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– On this past Monday’s episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Lana promo from Battleground was mentioned while Stewart was discussing the MH17 tragedy. After the clip of the promo aired, Stewart ranted about Rusev beating Jack Swagger, and went off on Swagger not being the same since Cesaro left him. You can watch the segment above, the WWE talk starts at the 4:00 mark.
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Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
We noted before that WWE was still planning a babyface push for Cesaro but that it was on hold until they “needed it.” It appears after this week’s WWE events that they may be going in a different direction with Cesaro’s push.
Regarding Cesaro as a babyface, he was planned for a significant push at the end of this summer but the decision was made, even before Daniel Bryan went down with an injury, that the big babyface focus would be put on getting Roman Reigns to the top.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross revealed on Twitter that he is no longer officially under contract with the company after this week. Ross tweeted the following:
Tomorrow is my last, legal day w/ @WWE It was a great 21 year run. Best biz decision ever was coming to WWE ’93. Grateful to all involved.
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Date: February 19th, 2014
Location: Shinjuku FACE at Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 512 (Super No Vacancy Full House)
This is an interesting event as it is a combination wrestling event and musical concert. In fact it was mostly a concert, as on a two hour event there were only three matches. And they weren’t even all shown in full. The girls in UP UP GIRLS are quite adorable but they are…. not very good at singing. There is some kind of theme here, with the Up Up Girls sending ‘their’ wrestlers to take on the DDT wrestlers. Anyway here are the matches on the event:
– Akito vs. KUDO
– Kota Ibushi vs. Up Up Machine
– Danshoku Dino and Hiroshi Fukuda vs. Isami Kodaka and Makoto Oishi
I won’t be reviewing the concert, just the matches. Sorry.
Akito vs. KUDO
Join in Progress, as Akito hits a lariat onto KUDO in the corner. Akito goes off the ropes and he dropkicks KUDO in the knee. Gutwrench suplex by Akito, cover, but it gets a two count. Akito chops KUDO into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, and KUDO hits a lariat in the corner. KUDO goes up to the top turnbuckle but Akito moves when he dives off. Wheelbarrow suplex by Akito, cover, but KUDO kicks out at two. Akito picks up KUDO, elbow by KUDO but Akito elbows him back. Headbutt by Akito, he goes off the ropes but KUDO knees him in the stomach. Knee to the midsection by Akito, he applies a waistlock but KUDO elbows out of it. Kick combination by KUDO and he hits a high kick. Buzzsaw Kick by KUDO, cover, but Akito gets a shoulder up. KUDO positions Akito in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hit the Diving Double Kneedrop. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: KUDO
Match Thought: Clipped, but not as bad as it looks since it was only a five minute match anyway. Both of these wrestlers are good, I enjoy them, but they didn’t get a lot of a chance to show what they can do here. But the crowd wanted a fast paced match and they delivered that anyway so I can’t diss it too much. Although why the entire five minute match couldn’t be shown I have no idea. Score: 5.0
Kota Ibushi vs. Up Up Machine
They circle each other to start, Machine offers a handshake but kicks Ibushi in the stomach. Irish whip by Ibushi but Machine hits a shoulderblock followed by two hiptosses. Dropkick by Machine, he picks up Ibushi and throws him out of the ring. The Up Up Girls attack Ibushi with fans on the ramp, Machine grabs Ibushi and he goes for a vertical suplex, but Ibushi blocks it. Machine picks up Ibushi and drops him stomach-first onto the top rope, and Ibushi falls out of the ring. Ibushi keeps getting hit with the fans until he rolls into the ring, and Machine returns to the ring as well. Machine has one of the fans and he hits Ibushi in the stomach with it. He hits Ibushi a second time in the stomach and then repeatedly in the back. Machine pretends to throw the fan out of the ring but instead tries to hit Ibushi with it, but Ibushi blocks it and takes away the fan. Ibushi hits Machine repeatedly with the fan until he beats him down in the corner, and then applies a single leg crab hold. Machine crawls to the ropes and gets a fan from one of the Up Up Girls so that he can hit Ibushi with it. Irish whip by Ibushi but Machine hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Machine picks up Ibushi, elbows by Machine and he hits a face crusher. Machine goes up to the second turnbuckle and hit a missile dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Machine picks up Ibushi and goes for the Devil Windmill Suplex but Ibushi gets out of it. Waistlock by Machine, Ibushi elbows out of it but Machine hits a high kick. Kick to the midsection but Ibushi and he hit a standing moonsault, but Machine returns with a dropkick. Cover by Machine but it gets a two count. Machine picks up Ibushi and hits the Devil Windmill Suplex, but Ibushi kicks out at two. Machine picks up Ibushi, elbows by Machine but Ibushi delivers a high kick. Ibushi picks up Machine and goes for the Last Ride but Machine rolls him up for a two count. Machine goes off the ropes but Ibushi hits a lariat, he then picks up Machine and nails the Sit-Down Last Ride. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Kota Ibushi
Match Thoughts: Up Up Machine was played by Kazuki Hirata if you were ultra curious. I’m not really sure why I am watching this, besides that I said I would review everything from 2014. This was clearly a comedy match, but it is fun to see the musical guests get involved in the matches. Up Up Machine is much more mobile than the real Strong Machine, so that’s a plus. It was goofy but certainly not offensive, Ibushi deserves to get a break sometimes and not always trying to kill himself. Score: 5.5
Danshoku Dino and Hiroshi Fukuda vs. Isami Kodaka and Makoto Oishi
Dino and Fukuda attack their opponents before the match officially starts, and they single out Oishi as Kodaka is knocked out of the ring. Double Irish whip to Oishi and they hit a double back elbow. Dino stomps Oishi in the back and grabs his balls before rolling him over and humping him. I can see the direction this match is going in. Oishi crawls to the ropes to force a break, Dino picks up Oishi and tags in Fukuda. Oil Check by Fukuda to Oishi and Fukuda stomps Oishi in the chest. Oishi punches Fukuda back but Fukuda returns fire, sending Oishi to the mat. Fukuda picks up Oishi and throws Oishi into the corner. Punches by Fukuda and he tags in Dino, snapmare by Dino and he hugs Oishi from behind, but Oishi gets to the ropes. Dino picks up Oishi and hit a snap suplex followed by a kneedrop. Cover by Dino, but it gets a two count. Dino takes off his pants and tries to sit on Oishi’s face, but Oishi blocks it. Kodaka hits Dino which sends him down onto Oishi for a two count. Dino stomps Oishi and the two trade punches, Irish whip by Oishi and he hits a lariat. Oishi tags in Kodaka, Kodaka goes up top and hits a diving crossbody. Back elbow by Kodaka to Dino but Fukuda is in the ring, double Irish whip to the corner but Kodaka avoids both of them and knocks both down into the corner. High kick by Kodaka to Fukuda and then Dino, cover, but it gets a two count. Kodaka picks up Dino and hits a vertical suplex. Back up they trade chops and elbows, Dino goes for the Lip Lock which Kodaka temporarily blocks but Dino gets it applied. Kodaka pushes Dino off and hits a superkick, giving him time to tag in Oishi. Fukuda is also tagged in, Oishi punches Fukuda repeatedly but Fukuda pokes hi in the eyes. Fukuda goes up to the top turnbuckle but Oishi punches him in the stomach when Fukuda jumps off. Kodaka comes in the ring, Oishi holds Fukuda for Kodaka but Fukuda moves and Kodaka elbows Oishi by accident. Dino then kicks Kodaka low and hits the Homo Ye onto Kodaka. Dino thumps Oishi into the corner and hits the Danshoku Driver. Cover by Fukuda, but Oishi gets a shoulder up. Dino and Fukuda have a disagreement and Dino hits Fukuda against the ropes, but Fukuda pushes him back. Dino takes off his pants and puts on his thong like a double singlet, as he got up in the corner. Fukuda tries to throw Oishi into Dino, but Kodaka comes into the ring. Fukuda throws Kodaka head-first into Dino’s ass, Fukuda tries to do the same to Oishi but Oishi slams on the breaks. Atomic Drop by Fukuda to Oishi and he hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold for a two count. Fukuda picks up Oishi and again tries to throw him into Dino but Oishi blocks it and monkey flips Fukuda into Dino. Chokeslam by Oishi, and Kodaka kicks Dino before nailing Fukuda with the Isamuashi. Cover by Oishi and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Isami Kodaka and Makoto Oishi
Match Thoughts: This is what I could consider a typical Dino match. Lots of homosexual gags, not a whole lot of actual wrestling. Kodaka being there at least added a different element, but his interaction with Dino was more limited than Oishi’s, I guess rank does have some privileges. So I would say if you enjoy Dino’s antics you will probably enjoy this match but it isn’t my personal favorite type of comedy so there wasn’t much here interesting for me. Score: 4.0
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Up Up Machine. This was a more laid back match for Ibushi. This wasn’t really a good match but it was a perfectly acceptable match which on a three match card was enough to make it the best on the card… but it probably wouldn’t rank in the Top 100 matches of Ibushi for 2014.
MVP: Isami Kodaka. At least Kodaka added a slightly different element to the main event. He didn’t really do much with Dino and kept the majority of his time in the ring more serious than slap-stick. Which a few exceptions of course. So just by being in a different style of match than usual, Kodaka was the most memorable wrestler on the card.
Overall: I think I am going to take a break from DDT for a bit, as these smaller shows just aren’t very good. This one was different as it was more concert than wrestling event, so if you like the Up Up Girls (which I doubt you do), then this DVD would be worth purchasing. But for the average fan you can very safely avoid this one and never look back.
– UFC president Dana White let it all hang out in his latest edition of “The Download.” White discussed a number of subjects, including going with the UFC to Ireland for a Fight Night event. Typically, the boss stays in Las Vegas, but there was no chance he was going to miss this one. Conor McGregor defeated Diego Brandao in the main event, and White let it be known just how impressed he was with Dublin and the fans.
“It’s the greatest fight I’ve ever been to,” he said. “It’s the greatest sporting event I’ve ever been to in my life. It was insane.”
Almost 10,000 Irish fans packed The O2 and the night culminated with “Notorious” earning his third straight UFC win with a first round finish.
– White also discussed the upcoming hearing in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission for Vitor Belfort. Earlier this year, Belfort was tested and found to have elevated levels of TRT in his system. The UFC, and NAC, subsequently decided against granting any future exemptions for the drug. Belfort was removed from a planned title fight vs. Chris Weidman, and has been working to clear out his system of the testosterone.
“If Vitor gets licensed, from now until the fight with Weidman they’re going to Olympic-style test him like crazy,” White said. “If he’s on anything, if he does anything, he’ll get caught. When he fights Chris Weidman, he’ll be 100 percent clean.”
Rumors have floated around about a potential Weidman-Belfort fight taking place in Brazil inside of a soccer stadium later this year. The hearing for Belfort is scheduled for later today in Las Vegas.
– White also talked about UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and the decision by officials to pair him with Chris Cariaso. Currently, Cariaso sits outside of the Top-10 at 125 pounds, but the rest of the division was unavailable to meet “Mighty Mouse.” The two will collide in the UFC 177 co-main event in August.
“The problem is that there is no doubt the fight everybody wanted to see would be John Dodson, but he’s hurt,” White said. “Ian McCall just fought. Johnson knocked out (Joseph) Benavidez, and he beat John Moraga. People are going to (expletive) about Demetrious Johnson no matter who we put him in there against. Eventually, he’ll just have to keep knocking people out left and right and then he’ll earn his respect.”
Cariaso (17-5) has won three straight, but Johnson (20-2-1) hasn’t lost since a 2011 decision defeat at bantamweight to Dominick Cruz.
Read more at http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0723/579296/dana-white-on-vitor-belfort/#Moj0FBKI8qAhmwA0.99
Tonight’s episode of WWE Main Event opens up with pyro from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton welcome us. They talk about Stephanie McMahon being arrested on RAW and will recap it later. Rusev vs. Jack Swagger will also take place tonight.
Seth Rollins vs. Fandango
We go to the ring and out comes Seth Rollins with his briefcase. Fandango is out next. They lock up and go at it. Fandango nails a dropkick and sends Rollins out to the floor. Rollin cnotrols most of the match and gets the win with the curb stomp. Winner: Seth Rollins
– We get a replay of Brock Lesnar’s return on RAW.
– We see WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos backstage before going to commercial.
Jey Uso vs. Ryback
Back from the break and out comes Jey Uso with Jimmy Uso. Ryback and Curtis Axel are out next. They lock up and go at it. Back and forth to start. Uso gets the crowd hype and Ryback mouths off. Uso rocks him and they trade shots. Ryback takes control and Jey goes to the floor for a breather. Uso comes back in and Ryback keeps control. Ryback stomps away as Axel taunts Uso from ringside. Ryback with another slam and a 2 count. Ryback nails a spinebuster and looks to be going for the win but Uso hits a Samoan Drop and the Rikishi splash in the corner. Axel gets on the apron and Jimmy takes him out. Ryback nails the Meathook clothesline for the win. Winner: Jey Uso
– Still to come, Rusev vs. Swagger.
– We go backstage to Renee Young with Titus O’Neil and Heath Slater. Slater calls them WWE’s best new tag team and Titus says they’re not a team. He tells Slater to shut up and follow the lead.
Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil
Back from the break and Titus waits with Slater. Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston are out next. Xavier tells them to take it. Kofi starts off with Titus and plays more of a heel than usual. They go at it and brawl in the corner. Titus with a pair of backbreakers. Titus tosses Kofi across the ring and barks. Slater comes in but Kofi fights them both off. Slater stops a tag and tags in Titus. They have words, allowing Kofi to make the tag to Big E. E runs over Titus and decks Slater. Big E keeps up the attack. Kofi takes out Slater. Big E tags Kofi, drops Titus over his knee and Kofi leaps off the top with a stomp for a new double team move. They do the same move to Slater. Big E stacks Slater on Titus and covers for the win. Winners: Big E and Kofi Kingston
– Xavier comes in to pose with them after the match.
– We get a look back at Rusev vs. Swagger at Battleground. Renee Young is backstage with Zeb Colter and Swagger now. Zeb cuts a promo on tonight’s match.
– We get a look back at Stephanie McMahon’s arrest on RAW.
– Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil are backstage with Renee again. Titus calls Heath dead weight and tells him to stay away.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
No mention of Sheamus at all. We go to the ring and out comes Lana and Rusev. Lana cuts another anti-American promo. We come back and Jack Swagger makes his way out with Zeb Colter. Back and forth to start. Rusev takes Swagger to the corner and works him over. Rusev is still limping from Battleground. Swagger comes back and tosses Rusev over the top. Fans chant USA as Rusev takes a breather on the floor. We go to commercials.
Back from the break and Rusev is in control. Rusev works on Swagger’s back and headbutts him out of the ring. Rusev follows and slams Swagger’s head into the barrier. Rusev slams him into the apron and the steel steps at the 5 count. Fans chant USA as Rusev rolls him back in the ring. Swagger tries to make a comeback but Rusev floors him again. Rusev talks trash and stomps on Swagger’s head.
Swagger tries for another comeback but Rusev slams him to the mat. Fans chant “we the people” now as Rusev keeps Swagger on the mat. Swagger comes back and gets a close 2 count. Rusev blocks the Swagger Bomb but Swagger turns that into a Patriot Lock. Rusev makes it to the ropes, breaks the hold and slides out to the floor. Swagger comes out and get the Patriot Lock applied on the floor. Rusev kicks him off. Rusev strikes Swagger with the Russian flag for the disqualification. Winner by DQ: Jack Swagger
– After the match, fans boo as Rusev follows Swagger in the ring with the flag. Zeb grabs the flag and pulls it away. Rusev turns around to a big boot from Swagger. Lana has taken the flag from Zeb. Swagger waves the American flag in the ring with Zeb as Lana and Rusev look on from the entrance. Main Event goes off the air.
Chris Van Vliet from CBS-19 spoke with CM Punk on the red carpet at the AP Music Awards at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland tonight. You can watch the full interview above, below are some highlights:
How he feels:
“I feel f–king awesome! Look at me, how do I look? It’s not so much how you feel anymore, it’s how you look.”
Co-hosting the AP Music Awards pre-show:
“I was asked a long time ago, honestly I think I was originally asked to host it. But I had prior engagements that wouldn’t have allowed my to be here on a Monday and those fell through and here I am.”
If there’s ever a chance he’ll wrestle again:
“No. No, never. NEVER EVER! NEVER EVER EVER [smiles].. They’re going to go crazy about that on Twitter. They’re going to like hold me to it, but whatever.”
F4WOnline reports that WWE officials are not happy with CM Punk and the way everything has went down with his departure. It’s said that there are definitely issues between them right now.
While it may appear that Punk’s contract ended and everything went smooth, that’s not the case and WWE does not see it like that. This is not confirmed to happen but there is definitely a feeling that something may be happening on WWE’s end soon, possibly some kind of consequences for Punk for how he left the company.
Source: F4WOnline
Bray Wyatt was originally supposed to defeat Chris Jericho at Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view but the finish was changed on Sunday and it was reportedly a Vince McMahon decision.
As of Saturday’s creative meetings, Wyatt was still planned to defeat Jericho at the pay-per-view. The two will be having their rematch at SummerSlam and then likely another match at Night of Champions before Jericho takes another hiatus.
– As speculated by our own BJack during last night’s Raw report, Chris Jericho was not at last night’s RAW in Miami. Jericho flew to Los Angeles on Monday morning to begin promoting Fozzy’s newest album, which hit stores today. The backstage attack on Jericho from The Wyatt Family was actually filmed at Battleground.
