WWE Main Event spoiler results from Colorado Springs, Colorado
Taped 2/3/15 to air on Hulu Plus 2/6
Credit: Rico Fuller
* Brie Bella defeated Summer Rae.
* Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett defeated Sin Cara in a solid match.
* The Ascension defeated two local wrestlers, who were Danger Dean and Jason Jaxon.
* Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeated Big E and Kofi Kingston.
Another huge blow to the UFC today, as it was revealed that both UFC 183 headliners Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz failed drug tests ahead of their bout. Kevin Iole of Yahoo broke the story Tuesday evening.
Diaz unsurprisingly tested positive over the limits for marijuana, but the more troubling test was that of Silva testing positive for Drostanolone metabolites. Drosotanolone is an anabolic steroid, often used during cutting cycles.
Anderson Silva’s failed test was a pre-fight test, Diaz’s a post-fight test. As of now no punishment for either fighter has been announced. This comes weeks after UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for cocaine.
The UFC released the following statement:
On February 3, 2015, the UFC organization was notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Anderson Silva tested positive for Drostanolone metabolites on his Jan. 9 out of competition drug test. UFC’s understanding is that further testing will be conducted by the Commission to confirm these preliminary results.
Anderson Silva has been an amazing champion and a true ambassador of the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC, in Brazil as well as around the world. UFC is disappointed to learn of these initial results.
The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by its athletes.
Raj Giri reports that WWE has expressed interest in both Mandy Leon and ex-NFL offensive guard “Moose” Quinn Ojinnaka of Ring of Honor.
Leon has appeared on a limited basis in Ring of Honor, mostly promoting their Pay Per Views on their weekly TV show while spending most of her time wrestling in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on independents such as UWE. Leon has appeared a few times on RAW as part of Adam Rose’s entourage in recent months. Ojinnaka, who signed in mid 2014 with ROH and also has been used sparingly was recruited by WWE a few years back but never signed.
Leon, who does not have a ROH contract, did a tryout at the WWE Performance Center in January. Ojinnaka is scheduled for another one shortly upon his ROH deal expiring in the spring.
Several ROH wrestlers have yet to sign new deals with the company. With both WWE and TNA expressing an interest in some of the wrestlers, contract talks with ROH have slowed to a snails pace. ROH recently switched to a January-to-January 1 year contract for its talent. Booker Delirious (Hunter Johnston) is a big fan of New Japan, who for years has used the January-to-January contract for their wrestlers.
– Randy Orton has been advertised to return and then pulled from several recent WWE events but readers sent word that a local ad ran in Florida during last night’s RAW that advertised Orton’s return at the February 16th RAW from Orlando. This would be the final RAW before Fast Lane. We’ve heard that it’s creative decisions that keep delaying Orton’s return to TV.
– There’s been no talk about Alex Riley being gone from WWE, according to PWInsider. While he was replaced by David Otunga on the RAW Pre-show last night, word is that Riley will be back for next Monday’s show. After missing last night’s WWE RAW Pre-show, Alex Riley has been training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando today. He tweeted the following:
Day started @WWENXT w/ @WWEJasonAlbert & @BillDeMott FANTASTIC! It concludes w/ 2 hrs of weights and a 2 mile run #FreeRiley #Fight 4UrLife
— Alex Riley (@AlexRileyWWE) February 3, 2015
– Several readers pointed out that this month’s TNA One Night Only pay-per-view is titled “Rivals” while next week’s NXT Takeover special is titled “Rival.” Rivals premieres this Friday night while Rival takes place next Wednesday night.
– WWE stock was up 0.81% today, closing at $12.41 per share. Today’s high was $12.60 and the low was $12.25.
Former WWE star Chyna was trending on Twitter last night after Triple H and Steve Austin talked about her possibly going into the WWE Hall of Fame on their live WWE Network interview.
Chyna tweeted the following in response:
Wow. I just put my Twitter on and I have all of these messages. Never been a trending topic before.
— Chyna (@ChynatheIcon) February 3, 2015
I understand that the question was asked why am I not in the HOF? I have my reason as to why however, let me make this clear.
— Chyna (@ChynatheIcon) February 3, 2015
If the WWE was ever to say that I was going to be inducted, either as part of the groundbreaking DX or as an individual
— Chyna (@ChynatheIcon) February 3, 2015
Well, my answer would be what a friend of mine us to say in the ring, O HELL YEAH!
— Chyna (@ChynatheIcon) February 3, 2015
It just want to take a minute and thank all of the fans that keep my name out there. You have no idea what it means to me. I love you all.
— Chyna (@ChynatheIcon) February 3, 2015
@Reynolds_Gage_ I have contacted the WWE several times over the years. They have not responded back
— Chyna (@ChynatheIcon) February 3, 2015
Champions
World: Sandman
TV: Shane Douglas
Tag Team: Gangstas
– Taz is out with Bill Alfonso. Taz says that Sabu finally answered his call at the Arena last week. Crowd is riled up and that pisses off Taz. Taz says there is not a wrestler in the world that wants to fight him. Taz wants to know if anyone in the crowd is tough enough to fight him. Of course a few people think it would be a good idea to raise their hands. Taz makes fun of all of them. Alfonso questions who can stop the path of rage. Taz is such an angry little man.
Oh man, what did the poor people of Revere do to deserve this. GQ, who is Chris Chetti, has the mask on as we are joined at the very start of the match. JT Smith is at ringside for some reason. This will likely be the most simplistic match of all time with ECW trainees involved. We get arm work then hip toss, hip toss, clothesline from Roadkill. That’s a drill we used to run when I was training. Roadkill hits the ropes and Smith trips him up. GQ with a nice spin kick. Fans beginning to shit on the match as GQ puts on a chin lock. Drop kick and back to the chin lock. GQ with an Irish whip but he ducks his head and Roadkill boots him. Clothesline and now Roadkill is in control. Suplex by Roadkill. The crowd chants “This shit sucks”. I’ll agree. Roadkill goes up top but Smith pushes him off. GQ hits a swinging neck breaker. Crowd now chanting for the b.W.o. to come out. GQ finishes things with a top rope leg drop in 6.12.
Mikey has his arm bandaged up. Wonder if he actually hurt it yesterday. Richards says Mikey is too hurt to wrestle. Chris Candido comes out and says he will help Mikey and he’s here to wrestle. Stevie hits a steviekick on Mikey. A bunch of refs come out and pull them apart as Candido hangs back and watches.
Richards talks about how the only thing he cares about is the b.W.o. He then does jumping jacks to mock Candido. Nice little back and forth to start off. Candido bails when Stevie goes for a steviekick. Super Nova comes in the ring and hits a dive on Candido. Back in the ring Richards with a rocker dropper. Nash elbows in the corner. Northern lights by Candido for 2. Some reversals back and forth Candido ends up clotheslining Richards. Nova tries to interfere but gets nailed with a super rana. Stevie hits a cutter but then gets crotched when he tries to go up top. Superplex gets 2. Candido goes for another one but Richards throws him down. Blue Meanie has come into the ring and catches Candido and hits a running powerslam. Richards comes off the top but Candido gets his boot up. Suplex for 2. Richards reverses a corner whip and Meanie comes in with an avalanche. Candido quickly back in control. Doctor bomb gets 2. Nova tries to break up the pin with a top rope leg drop but Candido moves and Richards gets nailed. Candido covers and Meanie comes in and goes for a leg drop but again Candido moves. Candido goes up top but misses a head butt. Richards with a power bomb for 2. Candido ducks a steviekick and nails a super kick of his own and gets the pin in 9.15. Two days with no super bomb makes me sad.
JIP on this one. They are on the floor brawling. Lee takes off a turnbuckle pad. Spicolli is busted wide open. They go into the crowd. Lee is just destroying Spicolli. Spicolli throws a chair at Lee. Spicolli has blood in his eyes and can’t see. The ref is checking him and he grabs him DVDs him and covers. Lee makes a three count. Spicolli thinks he’s won but Lee hits him with a nasty choke slam covers and Paul Richards comes out to make the count. Lee wins 5.43 was filmed.
Pitbull tries to use his power while Van Dam uses his speed and agility. They are pretty much at a stand still until Pitbull nails a clothesline. A second one sends them both spilling to the floor. They fight on the floor and Van Dam hits a moonsault off the guardrail and an awesome dive over the top rope to the floor. Van Dam goes for a moonsault in the ring Pitbull tries to catch him but the fall over but Van Dam still kind of looks like he gets tombstoned. Pitbull with a press into a tombstone! Canadian back breaker applied by Pitbull but he eventually just throws Van Dam to the mat. Van Dam comes back and hits a rolling thunder leg drop. Van Dam slams a chair into the head of Pitbull. Van Dam with a running dropkick with the chair. Pitbull comes back with another press into a tombstone. It looks so awesome. Double undertook power bomb but Van Dam is thrown high above Pitbull’s head in an awesome display of power. They go into the crowd again for some more brawling. Back in the ring Pitbull hits the super fall away slam but Van Dam is able to kick out. Pitbull misses a spin kick in the corner and flies over the top tope and crashes through a table. TV Champion “The Franchise” Shane Douglas shows up and hits Pitbull with the belt. This might be the first time I’m sad to see Douglas. Van Dam hits a somersault dive onto him. “Primetime” Brian Lee shows up to help out. The locker rooms empty but again for some reason no one seems to help Pitbull and they just hold Van Dam back. Everyone just dicks around in the ring for another few minutes with not much happening. Match is a no contest with it breaking down around 15 minutes. A surprisingly enjoyable match even with the obvious clash in style the messed well together and had me entertained.
And here it is.. the reason we all put this DVD on. Time for me to hate New Jack even more. You can read about the specifics of this match here on the Wikipedia page so I’m not going to get into it here. I’m confused because there’s not even a ref around. New Jack and D-Von go into the crowd to start, D-Von gets laid out. New Jack then uses a pizza cutter on Transit and you can hear the moment when he blades him as the kid shrieks. Blood just starts to squirt out of his head as you hear his father yelling that “he’s 17”. New Jack comes off the top with the 187 steel chair dive into Transit’s face. Again, with no ref Jack makes his own 3 count and the EMTs rush the ring to help out Transit. The mat and his outfit are COVERED in blood as it continues to pour out. So here’s my thoughts on the situation if you care. New Jack is a piece of shit. Mass Transit lied about his age to get onto a wrestling show. He asked New Jack to blade him because he had never done it before. Based on the amount and the way he bled, New Jack clearly took the blade and dug it into the kids head and ripped it across his face. Getting color for someone and doing what Jack did are two wildly different things. Chaotic scene in the ring as Transit is attended to.
Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Saturn start off but not much at all happens. Buh Buh tags Spike Dudley but he gets kicked a bunch by Saturn. Kronus comes in and they hit some double team kicks. Buh Buh comes in but Kronus takes him down and hits a nice standing moonsault. They brawl to the floor and we get a cut to everyone back in the ring. Then we cut to the next match. Hmmm. Only a couple of minutes shown???
This match is joined in progress and we seem to be pretty far into it. Douglas with a pile driver on a chair then goes after the leg of Dreamer. Shane jumps on the knee. Francine wants a turn so she does it. That’s dumb since Shane weighs more then Francine. Tommy reaches up and grabs Francine by the snatch. What the FUCK! Shane nails him to get him off. Back to the leg. Shane comes of the top but Dreamer hits him with a chair. Powerslam gets 2 but Shane gets out. Dreamer with a couple of near falls. Francine and Beulah go at it. Dreamer nails Francine with a piledriver. Dreamer celebrates but Shane nails him with a single arm DDT for the win. 8.48 was filmed. Shane locks in the full nelson after the match but Pitbull makes the save.
b.W.o. promo before the match, can’t hear a single word they say. Raven jumps Sandman at ringside and we are off to the same exact match as yesterday just with a dog collar. Sandman busted open. Sandman is gushing, but at least he did it to himself. Raven goes for a back drop but Sandman hits a DDT. Raven with a piledriver through through a table. They brawl all over ringside. Back in the ring the ref sorta gets hit with a chair. He goes down VERY slowly. Raven just decides it would be best to hit him again just to make sure. Chair to the back of Sandman. Stevie Richards and Blue Meanie actually hit their super kick and moonsault through a table on Sandman! Ref is back up now but Sandman kicks out. Sandman hits a DDT out of no where to end this garbage in 10.11.
Kinda garbage show. Terrible opening match, bad main event, two matches that were heavily edited. Oh yeah, New Jack is a scum bag. Richards/Candido and Pitbull/Van Dam were good matches. I was confused why Brian Lee destroyed Spicolli so much. This is an easy pass unless you’re determined to watch the “incident”. Another show that just felt like they threw out whatever because it was a new town.
Date: January 10th, 2015
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,750 (Super No Vacancy)
by Kevin Wilson of Puroresu Central
It is NOAH time! I am trying to tackle as many different promotions to start the year as I can, just to make sure I am keeping everyone happy. Because keeping you visitors happy is all that matters to me. This was NOAH’s first event of the year and its a big one. The top two Championships are on the line, and Kojima from New Japan invades to try to take the GHC Heavyweight Championship. He isn’t the only wrestler that ends up invading, but I don’t want to spoil it, just keep on reading. Here is the full card for the event:
– Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
– Jonah Rock vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
– Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Mohammed Yone and Taiji Ishimori
– Maybach Taniguchi, Kenou, and Hajime Ohara vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Akitoshi Saito, and Genba Hirayanagi
– Daisuke Harada and Quiet Storm vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima and Atsushi Kotoge
– Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Takeshi Morishima
– GHC Tag Team Championship: Takashi Sugiura and Masato Tanaka vs. Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls
– GHC Heavyweight Championship: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Satoshi Kojima
Kojima in NOAH should be fun, let’s see how it goes.
Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
Kumano immediately dropkicks Ogawa, kick by Kumano and he hits another dropkick. Leg submission by Kumano but Ogawa easily gets to the ropes. Kumano goes back to the leg but Ogawa avoids the missile dropkick. Backslide by Kumano but Ogawa snaps off a DDT. Backdrop suplex by Ogawa but Kumano kicks out. Ogawa hits another one after some shoulder work and he gets the three count, Ogawa wins the match. Short, obviously, but at least Kumano got some offense in before Ogawa coasted to the win. Score: 4.0
Jonah Rock vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
They trade wristlocks and do intro limb work, finally something happens when Sabre goes for a weird awkward roll-up and Rock sits on him. This isn’t going well. Slam by Rock and he gets a two. Uppercuts by Sabre but Rock hits a back suplex slam for a two count. Body block by Rock but again he gets a two. Vertical suplex by Rock and it gets a two. Sabre flips around and rolls up Rock for a two count. Sabre clamps on Rock’s arm but Rock knocks him off and punches him in the face. Swinging reverse STO by Rock and he gets the three count. This was pretty rough, they just didn’t click at all. Rock didn’t seem to know what weird stuff Sabre was about to do and it looked awkward several times. Not very good. Score: 3.0
Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Mohammed Yone and Taiji Ishimori
Okabayashi and Ishimori start the match off and in not too long Okabayashi is throwing Ishimori like a sack of flour around the ring. Okabayashi tags in Sekimoto, who applies a reverse chinlock. Ishimori gets away and tags in Yone, and Yone trades chops with Sekimoto. Standing dropkick by Sekimoto and he tags in Okabayashi. Okabayashi and Yone and they run into each other until Yone hits a big boot. Okabayashi springs right back up and they trade chops, boot by Yone but Okabayashi hits a powerslam. Okabayashi tags in Sekimoto and Sekimoto hits a lariat. Yone hits one back and they trade lariats. Yone gets the better of the exchange but both wrestlers are woozy as Yone tags in Ishimori. Double knee by Ishimori in the corner and he hits a second one. Sekimoto catches Ishimori and puts him in a modified Argentine Backbreaker, but it gets broken up. Okabayashi and Sekimoto both hit lariats on Ishimori and they hit a double backdrop suplex for a two. Scorpion Deathlock by Sekimoto but Yone breaks it up. Double shoulderblock by Yone, Ishimori goes off the ropes and hits a handspring kick to Sekimoto. Yone and Ishimori both kick Sekimoto, cover by Ishimori but Okabayashi breaks it up. Ishimori goes up top but Sekimoto avoids the 450 Splash. Okabayashi runs in and lariats Ishimori, scoop slam by Okabayashi and Sekimoto hits a diving body press. Yone breaks up the pin, backslide by Ishimori but it gets a two. Sekimoto catches Ishimori and hits a vertical suplex. Lariat by Sekimoto, he picks up Ishimori and hits a German suplex hold for win. I love Sekimoto and Okabayashi, two big hosses just clubbing people. Ishimori was fun flipping around and Yone wasn’t in enough to drag the match down. Solid. Score: 6.0
Maybach Taniguchi, Kenou, and Ohara vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Saito, and Hirayanagi
They brawl to start off, with Hirayanagi being isolated in the ring. Taniguchi slams Hirayanagi and tags in Ohara. Hirayanagi is choked by Taniguchi’s stick and Ohara twists Hirayanagi in the ropes so Taniguchi can choke him again. Kenou is tagged in and he hits Hirayanagi low. Hirayanagi is pulled out of the ring and is attacked with Taniguchi’s stick again. Taniguchi is tagged in and he hits a lariat but Hirayanagi hits Taniguchi low and tags in Takayama. Takayama lariats everyone and hits a double underhook suplex on Taniguchi. Belly to belly suplex by Takayama but Taniguchi returns the favor. Lariat by Taniguchi, and both wrestlers tag out as Saito and Kenou come in. Lariat by Saito and he hits a vertical suplex. Lariat by Saito and he hits the Death Punish, but Kenou bails out of the ring. He gets back in and dropkicks Saito before tagging in Ohara. Ohara and Kenou double team Saito, or they try to, but Saito beats them both down and tags in Hirayanagi. Hirayanagi lariats Ohara and rakes his eyes but Ohara throws him at the referee. This leads to chaos, Takayama and Kenou come in with weapons, hitting Hirayanagi with them. Takayama and Saito come in to calm things down, Hirayanagi grabs Ohara low and Takayama runs in to knee him. Shoryu Genba by Hirayanagi and he gets the three count, Takayama and company are your winners. Surprised to see the bad guys go down, especially with Hirayanagi more than happy to be pinned. Not a bad match but pretty by the numbers. Score: 5.5
Daisuke Harada and Quiet Storm vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima and Atsushi Kotoge
Storm and Nakajima begin the match. They trade holds back and forth, as I still sit here surprised that Nakajima has gotten bigger. Even has some love handles. Not that I am criticizing, he has just always been a little guy. He gets the better of Storm and tags in Kotoge. Storm and Kotoge trade shots and Storm tags in Harada. They trade holds but neither gets the better of it. Harada gets Kotoge to the mat and he tags in Storm. Storm and Nakajima trade elbows, we are halfway through the match and haven’t accomplished much. Storm shoulderblocks Nakajima and lariats him in the corner. Nakajima kicks Storm in the chest, then Kotoge runs in and hits a face crusher. Nakajima hits a missile dropkick but Storm hits a reverse STO. Storm tags in Harada and Harada elbows Nakajima before hitting a vertical suplex. Storm comes in the ring but Nakajima kicks down both of them and tags in Kotoge. Harada drops Kotoge on the ropes but Kotoge drop toeholds him into the ropes and kicks him out of the ring. Superkick by Kotoge on the floor, he gets on the apron as Harada and rolls in the ring but Harada hits a backdrop suplex. Storm comes in and Kotoge hits attacked by both. Knee to the face by Harada but Nakajima breaks it up. Harada and Kotoge trade elbows, kick by Nakajima and Kotoge hits a leg kick on Harada for two. Headbutt by Kotoge but Harada sneaks in an inside cradle for the win! Shockingly sudden ending there, these guys have such neat moves. But at least it kept the ‘anything can happen at any time’ vibe going. The action was pretty good up to that point, but nothing special. Score: 6.0
Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Takeshi Morishima
Kitamiya elbows Morishima right off and hits a dropkick before knocking over Morishima with a jumping elbow. Hip attack by Morishima and he hits three running butt smashes in the corner. Spear by Kitamiya and he applies an Octopus Hold followed by a German suplex. Dropkick by Kitamiya but Morishima levels him with a lariat. Lariat by Morishima and he hits another one, Morishima boots Kitamiya to the mat and he hits a backdrop suplex for a three count. Morishima beats poor little Kitamiya. Kitamiya wasn’t going to win this of course but he showed some fight which was more of the point. It got its point across but still not really entertaining. Score: 5.0
c) Takashi Sugiura and Masato Tanaka vs. Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls
This match is for the GHC Tag Team Championship. Sugiura and Haste start off, Haste dropkicks Sugiura in the head as Nicholls runs into the ring to help. Double team Haste and Nicholls but Sugiura drops Haste on the top rope and knocks him out of the ring. Tanaka stomps on Haste as he is slid back into the ring, and Sugiura beats Haste inside the ring. Sugiura tags in Tanaka, and Tanaka applies a reverse chinlock to Haste. Tanaka and Haste trade chops and Tanaka applies a stretch hold. Sugiura is tagged in and drops him into the ropes. They trade strikes and Haste floors Sugiura with a dropkick, allowing him to tag in Nicholls. Nicholls lariats both of them and hits two lariats on Sugiura for two. Spear by Sugiura and he tags in Tanaka. DDT by Tanaka and he hits a lariat followed by a second one. Tornado DDT by Tanaka but it gets two. Spinebuster by Nicholls and he tags Haste, running uppercuts by Haste, he goes outside with Tanaka and powerbombs him onto the apron. Sitout powerbomb by Haste, but Sugiura breaks up the pin. Vertical suplex into a sitout slam but Tanaka springs up and hits the Sliding D. Tanaka tags Sugiura while Nicholls is tagged in, and Sugiura hits a knee. They trade strikes, slam by Sugiura and he goes up top but in the meantime Tanaka misses a body press. Haste puts Tanaka on the same turnbuckle that Sugiura is on and climbs up, Nicholls then holds Haste so Haste can hit a superplex on both of them. This hurts everyone of course. Nicholls tries to feed Sugiura to Haste but Sugiura gets out of it and hits a suplex onto Nicholls. Sugiura and Tanaka hit double sliding attacks on Nicholls, diving body press by Tanaka and Sugiura follows with a diving headbutt for two. Sugiura and Tanaka elbow Nicholls, cover but Haste breaks it up. Tanaka punishes him with a brainbuster, running knee by Sugiura to Nicholls but it gets two. Dragon suplex hold by Sugiura but that also gets two. Tanaka goes for the Sliding D but Nicholls ducks, Sugiura and Nicholls trade elbows and then slaps. Pair of death valley bombs by Nicholls, but it gets a two count. Haste comes in and they hit a lariat/trip combination. Nicholls slams Tanaka, assisted DDT to Sugiura but he kicks out. Tanaka is back so Haste drops him with a fireman’s carry into a chokeslam. Thunder Valley by Nicholls and Haste, and Nicholls gets the three count. New Champions! Really enjoyed this one, a lot of fun start to finish. A bit of the middle lagged but it picked up by the end stretch. Worth a watch. Score: 7.0
(c) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Satoshi Kojima
This match is for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. They trade holds to open things up, then trade strikes until Kojima hits a shoulderblock. They take turns missing moves to show how well they know each other (this is their fourth career singles match against each other), then they trade chops. Marufuji snaps Kojima’s neck over the top rope and throws him in the guardrail. Back in the ring Marufuji chops Kojima into the corner before elbowing him in the back of the head. Dropkick by Marufuji and he applies a chinlock. Marufuji gets on the apron but Kojima lariats his legs out from under him. Side Russian leg sweep by Kojima and he hits a neckbreaker. Chops by Kojima in the corner, Irish whip, and goes up top but Marufuji joins him. Kojima elbows him off but Marufuji kicks him in the head. Kick to the side of the head by Marufuji and he hits a lariat. Jumping elbow by Marufuji in the corner and he stomps on Kojima’s head. Marufuji jumps over Kojima, Kojima ducks the lariat and hits a DDT followed by a roaring elbow. Kojima and Marufuji trade elbows, and Marufuji applies a shoulder trap necklock. Shiranui attempt by Marufuji, Kojima blocks it and hits a Koji Cutter. Kojima goes up top and finally hits the elbow drop he wanted to hit earlier (Kojima never forgets) and he gets a two count cover. Shiranui attempt again by Marufuji but Kojima sits him on the top rope. Marufuji turns around and they trade elbows, but Kojima lariats Marufuji off the top down to the floor after he bounces off the apron. Kojima slides Marufuji back in and hits a brainbuster, cover, but it gets a two count. Marufuji ducks a lariat and hits a knee before nailing the Shiranui. Jumping knee by Marufuji but Kojima lariats him in the back of the head. They trade strikes but Marufuji knees Kojima in the face. Another knee followed by a superkick, cover, but it gets two. Fisherman Emerald Frosion by Marufuji, and he gets the three count! Your winner and still champion is Marufuji! The best thing about this match was the crowd, they were extremely pro-Marufuji and anti-Kojima. Some of the bumps here were great but I was expecting honestly more of an ending stretch. There weren’t really any realistic nearfalls on Kojima before Marufuji hit another new move (Marufuji makes up moves on a weekly) for the win. But still, really solid action throughout, just was missing the ending to put it over the top. Score: 7.5
Post Match: Suzuki-gun comes down and kicks ass! Awesome! This gonna be good.
Final Thoughts:
Overall this was pretty enjoyable. The last two matches were really solid and delivered, and nothing on here was really offensive aside from the awkward Rock/Sabre match. The mid-card and opening matches were just kinda there and are skippable, which isn’t unusual for NOAH, but at least the matches that were supposed to make the card watchable did not disappoint. The last hour of the event, including the Suzuki-gun Invasion, is worth seeing if nothing else.
Champions
World: Steve Corino
GTC: Simon Diamond & CW Anderson
Junior Heavyweight Champion: Sonjay Dutt
Well MLW tries to make a comeback here after a three and a half month hiatus from running shows. Lots of new faces lined up for the card tonight. New commentators are Eric Gargiulo and Julius Smokes. Your referee for tonights matches is Mickie Jay. Lets see how this works out.
GTC Carnival Match: Stampede Bulldogs (Harry Smith & TJ Wilson) vs. Bobby Cross & Puma
So the way the Carnival works is there are three tag team matches. The winners of each match will face each other in a 3 way. The winner of that gets a GTC Title match in February. Harry Smith and Cross start off. Not much happens and they each tag and in comes Puma and TJ Wilson. Puma with a head scissor but then he misses a corner charge. Puma goes for a tornado DDT but Wilson places him on the apron to break out of it. Smith charges down the apron and hits a big boot on Puma. Snap suplex by Wilson but it only gets 1. Smith tagged in and hits a back elbow. Wilson tags right back and sets up a slingshot reverse suplex Smith gets in on the action by catching Puma and he and Wilson both sit out into a falcon arrow/power bomb combo. Wilson locks in an ankle lock and after some struggling Puma is able to get to the ropes. Wilson hits the ropes but Puma hits a rana. Wilson hangs onto the foot of Puma and makes the tag to Smith. Belly to back gets 2. Smokes on commentary has said “What you talking about Willis” and done a Macho Man impression about ten times each. Tag made and Cross comes in with a springboard dropkick and some spin kicks on by the Bulldogs. Smith with a running powerslam. Cross hits a nasty looking t-bone with a bridge. Smith with a reverse DDT. Puma hits a tombstone and Cross comes off the top with a shooting star press but Smith breaks up the pin. Puma puts Smith in a triangle while sitting on the corner. Wilson comes over and hits him to break it up then climbs to the top rope. The Bulldogs finish it off with a power bomb/blockbuster combo in 7.38. Exciting way to open the show.
The Shane Twins (w/ “Hardcore Giant” Ron Niemi) vs. Rich Criado & Chad Hart
The managers nickname is funny you see because he’s really short. Chad is the son of Gary Hart. Hart gets thrown around with a belly to belly by one of the Twins. Hart ducks a clothesline hits a kick to the gut and then a headlock takeover. Tag to Criado and he stays with the headlock. The twins able to double team Criado to take over in the match. One of the twins goes for the double axe handle to the foot but it hits his chin instead. Criado makes the tag to Hart and he gets the win with a school boy and putting his foot on the rope. Hart gets pissed the Criado is celebrating the victory since he’s the one that got the pin. They argue and then they fight. This match was pretty bad. Time was 4.16
Matt Martel (w/ Persephone) vs. PJ Friedman vs. Chasyn Rance
Rance was the straight edge ref for CM Punk a few months back. Martel would go on to become Matt Stryker in the WWE as well as a giant asshole. Martel catches a crossbody of Rance and hits a back breaker. Friedman with a weak roaring elbow and Martel breaks up the pin. Friedman holds up Rance by the neck and Martel pulls Rance back first onto Martel’s knees a move called the love blower. Friedman and Martel now get into it and Friedman hits a nasty looking suplex and then drops Rance on his head with a release German. Friedman goes after Persephone but she hits him with her shoe allowing Rance to roll him up and get the pin in 1.40. Really? Friedman picks up Rance and hits an awesome looking running DVD. Some cool power moves from Friedman but hardly a match.
GTC Carnvial Match: Dark Fuego & Pete Wilson vs. Roderick Strong & “M-Dogg 20” Matt Cross
Wilson is part of Hart Foundation 2.0 with the Canadian Bulldogs so they could all meet in the 3-way match. He also looks to have the body of a 12 year old. Wilson starts with Cross. Wilson goes for a German but Cross lands on his feet and they switch positions and do the same thing. Wilson hits a DDT and a suplex. Cross comes back with a release German and tags Strong. Jumping suplex for 2. Cross tags back in and they hit a double back drop that sends Wilson into a complete flip and he lands on his face. Strong right back in and he locks in a full nelson and turns it into a back breaker. Fuego comes in with a springboard drop kick onto both Strong and Cross. Wilson fights back and then finally makes the tag after about five minutes of punishment. Fuego with a spin kick on Strong. Strong blocks a rana and power bombs Fuego onto his knee. Fuego goes to the floor and Cross hits a springboard moonsault from the apron. Wilson comes in the ring now and gets power bombed. Strong then sets up another power bomb but instead just throws Wilson out of the ring onto Fuego! They fight into the crowd now. Strong press Wilson and throws him into the wall of the club. Fuego and Wilson go low. Fuego and Wilson climb the balcony and moonsault onto Strong and Cross. Back in the ring Strong with a brainbuster on Fuego and second. Cross hits the MDogg Driver on Wilson. Strong has Fuego in a torture rack and then drops to his knees. Cross with a senton. Strong and Cross go to big boot Fuego from each side but he ducks and they nail each other. Fuego and Wilson each go up and hit a 450 and get the win in 12.54. This match was a little to all over the place for me. Fuego and Wilson got way to little offense to then come away with the victory.
Chris Hero vs. Chad Collyer
Champion Steve Corino is on commentary for the match. We get three minutes of chaining and mat wrestling. Collyer picks things up with a drop kick and belly to back for 2. Hero comes back with a Diamond Dust for 2. Hero with a mafia kick in the corner. Hero works over the neck. Collyer floats over a clothesline and hits a DDT then clotheslines Hero over the top rope. Collyer with a dive between the ropes onto Hero. Collyer throws Hero back in and then comes off the top with a cross body block. Hero fights out of a double underhook gets a waist lock but Collyer switches it and hits a german for 2. Collyer goes for a suplex but Hero flips over and hits his finisher the heroes welcome for the win in 8.32. Solid match from these two.
Junior Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt vs. Jack Evans
Teddy Hart joins on commentary for the match. This is Dutt’s first ever title defense. Dutt with a head scissor and then an arm drag into an arm bar. Evans ducks a clothesline and hits a drop kick. Evans is a member of the Hart Foundation 2.0 with Hart, Pete Wilson and the Stampede Bulldogs. Dutt with a rana that almost gets 3. Dutt with a spin kick that turns Evans inside out. Teddy calls out Steve Corino on commentary. Dutt with a clothesline. Evans grabs Dutt and sends him to the floor. Evans tries to hop onto the top rope but slips down. The then does a flip over the top rope but goes to far and misses Dutt and hits his face on the guardrail. Dutt with a clothesline in the ring. Top rope elbow from Dutt gets a 2. Hindu press but Evans moves, Dutt lands on his feet and rolls through. Evans hits a superkick and then charges Dutt. Dutt rolls up Evans but only gets a 2 count. Dutt with a standing shooting star gets him the victory in 6.14. So roll up was supposed to be the end of the match but the ref stopped counting for some reason. Evans then just laid on the mat waiting for the shooting star. This made no sense as he had just moved out of the way of the hindu press and hit a superkick then had nothing but a roll up done to him. Pretty sloppy match on Evans’ side of things. Hart gets in the ring and he and Evans beat down Dutt after the match.
GTC Carnival Match: The Havana Pitbulls vs. Los Maximos
Ugh Maximos. Rocky Romero starts with Jose Maximo. Not match goes on between those two and they both tag out. Ricky Reyes now in with Joel. Joel with a rana and Reyes goes to the floor. Romero comes in now and Joel sends him to the floor also. Back in the ring Romero gets bulldogged but he fights back with kicks and tags Reyes. Maximos hit lots of double team moves. Reyes comes back with a northern lights for 2 and tags. Romero gets taken down and suplexed for 2. Reyes gets hit with a belly to back and both men tag. Powerslam by Joel on Romero. Overhead belly to belly on Reyes. Maximos hit the washing machine on Romero. That was a very cool looking move. Reyes with a belly to back but the pin is broken up. Reyes gets suplex but kicks out at 2. Romero goes up top to try to interfere but Maximos stop him and go to the Spanish fly. Reyes breaks it up and they hit the human execution for the pin in 9.33. This was a pretty good match.
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Teddy Hart
Chain wrestling to start Hart gets the arm but Bryan breaks free. Hart takes the arm and then runs up the ropes and goes for a rana but Bryan blocks it. Hart however grabs the arm on his way down to the mat and locks in a submission. Bryan fights out and takes over with an uppercut. Bryan now goes after the arm. Hart tries to run up the ropes again but Bryan just lets go of this arm and pushes him onto the apron. Bryan pulls Hart back into the ring and drops a knee to the chest. Back breaker by Bryan. Hart ducks a clothesline and hops on the back of Bryan and rolls around into a cross arm breaker. Bryan gets to the ropes. Hart with a reverse DDT and samoan drop. Hart goes up top and Bryan follows him. Hart knocks Bryan down and then comes off the top rope with a DDT. Hart hits an incredible twisting press called open hart surgery but only gets 2. Teddy goes back up top and goes for a standing shooting star press but Bryan moves catches him and locks him in cattle mutilation. Hart rolls out of that and locks in a fujiwara armbar and gets the submission victory in 8.33. Teddy show boats after the match and does back flips off the top turnbuckles as tribute to Owen Hart. Bryan gets mad after he does it a second time and they have some words. Hart does it a third time and as soon as he lands Bryan attacks. They fall to the floor and fight all the way to the back. Really enjoyable match. Hart stayed on the arm all match and it worked out in the end.
“Natural One” Michael Modest vs. Jerry Lynn
Lynn has dropped the “Evil F’N Show” label. Maybe that means he can finally pick up a victory in MLW. Modest on the mic real quick before the match. He talks about how he is a pure wrestler. Lynn with a head scissor take over and a bulldog off the second rope for 2. The commentators talk about the problems between Lynn and Homicide. Lynn goes to the apron and Modest tries to shoulder him. Lynn leaps up and hits a leg drop to the back of the head and then comes back in the ring with a sunset flip for 2. Modest begs off and then grabs Lynn by the tights and throws him to the floor. Modest works over Lynn with some elbow drops and then hits a release northern lights for 2. The ring announcer calls out that 5 minutes have passed which confuses me since it’s the first time they have done that tonight. Also because it’s only been like 4.15. Lynn comes back with a missle dropkick and both men are down. Lynn with a clothesline and swinging neckbreaker and leaping DDT but he only gets 2. Lynn goes for the caddle piledriver but Modest reverses and goes for the reality check. Lynn wriggles free and lands on. Lynn pushes Modest into the ropes and on the way back picks him up and hits a TKO but only gets 2. Homicide shows up at ringside and spits at Lynn. Lynn goes after Homicide and gets pulled throat first down onto the top rope. Modest with a school boy and he hooks the tights to get the win in 6.22. For someone that claimed to be a pure wrestler before the match Modest did very little. Still nothing at all wrong with this match.
Lethal Lottery Tag Match: Raven & Vampiro vs. Champion Steve Corino & Sabu
Stupid move to not have the champion defend on a return show after 3 months off. Corino says Raven has made his life a living hell. He says Raven used to tell the office that he shouldn’t be main eventing. Corino held up the match and would not wrestle if the match makers didn’t remove the stipulation of the person who gets the fall becomes number 1 contender from Raven. So now only if Sabu or Vampiro get the fall tonight they get a title. If Raven wins he can’t get a title match for 6 months. Raven says it’s fine because he will beat Corino senseless and then let his partner who he hates more then Corino pin him. Vampiro gets the mic and says that he doesn’t want to win and tells Raven to go fuck himself. Corino starts with Raven. Corino lies down and tells Raven to pin him but Vampiro tags in and tries cover Corino before he can get up. Raven back in. Corino whips Raven and again lies down. Raven stomps on Corino, Raven hits a DDT and goes for the cover but gets up after the 2 count. Raven tags Vamp and Vamp flips off Raven. Raven hits Vamp with a DDT. Sabu tags in throws a chair at Vamp and hits air sabu. Sabu goes for the pin and Vamp kicks out at 2. Sabu with a triple jump moonsault and Corino comes in to break up the pinfall for his own teammate. Vampiro with a spin kick on Corino for 2. Corino with a cutter and a lariat that turns Vamp inside out. Sabu now breaks up Corino’s pin attempt. Sabu and Corino fire away on each other. Vamp charges and clotheslines both men. Raven tags in and hits a clothesline and knee lift. Raven bulldogs Corino and clotheslines Vamp at the same time. Sabu throws a table in the ring and Raven sets it up in the middle of the ring. Vamp grabs Corino and Raven goes for a superkick but Corino moves. Vamp gets nailed and goes to the floor. Corino and Raven fight near the table and Sabu jumps off the top and puts them both through. Vamp comes in with a mafia kick on Sabu. Vamp covers but gets up at 2. Vamp DDTs Raven puts him on top of Corino and Raven gets the pin fall in 7.01. Vamp grabs a mic and says that Raven has been holding him down for years. Vamp says he doesn’t care about Steve Corino or the title. He wants Raven.
Low Ki vs. Homicide
Low Ki is always so angry looking. He must have had a sad childhood. Homicide is Low Ki’s trainer. They fight over a collar and elbow tie up for over a minute. It’s not just them pushing around the ring either. Low Ki climbs the buckle for leverage they push each other to the mat but keep the tie up on. It’s pretty cool. They arm drag each other and then go for one at the same time. Kicks are avoided by each man. Low Ki starts attacking the leg with kicks. Low Ki with a crossbody and drop kick. Homicide dumps him over the top rope and goes for his dive but Low Ki kicks him in the head sending him stumbling back into the ring. The announcers question how this match got the main event spot. They mention that a power broker got the spot. Low Ki with a butterfly suplex into a bridge for 2. Low Ki with a handspring spin kick to the face of Homicide. Homicide falls to the apron. Low Ki charges with a front kick but Homicide side steps it and pulls the leg down on the top rope. Low Ki goes to the floor and Homicide hits the dive on Low Ki’s shoulder and lands on his feet in the crowd. That looked awesome. Homicide with a hanging vertical suplex. Overhead belly to belly from Homicide. Super rana for 2. Homicide goes up top but misses a head butt. Low Ki fires back hitting chops and kicks. Homicide reverses and goes for a cop killa but Low Ki breaks out and hits a rolling kick. Low Ki with a release german for 2. Low Ki goes for a springboard kick but Homicide catches it and hits a dragon screw. A second one is followed up by an STF as we pass the 13 minute mark. Homicide goes for a slam but Low Ki slips behind and locks in a dragon sleeper. Homicide gets to the ropes though. Low Ki goes for a Ki Krusher but his leg gives out. Homicide hits a clothesline and gets 2. Cop killa but again Low Ki flips out and goes for the dragon sleeper. They fight over the hold and Homicide rolls up Low Ki for the win in 15.07. Jerry Lynn hits the ring and jumps Homicide. Low Ki gets on Lynn and Gary Hart shows up at ringside and tells Low Ki and Homicide to make an example of Lynn and to beat him down. A fan starts yelling at them and Homicide and Low Ki go after the fan and nail MLW Owner Court Bauer. Hart says that tomorrow night Terry Funk’s career will be ended. Homicide cracks Bauer in the head with a broom stick. This match and aftermath were awesome.
My thoughts on the show…
Really good show. Definitely see this one. The previous MLW shows had a very ECW feel to them, they even used the static TV sound in between segments. I never felt that it worked for them. This show however has ROH influences all over it. They were very likely going to put the belt on Funk a few months ago but with the new direction the company seems to be going, I would be very surprised if he wins it tomorrow night.
