WWE issued the following statement on Ric Flair today:
“WWE Legend Ric Flair is recovering from successful surgery and will miss tomorrow’s scheduled guest referee appearance at SmackDown. Ric is doing well and we look forward to him returning to WWE in the near future.”
As we reported yesterday, Flair was hospitalized at the Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia last week after undergoing several minor surgeries.
TV 1993-11-16 (Matches taped at ‘November to Remember’ 1993-11-13 from ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)
Champions
Heavyweight: Sabu
TV: Terry Funk
Tag: Tony “Hitman” Stetson & Johnny Hotbody
Badd Company are in the dressing room talking about how awesome they are. Paul Diamond wants an empty arena match. Matty in the House throws it to a Public Enemy interview. Rocco Roc and Johnny Grunge think Badd Company are crazy cause they are going to kill them. Onyx brings us the video for “Slam” with highlights of the feud between PE and Badd Company. It includes clips from their match at November to Remember.
Matty brings us quick highlights of Tag Team Champions Tony “Hitman” Stetson and Johnny Hotbody defending against Bad Breed. After that match Matty says something happened and we go to….
Tag Team Champions Tony “Hitman” Stetson & Johnny Hotbody vs. Johnny Gunn & Tommy Dreamer, ref John Finnegan
The champs swing the belts and miss. Dreamer and Gunn each hit an atomic drop that sends their opponents crashing into each other. Each man with a powerslam and pin to win the titles in .10
Gunn and Dreamer say it may have been a fluke but they still have the titles and if any else wants them they have to come and get them.
Joey Styles is backstage with his best friend Sal Bellomo. Bellomo thanks Philadelphia for all the support. We get some very short clips from November to Remember.
Highlights of Sherri Martel are shown to Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle”. The video included some her match versus Malaya Hosaka from November to Remember. Sherri went crazy in the match that was originally supposed to be against Madusa and got DQed after hitting referee Jim Molineaux with a chair. Madusa no showed after being signed to the WWF. Joey Styles is backstage with Hosaka and she name drops a bunch a Japanese women wrestlers. Hosaka bleed during the match and it was the first time in US women’s wrestling for that to happen. Hosaka says next time they meet it’s going to be Sherri bleeding.
Public Enemy are outside the arena and they are going to rip out Badd Company’s hearts out. More brief clips of the November to Remember are shown.
Sandman vs. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, ref John Finnegan
Tony Rumble is on commentary with Joey Styles. At the 2 minute mark Jason comes down to ringside. Sandman gets a 2 count after a clothesline. Sandman leap frogs The Anvil and Anvil grabs his knee and goes down. Sandman walks over and Neidhart throws him out of the ring and then slams him on the floor. Joey thinks Neidhart is a terrible person for faking an injury. Sandman fights back with a punch to the gut as Neidhart comes off the second rope. Drop kick by Sandman and a gordbuster. Both men get up and both go down from a double clothesline. Each man has an arm draped over the other and the ref counts them both down at 6.07. After the match Jason gets in the ring and gets on the mic. Jason offers Anvil a job but Anvil says no way and walks off. Sandman also says no so Jason attacks him. Sandman fights back but Mr. Hughes comes down and beats him up and chokeslams him.
Terry Funk’s mystery partner for his tag team match was King Kong Bundy. We see a still of Bundy splashing Funk and go to a interview with Joey Styles with Terry Funk. Funk says he’s not afraid of anyone. He talks about how his father died in his hands. Funk says Joey is the same size as Paul E. Dangerously and he starts abusing Styles wondering if Paul E. would be afraid of him. Funk chokes Joey with the microphone wire while he rants about how everyone should be afraid of him.
Matty in the House brings us to an interview with Hawk and Jim Neidhart. Hawk talks some nonsense about plasma and hemoglobin.
Paul E. is in the dressing room holding both the Heavyweight and TV Championships. He talks about how Sabu pinned Funk and won the TV title. Paul says that if he was Funk’s father he would die when he looked at Funk also. Paul says that Sabu hates Funk and wants to take him out of wrestling. During the interview with are shown brief clips of the November to Remember match including the finish. Sabu small packaged Funk, Funk rolled it over and Sabu rolls it back to get the pin and win the TV title.
Badd Company are in the dressing room and they get attacked and beat down by Public Enemy. The camera man gets knocked over and the audio goes out and we just see that Badd Company are down on the floor. Paul Diamond gets up after PE leave but Pat Tanaka is still down holding his knee as we go off the air.
My thoughts on the show…
Well for the fact that November to Remember wasn’t supposed to be televised we saw more from it then I was expecting. That being said I still didn’t like this episode, as it didn’t feel like there was really anything to it. Thumbs down.
[spacer height=”20px”][spacer height=”20px”]
TV 1993-11-23 (Matches taped at ‘Terror at Tabor’ 1993-11-12 from Tabor Community Center in Philadelphia, PA)
Champions
Heavyweight: Sabu
TV: Sabu
Tag: Johnny Gunn & Tommy Dreamer
We open up with the ending of last weeks show.
Joey Styles is outside the Tabor Community Center and he welcomes us to the show. Joey talks about the mugging that happened last week and we again watch the footage. We see the aftermath which as Public Enemy getting arrested. We go to a press conference with the police chief. He lets us know that Pat Tanaka has broken ribs.
Kevin Sullivan (w/ Woman) vs. Keith Shera, ref Jim Molineaux
Sullivan attacks before the bell and brings it to the floor. Back in the ring Shera gets tied up in the tree of woe and Sullivan hits a running knee 3 times. Sullivan with a double stomp for the win in 1.03.
Tod Gordon is in his office and he thanks the fans for packing the Arena at November to Remember. Gordon says on December 4th at the next TV Taping tickets are only $5!
Joey is in the dressing room with Angel. Angel grabs the mic from Joey and tells Sherri she’s going to end her career for jumping her when she tried to help Malaya Hosaka at November to Remember. We get the Sherri video from last week. Matty in the House interrupts the video package to hype the $5 taping.
Tag Team Champions Tony “Hitman” Stetson & Johnny Hotbody (w/ Hunter Q. Robbins II) Sandman & JT Smith (w/ Peaches), ref Jim Molineaux
Stetson and Hotbody have lost the titles as of the airing of this show but this match took place the day before they lost them. Since the title change was shown last week they are not announced as champions here nor do they have the belts. They show the title change from November to Remember before the match starts. Smith has his knee still wrapped up. Stetson and Sandman start off. Sandman with the offense early on hitting a body slam and clothesline. Stetson goes to the floor and they all regroup. Back in the ring Stetson goes after the Sandman’s leg and then tags Hotbody who stays on the leg. They tag in and out a few times staying on the leg. Hotbody hits a suplex and tags out. Sandman has a few chances to tag but waves off Smith because of his injury. Smith ends up tagging himself in but gets his leg taken out right away. Stetson misses a top rope leg drop. Both teams make tags. Sandman gets behind Hotbody and runs him to the ropes to roll him up but Hotbody ducks and Robbins hits Sandman with his cane. Hotbody gets the cover and win in 7.16. Peaches jumps on Robbins in the ring and he throws her off before Sandman chases them all off.
A Shane Douglas video package airs with Bang a Gong by T-Rex playing. Great fucking song.
Mr. Hughes (w/ Jason) vs. Kyle Shera, ref John Finnegan
Before the match we go to November to Remember when Hughes and Jason attacked Sandman. Onto the match where Hughes beats the crap out of the guy and pins him in 2.35 with the boss man slam.
Matty in the House hypes Holiday Hell which is the next big show coming up. Fans get to call in and vote for the main event.
“Ironman” Tommy Cairo vs. Chris Michaels, ref John Finnegan
They shake hands to start. Cairo quickly on offense hits a back elbow and suplex for 2. Cairo with a hip toss and drop kick. Jason joins Styles on commentary. Michaels with a come back and hits a slam and elbow drop. They mess up a spot as both men duck an imaginary clothesline. Michaels then hits a real one. Powerslam by Michaels gets 2. Cairo ducks a clothesline and hits a one of his own. Cairo misses an elbow drop and Michaels goes into a chin lock. Cairo breaks out and hits a Thesz press for 2. Belly to belly and release german get the 3 count in 4.45. Another hand shake and they hug at the end.
Styles is back outside thanking us for watching the show. Jason shows up and Joey freaks out cause he hates Jason so much. Jason wants to know how the fans like his suit.
MC Lyte’s “Ruff Neck” video plays with clips of Jason and Mr. Hughes edited in to end todays show.
My thoughts on the show…
Not a good one this week two total squash matches and the competitive matches weren’t any good. Not enough focus on Shane Douglas or Sabu the last few weeks if you ask me. Thumbs down skip it.
TNA’s Director of New Media Bill Banks noted online this weekend that he and the TNA crew was working on a new show called TNA Legends.
No word yet on when or where the show will air but it could be for international markets. Banks posted this photo:
Source: WWE
WWE’s website has a new article up on John Cena’s 10 biggest rivals. Below is the list and what they wrote about CM Punk’s departure:
10. Kurt Angle
9. Triple H
8. JBL
7. The WWE Universe
6. CM Punk
5. The Rock
4. Batista
3. Brock Lesnar
2. Edge
1. Randy Orton
“It takes a bold, bold man to call himself The Best in the World without any hint of showmanship to it. CM Punk was nothing if not bold. The self-appointed heir apparent to Cena as the face of professional wrestling, Punk’s agitation over being passed over festered into an earth-shattering “pipe bomb” that took Cena, the McMahons, and the institution of sports-entertainment itself to task. He then promptly won Cena’s WWE Title and gallivanted off into retirement, but you probably don’t need Wikipedia to know The Straight Edge Superstar couldn’t stay away for long. He eventually came back to further challenge Cena’s dominance and beat him more often than not. These two were having classic matches for years after that initial clash. Perhaps the greatest disappointment in Punk’s untimely departure is knowing they definitely had a few more in them.”
Date: March 16th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,050
I am long overdue to review some Joshi. Full Joshi events do not come available nearly as frequently as they do not have regular TV so it is just from specials and DVDs. Sadly it is hard to get the DVDs from some of the Joshi promotions, but at least Stardom does make TV from time to time. We have four title matches on this event, with the one and only Cheerleader Melissa in the main event. Here is the full card:
– Koguma vs. Yuna Manase
– Takumi Iroha 10 Match Trial Series 5th: Takumi Iroha vs. Madison Eagles
– Artist of Stardom Championship: Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Iwatani vs. Yoneyama, Skater, and Kamen
– Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Yuhi
– Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kimura and Alpha Female vs. Takahashi and Hojo
– Natsuki*Taiyo Retirement Road Final: Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yoshiko
– World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Cheerleader Melissa
They shake hands to start before trading elbow shots, with both wrestlers going down to the mat. Manase is up first and goes off the ropes but Koguma hits an armdrag. Koguma applies a sleeper with a bodyscissors, but Manase gets a foot in the ropes to force a break. Koguma picks up Manase and hits a tornado DDT, cover, but it gets a to count. Koguma goes up to the second turnbuckle but Manase hits her with a boot before she can jump off. Koguma comes back down off the top but Manase hits her with a pair of heel drops. A third heel drop by Manase and she hits a fourth to Koguma’s back. Manase throws Koguma into the corner and charges in, hitting a big boot. Manase pushes Koguma back into the corner and hits a second one before hitting a swinging neckbreaker with a bridge for a two count. Manase picks up Koguma but Koguma avoids the heel drop and rolls up Manase for a two count. Another quick cover by Koguma but again it gets two. Koguma picks up Manase and hits a DDT, Manase ends up in the corner, she misses the big boot and Koguma slaps her. Manase slaps Koguma back but Koguma gets the better of the exchange, she goes off the ropes but Manase catches her with a big boot. Cover, and Manase picks up the three count. Your winner: Yuna Manase
Match Thoughts: So at the moment, neither of these two are particularly good. That doesn’t mean they can’t become good (although I don’t have much hope for Manase), but at the current moment they are only able to have pretty basic matches. Many of the strikes didn’t look good or just missed, and the end was pretty anti-climactic as Koguma did not appear to be that hurt. I mean Koguma is still a kid and has time obviously to grow, and having matches is the best way to do that, but it still wasn’t a good match. Score: 3.0
This is the 5th match in Iroha’s 10 Match Trial Series. Joined in Progress as Eagles picks up Iroha and goes for a suplex, but Iroha gets out of it. They trade elbows and Iroha hits a dropkick. Iroha grabs Eagles and goes for a vertical suplex but Eagles blocks it, uppercut by Iroha and she hits the vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, she then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits another diving body press. Cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Eagles, Eagles elbows Iroha off and she trips Iroha before applying a modified STF. Iroha inches to the ropes and eventually makes it to force the break. Eagles picks up Iroha and goes for a suplex but Iroha lands on her feet and hits a release German suplex. Eagles returns fire with a German suplex hold, and she gets a two count. Eagles picks up Iroha and puts her on her shoulders but Iroha gets away. Spinning heel kick by Iroha, cover, but Eagles gets a hand on the bottom rope. Iroha picks up Eagles but Eagles kicks Iroha and hits a brainbuster. Cover, but it gets a two count. Eagles picks up Iroha but Iroha gets away and she sneaks in the Takumi for the three count! Your winner: Takumi Iroha
Match Thoughts: This was cut in half, which I am not complaining about. They didn’t mesh very well at all, I am not sure if they just weren’t familiar with each other but the action was basic and non-inspiring. Iroha debuted just last year so that may have been part of the issue. Not a terrible match, just bland and elementary. Score: 3.5
This match is for the Artist of Stardom Championship. Wakizawa and Kamen start things off. Wakizawa goes for a tie-up but Kamen steps out of the way and poses. It happens again, but this time Wakizawa slaps Kamen in the back of the head. Irish whip by Wakizawa but Kamen shoulderblocks Wakizawa to the mat. Kamen goes for an elbow drop but Wakizawa rolls out of the way, Wakizawa goes for Kamen’s mask but is stopped by Skater and Yoneyama. Kamen and Yoneyama grab Wakizawa, Kamen jumps on her back and those pose for the crowd. Kamen goes for a lariat but Wakizawa ducks it and goes for a backslide, but Kamen elbows out of it. Wakizawa picks up Kamen but Kamen punches her and boots Wakizawa in the face. Kamen tags in Yoneyama and Yoneyama knees Wakizawa in the back of the head. Yoneyama elbows Wakizawa, she goes off the ropes but Matsumoto knees her from the apron. Wakizawa gets a fuzzy umbrella and tries to hit Yoneyama with it, but Yoneyama moves out of the way. Yoneyama takes the umbrella from her and rams Wakizawa in the corner with it. Yoneyama goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a doublestomp, but Wakizawa moves out of the way and hits a lariat. Wakizawa tags in Matsumoto, and Matsumoto elbows everyone. Irish whip by Matsumoto to Yoneyama but Yoneyama hits a headscissors. Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Matsumoto avoids her charge and snaps Yoneyama’s neck over the top rope. Matsumoto gets Yoneyama onto her shoulders and throws her at Kamen and Skater. Matsumoto puts Yoneyama in the ropes and they get some ribbon, twisting it around Yoneyama and pulling on the ribbon. Skater and Kamen come in the ring and they kick Matsumoto, and both Skater and Kamen boot Matsumoto in the face. Double vertical suplex to Matsumoto, and Yoneyama hits a diving senton off the second turnbuckle. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yoneyama tags in Skater, and Skater hits a diving body press off the top turnbuckle. Skater picks up Matsumoto and kicks her in the chest, but Matsumoto ducks one and applies a waistlock. Skater gets out of it but Matsumoto hits a back bodydrop. Matsumoto tags in Iwatani, Iwatani goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Another dropkick by Iwatani, she picks up Skater but Skater hits a DDT. Kicks to the arm by Skater, she picks up Iwatani and hits a vertical suplex. Cover by Skater but it gets a two count. Kamen and Yoneyama come in the ring, Irish whip to Iwatani, Iwatani goes for a crossbody on all of them and then hits a DDT onto Skater. Wakizawa and Matsumoto come in the ring, and drop both Yoneyama and Kamen with a double backdrop suplex. Iwatani pushes the fuzzy bag against Skater in the corner and hits a body avalanche. Skater gets a bunch of fuzzy balls dumped on her and Iwatani goes up to the top turnbuckle as she goes for a diving body press, but Skater moves out of the way. Wakizawa drops Skater with a backdrop suplex, Wakizawa and Iwatani jump on Matsumoto’s back and they go for a splash onto Skater, but Skater moves out of the way. Kamen comes in and hits a bit boot onto Iwatani, Skater kicks her in the chest and goes off the ropes, but Iwatani ducks Skater’s kick. Waistlock by Iwatani but Skater rolls her up for a two count. Superkick by Skater to Iwatani, cover, but it gets a two count. Side Russian leg sweep by Skater, but Matsumoto hits Skater in the face with what they are calling the scrubbing brush and Iwatani rolls up Skater for the three count. Your winner and still champions: Miho Wakizawa, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani
Match Thoughts: This was fine, I guess. The weird combination of comedy and non-comedy throws me off a bit, as some like Iwatani were more focused on hurting their opponent while others such as Kamen not quite as much. It was also short so there wasn’t much of a chance to get into a real groove before the match ended. There wasn’t anything actively wrong with it, it was just really forgettable. Score: 5.0
This match is for the Wonder of Stardom Championship. Yuhi asks for a handshake to start things off but Yasukawa isn’t interested. Waistlock by Yuhi, reversed by Yasukawa but Yuhi reverses it back. Side headlock by Yuhi, reversed by Yasukawa but Yuhi applies a headscissors. Yasukawa gets out of it and rakes Yuhi in the eyes before throwing her into the corner. Yasukawa throws Yuhi into the opposite corner before pushing her with her boot against the bottom rope. Yuhi gets back up and strikes Yasukawa into the corner, chest kicks by Yuhi and she hits a running boot to the stomach. Irish whip by Yuhi, reversed, but Yuhi hits a springboard kick. Irish whip by Yuhi to the corner and she hits a jumping knee. Irish whip and she hits a second one, snap vertical suplex by Yuhi and a cover, but it gets a two count. Kicks by Yuhi and she elbows Yasukawa, but Yasukawa elbows her back. Yuhi elbows Yasukawa into the corner and charges in, Yasukawa tosses her out to the apron but Yuhi hits a sunset flip from the apron for a two count. Yasukawa picks up Yuhi but Yuhi gets away and trips Yasukawa. Yasukawa goes for the Act Special, Yuhi gets out of it but Yasukawa applies a grounded facelock. Yasukawa goes up to the second turnbuckle but Yuhi avoids the dive, Yuhi then goes out to the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Cover by Yuhi but it gets a two count. Yuhi picks up Yasukawa and hits a kick combination, spinning kick by Yuhi and a cover, but it gets another two. Yuhi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yasukawa hits her before she jumps off. Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a powerslam down to the mat, cover, but it gets a two count. Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle again and this time hits a missile dropkick. Yuhi comes back with a jumping kick and both wrestlers are on the mat. They trade elbows on their knees but Yasukawa hits a reverse STO. Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a swanton, cover, but it gets a two count. Yasukawa picks up Yuhi but Yuhi slides away, kick to the back by Yuhi and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Yuhi picks up Yasukawa, high kick by Yuhi and another cover, but again it gets a two. Yuhi picks up Yasukawa and delivers another high kick, she goes for another one but Yasukawa catches her leg. Yuhi gets away but Yasukawa rolls her up with the ACT Lock and picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Act Yasukawa
Match Thoughts: Not as good as I was hoping. I like Yasukawa a lot, but I wasn’t a fan of her wrestling as the underdog. Not only is she the champion but she also has many years of experience over Yuhi. But here it was Yuhi that had the near falls, and Yasukawa had to win with basically a roll-up type move to ‘sneak out’ a victory. It was still a decent match, it was just structured oddly and it was a bit short for a title match. Score: 5.5
This match is for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. Kimura and Hojo start things off, Kimura is double teamed as Takahashi comes in to help, double Irish whip and they hit a double elbow strike before taking turns hitting elbow drops. Hojo goes off the ropes and with Takahashi she hits an assisted elbow drop. Hojo chops Kimura against the ropes, Hojo goes off the ropes but Alpha Female grabs her from the apron and pulls Hojo out of the ring. Kimura goes out as well and hits Takahashi around the ring. Kimura rams Takahashi’s head into the wall up in the stands before returning to the ring, Takahashi and Kimura trade elbows. Takahashi goes off the ropes but Alpha Female grabs her, Kimura charges in but Takahashi moves and Kimura hits Alpha Female by accident. Hojo runs in the ring and hits a spear onto Kimura, cover by Takahashi but it gets a two count. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura gets her knees up when Takahashi dives off. Kick by Kimura, cover, but it gets a two count. Kimura picks up Takahashi but Takahashi snaps off a backdrop suplex. Kimura returns the favor as both wrestlers get back up, and Takahashi hits a lariat. Kimura tags in Alpha Female, Alpha Female hits Hojo off the apron and then hits a neckbreaker onto Takahashi. Alpha Female picks up Takahashi and goes for a powerbomb, but Takahashi gets out of it and tags in Hojo. Hojo comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving neckbreaker, she goes up top again but Alpha Female is up and hits Hojo before she can jump off. Alpha Female joins Hojo but Hojo knocks Alpha Female down into the tree of woe position and then hits a diving doublestomp. Hojo charges Alpha Female and hits a dropkick while Takahashi also dropkicks her from the apron. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, she applies a submission but Kimura runs in the ring and breaks it up. Kimura picks up Hojo and kicks her, and with Alpha Female they trade striking Hojo. Lariat by Alpha Female, cover, but it gets a two count. Kimura picks up Hojo and goes for a powerbomb but Hojo slides away. Takahashi comes in to help and hits a superplex onto Alpha Female, but Kimura also hits a superplex onto Hojo. Alpha Female picks up Hojo and hits a German suplex hold, but it only gets a two count. Alpha Female picks up Hojo and gets her on her shoulders, but Hojo slides down Alpha Female’s back. Takahashi comes in and hits an enzigieri, Hojo follows with a sliding elbow strike and a cover, but Kimura pulls the referee out of the ring. Takahashi charges Kimura but Kimura pulls the rope down and Takahashi tumbles out of the ring. Kimura picks up Hojo and with Alpha Female they hit a face crusher. Cover, but Takahashi breaks it up. Alpha Female picks up Hojo and nails the Alpha Plex, cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winners and still champions: Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
Match Thoughts: I adore Hojo, she hits the best elbow drops ever. This was a pretty good match, it was a bit clipped but not too much was missing. Some of the transitions were non-existent, and it wasn’t unusual for the wrestler that just had a move done on them to be the first one up and back on offense again. But aside from that, it was entertaining, just not as good as it could have been with some tighter structuring. Score: 6.5
Taiyo and Yoshiko circle each other to start, tie-up, arm wringer by Yoshiko but Taiyo reverses it. Hammerlock by Yoshiko, Taiyo elbows out of it and hits a snapmare, slingshot takedown by Taiyo but Yoshiko gets out of it. Yoshiko elbows Taiyo in the corner, Irish whip, Taiyo moves when Yoshiko charges in and she hits a running kick. Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, and Yoshiko hits a lariat in the corner followed by a running boot while Taiyo is slouched in the corner. Boot scrapes by Yoshiko, she picks up Taiyo and wraps her up in the ropes. Taiyo hits Yoshiko back and she returns the favor. Kicks by Taiyo but Yoshiko elbows her back, Yoshiko goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat. Senton by Yoshiko, cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko applies a choke to Taiyo but Taiyo gets a foot on the ropes. Taiyo rolls out of the ring as her leg was hurt during the prior exchange, and Yoshiko kicks her as Taiyo rolls back in. Stomps by Yoshiko, she puts Taiyo on her shoulders but Taiyo slides off. Taiyo blocks Yoshiko’s attack and hits a leg sweep followed by a dropkick. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Dropkick in the corner by Taiyo, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yoshiko avoids the diving doublestomp. Taiyo tries to pick up Yoshiko but Yoshiko clubs her in the back and hits a Samoan drop. Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle but Taiyo avoids the senton. Taiyo goes up top and hits a diving doublestomp, but she rolls to the apron holding her knee. Kicks to the back by Taiyo, Yoshiko returns to her feet and elbows Taiyo but Taiyo elbows her back. They trade shots back and forth, Taiyo goes off the ropes but Yoshiko catches her with a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko picks up Taiyo and hits a series of short-range lariats before hitting a senton. Cover, but it gets another two. Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton. Cover, but Taiyo barely kicks out. Yoshiko goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo recovers and joins her. Yoshiko pushes Taiyo off but Taiyo jumps up and hits an armdrag from the top turnbuckle. Cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Yoshiko, kick by Taiyo and she goes for a Taiyo☆Chan Bomb but Yoshiko blocks it. Roll-up by Taiyo, but it only gets a two count. Taiyo charges Yoshiko, she trips her and applies a cover for another two. Taiyo goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana but Yoshiko blocks it and hits a powerbomb. Kick by Yoshiko, she charges Taiyo but Taiyo catches her and goes for a powerbomb. She gets Yoshiko up and hits the Iguchi Bomb, cover, but it only gets a two count. Back kick by Taiyo, Yoshiko sits up but Taiyo hits a second one. Yoshiko sits up again and Taiyo delivers a third, but Yoshiko returns to her feet. Punches by Taiyo but Yoshiko knees her in the stomach. Headbutt by Yoshiko but Taiyo headbutts her back. Yoshiko chokes Taiyo as she picks her up, she goes for a chokebomb but Taiyo hits a monkey flip. Momo☆Latch by Taiyo, but Yoshiko kicks out. Taiyo goes off the ropes, she goes for a cradle but Yoshiko blocks it and hits a powerbomb. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, she then goes to the second turnbuckle again and hits a second one. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko goes up to the top turnbuckle this time but Taiyo rolls too far away. Taiyo gets up and walks towards Yoshiko, she springs up to the top turnbuckle with her to go for the Taiyo☆Chan Spanish Fly but Yoshiko gets Taiyo onto her shoulders and throws her back down to the mat. Yoshiko goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving senton. Cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner: Yoshiko
Match Thoughts: This match was a lot of fun. Shame that Taiyo was on her retirement tour as she is one of Stardom’s bigger stars and is one of their better wrestlers. Yoshiko isn’t my favorite wrestler but this was the right outcome, as she is the younger star and the win will do more for her than it would for Taiyo. The diving senton was done a bit excessively but at least the final one was from the top turnbuckle to add some extra oomph. Overall it was an entertaining match that had very little downtime, and Taiyo still looks really good on her way out of wrestling. Score: 7.0
This match is for the World of Stardom Championship. Tie-up to start, waistlock by Shirai, reversed by Melissa and they go to the mat. Side headlock by Shirai, Melissa gets out of it and applies a wristlock, and she pushes Shirai to the mat. Wristlock by Shirai and she applies an armbar. Melissa rolls up Shirai but it gets a one count and both wrestlers return to their feet. Shirai goes for a tiger feint kick but Melissa avoids it, Melissa kicks Shirai in the corner and chokes Shirai with her boot. Jumping elbow by Melissa, cover, but it gets a two count. Melissa wraps up Shirai’s legs and applies a submission hold. Shirai inches to the ropes but Melissa stops her and hits a curb stomp. Cover, but it gets a two count. Slaps by Melissa, she goes off the ropes and she boots Shirai in the head. Melissa goes off the ropes and hits another boot and she hits a third, she goes off the ropes but Shirai ducks the next boot attempt and dropkicks Melissa. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle while Melissa is stuck in the ropes and delivers a missile dropkick. Melissa goes out of the ring but Shirai goes out to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault. Shirai slides Melissa back into the ring and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Tiger feint kick by Shirai and she hits a second swandive dropkick. Cover, but Melissa gets a foot into the ropes. Side kick by Shirai, Melissa lands in the corner and Shirai hits the Shinkansen Attack. Cover, but Melissa gets a shoulder up. Shirai stomps Melissa, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Melissa smacks her. Melissa joins Shirai up top and they trade elbows, but Shirai headbutts Melissa back to the mat. Shotei by Melissa, she goes up top again and gets Shirai onto her shoulders, hitting an avalanche Samoan drop. Melissa picks up Shirai and hits a Fisherman Suplex hold, but it only gets a two count. Melissa picks up Shirai and slaps her in the back of the head, she picks up Shirai but Shirai elbows her away. Samoan drop by Melissa, cover, but it only gets two. Melissa twists up Shirai but Shirai gets into the ropes to force the break. Melissa stomps Shirai, she goes off the ropes but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Shirai goes for the Shining Wizard but Melissa ducks it and applies the Kondo Clutch. Shirai slowly gets to the ropes and reaches them to get the hold released. Melissa picks up Shirai, she gets her on her shoulders and hits the Air Raid Crash. Cover, but Shirai gets a hand on the ropes. Cover again, but she gets another two count. Melissa drags Shirai out to the middle of the ring, she picks her up and goes for the Kudo Driver, but Shirai rolls out of it. Kick to the head by Shirai, she waits for Melissa to get to one knee and hits the Shining Wizard. Shirai hits a standing moonsault, then a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and the top turnbuckle. Cover, but Melissa gets a shoulder up. Shirai punches and kicks at Melissa, she picks her up and goes for the Suplex de Io, but she can’t get the leg clutch fully applied. Shirai picks up Melissa and hits the double-arm facebuster. Cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Io Shirai
Match Thoughts: I enjoyed this was a lot, Shirai is really great and Melissa is a seasoned veteran. I think the ending may have been botched but they covered for it pretty well and the rest of the match was crisp. The time flew by, they go at such a fast pace that even longer matches go quickly. I thought it was odd that Melissa didn’t really have any nearfalls, but her ‘stock’ in Stardom wasn’t high (this was her first match in the promotion) so she probably wasn’t seen as an equal going into the match. A fitting main event and the most memorable match on the card. Score: 8.0
Best Match: Io Shirai vs. Cheerleader Melissa. Loved this match. I can’t technically prove the ending was botched since they just went straight on as if nothing happened, and otherwise it was just really smooth and well done. Both are veterans so there weren’t really any miscommunications, and I really got sucked into the match. The only downside is that Melissa never seemed on the cusp of winning but the challenger doesn’t always have to, sometimes the champion is just better as Shirai was here. A really fun main event.
MVP: Io Shirai. It is possible that Shirai will be the MVP of every Stardom event I review. Since only the last few matches are shown without being clipped, and Shirai is generally in the main event, she gets more of a chance to shine than a lot of the other wrestlers. But shine she does…. Shirai is just a really good wrestler and puts on a great show.
Overall: I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the Stardom event on 1/26, but it was still solid. It started on a rough note with the rookie wrestlers, and the first tag match wasn’t anything special, but it got better from there. The main event in particular is worth watching, and the Taiyo match as she nears her retirement was good as well. If you only get to watch one Stardom event from 2014 this year, it probably won’t be this one, but if you are a fan of Joshi there is plenty here worth watching.
Source: Muscle and Fitness
During a recent interview with Muscle and Fitness The Rock spoke on a variety of wrestling related subjects, including he and John Cena almost actually fighting. Here are the highlights:
The Rock on tension between he and John Cena:
“It got really uncomfortable for a lot of people. And it gets uncomfortable for the fans–that they sense something. But then when it gets uncomfortable for the wrestlers and to the executives and the company, then it’s something special. … I’d say ‘John, here’s what I’m going to say tonight: Go f— yourself.’ He’d say, ‘Well, here’s going to be my response: F— you too.’ I mean, it was like that. And it was palpable for the fans, and it was palpable backstage. And I would never be like that under any other circumstance. I’m collaborative with everyone I work with. And I take a lot of pride in that, and you know something? So is John.”
Almost coming to blows with Cena in the ring:
“He’s a great guy. He’s one of the best guys out there, but here’s what we realized: If we wanted to build the two biggest matchups back-to-back and create something special in Miami and in New York, we’re going to do it this way. And we might fail miserably at it. People might think it’s not real or you run into the challenge of the potential for people to go, ‘It’s so real that it’s not real.’ But in this case it worked out very well and through all that edge and attitude and bite that we had and nearly coming to blows backstage and one night in the ring—literally we were nose-to-nose, it was any second. And through that in a crazy, weird completely unexplained way, we became great buds.”
Suffering an injury during the match:
“Any athlete or any actor who’s preparing for a long time to step on a stage or step on a field or step on a movie set, who suffers an injury right before you’re getting ready to perform or to execute–it is a massive challenge that’s thrown your way that you didn’t expect. I wound up tearing my rectus tendon from my pelvis I also tore my adductor from my pelvis, then had a triple hernia as well.
“The match was scheduled to go approximately 50 minutes and about minute 25, is when I tore my rectus. I asked the referee at that time how much time do we have left, and he said, ‘Well we’ve got about another 25 minutes. Are you okay?’ And I said ‘Yeah, I’m good.’ Which I knew I wasn’t, but I knew when I stood up, as long as I could put a little pressure on one leg and kind of move the other one around… You know when you lose your rectus tendon–that’s a tough tendon to lose because you can’t push off of it and you don’t have a lot of power in it. So I think what happened was because I had to continue another 25 minutes on that. As you know, when something like that happens, all the surrounding muscles start to weaken. I didn’t know what the extent of the injury was until the very next day. I flew home to Miami and went to see my doctors at the University of Miami.”
A possible in-ring return:
“I’d love to. We just have to figure out what it could be and what the most ideal matchup would be, and who it would be with. Because I always feel like if I go back to the WWE, then it has to be bigger and greater than what I’ve done in the past.”
Much more is contained in the interview, including the Rock talking about rehabbing his WrestleMania 29 injury, posting his workouts on social media, how he dealt with depression and much more
Thanks to ReginaldOrton87 for the following WWE SmackDown spoilers from tonight’s tapings in Wilkes-Barre, PA:
* The Usos, Mark Henry and Big Show defeat Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, Stardust and Goldust to kick off SmackDown.
* Bo Dallas defeated Justin Gabriel. Jack Swagger was at ringside taunting Bo. Bo looked great and got the win with the bulldog.
* Paige defeated Summer Rae in a non-title match. Layla was at ringside. Paige used AJ Lee’s Black Widow to win. AJ was on commentary.
* Mark Henry defeated Rusev in the International Arm Wrestling competition. Rusev called for a rematch and Henry lost when Lana threw powder in his face.
* Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth vs. The Miz and Damien Sandow is next. Ziggler and Truth get the win after a fun tag match.
* Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns defeated Randy Orton and Seth Rollins in another fun tag team match. Jericho blocked a DDT and rolled Orton up for the win. Jericho and Reigns celebrated to end SmackDown.
There has been talk in WWE of bringing up Tyler Breeze to be a part of The Miz’s entourage. The creative team sees a lot of potential in Miz and Breeze as a duo and are hoping to test them out in pre-tapes in Orlando soon.
Breeze competed in the main event of last night’s NXT Takeover 2 event, which saw Adrian Neville successfully defends his title in a fatal 4-way match against Breeze, Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd. Full NXT Takeover 2 results are here.
