Wrestling

- Original plans at RAW last night called for Curtis Axel to debut as Curt Axel. WWE decided to change the name shortly before he debuted which is why his entrance video on RAW read Curt throughout the video. - Mark Henry apparently tweaked his shoulder during his Strap Match against Sheamus at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. There is no word yet if he will miss any time. Big Spoiler on Team Heyman, Revealing New Rosa Pics, More… Source: PWInsider

This week's episode of Monday Night Raw did an average of 4.226 million viewers for the entire show, with hours of 4.078, 4.295 and 4.307 respectively. Not only is this number an increase from last week's low rating, but it was a rare occasion where the numbers continued to grow throughout the night. It is likely more than a coincidence that Paul Heyman's "big announcement" was scheduled for the second hour, with Triple H in a rare Raw main event advertised for the final segment. We will have the final Raw rating available later today.

By Bryan Alvarez | bryan@wrestlingobserver.com | @bryanalvarez We're looking for your thoughts on Sunday's WWE Extreme Rules 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.com We're looking for reports on Saturday night's WWE show in Evansville. Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday night in Omaha. There are three issues of the Observer that are on the site this week. The back issue, from 1996, goes back to a period that changed the wrestling business, when Kevin Nash signed with WCW. It's what went down at the time, and what was going on behind the scenes months before the NWO was formed. We look at the state of both WCW and WWF, as well as all of the news from that period. We've also got two new issues of the Observer this week, both on the site right now as well. The lead story is a look at the end of the career of Kenta Kobashi. We look back with memories of his 25 year career, the glory days of All Japan Pro Wrestling, how he got his start, the end of his career and what made him tick. We look at him going from a young boy, how he got into pro wrestling, his rise to the top under in All Japan, glory days of All Japan, his big run with Pro Wrestling NOAH and how his career ended. We look at his biggest matches, his career breaks, the stories behind his career and more. We also have a Kobashi record book with title wins, awards, and Kobashi at Budokan Hall and Tokyo Dome career highlights. We also have our 2013 WWE roster directory. This covers the entire roster of WWE as well as the most likely developmental wrestlers to be called up over the next year. We've got everyone's real name, ages, years pro, as well as backgrounds of everyone on the roster with a legitimate sports or well known entertainment background. We also look at those who came from wrestling families. We also look at how ROH and TNA handled some controversial events this past week. We look at the situation with Austin Aries and Christy Hemme, what went down with comments from both Spike TV, TNA as well as what Aries and Hemme said on Twitter. We also look at how Jay Briscoe and ROH handled Briscoe's message as well as his apology. We also update the Dolph Ziggler concussion and how WWE handled the situation, and how this is a sign that pro wrestling has changed for the better. We look at the new plans going forward for UFC on television with the advent of Fox Sports 1 and 2. We look at the first three shows on Fox Sports 1, how Dana White after more than a dozen years in charge of UFC came close to one of his original goals for UFC on television, and the basic framework of the TV schedule once the new network starts. We also look at TNA's time slot moving, the reasons why it moved before and why it's moving now, plus how it affects Bellator and thoughts on Bellator's TV situation. We look at the ever changing history of Bellator on television, and if it's a good idea for Bellator and UFC to go head-to-head. We've also got monthly business comparisons for both TNA and WWE for the last few months. We look at how both companies are doing, trends, including a very interesting one which played a part in TNA's time slot change and has changed the viewing patterns of Raw in a noticeable manner. We also look at how live attendance is doing for both groups, as well as a number of other categories in WWE to measure popularity, as opposed to just revenue and profit changes as in he previous issues. We also have more thoughts on the proposed WWE Network, and how it may have to be tweaked outside of the U.S. due to contracts in place, what country is right now No. 2 for the product, thoughts on the Extreme Rules PPV show, notes on the cage match aspect of the main event and the reasons Paul Heyman and HHH approached the pu

We've been away from the wild and wacky world of Ring of Honor for a little longer than usual. Their Border Wars internet pay-per-view (iPPV) went down, and Rex had you covered for that. Beyond that, the company has been in the news more for their champion's hetereo-normative/homophobic views, and the fallout of same, than for their wrestling product. Their television show (which airs weekends in select markets and is available online for free at their website the following Thursday) hasn't done a whole lot to change that. The three episodes that have been released since our last Adhering to the Code have featured matches taped before Border Wars and an episode that broadcast an hour's worth of stuff from that same iPPV. The May 4th show was short on the main story (more on that later) but big on wrestling. If you're a fan of or are interested in checking out ROH-style product, this is an example of one style they work a lot. The downside is ROH sometimes relies too heavily on this type of match for my tastes, so keep that in mind if you check it out and these aren't your cup of tea. They do other things too that place more emphasize on personality and different kinds of storytelling. "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson came in to film with the company over WrestleMania weekend in New York, and the first match on this episode is the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) standout versus "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin. The result is a solid if unspectacular match between a couple of different kinds of big man who can move. Elgin starts off doing some of his feats of strength - notably the delayed vertical suplex - before Anderson gets a little heel-y and starts to work on Unbreakable's leg following a drop kick and spot with the barrier. The leg gets sold a little throughout the rest of the match, but not a lot. That's my one of my pet peeves with this style of ROH match; psychology and especially finishers often get sacrificed for the excitement of a false ending or just to demonstrate the fighting spirit of a wrestler. There are a lot of exciting moves, more than a few will be familiar to Antonio Cesaro fans like Machine Gun's European uppercuts or the deadlift suplex that Unbreakable tries from the apron. A nifty series of counters come near the end. Elgin reverses out of a powerbomb to hit a corkscrew senton and Anderson goes from almost being the victim of an Elgin Bomb to land an emerald flowsion. After a small package gets two for the ROH regular, the man from New Japan ends it with an ace cutter. The two adhere to the Code of Honor by shaking hands. There's an out-of-nowhere Women of Honor contest between MsChif and newcomer Daviene thrown in this episode. And it doesn't do female wrestling any favors. The green-haired one dominates the rookie for about a minute and then Veda Scott runs in to attack the banshee in return for her having assaulted the bespectacled interviewer for asking dumb questions after a loss a few weeks back. Prince Nana, who is on commentary, makes some sexist comments about 18 year old Daviene. If the production values didn't suck, I'd think I was watching WWE. The main event of this show is Davey Richards versus his former protege Kyle O'Reilly. These two have quite a history and have been feuding again lately in the tag scene (O'Reilly is one half of the champs, reDragon; Richards and partner Eddie Edwards seem to be back in the division full-time as the American Wolves). This match has a couple of strikes against it in my book. (1) Richards is known for the very style I described above, in addition to other indy bugaboos like long matches just because and horrible microphone skills...he just epitomizes what I dislike about ROH. And, (2) the announcers only pay lip service to their history, so if you're not already a Ring of Honor fan, this just looks like two jiu jitsu jackoffs (© Kevin Steen) going at it. All that whiney preamble aside, this is an okay match. They brawl fo

After a couple of much-needed weeks off, I'm back in full force here on WrestleZone with my weekly columns (Tuesdays and Fridays), the ocassional news posting and, of course, Voice of Wrestling every Monday night from 6:30-7:30 EST. Plenty to talk about, too, so let's not waste one more second! Curtis Axel - One Step, Period It's clearly a step up for "Michael McGillicutty", but it's too early to tell for "Curtis Axel". The fact they're doing anything with him is positive though. And stop getting so bent out of shape over his name. It's not bad enough to prevent him from getting over if it's meant to be. I would go back to "Curt" though, as his initial titan tron graphic seemed to suggest that was at least in the cards at some point. Paul Heyman can make anyone better on camera as one of his "guys". But comparable to CM Punk and Brock Lesnar as Paul wanted to suggest in his promo last night? There's no way to know that right now. Axel has a good look, good ability, and GREAT genes. Now, he has Paul Heyman as a mouthpiece. He couldn't be given a better opportunity. I just hope they don't try to oversell him too quickly. Fans don't tend to react to nobodies being throw into major stories without justification first. The Shield - One Step Up There's no doubt that the US and Tag Titles are in better hands at this point. At least there's some value with them now, even if thethe actual titles still aren't directly valuable. Meaning, they help add value to this group of three, whereas I don't think they did for Kofi or Team Hell No. This will help The Shield continue to get over. And that's what they need most right now, even though I read where some fans and even experts think they're geting over huge right now. I must be hearing something different. Or NOT hearing, for that matter. I don't think they're doing a bad job, by any means. In fact, they're right where they should be. WWE has done well keeping them relevant and putting them over. The titles are just a good continuation of that. The position they're in now is a delicate balance, however. They aren't the nWo equivalent -- they don't have a big enough name right now to be anywhere close -- so for now, they are still just on top of the midcard. There's nothing wrong with that, but will the entire midcard be elevated as a result? I'm not so sure. How do you continue to work on putting over these three men effectively, while trying to help the entire division as a whole (or divisions, when you include both US and Tag Team, although I'm grouping the entire midcard into one)? Will WWE be able to pull the trigger eventually when it's time for them to lose their respective titles? Especially when it's to much lesser individuals (or teams) than the ones they've already defeated up to this point? Or...will they drag it out too long to the point that it really doesn't benefit anyone in the end? They've done excellent up to this point; let's hope the consistency continues. Randy Orton - One Step Down Nick Paglino and I were discussing this on last night's Voice of Wrestling show -- neither one of us have any clue what Randy Orton is doing these days. He can still win, but ultimately those wins mean nothing...for anyone. I used to put Randy Orton over as a "Top 5" in the business, easy. Maybe he still "could" be, but there's no reason anyone should realize it. What happened to all that backstage clout he used to have? And if he still has it, and is simply not using any longer, does that means he's gone soft? Did he turn the proverbial "new leaf"? Does he live in guilt and regret for how he treated people in the past that he no longer deems himself worthy of a top spot in the company? So many questions, zero answers. There is no rhyme or reason to the stalling patte

After suffering an injury on the road at TNA's last Impact Wrestling taping event, "The Cowboy" James Storm has updated his stutus with a bit of bad news. Just so everyone knows. Doc said I have a slight tear in my right abdominal & a adductor strain "groin pull" 6-8 weeks. Busting ass 2 b back — James Storm (@Cowboy_J_Storm) May 21, 2013 Storm was scheduled to wrestle for the TNA Tag Team titles at Slammiversary in just two weeks time, unfortunately with this update it is not ikely the former World Champion will compete. He remains on the road with TNA, and is currently heading to Atlanta with TNA Knockout Velvet Sky.

O'Neil said a bad word. Big fucking deal?Photo Credit: WWE.comTitus O'Neil said "fuck" on camera last night. This was not a big deal. If cursing wasn't an expected true outcome, WWE would not run live shows on a delay. Obviously, the atmosphere is supposed to be family friendly, which is why the word was bleeped out in the first place. It was a mistake, I gather, and one that was probably handled backstage with an agent or even Vince McMahon himself giving O'Neil a stern lecture on why you don't say bad words on TV.The reaction I observed on Twitter last night made it seem like O'Neil had just sharpened Darren Young's afro-pic into a shiv and stabbed Sheamus in the neck. People feared that he "screwed the pooch" or that he might get "Abraham Washington'd" because of it. I laughed it off, but it bothered me because in the back of my mind, I could see WWE overreacting to a curse word on television, even one that was scrubbed out from the audio feed. The reactions, both real on Twitter and imagined by me, typify what I feel like is the most backward notions regarding language in this country.The Federal Communications Commission has famously set up a code to prevent such "foul" words to be spoken on television. George Carlin made it famous with his "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" bit. There's one curse word in there with vile implications, another that has a negative connotation only because of sheer homophobia, and a third that should be innocuous but that has been co-opted by those who wish to keep women as second-class citizens. In my opinion though, four of them are completely innocuous and refer to normal, natural things. "Fuck" and "tits" are both sexual in nature, and the puritanical values that crush most of America say that sex is bad unless you're married (and even then, it's not for pleasure, it's for procreation!). "Shit" and "piss" both refer to natural bodily functions without which we wouldn't be able to survive. Why is it that the FCC is so gung-ho about making sure people don't say "fuck" over the airwaves, but really don't care if someone utters the n-word? One word only stings the ears because we've been taught that it's bad for no reason. Another word has been part of systematic oppression of a minority group with roots back to slavery. I honestly don't think any speech should be banned so to speak, but if we were going to place monetary fines on one word, it sure as shit shouldn't be the word "fuck," that's for damn sure.Obviously, the FCC isn't the only thing in play here. Sponsors play a much bigger role in what words can be said, and no one wants to be associated with harsh racial language, which is why the only shows where you even hear the n-word are ones where black people use it as a familiar colloquialism. Of course, there's a double standard in play, but honestly, it's one I don't have a problem with. Still, the fact that the FCC cares more to fine people for saying "fuck" on TV than "n*****" is still royally fucked up if you ask me.Words like that are propped up as boogeymen to perpetuate the foolish notions that class and dignity come from artificial constructs like language. Actions and intent are far more damning, which is why it baffles me that people can equate O'Neil to Washington. The last time I checked, Washington didn't even use a curse word when he said what he said to get himself fired. He equated what the Prime Time Players did in the ring to sexual assault, and he committed slander against Kobe Bryant by implying was guilty of something he was acquitted of. You're damn right that I might cut ties with Washington a lot sooner than O'Neil.By even connecting the dots between the two incidents, people gave too much power to the one word that was scrubbed from the broadcast. The best way to take power from a word is to normalize it, at least in this case (I don't think there will be any pan-racial normalization of the n-word, nor do I think there should be). You don't want to be offended

Dana White confirmed today that Renan Barao suffered torn ligaments in his foot and would be unable to fight on the 6/15 show in Winnipeg. Barao defending the interim bantamweight title against Eddie Wineland was the scheduled main event, although it was by no means the real marquee fight on the show. The previous No. 2 fight, Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans, was confirmed today by Dana White to be moved to the main event position, in a three-round fight. No word on Barao would be able to fight, the match would be delayed, or if Wineland would get a new opponent.

Bischoff Congratulates Curtis Axel Eric Bischoff posted the following on Twitter: Congrats to Joe Hennig @wwe. I am certain your father is proud. Best of luck!!!! — Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) May 21, 2013 Georgia Lottery Announces New Impact Wrestling Game The following press release has been issued: Georgia Lottery Introduces New IMPACT WRESTLING Game ATLANTA (May 21, 2013) – The Georgia Lottery Corporation has partnered with IMPACT WRESTLING to launch its new instant game IMPACT WRESTLING. “We are pleased to partner with IMPACT WRESTLING to offer a fresh, new game to our players and wrestling enthusiasts,” said Georgia Lottery Corporation President and CEO Debbie D. Alford. “Every dollar raised by this game will benefit HOPE and Pre-K students.” The IMPACT WRESTLING instant game went on sale statewide Tuesday. “Given the rich history of professional wresting in Georgia, we are honored and delighted to be the first wrestling organization to be featured on a Georgia Lottery ticket," TNA President Dixie Carter said. "Our partnership with the Georgia Lottery is a uniquely exciting one for both our Impact Wrestling brand and our superstar talent.” With IMPACT WRESTLING, players can win prizes up to $25,000. Players also can enter non-winning tickets for a second chance to win tickets to a live IMPACT WRESTLING event. Visit www.galottery.com for more information.