by sean radican, columnist daniel bryan retires · what changed his mind. in fact, just last month...

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

(1) Daniel Bryan announces his retirement live on Monday Night Raw(2) Bryan says connection between seizures and concussions led to decision(3) Titus O’Neal suspended for 90 days due to grabbing Vince’s arm on Raw(4) C.M. Punk will have back surgery, delaying his potential UFC debut further(5) ECW origianl Axl Rotten dies at age 44, drug overdose suspected

•BRUCE MITCHELL: Daniel Bryan sets the standard once again... pg. 11•GREG PARKS: Matt Hardy best heel in biz? NXT TV overrated?... pg. 10•KELLER’S RAW REPORT: Ambrose calls out Lesnar, takes a beating... pg. 6•KELLER’S IMPACT REPORT: Matt Hardy defends against Kurt Angle... pg. 4•RINGSIDE BEAT: Balor vs. Samoa Joe, Del Rio vs. Reigns headline events... pg. 2

ISSUE #1443 • FERBUARY 11, 2016

Daniel Bryan retires Daniel Bryan announced his retirement on Monday night in an emotional speech spanning nearly a full half hour at the end of the Raw. At just 34 years old, Bryan made the decision to retire when he apparently agreed with WWE’s strong stand that he shouldn’t wrestle anymore due to concussion-related health issues. Bryan has admitted to suffering many concussions, some documented, many not, over the course of his 16 year career. He did not, however, want those to stop him from continuing to wrestle. He had received clearance from independent doctors, but WWE’s physician would not clear him. Bryan didn’t detail on Raw what changed his mind. In fact, just last month Bryan issued a plea on Twitter to be cleared when the news broke that A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura had been hired by WWE. Bryan, though, did reveal what changed his mind in an interview with Jonathan Coachman on the ESPNews edition of SportsCenter on Tuesday. Oneday removed fromofficially retiring fromWWE, revealed scary details of his concussion situation. Bryan told Coach that he has 10 documented concussionsfromhiscareer,butit’sdifficulttodefinea “concussion,” so there may have been even more that were just not a clear “concussion” situation. Bryan added that he made the decision to retire after undergoing another batch of concussion tests, which he went into thinking that he would strengthen his case to wrestle again. However, the opposite happened. Bryan said he recently went to New York City for “EEG” testing, which is a test that measures the activity of electrical currents in the brain. Previous EEG testing came back fine and brain MRIs werefine,sohethoughtthelatesttestwouldjustbeanotherpiece of evidence for him to point to. However, the testing showed he had some “slowing in the brain.” There was also concern about

seizures. Bryan said that was a wake-up call because he had a history of post-concussion seizures that he “hid for a long time” and they did not know why he had the seizures. That connection gave him the answer he needed. Bryan said there was never any evidence before that explaining the seizures, then it was clear, and it helped make the decision to retire. Asked what he’s going to now at the age of 34, Bryan said he does not know, but he spent a lot of time thinking about it while hanging in limbo on his

WWE career since April 2015. Bryan said he does not know what’s next for him, as he’s still trying to process the end of his career and the emotional roller-coaster that ended Monday night on Raw when he retired in his home area of Seattle, Washington. Bryan said he definitely wantsto help people, whether it be concussion awareness, especially for younger athletes who need to report a concussion and not try to

tough it out. Or, work in the area of pediatric cancer after being impacted by Connor the Crusher. Bryan said he has to be careful not to try to do everything and do nothing. As for the end of his in-ring career on Monday, Bryan said it was an “emotionally tough day.” He said he could not look at his family on the front row because he knew he would start crying. Bryan also shared the story of his dad being at the 2013 Slammys show before he died, which Bryan says was his all-time favorite moment in his career hugging his dad in the crowd. Related to that, Bryan shared a story that their family bonded over Ultimate Warrior pulling down Rick Rude’s trunks, exposing his butt, at thefirst-everwrestlingshowtheywenttoasafamily.Bryan said his dad shared that story for the longest time. Bryan said he hopes that is how he is remembered

• COVER STORY by Wade Keller and James Caldwell •

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COVER STORY continued on page 12

RADICAN continued on pg. 10

By Sean Radican, columnist Daniel Bryan wasn’t supposed to have a retirement ceremony live on Raw. He wasn’t even supposed to be in WWE. He didn’t have the size, the look, or the charisma. Yet, there was Daniel Bryan Monday night on Raw saying goodbye to WWE. Daniel Bryan became one of the most likable wrestlers I’ve ever watched perform during his time in WWE, but watching most of his career unfold, it wasn’t supposed follow the path that it did. When I started watching ROH, I thought I was watching the next generation of performers set to take the world by storm even though, according to what most people told me, I wouldn’t see them in WWE. Bryan captivatedme the first time I saw himwrestle on tape in 2003. He reminded me very much of some of the great technical wrestlers such as Chris Benoit and William Regal. He was intense in the ring and could put on outstanding athletic contests, but he didn’t show a lot of charisma. Bryan was believable as an ass kicker during the early years of ROH, but he lacked the presence of Samoa Joe, C.M. Punk, and Homicide. James Gibson was supposed to be the face of ROH after C.M. Punk signed with WWE in 2005. Punk’s farewell tour was designed to get Gibson over, but Gibson also signed with WWE after beating Punk for the ROH WorldTitle.ItwastimeforSapolskytofindanewcenterpiece for ROH; he turned to Bryan. DanielBryanwasgiventheballforthefirsttimein his career by Sapolsky and he cemented himself as an ROH legend with one of the most amazing World Title runs in modern history. It wasn’t just the 38 title defenses Bryan made during his reign as Champion that lasted from September 2005 to December 2006; it was also the transformation Bryan made during this period that amazed me. Bryan turned heel and took on all comers. He became the best in the world before Punk took the moniker in the eyes of mainstream wrestling fans during his run in WWE. Bryan had brutal hard-hitting technical matches and also began to mix in some MMA elements as well. The anticipation built to see nearly each and every title defense by Bryan during his time as champion, as ROH DVD and VHS (remember those?) releases could take six to eight weeks to come out. Bryan’s main rival during his time as champion was Nigel McGuinness and they waged some legendary wars. Looking back at their matches, the risks they took weren’t worth the buzz their matches generated, especially when the feud culminated at Unified and featured two of the best technicalwresters in the world butting heads like rams. Multiple concussions ended Bryan’s career in WWE and, given the style he wrestled, it’s not a surprise. ROH’s style was grueling, especially when the promotion relied on Bryan for top-notch main events to sell DVDs and live event tickets during his time on top.

Daniel Bryan MemoriesCOLUMNIST: SEAN RADICAN

#1443 • FEBRUARY 11, 2016 www.PWTorch.com/membersPWTORCH NEWSLETTER • PAGE 2

WWE NXT Live ResultsFebruary 5, 2016Nashville, Tenn.Report by PWTorch contributor “Common Fan” Jimmy Eaton (@TheCommonFan) (1) Asuka beat Alexa Bliss in the opener. Really nice match, as both women had a lot of energy and charisma. (2) Blake & Murphy beat Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa. Great tag match and Gargano was over with the crowd. (3) Nia Jax beat Billie Kay in a semi-squash match. Not bad, but the crowd died down a bit. (4) Sami Zayn beat Baron Corbin. Excellent match. Corbin is much improved and the crowd ate it up. Zayn offered a post-match handshake and was denied. [Intermission. Blast of a show so far.] (5) American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) beat NXT tag champions Dash & Dawson via DQ; Dash & Dawson retained the NXT Tag Titles. Great tag match. The crowd was hot after intermission. (6) NXT Women’s champion Bayley beat Emma to retain the NXT Women’s Title. Fun match. Bayley was insanely over with all ages. (7) NXT champion Finn Balor beat Samoa Joe to retain the NXT Title. The crowd was hot, but borderline obnoxious. Balor cut a promo on the mic after the match. He praised the NXT brand, jokingly said he “spent a few weeks in Japan,” and said he is most proud of NXT. Some wrestlers signed after the show, including Bayley, Jason Jordan, and Billie Kay.

WWE Live Show ResultsFebruary 6, 2016San Jose, Calif.Report by VIP member “Funky” Sam Medina We got there just as the show started and the wait to get into the building wasn’t long and went pretty fast. Inside the arena (SJ Sharktank/HP Pavillion/SAP Center) the bottom half was pretty full. Up top, the fans were pretty sparse and about half the top was tarped off. The entrance took up about a quarter of the building as well, so a guess in attendance would be 4,000-ish. (But I could be wrong) (1) A.J. Styles beat The Miz via submission in his WWE house show debut match. A.J. won with the Calf Crusher. A.J. was loved by the fans, and they were chanting “A.J.” very loudly. (2) Enzo Amore & Big Cass from NXT beat The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor). (3) Jack Swagger defeat Curtis Axel. At this point, they ask a teenage girl who she thought would win the #1 contender match at Fast Lane. She said RONAN REIGNS! and the crowd booed her. (4) Lucha Dragons (U.S. champion Kalisto & Sin Cara) beat Los Matadores (Diego y Fernando). The Matadores were the heels, using the Dragons’s shirt to wipe their armpits. Rusev, with Lana, came out next. She grabbed the mic and ran down the audience. She that they just talked to President Putin, they all thought the NFL

Accolade. Rusev then got on the mic and asked for competition. This brought out Jack Swagger… (4) Jack Swagger beat Rusev (w/Lana). Another short match followed that saw Swagger roll up Rusev in a few minutes. (5) Ryback & The Usos beat WWE tag champions NewDay(BigE.&KofiKingston&XavierWoods)in a six-man tag match. Huge reaction for New Day, whocameoutfirstandthenhadtoreturntothebackbecause their smoke pyro didnt go off. Light boos for the Usos, but Ryback was over. He wore new tights that say “Big Guy” and now wrestles wearing a weight belt. A fun match followed, with Ryback eventually catching Woods and hitting the Shell-shock for the win. (6) Lucha Dragons (U.S. champion Kalisto & Sin Cara) beat Los Matadores (Diego & Fernando). Dragons come out to a decent reaction, while the Matadores come out to crickets. They then establish themselves as heels by taking a Lucha Dragons shirt and wiping their nose/underarm and ass with it. Pretty pedestrianmatch,with thefinish seeingSinCarahitone of the Matadores with a swanton. (7) Divas champion Charlotte beat Becky Lynch to retain the Divas Title. Both women got decent reactions, and the match had some decent spots, including Lynch apply an armbar to Charlotte, who turned it into a powerbomb. Lynch reversed the Figure-eight, but moments later Charlotte rolled her up with the tights to win. The Main Event was Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio was over; he interacted a lot with the crowd. He was behaving like a face to the males over 13. Good reaction for Reigns, with kids and women behind him. (8) Roman Reigns beat Alberto Del Rio. Solid match, but a little long. Reigns eventually won after fightingoutofthearmbartwice.Reignshitaspeartowin. T-shirts for sale included New Day, John Cena, Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, Styles, Dean Ambrose, and Lucha Dragons. Interesting they had no Kevin Owens items for sale. Biggest Pops: (1) A.J. Styles; (2) Roman Reigns; (3) New Day Most Heel Heat: (1) Miz; (2) Rusev; (3) Charlotte

Send results from any live event you attend including tapings with as much detail as you wish including estimated attendance and who got the most cheers and boos to [email protected]. ###

Should Daniel Bryan go into the WWE Hall of Fame this year?

Yes, he should headline above Sting (12%)

Yes, he should co-headline with Sting (13%)

Yes, but in slot right before Sting (5%)

No, wait until next year so he can headline (34%)

No, wait until next year, this is too soon (28%)

Not yet sure he’s a Hall of Famer, actually (8%)

was wasting their time holding the Super Bowl in San Jose and it should be held in a real city like Moscow. But, if the Super Bowl has to be in the United States, how about a much better place, like San Francisco? Brock Lesnar’s music hit to bring out The Beast with Paul Heyman to a loud pop. Paul got on the mic and said he thinks no one can understand Lana because she’s Russian, and her client is Russian, but tonight the only place they are going to rush is to Suplex City. Heyman said that tonight Brock is the United States and he would destroy Rusev. The bell rang… (5) Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) beat Rusev (wLana). A little back-and-forth followed by four supelxes, an F5, and the 1-23. Heyman and Lesnar started to leave, but Lana grabbed the mic and said, “NOOO NOOO I DIDN’T HEAR THE BELL, RUSEV DIDN’T HEAR THE BELL…” Brock then slid back into the ring, running off Lana mid-sentence. He gave Rusev a couple more suplexes before leaving the arena. [Intermission] (6) Divas champion Charlotte beat Becky Lynch to retain the Divas Title. A really good match. Lots of “We Want Sasha” chants. (7) Ryback (or Ryberg) & The Usos beat WWE tagchampionsNewDay(BigE.&KofiKingston&Xavier Woods) in a six-man tag match. (8) Roman Reigns beat Alberto Del Rio in the main event. Notes: Not a great show, but a show nonetheless.

WWE Live Show ResultsFebruary 7, 2016Abbotsford, B.C., CanadaReport by Ben Lypka, PWTorch correspondent The show opened with Enzo Amore & Big Cass (with Carmella) against The Ascension. The fans did not really know Enzo’s pre-match spiel, so they were pretty silent during their intro aside from the “Sawft” line by Cass. (1) Enzo Amore & Big Cass (w/Carmella) beat The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor). Pretty decent match between the four, but I don’t think many people knew who Amore & Cass were. The heels got the heat on Enzo and he eventually made a tag to Cass. The finishsawAmorehitasplashontoViktorforthewin. Next was Miz vs. A.J. Styles. Major heat for Miz, who got on the mic and complained about Styles breaking his tooth earlier this week. Styles then came out to a massive pop. (2) A.J. Styles beat The Miz. Before they locked up, there are huge “A.J. Styles” chant and a light “This is Awesome” chant. Pretty good stuff here, with Miz hitting the Skullcrushing Finale and Styles kicking out. StylesteasedtheClash,butMizbrokeout.Thefinishwas Styles locking on the Calf Crusher for the win. Next was Rusev against Curtis Axel. Lana worked the crowd by bashing Abbotsford and saying how everyone should be so grateful to see herself and Rusev. This brought out Axel (by himself) to not much reaction. Axel said he will kick Rusev’s ass and then have Lana to himself. He shook his hips like Rick Rude. (3) Rusev (w/Lana) beat Curtis Axel via submission. A short match followed, with Lana distracting Axel and it leading to the superkick and

RINGSIDE BEAT

TORCH POLL


WWE NEWS TOP ITEMS OF THE WEEK •Titus O’Neil has been suspended 90 days for an incident at the very end of Daniel Bryan’s retirement ceremony Monday night on Raw, PWTorch has independently confirmed. PWInsider first reported the news.O’Neil grabbedVince McMahon’s arm as he passed by to exit the stage, drawing in McMahon for a face-to-face moment. It’s unclear what Titus’s motivation was for grabbing McMahon’s arm. McMahon was caught off-guard as he spun around, but seemed to take it as good-natured fun. Stephanie McMahon and Triple HwerewalkingalongsideVince.AtfirstStephanie,who was clapping, paused for a moment to assess what was happening, but then she and Hunter smiled, and it appeared Titus was smiling. Vince had his back turned to the camera, but apparently he was upset. WWE confirmed the suspension to the NewYorkPost on Wednesday, which ran a “splashy” headline when covering the news stating “Fans call Vince McMahon a racist for suspensing black wrestler.” The article quoted outraged WWE fans on Twitter. Titus has been heralded for his charity work in recent months on WWE TV. WWE edited the incident off the YouTube version of Raw, which aired on WWE Network after Raw went off the air on USA Network. A PWTorch source indicates that cooler heads had to speakuptokeepTitusfrombeingoutrightfired. •Former WWE headliner C.M. Punk will not be making his UFC debut this summer after all. Punk needs back surgery to address a nagging injury thatwillpreventhimfromtakingthescheduledfightagainst Mickey Gall this summer. Punk appeared at the UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas over the weekend to promote his official debut againstGall, who beat Mike Jackson in a “qualifying fight.”However,PunktoldMMAFighting.comthathe knew his back situation was problematic at the time. This week, he decided he could not hold off surgery.Punkwasquotedthathefiguredtheinjurywas related to his pro wrestling career and “it turns out it was.” Punk said treatments did not work while hewastrainingforhisdebutMMAfight.“Thisisjusta bump in the road,” Punk said optimistically. “I’m positive about this.” This will be the second surgery for Punk since beginning his journey to debut in the UFC. In 2015, Punk required shoulder surgery that pushed back his UFC debut to 2016. Now, it remains to be seen when, and if, Punk gets in the octagon. For what it’s worth, Punk was viewed as an underdog in his scheduledfight againstGall.LasVegas bettingodds placed Punk at +230 against Gall at -300. •The Feb. 8 Raw drew an unusually high audience in the first and second hours – drawn in for Daniel Bryan’s retirement – but by the time Bryan’s retirement speech rolled around at the very end of the show, the audience fell off by 14 percent. Also, there was the thinking that perhaps Rawcouldgetbacktoa3.0ratingforthefirsttimesince post-WrestleMania 31, but Raw did not come close. The 2.65 rating was up 11 percent from last

Styles also learned a great deal from working for New Japan, where he expanded on his knowledge base wrestling everyone from top stars Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura to underneath jokester Toru Yano. “Wrestling Tanahashi, I really feel like that I learned just because I don’t see what’s going on, doesn’t mean he doesn’t. Sometimes, I don’t feel the crowd or I don’t see them so I can’t see the reactions because I’m in a hold or he’s in a hold. But there was a time when I had him in a Calf Killer for what seemed like, ‘Oh man, this is too long,’ but he saw something I didn’t, and literally we had people crying in the front row,” Styles said. Styles also commented on Shinsuke Nakamura, who is also scheduled to join Styles on the WWE roster after leaving New Japan. “First of all, Shinsuke’s awesome. He’s his own wrestler, there’s nobody like him, he’s very unorthodox but he’s his own man. You won’t see another wrestler and go, ‘Shinsuke copied him,’ that’s not it. If anything, you could say he does a little Michael Jackson stuff, which makes him so different fromeverybodyelse,he’sflamboyant; thisguy has all the tricks of the trade. At the same time, he will kick your head off.”

NXT NEWSTOP ITEMS OF THE WEEK •NXT champion Finn Balor suffered an ankle injury at Friday’s NXT live show in Nashville. WWE said that Balor would not wrestle at Saturday’s tour finale in Indianapolis.Balor made an in-ringappearance on crutches at the Indy finale. NXTWomen’s champion Bayley did a bit honoring Balor mid-way through the show. The main event was then changed to Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin in a three-way match. The next step is Balor will “undergo further evaluation” on Monday after the NXT crew returns to their home base in Florida. Fortunately for WWE, Balor would not miss any TV tapings, as WWE taped all NXT programming leading up to WrestleMania Weekend. Unfortunately, WWE has a handful of live tours before April. Depending on the severity of the injury, the ultimate goal is to make sure Balor is healthy for the “Takeover” special two months from now in Dallas.

OBITUARYAXL ROTTEN DEAD AT 44 Former ECW star Axl Rotten (Brian Knighton) has reportedly died at the age of 44. WWE acknowledged Rotten’s death on their website Thursday night: “WWE is saddened to learn of reports that Brian Knighton, best known for competing in ECW as Axl Rotten from 1993 to 1999, has passed away. WWE extends its condolences to Knighton’s family, friends, and fans.” An autopsy is scheduled for Friday to determine if Rotten died of a suspected overdose, reports Pro Wrestling Sheet. Rotten was reportedly found dead outside of a McDonalds location in his hometown of Baltimore. Rotten was posting on social media as ofThursdaymorning. Includedwasafinalmessageabout doing things his way. A tribute banner is now the most-recent post on his Twitter account. ###

week’s show. However, Raw was short of the post-Royal Rumble episode scoring a 2.93 rating two weeks ago. Raw averaged 3.726 million viewers, which provided a 10 percent boost from last week’s audience. However, the third hour was problematic. First Hour: 3.907 million viewers (close to post-Rumble); Second Hour: 3.905 million viewers (close to post-Rumble); Third Hour: 3.368 million viewers (14 percent decline from the second hour). •WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin says he will be at WrestleMania 32 in his home state of Texas, but he’s not sure what role, if any, he will have during the WM32 event until he hears a Creative pitch. “Will I be a part of it? I know I’ll be there,” Austin told Fox News. “I’m going to the Hall of Fame, maybe do a podcast there. But, as far as doing something in the ring in the building, haven’t had that conversation yet.” Austin added, “If I were to do something, it certainly would not be wrestling. But, if I were to do something, the Creative would have to be good and it would have to make sense. So, that’s the million dollar question. I don’t know.” As for whether WWE can set attendance records at AT&T Stadium, similar to musician George Strait selling out the building by himself, Austin said it will bedifficultbecauseoftheinjurysituation.“Withsomany injuries right now, and so many top guys out of the picture, it’s going to be tough to do,” Austin said. “But, I know Vince (McMahon) is looking at his chessboardtryingtoputpiecestogetherandfindoutwhathe’sgoingtodotofillthoseseats.” •The Feb. 4 Smackdown scored a 1.86 rating, essentially even with a 1.87 rating the previous two weeks. Smackdown drew fewer viewers, though – 2.664 million viewers this week vs. 2.7+ million the previous two weeks. In the demographic ratings, Smackdown increased in males 18-49 to the highest point since the USA Network debut. Also, males 18-49 and adults 18-49 were very slightly up and down, respectively.ThroughfiveweeksonUSANetwork,Smackdown has averaged a 1.84 rating and 2.646 millionfirst-runviewers.Throughthefirstfiveweekson Thursday nights on Syfy last year, Smackdown averaged a 1.93 rating and 2.695 million viewers.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS: A.J. STYLES A.J. Styles says he is beginning his WWE run after feeling “liberated” by developing his own persona outside of any promotion. Styles left TNA at the end of 2013 and began a new free agent journey at the start of 2014. Styles called it “betting on himself” to be successful on his own before the recent trend began. Two years later, Styles took a contract offer from WWE over TNA to begin a late-career run on the biggest U.S. stage. “I tell you what’s liberating, is the fact that you were able to bet on yourself, and it paid off,” Styles told “The Tag Rope” wrestling magazine in a newly-released interview from before Styles joined WWE. “A lot of people wouldn’t do that, there’s a lot of chance you’re taking when you do something like that but it’s very liberating to feel like, ‘Okay, I did that, and I did it all on my own, and I created a new A.J. Styles and separated myself from something that people only knew me as TNA A.J. Styles.’ Now they knew me as Bullet Club A.J. Styles, which is hard to do and I was very happy that I was able to do that.”

TORCH NEWSWIRE

• By James Caldwell & Wade Keller •


FEBRUARY 2, 2016TAPED IN BETHLEHEM, PA.AIRED ON POP TV -The show ƒopened with Ethan Carter III arriving outside the building. He asked the roving reporter if he is wondering what is going on in his head. He wrote something down on a notebook, then said: “You want your interview. Be there, four o’clock. Don’t be late.” He handed the reporter the notebook back and walked away. -Matt Hardy, Reby, and Tyrus walked out to the ring. Josh Mathews and The Pope narrated a clip of Eric Young piledriving Jeff Hardy off the ring apron through a table. Then in the ring Matt said that sometimes in this business you have to work with people you hate, and other times you have to make tough decisions about people you love. They cut to fans chanting “We Want Jeff.” Matt told them they’re not going to get him because Jeff made a crucial mistake of saying he, Matt, was tarnishing the title. He said it was a sin and it was wrong, “and karma came a’callin’ in the form of a piledriver through a table.” He said his broken peg leg couldn’t run away from Eric Young fast enough. Reby took the mic and told Jeff it didn’t have to be that way, but for years and years, people said her “beautiful husband” was in the shadow of Jeff. Reby said it sure as hell wasn’t true. Matt held up his title belt. She said she believes that he’s just jealous that Matt won a World Hvt. Title fair and square, and he’s so jealous, he ended up injured at home watching. Matt said what happened to Jeff wasn’t personal, it was just great business for the Matt Hardy Brand. (WK Reax: I like when heels justify their actions by saying it’s what they need to do to succeed or provide for themselves or, in this case, build their brand. Kevin Owens often has done that, bringing up that he does what he has to do to support his family, as if cheating and using underhanded tactics is justified as long as you have a family. This Hardy example is even more shallow, in the way you want heels to be shallow, which is he does what is best for his brand, and therefore it’s not personal when he uses his tactics to get ahead.) Eric Young and Bram interrupted by walked into the stage to Young’s music. They aired a clip of Jeff Hardy inside the ambulance after the incident last week. Young entered the ring and said Jeff is never coming back because of him. He said Bobby Roode cost him the World Title, so he took his belt. He said Jeff Hardy took his number one contendership, so he took his career. He looked at Matt and said he has no problem with him and never has. He said he’s doing a great job as World Champion. He said the World Title goes through him. Tyrus stepped up to Bram. Matt told Young he knows he’s smarter than he sounds right now. Kurt Angle’s music interrupted them. He walked onto the stage and said it looks like Matt’s business deal blew up in his face. He said he’s been degrading the World Title since he won it. Matt snapped, “Don’t you dare say that.” When the crowd chanted “Angle! Angle!” Young yelled for them to shut up. Angle said he just heard great news about his next match on his farewell tour – Angle vs. Matt Hardy tonight for the TNA World Hvt. Championship. Matt snarled a bit.

-They showed Maria backstage. Josh wondered what her intensions are. [c] -They teased a clip of EC3’s interview he granted TNA at a restaurant. Josh said he speaks later today. They showed EC3 saying, “The world’s going to hear it all tonight.” (WK Reax: The EC3 interview, and EC3 in general, feels like a bigger deal by virtue of their plugging it several times throughout the show. It’s easy and smart to do when you want something to be perceived as a big deal.) -Maria walked toward the ring and said she usually introduces “The Miracle” Mike Bennett, but she wants to talk about something she feels passionate about – wrestling. She said women’s wrestling needs a miracle. She said what women’s wrestling needs is a leader, an arrow to point it in the right direction. She saidsheisthefirstladyofprowrestlingandcanbethatleader. She said the Knockouts Division is broken and she is the only one who can change it. She said out with the old and in with the new. Gail Kim interrupted and walked to the ring with her Knockouts Title belt over her left shoulder. She told Maria they’ve known each other a long time and she respects everything she’s accomplished so far. She took exception to what she just said about the Knockouts Division being broken. Maria said Gail is a wrestler, but nothing more, whereas Maria is a businesswoman who little girls can look up to. She said she can help lead her and make her mainstream. Gail said she doesn’t want her help or need her help. She said the TNA Knockouts are about excellence and being strong, powerful women. She said if she wants to make her contribution, get in the ring and put her boots on. Maria said she is the problem because sheistheleaderbecauseafishrotsfromitshead.“Youstink, champ,”Maria said.Gail challenged her to fixthe problem. Maria said, “People like you don’t tell me what to do. People like you work for people like me.” Gail turned it up and grabbed her wrist and said, “People like you don’t know who you are talking to.” Maria cowered in the corner as Kim challenged her to go right now. When Gail dropped the mic, Maria bailed out to ringside. (WK Reax: Another good segment with each wrestler playing her part well. Maria was arrogant, and Kim stood up for herself. I loved Kim’s response to Maria’s comments that people like Kim work for people like her.) -Backstage Beer Money and the Wolves chatted. They agreed that they share common enemies so they’re now friends. Davey Richards said eventually they’ll cross paths. Storm said they’re not in TNA to prove their legacy, they’re there to reenforce it. He held up the briefcase. Richards said anytime they want to put their legacy up against their titles, be their guests. Roode interrupted and said they need to take care of business together tonight and they can worry about other stuff another day. They shook on it. They debated aboutbeerandafishfry. (WK Reax: Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards carry themselves with more confidence in the ring than backstage talking segments, but here they played well off of Beer Money’s well-established personalities and it brought out more personality in them as a result.) -Josh hyped the eight-man tag match. [c] -They showed EC3 looking out a window as he readied for his interview later in the show.

(WK Reax: It a small details, but I loved when Matt Hard snapped, “Don’t you dare say that” when Angle suggested he has been degrading the TNA Title. Everyone at home is nodding along with Angle, but Hardy is showing how in denial he is that his reign hardly began with honor nor has it continued with honor. You want the heel to be in denial that they’ve done anything wrong, or at least the type of heel that Hardy is.) Matt said it all makes sense now. He called him “Kurtis” and accused him of politicking his way to a title match. He said he was enjoying the Kurt Angle Farewell, but if he keeps pushing his buttons, he’ll end it prematurely. Angle said he knows they might be outnumbering him right now, but he will kick everyone one of their asses whenever he chooses to. Matt invited himtotry,sincetherearefiveofthemandoneofhim. Out came Beer Money to help even the sides. Roode said their math is a little off. He told Matt to “stick that Matt Hardy Brand up your ass.” He said the battle lines have been drawn and tonight there’s going tobeafight.Stormsaid in theirbusiness, they’reallabout making money and drinking beer. He said now they’re in kick ass mode. Young and Bram met Roode and Storm for a brawl at ringside. Crazy Steve and AbysswalkedouttojointhefightasAnglehadMattinan ankle lock in the ring. The Wolves came out to offset Steve & Abyss. Roode said tonight Angle will become World Champion, but there will also be a “four-on-four hardcorefight.” (WK Reax: Good segment start to finish that set the table for the rest of the show effectively and trotted out a lot of TNA’s current core star power.) [c] -A commercial aired for a One Night Only PPV titled “Rivals” premiering Feb. 5. -A clip aired of Feast or Fired from last week. -The roving reporter asked Drew McIntyre about the results of the Feast or Fired gimmick. He said the risk paid off and now he controls his own destiny. He was interrupted by Tyrus, who advised him to put his briefcase down and walk away because it’s not an opportunity, it’s a target on his chest. Drew told Tyrus that last he remembered he was the no. 1 contender, but instead of showing he had the heart and desire to win, he seems happy being everybody’s big bitch. Tyrus laughed and said, “Remember, you asked for this. Remember this.” (1) BOBBY LASHLEY vs. AIDEN O’SHEA Josh called Lashley during his ring entrance an MMA Specialist. He said there’s no weak link in his arsenal. In the opening minute, Raquel walked out and sat at ringside. Josh talked about her making a move on Lashley last month. Aiden went for a sleeper at 2:00. Lashley escaped and hit Aiden with clotheslines and then a shoulder charge in the corner. He gave Aiden a delayed vertical suplex, then the spear for the win. WINNER: Lashley in 3:00. -They showed Raquel admiring him from ringside and then entering the ring. She told Lashley that she told him she would see him again. She rubbed his shoulder and neck. She said the message remains the same. “I can bring you pain or I can bring you pleasure,” she said. Lashley seemed to blush a bit before Raquel walked out of the ring alone. (WK Reax: Good opportunity for Lashley to win a squash match and show off his signature spots, but also further the hints that he might turn to the dark side by succumbing to Raquel’s apparent come-ons.)

KELLER’S IMPACT TV REPORT


-Josh hyped Angle vs. Matt Hardy. (2) THE WOLVES & BEER MONEY vs. CRAZY STEVE & ABYSS & ERIC YOUNG & BRAM – Hardcore War Josh explained that in a Hardcore War, everyone gets to bring a weapon of their choice. Davey Richards cameoutfirstwithachair, followedbyCrazyStevewith an adorned baseball bat. They brawled as the bell rang.Theyfinallygotaroundtoexplainingthateverytwo minutes someone new joins the match. Josh said he’s been in his share of matches like this. Josh said he’s never faced someone like Crazy Steve. Steve got ahold of Davey’s chair, but Davey swung the bat at the chair and knocked Steve down. The next to enter was Bram. Bram fended off Davey’s initial attack and took it to Davey at ringside. Bram whipped Steve into Davey at ringside. Storm came out fourth to even the odds and he put a trash can in Bram’s lap at ringside, then bashed the can with a chair. Fans chanted “One more time!” Storm obliged. Young came out with a kendo stick. They cut to a break. [c] Back from the break, Eddie Edwards was in the match. Richards kicked a chair into Steve as Edwards helditup.BramyankedDaveytothefloorandthrewhim into the ringpost. Young, meanwhile, bashed Storm into the steps. Bram put a chair around Davey’s head and threw him into the ringpost. Then came Abyss with the mystery lady by his side. He brought Janice, the two-by-four with hundreds of nails sticking out of it. He swung it at Storm but Storm ducked and Janice hit the ringpost. Steve took it to Edwards’s back with a cane. In the ring Abyss gave Richards a chokeslam. When Edwards charged, Abyss took him down with a series of blows. Finally Roode came out to make it four-on-four. Roode brought a hockey stick with him. Pope said it’s because he’s from Canada. Roode jabbed Young with the butt end of the stick and then gave him a spinebuster. Richards hit Abyss across the back and then Edwards double-stomped Abyss off the top rope.BramknockedRichardsdownwithaflyingspinkick. Steve bit Storm’s forehead. Roode intervened to block a suplex. Young and Bram joined in. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” [HOUR TWO] The four babyfaces suplexed three heels, excluding Abyss, in a cool spot. Afterwards, Beer Money got the Wolves to do their dance routine. That routine let the heels recover and Abyss dropped them. He gave Richards a Black Hole Slam. Storm and Roode fought Young and Bram up the ramp toward the stage. Back in the ring, Steve blew mist in Richards’s face and then Abyss hit him with the belt. Steve scored the pin. WINNERS: Bram & Young & Steve & Abyss in 19:00. -Backstage Drew told Angle it was an absolute honor to wrestle him. He said you don’t know how good someone is until you wrestle them. He thanked him for the chance to wrestle him. Angle said Drew is a world class athlete who will help TNA for years to come. (WK Reax: There’s something wrong with that choice of words. Wrestlers shouldn’t be thinking about “helping TNA.” TNA doesn’t exist “to do well” or “thrive.” It exists as a governing body and organizer and promoter of fights to find out who the best wrestler is. That’s the ostensible purpose. TNA still frames themselves too often as WCW and the WWF did during the Monday Night War, as if the larger

narrative was “us vs. them” in terms of one company against another, or perhaps a better example is ECW’s rallying of their fans behind the brand as much as the wrestlers themselves. That narrative doesn’t make any sense in 2016 for TNA. Angle should be framing Drew’s skills as being something that will serve Drew well in experiencing success within TNA, not bringing TNA itself more success. It’s subtle, but actually quite vital to the whole narrative structure making sense.) Drew told Angle that tonight is his night because he has a chance to become the World Champion one more time. Drew said he’s looking to make headlines of his own. He said when Angle wins the title, he’s hoping for a chance to tear down the house one more time in a rematch for the World Title. Angle said he’s got it and he hopes it happens, so make it happen. (WK Reax: Besides the wording of that one phrase, good segment. I like when wrestling companies include, with no ulterior motive or foreshadowing of something ominous, babyfaces acting classy around each other, and speaking highly of the World Championship.) [c] (3) DREW GALLOWAY vs. TYRUS Tyrus punched Drew right before the bell with what Josh called “a cheap shot.” Tyrus methodically dominated Drew for several minutes. Pope said Drew has to watch out for Tyrus’s spike. Drew avoided a corner splash and made a comeback with some chops to the chest at 4:00. He stomped away at Tyrus in the corner, then climbed to the top rope and connected with a flying clothesline.As he went for a Future ShockDDT, Tyrus blocked it and gave Drew a heart punch. Tyrus climbed to the second rope, but Drew got up and powerbombed him to the mat at 5:00. As he signaled forhisfinisher,thelightswentout.Mariastoodonthestage and asked if Drew believes in miracles because his miracle was about to happen. Bennett them surprised Drew with a briefcase shot to the head. WINNER: No contest in 5:00. -Maria celebrated with Bennett in the ring. Bennett leaned over and asked Drew if he now believes in “the Miracle.” He said he thought in the briefcase was an answer to all of his questions and his path to the World Title, but that’s the miracle TNA needs. “I am the Miracle that TNA needs!” he declared. He stomped on Drew’s head while he was face-down on the briefcase. Bennett and Maria’s music played. Josh asked if viewers believe in “The Miracle” Mike Bennett. -Josh plugged Hardy vs. Angle. [c] -The roving reporter asked Angle about his thoughts on his days in TNA. He said it makes him proudtohavegreatfive-starmatchesinTNA.Hesaidhe can’t believe he’s wrestling for the World Title again. As he said it’d be cool to retire as champion, Lashley interrupted. Angle told him he was busy and seemed irritated. Lashley said it’d be great if he won the World Tonight, and then when they wrestle in the UK, he can take the title from him in the same place Angle beat himlastyear.“Howfittingwouldthatbe?”heasked.Lashley acted obnoxious. -After Tigre Uno was introduced, Gregory Shane Helms came out. Josh said Helms told Tigre last week that he had seven days left as X Division Champion. Helms was dressed in street clothes. Josh said Helms has never been X Division Champion. Helms took the mic and said he never said that he planned to beat Tigre, and that’s why he’s not dressed for the occasion. He said his challenger will be someone he hand-picked, coached, trained, and mentored for years. “By the end

of the night, you’ll be calling him champion.” (WK Reax: That’s what I get for not reading spoilers. Last week I was critical of Helms presenting himself as a challenger, but NC indy standout Trevor Lee is a great choice to add to the division as a centerpiece. I’m not sure about Lee walking in and getting a title shot without any backstory to justify or explain it short of Helms just telling Tigre, though.) (4) TIGRE UNO vs. TREVOR LEE – X Division Title match Josh said Trevor isn’t much for socializing and he just wants to get the job done in the ring. Uno tried to fend off Lee’s initial aggressive attack, but Lee continueduntilUnodropkickedhimtothefloor.Leebegan shrieking in a way like Bruiser Brody barked ashepacedaroundtheringsatisfiedwithhisoffense.Tigre took Lee down with a huracanrana at ringside. Tigre hit Lee with a dropkick off the top rope back inside the ring. Lee escaped a jackknife pin attempt. Tigre landed an enzuigiri, but Lee came back with a double stomp mid-air followed by his fisherman’sbuster for the win. WINNER: Lee in 4:00 to capture the X Division Championship. (WK Reax: Lee isn’t the usual X Division wrestler that TNA has brought in over the years who is primarily a small guy who can get pops and “This is awesome!” chants doing highspots and being dazzling. He’s first and foremost a strong memorable personality. His size is just an afterthought, in the sense that he’s an X Division competitor. I’d rather they built this up a little longer so the victory by Lee had more impact, but follow up is everything and if they promote him and this win a big way at the next TV tapings, the quick win can be that statement victory that set the tone for his reign going forward.) -Lee celebrated with Helms inside the ring. Lee held the belt over his head. [c] -They showed EC3 on the phone telling someone he appreciates their support. “This is exactly what I want to do,” he said, with an aura of seriousness. [c] -EC3 addressed the camera directly. He said in today’s culture when something bad happens to somebody, you expect them to go off the rails a little bit. He said for two weeks he’s been reflecting. Hesaid after 2.5 years in TNA, unpinned, unsubmitted, undefeated, he thought the party would never stop. He said he realizes he’s had his last name and that came with advantages and at times he was a “piece of (bleep).” He said it all came to a head when he suffered the worst beating of his life. He said he’s never been unbeatable, despite his claims. He just wanted to win more than anything. He said winning was an addiction. He congratulated Hardy for beating him for the title. He said it took everything he had – his wife, his son, his bodyguard, tables, ladders, and chairs – but each time he got up. He said it’s almost ironic that what kept him down was the thing he loves the most – the TNA World Championship. He said he considered taking time off or calling up the fellas and hopping on a yacht. He said instead he’s hopping on an airplane and going to the UK to be Matt’s shadow. He said he is bringing hell with him. (WK Reax: I really liked that. It was just sound. He admitted to be a piece of sh— and having advantages and privileges. He said he was never unbeatable, but reframed it as being addicted to winning. He explained how Matt cheated to beat him. It was a really strong


KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORTexplanation for his change in attitude and shifting into a babyface you’d want to cheer for.) -Angle’s ring entrance took place first. ThenHardy came out with Reby and Tyrus. Josh said last week Matt was supposed to go one-on-one with his brother Jeff, but it was ruined by thugs and goons, but now Angle has a chance to put Matt in his place. He calledthisMatt’sfirstrealtitledefenseagainstthebestwrestler on the planet, the cyborg, Kurt Angle. (5) MATT HARDY (w/Reby, Tyrus) vs. KURT ANGLE Reby distracted Angle as the bell rang by throwing a jacket at him. The match started 44 minutes into the second hour. Josh said it seems to him that Reby is calling some of the shots. Angle fought back with a couple clotheslines, but then walked into a boot. Angle fired backwith several suplexes. Tyrus stoodon the ring apron, but Angle shoved Hardy into him, knockinghim to thefloor.Anglescoreda twocountafter an Angle Slam. They cut to a break. [c] Back from the break Hardy powered out of an ankle lock attempt. Tyrus clotheslined Angle on the floor. He got in Pope’s face and yelled at him andpushed him around a little. Pope just took it and tried to defuse it. Josh told him he appreciated that he kept his composure. Hardy avoided a second Angle slam and then went for a Twist of Fate. Angle countered with an ankle lock. Hardy rolled out of it and scored a two count. Hardy then gave Angle a side slam for a near fall. Angle avoided a charging Hardy and gave him a second Angle slam. They were both slow to get up. Both stood and exchanged punches. Angle gave Hardy three unreleased German suplexes. When he went for a fourth, Hardy grabbed onto the second rope, but Angle yanked him away and hit the fourthand thenafifthsuplex.Hardygrabbedthe ref to avoid a sixth. Brian Hebner was distracted by his shirt being pulled over his head as Hardy gave Angle a low blow. Josh said he knows no bounds. Hardy gave Angle a Twist of Fate for a two count, but Angle kicked out. They cut to Reby who looked worried at ringside. Hardy signaled for his Twist of Fate, but Angle countered with three German suplexes. Reby grabbed at Angle’s foot as he climbed to the top rope. Hardy then gave Angle a Twist of Fate off the second rope for the win. As Hardy celebrated, Josh called it disgusting despicable. “That’s a man you want to be proud of? That’s the face of the company?” said Josh. WINNER: Hardy in 14:00 to retain the TNA World Hvt. Title. (WK Reax: Hardy is playing the heel champion really well, using shortcuts when it’s clear he needs them. Josh accentuated the right notes on his commentary, getting back to the fundamentals of putting heat on the heels. It’s so refreshing to not have a heel commentator overpowering the lead announcers and justifying heel tactics and making anyone feel foolish for judging them as wrong.) -A plug aired for the UK-based Impact in Manchester, England next week. They plugged that Angle and Hardy would be there. FINAL THOUGHTS: The streak of good shows continues. It’s not full of world class athleticism, but all around good steady booking and entertaining performances with a stress on titles, wins and losses, proper casting of heels and babyfaces, and a refreshing absenceof“authorityfigures”dominatingshow.###

FEBRUARY 8, 2016SEATTLE, WASH. AT KEY ARENALIVE ON USA NETWORK -They opened the show with a brief video package showing various stages of Daniel Bryan’s WWE career, a view of his Tweet earlier announcing his retirement, and then a “Yes!” chant. -The Raw opening then aired. They cut to pyro inside the arena and the camera panned the crowd. Michael Cole introduced the show and said it’s sure to be an emotional night. Cole noted it’s Bryan’s hometown arena and he’ll be on Raw later tonight. -Lilian Garcia introduced Stephanie McMahon, who stood mid-ring with her smug smile and welcomed fans to Raw. She stood next to a table set up for the contract signing for Fastlane. She was drowned out by a Daniel Bryan chant. JBL said there may be no chance to get anything in over the Bryan chants. Steph said the fans are so confused in Seattle, as usual. She said the winner of Fastlane won’t go on to WrestleMania to face Bryan, but rather her husband Triple H. The crowd shifted into loud boos. Steph said others may have Superman vs. Batman, but only WWE has the Lunatic Fringe vs. The Roman Empire vs. The Beast Incarnate. She was interrupted by Ambrose’s music. Steph said, “You’re early.” Ambrose said he wanted to cut to the chase because he has some unfinished business with the “big overgrown ape,Brock Lesnar, so bring his ass out here right now.” Steph said she knows he’s anxious, but he doesn’t tell her what to do, she tells him what to do. As she went on to emphasize that point, Reigns’s music played. Reigns made his way to the ring. Steph sarcastically said it was wonderful to be interrupted by him. Roman asked what the hold up has been. He said it’s time to sign on the dotted line. He asked Ambrose if he wants to punch Lesnar in the face, “so let’s get to it.” Steph said she’ll get to it when she wants to. She asked Ambrose if it bothers him that Reigns so often barges in and steals his spotlight. She introduced Lesnar. Out came Lesnar with Paul Heyman. Cole excitedly said, “It feels like WrestleMania season, doesn’t it?” As Heyman began to introduce himself, Steph interrupted him and said she already introduced him.Shesaidit’stimetomakethematchofficial.DeansignedfirstandmadefacesatLesnarashedidit.ThenReigns.AndfinallyLesnar.Nobodyreadit.Everyonetrusted Steph, apparently. Steph said her business was now done. Heyman antagonized Ambrose, telling him to ask the Samoan Badass what the difference is between a beatdown by the Authority and an authoritative beatdown at the hands of Buh-rock Lezz-nerrrr! The crowd chanted “Suplex City” and Lesnar pointed at the crowd, shrugged, and smiled. Ambrose walked around the table and went chest to chest with Lesnar. Lesnar shoved Ambrose over the table into Reigns. He threw the table hard at Reigns, then gave Ambrose an F5. “The Beast has struck,” declared Cole. The crowd began chanting “Yes! Yes!” Triple H then joined Stephanie on the stage. He had the World Title over his shoulder. Heyman tried to stop Lesnar from approaching Hunter. Nothing really came of it as they cut to show Reigns checking on Ambrose and then the announcers at ringside who

reacted to the segment. -Cole said they were shocked earlier today when Bryan sent out a Tweet to the world that he is announcing his retirement. He said he would elaborate on Raw. Coach said there’s been an outpouring of support. Brie said: “A new journey waits us and for the rest of our lives we’ll talk about this one. You have given so much hope and inspiration to people all over. We haven’t lost you, just get to see you in a different light.” Sami Zayn noted that without Bryan, many like him in NXT would have never been hired because he broke down barriers. Reigns said you work with the best to learn and it was a pleasure sharing the ring with him. -They showed a clip of some early career moments for Bryan including a match against Chris Jericho on Raw. [c] -Highlights aired of the opening segment with Lesnar attacking Ambrose and Reigns. (1) DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. KEVIN OWENS Owens jump-started the match as Ziggler was talking to the ref. Saxton said Owens hates losing more thanCamNewton,thefirstSuperBowlreferenceofthenight. Owens took time to yell at Cole at ringside. [c] Back from the break, Owens had Ziggler in a mid-ring chinlock. Ziggler eventually rallied, and they fought to ringside. In the end, Owens went for the cannonball, but Ziggler moved and then put his feet on the middle rope to get extra leverage and scored the three count. JBL said: “Dolph cheated! What the hell was that?” Owens threw another fit at ringsideafterward, clearing the announce table. WINNER: Ziggler at 11:03. -A Daniel Bryan video aired from Night of Champions 2010 when Bryan beat Miz for the U.S. Title. [c] -They went backstage where one Uso was painting the face of the other when the Dudleys walked in and mixed them up. The Usos said everyone does it and it’sfine.Devonsaidtablesmatchesaretheirspecialty.Jey said they respect that, but tonight is their match. Bubba suggested they team together against New Day in a tables match, expanding the match to an eight-man tag match. The Usos liked that and suggested they get it approved. It implied that it would be four-on-three, which hardly made the Dudleys and Usos seem brave. (WK Reax: Something seemed to be in the works when there was a tables match announced without the Dudleys, so it makes sense they’d insert the Dudleys into the match. It’s just nice to see the Usos get some mic time.) (2) CHARLOTTE (w/Ric Flair) vs. ALICIA FOX As Charlotte walked out, Cole said Charlotte would face Brie for the Divas Title at Fastlane. Will Daniel Bryan be with Brie, I wonder? The announcers talked about Daniel Bryan at the start of the match. Charlottewonwiththefigure-eight,andColewonderedif Brie would fall prey to that at Fastlane. WINNER: Charlotte at 5:19. -They showed Miz adjusting his fixed teethbackstage as he prepared for Miz TV. [c] -Miz TV: Miz said that Miz TV is supposed to be a place where Superstars can come and feel free to get things off their chests and settle their differences. He said anyone can and should feel awesome when on Miz TV, but that wasn’t the case when he had A.J. Styles


on the show last week. Cole recapped that the “pitbull” Styles had enough and socked Miz in the face last week. Miz said it was disgusting He said he was going to take that “redneck rookie” to the top, just as he did for Daniel Bryan. He thought when Styles punched him, he was on “Swerved” and the butt of a joke. He said he’s an A-lister who main evented WrestleMania and has the most must-see WWE show. He was interrupted by Chris Jericho. [HOUR TWO] Jericho toned down his outfitto being shirtless with a ring jacket and blue jeans. Cole noted that Jericho wrestles Miz on Smackdown on Thursday. He said Miz had done well so far except for not mentioning his name or being the least bit entertaining. When Miz tried to talk, Jericho interrupted. He said Miz was talking and talking, and people were waiting and waiting. He said it’s clear the fans don’t want to see Miz TV, they want to see The Highlight Reel. Suddenly the production team got rid of the Miz TV set and brought in the Highlight Reel set despite Miz’s protests. Highlight Reel: Jericho said Miz would be his guest on the Highlight Reel. Miz frowned as Jericho introduced everyone to Raw is Jericho. Miz insisted he is not Jericho’s guest. “This is not right! None of this is right!” he shouted. Jericho agreed because there was no potted plant. The workers brought in a potted plant. He reintroduced Miz as his guest. He recounted how he lost to Styles and lost teeth. They replayed the spinning backfist that knockedoutMiz’s teeth and spotlightedthe tooth flying out of his mouth.Miz asked if fansrealized how much it cost to repair his teeth. He said two veneeers were knocked out of his mouth, costing him 10,000 dollars each. He said he had a meeting with Steven Spielberg, so it took his team of dentists working around the clock to get him ready or WWE would have lost their matinee idol. Jericho laughed and said he was thinking about the Chipmunks song, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.” Miz raised his hand told people to close their mouths. When Miz asked if fans thought this was funny, they started a loud “Yes!” chant. Miz said what he thinks is funny is that he wasn’t the only one upstaged by Styles. A clip aired of Styles beating Jericho two weeks ago on Raw. JBL called it “unbelievable.”MizsaidStylesmightbeasmallfishinabigpond,butthatfishbeatJerichoinhisdebutmatchon Raw. Jericho seemed to be bothered. Miz said deep down it’s eating him alive. Jericho admitted it is eating him alive. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it for two weeks,” he said. When the crowd began chanting “A.J. Styles,” Jericho said the fans agree. He said while they know Styles is good, is he great; can he beat him twice. Hesaidthey’llfindoutonSmackdownwhenheproveshe is the best at what he does. Styles then came out to his music. Miz jumped Jericho from behind. Styles ran to the ring and made thesave.HewhippedMizintoJericho’sfist.MizandJericho threwMiz to thefloor.Then thingsgot tensebetween Styles and Jericho. They exchanged blows mid-ring.MizyankedJerichotothefloor,butJerichothrew him onto the announce table. Jericho stepped onto the ring apron, but then backed down. Cole said it’s clear that it’s eating up Jericho inside that he lost to Styles on Raw. Cole plugged their match on Smackdown.) (WK Reax: Interesting how much the crowd is

backing Styles over Jericho, even after Jericho took it to Miz in the lead-up. Jericho might genuinely be bothered by that. Good segment with all three contributing well.) -Backstage Ambrose told Reigns that before the night was over, he was going to get Lesnar. -Clips aired of Bryan winning Money in the Bank in2011andthencashinginfivemonthslater.[c] (3) BRAY WYATT vs. RYBACK Before the match during the Wyatt ring entrance, they showed clips of the beatdown they gave Big Show last week on Raw. JBL said it’s a paradox shift with Ryback because he’s used to be the predator, but now he’s the prey. Early in the match he got knocked to ringside where the other three Wyatt Family members stood. He quickly re-entered the ring. He took control, and as he climbed to the top rope, he was distracted by Braun. He jumped to ringside, but was surprised with a running Bray clothesline. They cut to a break. [c] Back from the break, Bray continued to be in control in the ring. Ryback avoided a charge in the corner, leading to a shoulder going into the ringpost. Ryback took control. He set up the Meat Hook, but Bray turned it into a Sister Abigail for the sudden decisive win. WINNER: Bray at 6:%1. -After the match the whole Family stood over Ryback. Bray said Ryback’s heart was still beating, so they needed to eliminate him. Ryback stood up, but the Family took him down leading to a Sister Abgail on the floorasBrayrantedandraved. -Clips aired of Bryan and Kane as the dysfunctional tag team. [c] -The announcers talked more about Bryan’s retirement announcement including the Ultimate Warrior Twitter account noting that Warrior Girls know he’s moving to a new chapter and it’s not the end. -New Day was working on a table for later tonight. BigE.polishedit,Kofimeasuredit,andXaviermadesome calculations. Renee Young then walked in to discuss the tables match becoming an eight-man tag later tonight. Renee asked if New Day has found a tag partner for tonight. Xavier said he was going to teach Renee math because there are only three of them, so they can’t have an eight-man match. Big E. got upset by this line of questioning and said there will be a fourth man soon enough. Then Big E. sent them back to working on the table. They sang as they polished and measured the table. -Reigns approached Ambrose and told him he’s not so sure about his determination to face Lesnar again. Reigns said since he can’t stop him, how about they go get him and show him what Fastlane is all about. Ambrose said he doesn’t need his help. Reigns asked if he’s upset about Smackdown. Ambrose said Reigns faced Lesnar before and he’ll get him again at Fastlane, but tonight he wants to give him hell. -Back from break, WWE ran a promotional spot for Tapout. Cole said it’s coming in April. Social Outcasts’s music then played to bring out Adam Rose flanked by CurtisAxel, Heath Slater, and Bo Dallas.Rose warned Titus about their match, then the under-carders did their under-card routine, including a note about millions of people watching the Super Bowl last night. (4) TITUS O’NEIL vs. ADAM ROSE (w/Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Bo Dallas) Titus dominated early on, having some fun with

Rose. Titus then missed a shoulder tackle into the ringpost, giving Rose an opening. The Seattle fans picked up a “Sea…Hawks” chant as Rose continued to get in offense. Titus then mounted a big comeback until the Outcasts yanked Rose out of the ring to help him out. Titus cleared all of the heels down at ringside with a big clothesline. Back in the ring, Titus took his eyes off the prize and Rose suddenly rolled him up from behind for the win. As soon as the bell sounded, Titus angrily clotheslinedRoseover the top rope to thefloor.Titusyelled down at the Outcasts as they regrouped on the floor. WINNER: Rose at 3:15. -Ambrose called out Lesnar. He said he thought the F5 was supposed to hurt. He told Lesnar maybe Heyman didn’t give him permission. He said he didn’t knowHeymanheldhis balls.Lesnarfinally cameoutandattackedAmbrose,ramminghimback-firstintothering apron. He gave him an F5 in the ring. -A video package aired on John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan at Summerslam 2013. -Back from break, Cole hyped Black History Month. WWE flashed through still-shots of African-American wrestlers such as Big Cat Ernie Ladd, Tony Atlas, Rocky Johnson, Sweet Daddy Siki, JYD, Sonny King, and Ron Simmons posing with the WCW Title. JBL talked up his former tag partner’s historic title win in 1992. -Dean Ambrose walked out and called out Lesnar. He asked if Lesnar really gave him an F2 or an F3, because it couldn’t be an F5 beacuse an F5 is supposed crush him and keep him down. Dean said Brock can’t get the job done. He called him out and told him to try again. No Brock. Cole said he’s crazy. JBL said he’s never heard anyone talk to Brock like this. Ambrose said maybe Suplex City is going soft and if Brock’s gone soft, maybe that’s a personal problem. “What’s thematter,Brock?Can’tgetitupforthebigfight?”Hesaid maybe Paul E. didn’t give him permission. He said Heyman apparently is required to hold his balls. Lesnar’s music played. JBL said he poked the bear. Lesnar and Heyman walked out. Lesnar was smiling. Ambrose jumped at Lesnar at ringside. Lesnar caught him and drove him into the ring apron. He kneed him over and over and whipped him into the security barrier. He threw him into the ring and gave him an F5. [HOUR THREE] Lesnar walked toward the back, but he saw Dean asking for more on the big screen. Lesnar returned to the ring, but then Reigns walked out and Lesnar turned to look at him. Ambrose then gave Lesnar a low blow from behind. Lesnar went down and sold it big-time. Ambrose staggered to the ramp and then collapsed near Reigns, who snickered at what Ambrose did. -Cole plugged the eight-man tag match with a mystery partner for New Day. [c] -They replied the Ambrose-Lesnar angle moments earlier. (5) LUCHA DRAGONS vs. RUSEV & ALBERTO DEL RIO (w/Wade Barrett) In the end, Del Rio hung up Kalisto in the corner and delivered his two-foot stomp to the chest. Del Rio covered Kalisto for the win to get a pin on the U.S. champion before their title match at Fast Lane. WINNERS: Del Rio & Rusev in 6:00. -They showed R-Truth walking around Seattle telling someone on the phone he was looking for the


Jimi Hendrix museum. Goldust came up to him dressed as Hendrix. Truth wasn’t amused. Goldust bashed the guitar in frustration. -Sasha strutted to the ring. -A clip aired of Bryan’s “Occupy Raw” segment. [c] (6) BECKY LYNCH vs. TAMINA (w/Naomi) Sasha was on commentary during the match. Tamina dominated, then called to Banks at ringside. When Banks got up, Naomi jumped her, then threw her into the ringside steps. Becky helped Banks, giving Naomi a suplex at ringside. Tamina then surprised Becky with a superkick for the win. WINNER: Tamina at 3:40. -The New Day talked to someone off-camera and said they have always held him in the highest regard. They said they know he’s a ladies man, but when he puts on a unicorn horn, he’ll think he died and went to a Usher concert. The camera panned over and revealed it was Mark Henry, who accepted the unicorn horn and put it on his forehead. He then played the trombone. Big E said the music is good, but it’s nothing without the moves. Big E gyrated as Xavier played the trombone. Henry joined in the gyrating and then he really got into dancing. [c] -They showed more Tweets and Instagram messages from colleagues, including Nikki Bella, Kevin Owens (“The respect I have for you is unmeasurable. You were good to Generico and I when you didn’t have to be”), and John Cena (“Thank you for doing what most only talk about. Challenging everything. Authority,conformity,perception.Definingvalor”). -Cole plugged the eight-man tag team tables match was up next. Saxton plugged a rematch between Jericho and Styles on Smackdown this Thursday night. [c] (7) THE NEW DAY & MARK HENRY vs. THE DUDLEYS & THE USOS Usos and Dudleys knocked New Day out of the ring early, then beat down Henry at ringside. The Usos dove onto the heels at ringside and they cut to a break. [c] New Day surrounded Henry and yelled what he should be doing to Bubba. Henry had enough and said they should do it themselves because nobody tells him what to do. Henry walked away, leaving New Day to fend for themselves. The Dudleys and Usos went to work. It didn’t take long for the Usos and Dudleys to do stereo “What’s Up” diving headbutts to the crotches of two New Day members. Then Bubba led the crowd in yelling, “Get the tables!” A “tables” chant continued. Kofi kicked Devon as he fetched a table. The Usosdouble-superkicked Big E. The Usos gave a double kicktoKofinext.ThenXavier.ThatgavetheUsostimeto set up a table in the corner. Jey climbed to the top, but Big E knocked him off the top rope. The Dudleys, though, knocked Big E down and then gave him a 3D through a table to win. WINNERS: Dudleys & Uso at 7:30. -Afterward Jey was selling a left leg injury. Jimmy tended to him. Devon helped him up and they all celebrated. However, Bubba and Devon then attacked the Usos, turning heel. The set up a table mid-ring and put Jimmy through it. Saxton said he didn’t understand what was happening. The crowd chanted “One more time.” Bubba yelled that he was upset they were going to have a tables match without them. An “E-C-Dub”

chant broke out. The Dudleys then put Jey through a table in the corner. Bubba asked, “Do you know who we are? We are the best tag team on the planet!” -They went to the announcers at ringside. Cole said coming up next Bryan would be out to announce his retirement. -A longer video aired on Bryan’s career. They cut to the crowd chanting “Yes!” afterward. JBL said this is going to be emotional. [c] [OVERRUN] -They showed screen shots of various websites announcing Bryan’s retirement message. ABC News, LA Times, Uproxx, E!, Rolling Stone, Fox Sports, Zap2It, and Sports Illustrated. -Bryan came out to his music and led the crowd in a “Yes!” chant. He got a haircut. He still had a beard, but more trimmed, and his hair was cut relatively short. There was a sign in the crowd that said, “Let him wrestle.” They showed the announcers standing and applauding. Bryan stood center ring and closed his eyes and soaked it up. He smiled and even laughed a little. A loud “Daniel Bryan!” chant broke out. This went on a while. He said that just now he was able to close his eyes and “feel that.” He went on: “Literally feel it in a way I’ve never gotten to feel it before because when we’re here we always have to keep our eyes open, but just that experience, I’m literally never going to forget it.” They showed a woman in the crowd absolutely bawling. He said he has to address the giant elephant in the room. The crowd chanted “No! No!” He joked that he didn’t want to shave his beard, either. He said the thing is he wanted to cut his hair, and once he cut his hair, he looked silly with a giant beard. He said he cut his hair for an organization called Wigs for Kids. They showed a kid in the crowd crying and being consoled. He said they make wigs for kids who have had cancer and they don’t charge the families at all for that. He said now for some less fun stuff. Another “No!” chant. He said, “Trust me, I don’t want to be doing this any more than you guys want me to be doing this.” He said he has been wrestling since he was 18 years old. He saidwithin thefirstfivemonths,he alreadyhad threeconcussions. He said over the years he had them here and there, and eventually over the course of 16 years, it adds up to a lot. He said it got to a point where they tell you that you cannot wrestle anymore. Some boos. He said for a long time he fought that because he had gotten brain MRIs and neuropsychological evaluations andtheysaidhewasfine.Hetrainedlikehewasgoingto come back and he was ready on a moment’s notice if WWE called “because this I have loved in a way I have never loved anything else.” He began to tear up and quiver. “Thank you, Daniel!” chanted the crowd. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house, by the way. He said a week and a half ago he took a test that said his brain maybe wasn’t as good as he thought it was. He said he has a family to think about. He said he and his wife want to start having kids soon. The crowd applauded. “Yes! Yes!” Bryan said, “That’s what Brie says all the time!” He laughed at his own joke. The crowd shifted to a “Holy sh—-!” chant. That was overtaken by a chant of “That’s what she said!” He said it is with a heavy heart and the utmost sadness that he officiallyannounceshisretirement.Hesaidhehasgonethrough many emotions lately - angry, frustrated, sad - but when he woke up this morning, he felt nothing but gratitude because he has gotten to do what he loves for nearly 16 years.

He listed things he loves. He said nobody else may care outside of this town, but he loves the Seahawks. He said also loves that moment right before his music hits and it makes that weird sound and the crowd reacts every time. He said even if he’s hurting or tired, he gets a weird smirk that brings joy to his heart and he loves it every single time. He said he also loves hitting the ropes and diving right through them to ringside. He stuck his body through the ropes. He said it has made him feel like Superman and the crowd reaction to it made him feel like Superman. He said he has wrestled in the parking lots of gas stations and in front of 70,000+ people in New Orleans. He said he has gotten to meet the most amazing people on the planet, such as someone who looks like a monster but is the smartest man he knows, Kane. And his mentor and friend for over 16 years, William Regal. And children who are stronger than he ever thought anybody could be, like Connor. He said he is grateful because wrestling doesn’t owe anybody anything. “You guys don’t owe us anything,” he said. “We do this because we love to do this. And then it was strange because I did this because I love to do this, and all of a sudden you guys got behind me in a way that I never thought was possible, in a way that fans shouldn’t necessarily get behind a guy who is five-foot-eight and a 190pounds.He said theymadehim feel like he was more than just him. He said for that he is grateful. He said a little over two years ago in this arena, the fans hijacked Raw. He said they were trying to do a big championship coronation between Randy Orton and John Cena, and they had all the former champions out there, and it was going to be the most important match in WWE history, but the fans just kept chanting “Daniel Bryan.” That started the chant again. He said his dad was sitting right over there where the guy with the goat mask and the Daniel Bryan sign is standing right now. He said his dad got to see his son getting that kind of reaction. He started to cry. He said that was the last time his dad ever got to see him wrestle, “and you guy made it special for him and for me and my entire family.” He said he is grateful that because of wrestling he got to meet the most wonderful woman in the world. He said she is beautiful and smart and completes him in a way he didn’t even think was possible. He said he is grateful that he gets to come out there in front of his hometown fans and announce his retirement in front of a bunch of people who love him. He said that special moment he had with his dad, he gets to share with his mom. He pointed to the crowd. He said that now includes his sister and friends and fans and his wife in the back and “all these wonderful human beings that I have spent the last 15 years of my life with.” He looked at the camera and said, “I am grateful.” He said tomorrow morning he starts a new life, a life when he is no longer a wrestler. He said that is tomorrow, not tonight. He said he has one more night to feel this energy and crowd, so he asked for one last “Yes!” chant. He threw his arms up over and over as the crowd chanted. Brie came out to celebrate with him. They kissed and the crowd cheered. He then he went to ringside and hugged his mom. Cole said the celebration would continue on WWE Network. The “Yes!” chant continued as Bryan led the crowd at ringside. ###


airing at the same time, and in trying to watch both atthesametime,Itendtofindmyeyeswanderingmore and more to Lucha Underground. Not-Quite-Hot Take: Matt Hardy may be the top heel in the business right now. Yes, THAT Matt Hardy; The Matt Hardy whose WWE heel turn against his brother was an unmitigated disaster. Turns out, it can be done. The storyline has unfolded perfectly, with not only Hardy turning heel, but Ethan Carter III turning babyface in a move that was a big risk, given how good of a heel Carter had become. Hardy’s promo work the past few weeks has been exemplary, as has his brushing off of his babyface brother, Jeff. The way he coolly, calculatedly took Jeff out of the picture prior to his TNA Title match with Carter was incredibly well-done. Adding his wife and young son to his entourage, you would think, would make him a candidate to be one of the biggest good guys on the roster.ThewayTNAflippedthatscriptwasgreat. In the end, it was his wife, Reby Sky, who it appears directed the heel turn by her husband. It also gives Matt a built-in storyline for an eventual turn back to being a face, that his wife got in his head and was the mechanism behind his turn – that heel Matt wasn’t really who he is. We haven’t seen a lot out of Carter the babyface yet, but if nothing else, this freshens up TNA’s main event scene. With Matt going heel, it’ll give him a new set of opponents to face. Same with Carter;nowababyface,hecanfightsomeofthetopheels once his program with Matt Hardy concludes. ECIII now has an opportunity to work against top heels like Eric Young, Bram, Mike Bennett, and anyone else TNA may sign given their increased talent budget as of late. Heel Hardy could defend against either member of Beer Money or The Wolves, and Lashley. I would be apropos for Kurt Angle to get a shot at Matt Hardy as well, before Angle rides off into the sunset. TNA’s ratings since the move to POP have not been crazy good, but they’ve been acceptable. While it’s probably not all attributable to the Hardy vs. Carter feud, like any main event program, they should get most of the credit. TNA needs a lot more than a good main event feudtogivethecompanyachancetoflourish.Butit’s a start. Hardy vs. Carter is early in its latest incarnation, but it shows a great amount of promise. Just as important as investing in the championship storyline is that while attracting people with Carter vs. Hardy, they should be building up a quality mid-card, full of wrestlers who will be able to take the ball once Hardy vs. Carter runs its course. Not-Quite-Hot Take: Despite Big Show longevity at the top of the card in WWE, his career never reached its full potential. I initially Tweeted this while watching Show get beaten down by the Wyatt Family last week on Raw. Big Show has been a punchline in WWE for a while now, mostly for the number of times he’s turned from heel to babyface and back to heel (most of the time without actually turning), and being a constant, uninspiring opponent for Roman Reigns. How soonwe forget that inBigShow’sfirst

match, he defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship. Nowhere to go but down, right? Still, for a novice, it was quite the placement on the card, especially given WCW’s reliance on older stars, even at that time. At his size, there were even rumors that he could do a moonsault off the top rope in training. The sky seemed to be the limit. At just 27 years old, Show signed with WWE. He had gotten lost in the shuffle in WCW withbigger names coming over from WWE, and the New World Order overshadowing the rest of the roster. It was expected, given his size and Vince McMahon’s history of pushing wrestlers like Show, that he would become a huge star in WWE. In 1999, WWE was still in their hot period as well, with the top of the card stacked with established main eventers he could interact with. Show made a memorable WWE debut, bursting onto the scene by literally bursting through the ring during a Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin match at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, attacking Austin and siding with McMahon’s Corporation stable. His momentous introduction did not portend what was to come in his WWE career While Show has been a four time WWE/World Heavyweight Champion, his infamy is more well-known: Getting sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to lose weight less than two years into his WWE deal; being positioned in storylines where he often cries; using a gimmick usually reserved for lower-card talent where he imitated other famous wrestlers; being paired up with Floyd Mayweather and Akebono on two separate Wrestlemania cards (losing to both); and Eddie Guerrero giving him diarrhea on an episode of Smackdown. Sure, even legacy stars like Steve Austin and The Rock had their gimmicky moments. That’s what puts the “E” in WWE. But Show could’ve been, and perhaps should’ve been, better protected as a special attraction. And Vince McMahon should be familiar with that formula, having watched his father book, and then himself book, Andre the Giant as one. At this stage in his career, Show should’ve had the potential to be a Brock Lesnar-type, a valuable monster world-eater brought in every few months to mingle with the younger talent and to give them some rub. Instead, his appearances have become groan-inducing, and in the latest Royal Rumble match,helastedlessthanfiveminutes. There’s something to be said for carving out a WWE career spanning the better part of a decade-and-a-half. Show has likely made some good money in his career, and his parlayed his WWE work into a few acting gigs as well. But when looking at how he stormedintothebusiness,it’sdifficulttothinkthatthere’smorethanalittleunfulfilledpotentialthere. (Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown every Friday night for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. He hosts the “Moonlighting with Greg Parks” VIP Audio show every weekend. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to [email protected].) ###

Here are a few not-quite-hot takes on professional wrestling items that have crossed my mind lately… Not-Quite-Hot Take: NXT TV has become overrated. Maybe things will change once Austin AriesofficiallydebutsonNXTTV.Ormaybeit’sbecause of the injuries to Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami that the show just doesn’t feel like it used to. But NXT TV is now sometimes the third or fourth best show of the week, behind Lucha Underground, a rejuvenated Smackdown, and a surprisingly-competent Impact on POP TV. Now, NXT Takeover specials have not ceased being awesome during this time. It’s just that the weekly television show hasn’t been as compelling lately. Granted, NXT seems to have slowed the pace down of their shows, building even more to the big shows and not giving away many big matches. Most of the shows have been comprised of squash or enhancement matches. It’s something many fans and analysts, including myself, have called for to occur more often on Raw. These squashes would help avoid the constant 50/50 booking and to allow talent to actually get over so that people want to see them matched up against each other. It would also prevent hot-shot booking and giving away PPV-caliber matches for free each week To a certain extent, these squashes and the old-school way of booking have gotten talent in NXT over. But the top guys on the brand seem to be missing something. Finn Balor doesn’t have a really hot heel opponent to work with, though Samoa Joe is getting there. Apollo Crews hasn’t clicked like some had expected. Baron Corbin is still working his way up, showing more promise lately. Reinforcements should be appearing on the horizon soon. Shinsuke Nakamura makes his debut at the Takeover special slated for Wrestlemania weekend. And it’s assumed that Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows will start in NXT as well soon after their New Japan contracts expire. But Nakamura isn’t expected to spend much time in NXT. The NXT product is still relatively hot, as evidenced by house shows continuing to do well in bigger cities across the United States. The real challenge will be when NXT travels to those cities a second or third time. House shows of that size are not run often enough yet to where they’ll burn out cities any time soon, though ramping up the number of those types of shows could come at almost any time There was a time when NXT TV felt must-see. That feeling hasn’t stayed with me in the last few months. They’re generally good, solid, if forgettable shows. With it and Lucha Underground

Not-Quite-Hot-Takes on

Hardy, NXT TV, Big Show

GREG PARKS


Bryan’s reign as ROH World Champion was special because of the diverse number of opponents he took on. Aside from his rivalry with McGuinness, he also had a memorable feud with Strong that had people questioning whether there was a legitimate beef between the two after their first encounter at“This Means War.” Bryan was a heel with a hard edge during his reign as ROH World Champion, but during this period he spent a lot of time in FIP (ROH’s sister promotion at the time), which was booked by Sapolsky, and eventually began to show a new side of himself as a comedic heel. I was pleasantly surprised to watch this side of Daniel Bryan, as he showed a lot of charisma and wasn’t afraid to make a fool of himself to get an angle over. Bryan spent a couple more years in ROH before something unexpected happened. Bryan was eventually signed by WWE in 2009. It was a signing that I never thought would happen. It wasn’t because I didn’t think he couldn’t be taken seriously as a wrestler on the roster if pushed properly, but instead it was because wrestlers like Bryan weren’t usually recruited and signed by WWE. There were some bumps in the road and Bryan survivedafiringandabriefreturntotheindependentscene in 2010. WWE quickly brought Bryan back to be part of John Cena’s team as they took on Nexus and he got a big response when he was introduced to the crowd unexpectedly at SummerSlam. Vince McMahon never wanted Daniel Bryan to beatopguy.Evenbeforehewasfiredfor“choking”Justin Roberts with a neck tie in 2010, Bryan was positioned as an Indy legend who was out of his league in WWE. WWE cut Bryan’s legs out from under him from the beginning, but Bryan took every opportunity given to him and made the most of it. Bryan was booked in a comedic tag team with Kane at one point and what he did with Kane during some of their ridiculous backstage segments reminded me of the charisma he showed as a comedic heel in FIP. Bryan won over WWE fans despite WWE doing their best to position him poorly. Bryan was positioned as a hot-headed comedic heel in WWE, but eventually he transformed into a lovable babyface and continued to become more and more popular. As a babyface, he cut fantastic promos that made him a lovable underdog and tapped into a side of himself that I hadn’t seen during his time on the Indies. Bryan’s popularity amongst vocal WWE fans was exploding in 2013. He was screwed over after beating John Cena for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013 by Triple H, as he nailed Bryan with a nut shot before Randy Orton ran down and successfully cashed in MITB. The Authority was born and they cut Bryan down as often as possible until they were done with him after HIAC 2013 - or so they thought. As poorly as Bryan was positioned and as often as he had his legs cut out from under him at every opportunity, he had an intangible quality that made him a likable underdog. No matter how badly Vince McMahon positioned him and made him an afterthought to get The Authority over, fans believed

moment to date. At the biggest stage possible in wrestling, Bryan won a title he wasn’t supposed to win. The Superdome in New Orleans was jam-packed with fans doing the “Yes, Yes, Yes” chant with Bryan. None of this was supposed to happen, but Bryan did it. The generic indy wrestler had rose to the top of WWE in spite of all the forces working against him. In an era where fans grow more and more detached from WWE’s product, Bryan was the underdog that made them believe. His personality truly made fans want to see him to succeed. Even when WWE didn’t believe he was the right person to be the centerpiece of his promotion, the fans refused to stop supporting him. I wonder if we will ever see anything that special again, especially in an era where Roman Reigns is being crammed down the throats of resistant WWEfans.C.M.Punkalmostbuckedthesystemfirst,but Daniel Bryan truly broke through and made WWE listen to their fans. Bryan broke through barriers in WWE and, as he rose to the top, WWE over the last several years changed their policies on the type of wrestlers they recruited. Take a look at the WWE and NXT roster today; it’s filledwithwrestlerswhowould have hadalmost no chance of getting signed. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Kalisto, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, and many others who never would have been signed in the past have broken through and become featured acts on WWE’s main roster. Several more talents wait for their chance to move up to the main roster in NXT. Bryan winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania will always be the end of his WWE journey for me. He got injured shortly after winning the title and it was apparent WWE wasn’t going to make him the main featured act on the roster long-term before he was injured. I didn’t want Bryan to come back to WWE after reading his autobiography where he wrote about all of his documented and undocumented concussions. Bryan only knew one speed when wrestling and even when he came back to WWE in 2015, it was clear he hadn’t toned down his in-ring style. Monday night on Raw, Bryan said goodbye to WWE. Shockingly, he talked about the concussions he had suffered on air and talked about how the results of his latest round of brain tests before the Royal Rumble told him he shouldn’t return to wrestling. Every indication before the latest round of testing was that WWE and Bryan were at a stalemate, with WWE doctors refusing to clear Bryan to wrestle even though Bryan’s own doctors had cleared him. I don’t know if this is the end for Bryan in the ring. It’s possible he could wrestle again, but it won’t be in WWE. I hope this is it for him. Bryan has done everything he needs to do inside the ring. He managed to build an undeniable connection with mainstream wrestling fans in spite of his push. Everything about the path of Bryan’s career is what I love about professional wrestling. Even though wrestling match outcomes are pre-determined, as a fan you hope to believe that anything is possible in terms of the journey a wrestler can take who you truly believe in. Daniel Bryan made me care again in an era where it’s truly hard to invest in storylines in WWE. I knew

in Bryan, who grew out his hair and beard and looked every part the antithesis of what WWE likes to push as the face of the company. I watched in amazement as Bryan’s fans hijacked the Royal Rumble 2013 PPV. They booed Rey Mysterio out of the building when he came out as the lastentrantanditwasconfirmedthatBryanwouldn’tbe in the Royal Rumble match after appearing in the opening match against Bray Wyatt. The plan was for WWE Champion Randy Orton to face returning Royal Rumble winner Batista at WrestleMania 30, but the fans weren’t having it. Bryan was originally scheduled to face Sheamus at WM30, but C.M. Punk’s departure from WWE set in motion a change of plans that saw Bryan face Triple H in the opening match of WrestleMania 30 for the right to be inserted into the main event against Orton and Batista for the WWE Championship. Bryan did something that has become rare when it comes to the corporate era of WWE - he made people genuinely care about him. He made people want to see him main event WWE’s biggest show of the year even though fans were supposed to believe he was a wrestler who couldn’t get the job done when it counted most. I look back to 2003 and remember hearing about ROH’s “Main Event Spectacles” having an incredible main event and Daniel Bryan’s rise to the top of WWE seems impossible in hindsight. The main event of that show was a #1 contender match between A.J. Styles and Bryan Danielson. All I heard about was how amazing that match was. The more message board posts I read the more I couldn’t wait to order the VHS tape. My anticipation to see that match was like a kid on Christmas eyeing a box that he believes contains the present he wants the most. I was a huge fan of Styles’s work at the time and had been really impressed with Bryan’s work, but this match blew my mind! “Main Event Spectacles” featured two of the best young talents in the world going all-out in an incredible match. When I watched Bryan rise to the top of ROH during his amazing reign as World Champion from 2005-2006, it was hard to believe he would one day main event WrestleMania. I believed he belonged in WWE and had to withstand a ton of backlash from people saying they thought he was nothing more than another bland and generic indy wrestler who wouldn’t amount to anything more than a top guy in a fed that nobody cared about. Time has proven them wrong. Heck, even in my wildest dreams, I never believed Bryan would main event WrestleMania let alone even be signed by WWE. Bryan made people want to see him succeed once he got to the biggest stage in wrestling to the point that cheered him all the way to the winning the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 30 with the “Yes! movement.” There’s something about the journey wrestlers take the always has fascinated me since I started watching independent wrestling. I was told by so many people when I started watching ROH and writing about it during its early years that the wrestlers I loved to watched were too generic and didn’t have what it took to make it to WWE. Bryan winning the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 30 remains my favorite wrestling

RADICAN continued from cover

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in great wrestlers and great wrestling styles all over the world. They tried to embarrass him by sticking him with former reality TV star The Miz as his on-air wrestling coach. To take advantage of veteran Glen Jacob’s ability to deliver a droll line, he was paired in an odd couple comedic team with Kane. He kept getting over. Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, even the Chairman of the Board Vince McMahon told WWE fans he was a vegan, a virgin, a goat boy, that he didn’t have charisma, that he couldn’t main event, that he couldn’t main event WrestleMania. To WWE’s frustration, Daniel Bryan became the people’s champion, in part because of his excellence in the ring, and in part because the truth was the unassuming artist had a real charisma, an ability to bond with fans everywhere. In doing so, he became a shining light for dedicated, passionate workers all over the world, who saw in Bryan’s example not just a career path, but a way to lead their life. Bryan’s autobiography, “Yes! My Improbable Journey to the WrestleMania Main Event,” is the book of his generation, in the same way Mick Foley’s “Have A Nice Day” set the the tone for his. Now Daniel Bryan, whose WrestleMania moment fired imaginations around the wrestlingworld, has set an example for all the passionate artists who followed in his wake. He’s saved his money (foregoing a TV will do that) and he has the opportunity by retiring to preserve the quality of his life for himself and his family. The truth is the hard, precise style that made Bryan the Best in the World also cost him several concussions before he came to WWE. He’s had concussions since, too. Bryan joins the NFL’s Marshawn Lynch and Calvin Johnson in making the same decision to retire this week, and for most of the same reasons. NFL players have been devastated by cognitive health problems caused at least in part by concussions in the same way professional wrestlers have.

Bryan, who inspired many of today’s wrestlers to pursue their craft, has now inspired them to protect their health and finances. There will be life afterwrestling for Bryan as he continues to lead the way for his generation of wrestlers. (Bruce Mitchell has been a PWTorch columnist since 1990. He hosts the PWTorch Livecast every Friday night at 7 ET with Travis Bryant at www.PWTorchLivecast.com. The weekly two-hour Bruce Mitchell Audio Show with host Wade Keller is a VIP audio staple for years and is part of over a dozen VIP exclusive audio shows that run usually daily or weekly that online members have access to with their VIP password.) ###

WWE’s outcomes were pre-determined and I knew that Bryan likely wasn’t going to get his crowning moment. Heck, WWE pulled the ultimate “Lucy yanking the football away from Linus moment” at SummerSlam 2013, but then were forced to give the fans the moment they wanted for Bryan at WrestleMania 30. That’s what is beautiful about the art of wrestling. It is an ever-changing canvas and even when you think you know what can and can’t happen, sometimes it gives you want you want and that’s why you keep watching. Daniel Bryan made us all believe again. I would love to see him wrestle another 10 years and go all over the world and perform against the new crop of talent that is out there right now, but I hope he stays out of the ring for good. I want him to be healthy and I want to him enjoy time with his wife and family more than I want to see him perform in the ring again. It’s hard to imagine another wrestler having a journey as amazing as Daniel Bryan did during his career from starttofinish. (Sean Radican covers the indy scene for PWTorch Newsletter and hosts the Radican Wrestling Community VIP Audio Show. Email him at [email protected].) ###

Hey, I get it. Shinsuke Nakumura is debuting at the WrestleMania weekend NXT Takeover show. A.J. Styles is already on Raw. Hideo Itami will be back from injury soon enough. Kevin Owens is a Raw regular, too. Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, and even Samoa Joe will be there soon enough. Hell, Dean Ambrose, Neville… Staff11Mitchell_120Can you imagine the match ups, the rub that all this this talent, so much like their role model in their WWE newness, their superlative ability, and their independent experience would get? And then there’s this year’s WrestleMania. What is it missing, well, besides a main event or two? A WrestleMania moment, that’s what. We haven’t had one of those since, well, you know… So, I get the disappointment that Daniel Bryan, thebest,mostinfluentialprofessionalofhisgeneration,stepped up Monday night and retired from the sport he loved.Concussions?Heseemsfinetome.Aren’ttheredoctors who say it’s okay for him to get back in the ring? If WWE doctors (and who trusts them?) won’t let Bryan back in the ring, then what’s stopping him from leaving and going to any of the several good-working independent promotions, jump-starting their businesses while metaphorically tearing their houses down? What’s stopping him is the nature of his WWE contract, that they can freeze the time left from the moment he was injured. Still, Nakamura and A.J. Styles for Daniel Bryan? Seems fair, or at least more fair… So, like I said, I get it. There’s a lot of sports and entertainment left on the table if Daniel Bryan retires. This is an era where NXT wrestling is upstaging the boysonthemainstage,andDanielBryanis thefirst,and greatest, of the NXT wrestlers. It’s a shame he won’t be in the ring to enjoy NXT’s continued rise. The truth is, there are higher stakes involved here than even ones involving great entertainment for fans and money for rich promoters. Before there was Daniel Bryan, there was Bryan Danielson, The Best In the World. Danielson had a lot ofsnug,well-worked,top-flightmatchesinearningthatsobriquet. Danielson was the best of a new generation, one that didn’t necessarily worry about meeting the big muscle, big man WWE standard, or getting the big money that comes with resulting main events. Danielson was an artist, one who pursued his passion all over the world, until the day came when he wanted to see if he had enough left to make some money in the business. He wasn’t what WWE was looking for, really. He didn’t look like a star. He was too short, for one. He didn’t have the outsized personality that has made outsized stars through the history of the industry. He wrestled his match and went back to his room. He didn’t take WWE as his religion, and was well-versed

Bryan sets standard

once again

BRUCE MITCHELL

RADICAN continued from pg. 11

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– for the experiences that families and fans shared together, like doing the “Yes!” chant. “Don’t remember me, but the experiences being at a WWE show,” Bryan said. “I would like people to remember that if you had a good time at a show I was at, remember those experiences with the people that you love.” Asked why he thinks his connection was so strong, whether in the ring or through the “Yes!” chant connecting with fans 8-to-80, Bryan said, “Honestly, I don’t know.” He said it’s one of those things where ideas just popped into his brain, he did them, and the crowd connected. Monday’s Raw jumped 65-135 percent in Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings metrics compared to last week’s Raw. The show also nearly-doubled the post-Royal Rumble episode two weeks ago. Raw drew a unique Twitter audience of 2.926 million, up 65 percent from last week. It was the biggest audience since the post-Summerslam Raw in August 2015 drew 2.958 million. Raw’s total impressions were 21.342 million, up 134 percent from last week. It was the most impressions since the post-WrestleMania 31 Raw in March 2015. The number of unique authors tweeting about Raw was 83,000, up 130 percent from last week. Total tweets were 343,000, up 129 percent from last week. The next day on Twitter, Bryan expressed thanks for the support he received from his fans and colleagues. He wrote: “Just wanted to say THANK YOU. To all of you. The incredible amount of love and support you’ve given me, not just in the last 48

hours, but over my entire career, sends chills thru my body. My life is better because of all of you. Gratitude. Always.” He attached a graphic that said: “Live Simply. Dream Big. Be Grateful. Give Love. Laugh Lots.”

WWE’s website released a post-retirement interview with Bryan, who was joined by Brie Bella to discuss his retirement speech and the end of his WWE in-ring career. Bryan said he was feeling a lot of inner turmoil and sadness throughout Monday when he publicly announced his decision, but he wanted to convey his other emotions of gratitude and thankfulness during his farewell speech. He also just wanted to get through the speech without “completely breaking down” in tears. “This inner turmoil that I’m feeling right now – who knows how long this kind of sadness will last – but I didn’t want the fans to take away the sadness. I wanted them to take away that I’m grateful for everything that’s happened,” Bryan said. “I wanted people to know that I am grateful for all of this. Sometimes you have to put on the mask a little bit. But, legitimately when you think about those things, it makes you smile.” Bryan also noted that he had a good cry with “The Ryback” when he got backstage after the speech. He also noted support from the locker room before his show-closing speech, which was then reflectedonthestageafterRawwentofftheair. Bryan summed up his feelings on retiring by noting that when he typically goes into the ring, he isdoingafictionalperformance,andhewishedthatwas the case this time, too. “You know it’s coming. You know what you’re going out there to say, and

what that means. It’s hard because we say so many thingsouttherethatarefiction.Wedeliverworksoffiction.Andthentogooutthereandsaysomethingthatyouwishwerefictionwasverydifficult,”Bryansaid. “The reason why it hurts so much is because I loved it so much. When you get to do something that you love for 15 years is pretty awesome.” Brie also commented at the end of the interview about watching Bryan’s speech from backstage at the Gorilla position before coming out to the ring for the post-Raw bonus farewell. Jim Ross was among those reacting to the Bryan news. “Although it is a sad day for Bryan and his fans with him not being able to safely wrestle in the future, I’d say that the ‘YES!! Man’ came out of this ordeal a very lucky man,” Ross wrote at jrsbarbq.com. “If my instincts are accurate, we haven’t heard the last of Bryan Danielson. His future contributions to the business that he loves so passionately should be prominent for all to see for years to come,” Ross wrote. Bryan is WWE’s version of Peyton Manning in that the formerWWE Champion can influencean entire team with his attitude and leadership. No company in any form of business can have too many Daniel Bryans on the payroll.” Bryan may have wrestled his last match, but he also may not have. Bryan didn’t explicitly close that door in his speech. WWE wouldn’t let him wrestle, the latest test results confirmed they likely neverwould, but Bryan had expressed he wanted to wrestle even if WWE wouldn’t. Whether the latest test results would eliminate an occasional “comeback” match for another promotion hasn’t been addressed by Bryan. He does seem like a shoe-in for a WWE Hall of Fame induction within a few years. ###

by sean radican, columnist daniel bryan retires · what changed his mind. in fact, just last month...

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