giovedì 7 gennaio 2010
Flair, RVD, Jefff Hardy-TNA Update!
News contrastanti per RVD e Jeff Hardy: alcune fonti asseriscono che i due avrebbero firmato un contratto a breve termine, altri che non abbiano firmato alcun contratto e che l'apparizione di Jeff Hardy si possa paragonare a quella di Lashley a Lockdown, in cui apparì in ppv senza un contratto firmato.
Ric Flair ha firmato per 65 apparizioni all'anno, con pagamento garantito da Panda Energy.
Ric Flair ha firmato per 65 apparizioni all'anno, con pagamento garantito da Panda Energy.
Dettagli sui quarti d'ora di Raw e Impact!
Quarter * Raw * Impact * Total Audience
[1] * 5463 * 2866 * 8329
[2] * 5580 * 2026 * 7606
[3] * 5250 * 2158 * 7408
[4] * 5472 * 1785 * 7257
[5] * 6397 * 1783 * 8180
[6] * 5718 * 1891 * 7609
[7] * 5179 * 1810 * 6989
[8] * 5328 * 1955 * 7283
Here is how it breaks down. Impact did 2,866,000 viewers at the top of the 9 o'clock hour to Raw's 5,463,000. Shawn vs. Bret was not the highest-rated segment of Raw, and in fact Impact not only held its audience from the previous unopposed hour but actually grew. Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Hall, Nash and Waltman were compelling enough to prevent people from switching the channel to see the beginning of Raw. It pretty much cannot be argued that Impact being head-to-head hurt the rating for Bret Hart's return to the company. The total audience between the two shows was 8,239,000, the peak for the evening. It should be noted that despite the quarterly ratings, the minute-by-minute numbers show Impact viewers switching to Raw in growing numbers over the course of that 15 minutes.
At 9:15 when Hogan and company left and they did the Knockouts tag title match, Impact's rating plunged. They lost 840,000 viewers, by far the most they've ever lost in a single segment in all their years of existence. With that said, they were falling from their highest viewership of all time, so it's not as bad as it sounds. They were still at 2,026,000 viewers, which prior to this show was still above their previous Thursday-night record. Raw, on the other hand, with Maryse vs. Brie Bella, grew to 5,580,000 viewers. The total audience dropped to 7,606,000 viewers. So for history's sake, number one, Maryse vs. Brie Bella drew more viewers than Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels. Also, the 840,000 viewers who left Impact did not go right to Raw. At most, 117,000 did. The others apparently just stopped watching wrestling after the Hogan segment. A good portion of them returned later, so they didn't quit for the night.
Quarter 3 at 9:30 p.m. saw 5,580,000 watching the four-way for the IC title shot and Jericho meeting with Bret Hart on Raw, and 2,158,000 viewers watching Beautiful People playing strip poker with Val Venis showing up; Foley trying to get into the building; Raven & Stevie vs. Hernandez & Matt Morgan; and Pope's interview with the Orlando Jordan run-in on Impact. Total audience was down further to 7,408,000 viewers. Basically, it appears Raw lost some viewers to Impact (Raw dropped 330,000 and Impact rose 132,000), and some other viewers stopped watching wrestling. This was also, amazingly, the most-watched head-to-head quarter for Impact of the night.
Quarter 4 at 9:45 p.m. saw 5,472,000 viewers watching DX and Hornswaggle backstage and the beginning of the DX vs. Jerishow match on Raw, and 1,785,000 viewers watching Desmond Wolf vs. the Pope; several commercial breaks; Jeff Jarrett walking towards the ring; and the AJ Styles interview where Bischoff walked in and told him he'd be defending the title against Angle tonight on Impact. This is an important segment. Now, granted, it's one quarter on one week, but the facts are these. As much as people hate the Hornswaggle/DX segments, there was an extended one in this quarter and people DID NOT SWITCH TO IMPACT. Raw GAINED 222,000 viewers, most of which seemed to be people switching FROM Impact. Total viewership was 7,257,000, down again, so more people, pretty much all Impact viewers, turned off wrestling. Impact had this loss not only going head-to-head with DX/Hornswaggle, but also while featuring Jarrett (who they find important enough to be their top-of-the-second-hour hook) and their world champion.
Quarter 5 had a lot of people come back to wrestling. Raw did 6,397,000 viewers for DX vs. Jerishow and Vince's meeting with Randy Orton. This was, by far, Raw's highest-rated segment of the night. Impact with Jeff Jarrett's speech and confrontation with Hulk Hogan pretty much stayed steady with 1,783,000 viewers (they lost 2,000 people, statistically 0). Head-to-head viewership was 8,180,000, the second highest of the night behind the opening quarter, and ALL the added viewers went straight to Raw, which gained 925,000, a fantastic number all things considered.
Quarter six saw Raw plunge and Impact gain a bit. Raw did 5,718,000 viewers for the Evan Bourne vs. Sheamus angle and match. That's a drop of 679,000 viewers. You can't fault Sheamus as champion because the previous quarter was an aberration, and in fact if you take it out Sheamus -- and keep in mind he was the sole focal point of this quarter -- drew more viewers than anyone or anything else on the entire show, including Bret/Shawn and Bret/Vince. In other words, say what you will about Sheamus but what they are doing is working and it is strong evidence that Raw viewers want to see new guys getting pushed. Impact with Abyss vs. Joe; Bischoff and Lashley; Nasty Boys trying to get in; an Angle interview; announcers plugging the main event; and Hardy and Shannon leaving (yes, all in a single quarter) did 1,891,000 viewers, close to their previous Thursday record. That is a gain of 108,000, most of which probably came from Raw. Statistically exactly the same number of people were watching this segment as were watching segment two head-to-head, 7,609,000 viewers.
Quarter seven saw the total head-to-head audience drop to the lowest levels of the evening with Raw doing 5,179,000 viewers for several commercials, video packages and the start of the Orton vs. Kofi match, and Impact doing 1,810,000 viewers for the first half of the AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle match. What's notable is there was almost nothing of substance during this quarter for Raw, including two different commercial breaks, and Raw viewers STILL didn't bother switching to Impact, even with Angle vs. AJ for the title taking place. Impact dropped 81,000 viewers during this segment, and since Raw also lost 539,000 viewers that means a lot of people stopped watching wrestling here.
For the final quarter (we didn't get overrun numbers for Raw), Raw grew to 5,328,000 viewers for Bret vs. Vince with Impact also growing slightly to 1,955,000 for the end of the AJ vs. Angle world title match. Total audience was 7,283,000, so Bret vs. Vince didn't drive nearly the viewers one would have anticipated, less than Bret vs. Shawn and significantly less than the tag match.
What is most interesting is the TNA demographics. The show did a 1.84 in Males 18-34 and a 1.30 in Males 35-49. There have been several shows that have done numbers 35-49 very close to this one. But the Males 18-34 doubled from the usual number. While not surprising to a degree, because both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair always drew better with younger viewers than older viewers, this kind of an audience shift is amazing. There were people expecting Hogan, at 56, to only draw an old audience looking for nostalgia and familiarity and then tune out. And that really didn’t happen. But, television nostalgia reunion shows often work, but they almost never have any legs.
As far as how it affected WWE, WWE’s growth to see Bret Hart’s return was strongest also in the same Males 18-34, up 48% from the normal audience, so it’s an age group that ranged from six to 22 when the Survivor Series incident happened that were the people most interested in seeing Hart. The show did a 3.52 in that demo and 3.22 in Males 35-49. The bulk of the Raw audience gain was Males 18 through 49, so it appeared the buzz regarding Hogan and Hart brought back a ton of people who usually don’t watch the shows. Whether either group ran strong enough programming to keep them back only time will tell.
We don’t have breakdowns for Raw, but I’d bet that when you look at the two hours, the gains or losses for Raw would coincide with gains or losses of Impact.
In the unopposed hour, a Nash interview and the ODB title win over Tara gained 182,000 viewers. A segment with Foley backstage, Kristal Lashley doing an in-ring promo with Bobby and the first vignette of the Beautiful People doing strip poker gained 121,000 viewers. Hall & Waltman showing up and the beginning of Hogan’s interview lost 106,000 viewers.
The Hogan interview, with Waltman, Hall, Nash and finally Bischoff coming out, which went head-to-head with the Hart-Michaels segment, saw Impact gain 258,000 viewers.
Taylor Wilde & Sarita losing the knockouts tag titles to Awesome Kong & Hamada, going against Maryse vs. Brie Bella, saw Impact lose 880,000 viewers, the most tuning out of the show for any segment in history.
Strip poker with Sean Morley showing up, Foley still trying to get in, Raven & Dr. Stevie vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez, and a Pope interview with Orlando Jordan coming out; going against MVP vs. Jack Swagger vs. Carlito vs. Mark Henry for the U.S. title top contendership, saw Impact gain 182,000 viewers.
Desmond Wolfe vs. Pope D’Angelo Dinero, a replay of the Hogan interview and a Styles/Bischoff confrontation going against a DX & Hornswoggle segment saw Impact lose 394,000 viewers.
The Jeff Jarrett/Hulk Hogan confrontation going against DX vs. Jericho & Show saw Impact gain 15,000 viewers.
Samoa Joe vs. Abyss going against Sheamus vs. Evan Borne saw Impact gain 61,000 viewers.
The first half of Angle vs. Styles going against Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston saw Impact lose 30,000 viewers.
The second half of Angle vs. Styles, plus the Foley backstage beatdown by Hall, Nash & Waltman going against the beginning of Bret & Vince saw Impact gain 167,000 viewers.
Based on what was said, and what fans said, Impact implied they will be doing more adult content, or at least less kiddie content, and would have old- time wrestling with blood and chair shots to the head. They claimed they would focus on wrestling, although the three hour show did not have much time allotted for wrestling.
[1] * 5463 * 2866 * 8329
[2] * 5580 * 2026 * 7606
[3] * 5250 * 2158 * 7408
[4] * 5472 * 1785 * 7257
[5] * 6397 * 1783 * 8180
[6] * 5718 * 1891 * 7609
[7] * 5179 * 1810 * 6989
[8] * 5328 * 1955 * 7283
Here is how it breaks down. Impact did 2,866,000 viewers at the top of the 9 o'clock hour to Raw's 5,463,000. Shawn vs. Bret was not the highest-rated segment of Raw, and in fact Impact not only held its audience from the previous unopposed hour but actually grew. Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Hall, Nash and Waltman were compelling enough to prevent people from switching the channel to see the beginning of Raw. It pretty much cannot be argued that Impact being head-to-head hurt the rating for Bret Hart's return to the company. The total audience between the two shows was 8,239,000, the peak for the evening. It should be noted that despite the quarterly ratings, the minute-by-minute numbers show Impact viewers switching to Raw in growing numbers over the course of that 15 minutes.
At 9:15 when Hogan and company left and they did the Knockouts tag title match, Impact's rating plunged. They lost 840,000 viewers, by far the most they've ever lost in a single segment in all their years of existence. With that said, they were falling from their highest viewership of all time, so it's not as bad as it sounds. They were still at 2,026,000 viewers, which prior to this show was still above their previous Thursday-night record. Raw, on the other hand, with Maryse vs. Brie Bella, grew to 5,580,000 viewers. The total audience dropped to 7,606,000 viewers. So for history's sake, number one, Maryse vs. Brie Bella drew more viewers than Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels. Also, the 840,000 viewers who left Impact did not go right to Raw. At most, 117,000 did. The others apparently just stopped watching wrestling after the Hogan segment. A good portion of them returned later, so they didn't quit for the night.
Quarter 3 at 9:30 p.m. saw 5,580,000 watching the four-way for the IC title shot and Jericho meeting with Bret Hart on Raw, and 2,158,000 viewers watching Beautiful People playing strip poker with Val Venis showing up; Foley trying to get into the building; Raven & Stevie vs. Hernandez & Matt Morgan; and Pope's interview with the Orlando Jordan run-in on Impact. Total audience was down further to 7,408,000 viewers. Basically, it appears Raw lost some viewers to Impact (Raw dropped 330,000 and Impact rose 132,000), and some other viewers stopped watching wrestling. This was also, amazingly, the most-watched head-to-head quarter for Impact of the night.
Quarter 4 at 9:45 p.m. saw 5,472,000 viewers watching DX and Hornswaggle backstage and the beginning of the DX vs. Jerishow match on Raw, and 1,785,000 viewers watching Desmond Wolf vs. the Pope; several commercial breaks; Jeff Jarrett walking towards the ring; and the AJ Styles interview where Bischoff walked in and told him he'd be defending the title against Angle tonight on Impact. This is an important segment. Now, granted, it's one quarter on one week, but the facts are these. As much as people hate the Hornswaggle/DX segments, there was an extended one in this quarter and people DID NOT SWITCH TO IMPACT. Raw GAINED 222,000 viewers, most of which seemed to be people switching FROM Impact. Total viewership was 7,257,000, down again, so more people, pretty much all Impact viewers, turned off wrestling. Impact had this loss not only going head-to-head with DX/Hornswaggle, but also while featuring Jarrett (who they find important enough to be their top-of-the-second-hour hook) and their world champion.
Quarter 5 had a lot of people come back to wrestling. Raw did 6,397,000 viewers for DX vs. Jerishow and Vince's meeting with Randy Orton. This was, by far, Raw's highest-rated segment of the night. Impact with Jeff Jarrett's speech and confrontation with Hulk Hogan pretty much stayed steady with 1,783,000 viewers (they lost 2,000 people, statistically 0). Head-to-head viewership was 8,180,000, the second highest of the night behind the opening quarter, and ALL the added viewers went straight to Raw, which gained 925,000, a fantastic number all things considered.
Quarter six saw Raw plunge and Impact gain a bit. Raw did 5,718,000 viewers for the Evan Bourne vs. Sheamus angle and match. That's a drop of 679,000 viewers. You can't fault Sheamus as champion because the previous quarter was an aberration, and in fact if you take it out Sheamus -- and keep in mind he was the sole focal point of this quarter -- drew more viewers than anyone or anything else on the entire show, including Bret/Shawn and Bret/Vince. In other words, say what you will about Sheamus but what they are doing is working and it is strong evidence that Raw viewers want to see new guys getting pushed. Impact with Abyss vs. Joe; Bischoff and Lashley; Nasty Boys trying to get in; an Angle interview; announcers plugging the main event; and Hardy and Shannon leaving (yes, all in a single quarter) did 1,891,000 viewers, close to their previous Thursday record. That is a gain of 108,000, most of which probably came from Raw. Statistically exactly the same number of people were watching this segment as were watching segment two head-to-head, 7,609,000 viewers.
Quarter seven saw the total head-to-head audience drop to the lowest levels of the evening with Raw doing 5,179,000 viewers for several commercials, video packages and the start of the Orton vs. Kofi match, and Impact doing 1,810,000 viewers for the first half of the AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle match. What's notable is there was almost nothing of substance during this quarter for Raw, including two different commercial breaks, and Raw viewers STILL didn't bother switching to Impact, even with Angle vs. AJ for the title taking place. Impact dropped 81,000 viewers during this segment, and since Raw also lost 539,000 viewers that means a lot of people stopped watching wrestling here.
For the final quarter (we didn't get overrun numbers for Raw), Raw grew to 5,328,000 viewers for Bret vs. Vince with Impact also growing slightly to 1,955,000 for the end of the AJ vs. Angle world title match. Total audience was 7,283,000, so Bret vs. Vince didn't drive nearly the viewers one would have anticipated, less than Bret vs. Shawn and significantly less than the tag match.
What is most interesting is the TNA demographics. The show did a 1.84 in Males 18-34 and a 1.30 in Males 35-49. There have been several shows that have done numbers 35-49 very close to this one. But the Males 18-34 doubled from the usual number. While not surprising to a degree, because both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair always drew better with younger viewers than older viewers, this kind of an audience shift is amazing. There were people expecting Hogan, at 56, to only draw an old audience looking for nostalgia and familiarity and then tune out. And that really didn’t happen. But, television nostalgia reunion shows often work, but they almost never have any legs.
As far as how it affected WWE, WWE’s growth to see Bret Hart’s return was strongest also in the same Males 18-34, up 48% from the normal audience, so it’s an age group that ranged from six to 22 when the Survivor Series incident happened that were the people most interested in seeing Hart. The show did a 3.52 in that demo and 3.22 in Males 35-49. The bulk of the Raw audience gain was Males 18 through 49, so it appeared the buzz regarding Hogan and Hart brought back a ton of people who usually don’t watch the shows. Whether either group ran strong enough programming to keep them back only time will tell.
We don’t have breakdowns for Raw, but I’d bet that when you look at the two hours, the gains or losses for Raw would coincide with gains or losses of Impact.
In the unopposed hour, a Nash interview and the ODB title win over Tara gained 182,000 viewers. A segment with Foley backstage, Kristal Lashley doing an in-ring promo with Bobby and the first vignette of the Beautiful People doing strip poker gained 121,000 viewers. Hall & Waltman showing up and the beginning of Hogan’s interview lost 106,000 viewers.
The Hogan interview, with Waltman, Hall, Nash and finally Bischoff coming out, which went head-to-head with the Hart-Michaels segment, saw Impact gain 258,000 viewers.
Taylor Wilde & Sarita losing the knockouts tag titles to Awesome Kong & Hamada, going against Maryse vs. Brie Bella, saw Impact lose 880,000 viewers, the most tuning out of the show for any segment in history.
Strip poker with Sean Morley showing up, Foley still trying to get in, Raven & Dr. Stevie vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez, and a Pope interview with Orlando Jordan coming out; going against MVP vs. Jack Swagger vs. Carlito vs. Mark Henry for the U.S. title top contendership, saw Impact gain 182,000 viewers.
Desmond Wolfe vs. Pope D’Angelo Dinero, a replay of the Hogan interview and a Styles/Bischoff confrontation going against a DX & Hornswoggle segment saw Impact lose 394,000 viewers.
The Jeff Jarrett/Hulk Hogan confrontation going against DX vs. Jericho & Show saw Impact gain 15,000 viewers.
Samoa Joe vs. Abyss going against Sheamus vs. Evan Borne saw Impact gain 61,000 viewers.
The first half of Angle vs. Styles going against Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston saw Impact lose 30,000 viewers.
The second half of Angle vs. Styles, plus the Foley backstage beatdown by Hall, Nash & Waltman going against the beginning of Bret & Vince saw Impact gain 167,000 viewers.
Based on what was said, and what fans said, Impact implied they will be doing more adult content, or at least less kiddie content, and would have old- time wrestling with blood and chair shots to the head. They claimed they would focus on wrestling, although the three hour show did not have much time allotted for wrestling.
mercoledì 6 gennaio 2010
TNA Impact rating
As Mike mentioned yesterday, the 1/4 Impact did a 1.5 rating. The opening hour did a 1.69 and 2,536,000 million viewers, while the the two hour block against WWE did a 1.33 in the second two hours and 2,034,00 viewers. The five minute overrun did a 1.26. They averaged 2,200,000 viewers, which is just awesome.
Raw rating
The 1/4 edition of Raw did a 3.6 rating, which is the same number that they did last week. The show did hours of 3.51 and 3.73. Hour one did 5,441,000 viewers while hour two did 5,773,000. They averaged 5,600,000 for the broadcast.
lunedì 4 gennaio 2010
WWE.com rivela una futura storyline?
"Another Superstar who is now on a quest for singles success is Raw's Ted DiBiase. Without Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes at his side, this third-generation Superstar will be looking to prove what he is capable of. Can this former tag team champion finally win one for himself?"
Altri wrestlers arrivano nel backstage TNA + Hulk Hogan parla al roster
Hulk Hogan ha da poco tenuto un discorso davanti a tutto il roster. Tale discorso è stato descritto come positivo e atto a caricare i wrestler per lo show di stasera.
Sono arrivati nel backstage anche Hall e Waltman.
Correggendo la news precedente, Brian Knobbs è presente nel backstage TNA. Presenti anche Sean "Val Venis" Morley, Orlando Jordan.
Sono arrivati nel backstage anche Hall e Waltman.
Correggendo la news precedente, Brian Knobbs è presente nel backstage TNA. Presenti anche Sean "Val Venis" Morley, Orlando Jordan.
Altro ex WWE tornerà in TNA questa sera.
Brian Kendrick e la TNA hanno raggiunto un accordo per una serie di date e parteciperà allo show di stasera, presumibilmente nello steel asylum match.
Ric Flair è atterrato in Orlando
Verso le 8 pm di ieri sera Ric Flair è atterrato all'aeroporto di Orlando. Probabilmente è stato fatto alloggiare in un albergo diverso dagli altri worker TNA per mantenere il segreto.
NEW JAPAN WRESTLE KINGDOM IV RESULTS FROM TOKYO DOME
NEW JAPAN WRESTLE KINGDOM IV RESULTS FROM TOKYO DOME: TEAM 3D LOSE IWGP TAG STRAPS, TERRY FUNK RETURNS TO THE RING IN JAPAN AND MORE
by Mike Johnson @ 11:52 AM on 1/4/2010
New Japan Pro Wrestling held their traditional Tokyo Dome Show event today.
For American fans, the most noteworthy events were Team 3D losing their IWGP Tag Team championships to Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito and Terry Funk, at 65 years old, returning to a Japanese ring after his knee replacement surgery last year in a Legends bout that also featured old nemesis Abdullah the Butcher. Former ECW regulars Yoshihiro Tajiri and Masato Tanaka teamed on the undercard as well.
Complete results, courtesy the great Japanese news website www.puroresufan.com, saw:
NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM IV IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/10 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome
41,500 Fans
1. New Japan Pro-Wrestling 2010 Beginning: Super Strong Machine, Wataru Inoue & Mitsuhide Hirasawa beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Kazuchika Okada (4:59) when Inoue used the Triangle Lancer on Okada.
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Amistad combativa~: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (c) beat Ultimo Guerrero & Averno (9:07) when Taguchi pinned Averno after the Black Hole Vacation (4th defense).
3. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Hardcore Rules Match ~Victim and Greed~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito beat “Team 3D” Brother Ray & Brother Devon (c) and Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (13:28) when Yujiro pinned Anderson after the Limitless Emotion to become the 55th champions.
4. Wrestle Kingdom Special Tag Match ~Blood Stream Blue~: TAJIRI & Masato Tanaka beat Yuji Nagata & Akebono (9:37) when TAJIRI used a Buzzsaw kick on Nagata.
5. Wrestle Kingdom Special 8 Man Tag Match ~The legend never rots~: Terry Funk, Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi beat Abdullah The Butcher, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (8:52) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Iizuka.
6. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Wilderness~: Togi Makabe beat Mohammed Yone (5:39) with a top rope King Kong kneedrop.
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Highest sky~: Naomichi Marufuji beat Tiger Mask (c) (14:14) with the Tiger Frosion to become the 59th champion.
8. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Radiance~: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Go Shiozaki (19:04) with the High Fly Flow.
9. GHC Heavyweight Title - NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Blast~: Takashi Sugiura (c) beat Hirooki Goto (20:54) with an ankle hold (1st defense).
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title - The newest, The strongest: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat Yoshihiro Takayama (15:51) with the Boma Ye (4th defense).
by Mike Johnson @ 11:52 AM on 1/4/2010
New Japan Pro Wrestling held their traditional Tokyo Dome Show event today.
For American fans, the most noteworthy events were Team 3D losing their IWGP Tag Team championships to Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito and Terry Funk, at 65 years old, returning to a Japanese ring after his knee replacement surgery last year in a Legends bout that also featured old nemesis Abdullah the Butcher. Former ECW regulars Yoshihiro Tajiri and Masato Tanaka teamed on the undercard as well.
Complete results, courtesy the great Japanese news website www.puroresufan.com, saw:
NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM IV IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/10 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome
41,500 Fans
1. New Japan Pro-Wrestling 2010 Beginning: Super Strong Machine, Wataru Inoue & Mitsuhide Hirasawa beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Kazuchika Okada (4:59) when Inoue used the Triangle Lancer on Okada.
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Amistad combativa~: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (c) beat Ultimo Guerrero & Averno (9:07) when Taguchi pinned Averno after the Black Hole Vacation (4th defense).
3. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Hardcore Rules Match ~Victim and Greed~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito beat “Team 3D” Brother Ray & Brother Devon (c) and Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (13:28) when Yujiro pinned Anderson after the Limitless Emotion to become the 55th champions.
4. Wrestle Kingdom Special Tag Match ~Blood Stream Blue~: TAJIRI & Masato Tanaka beat Yuji Nagata & Akebono (9:37) when TAJIRI used a Buzzsaw kick on Nagata.
5. Wrestle Kingdom Special 8 Man Tag Match ~The legend never rots~: Terry Funk, Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi beat Abdullah The Butcher, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (8:52) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Iizuka.
6. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Wilderness~: Togi Makabe beat Mohammed Yone (5:39) with a top rope King Kong kneedrop.
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Highest sky~: Naomichi Marufuji beat Tiger Mask (c) (14:14) with the Tiger Frosion to become the 59th champion.
8. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Radiance~: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Go Shiozaki (19:04) with the High Fly Flow.
9. GHC Heavyweight Title - NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Blast~: Takashi Sugiura (c) beat Hirooki Goto (20:54) with an ankle hold (1st defense).
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title - The newest, The strongest: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat Yoshihiro Takayama (15:51) with the Boma Ye (4th defense).
Notes dal party di Hulk Hogan in Orlando
The Hulk Hogan Appreciation Rally tenuto ieri all'Universal Citiwalk's Margaritaville in Orlando, Florida ha visto presenti fra gli invitati: Eric Bischoff, Scott Hall, Jason Hervey e Kip James.
L'evento è stato "condotto" da Bubba the Love Sponge e Jeremy Borash.
L'evento è stato "condotto" da Bubba the Love Sponge e Jeremy Borash.
Nuovo backstage interviewer per la TNA
Bubba The Love Sponge ha annunciato che debutterà questa sera in TNA nel ruolo di intervistatore nel backstage.
Dove sarà RVD questa sera?
"This Monday kicks off the new ratings war between WWE and TNA-like I have to tell you! I admit, I am interested in the hype. In fact, I feel like I'm involved with this new era just because of the ginormous rumors involving me and a return. I'm going to say this-even though I know it won't do much good-don't be mad at me that you tuned in to see your favorite wrestler and I wasn't there. I'm going to be watching with you."
Secondo il suo ultimo blog, RVD guarderà da casa lo svolgersi di Impact e Raw.
domenica 3 gennaio 2010
Jeff Hardy-Shannon Moore-TNA Update~!
Jeff Hardy ha postato sul suo account Twitter che sarà in quel di Orlando per la puntata live di Impact. Assieme a lui ci sarà la sua ragazza e Shannon Moore, il quale ha comunicato anch'esso la notizia via Twitter.
Dixie Carter intervistata dallo UK Sun
MONDAY January 4 2010 will be one of the most momentous days in wrestling history.
The legendary Hulk Hogan makes his TNA debut on a three-hour special Impact — going head to head in the US against a WWE Raw headlined by the return of Bret Hart.
And, in her only media interview prior to January 4, SunSport have spoken to the woman responsible for making all this happen — TNA President Dixie Carter.
Dixie reveals the secret lengths she went to in order to sign Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, and how he is helping her run all aspects of TNA.
She also talks about TNA's "David and Goliath" battle with WWE, the further surprises she has in store and why her ultimate goal is to make people proud to be wrestling fans.
Hi Dixie, so good to speak to you again. First off can you tell us a little bit about signing Hulk Hogan? How long was this in the making?
The first time I talked to him was six years ago and things didn't work out. We spoke again around two years ago and it just was not the right time then.
This time I felt, from the very first conversation we had on the telephone and then him showing up at my house two days later, that it was absolutely the right time and it was meant to happen.
How many people were involved or aware of the signing?
It was just Terry and I.
I called him, he returned my phone call and we spoke for a few hours.
There were two other people, three at the most, who were even aware that we were talking.
The night before the announcement, when I told people why they had to get on a plane to New York or why they had to prepare graphics, we increased that circle to maybe five or seven other people.
But nobody else knew about it until the press conference. In wrestling, if you want to keep something a secret then you can't tell anybody.
Hulk Hogan
What is Hogan's role within TNA? From what you said to Mike Tenay on Impact, it seems he is much more than an on-air talent and is helping you advance TNA as a company?
Absolutely. He is a great on-air talent, but his biggest contribution to TNA will come from him partnering with me.
I can't imagine a door that the two of us could not open or a deal that the two of us could not close.
I've already seen the benefits of this team over the past few months and how it is going to play out with a lot of opportunities for TNA that we would not have had beforehand.
Is he also helping with the direction on the wrestling side — as I don't think there are many with more knowledge or experience than Hulk Hogan?
Yes, he is involved with everything from looking at new talent to how we are shooting the show.
The two of us, over the past several months, have literally ripped apart every single aspect of the company.
I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it, and what better eyes than the greatest wrestler in the history of this business.
We're looking at what we can do better, what we can do differently and what we can try.
I'm not adverse to trying things or to taking risks, because without that you won't have great success.
We've had really wonderful success over the last seven years, but it has been a slow steady climb.
Now we want to put some rocket fuel in that process and achieve even bigger things.
Here's the big question - what do you define as success and failure on January 4? Is there a particular rating you're after or a certain amount of publicity you want from it?
How I define success is just being there.
Just the fact that we are there on Monday night is a huge success for us. It makes the exact statement that we want to make.
This is a marathon not a sprint. The ratings, quite honestly, are irrelevant.
Our success is being there and the quality of the show we put on. That's how I'll assess it as far as that specific night goes.
But the real winner on Monday January 4 is the wrestling fans, because this truly is the classic David and Goliath set-up.
We have Goliath bringing out the biggest guns that they could possibly bring.
And we're trying to put our best foot forward. You'll see a lot of surprises and a lot of great showcasing of TNA's top talent.
The bottom line is that the fans are going to win that night and wrestling is going to win that night.
And that's what we want to see happen.
How about here in the UK? Impact is usually two hours at 9pm on a Saturday night on Bravo. Will we get the full three-hour show?
I am getting asked this question non-stop and unfortunately the UK fans will see a two-hour edited version of the January 4 Impact on Saturday January 9.
I hate the fact that is going to happen, but that's the reality of our situation.
We're working to try and get the three-hour show in its entirety shown for free on Video Vault on tnawrestling.com for the UK fans and those around the world who also can't watch it live.
It will be a delayed version, but we will find a way to make sure everyone gets to see that full three-hour show.
I'd like to put two worries to you that TNA fans have been sharing with us here. First is the concern that TNA may move away from the brilliant wrestling you've been showcasing recently. Can you guarantee that the likes of AJ Styles, Daniels, Samoa Joe and Desmond Wolfe will still be main event stars when Hulk arrives?
I think Terry has an amazing eye for talent and, with all those people your readers are mentioning, his goal is to make them household names.
I can't imagine a better person or brain to have behind the amazing talent that those young guys possess.
So that's actually one of the main reasons I brought him in.
Again he's not coming in worried about Hulk Hogan and making sure Hulk Hogan is getting over, that's not his job.
His job is to get TNA over.
And to get TNA over, AJ Styles has to become a household name, Desmond Wolfe has to become a household name, Beer Money has to become a household name.
The other worry TNA fans have is that not many people have succeeded in trying to take on Vince McMahon, just ask Eric Bischoff or Paul Heyman or Jim Crockett. The WWE have a lot of tricks up their sleeve, some of them dirty. Are you ready for that?
They may say that they don't consider us competition or don't pay attention to us, but we deal with them playing those tricks with us all the time.
Nothing is going to change in our game plan.
We're going to continue to do what we do best and that's grow TNA one fan at a time.
We're not taking on Vince McMahon. We're trying to give the wrestling fans what they want — and that is to make wrestling better as a whole.
The thing I'm most sick of is when somebody will put their hand over their mouth and say: "OK, I'll admit it, I'm a wrestling fan."
Why do you have to admit you're a wrestling fan?
Our goal is to make wrestling cool, hip and relevant.
The strange thing is the WWE don't even like being referred to as a wrestling organisation! They've told us they are actually an entertainment brand.
Well we are a WRESTLING company. We have WRESTLERS telling stories through WRESTLING moves and storylines.
How can you say you're not a wrestling company?
It's time for us to stand up and be proud of that.
Because if we're not proud of it, how can we make the fans proud to say that they're wrestling fans?
Finally Dixie, now that you have Hulk Hogan — the one guy critics said TNA could never sign — is there anyone you wouldn't go after? Could we see The Rock, Steve Austin or even Shane McMahon in TNA one day?
There's nobody we won't go after.
But they have to be right to come to the company. They have to be in it for the right reasons. They've got to fit in with what we're doing.
If that's The Rock then fantastic. If it's RVD then fantastic. It doesn't matter.
If somebody makes sense and has that work ethic and wants to embrace being a wrestler on a wrestling show and trying to do something different then we would love to have them.
And, I promise you, we have many more exciting surprises to come.
The legendary Hulk Hogan makes his TNA debut on a three-hour special Impact — going head to head in the US against a WWE Raw headlined by the return of Bret Hart.
And, in her only media interview prior to January 4, SunSport have spoken to the woman responsible for making all this happen — TNA President Dixie Carter.
Dixie reveals the secret lengths she went to in order to sign Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, and how he is helping her run all aspects of TNA.
She also talks about TNA's "David and Goliath" battle with WWE, the further surprises she has in store and why her ultimate goal is to make people proud to be wrestling fans.
Hi Dixie, so good to speak to you again. First off can you tell us a little bit about signing Hulk Hogan? How long was this in the making?
The first time I talked to him was six years ago and things didn't work out. We spoke again around two years ago and it just was not the right time then.
This time I felt, from the very first conversation we had on the telephone and then him showing up at my house two days later, that it was absolutely the right time and it was meant to happen.
How many people were involved or aware of the signing?
It was just Terry and I.
I called him, he returned my phone call and we spoke for a few hours.
There were two other people, three at the most, who were even aware that we were talking.
The night before the announcement, when I told people why they had to get on a plane to New York or why they had to prepare graphics, we increased that circle to maybe five or seven other people.
But nobody else knew about it until the press conference. In wrestling, if you want to keep something a secret then you can't tell anybody.
Hulk Hogan
What is Hogan's role within TNA? From what you said to Mike Tenay on Impact, it seems he is much more than an on-air talent and is helping you advance TNA as a company?
Absolutely. He is a great on-air talent, but his biggest contribution to TNA will come from him partnering with me.
I can't imagine a door that the two of us could not open or a deal that the two of us could not close.
I've already seen the benefits of this team over the past few months and how it is going to play out with a lot of opportunities for TNA that we would not have had beforehand.
Is he also helping with the direction on the wrestling side — as I don't think there are many with more knowledge or experience than Hulk Hogan?
Yes, he is involved with everything from looking at new talent to how we are shooting the show.
The two of us, over the past several months, have literally ripped apart every single aspect of the company.
I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it, and what better eyes than the greatest wrestler in the history of this business.
We're looking at what we can do better, what we can do differently and what we can try.
I'm not adverse to trying things or to taking risks, because without that you won't have great success.
We've had really wonderful success over the last seven years, but it has been a slow steady climb.
Now we want to put some rocket fuel in that process and achieve even bigger things.
Here's the big question - what do you define as success and failure on January 4? Is there a particular rating you're after or a certain amount of publicity you want from it?
How I define success is just being there.
Just the fact that we are there on Monday night is a huge success for us. It makes the exact statement that we want to make.
This is a marathon not a sprint. The ratings, quite honestly, are irrelevant.
Our success is being there and the quality of the show we put on. That's how I'll assess it as far as that specific night goes.
But the real winner on Monday January 4 is the wrestling fans, because this truly is the classic David and Goliath set-up.
We have Goliath bringing out the biggest guns that they could possibly bring.
And we're trying to put our best foot forward. You'll see a lot of surprises and a lot of great showcasing of TNA's top talent.
The bottom line is that the fans are going to win that night and wrestling is going to win that night.
And that's what we want to see happen.
How about here in the UK? Impact is usually two hours at 9pm on a Saturday night on Bravo. Will we get the full three-hour show?
I am getting asked this question non-stop and unfortunately the UK fans will see a two-hour edited version of the January 4 Impact on Saturday January 9.
I hate the fact that is going to happen, but that's the reality of our situation.
We're working to try and get the three-hour show in its entirety shown for free on Video Vault on tnawrestling.com for the UK fans and those around the world who also can't watch it live.
It will be a delayed version, but we will find a way to make sure everyone gets to see that full three-hour show.
I'd like to put two worries to you that TNA fans have been sharing with us here. First is the concern that TNA may move away from the brilliant wrestling you've been showcasing recently. Can you guarantee that the likes of AJ Styles, Daniels, Samoa Joe and Desmond Wolfe will still be main event stars when Hulk arrives?
I think Terry has an amazing eye for talent and, with all those people your readers are mentioning, his goal is to make them household names.
I can't imagine a better person or brain to have behind the amazing talent that those young guys possess.
So that's actually one of the main reasons I brought him in.
Again he's not coming in worried about Hulk Hogan and making sure Hulk Hogan is getting over, that's not his job.
His job is to get TNA over.
And to get TNA over, AJ Styles has to become a household name, Desmond Wolfe has to become a household name, Beer Money has to become a household name.
The other worry TNA fans have is that not many people have succeeded in trying to take on Vince McMahon, just ask Eric Bischoff or Paul Heyman or Jim Crockett. The WWE have a lot of tricks up their sleeve, some of them dirty. Are you ready for that?
They may say that they don't consider us competition or don't pay attention to us, but we deal with them playing those tricks with us all the time.
Nothing is going to change in our game plan.
We're going to continue to do what we do best and that's grow TNA one fan at a time.
We're not taking on Vince McMahon. We're trying to give the wrestling fans what they want — and that is to make wrestling better as a whole.
The thing I'm most sick of is when somebody will put their hand over their mouth and say: "OK, I'll admit it, I'm a wrestling fan."
Why do you have to admit you're a wrestling fan?
Our goal is to make wrestling cool, hip and relevant.
The strange thing is the WWE don't even like being referred to as a wrestling organisation! They've told us they are actually an entertainment brand.
Well we are a WRESTLING company. We have WRESTLERS telling stories through WRESTLING moves and storylines.
How can you say you're not a wrestling company?
It's time for us to stand up and be proud of that.
Because if we're not proud of it, how can we make the fans proud to say that they're wrestling fans?
Finally Dixie, now that you have Hulk Hogan — the one guy critics said TNA could never sign — is there anyone you wouldn't go after? Could we see The Rock, Steve Austin or even Shane McMahon in TNA one day?
There's nobody we won't go after.
But they have to be right to come to the company. They have to be in it for the right reasons. They've got to fit in with what we're doing.
If that's The Rock then fantastic. If it's RVD then fantastic. It doesn't matter.
If somebody makes sense and has that work ethic and wants to embrace being a wrestler on a wrestling show and trying to do something different then we would love to have them.
And, I promise you, we have many more exciting surprises to come.
UFC 108 live play-by-play from Las Vegas
UFC 108 live play-by-play from Las Vegas
n.d.r. Presenti Hulk Hogan e Shane McMahon.....
Dave@wrestlingobserver.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. We're looking for your thoughts on tonight's show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
John Gunderson vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Oliveira out with low kicks, Gunderson threw a wek high kick. Oliveira with a low kick. Both swinging and missing. Oliveira shot and Gunderson grabbed a guillotine. Oliveira picked him up, Gunderson tried for the move again, then switched to trying a Kimura but Oliveira escaped and is on top in side control. Now he's got a full mount with 2:55 left. Now he's got Gunderson's back. Oliveira going for a head and arm choke but does't look tight. Back to full mount. Gunderson turned and gave up his back. Now he turned back in to a full mount. Oliveira punching and Gunderson gave up his back again. Gunderson got up and was taken right back down into side control. Oliveira pinned him against the fence but Gunderson got back up. Oliveira tried to pull guard, and ended up eating a few punches at the horn. Oliveira decidedly 10-9
Another takedown by Oliveira. Gunderson up and taken down again. Gunderson gave up his back and Oliveira going for a choke but Gunderson blocking well and turned. Oliveira punching from the mount and Gunderson gave up his back. Oliveira was working for an armbar for a minute and never got it and Gunderson escaped just before the round ended. Oliveira 20-18
Oliveria with another takedown. Gunderson trying a guillotine but Oliveira powered out . Gunderson got the takedown but Oliveira reversed him on the ground. Oliveira thought armbar but gave it up for better control. Another takedown by Oliveira. Gunderson is trying to get a Kimura from the bottom. Oliveira not in any trouble and is now on top in half guard. Oliveira trying to straighten the arm for an armbar with time running out, but he's not going to get it. Time expired. 30-27 Oliveira. Dull fight.
All three judges have it 30-27. Pretty easy fight to score.
There is a curtain like going to a WWE TV taping where they closed down the upper level in about 25% of the arena. First time I've ever seen curtains used in an arena for a major UFC event.
Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle
Ellenberger rushed in and took Pyle down. Pyle is trying subs from the bottom and not coming close. Ellenberger not doing much on offense. Finally Ellenberger backed off and wanted Pule to stand. So the first thing when Pyle gets, up, Ellenberger went for another takedown. Pyle went for a Kimura but does't have it. In the last ten seconds, Ellenberger exploded with really hammer fists which was the first real offense of the fight. Until the last ten seconds, I'd have given the round to Pyle but it's definitely Ellenberger because of the last ten seconds 10-9
Ellenberger decked him with a right to start the round and finished Pyle with about ten punches on the ground. He then did a backflip to celebrate.
Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen
Jensen softening him up with low kicks. Jensen threw a kick and Munoz with the takedown. Jensen tried a guillotine but Munoz out. Jensen back up and firing a lot of punches. Jensen trying a takedown and getting nowhere. Munoz powered Jensen down. Jensen going for a triangle. Munoz with brutal ground and pound. Jensen tapped and Mario Yamasaki missed it. Munoz was killing him with some ridiculously hard punches on the ground and Jensen tapped again, this time the ref saw it. Jensen is shaken up. Munoz has some of the most vicious ground and pound.
This fight will almost surely air later tonight. Oliveira vs. Gunderson shouldn’t and Pyle vs. Ellenberger was okay.
Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon
Miller connecting with punches and knees and a nice high kick. Lauzon wnt for takedown and didn’t get it. Then he decked Miller. He’s swing big punches and Miller back with knees and upper cuts. Now in a clinch. Lauzon back swinging, now Miller back. Lauzon got behind Miller and took him down with 2:42 left. He’s got his back. Miller now going for a Kimura from a reverse triangle and Lauzon tapped out.
When Joe Rogan asked Miller about the punch that put him down, he said he had no idea what he was talking about. Then Rogan showed the clip and Miller seemed surprised.
Jacob Volkmann vs. Martin Kampamnn
Volkmann came out throwing punches and got countered. Volkmann with a nice knee. Volkmann connected with a bunch of shots and thenKampmann countered and decked him but Volkmann was right back up. Volkmann missing more punches. Now Kampmann trying punches and not connecting. Kampmann bleeding from the left eye, which is swollen. Vokkmannn connected with a bunch of punches and then Kampmann decked him with a right to the jaw. Kampmann on top. Kampmann with several hard punches on the ground. And he grabbed a kravat, and turned it into a guillotine for the submission.
In the opening montage, not that much of a reaction to anyone. No reaction to anyone except Rashad Evans who got cheered but more like a a mid-level star. Still wondering why so little focus in the hype on Junior Dos Santos. If you think about it, his wins are far more impressive than Cain Velasquez’s or Shane Carwin’s.
Place is pretty full.
Gilbert Yvel vs. Junior Dos Santos
People don’t know Yvel at all, a big difference from the crowd at Affliction where they knew him. Yvel out to Thunderstruck and no reaction. Dos Santos out to the original theme from Rocky (Rocky Balboa, not the flying squirrel or the Soulman). Dos Santos has the nastiest left ear since James Thompson. All of a sudden Randy Couture’s ears look normal. Herb Dean ref, not Mazzagatti, which shows Dana White has no power over officials in Nevada.
For he record, Dana was totally against Dos Santos coming out to Rocky. Yvel tried a spinning kick but didn’t land. Both swinging. Good right by Dos Santos. More trading. This is what the people wanted. Dos Santos doing better. Dos Santos is bleeding fromthe nose. Yvel high kick and Dos Santos blocked and taunted him. Dos Santos dropped him and is pounding him on the ground and Herb Dean stopped it. Left hook did it and about 11 shots on the ground. Crowd was way more into this than anything so far.
Jim Miller vs. Duane Ludwig
Ludwig with a jab. Miller came in with punches and a kick, followed by a low kick. Ludwig back with a flurry. Miller put Ludwig down with a right to the jaw while Ludwig has his legs crossed moving. Now Miller has him mounted. Miller going for an armbar. Ludwig is in real trouble and tapped.
They showed Takanori Gomi on the big screen. Nobody reacted.
Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout
Stout got a nice reaction. Or maybe it was London, Ontario, Canada that got the pop. Lauzon took him down with a bodylock immediately. Lauzon opened a cut with an elbow and went for a rolling Kimura. Stout is up, but he’s bleeding bad above the left eye. Trading punches. Lauzon went for a takedown, Stout threw some elbows but eventually went down. Lauzon moved him into the fence. Stout on top and threw an elbow on Lauzon. Stout backed off and wants Lauzon to stand. Good left by Stout and popped Lauzon as he went for a takedown. More trading with Stout looking the better. Good punches and high kick wobbled Lauzon. Good uppercut by Stout. Good right by Lauzon. Good body punch by Stout. Stout caught a kick and punched Lauzon. More punches by Stout. Stout threw a spinning backfist that missed. Great round. 10-9 Stout. Crowd going nuts.
Lauzon went for a takedown and Stout threw him. Stout congtinues to connect on punches. Stout with low kick. Wicked kick by Stout but Lauzon took him down off it. Lauzon backed Stout to the fence again. Body punch and low kick by Stout. Stout threw a kick and Lauzon got behind him. Lauzon isn’t cut. Lauzon connected with a right to the jaw. Stout with a flurry of punches. Another flurry by Stout. Stout has a great punching output here. Another flurry ending with a kick. Lauzon went for a takedown, Stout sprawled and his on top. Lauzon is bleeding from the left ear. Stout continues to connect with punches on Lauzon. Good body kick by Stout. Lauzon tried another takedown, but Stout ended up on top. Still, Lauzon is taking less punishment on his back than standing but he’s doing nothing off his back. Great round for Stout 20-18.
Both out trading. Lauzon went for a takedown but Stout sprawled. Stout continues to connect on punches. Lauzon with a hard body kick, went for a takedown but Stout easily evaded. Usual punches and kicks combination by Stout over and over. Body kick by Stout. Lauzon tried another shot and Stout easily evaded him. A strong flurry by Stout followed by a front kick. Lauzon got a takedown but Stout right back up. Stout continues to connect with flurries, particularly working the body. Stout’s conditioning here is really impressive. He’s throwing nonstop punches. But Lauzon got a takedown and now on top in the guard. Lauzon got full mount and tried a guillotine but Stout back up. Crowd exploded for Stout getting up. Lauzon tried a scissors takedown. That only works in the movies and Cung Le matches in the 90s. Stout really rocked Lauzon with an uppercut with about 25 seconds left. Flying knee by Stout. Missed a spinning backfist. Stout rocked Lauzon with a punch at the horn. Standing ovation. Fight of the night. 30-27 Stout.
Scores were 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for Stout. Crowd reacted really big for Stout getting the decision. When Stout talked about the fans watching on TV in Canada, he got a huge pop. Do people in Canada have the ability to cheer and have it heard in Las Vegas?
Paul Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett
Hazelett came out to something off the Jillian Hall Christmas album. Well, it sounded that way. Crowd booed Daley. Crowd really liked Hazelett for the most part, some booed him. Hazelett tried a rolling koppo kick. That’s out of the Fuanki pro wresling playbook and didn’t come close. Loud USA chant. I mean loud. Daley with two high kicks, both blocked, now a low kick. Another low kick by Daley. Fans now booing though I have no idea why. Another low kick by Daley. Front push kick by Hazelett. Another low kick by Daley. Daley stopped him hard with a left hook and two more punches and it was over. Those punches on the ground were wicked. Daley was out there being a total poor sport, acting like he shot him and man did he get booed after. Daley made himself a star with this one even though the people hate him.
Daley was very polite in his interview, apologized for his antics, said after a knockout he did some stupid things and said Hazelett is a great submission fighter.
Rashad Evans vs.Thiago Silva
Did you know that Rashad Evans coming out of high school won a college scholarship from the Buffalo area pro wrestling community in the name of Ilio DiPaolo, the most popular wrestler wrestler in that area’s territorial heyday?
Silva is a lot bigger than Evans. Yves Lavigne referee. Evans was booed heavily. Cheered heavily as well. 50/50 while Silva pretty much only cheered. Evans jumped right in for a takedown and isn’t getting it. In the clinch Silva’s size edge is really noticeable. Evans ducked down and got Silva down. Silva back up but Evans with a slam to get him down again. Evans in side position. Now he’s in full mount. Evans went for a choke but Silva escaped and back up. Loud Silva chant. They are working in a clinch. Evans with two punches. Now both in. Evans swinging. Knee by Silva but Evans took him down off it into side position agaihn. Silva back up. Now a USA chant but it didn’t take. Evans in with punches. Two punches and Evans rushed in to smother Silva in the corner. Evans tagged him several times and got another takedown. Silva back up. Loud Silva chant. Evans 10-9. Crowd pretty intense for this.
Evans in with punches and bulled Silva into the corner again. Silva with a knee to the body while in the clinch. And another one. Silva threw a kick and Evans took him down again. As he got up , Evans punched him and then slammed him down hard. USA chant from a corner of the arena but not picking up. Silva up again. Body kick by Silva with probably his best of offense so far. Evans exploded and took Silva down again with 43 seconds left in the round. Silva back up again. Knee by Silva at the horn. Evans 20-18.
Silva blocked Evans’ takedown but Evans has him bulled into the corner. Evans is avoiding trading in the middle of the ring. Evans took him down again but Silva is back up. Knee to the body by Silva. Evans looks like he’s trying to kill the clock because he knows he’s ahead on points. He’s fighting for the decision. Silva is motioning for the crowd to cheer. Evans nailed Silva with a hard punch and Silva mocked him like it didn’t hurt with his hands down. Silva taunting Evans. Silva rocked Evans with hard punches and put him down. Two minutes left and Evans is in trouble. Silva nailing him with punches and knees. Silva really making fun of Evans and going in for the kill. 1:20 left. Evans looks tired. Silva is walking away from Evans. What an idiot. He gave Evans a chance to recover. Evans in for a takedown and couldn’t get it, but bulled Silva into the corner. 30 seconds left. Silva really blew it not following up I have it 10-9 and not 10-8 and Evans winning the decision.
All three judges have it 29-28 for Evans. Crowd booing but I can’t see any other result. Silva had him hurt at one point but Evans got enough offense during the round and Silva played to the crowd at the wrong time when he should have been more aggressive. Silva lost it on his own.
I don't know how the main event played on TV but in the arena there was tremendous crowd intensity, partly because the crowd really wanted Silva to win, probably to a degree that surprised UFC officials who thought Evans had turned the corner with the crowd based on the reaction here all week.
n.d.r. Presenti Hulk Hogan e Shane McMahon.....
Dave@wrestlingobserver.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. We're looking for your thoughts on tonight's show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
John Gunderson vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Oliveira out with low kicks, Gunderson threw a wek high kick. Oliveira with a low kick. Both swinging and missing. Oliveira shot and Gunderson grabbed a guillotine. Oliveira picked him up, Gunderson tried for the move again, then switched to trying a Kimura but Oliveira escaped and is on top in side control. Now he's got a full mount with 2:55 left. Now he's got Gunderson's back. Oliveira going for a head and arm choke but does't look tight. Back to full mount. Gunderson turned and gave up his back. Now he turned back in to a full mount. Oliveira punching and Gunderson gave up his back again. Gunderson got up and was taken right back down into side control. Oliveira pinned him against the fence but Gunderson got back up. Oliveira tried to pull guard, and ended up eating a few punches at the horn. Oliveira decidedly 10-9
Another takedown by Oliveira. Gunderson up and taken down again. Gunderson gave up his back and Oliveira going for a choke but Gunderson blocking well and turned. Oliveira punching from the mount and Gunderson gave up his back. Oliveira was working for an armbar for a minute and never got it and Gunderson escaped just before the round ended. Oliveira 20-18
Oliveria with another takedown. Gunderson trying a guillotine but Oliveira powered out . Gunderson got the takedown but Oliveira reversed him on the ground. Oliveira thought armbar but gave it up for better control. Another takedown by Oliveira. Gunderson is trying to get a Kimura from the bottom. Oliveira not in any trouble and is now on top in half guard. Oliveira trying to straighten the arm for an armbar with time running out, but he's not going to get it. Time expired. 30-27 Oliveira. Dull fight.
All three judges have it 30-27. Pretty easy fight to score.
There is a curtain like going to a WWE TV taping where they closed down the upper level in about 25% of the arena. First time I've ever seen curtains used in an arena for a major UFC event.
Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle
Ellenberger rushed in and took Pyle down. Pyle is trying subs from the bottom and not coming close. Ellenberger not doing much on offense. Finally Ellenberger backed off and wanted Pule to stand. So the first thing when Pyle gets, up, Ellenberger went for another takedown. Pyle went for a Kimura but does't have it. In the last ten seconds, Ellenberger exploded with really hammer fists which was the first real offense of the fight. Until the last ten seconds, I'd have given the round to Pyle but it's definitely Ellenberger because of the last ten seconds 10-9
Ellenberger decked him with a right to start the round and finished Pyle with about ten punches on the ground. He then did a backflip to celebrate.
Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen
Jensen softening him up with low kicks. Jensen threw a kick and Munoz with the takedown. Jensen tried a guillotine but Munoz out. Jensen back up and firing a lot of punches. Jensen trying a takedown and getting nowhere. Munoz powered Jensen down. Jensen going for a triangle. Munoz with brutal ground and pound. Jensen tapped and Mario Yamasaki missed it. Munoz was killing him with some ridiculously hard punches on the ground and Jensen tapped again, this time the ref saw it. Jensen is shaken up. Munoz has some of the most vicious ground and pound.
This fight will almost surely air later tonight. Oliveira vs. Gunderson shouldn’t and Pyle vs. Ellenberger was okay.
Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon
Miller connecting with punches and knees and a nice high kick. Lauzon wnt for takedown and didn’t get it. Then he decked Miller. He’s swing big punches and Miller back with knees and upper cuts. Now in a clinch. Lauzon back swinging, now Miller back. Lauzon got behind Miller and took him down with 2:42 left. He’s got his back. Miller now going for a Kimura from a reverse triangle and Lauzon tapped out.
When Joe Rogan asked Miller about the punch that put him down, he said he had no idea what he was talking about. Then Rogan showed the clip and Miller seemed surprised.
Jacob Volkmann vs. Martin Kampamnn
Volkmann came out throwing punches and got countered. Volkmann with a nice knee. Volkmann connected with a bunch of shots and thenKampmann countered and decked him but Volkmann was right back up. Volkmann missing more punches. Now Kampmann trying punches and not connecting. Kampmann bleeding from the left eye, which is swollen. Vokkmannn connected with a bunch of punches and then Kampmann decked him with a right to the jaw. Kampmann on top. Kampmann with several hard punches on the ground. And he grabbed a kravat, and turned it into a guillotine for the submission.
In the opening montage, not that much of a reaction to anyone. No reaction to anyone except Rashad Evans who got cheered but more like a a mid-level star. Still wondering why so little focus in the hype on Junior Dos Santos. If you think about it, his wins are far more impressive than Cain Velasquez’s or Shane Carwin’s.
Place is pretty full.
Gilbert Yvel vs. Junior Dos Santos
People don’t know Yvel at all, a big difference from the crowd at Affliction where they knew him. Yvel out to Thunderstruck and no reaction. Dos Santos out to the original theme from Rocky (Rocky Balboa, not the flying squirrel or the Soulman). Dos Santos has the nastiest left ear since James Thompson. All of a sudden Randy Couture’s ears look normal. Herb Dean ref, not Mazzagatti, which shows Dana White has no power over officials in Nevada.
For he record, Dana was totally against Dos Santos coming out to Rocky. Yvel tried a spinning kick but didn’t land. Both swinging. Good right by Dos Santos. More trading. This is what the people wanted. Dos Santos doing better. Dos Santos is bleeding fromthe nose. Yvel high kick and Dos Santos blocked and taunted him. Dos Santos dropped him and is pounding him on the ground and Herb Dean stopped it. Left hook did it and about 11 shots on the ground. Crowd was way more into this than anything so far.
Jim Miller vs. Duane Ludwig
Ludwig with a jab. Miller came in with punches and a kick, followed by a low kick. Ludwig back with a flurry. Miller put Ludwig down with a right to the jaw while Ludwig has his legs crossed moving. Now Miller has him mounted. Miller going for an armbar. Ludwig is in real trouble and tapped.
They showed Takanori Gomi on the big screen. Nobody reacted.
Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout
Stout got a nice reaction. Or maybe it was London, Ontario, Canada that got the pop. Lauzon took him down with a bodylock immediately. Lauzon opened a cut with an elbow and went for a rolling Kimura. Stout is up, but he’s bleeding bad above the left eye. Trading punches. Lauzon went for a takedown, Stout threw some elbows but eventually went down. Lauzon moved him into the fence. Stout on top and threw an elbow on Lauzon. Stout backed off and wants Lauzon to stand. Good left by Stout and popped Lauzon as he went for a takedown. More trading with Stout looking the better. Good punches and high kick wobbled Lauzon. Good uppercut by Stout. Good right by Lauzon. Good body punch by Stout. Stout caught a kick and punched Lauzon. More punches by Stout. Stout threw a spinning backfist that missed. Great round. 10-9 Stout. Crowd going nuts.
Lauzon went for a takedown and Stout threw him. Stout congtinues to connect on punches. Stout with low kick. Wicked kick by Stout but Lauzon took him down off it. Lauzon backed Stout to the fence again. Body punch and low kick by Stout. Stout threw a kick and Lauzon got behind him. Lauzon isn’t cut. Lauzon connected with a right to the jaw. Stout with a flurry of punches. Another flurry by Stout. Stout has a great punching output here. Another flurry ending with a kick. Lauzon went for a takedown, Stout sprawled and his on top. Lauzon is bleeding from the left ear. Stout continues to connect with punches on Lauzon. Good body kick by Stout. Lauzon tried another takedown, but Stout ended up on top. Still, Lauzon is taking less punishment on his back than standing but he’s doing nothing off his back. Great round for Stout 20-18.
Both out trading. Lauzon went for a takedown but Stout sprawled. Stout continues to connect on punches. Lauzon with a hard body kick, went for a takedown but Stout easily evaded. Usual punches and kicks combination by Stout over and over. Body kick by Stout. Lauzon tried another shot and Stout easily evaded him. A strong flurry by Stout followed by a front kick. Lauzon got a takedown but Stout right back up. Stout continues to connect with flurries, particularly working the body. Stout’s conditioning here is really impressive. He’s throwing nonstop punches. But Lauzon got a takedown and now on top in the guard. Lauzon got full mount and tried a guillotine but Stout back up. Crowd exploded for Stout getting up. Lauzon tried a scissors takedown. That only works in the movies and Cung Le matches in the 90s. Stout really rocked Lauzon with an uppercut with about 25 seconds left. Flying knee by Stout. Missed a spinning backfist. Stout rocked Lauzon with a punch at the horn. Standing ovation. Fight of the night. 30-27 Stout.
Scores were 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for Stout. Crowd reacted really big for Stout getting the decision. When Stout talked about the fans watching on TV in Canada, he got a huge pop. Do people in Canada have the ability to cheer and have it heard in Las Vegas?
Paul Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett
Hazelett came out to something off the Jillian Hall Christmas album. Well, it sounded that way. Crowd booed Daley. Crowd really liked Hazelett for the most part, some booed him. Hazelett tried a rolling koppo kick. That’s out of the Fuanki pro wresling playbook and didn’t come close. Loud USA chant. I mean loud. Daley with two high kicks, both blocked, now a low kick. Another low kick by Daley. Fans now booing though I have no idea why. Another low kick by Daley. Front push kick by Hazelett. Another low kick by Daley. Daley stopped him hard with a left hook and two more punches and it was over. Those punches on the ground were wicked. Daley was out there being a total poor sport, acting like he shot him and man did he get booed after. Daley made himself a star with this one even though the people hate him.
Daley was very polite in his interview, apologized for his antics, said after a knockout he did some stupid things and said Hazelett is a great submission fighter.
Rashad Evans vs.Thiago Silva
Did you know that Rashad Evans coming out of high school won a college scholarship from the Buffalo area pro wrestling community in the name of Ilio DiPaolo, the most popular wrestler wrestler in that area’s territorial heyday?
Silva is a lot bigger than Evans. Yves Lavigne referee. Evans was booed heavily. Cheered heavily as well. 50/50 while Silva pretty much only cheered. Evans jumped right in for a takedown and isn’t getting it. In the clinch Silva’s size edge is really noticeable. Evans ducked down and got Silva down. Silva back up but Evans with a slam to get him down again. Evans in side position. Now he’s in full mount. Evans went for a choke but Silva escaped and back up. Loud Silva chant. They are working in a clinch. Evans with two punches. Now both in. Evans swinging. Knee by Silva but Evans took him down off it into side position agaihn. Silva back up. Now a USA chant but it didn’t take. Evans in with punches. Two punches and Evans rushed in to smother Silva in the corner. Evans tagged him several times and got another takedown. Silva back up. Loud Silva chant. Evans 10-9. Crowd pretty intense for this.
Evans in with punches and bulled Silva into the corner again. Silva with a knee to the body while in the clinch. And another one. Silva threw a kick and Evans took him down again. As he got up , Evans punched him and then slammed him down hard. USA chant from a corner of the arena but not picking up. Silva up again. Body kick by Silva with probably his best of offense so far. Evans exploded and took Silva down again with 43 seconds left in the round. Silva back up again. Knee by Silva at the horn. Evans 20-18.
Silva blocked Evans’ takedown but Evans has him bulled into the corner. Evans is avoiding trading in the middle of the ring. Evans took him down again but Silva is back up. Knee to the body by Silva. Evans looks like he’s trying to kill the clock because he knows he’s ahead on points. He’s fighting for the decision. Silva is motioning for the crowd to cheer. Evans nailed Silva with a hard punch and Silva mocked him like it didn’t hurt with his hands down. Silva taunting Evans. Silva rocked Evans with hard punches and put him down. Two minutes left and Evans is in trouble. Silva nailing him with punches and knees. Silva really making fun of Evans and going in for the kill. 1:20 left. Evans looks tired. Silva is walking away from Evans. What an idiot. He gave Evans a chance to recover. Evans in for a takedown and couldn’t get it, but bulled Silva into the corner. 30 seconds left. Silva really blew it not following up I have it 10-9 and not 10-8 and Evans winning the decision.
All three judges have it 29-28 for Evans. Crowd booing but I can’t see any other result. Silva had him hurt at one point but Evans got enough offense during the round and Silva played to the crowd at the wrong time when he should have been more aggressive. Silva lost it on his own.
I don't know how the main event played on TV but in the arena there was tremendous crowd intensity, partly because the crowd really wanted Silva to win, probably to a degree that surprised UFC officials who thought Evans had turned the corner with the crowd based on the reaction here all week.
TNA Monday special News: match e un probabile ritorno WO Update
Announced for Monday's Impact special:
*TNA Knockouts champion Tara vs. ODB
*TNA Knockouts Tag Team champions Sarita and Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong and Hamada
Durante i prelim fights di UFC 108 trasmessi su Spike TV è andato in onda un promo che annunciava un match valido per il titolo X Division da tenersi dentro lo Steel Cage Asylum.
Fra i workers TNA questo weekend è circolata la voce molto netta che Angelina Love farà il suo ritorno in TNA questo Lunedì.
Secondo Dave Meltzer Angelina Lova ha firmato un nuovo contratto con la TNA e tornerà Lunedì.
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