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Podcast: The TMPToW Interview King Mo

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admin
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Joining us today on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast is one of the most talented, entertaining and charismatic stars in MMA today. He is a former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and also a former TNA Impact Wrestling Superstar “King Mo” “Muhammad Lawal. “King Mo” is no stranger to speaking his mind and this interview is full of great stories and fascinating insight into the mind of a fighter who backs up what he says. We also get a glimpse at a huge pro wrestling fan who if he had his way would be a full time wrestler and would be fulfilling a lifelong dream to a be a pro wrestling champion.

 

Full Episode Download Link:

http://tmptow.podoma…T21_00_00-07_00

 

King Mo on Being a Natural Heel & What He Learned in TNA Impact Wrestling:

 

Please Subscribe to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling on iTunes and via YouTube by searching the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling or visit the OFFICIAL Website of the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling: www.tmptofwrestling.com &twitter.com/twomanpowertrip

 

Growing up as a wrestling fan:

I loved the NWA, WCW and Mid-South. The WWE was cool but I always loved WCW. It’s not anything racial at all but it was the black wrestlers that I saw in WCW that seemed more real. In WWE you had people dancing, WCW had Ron Simmons. I loved Ron Simmons. When he beat Vader for the belt I went crazy because you never thought it could happen. But also Booker T and Stevie Ray you saw a big difference and the only guy you saw juking and jiving was 2 Cold Scorpio.

 

Nearly signing with WWE in 2004 and eventually signing with TNA:

WWE offered me a contract after the Olympic Trials in 2004. I went there and they offered me a developmental deal but I turned it down. Shad Gaspard said to me if I want to win a lightweight title in a fight go do that because wrestling will always be there. So I did that but looking back maybe I should have taken that deal. I made the decision I made and I can live with it. I waited and got an opportunity with TNA and they sent me to OVW and I got a chance to obtain my dreams, granted it didn’t really play out the way I wanted to because I didn’t get to have a match and I was match ready. Things didn’t really work out the way I wanted and Dixie (Carter) was always busy and they didn’t seem to think I was ready and I didn’t get a chance to prove myself.

 

Initial impressions of the TNA locker room:

It was cool and they are cool people and the locker room was really cool. I had absolutely no problems, they treated me really well with open arms and showed me the ropes. Samoa Joe was really cool to me, Bobby Roode, James Storm it was a real great welcome.

 

His anticipated Impact Wrestling TV debut:

I was nervous as hell. I just wasn’t trying to be the “Black Glacier”. Because if you remember Glacier didn’t get a “pop” after all that build up and that was the last thing I wanted to do. It all would have failed if that had happened.

 

Are his MMA Entrances Inspired by Pro Wrestling?:

Pretty much. I figured that everything I’ve done is pro wrestling, kung-fu movies, Heathcliff and Walter Payton. Those things molded my life growing up. Those are things that were most important to me,

 

Is Training Pro Wrestling harder then MMA?:

Hands down. If people want to say “Mo, you really don’t know what you are talking about”. Find a pro-wrestling school and take some bumps and go through the first few weeks of pro-wrestling school and see how you feel. Go wrestle a match. Phil Baroni didn’t believe and said being a fighter is way tougher and I said it is tough but if you don’t believe me go see and Phil went to FSW (Future Stars Wrestling) and started to complain to me about his “neck, back, shoulders, heels, knees” all being sore from taking bumps. People don’t realize it’s work on your body. Back in the locker room you see guys before they go out to the ring and they are struggling to walk.  You see guys like a Dolph Ziggler who is my age and even though he looks good I guarantee that back in the locker room he’d be struggling or Jack Swagger aka Jake Hager is probably struggling because they are always putting their bodies through the ringer for the sake of your entertainment.

 

The Origin of the Name “King Mo”:

That came from one of my boys because they said I was always king of the crowd. I love that because I am the king of the crowd. They always loved me or hated me. “King Mo” is something that anyone can be. There are kings of all races and cultures so I figured that “King Mo” sounds good. But I am a fan of all the kings of wrestling, “King” Booker and “King” Harley Race. I always loved them and of course Jerry “The King” Lawler is a beast too. 

 

Other Pro Wrestlers competing outside of the wrestling business.

It’s the way you process things. I think (CM) Punk will do good. It all depends on what you learn and what you see. He will probably get someone he can probably beat, he isn’t stupid. They will give him someone who is known but not good. Not for his first fight, I just see them giving him someone that he can beat. If you think about business, CM Punk’s first fight will do one million buys. So why risk it with having him get beat for his first fight. Try to get him a few wins and then see what he can do later.  He is serious about it. Let him fight a grappler first, let him fight a striker, let him fight a wrestler. Let him grow and then give him a test. (Brock) came at the right time and then he left at the right time, he made his money. He is smart. You know how wrestlers like to work and trick and prank. Wrestlers are kind of shady anyway, not to bash them but you can’t believe what anybody says. Like when they said Kurt Angle was going to try and make a wrestling comeback. I think he thought about it until he showed up for practice and once he got there realized he wasn’t that committed.

 

King Mo also discusses his fighting career in great length and covers winning the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship, signing with Bellator, his future fight plans and his favorite pro wrestlers on the Independent Scene.

The “OH MY GOD!” Review: ECW “When Worlds Collide”, Plus ECW TV 5/3 & 5/10/94

By
Heels Inc
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0

ECW TV 1994-05-03 (Matches taped 1994-03-06 at ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pa 1994-03-27 at ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pa & 1994-04-16 at ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pa)

Champions
Heavyweight: “The Franchise” Shane Douglas
TV: Pitbull
Tag: Public Enemy

911 (w/ Paul E Dangerously) vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Dan Carson, ref Jim Molineaux (1994-03-27)
911 walks right up to his opponents and chokeslams then both. Then he does it again to Carson and pins him in .31. Mikey gets one and 911 forces the ref to count him out. The fans of course think it’s the coolest thing ever. I couldn’t agree more. The chokeslams continue. 911 goes after the ref but Paul E pulls him off.

Opening video. This one features TONS of 911 chokeslams. That makes me so happy. Ha in one of the clips he chokeslams some camera guy out of his shoes. That’s awesome.

Joey Styles is your host for Eastern Championship Wrestling. Last week on ECW TV learned that at When Worlds Collide there will be a Mixed Tag Singapore Canning Match with Sandman and Woman taking on “Ironman” Tommy Cairo and Peaches. We get a run down of the feud so far. Included in the package is an interview filmed before the Ten Lashes Match from last Arena show with Sandman. Sandman says that if people are into S & M and voyeurism then all they would have to do is pay. Huh so I guess they really are going with that he’s a pimp thing.

Ten Lashes Match: Sandman vs. “Ironman” Tommy Cairo (w. Peaches) special ref “Wildman” Sal Bellomo (1994-04-16)
Sandman attacks from behind before the bell and he sends Cairo to the floor. Cairo belly to backs Sandman onto a table. Sandman with a chair. Cairo with a suplex in the ring right back outside they go. Sandman with another chair shot and a suplex on the floor. Cairo suplexes Sandman onto a table and goes after him with a chair. In the ring Sandman comes off the top with an elbow but Sal takes forever to make the count and then does a super slow 2 count. Cairo recovers and hits a nice looking belly to back for the pin in 4.21. Then we see the aftermath that we also got at the end of last week. Cairo is with Peaches at Sandman’s house. Cairo talks about how him and Peaches have been hanging out. Cairo says the scars on Peaches back will go away but the scars in their hearts will not. Peaches talks about whipping Woman’s “fat” ass. She then plans on shove the cane into her. Sandman talks about how Cairo owes him thousands of dollars for the time he’s been spending with Peaches. He says they can call it even if Cairo just gives him $100.

“Surfer” Ray Odyssey vs. Eric Anderson, ref Jim Molineaux (1994-03-06)
So ECW must have felt that they really needed a surfer in their company. I’m pretty sure Odyssey still have the tag on his wet suit. I guess he plans on returning it tonight. Odyssey wins after a missile drop kick and Vader splash from the second rope in 3.14.

Tazmaniac vs. Johnny Blaze Jim Molineaux (1994-03-27)
TV Champion Pitbull is on commentary with Joey. Tazmaniac with the victory after a super fall away slam in 1.44.

Tommy Dreamer versus Rockin’ Rebel and Kevin Sullivan against Jimmy Snuka has been added to the 14th.

We come back from break and Jay Sulli thanks Joey Styles and says that yes he is in the dressing room. He says this even though we didn’t see Joey say anything to him before this. Sulli wants to talk to Tazmaniac but he just storms past. Jason shows up instead.. Jason says he and Pitbull represent ECW TV and TV is supposed to be visual and pretty like him. Jason says Tazmaniac isn’t a person but a creature from a horror movie. Jason says Tazmaniac looks like a Monkey Boy Tazmaniac comes and just looks into the camera. Jason continues to talk about monkeys and Pitbull runs down from the Eagle’s Nest to make sure nothing happens. Jason continues to make fun of monkeys. Jason swings at Tazmaniac. Tazmaniac throws Jason through a wall and bites his face and Jason screams in pain. Pitbull shows up and pulls him off. Tazmaniac is foaming at the mouth and Jason is still screaming in pain and holding his face.

Terry Funk and Arn Anderson have words about their match coming up and then Pitbull and Jason with giant face bandage say on the 14th it’s their move and that their move is to destroy Tazmaniac.

My thoughts on the show…
911 makes any show great. The Jason Tazmaniac stuff while the promo was a bit silly and possibly racist the ending was pretty cool and Jason sold it well. Rest was pretty useless.

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TV 1994-05-10 (Matches taped 1994-03-27 at ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pa & 1994-04-16 at ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pa)

Champions
Heavyweight: “The Franchise” Shane Douglas
TV: Pitbull
Tag: Public Enemy

Paul E Dangerously opens up the show with a backstage promo and he quickly makes fun of Terry Funk’s daughters. This brings out Funk who slaps Paul E and tells him to never make fun of his daughters.

Opening video.

To Joey Styles we go. Paul E shows up and is freaking out and mentions that Funk tried to break Sabu’s arm in Japan. We get a video package showing the highlights of the Funk and Sabu feud going all the way back to seven months ago. Funk and Arn Anderson are backstage Funk talks about how Paul E brought family into this and Arn talks about how Sabu is a kamikaze but they will ground him. Arn says Bobby Eaton and Sabu should stay home cause it will save them their lives.

Matty in the House tells us that just signed for May 14th is JT Smith, Bruise Brothers and Hawk will take on Champion “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, Mr. Hughes and Tag Team Champions Public Enemy in an Elimination Match. He the brings us a Mr. Hughes “Ruff Neck” video and then brings us our first match of the night.

Human Cage Match: (Tag Team Champions Public Enemy vs. Bruise Brothers ref Jim Molineaux 1994-04-16)
This is just a lumberjack match with a fancy ECW name. Pretty much the whole locker room besides the top level guys are out there. Johnny Grunge starts out and gets his ass kicked and takes a chair to the skull that busts him open. The Harris brothers are just destroying Grunge as we near the five minute mark. Harris hits the ropes and Rocco Roc gets his knee up into the back allowing PE to get control. Roc gets a chair and goes to work with it. Even with the lumberjacks they find a way to brawl into the crowd. The Harris brothers hit the double big boot back in the ring but Mr. Hughes comes in the ring and nails them with chairs allowing PE to get the win. The lumberjacks now all start going at to. After the match Hughes gets his ass kicked by the two brothers.

Last week Tazmaniac tried to eat Jason alive. Joey interviews Jason and talks about all the thing he has coming up on the 14th. He of course focuses on Tazmaniac and the attack he suffered last week.

Kevin Sullivan (w/ Woman) vs. Don E Allen, ref John Finnegan (1994-03-27)
Sullivan attacks before the bell and dumps Allen. Woman attacks him. Joey tells us that the reason they are airing this match is to show the brutality of Woman. Sullivan gets the win in 2 with a double stomp. Woman comes in the ring and beats on Allen again.

Back to Joey and he talks about how at November to Remember last year Woman cost Tommy Cairo his match against Kevin Sullivan. Joey talks about the the Singapore Canning Match and we get words from Cairo and Peaches.

Paul E and 911 are in the hood and Paul is dressed the way he thinks thugs dress. They show up to a door and ask the guy standing outside for PE. Paul E talks “ghetto”. This is terrible. The bouncer dude is a terrible actor. PE come out and Paul E tells them he needs help with Terry Funk. PE yell at Funk and tell him they are going to take him out. Paul E says he wants them to do something that will get them put away for a very long time. He pulls out a wad of cash and says they shouldn’t worry about the bail money. HAAH Grunge rips it out of his hands and pockets it.

My thoughts on the show…
Pretty weak go home show for the big When Worlds Collide event coming up in just a few days. Paul E stuff in the opening was great but terrible at the end.

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When Worlds Collide 1994-05-14 at ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pa

Champions
Heavyweight: “The Franchise” Shane Douglas
TV: Mikey Whipwreck
Tag: Public Enemy

While doing some research for this show I learn that there was a sci-fi movie from 1951 with the same title. It seems pretty highly rated and I plan on checking it out.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Rockin’ Rebel (w/ Jason), ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Dreamer works over Rebel to start and then starts to work over the neck. Some back and forth. Rebel hits a swinging neck breaker and spin buster. He hold his knee though and appears to have hurt his knee. Rebel crawls over but only gets 2. Rebel sends in Dreamer but Dreamer hits a Thesz Press for the win in 6.22. Rebel and Jason argue but Jason gives Rebel money to calm him down.

TV Champion Mikey Whipwreck vs. 911 (w/ Paul E Dangerously), ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Mikey beat Pitbull for the title last night. Well I guess 911 wins the title tonight. Chokeslam. Fans chant “Mikey”. 911 looks around and they switch to “One more time”. Another chokeslam. He goes for a third and then as the ref yells at him not to do it. 911 grabs the ref and slams them both down. The ref apparently being superman is able to still signal for the bell to call for the DQ in 1.51. Ref gets two more for being a dick. No title for 911 makes me sad.

Kevin Sullivan (w/ Woman) vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka (w/ Hunter Q Robbins III), ref Jim Molineaux
Sullivan beats the shit out of Snuka on the floor for a few minutes. Sandman comes out and brings Woman to the back. Robbins trips Sullivan who then falls to his butt very slowly and some how gets pinned in 4.28. Snuka leaves and Sullivan grabs Robbins and breaks his nuts with Robbins own cane. Joey keeps saying this may be the last we see of Robbins. I fucking hope he’s right. HAHAH Sullivan goes to the floor and chases the photographers around the ring.

Singapore Cane Match: Sandman & Woman vs. “Ironman” Tommy Cairo & Peaches, ref John Finnegan
Sandman and Cairo go at. Cairo hits a belly to belly but Sandman comes back and hits a vertical suplex. Sandman has the advantage for 2 minutes but Cairo hits a powerslam and DDT. Cairo goes for the pin but Woman hits the ring to break it up and we get a cat fight. Cairo pulls Woman off Peaches. Peaches sees Sandman still on the mat and covers him for the 3 count in 4.59. Cairo holds Sandman and Peaches canes him three times when Woman jumps in and throws powder in the eyes of Peaches. Sandman attacks Cairo and canes the shit out of him. Sandman holds Peaches for Woman to cane. The last shot sounded damn painful. Woman and Sandman leave Cairo is bleeding and Peaches is crying on the mat. Cairo carries Peaches back to the locker room.

911 hits the ring and chokeslams ref John Moore a few more times as Moore is in the ring waiting to ref the next match.

The Pitbull (w/ Jason) vs. Tazmaniac, ref John Finnegan
They go right to the floor and brawl in the crowd. Back in the ring Pitbull with a belly to belly and then he goes into a chin lock. Pitbull in control for the next few minutes and he beats away on Tazmaniac and gets some help from Jason. After like five pretty boring minutes Tazmaniac hits an overhead belly to belly. Tazmaniac goes up top but Pitbull kicks him down. Tazmaniac tumbles to the floor below. Tazmaniac comes back and hits a t bone suplex and another overhead. Jason hops up on the apron and faces the fans to yell at them/ Tazmaniac comes up behind and half nelson suplexes him into the ring. The ref goes to check on Jason and Pitbull nails Tazmaniac with the chain he wears to the ring. Pitbull with the cover and victory in 8.46.

Elimination Match: Champion “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, Tag Team Champions Public Enemy & Mr. Hughes vs. JT Smith & Bruise Brothers
Douglas gets on the mic and tells Arn Anderson to deliver a message to Ric Flair to come to the Arena for a match. He does this while the Bruise Brothers music is playing so he must have really wanted to get out that message. Hawk was supposed to be here but is out with an injury. They brawl in the aisle a bit. Ref finally gains control and we start off. Rocco Roc comes in with a Harris. Hughes, Douglas and PE are all over the Harris brother. They begin to work the knee. This goes on for about 10 minutes until the other Harris brother gets tagged in. Douglas eats a big boot. Smith and Roc tag. PE team up and go right after the knee. Again. That happens for a while. Douglas, Hughes and the Bruiser Brothers fight into the crowd and get counted out at 17.52. They continue to brawl all over the ringside area. PE work on killing Smith for the next few minutes. Smith eventually gets a roll up on Rocco Roc at 24.17. PE goes for a double team but Smith moves and Roc and Johnny Grunge collide and Smith rolls up Grunge now and gets the win in 24.52. PE attack after the match.

Sabu & “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton (w/ Paul E Dangerously & 911) vs. Terry Funk & Arn Anderson, ref John Finnegan
I really hope this match rules. Funk and Sabu start it off and Sabu quickly in control and he gets a 2 count. Eaton tags in and he brings to the floor where he slams Funk into a table. Sabu slams Funk out of the ring and through a table! Back in the ring Sabu crushes Funk’s skull with a chair. Air Sabu and Eaton comes back in. Funk finally able to make the tag as does Eaton and now Arn comes in with Sabu. Fans give Arn and nice hand. They want him in their with Bobby . Bobby tags in but Funk comes over and pulls him off the apron. Eaton finally sent back in the ring and Arn locks in a figure four. Funk brings in a small piece of table from before and piledrivers Eaton through it. Arn goes up top but Sabu dropkicks him to the floor. Funk comes in and he goes up and misses a pretty nice looking moonsault. Sabu hits a moonsault but only gets 2. Funk with a power bomb! It only gets 2. Neck breaker by Funk for 2. DDT by Funk. Funk goes after Eaton on the apron and they slug it out. Sabu with a dive out of the ring onto Funk. Arn and Eaton have been fighting on the floor for a while. Sabu now in the ring with Arn. Sabu hits a moonsault. Sabu doesn’t cover and tags Eaton. Eaton with a slam and he goes up top. Eaton nails the alabama jam but Funk breaks up the pin. Sabu with an arabian press for 2. Sabu and Arn go to the floor. Funk and Eaton appear to be gone and brawling in the crowd. Arn hits two DDTs on Sabu. Funk and Eaton are in the Eagle’s Nest. Funk with a piledriver. Spinebuster by Arn on Sabu! Public Enemy are out and attacking Funk. Arn comes out and nails them with a chair and they leave. Arn helps Funk back to the ring and PE come back and go after Arn. Funk’s knee is bleeding or so says Joey. I don’t see it. Sabu with a spinning toe hold. Sabu gets a chair but Arn grabs and holds Sabu for Funk. Sabu moves and Funk nails Arn. Funk with a toe hold on Funk but Sabu whacks him with the chair four times. Arn grabs the chair from Sabu and nails Funk in the leg with it!!!! Half crab by Sabu and Funk gives it up in 19.38.

In the back after the show Paul E is with PE and he gives them their money. Paul E questions who Funk is and why he won’t retire. He asks Terry why he wants to drag his brother Dory into this. Funk says that they are the Funk brothers to answer Paul’s questions. Looks like Terry is bringing in Dory to face the PE.

My thoughts on the show…
Good main event, didn’t rule like I wanted it to but still fun. Lots of chokeslams tonight from 911!!! The Elimination Match and Tazmaniac/Pitbull were both pretty slow and boring but everything else was completely watchable. Wouldn’t really recommend it but you don’t have to avoid it either.

New Japan “Best of the Super Jr. XXII” Days 4 & 5 (5/26 & 5/27/15)

By
Kevin Wilson
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Date: May 26th, 2015 and May 27th, 2015
Location: Yamagata City Sports Center #2 and Aomori Nippon Budokan
Announced Attendance: 1,120 and 1,530 (respectively)

Like the 23rd and the 25th, to help these reviews go along faster (and get to the point) I am only going to review the tournament matches and combine the two days into one review to make it a more complete review. So this review will have all the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament matches from the 26th and the 27th. Here are the standings going into the events:

Block A: Block B:
Gedo (4)

Kyle O’Reilly(4)

Barreta (2)

B. Cavernario (2)

Jushin Liger (2)

Ryusuke Taguchi (2)

Chase Owens

Yohei Komatsu

 Tiger Mask (4)

Alex Shelley (2)

Bobby Fish (2)

KUSHIDA (2)

Máscara Dorada (2)

Nick Jackson (2)

Rocky Romero (2)

David Finlay Jr.

And the matches being reviewed:

– Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Gedo
– Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: David Finlay Jr. vs. KUSHIDA
– Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Nick Jackson vs. Rocky Romero
– Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Barreta vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
– Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Yohei Komatsu
– Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Máscara Dorada vs. Tiger Mask
– Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Chase Owens vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

Alex Shelley is out of the tournament due to injury, so his opponent Bobby Fish gets two points via forfeit. Let’s get started.

El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Gedo
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. Tie-up to start and Cavernario hits an armdrag. Irish whip by Gedo but Cavernario kicks him and hits a springboard armdrag. Gedo knocks Cavernario out of the ring, he then joins him and tosses Cavernario around on the floor. Gedo gets back in the ring and removes a turnbuckle pad, when Cavernario gets in Gedo throws him into the exposed corner. Gedo grabs Cavernario and rakes his eyes, reverse chinlock by Gedo and he chokes Cavernario against the second rope. Gedo throws him into the exposed corner again, Gedo picks up Cavernario but Cavernario blocks being thrown into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Now it is Cavernario that throws Gedo into the exposed corner and Cavernario dropkicks him. He does it a second time, Gedo leaves the ring and Cavernario hits a tope suicida from the apron through the ropes to the floor. Scoop slam by Cavernario on the floor, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Gedo crawls away. Gedo catapults Cavernario into the ring post, back in the ring Gedo throws Cavernario into the exposed corner and Gedo hits a superkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Gedo goes for the Complete Shot but Cavernario elbows him off, springboard dropkick by Cavernario and he hits a reverse splash off the ropes for a two count. Cavernario picks up Gedo, Gedo slides away and he hits a superkick for two. Gedo goes for the Gedo Clutch but Cavernario ducks away and he applies the Cavernaria for the submission victory! Not a great way to start off the tournament for me. Exposed-corner based offense just seems silly, its one thing for it to be used once but it was the main focus of the match. Also the random Worm by Cavernario seemed odd. It wasn’t unwatchable or anything as it wasn’t boring but didn’t have much I can really recommend.

David Finlay Jr. vs. KUSHIDA
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. They circle each other to start and trade wristlocks, drop toehold by KUSHIDA but Finlay gets out of it. Back up they lock knuckles but not much comes of it, KUSHIDA manages to get the Hoverboard Lock applied but Finlay gets to the ropes. Finlay elbows KUSHIDA and clubs him on the mat before choking KUSHIDA against the second rope. Stretch hold by Finlay but KUSHIDA reverses it and sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Finlay slams KUSHIDA into the apron, he slides back in the ring and picks up KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA slides away. KUSHIDA flips himself out to the apron, he kicks Finlay in the head and then snaps his arm over the top rope. Swandive chop to the head by KUSHIDA and he hits an atomic drop followed by a dropkick to the knee. Cartwheel kick by KUSHIDA and he starts working over Finlay’s arm. Fireman’s carry slam by Finlay, cover, but it gets two. KUSHIDA kicks Finlay, he goes for a handspring kick but Finlay catches him and hits a suplex. Finlay picks up KUSHIDA and they trade pin attempts, but both just get twos. Elbow by KUSHIDA and he punches Finlay to the mat. KUSHIDA charges Finlay, he spins around him and he applies the Hoverboard Lock. Finlay struggles for a moment but he has no choice but to tap out! This was fundamentally very sound. I would argue that it wasn’t particularly exciting, it didn’t have any memorable moments, but it was a well worked match and probably the best type of match for Finlay at this stage of his career. Mildly Recommended

Nick Jackson vs. Rocky Romero
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. Jackson and Romero jockey around to begin the match and Romero hits a shoulderblock. Romero goes off the ropes and he hits a headscissors followed by an armdrag. Romero keeps the armbar applied but Jackson pushes him into the corner. Kicks by Jackson, Romero flips him out onto the apron but Jackson gets back in the ring. Jackson charges Romero while is is between the ropes but Romero moves and Jackson falls out of the ring. Jackson runs to a different side to prevent Romero from diving out and he threatens to leave, but Romero goes out after him. Jackson runs back to the ring and tries to win by Countout, but Romero barely makes it back in time as well. Neckbreaker by Jackson, he picks up Romero and he hits a backbreaker for a two count. Jackson goes for a powerbomb but Romero blocks it, Jackson applies a crab hold but Romero makes it to the ropes. Jackson applies an abdominal stretch but Romero gets out of it, Jackson tries to apply the crab hold again but Romero kicks him off. Romero charges Jackson but Jackson moves and Romero tumbles out of the ring. Jackson goes out after him but Romero drives his head into the apron before hitting a jumping knee from the apron to the floor.

Swandive crossbody by Romero back into the ring and he hits a hurricanrana. Romero charges Jackson but Jackson kicks him back, Jackson goes out to the apron but Romero kicks him and hits a swandive missile dropkick while Jackson is hanging over the top rope. Jackson throws Romero into the corner but Romero avoids his charge. Superkick by Jackson, Romero falls out of the ring and Jackson kicks him from the apron. Jackson rolls Romero back into the ring and he hits a swanton bomb to Romero’s back for a two count. Back up, Jackson hits an elbow and goes off the ropes but Romero knees him as he charges in. Romero and Jackson trade elbows, Romero throws Jackson into the corner but Jackson kicks him back. Lariat by Romero in the corner but Jackson hits a superkick. Romero fires back with another lariat and he goes for the Shiranui but Jackson blocks it. Jackson rolls up Romero, but it only gets a two. Running leg kick by Jackson, cover, but Romero barely gets a shoulder up. Jumping knee by Romero, he picks up Jackson and plants him with the Darkhead for the three count! This was a fun back and forth match, they have really good chemistry together. Up until the end neither could get a clear advantage and it was a smooth and entertaining match, which is about all you can ask for from a tournament house show match. I fear this may be the best match on this set of shows, but we’ll see. Ultimately probably forgettable in the long run but great for a casual viewing. Mildly Recommended

Barreta vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. Taguchi goes for a hip attack off the bat but Barreta bails out of the ring in a slight over-exaggeration. Back in, clubbing blows by Barreta and he goes for a roll-up, but Taguchi dropkicks him in the face. Quick hip attack by Taguchi, Taguchi goes in the ropes but Barreta dropkicks him out of the ring. Barreta slides out after him and he chops him up the aisle, Taguchi goes for a hip attack but Barreta moves and Taguchi hip attacks the ring post. Barreta slides Taguchi back in and he hits a lariat for a two count. Side headlock by Barreta, Taguchi gets out of it but Barreta elbows him to the mat. Taguchi rolls out to the apron, he goes for a DDT but Barreta catches him with a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Barreta stomps on Taguchi’s butt, snapmare, and Barreta hits a knee drop for two. Neck crank by Barreta but Taguchi gets out of it, Taguchi goes for a leg drop but Barreta moves. Barreta goes off the ropes but Taguchi catches him with a jumping hip attack, hurting himself in the process. Irish whip by Barreta but Taguchi hits a second one, short-range hip attacks by Taguchi and he hits a few more while Barreta is slouched against the ropes. Cover, but Barreta kicks out. Taguchi goes for the Dodon but Barreta reverses it into a roll-up for two. Taguchi charges Barreta but Barreta stomps him down, Barreta slides out to the apron and goes up top, hitting a diving doublestomp to Taguchi’s back for a two count. Barreta charges Taguchi but Taguchi applies a schoolboy into an ankle hold. Barreta makes it to the ropes and slides out of the ring, but Taguchi goes out to the apron and delivers the diving hip attack. Back in the ring, Taguchi goes up top but Barreta springs up there with him and suplexes Taguchi to the mat. Barreta hits The Knee That Beat John Cena, but it only gets a two count. Taguchi > Cena. Back up they trade elbows, jumping kick by Taguchi but Barreta comes back with an enziguri. Jumping elbow by Barreta in the corner but Taguchi comes back with a hip attack. Dodon with a low blow by Taguchi, but Barreta gets a shoulder up. Taguchi goes off the ropes and he nails the Sliding Hip Attack, picking up the three count! I didn’t think I would like this but uh I really did. Barreta slipping in spots that worked over Taguchi’s… ass was well done and Taguchi then selling it when he hit the first few hip attacks was quality. Taguchi is actually a damn good wrestler when he isn’t going to far into the comedy/hip attacks thing, I thought here the hip attacks were well spaced out. The match got enough time without feeling too long or too short, and overall I really enjoyed it, worth a watch for sure. Recommended

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Yohei Komatsu
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. O’Reilly pushes Komatsu into the corner to start, but he gives a clean break. Wristlock by Komatsu but O’Reilly trips him to get out of it and both men return to their feet. Side headlock by O’Reilly, Komatsu Irish whips out of it but O’Reilly hits a shoulderblock. O’Reilly runs over Komatsu but Komatsu hits a hurricanrana. Armdrags by Komatsu and he applies an armbar, O’Reilly pushes Komatsu into the corner and he hits a hard elbow. Irish whip by O’Reilly, reversed, O’Reilly kicks Komatsu back and he hits a kick/knee combination. Irish whip by O’Reilly and he knees Komatsu in the stomach. Bodyscissors by O’Reilly while he clubs on Komatsu, he goes off the ropes and knees Komatsu in the ribs. O’Reilly picks up Komatsu and knees him in the head before applying a stretch hold. Back on their feet they trade elbows, O’Reilly goes off the ropes but Komatsu delivers a dropkick. Komatsu elbows O’Reilly into the corner, he leapfrogs over him and hits a jumping elbow strike. O’Reilly rolls out of the ring but Komatsu goes out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick down to the floor. Back in the ring, Komatsu goes up top and he hits a cannonball for a two count. Komatsu applies a single leg crab hold, but O’Reilly gets to the ropes. Komatsu kicks O’Reilly in the corner, Irish whip, but O’Reilly crawls away from him and hits a knee. Double arm takedown into a cross armbreaker by O’Reilly, but Komatsu gets a foot on the ropes. O’Reilly kicks Komatsu in the chest a few times while Komatsu asks for more, Komatsu catches one and hits a few elbows, but O’Reilly delivers a back kick. They both slap each other to the mat, they slowly get up and Komatsu hits a roaring elbow. Inside cradle by Komatsu, but it gets a two count. O’Reilly levels Komatsu with a lariat, but Komatsu gets his shoulder up on the pin attempt. Brainbuster by O’Reilly, and he picks up the three count! Another good but not quite great match. Komatsu is better than New Japan is really letting him be, he has been a ‘young lion’ for years now but O’Reilly gave him his props here as Komatsu almost had the upset win on several occasions. No wasted time at all, they only had ten minutes so they optimized it the best they could. Good strikes, smart submissions, overall a solid match. Mildly Recommended

Máscara Dorada vs. Tiger Mask
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. They tie-up to begin things, Dorada gets Tiger Mask into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Dorada goes off the ropes and they flip around until Dorada chops Tiger Mask to the mat. Dorada charges Tiger Mask but Tiger Mask monkeyflips him out of the ring. Back in the ring Dorada goes for a swandive move but Tiger Mask dropkicks him on the way in. Tiger Mask applies a stretch hold and kicks at Dorada, wristlock by Tiger Mask and he applies a short armbar. Dorada gets a foot on the ropes but Tiger Mask gets him back to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker. Dorada gets to the ropes again and they trade strikes back on their feet. Tiger Mask wins that battle and knocks Dorada out of the ring, Dorada slides himself back in and Tiger Mask punches him against the ropes. Irish whip by Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask drops Dorada out to the apron and he dropkicks him to the floor. Swandive missile dropkick by Dorada, Tiger Mask falls out of the ring and Dorada goes up top, nailing the rope walk plancha suicida down to the floor. Dorada returns to the ring with Tiger Mask slowly following and they trade chops, Dorada goes off the ropes and he hits a springboard back elbow for two. La Magistral by Dorada, but Tiger Mask kicks out. Dorada goes up top but Tiger Mask gets his knees up on the moonsault attempt. Tiger Mask picks up Dorada and he delivers the tombstone piledriver. Tiger Mask goes up top but Dorada avoids the diving headbutt attempt. Tiger Mask and Dorada trade chops, back kick by Tiger Mask but Dorada delivers a dropkick. Dorada goes to the top turnbuckle but Tiger Mask joins him and hits a headbutt. Avalanche double arm suplex by Tiger Mask, cover, but Dorada gets a shoulder up. Dorada drives Tiger Mask back into the corner, modified Tiger Driver by Tiger Mask but Dorada gets a shoulder up. Tiger Mask picks up Dorada but Dorada ducks the kick and hits an enziguri. Dorada Screwdriver by Dorada, and he picks up the three count! This match had some really quality spots but as a match it was just too all over the place for me. It had big moves but they didn’t mean anything, even Dorada’s cool dive to the floor just lead to Tiger Mask promptly being back in control again. Some memorable moments which is a plus but as an overall match it was a bit too spotty.

Chase Owens vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. Owens attacks Liger from behind to start the match and knocks him out of the ring. Owens goes out after him and rams Liger into the ring apron. Back in the ring, cover by Owens but it gets two. Owens throws Liger into the corner but Liger kicks him back, back elbow by Owens but Liger back bodydrops him out of the ring. Baseball slide by Liger and he hits a cannonball off the apron. Liger slides Owens back in and he applies the Romero Special, he releases the hold but Owens hides behind the referee. Dropkick by Owens and he covers Liger for a two count. Knees by Owens and he mocks Liger’s pose before hitting a backbreaker for a two count. Reverse chinlock by Owens but Liger gets to the ropes to force a break. Owens throws Liger into the corner but Liger kicks him back, Owens ducks the Shotei and both wrestlers lariat each other. Liger is up first and he hits a Shotei in the corner, he puts Owens on the top turnbuckle and he hits a Frankensteiner for a two count. Liger picks up Owens but Owens grabs the referee and he hits a low blow. Owens grabs Liger and he applies a leg submission hold, but Liger eventually makes it to the ropes. Owens picks up Liger and he hits a slingshot backbreaker. Another backbreaker by Owens, he picks up Liger but Liger blocks the Package Piledriver and sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Owens picks up Liger, elbow by Owens but Liger nails the Shotei. Liger goes for a brainbuster but Owens schoolboys him for a two count. Diving neckbreaker by Owens, he picks up Liger and he drops him with the Package Piledriver for the three count! This was a bit too much of an Owens match than a Liger match. It certainly wasn’t bad but it had too much time killing for an eight minute match (for example, everyone knew Liger wasn’t tapping to a leg submission and there was no other leg work). It didn’t feel like a cheap win or anything which is a plus, but it was a pretty one-side match as it never really felt like Liger had Owens on the edge of defeat. A good match but nothing more than that.

Final Thoughts:

The best way to describe these two shows is “solid.” Nothing was bad which is a big plus, but really nothing was great either. Taguchi/Barreta was the best match of the bunch but I wouldn’t consider it must-see, and none of the matches went very long. They were typical house show tournament matches but I’ll give the wrestlers credit, I didn’t get any sense of coasting on the shows whatsoever, so that’s a big plus. Definitely better than the Day 2/Day 3 pack I reviewed last time, some quality wrestling here and worth the watch if you’re a fan of the New Japan Juniors.

Grade: C+

The “OH MY GOD!” Review: TWA “Winter Challenge 2” – March 2, 1991

By
Heels Inc
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0

Winter Challenge 2 1991-03-02 at Penn Hall in Philadelphia, Pa

Champion: DC Drake

Joel Goodhart is out to hype the crowd and then the kid from last show sings “God Bless America”.

“Sweet” Stan Lane (w/ Jim Cornette) vs. “Latin Heartthrob” Al Perez, ref John Finnegan
This match is being dubbed the Battle of the Sex Gods. Lane gets pyro and a huge pop! Cornette grabs the mic but before he can get two words out Perez’s music hits. Goodhart is pissed. Cornette now on the mic and tells Perez they are hiring at Taco Bell. I’m a huge fan of both these guys so hopefully they don’t phone it in here. Perez with a hip toss and Lane goes to the floor and says that he bangs more women in a week than Perez does all year and he better stop pulling his hair and tights. Lane goes to work on the arm. Criss cross and Perez bails to the floor chases Cornette in the ring and he and Lane crash. Both men trying to play the face in the match but then fans are more behind Lane. Perez with a chin lock but Lane able to back him into a corner where Cornette nails him with the tennis racket behind the refs back. Lane with some karate now and he dumps Perez to the floor. Corny of course gets in some shots. Lane pulls something from his tight and chokes Perez with it. Perez tries to fight back but Lane with a swinging neck breaker. Lane puts on the chin lock but the crowd starts to chant boring so he immediately lets it go and gets back to some action. Lane misses a corner charge and Perez fires up. Perez nails a flying elbow smash and gets 2. He goes for it again but Lane ducks and Perez goes flying over the rope to the apron. Cornette jumps up on the apron and throws his racket to Lane. Lane misses and when he goes to pick it up Perez pins him with a sunset flip for the victory in 13.05. After the match Lane and Cornette attack with the racket to another big pop.

 

Ringmaster Rumble
Refs are John Finnegan, Joe Zanolle & Jim Molineaux Basically just a Royal Rumble. Winners gets a title match later tonight! Glenn Osbourne and Johnny O start off for the first two minute period. Jimmy Jannetty is out next and he goes right after Osbourne. It will be 60 seconds in-between entrances going forward. Out comes Hoss next who is billed at 400 pounds he crushes O with a belly to belly suplex. Rockin’ Rebel hits the ring next as Hoss tosses Barry O. Rebel with his shitty bulldog onto Osbourne. Crybaby Waldo is out next and he goes right to the other big man. Rebel gets rid of Osbourne. The big men slam each other. Hoss charges Rebel but Rebel ducks and pulls down the rope eliminating Hoss. Crowd is mad about that one. CN Redd comes out now. They are keeping it at 4 guys at a time as each time someone comes out a guy gets tossed. Ghetto Blaster is out now. He comes in and tosses Jannetty. Rebel with a piledriver on Redd. Mr. Sandman is out and he nails Jannetty in the aisle with a clothesline. Rebel clotheslines both Redd and Sandman. “Hacksaw” Larry Winters is out next. The fans really give him shit. Sandman with the worst looking swinging neck breaker ever on Rebel. Pretty sure they were equally at fault. Sabu hits the ring and goes after Sandman. Ghetto Blaster gets tossed off screen. Winters and Rebel of course beating on each other. Bulldog Brower Jr. is out and he starts getting his ass kicked right away. JT Smith goes right after Sandman. Bulldog Brower and Larry Winters toss each other. Wildchild comes out and goes after Crybaby Waldo. Sabu is gone also. He may have gone out with Winters and Brower. Wildchild tossed by Waldo. Rick Perez comes out now. This dude looks so much like Al Perez which I’m guessing is where he got his name. John Rock, no relation to the DC Comics character comes out next. “Hitman” Michael Bruno comes out and he looks about 50 years older then he did at the last show. Waldo is out. Bruno and Rebel toss out Perez. Don E Allen comes out. John Rock is out and the six men in the ring are Rebel, Redd, Bruno, Allen, Sandman and Smith. One of these men will get a title shot later tonight. My money is on Rebel. Redd charges Rebel but misses and goes out of the ring. Allen gets rid of Bruno. Rebel says bye by to Allen. Rebel with a spine buster on Sandman. Rebel goes up top but Allen jumps on the apron and nails him with a chair sending him to the floor. Smith and Sandman are left. Sandman with a slam and then he chokes Smith. Smith comes back with a big back body drop and gut wrench suplex and then he goes for the pin. Idiot. Sandman with a corner whip and clothesline. Sandman with a shitty dropkick and now HE goes for the pin. IDIOT! Sunset slip attempt by Smith. HELLO. Smith with a small package. Sandman goes for a power bomb but Smith flips over the back lands on his feet and clotheslines Sandman out of the ring! Smith gets the title match later tonight. Time of the Rumble was 24.48.

 

Russian Chain Match: Ivan Koloff vs. Manny Fernandez, ref Joe Zanolle
Nikita Koloff comes to the ring Nikita cuts a promo talking shit about Lex Luger and then leaves. This shit is gonna SUCK. Nikita comes back out after about two minutes of the match. Ivan cut open pretty early on also. They beat on each other and Manny gets 3 buckles but then Ivan pulls on the chain and Manny hits the ref. Nikita up on the apron and he nails Manny with the russian sickle. Ivan gets up hits 3 turnbuckles and the ref calls for the bell in 9.17. Ok so they need to stop doing chain matches because the refs can’t fucking count. That or Ivan was cheating because the ref was sorta still out of it when he was touching the buckles and he hit the first one that cut diagonally across the ring skipping over the second buckle. Match was not bad like I thought it would be. If the finish was Ivan cheating, which I’m fairly certain it was then it was awesome.

 

Falls Count Anywhere: Cactus Jack vs. “Hotstuff” Eddie Gilbert (w/ Veronica), ref John Finnegan
Fans are hyped up for this match. Pyro for Gilbert. Gilbert wins the slugfest early on and then they spill to the floor. They fight into the crowd and Gilbert throws Cactus into a table. They fight back into the crowd but the camera doesn’t really keep up with them so we miss a lot. Eddie is busted open. Jack gets a near fall in the front row. Cactus goes for a piledriver through a table but Gilbert back drops him and throws the table into the ring. Gilbert drives Jack into the table. Back to the floor and Jack with a back breaker and elbow off the apron for 2. Jack charges and gets the hot shot on the guard rail for 2. Jack with a sunset flip off the apron for 2. Back in the ring we get a double clothesline. Veronica throws in her purse but Jack catches it instead and nails Gilbert and gets the pin in 12.22. Gilbert immediately attacks and drops Jack with a piledriver. Gilbert gets on the mic and riles up the crowd.

 

The Sheik (w/ Bulldog Brower) vs. Abdullah the Butcher, ref John Finnegan
Sheik wears the old Detroit U.S. Title to the ring. Sheik attacks as Abby claims into the ring. Abby is bleeding about .3 seconds into the match. They brawl and stab each other with weapons. DQ in 4.57 after both men push the ref down. Big pull apart brawl afterwards as the fight goes on for like double the length of the actual match. Abby beats up Goodhart in the aisle.

 

Barbed Wire Match: Johnny Hotbody vs. Tony “Hitman” Stetson, ref Jim Molineaux
Hotbody attacks as Stetson gets into the ring. Looks like there’s just one strand of wire wrapped between the top and middle rope. Hotbody hits a nice looking piledriver. Stetson gets his face shoved into the wire. Hotbody goes under the ring for a piece of left over wire. He wraps it around the forehead of Stetson. Stetson is a bloody mess. Hotbody taunts and gives Stetson lots of time to recover. Stetson uses the piece of wire on Hotbody now digging it into his head and cutting him. Stetson the brings Hotbody over to the ropes and cuts up his arm with the wire. It looked Stetson may have been blading Hotbody’s arm for him. That’s gross. Stetson now chokes Hotbody with the wire. Stetson brings Hotbody to the center of the ring and school boys him for the win in 10.33. What a weird fucking finish. Like you didn’t want to hit him with your finisher or anything you went with a school boy?

 

Champion “Mad Dog” DC Drake (w/ Woman & Don E Allen) vs. JT Smith, ref Joe Zanolle
Drake and gang take FOREVER to get to the ring. Like Sandman lengths. Fans seem about ready to riot as Drake spends the first 4 minutes on the floor firing them up. Drake finally into the ring and Woman distracts Smith allowing Drake the sneak attack. Smith thrown to the floor and Drake beats on him outside the ring. Drake in control for the next few minutes as he works over Smith’s arm. Smith hits a clothesline to mount a comeback. Suplex by Smith for 2. Drake cuts Smith off and goes back to work on the arm. Drake with a powerslam for 2. Smith has a come back but the fans don’t care that much. They are more anti Drake then they are pro Smith. To the floor they go. Smith comes off the top ropes onto Drake in the aisle way. Back in the ring Smith with a sleep. I smell a ref bump! Allen gets up on the apron and the ref goes to get him down. Here it comes! Drake forces Smith into the ref and he crashes to the floor. Smith with a gut wrench and northern lights that almost kills Drake. Larry Winters comes out from under the right in a ref shirt and counts Smith the winner in 18.24. I thought Winters was heel and not also not a rer? Winters raises the hand of Smith and then attacks him. Shouldn’t he have known that was coming? They beat the crap out of Smith dropping him with a spike piledriver on a chair and hanging him over the ropes with a chain. Official decision ends up being Smith winning by DQ due to the interference. Smith continues to get his ass kicked until Rockin’ Rebel and Jimmy Jannetty come out to chase everyone away. Drake and gang celebrate in the aisle way and really hear it from the fans. Smith eventually gets up and goes after Drake with Rebel going after Winters. Jannetty shows up also everybody brawls again. Jannetty, Smith and Rebel all get laid out again. Match went to long but a really good brawl at the end and man could Drake really get a crowd to hate him.

 

Audience Lumberjack Match: Terry Fuck (w/ Bulldog Brower) vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler, ref John Finnegan
Funk on the mic with Goodhart. Funk shit talks the fans. Brower holds some belt for Funk. “Lawler sucks” chant goes up. Lawler and Funk both stale by talking to the fans. The lumberjacks throw Funk back into the ring. Both guys keep leaving the ring to yell at fans and they keep getting thrown back in. Funk with a piledirver for 2. Lawler takes over and doesn’t do much besides punch Funk. Funk ends up nailing the clubbing the ref in the back and throwing Lawler to the floor. Funk takes the belt off the ref and chokes Lawler with it over the rope. Funk trying to jump out of the ring but the audience lumberjacks keep pushing him back. Funk finally gets out and goes after a fan. Funk chokes a fan with the belt now. The bell rings at 11.37. Funk and Brower continue to attack Lawler. Funk goes after the fans and Lawler briefly gets a shot on Brower before Funk pulls him from the ring. Lawler and Funk threaten to throw chairs at each other and stuff and basically waste a ton of time just like they did last time. We get the official decision and Lawler wins by DQ. Lawler makes racial remarks to a black fan. Dick.

 

Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” plays over a highlight video off the show.

My thoughts on the show…
Easily my favorite of the four shows so far. Solid from top to bottom with nothing that was putting me to sleep and even a few things that had me excited.

John Cena vs. Cesaro Match Censored On WWE Raw

By
Jim Somers
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0

At last night’s WWE Raw, former United States champion Cesaro answered the John Cena United States Championship open challenge. The two went back and forth for nearly 20 minutes, before Kevin Owens eventually ran in and broke up a Cesaro Sharpshooter for a DQ.

During the match, however, you may have noticed that the screen went black for a short period during an exciting spot.

While Cesaro gave John Cena several European uppercuts, the Swiss followed up by flipping the champion the bird. Either the WWE production team or the USA Network decided to censor the situation by simply blacking the screen out. You can see an unedited .gif of the incident below.

Linda McMahon Taking Notes At RAW

By
Jim Somers
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0

– Linda McMahon was in the crowd at last night’s RAW and was seen taking notes during the show. McMahon also tweeted the photo below backstage at RAW:

https://twitter.com/Linda_McMahon/status/615673422870376448/photo/1

The WWE Raw Report 6/29/15 – Cena vs. Cesaro Steals The Show

By
Crazymax Jack
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0

WWE Raw Preshow Notes For 6/29/15

– It’s Stanford, Otunga and Graves from WWE HQ. I really have come to hate this ensemble as a trio. You have Otunga forcefully trying to act heelish, Graves constantly tries to belittle Stanford, and Stanford is a deer in the headlights… Anywho, we learn that Cena is doing the U.S. Open Challenge tonight… maybe they’ll go back to having real matches instead of turning this into another angle segment with Owens… Also, it’s Rollins/Kane vs. Ambrose/Reigns in the main event tonight… It’s been announced on WWE.com that the match will be No DQ…

– The panel talks Rollins getting the Authority back together and taking out Brock Lesnar last week. They also touch on Rollins beating Ambrose 80 times over the last few weeks…

– Bray Wyatt plays borderline awesome heel/pedophile in his feud with Roman Reigns. I’ll give Bray one thing, he can get over some pretty lame songs when he sings them… This won’t end well for Wyatt’s push anyway…

– They talk to Dolph Ziggler via the phone about all of this Lana/Rusev crap… And now Summer Rae has been inserted as a potential interest for Rusev… I’ve never seen a feud kill everyone’s heat before…. But they’re trying with this one. Tonight “Dolph And Lana Go Public”, whatever the fuck that means…

– Ryback and Big Show beat up on each other last week. It was exciting as it sounds. The panel thinks the Miz is laying back and playing it smart, waiting for his opportunity.

– The panel talks who they think will accept Cena’s challenge tonight. Random names are dropped… They also show a brief clip of The Rock confronting Bo Dallas at a weekend Live Event in Boston… And that about does it.

The WWE Raw Report 6/29/15 from the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

– We’ve got Seth Rollins, Kane, and J&J Security headed to the ring… Noble is selling his ribs but he’s out there.. Rollins talks about doing something that Reigns, Cena, and The Undertaker couldn’t do… He took a trip to Suplex City and burned it down… Rollins announces Brock Lesnar isn’t here and is boarding a plane to Japan right now…

Rollins wants to thank his cohorts, Kane, Mercury & Noble so he presents them all with Apple Watches… He then gives Kane a trip to Hawaii, complete with people in Hawaiian costumes to sell the trip…. This is terrible.

Next, Noble & Mercury are given a brand new Cadillac… As it is driven into the arena, Game Show music begins to play… Mercury oversells the car and jumps around with ridiculous facial mannerisms…. Shoot me now…

It’s like they’re PURPOSELY trying to have the worst segment ever… That was a good 17 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

Big Show is wrestling Mark Henry next.

— Commercial Break —

1. The Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Miz on commentary. Henry dominates to begin and a Splash gets 2…. Big Show comes back with a KO punch and Henry staggers into the ropes, then bounces back into a SECOND KO Punch, and that ends it… Wow, who did Mark Henry piss off…. 1:22.

After the match, Ryback’s music hits and he and Big Show have a brawl in the ring… Miz enjoys watching them take each other apart… Ryback lays out Show with a tackle, and Miz plays the opportunist and sneaks into the ring to drop Ryback with a running boot… Miz runs off leaving Ryback pissed…

— Commercial Break —

2. IC Champ Ryback vs. The Miz

Lots of Ryback on top to start… Ryback with possibly the longest delayed vertical suplex in history but few of the “WWE Universe” appreciates the spot… I think Ryback tries to give Miz a wedgie but is pulled back by the ref and Miz goes low with a kick and lands a DDT for 2… Miz takes over for a bit, then Ryback turns things around and looks for the Meathook, but Miz bails and takes a Count Out loss. Ryback wins in 5:00.

This is bad.

— Commercial Break —

Could they possibly follow the last 40 minutes with another crap segment? Oh, never mind….

3. Paige vs. Alicia Fox (w/The Bellas)

If you haven’t been paying attention, Fox has joined “Team Bella”. The announcers have to get over that Nikki Bella is the SECOND longest Divas Champion… AJ watch out… Another 75 days or so and Nikki has the record. Paige dominates the majority of the match. Paige follows Fox out to the floor and finds herself surrounded but the Bellas and Alicia, Paige loses that situation and Fox takes over as we head to break…

Back from break, Fox has control. Alicia with a few near falls and questions the ref’s count. A frustrated Fox goes to the chinlock, Paige escapes and comes back with a series of nasty knee strikes and kicks and whatnot. Paige gets distracted by Nikki Bella, allowing Fox to execute the roll up, but Paige reverses the rolling cradle and picks up the win in 9:35.

This wasn’t good, neither girl really even broke out their “good stuff” in the ring here. HOWEVER, this was easily as good as most of the men’s Raw matches that are boring. So it wasn’t any worse than Sheamus vs. Anyone, for instance…

– John Cena quickly headed to the ring for the Open Challenge… Leave the ring ladies…

— Commercial Break —

– So it’s U.S. Open Challenge Time… Maybe we’ll actually get a match this week instead of another angle… Cena isn’t even going to cvut a promo, BUT Kevin Owens comes out… The announcers sell it like Owens is accepting the challenge, Lilian even starts introducing Owen as the challenger, but NOBODY is buying it.

After introductions, Owens gets on the mic and says he has decided to wait for Battleground. Instead, Owens introduces CESARO for Cena’s challenger. Owens joins for commentary, ugh.

4. U.S. Champion John Cena vs. Cesaro

Some back and forth between the two to start, and it ends with Cena trying to be cute with a monkey flip spot. Cesaro catches Cena in mid air of a leap frog and turns it into a powerslam, Rick Steiner style. Cesaro leaves Cena hanging and finally tosses him in a gut wrench suplex for 2. Big boot gets Cesaro another 2. Cena tries to create separation with an awkward looking standing dropkick, but I’ll give him credit for trying… Cesaro takes right back over however. Middle rope elbow gets Cesaro yet another near fall as we head to commercial…

Back from break, and we apparently missed some good shit during the break… Figures. Cesaro now looks for the Sharpshooter but Cena escapes and comes back with his five knuckle shuffle shit, but Cesaro clotheslines his face off for 2. It’s a little back and forth, Cesaro catapults Cena into the ropes, but John lands on the middle rope and springs backwards into the Stunner for a near fall… Cute spot, but Cena just looks awkward doing these things. Cena for the AA, Cesaro lands on his FEET! Cesaro throws Cena TEN FEET into the air and catches him with a EUROPEAN UPPERCUT!!!! 1……….2………..Cena kicks out…. Cena trips Cesaro down and locks in the STF.

Cesaro POWERS FREE and turns the STF over into the SHARSHOOTER in the middle of the ring!!! Cena gets to the ropes for the break. Cena rolls to the apron, Cesaro SUPERPLEXES Cena back in from the apron!!! 1…………2…………… Cena kicks out again! Running uppercut on Cena in the corner, Cena blocks a second one and lands a TORNADO DDT for a near fall on Cesaro. The two trade punches, Cesaro to the apron, goes up top for a body block, but Cena rolls through and holds on and lands some sort of weird swinging face buster for a near fall. Now Kevin Owens leaves commentary to walk over and warn Michael Cole about his comments, and it distracts Cena as he is climbing the ropes. This allows Cesaro to uppercut Cena off the top rope to the floor…

Cesaro lands a running Uppercut to Cena against the barricade and back inside it gets a 2 count. Cesaro tries the NEUTRALIZER, but Cena backdros his way free and hits the Amazing Red Bomb thingy for a near fall… Cena tries the AA, Cesaro counters… NEUTRALIZER CONNECTS!!!!!!! 1…………..2……………………Cena kicks out!!!!

Cesaro goes Uppercut Crazy and then CESARO SWING!!!!!!! AND THE SHARPSHOOTER!!!!!! WILL CENA TAP??????????????

KEVIN OWENS ATTACKS CESARO!!!!!! OWENS CAUSES A DQ at 20:11…. GARBAGE….

Owens lays out Cesaro with the POP UP POWERBOMB…. Then a Pop Up Powerbomb to Cena as well…

Owens proclaims nobody is going to take the U.S. Title from Cena except him…

A classic match wasted with a bullshit finish. Which I wouldn’t mind if they had intentions to follow up on this match. But they won’t. Amazing stuff here. Completely salvaged the show after the first hour completely stunk.

— Commercial Break —

– The announcers talk the Rollins/Lesnar feud when they’re interrupted by…

BRAY WYATT Promo

On the screen as usual. Wyatt produces a picture of Roman Reigns with the eyes cut out. The picture reads “Anyone But You” mocking the fans statement that anyone but Reigns should get the push. Bray says is the the yin to Reigns yang and he won’t let Reigns succeed. Anyone but you Roman…. Anyone… Run!

– Lucha Dragons headed to the ring for an 8-man tag.

— Commercial Break —

– We’re reminded Rock made a surprise appearance at the Boston live event over the weekend… But he’s not here in D.C., so let’s remind the fans…

5. Lucha Dragons & Prime Time Players vs. The New Day (All 3) and Bo Dallas

Bo should have joined New Day long ago. They all send the same message, when they’re allowed on the mic… NEW DAY HAVE SHIRTS!!! Go buy’em and support the NEWWW DAYYYY. I don’t think new Day have been able to cut a promo since their title loss… Sad. Kalisto gets jiggy with flippies early on. Lucha Dragons both with some nice fast paced stuff until Xavier cuts Cara off. Bo Dallas tags in but immediately gets taken down and screams in pain. PTP beat down on Bo, Titus with the throw away slam. Bo finally manages to take over on Kalisto, and then works over Darren Young. New Day isn’t doing shit. Darren Yougn with a BACK SUPLEX ON THE APRON!!! Things break down with all 8 men arguing on the floor as we take a break…

Back from break, Woods has Kalisto down. Big E takes over with an over head belly to belly but Kalisto flips through the move and makes the hot tag to Cara. Cara with Lucha-y stuff on Big E and lands a top rope somersault body block for 2… Darren Young tags in and lands his THIRD butt drop of the match… Ok. Young looks for his finisher but Big E escapes. The crowd is DEAD for Young. DEAD. Young takes a bump the floor from Big E and Bo Dallas lays him out with a clothesline outside and gets a 2 count. New Day take over and wear down Young in their corner. Crowds dead, nobody cares about Young at all. Bo and Young crack heads and Darren finally makes a hot tag to Titus.

O’Neil plows over Dallas and Kofi. Big Boot kills Kofi. Titus with the old school POUNCE, sort of, gets 2. Now everyone is in the ring, and Darren and Bo bump to the floor. Titus does the Lucha dance, then the Lucha Dragons do dives to Big E & Xavier. Kofi and Titus continue the fight inside. Kignston off the top but dives right into a sit out Spinebuster from Titus for the win in 14:30.

Dolph and Lana “go public”, next.

— Commercial Break —

Dolph Ziggler & Lana / Rusev & Summer Rae Segment

– Okay, so Lana and Ziggz are headed out to “go public”. Whatever that means. We’re reminded of how stupid Rusev looked last week. What a tough bad ass evil foreign villain, throwing crutches and falling down because he’s heartbroken. Ziggler says it’s confession time. Dolph says this all started out with Lana trying to get back at Rusev, but it’s turned into much more.

Lana says for years Rusev was her life and she didn’t know what a real man was. He told her how to talk and dress, but she’s her own person now. Dolph treats her with respect, and oh my God I can’t believe I’m typing this crap…. Lana says her and Dolph have become more than just friends.

Here comes Rusev out on a crutch, under the wrong arm… WITH Summer Rae…. And Lana looks PISSSSED. Rusev hops up the steps as I come to realize this has become a full fledged episode of General Hospital. Rusev says he never cared for Lana, and kissing her was like kissing a ring post or a cold fish.

Ziggler cuts him off and refers to Lana as his girlfriend, and tells Rusev to walk away before Ziggz does something to his other leg. Rusev hands the crutch to Summer and confronts Zigglesworth… WHY AM I TYPING THIS MUCH ABOUT CRAP LIKE THIS??? USA chants???? Ok…. Rusev backs off and leaves, but Summer has something to say…. Oh boy.

Summer hates a gold digger like Lana. She left Rusev after his loss at Mania and his injury. Rae says Lana is a two faced phony. Summer slaps the shit out of Lana. LANA TACKLES Summer Rae and pounds on her… Ziggler pulls her off, and she attacks Summer again!! Rae crawls off with Rusev and Lana looks all angry hot. End segment… BLAH

Backstage, Dean Ambrose is talking to Terminator props… Roman Reigns interrupts and asks Dean if he’s ready for tonight. Ambrose talks about Wyatt upsetting Reigns and he’s glad because he likes the angry Roman Reigns. Reigns is pumped that it’s No DQ. He’s ready to RAGE. He calls Ambrose his only family in WWE. Reigns cuts a terrible goofy “angry” promo and walks of. Dean is psyched that Reigns is angry. Could Reigns have cut a faker promo?

— Commercial Break —

6. Neville vs. Sheamus

I had forgotten Sheamus won MITB, that’s pretty sad. Crowd is DEAD for Sheamus, per the usual. Hey, WWE, HE’S NOT OVER… He COULD be over in the right situation, but the crap you’re doing with him isn’t working… Sheamus dominates to start, Neville comes back with the double flippy across the ring and a big boot. Neville lands a flying rana, tries for a second one but Sheamus holds him in the air. The two men stumble towards the ropes and Neville ranas Sheamus over the top to the floor… Neville sets up for a running dive to the floor but Sheamus runs away, and we go to break.

Back from break, Neville is on the apron but springboards back inside into a rolling senton. Sheamus with a vertical suplex into a throw, and then adjusts his mohawk. BORING chants…. I can’t agree more. Sheamus beats on Neville but Neville Superkicks the shit out of Sheamus’ face… NICE… A trio of Irish Curse backbreakers follows as Sheamus remains in control. Neville fights back and eventually sends Sheamus to the floor… TOP ROPE SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT to the floor onto Sheamus!!!

Back inside, Neville with a missile dropkick off the top to the back of Sheamus for a near fall… Sheamus tries his powerslam, Neville escapes and Shamus runs into the post in the corner… Neville lays him out with the enzuigiri and goes up for the RED ARROW, but Sheamus knocks Neville off the top rope… This leads to the BROGUE KICK that ends it in 12:45.

— Commercial Break —

7. King Barrett vs. Jack Swagger

Swagger is relegated to “already in the ring” jobber status. Poor Swaggz. It’s all Swagger to start, he hooks the ankle lock but Barrett crawls out of the ring. Swagger whips Wade into tbe barricade. Back inside, Wade catches Jack with a couple shots in the corner and the Bull Hammer ends it that quickly. Crowd could care less, complete silence… Didn’t we just see this squash a week or two ago? Time was 1:46.

Main Event is next.

— Commercial Break —

NO DISQUALIFICATION
8. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins & Kane

J&J Security accompany Seth and Kane via their new Cadillac, which they apparently share. This is No DQ, and there’s quite a bit of time left. The faces want to start off hot, but the heels take over after a few moments. Reigns is beat down in the ring by Kane, Rollins has Ambrose laid out on the floor as they take a break only a couple minutes into the match.

Back from break, Reigns is being worked over. Roman drops Kane and hot tags to Dean while Seth also tags in. Ambrose is a house-o-fire… Ambrose goes bat shit crazy and he and Reigns do some ass kicking… Dean tosses Mercury into the time keepers area, drops Rollins, and yanks a TABLE out from under the ring… But Seth attacks Ambrose and lays him out. Then Reigns powerbombs Rollins… Merucy whacks Reigns with a kendo stick but ROMAN NO SELLS and beats Merucry down with the cane… He beats KANE with the CANE… And BREAKS THE CANE OVER MERCURY…. Noble just stands outside with his ribs…

SUPERMAN PUNCH TO KANE!!! SUPERMAN PUNCH TO MERCURY!!!! SUPERMAN PUNCH TO ROLLINS!!!!!!!!

THE LUGHTS GO OUT….

BRAY WYATT ATTACKS ROMAN REIGNS!!!!

Wyatt sends Reigns into the steps and beats him dow. Urinage onto the announce table!

It’s down to Ambrose vs. everyone…. for now…. Ambrose goes nuts on Kane, but he can’t handle both men… Dean looks for Dirty Deeds, but Seth breaks it up. Kane with a chokeslam on Dean, and then Seth with the PEDIGREE ends the match in 12:00…. The match ends at 11 sharp… Leaving time for something…

After the match, they set Dean up for a Triple Powerbomb, but Reigns makes the save and beats down Seth, Kane and J&J… But the numbers take over again and Reigns eats a Kane Chokeslam.

But Superman Reigns COMES BACK AGAIN… And ALL FOUR HEELS RUN OFF… SERIOUSLY???? WTF

All the heels surround the ring and attack Reigns from all 4 sides, taking him down. But apparently Reigns is tougher than Brock Lesnar, because he KEEPS COMING BACK…. Finally another chokeslam drops him… I have no idea where Ambrose went.

Seth with a RUNNING POWERBOMB THROUGH THE TABLE IN THE CORNER on Reigns…. But they outlawed the Curb Stomp. That makes sense…

Reigns comes crawling out…. And eats a Pedigree.

Bray Wyatt returns to the ring afterwards…. SISTER ABIGAIL…

Jesus, why doesn’t everyone come out and do their finisher…

End Show.

Watch the Cena vs. Cesaro segment for sure…. and NOTHING else.

Spoilers: WWE Superstars Results For 7/4/15

By
Crazymax Jack
-
0

WWE taped the following matches tonight in Washington, DC for this week’s Superstars episode:

* The Ascension defeated Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow

* Adam Rose defeated Fandango

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