamato hits a spear followed by a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Yamato goes off the ropes but Tanaka hits a dropkick and tags in Yoshioka. Running kick by Yoshioka and Yamato tags in Inaba. Enzigieri by Yoshioka and he hits a running knee followed by a kick in the corner. Elbows by Inaba and he hits a lariat followed by a spin out sitdown slam for a two count. Yoshioka avoids the diving headbutt and kicks Inaba in the head. Yoshioka tags in Tanaka, jumping kick by Tanaka and Yoshioka hits a missile dropkick. Brainbuster by Tanaka to Inaba but Inaba barely gets a shoulder up. Yamato is double teamed, knocked out of the ring, and then Yoshioka hits an Asai Moonsault on him. Inaba sneaks in an inside cradle on Tanaka but Tanaka hits a release German suplex followed by a release Dragon suplex. Tornado Kaki Cutter by Tanaka and he gets the three count. Not sure I’ve seen him use that move before but I missed a lot of W-1 last year. This was a fun mid-card tag team match, nothing mind blowing but Inaba is really coming along nicely and Yoshioka looked good in his return. Score: 6.0

Keiji Mutoh and Hiro Saito vs. Manabu Soya and AKIRA
Happy to see Mutoh, not so happy to see Saito. Indifferent about seeing AKIRA. Saito and AKIRA start off and they do some old man jockeying on the mat. They eventually stop and both wrestlers tag out, Mutoh gets Soya to the mat but Soya applies a front necklock. Mutoh gets out of it and applies a kneelock, but Soya gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Mutoh but Soya hits a shoulderblock. AKIRA comes in and with Soya they chop Mutoh. Watching Mutoh makes me sad, with his knees he shouldn’t be in there. He is just making them worse, he should be on the Chono circuit. I mean I love the guy, that is well documented, but he in no condition to be having wrestling matches, his knees are worse than Foley’s. Both wrestlers end up tagging out and AKIRA knocks Saito to the ground. Spinebuster by Saito and he hits a senton. Saito tags in Mutoh and Mutoh hits a dragon screw leg whip on AKIRA. AKIRA tags in Soya, chops by Soya and he hits a vertical suplex. Hiptoss by Mutoh and he hits a knee in the corner followed by a dragon screw. Soya blocks the Shining Wizard but Mutoh dropkicks him in the knee and hits it anyway. Soya fires back with a lariat, Saito hits a senton on Soya while AKIRA hits a diving body press on Mutoh. Jawbreaker by Saito and he hits a senton on AKIRA. Mutoh dropkicks Soya on the knee and hits the lariat. Another lariat by Soya and he hits a death valley bomb for a two count. AKIRA goes up and hits a diving body press on Mutoh’s leg. Soya goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, he puts Mutoh in the Scorpion Deathlock, Saito tries to break it up but Soya ignores him and Mutoh taps out. Soya and AKIRA win the match. This wasn’t a bad match and really set up well that Soya can beat Mutoh. I mean Mutoh doesn’t lose by submission very often and its fitting right after I note his legs being shot that Soya wins with a leg submission hold, that should be what every wrestler does. You don’t have to wear down Mutoh’s legs, they already are worn down. The match accomplished what it set out to do, no complaints aside from the sometimes slow back and forth. Score: 5.5

KAI vs. Masakatsu Funaki
They quickly go to the mat, KAI gets Funaki’s knee but they both get back up. Soon they are back on the mat again, Funaki gets KAI around the neck but KAI gets to the ropes. Funaki kicks KAI into the corner and hits a PK. KAI ducks a Funaki kick and dumps him out to the apron before dropkicking him to the floor and hitting a tope suicida. Back in the ring, sleeper by Funaki but KAI kicks him back. Lariat by KAI and he hits the LAT for a two. KAI goes up top but Funaki rolls out of the way and kicks KAI in the chest. More kicks by Funaki and he applies a sleeper with a bodyscissors. KAI gets a foot on the ropes and hits a jumping kick followed by a lariat. KAI goes for a powerbomb but Funaki punches out of it and applies a triangle choke. KAI rolls into the ropes to get another break, backdrop suplex by Funaki and he goes for the Hybrid Blaster, but KAI gets away. Thrust kick by KAI and he hits a release German suplex followed by a kick to the face for two. KAI drags up Funaki, Funaki goes for KAI’s arm but KAI blocks it and hits a powerbomb for the three count. Ignore the results, that was not a Thunder Fire Powerbomb. I didn’t really like this, Funaki was just going for random submissions without setting up anything and the match was just too slow for a nine minute match. They have different styles and they really didn’t try to mesh them very well. Glad KAI got the win but it didn’t really put him over like it should have. Score: 4.5

(c) Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yusuke Kodama 
This match is for the WRESTLE-1 Tag Team Championship. Kodama dropkicks Hayashi to start the match, sends him out of the ring and sails out onto him with a tope con hilo. Kondo comes over to help as Kodama gets back in the ring with Hayashi. Hayashi tags in Nakanoue, Nakanoue goes off the ropes but Kondo knees him from the apron. Quebrada by Hayashi and he applies a crab hold, but Kodama breaks it up. Kondo throws Nakanoue out to the ramp and hits a vertical suplex. Hayashi elbows Kodama in the ring while Nakanoue slams Kondo on the ramp. Nakanoue gets in the ring and he kicks Hayashi in the back. Scoop slam by Kodama and he hits a slingshot senton. Jumping kick by Kodama to Hayashi, cover and he gets a two count. Nakanoue is tagged in and he hits a double underhook suplex. Nakanoue goes up top and hits a diving elbow drop and he gets a two count. Nakanoue and Hayashi trade elbows and Hayashi hits a backdrop suplex. Hayashi tags in Kondo, Irish whip and Kondo hits an atomic drop on Nakanoue followed by a DDT. Lanzarse by Kondo and he gets a two count. Lariat by Kondo and he hits a Samoan Drop/neckbreaker combination with Hayashi for a two count. Lariat/thrust kick to Nakanoue but the pin is broken up. Kondo puts Nakanoue on the top turnbuckle and Kondo hits a superplex. Kodama runs into to help his partner, hitting a DDT, but Hayashi hits an inverted Final Cut.

Nakanoue runs in and uppercuts Hayashi. Nakanoue then goes up top and sails out of the ring with a plancha suicida on everyone. Nakanoue slides Kondo back in the ring and hits an elbow, then with Kodama they both strike Kondo. Kodama goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Kondo, then Nakanoue hits a lariat for a two. Hayashi kicks Kodama, but Nakanoue hits a German suplex hold on Kondo for a two count. Kodama kicks Kondo in the back of the head and hits a pescado onto Hayashi, while Nakanoue hits a diving elbow drop on Kondo for two. Dragon suplex hold by Nakanoue on Kondo, Kodama kicks Kondo then Nakanoue hits a dragon suplex hold for a two count. Nakanoue goes off the ropes, Kondo levels Kodama with a lariat but it gets two count. Our tag rules are pretty loose, but I’m not complaining. WA4 by Hayashi to Kodama, Kondo goes off the ropes but Nakanoue snaps off a backslide for two. Hayashi runs in and hits a handspring kick to the head, then Kondo levels Nakanoue with a lariat. Kondo goes off the ropes again and levels him with a final King Kong Lariat, and he picks up the three count! Hayashi and Kondo are still your champions. This was a really fun match, it was literally nonstop and the reversals/double teams were done to perfection. I love tag teams that actually act like teams and this match had that in spades. Kodama looked great, he is really coming along, and everyone here delivered. Wish it was a little longer for a main event/title match but overall one of the more fun matches so far this year. Score: 8.0

Final Thoughts:

So this event wasn’t very good. There were a few things I liked – Mutoh tapping to set up his title match against Soya later this month, and the main event. Everything else was skippable, some of it was ‘solid’ but with so many puroresu events being available no one goes out of their way for just a solid match. So for storyline purposes the event was fine, but as far as actual in-ring action goes just watch the tag team title match and move on to something else.

Grade: D+ 

Kevin Wilson of Puroresu Central

The “OH MY GOD!” Review: MLW’s Dying Days; Undergound TV And The Aftermath

By
Heels Inc
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0

Underground TV 2004-01-16 (Matches taped Reloaded Night 1 2004-01-09 from Tabu Night Club in Orland, Fla)

Champions
World: Steve Corino
GTC: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson
Junior Heavyweight Champion: Sonjay Dutt

The Stampede Bulldogs beat Puma and Bobby Cross in an exciting opening contest. This was the first match of the GTC Carnival. That took place over the 2 nights of Reloaded.

During commercial we get hype for the next two TV Tapings. February 13th War Memorial will feature a six sided ring and February 14th Tabu Nightclub.

PJ Friedman talks about how he has sacrificed everything in his life for wrestling but has nothing to show for it. He challenges Vampiro and says he will make a name for himself by taking out Vampiro.

Teddy Hart joins Eric Gargiulo on commentary for the next match. Junior Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt was successful in his first ever title defense against Hart Foundation 2.0 member Jack Evans. After the match Hart and Evans attacked and laid out Dutt.

Dutt is backstage and he trash talks the Hart Foundation 2.0 and their friends Los Maximos calling them the “worlds greatest scrubs”. Maximos show up and tell Dutt to go get two partners to take them on in a six man.

In the main event Homicide beat Low Ki but after the match both men joined forces to beat on Jerry Lynn. Gary Hart came out to join with them and Homicide and Low Ki attacked a fan and MLW owner Court Bauer.

My thoughts on the show…
For sure check this episode out. Great main event really good opening match. Hart Foundation 2.0 looks to be a big part of MLW based on the two TV tapings and the backstage stuff they aired tonight.

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Underground TV 2004-01-23 (Matches taped Reloaded Night 1 2004-01-09 & Reloaded Night 2 2004-01-10 from Tabu Night Club in Orland, Fla)

Champions
World: Steve Corino
GTC: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson
Junior Heavyweight Champion: Sonjay Dutt

We open up with The Extreme Horsemen in the ring posing after Champion Steve Corino defeated Terry Funk at Reloaded Night 2. Gary Hart comes out and kicks Funk for having too much pride to give up now but not 15 years ago. Hart’s bodyguard Mr. Woo puts the boots to Funk. Hart nails Funk with a chair and they leave.

Opening video.

We get brief clips of last weeks GTC Carnival Match and then see the end of Dark Fuego & Pete Wilson beating Roderick Strong & MDogg 20 Matt Cross in non-televised action.

In the opening match The Havana Pitbulls beat Los Maximos in the final match of the opening round of the GTC Carnival.

Los Maximos are backstage freaking out on the MLW webcam. Hart Foundation 2.0 show up and they all get into a heated argument and have a little scuffle. Maximos challenge them to a match in February at the six sided ring.

We go to breaking news and are told the Champion Steve Corino has challenged “The Franchise” Shane Douglas.

“The Natural One” Michael Modest beat Jerry Lynn after some help from Homicide.

Back to the breaking news guy who still hasn’t told us his name. He lets us know that Douglas is in talks with the MLW office. Maximos show up and say they were screwed over in the GTC Carnival. Then they start yelling about Hart Foundation 2.0, Sonjay Dutt and Dark Fuego. PJ Friedman says that on the War Memorial on the 13th he will be taking on Norman Smiley and he will be there to break the neck of Smiley and finish him. He will be sending a message to Vampiro by destroying Smiley.

JJ Dillion is on the phone. Dillion is officially issuing the challenge for the War Memorial to Shane Douglas.

Breaking news guy brings in Matt Martel. Martel hypes his new column on MLW.com. Breaking news guy gets word on his ear piece that Douglas has said yes to the challenge and it will be the main event at the War Memorial. The following night no DQ Samoan Island Tribe against the Extreme Horsemen.

In the main event Vampiro beat Raven in a Screwface Match.

My thoughts on the show…
I’d say skip this one. None of the matches were very good.

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Underground TV 2004-01-30 (Matches taped Reloaded Night 1 2004-01-09 & Reloaded Night 2 2004-01-10 from Tabu Night Club in Orland, Fla)

Champions
World: Steve Corino
GTC: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson
Junior Heavyweight Champion: Sonjay Dutt

A video hyping “The Franchise” Shane Douglas’ return to MLW to take on Champion Steve Corino.

Opening video

Breaking News Guy is back and this week he has a name! Sean Naes runs down some of the card for the TV tapings in two week. On the 14th Sonjay Dutt takes on Chad Collyer. Stampede Bulldogs against Havana Pitbulls. Teddy Hart versus Juventud Gurrera.

And after 12 minutes we get our first match. Los Maximos beat Norman Smiley and Julius Smokes. We see a new side of Los Maximos as they used a chair to get the victory.

Sean Naes is backstage with Teddy Hart and they talk about a Dragons Gate match. Naes wants to know how Hart is preparing for the match. Hart says he goes out and puts his life on the line every time he wrestles. Hart says him and his team will be the last ones standing in the match. Hart talks a lot about god and says that he puts his life on the line for the fans everytime he wrestles. That was a weird promo.

Just added to the show on the 14th is Raven against Justin Credible and Jack Evans versus Bobby Quance.

The Stampede Bulldogs beat the Havana Pitbulls in the finals of the GTC Carnival. In the next match. The Bulldogs earned a title match with the win.

Sean Naes hypes the taping on the 13th. Extreme Horsemen take on Stampede Bulldogs.

PJ Friedman who has apparently been training in Russia says he is going to send a message to Vampiro through Norman Smiley. I don’t understand when Vampiro and Smiley became friends.

Sean Naes is back and he lets us know that Homicide has been suspended indefinitely due to his attack on Court Bauer and interference in the Jerry Lynn Michael Modest match.

In the main event Teddy Hart was vicorious over Bryan Danielson.

My thoughts on the show…
Decent tag match with the GTC Carnival finals and a real solid main event make this one worth checking out.

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Underground TV 2004-02-06 (Matches taped Reloaded Night 2 2004-01-10 from Tabu Night Club in Orland, Fla)

Champions
World: Steve Corino
GTC: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson
Junior Heavyweight Champion: Sonjay Dutt

The in ring promo by Champion Steve Corino from before his match with “The Franchise” Shane Douglas at Genesis airs.

Opening video.

In the opening match Junior Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt was the victor in a 4 way match when he pinned Puma. The other participants were Jack Evans and Chasyn Rance.

Sean Naes talk about the debut of the six sided ring in the U.S. Jose Maximos shows up and talks about how Dark Fuego is trying to make money from a gimmick his cousin used. Dark Fuego shows up and attacks Jose. He says to expect the unexpected and it’s pretty clear it’s Joel Maximos in the mask.

Low Ki and Gary Hart are in the locker room. Low Ki says he and Homicide are better then MLW. Hart tells Low Ki to not let people keep him down. Hart says he will take care of everything for Low Ki and all he needs to handle is what happens in the ring. Tonight Low Ki says he will make an example of Chad Collyer.

Sean Naes say on February 14th Terry Funk has requested time in the ring to make an announcement. Naes wonders if it’s to retire.

Low Ki dominated Chad Collyer in the next match.

A video hyping the return of Fuego Guerrero is shown.

Naes is hyping the next set of TV tapings and Matt Martel interrupts him and plugs his column on MLW.com.
Back to Low Ki and Gary Hart. Low Ki says tonight he made an example of Chad Collyer and he will continue to do the same to other members of MLW. This was pretty stupid as it was in the same spot and they were in the same clothes as the previous interview making it pretty obvious that they were filmed at the same time.

In the main event GTC Champions The Extreme Horsemen beat the Samoan Island Tribe with a little help from Steve Corino and their new manager JJ Dillion.

Hype video for next weekends TV tapings.

My thoughts on the show…
Was not a big fan of the matches on the show here and really wanted the Tribe to take the tag titles. Thumbs down here.

———————————————-

Underground TV 2004-01-30 (Matches taped Reloaded Night 1 2004-01-09 & Reloaded Night 2 2004-01-10 from Tabu Night Club in Orland, Fla)

Champions
World: Steve Corino
GTC: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson
Junior Heavyweight Champion: Sonjay Dutt

We got a LOT of last weeks main event to start us off.

Opening video about ten minutes into the show.

Chris Hero defeated Chad Collyer in the opening match with the heroes welcome. Champion Steve Corino was on commentary during the match and he had a lot to say about Teddy Hart. The two have been calling each other out over the past few weeks. Corino claims that Teddy Hart is ducking him.

Chad Hart and Rich Criado beat The Shane Twins. After the match Hart was upset that Criado celebrated the victory since it was Hart that picked up the win. The two brawled to the back.

Chad Hart vs. Rich Criado ref Mickie Jay
JJ Dillion is on commentary. Criado with a leap frog and he goes down holding his knee. Hart goes near him and he pops back up and hits a nice looking brain buster. Slam and leg drop by Criado. This match is from before Dillion joined the Extreme Horsemen. Criado with a tilt a whirl slam Criado covers and puts his feet on the rope for leverage but the ref sees it. Hart comes back with a high knee. Hart covers and now he puts his feet on the rope and gets the win in 3.13.

Vampiro video package.

In six man tag team action PJ Friedman, Mike Modest, & Chris Hero defeated Bobby Quance, M-Dogg 20 Matt Cross, & Matt Martel.

Homicide and Low Ki are walking on the streets. Homicide wants to know if the rumors are true and if Terry Funk is really retiring. He says that Funk’s days are numbered.

My thoughts on the show…
Good opening match the rest was worthless. Skip it.

The aftermath
And that’s it for MLW. The taping that was supposed to happen today and the one for tomorrow were canceled and MLW closed up shop, just like that….

—————————————–

MLW in Review

As a whole I’d have to say that the company was a disappointment. Just about every show looked like it should be awesome based on the card, but most of them were a huge let down. Bad matches, tons of no shows, guys showing up for one match and then disappearing, and a three month break at a time when both the World and Tag Team Championship scenes were picking up some steam. Let’s take a brief look back and go over some of my favorite performers, least favorite performers, best storylines, must see matches and finally my all-time favorite moment from MLW.

Best Performers
Mikey Whipwreck—Mikey gets the top spot from me as the guy who brought me the most joy when watching MLW. All the matches he had with the company were decent enough but it was his backstage stuff and general insaneness that gets him this spot. While being insanely cartoony during his promos it made me smile each and every time.

Samoan Island Tribe—No matter the combination Samu, Mana and Ekmo were always good for a fun beat down. Whether they were beating down Los Maximos or Ekmo was diving to the floor from the top rope it was constantly entertaining.

Teddy Hart—While only showing up for the final two MLW shows, Hart was able to put on two very solid matches and was good on commentary and had some interesting promos on TV. I was really looking forward to seeing what they did with him and the rest of Hart Foundation 2.0

Worst Performers

Los Maximos—If you have been following along with my reviews you knew this one was coming. Easily one of my least favorite tag teams off all time. They repeatedly claimed to be the best tag team in the world yet can’t put together a match that made any sense at all. Let’s not forget about the fact that almost every match they were in had tons of blown spots in it.

Christopher Daniels—My first real look at Daniels after hearing about how great he was and he did not impress me at all. I’m not sure if he really was one the of the worst in MLW or if I was just expecting so much and was so let down and that’s why he makes the list.

All the guys that showed up once then disappeared and all the guys that didn’t show up at all—MLW was trying to build a national company to fill the void left by ECW. Pretty hard to do that when you start story lines and then guys don’t show up at the next show or when you hype someone making their debut and then they never come.

Best Storylines
This is seriously a tough one as so many stories started and then stopped or were talked about on TV like they were going to happen and then never did.

Raven/CM Punk—Both of these guys are great on the mic and in the ring. Punk would improve a lot over the years but he was still “on” for his whole feud with Raven. One of the few storylines that really got to play out over time and actually had a bit of closure. I’m sure it would have continued into a three way story with Vampiro being added into the mix, but it still developed enough to feel complete when compared to a lot of the other feuds.

Best Matches
“The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, Dick Togo & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Quiet Storm & The SATs from Reload 2002-09-26

Sabu vs. La Parka 1 + 2 from King of Kings 2002-12-20 and Revolutions 2003-05-09

Jerry Lynn vs. Homicide from Rise of the Renegades 2003-07-26

Sonjay Dutt vs. Jimmy Yang from Summer Apocalypse 2003-08-22

Low Ki vs. Homicide from Reloaded Night 1 2004-01-09

Steve Corino vs. Terry Funk from Reloaded Night 2 2004-01-10

My all-time favorite moment…
There were very few moments that really had me marking out. This is another hard thing to come up with. But from the very limited list in my head the number one moment from MLW is Ekmo coming off the top rope and putting B-Boy through a table on the floor. The dive onto Matt Martel was probably more impressive but this being the first one it gets the nod.

Fighting Spirit Review: Big Japan on January 2nd, 2015

By
Kevin Wilson
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0

Date:  January 2nd, 2015
Location:  Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,221 

The real first BJW event of the year!  This was the bigger event but it showed up out of order, due to them airing on different television stations. This event has your usual hardcore matches, but also Miyamoto defending the Big Japan Death Match Championship against Hoshino. Here is the full card:

– Hideyoshi Kamitani, Isamu Oshita, and Toshiyuki Sakuta vs. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, and Kota Sekifuda
– Atsushi Maruyama, Masato Inaba, and Dyna Mido vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Shinobu
– Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
– Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Masaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki vs. Saburo Inematsu and Ryuichi Sekine
– Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match: “Black Angel” Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, and Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, and Isami Kodaka
– Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
– Big Japan Death Match Heavyweight Championship: Yuko Miyamoto vs. Kankuro Hoshino

Some of these may be clipped but none looked badly clipped anyway.

Hideyoshi Kamitani, Isamu Oshita, and Toshiyuki Sakuta vs. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, and Kota Sekifuda
Sekifuda and Oshita start off. They trade wristlocks and submission holds, but Sekifuda tags in Senga. Senga works over Oshita and tags in Sekifuda. Takedown by Oosugi and they end up in the ropes. Oshita tags in Kamitani, Oosugi applies a side headlock and he hits a low blow. Atomic drop by Oosugi but Kamitani elbows him in the face. Oosugi tags in Sekifuda, elbows by Sekifuda but Kamitani hits a scoop slam. Kamitani tags in Sakuta and this match is pretty not exciting. Snapmare by Sakuta and he hits a knee drop. Sakuta tags in Oshita but Sekifuda tags in Senga. Oosugi comes in too and they hit a double dropkick. Senga picks up Oshita and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Oshita and he tags in Kamitani. Kamitani shoulderblocks Senga and Sekifuda as well before hitting a vertical suplex on Senga. Senga and Oosugi double team Kamitani. Kamitani gets away and tags in Sakuta. Sekifuda is also tagged in and Sakuta dropkicks Sekifuda. Monkey flip by Sekifuda but Sakuta throws him off the top turnbuckle. Sakuta and Kamitani come in the ring and everyone attacks Sekifuda in the corner. Backdrop suplex by Sakuta to Sekifuda, cover, and he gets a two count. Sakuta and Sekifuda trade elbows, reverse cradle by Sekifuda and he gets the three count. A really basic opener, not a whole hell of a lot happened. Some of these guys may have potential but they didn’t really get a chance to show it here. Score: 4.0

Atsushi Maruyama, Masato Inaba, and Dyna Mido vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Shinobu
Naturally the Brahmans attack their opponents before the match starts, isolating Mido in the ring. Mido takes them both out but Shu throws a suitcase at his legs. They go outside the ring and battle into the stands, and eventually Shinobu and Shu attack Mido in the ring. Kei hits Mido with a stop sign and then a suitcase is thrown at his head. Kei pours water on Mido but Mido spits water at Shu and hits a lariat. Mido tags in Inaba and Inaba hits a hip attack. Belly to belly suplex by Inaba and he dropkicks Shu in the knee. Maruyama comes in and hits a tope con hilo out of the ring. Inaba elbows Shu into the corner and Maruyama kicks him in the head. Lariat by Inaba but Kei breaks up the pin attempt. Scoop slam by Inaba and he tags in Mido. Headbutt by Mido and he hits a second one. Kei comes in the ring with Shu, he gets the black liquid but Mido ducks and he spits it at Shu on accident. Suplex by Mido to Shu, scoop slam, he goes up top but Kei grabs him. Maruyama runs in to help but so does Shinobu. Shinobu hits an Asai Moonsault onto Maruyama and Inaba. Shu and Kei slam Mido on a piece of luggage, Shu picks up Mido and delivers the Zombie King for the three count. This was actually more straight forward than most Brahman matches but still wasn’t very good. Shinobu can be really fun in tag matches but didn’t get to do much here. I liked the comedy was kept to a minimum, and the action was solid, just nothing special about it. Score: 5.0

Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
Hashimoto and Kawakami trade strikes and Hashimoto kicks Kawakami in the back. Kicks to the chest by Hashimoto but Kawakami bites his foot. Snapmare by Kawakami and he applies a reverse chinlock. Kawakami stomps down Hashimoto and elbows him into the corner. Hashimoto gets the advantage back and hits bootscrapes in the corner followed by a running kick. PK by Hashimoto and he gets a two count. Kawakami hits a scoop slam and he hits a vertical suplex. Crab hold by Kawakami but Hashimoto hits a fisherman suplex. Back up they trade elbows, roaring elbow by Kawakami but it gets a two count. Kawakami goes off the ropes but Hashimoto hits a headbutt. Kawakami gets Hashimoto up and hits a sitout slam for a two count. Running elbow by Kawakami and he delivers the Scarlett Frosion for the three count. Something about this match just felt flat, maybe it was because it felt like at times they were just taking turns. They were snug and showed a lot of emotion, which was good, I just wish it felt more like a competitive match. Score: 6.0

Masaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki vs. Saburo Inematsu and Ryuichi Sekine
This match is a Barbed Wire Board Death Match. Ueki and Takahashi attack before the match starts, and Sekine trades elbows with Ueki. Ueki picks up Sekine and drives him back-first into a barbed wire board. Inematsu comes in and sends Ueki into the other barbed wire board. Inematsu and Ueki trade elbows and Inematsu tags in Sekine. Sekine kicks Ueki and tags Inematsu back in, he sets the barbed wire board against Ueki’s back and Inematsu dropkicks it into him. Scoop slam by Inematsu and he tags in Sekine. Ueki fights back but Sekine tags in Inematsu. Inematsu hits Ueki with a chair and then hits him a second time. Sekine is tagged in but Ueki elbows him back. Crossbody by Ueki and he tags in Takahashi. Jumping elbow by Takahashi to Sekine, he puts the barbed wire board against him and he hits a cannonball. Scoop slam by Takahashi and hits a senton for a two count. Fireman’s carry takedown by Sekine onto the barbed wire board and he tags in Inematsu. Inematsu elbows Takahashi and hits a body avalanche. Judo throw by Takahashi and he tags in Ueki. Ueki gets a chair but Inematsu blocks it. Ueki finally hits Inematsu with it and he gets a two count. Inematsu is double teamed in the corner, and Takahashi hits a dropkick. Sekine and Ueki trade elbows, and Ueki hits a spear for a two count. Ueki lays a barbed wire board on the mat and goes up top, but Inematsu throws him off and onto the board. High kick by Inematsu and he hits a double chop. Thunder Fire Powerbomb onto the barbed wire board by Inematsu and he picks up the three count. I guess with four mediocre matches this is about as good as it was going to get. They used the barbed wire boards enough to matter but not so much that it overwhelmed the match. Decent for a midcard tag match. Score: 5.0

“Black Angel” Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, and Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, and Isami Kodaka
This is a Lighttubes Death Match. Because that is just what we needed, a lighttube death match. Don’t I sound excited? They brawl to start the match with Numazawa staying in the ring with Kodaka. Kodaka and Numazawa go to the floor while everyone else is battling around the stands. Kobayashi goes up top but is hit with lighttubes. Tsukamoto hits Kobayashi with some tubes and tags in Takeda. Tsukamoto hits Kobayashi with more tubes before tagging in Numazawa. Numazawa headbutts Kobayashi with lighttubes and tags in Tsukamoto. Tsukamoto beats down Kobayashi and tags in Takeda, Numazawa comes in too and Tsukamoto slams both Numazawa and Takeda onto him. Cover, but Kobayashi gets a shoulder up. Kobayashi finally fights back and hits a double lariat, giving him time to tag in Ito. Ito elbows everyone, and he hits a scissors kick onto Numazawa. Scoop slam by Ito and he goes for a moonsault, but Numazawa moves. Numazawa dropkicks Ito into the corner, and Numazawa tags in Takeda. Takeda knees Ito in the corner and hits a suplex. Cover, but it gets two. Scissors kick by Ito and he tags in Kodaka. Kodaka hits Takeda with a bunch of lighttubes but Takeda hits a suplex before tagging in Tsukamoto. Kodaka is triple teamed in the corner and Tsukamoto hits a fisherman suplex. Tsukamoto scoop slams Kodaka in front of the corner, he puts tubes on his chest and hits a reverse splash senton. Ito comes in and kicks Tsukamoto, and Kobayashi lariats Takeda. Shining Wizard by Kobayashi on Numazawa, and they both roll out of the ring. Scoop slam by Kodaka to Tsukamoto, he puts tubes on him and hits a diving double kneedrop. Cover, but it gets two. Thrust kick by Tsukamoto but Kodaka returns the favor. Fire Thunder Driver by Kodaka and he gets the three count. I mean we have all seen this match before but at least they kept the pace up and the tubes were used appropriately. So even though it had about 0% of a ‘wow’ factor, it wasn’t really bad either. Score: 6.5

Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa 
Please let this match save this show. Okabayashi and Ishikawa start off and they bounce off each other before trading chops. Both wrestlers tag out, headlock by Sekimoto to Sato but Sato gets out of it. Sato elbows Sekimoto hard to the mat and tags in Ishikawa while Sekimoto also tags in Okabayashi. Ishikawa knocks Okabayashi into the corner and tags in Sato. Sato chops Okabayashi and kicks him in the back. Kicks by Sato but Okabayashi slams him to the mat and tags in Sekimoto. Sekimoto lariats Sato in the corner and hits a vertical suplex. Scorpion Deathlock by Sekimoto but Ishikawa breaks it up. Knee by Sato and he elbows Sekimoto before tagging in Ishikawa. Ishikawa hits a lariat in the corner, slam to Sekimoto and he hits a doublestomp off the second turnbuckle for two. Sekimoto chops Ishikawa but Ishikawa hits a tombstone piledriver for a two count. Sekimoto kicks Ishikawa back and hits a missile dropkick before tagging in Okabayashi. Okabayashi lariats Ishikawa in the corner and he hits a powerslam for two. Okabayashi goes for a lariat but Ishikawa knees him. Okabayashi tosses Ishikawa to the mat and goes for a suplex, but Ishikawa blocks it. Okabayashi and Sekimoto both hit suplexes on their respective opponents, Sekimoto picks up Ishikawa and they hit a double backdrop suplex. Okabayashi scoop slams Ishikawa, he goes up top but Ishikawa recovers. Ishikawa joins him and hits a superplex. Sato comes in and they double team Okabayashi. Double elbow smash to Okabayashi, cover by Ishikawa but it gets a two. Ishikawa picks up Okabayashi and hits the Fire Thunder Driver, but Okabayashi gets a shoulder up. Running knee by Ishikawa but Sekimoto grabs him from behind and hits a German suplex. Sato runs in and suplexes Sekimoto but Sekimoto gets up and hits a lariat. Everyone is out and this match is man-sized as anticipated. Okabayashi and Ishikawa trade shots but Okabayashi hits a powerbomb for a two count. Lariat by Okabayashi, he goes up top and hits the GOLEM SPLASH for the three count. Sekimoto and Okabayashi pick up the win. This was fun, these four all know how to hit and be hit, and they make every big move count. Nothing epic but good stuff here. Score: 7.0

(c) Yuko Miyamoto vs. Kankuro Hoshino
This match is for the Big Japan Death Match Heavyweight Championship. Wristlocks to start and they trade shoulderblocks. Hoshino knocks Miyamoto out of the ring and elbows him around the floor. Miyamoto throws Hoshino into the ring post and slides him into the ring. Miyamoto gets a weight and throws it at Hoshino, but Hoshino moves. Miyamoto throws Hoshino into the ladder, he gets a few chairs and hits Hoshino with them. Miyamoto scoop slams Hoshino onto the ladder and slams his arm into it. Hoshino drives Miyamoto’s head into a cinder block, he then puts a cinder block on Miyamoto’s back and hits him with another block. Hoshino suplexes Miyamoto onto a ladder and hits an elbow. Belly to belly suplex by Miyamoto and he hits a double knee followed by a dropkick. Cobra twist by Miyamoto but Hoshino hiptosses out of it. Miyamoto hits Hoshino with a weight and throws it onto his stomach. Miyamoto gets a mini-ladder but Hoshino back bodydrops him onto it. Brainbuster by Hoshino and he scoop slams Miyamoto onto a bunch of cinder blocks. Hoshino goes for a senton on the blocks but Miyamoto moves. Handspring back elbow by Miyamoto, he puts a few weights in the ring and powerbombs Hoshino onto them. Miyamoto puts a ladder on Hoshino and hits a somersault senton. Miyamoto goes for a lariat but Hoshino hits a STO, he then chokeslams Miyamoto onto a ladder. Ladder-based offense just makes me cringe. Hoshino puts a ladder onto Miyamoto and he hits a diving senton. Hoshino and Miyamoto trade elbows and Hoshino hits a lariat. Gedo Clutch by Hoshino but it gets a two count. Lariat by Miyamoto and he hits a Yankee Driver. Miyamoto picks up Hoshino and hits a Yankee Driver onto a ladder for the three count. Miyamoto retains his championship. Watching people do stuff on ladders and concrete blocks is harder to me than watching stuff liked barbed wire and lighttubes. Not sure why. But they did a good job of not going into ‘overkill’ territory, wish Hoshino had gotten a few more nearfalls as I never felt he really had a chance of winning, but for the type of match it was I have no real complaints. It was missing that one big ‘omg’ spot some death matches have but that’s not a requirement, just the type of thing that can make a match more memorable. Score: 7.0

Final Thoughts:

The event started a bit rough but did improve as it went along. The matches with plunder were all at least watchable, the Big Japan ‘strong style’ match was as advertised, and the main event was a perfectly acceptable title match. While it lacked that match or moment to put it over the edge as an event I would recommend people to watch, it did have some redeemable traits. Die-hard BJW fans will probably enjoy it, but if you don’t like hardcore action there isn’t much here for you.

Grade: C-

WWE Reports 2014 Q4 Results, Vince McMahon Comments

By
Brian Grey
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0

Credit Raj Giri for the write-up.

WWE issued the following today. You can check out the full Q4 earnings release at this link:

WWE REPORTS Q4 2014 RESULTS

STAMFORD, Conn., February 12, 2015 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014. Revenues for the quarter increased 19% to $140.5 million from $118.4 million in the fourth quarter last year. For the quarter, the Company reported a Net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.02 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.10 loss per share, in the prior year quarter. The revenue increase was driven by the Network and Television segments with earnings growth driven primarily by the rise in television rights fees. Excluding items affecting comparability, Adjusted OIBDA increased to $5.1 million from a loss of $5.6 million and Adjusted Net loss was $0.6 million, or $0.01 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.10 loss per share, in the prior year quarter.

“During the quarter, we remained focused on growing WWE Network, which surpassed 1 million subscribers in January 2015, just 11 months after launch. Subscriber growth was driven by a successful free November promotion, the launch of the service in the UK and the strength of our Royal Rumble event,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that our 2015 road map provides significant opportunities for growth, as we continue to execute well, innovate faster and expand WWE Network, the single greatest opportunity to transform WWE’s business model.”

“In the fourth quarter, we continued to execute our WWE Network strategy, and we generated earnings growth driven by the escalation of our television rights fees. For the quarter, our adjusted OIBDA surpassed our most recent public guidance associated with an average of 721,000 paid subscribers,” added George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “Over the year, key brand metrics remained strong. Raw and SmackDown TV ratings increased 2% and 3%, respectively. Consumption of WWE content on YouTube increased more than 80% to approximately 3.9 billion video views and our social media presence grew more than 80% and recently surpassed 450 million followers. Importantly, we believe that we have reached a financial inflection point. In 2015, we expect year-over-year Adjusted OIBDA growth in every quarter, with growth driven by the performance of WWE Network, the escalation of our television rights fees as well as continued innovation across our businesses.”

Backstage Reaction To WWE Recently Portraying John Cena As An ‘Old Man Veteran’

By
Brian Grey
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0

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

There has been a lot of talk how WWE portraying John Cena as an “old man veteran” is a bad idea. One person within WWE labeled it as “shockingly bad” as far as a direction for Cena’s character and they couldn’t understand what Cena is thinking going along with it.

The idea is for Cena to be moved into a role similar to how Bruno Sammartino was in the late 1970s where he was really the most popular guy but the focus was put on someone else coming up, Bob Backlund.

One problem with this idea is Cena is a top merchandise seller and his strongest fanbases are young kids and women. Also, Cena is just 37 years old and can pass for much younger.

Backstage Talk On The Undertaker’s Condition, Triple H Pushing For Top Hispanic Superstar

By
Jim Somers
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0

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– For what it’s worth, someone recently saw The Undertaker and said it was almost shocking how he looked, saying he moved like his knees were gone and looked like he was 60. Taker is expected to face Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31.

– Triple H is once again heavily pushing the idea that the company needs a top Hispanic Superstar. WWE is looking for that talent to be someone that can work well in the ring, is bi-lingual, 6 feet tall and with the kind of body that they like.

NXT Takeover: Rival Results 2/11/15

By
Jim Somers
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0

NXT Takeover: Rival
February 11, 2015
Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL
Report by Mike Killam

Discuss tonight’s two-hour NXT special event in the comments section below. You can also use the #Wrestlezone hashtag on social media to join the discussion, and share this page on Twitter with the following button:

HIDEO ITAMI vs. TYLER BREEZE

A “random female fan” jumps on Breeze during his entrance, until security grabs her and escorts her out. Definitely looked like a plant. Itami hits a running knee in the corner and Breeze takes a breather on the floor. He rolls back in and takes a dropkick, several kicks, but escapes to the apron to avoid another running knee. Tyler attacks the knee and goes to work on it. He continues his attack around the ringpost, locking in a Figure Four until the referee forces a break. He heads back to the ring with a modified Sharpshooter, breaking in the ropes and continuing the attack. Itami comes back with a GTS attempt – big pop – but Breeze fights free and hits a superkick. After another minute of rest holds, Tyler throws right hands and Hideo “Hulks up”, no-selling them and coming back with kicks of his own. The dropkick connects in the corner, followed by a running knee for three. Winner: HIDEO ITAMI

No Disqualifications
BARON CORBIN vs. BULL DEMPSEY

Baron sprints down to the ring and goes right after him. Bull tries to bail but is followed, and they fight up the ramp. Corbin gets thrown into the apron and suplexed into the steel camp, then bounced off the post. “We want tables” chant breaks out. Bull looks under the ring, but decides against anything to draw heat from the crowd. He hits the ring and runs into a big spinebuster. Corbin clotheslines the big man, and they both spill over the ropes. Bull climbs to the top rope and hits the diving headbutt, but Baron kicks out at two – the first guy to do so. Dempsey goes to get a steel chair, but runs into the End of Days for the 1-2-3. Corbin grabs the chair after the bell, takes a seat and puts his feet up on Bull. Winner: BARON CORBIN

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
WESLEY BLAKE (c) & BUDDY MURPHY (c) vs. THE LUCHA DRAGONS

It’s chaos to start, as the champions go right after Lucha Dragons. Kalisto slips on the ropes, then recovers with a senton to the floor on Blake. Sin Cara with a victory roll from the top rope for a two-count. The challengers work over Murphy with kicks and a double team, wheelbarrow senton. Blake tags in and they hit a double team neckbreaker, throwing Cara about 8 feet into the air. Kalisto redeems all the early botches with an impressive springboard corkscrew splash, followed by a big DDT. He tries for Soleda del Sol, but Murphy catches him; Kalisto pops up into a headscissors. They do a pinning combination battle with both partners end up making the save at the same time. Hot tags on both sides, with Sin Cara countering with a roll-up, dead-lift powerbomb attempt; Blake counters but it’s Murphy that gets the one-arm powerbomb. Champions with a blind tag – Blake hits a running suplex, and Murphy comes off the top with a splash for the win, to reain. Winners: WESLEY BLAKE & BUDDY MURPHY

– Solomon Crowe’s hacker gimmick interrupts the broadcast, with a message that says “The Takeover Isn’t Over”, and says to “Stay Tuned” for next week.

#1 Contender’s Match
ADRIAN NEVILLE vs. FINN BALOR

Balor starts in control with dropkicks and elbow strikes, until Neville slows things down with a side headlock. Finn battles back but runs into a nice dropkick. Back to the headlock for a few minutes. Balor fights back yet again and hits a bit enzuigiri, then flies over the ropes to take both guys into the ramp. Neville takes a breather in a chair at ringside, but Finn comes out of nowhere with a dropkick sending him into the barricade. They slowly fight back into the ring with both guys hitting dropkicks. Neville counters a lariat attempt with a huge German suplex, followed by another for two. He heads up to the top and connects with a swanton bomb off the second rope for two. Balor comes back with a slingblade, followed up with a reverse lifting DDT for two. He climbs the ropes but Adrian recovers and hits a step-up enzuigiri. Neville sets up for the Red Arrow but settles for a kick to the side of the head. Red Arrow attempt #2, but Balor gets the knees up for two-and-a-half. Finn with a dropkick that sends him flying. He heads to the top and connects with a double foot stomp. 1-2-3. Winner: FINN BALOR

NXT Women’s Championship Match
CHARLOTTE (c) vs. BAYLEY vs. SASHA BANKS vs. BECKY LYNCH

The heels go right after Charlotte as soon as the bell rings, throwing her to the floor and tossing her into the barricade. Charlotte comes down hard, breaking a few of the LED lights on the entrance way. They rush the ring and go after Bayley, double teaming her in the corner. The alliance is broken when they both try to pin Bayley, with Lynch hitting a pumphandle suplex on Banks. She drops a trio of legs on Bayley for two. Sasha is back and goes after her “friend” with shoulder thrusts in the corner, then hands her up in the second rope for the knee drop, but Lynch moves out of the way and comes off the top rope with a dropkick. Charlotte comes back to save her title and runs through the heels with clotheslines. She hits a neckbreaker on Banks with an assist from her hair. Banks mocks the “Nature Boy” and Charlotte tries to spear her, but she moves and takes out Lynch instead. Bayley comes back to spear Sasha, Charlotte with a kick to Bayley, and everyone is down on the floor except the champion. Bayley connects with a series of splashes in the corner then fights to the top turnbuckle, connecting with a super-rana on the Charlotte. Bayley-to-Belly connects, but Lynch pulls her out of the ring to save the match. Becky tries to flee, but Bayley flies through the ring with an awesome dropkick to the floor, and they’re both taken down by Sasha Banks who flies over the ropes. Charlotte takes a break with all her challengers down on the outside, then vaults over the ropes to take everyone down. There’s a crazy fight with everyone on the ropes, that ends with a Bayley-to-Belly from the top on Charlotte; Banks tries to steal the title but the champ kicks out at two. Sasha freaks out, then applies a crossface. She lets up to kick the other challengers off the apron and goes back into the crossface. Charlotte slowly craws across the ring trying to get to the ropes, but before she gets there, Sasha rolls her up for the win. Winner and NEW CHAMPION: SASHA BANKS

-After the match, Charlotte extends her hand. Sasha shakes her hand and the two hug it out. They shove each other, but are both smiling. Banks does the “Woo!” and walks out with the title, while Charlotte looks super proud of her. Very emotional moment.

NXT Championship Match
SAMI ZAYN (c) vs. KEVIN OWENS

Loud “Fight Owens Fight” chants as the bell rings, and they stare down until loud “Ole!” chants take over. Owens rolls to the floor to avoid a lock-up, drawing heat. They go to lock-up again, and Owens rolls to the floor, but this time Zayn flies over the ropes (and referee) to take him down. Owens with a loud-as-hell chop in the middle of the ring, and he slows it down with a headlock. He mocks the crowd as he rakes the eyes and methodically picks apart the champion. He goes to the floor and throws Zayn off the barricade, into the apron and ring steps, rolling back in to break the count every few seconds. Back in the ring the beatdown continues with a gutbuster and running senton; Zayn kicks out but Owens goes right back to the headlock. Sami with a jawbreaker to counter the hold, but the challenger immediately follows up with a big kick to take him back down. Total dominance. Zayn with a lariat out of nowhere and he fires up, clotheslining the big man over the ropes. They fight to the floor with Sami in control, leading to the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. He sets up for the Helluva Kick, but runs into a massive knock-out superkick. Owens follows with a cannonball splash, but Zayn kicks out at two-and-a-half. Kevin is starting to lose his cool, and Sami counters the pop-up powerbomb with a dropkick. The champ follows with a half-and-half suplex and stands tall, stalking the challenger. Owens rolls to the apron and hits a stunner over the top rope. He climbs the turnbuckles but Zayn is back to his feet; Owens fights back with headbutts, knocking him down, but he comes up empty on a top rope senton. Exploder suplex into the bottom turnbuckle, but Owens bails to escape the Helluva Kick again. He sets up for the powerbomb/apron spot, but Zayn kicks free and comes off the ropes with a springboard back-elbow, but the champ hit his head hard on the ramp. They roll back into the ring and Zayn misses yet another Helluva Kick; pop-up powerbomb connects for a nearfall. Challenger follows up with right hands and elbows and uppercuts and a choke in the ropes, going crazy now. He connects with a powerbomb while the medics check on him. He hits another powerbomb, followed by another, and yells at the referee to count. 1…2…KICKOUT. The medics check on the champion, but Owens pulls him back in the ring and hits him with not one, but two powerbombs. He goes for a third and the referee tackles him into the corner, stopping the match. Winner and NEW CHAMPION: KEVIN OWENS

-Kevin Owens celebrates with the championship, not even glancing at Sami Zayn as the referees and medics check on him. Corey Graves makes the obvious comparison to Brock Lesnar. Owens celebrates as the show goes off the air.

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