WEBVTT - Smackdown/Rampage/Hiroshi Tanahashi Resigning 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Brian Alvarez and this is today's edition 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:12.920 of the Wrestling Observer Daily podcast on the eight Side Network. Ready, ready, 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:18.640 let's get it all. How's it going, everybody? Brian Alvarez 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:21.560 here on or Wrestling Observer Live. We are here every 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:25.040 day Monday through Friday, noon Pacific, three Eastern Sunday three Pacific, 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:27.960 sixth Eastern Friday. Here in this program. You know that 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:34.120 means we have got a lot of news including SmackDown tonight, 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:39.320 Rampage Tonight, Rampage already taped. We'll give me the the 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:41.320 line up, another results, you can watch the show tonight 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.479 to find out what happens. Smecton of course is live tonight, 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.519 and believe it or not, we actually have some segments 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:49.080 announced for the show, so we'll tell you about that 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:54.000 here Today, w w E injuries, Hiroshitanahashi re signing with 0:00:54.160 --> 0:01:00.240 New Japan, Sunny arrested again, the ratings for DNA might 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:05.720 and more. And of course, yesterday the new edition of 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:11.600 the Wrestling Observer newsletter came out and we have four 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:16.040 actually five, one of them six, I guess one of 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:21.840 them is an act, but four new entrants into the 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:28.240 Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame three of which three acts, 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.760 of which Los Bravos is one of the Los Brasos 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.360 one of the acts. That's three guys. But anyway, the 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:36.959 top three all going into the All of Fame with 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:41.240 more than eighty percent of the vote. Okada going in 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:46.680 with nine two percent of the vote, So there were 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:50.440 eight percent of voters that did not believe Okada is 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.360 a Hall of Famer. I don't want to talk about it, 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:57.200 but we will talk about Okada going in and uh 0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:00.720 and the guy who almost went in with fifty nine 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:04.440 point seven percent of the vote last year, he only 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:08.840 got thirty three. Some very interesting results in the Wrestling 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.160 Observer Hall of Fame voting, so we'll talk about that 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.160 here on the show today and so much more. If 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.080 you want Texas, zero seven five six six is the 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:18.560 phone number that is four to five seven eight zero 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.920 seven five six six. Brian at Wrestling Observer dot com 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.200 at Brian Albert is on Twitter back in a moment 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:54.160 to kick it off Observer Live back in the show. 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:58.280 Bright Albert is here Wrestling Observer Live mix umber Baby, 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:02.960 also of Wrestling Observer of her dot com, the Wrestling 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:08.520 Observer newsletter, Hall of Fame edition is out, thank God, 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:14.000 on the front page of the Wrestling Observer newsletter website 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:17.679 Wrestling Observer dot com atfortably online dot com. Subscribers canna 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:20.399 read the whole thing. A bunch of great bios in there, 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:24.160 a lot of great stories and all you can see 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:27.120 how everybody who was on the ballot for the Observer 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:33.000 Hall of Fame did. And uh spoiler here Hall of 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:40.000 Fame balloting results. The four acts going into the Wrestling 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:48.120 Observer Hall of Fame in two Catuchico Kata nine two 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:54.200 per cent of the vote. Los Brazos went in with 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:58.360 eighty six percent of the vote, having only gotten fifty 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:03.200 three percent of the vote last year. Jim Crockett Jr. 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.520 Went in eighty two percent of the vote after only 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:12.360 getting thirty six percent of the vote last year. Don 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:17.920 Owen going in of the vote after getting of the 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:22.040 vote last year. But the jumps for Jim Crockett Jr. 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:28.120 And Los Brasos, particularly Jim Crockett Jr. I mean, bro, 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:38.440 what happened this year? What happened? And look it's eighty 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:42.800 two That's what I'm saying. A forty six percent jump. 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:46.880 And look at the jump that Los Brasos has and 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:51.080 you hate to put it this way, but it is 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:55.719 put this way mostly the death bump and Jim Crockett Jr. 0:04:56.400 --> 0:05:01.400 Passed away, uh Los Brasos to Plata, super Porky passed 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:05.159 away last year. When that happens a lot of times, 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:08.520 a lot of like it shed on somebody's career and 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:12.839 especially the positives of one's career, and people tend to 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.120 look at other people in a different way. I think 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:17.359 a great example of this, to me, at least, my 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.640 personal example of this is always Eddie Guerrero in that 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.640 I always kind of pointed Chris ben Wait always surprised 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.000 me not that ben Wah was in before Eddie Guerrero, 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:30.760 but that Eddie Guerrero's point total and that his vote 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:34.520 total was so low. That's what always surprised me. He 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.320 ultimately did get in after he had passed away and 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:42.279 people had their warm, fuzzy memories. Obviously that tends to 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.520 take place. We see a great jump. But also I 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:48.560 think pushed some of these numbers was the fact that 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:50.800 there were going to be some people that were going 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:54.360 to fall off the ballot. Ole Anderson Sergeant Slaughter, they 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:56.360 were two of the people and we saw a big 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:59.279 bump up in Sergeant Slaughter as well too. It's only 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:01.240 five in, but when you look at some of his 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.440 numbers over the last several years, you can see where 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.239 he did get a significant bump. But when it comes 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:10.559 to a lot of hall of fames, including the Wrestling 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.599 Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, especially when it comes to 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:15.919 the Baseball Hall of Fame here in America, it always 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:18.839 drives to me nuts when there is somebody that is 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:22.600 such an obvious no brainer and you still have people 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.440 as members of the voting community that just refused to 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:30.800 put somebody in for whatever reason. And Kazuchka Okada was 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:34.440 a no brainer. Kenta Kobashi the year he went in 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.600 was a absolute no brainer. And no one will probably 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:42.560 ever touch Kobashi's vote total at this point with the 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:46.320 what was it, Brian ninety six percent? What what? What 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:50.200 was he voted in? With a you're talking about Kobashi here. 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:55.640 Kobashi was ninety eight, lire was Okada was ninety two. 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.680 I'm still trying to figure out who would not vote 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.920 for Kazucho Okada. What is the excuse because he's still active, 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.320 because he's too young? I think that's absolute craziness by 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:07.360 the letter of what you're supposed to be voting on 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:11.080 Kazuhiko Okata like all of those other men, no no brainer, 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:13.480 Hall of famers, I mean, even the Rock. In some ways, 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.400 because of two thousand and seven, you could even almost 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:20.560 argue against him, possibly in some way a lot easier 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:23.120 to me than you could could go against kazooch Ocata. 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.360 And I think that's insanity in itself. But listen, we 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:28.200 don't know, we don't know who all the voters are. 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.520 But I do know that when Dave kind of sort 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.480 of revealed that Okada was going in on accident observer radio, 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.360 I mean he did say that he did not get 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:41.840 of the vote, and he had heard from a few 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:44.680 people that didn't vote for Ocata, and I believe his 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:49.000 exact words were, there wasn't one good reason. I couldn't 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.320 see it myself. I can't see it myself. Can you 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:55.200 can you come up with I've been watching wrestling for 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.400 a long time. I've watched wrestling from all over the world. 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:02.480 I haven't obvious Slee seen everything, but I've watched a lot. 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:07.640 And Okada is either he is either the greatest professional 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:11.760 wrestler I have ever seen, or he's He's easily top 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:14.320 five when he had that run a couple of years ago. 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.480 I watched those Okada matches, and I grew up with 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:22.640 Shawn Michael's and Rick Flair, and I've seen Kobashi and 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:27.520 Missawa and Omega. Name anyone you want in this huge 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:32.000 name Tanahashi, like I've seen all of them. Okay. I 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:36.560 never saw somebody who was as good as Okada. Okay, fine, 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.960 So maybe you say, well, he's not the best, you know, 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:42.160 I think Rick Flair's the best or whatever. Okay, fine, 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:46.800 he's not a Hall of Famer, bro it's crazy. Of 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.520 course he's a Hall of Famer. So he's in and 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:53.480 Los Braslos Jim Crockett Jr. Don owen all in. Uh, 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:58.200 Poor Mystico, poor a charistico. Listen, here's the thing with Mystico. Everybody. 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:02.679 If you're looking at the Hall of Fame and you 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:07.640 know Mystico, yes, he went to w W E and 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:12.520 it was an abject, horrific failure. Okay, but you guys, 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:16.480 some of you don't understand how big Mystico was before 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:20.520 he went to w W E. Find the Last Lucador 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.240 that one wrestler of the year. Oh you never will, 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.520 because he's the only one ever who did. He was 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:33.000 a massive draw, a mainstream name in Mexico. Now, obviously 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:34.720 a lot of people only remember he went to w 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.520 w E and he didn't do well and he wasn't 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:39.960 very good, and he sucked and he just was gone. 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:43.360 But he went to w w E. They don't know 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.440 what to do with anybody. So anyway, the point is 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:48.520 he got fifty nine point seven percent of the vote 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:52.560 this year after getting thirty three percent last year, and 0:09:52.640 --> 0:10:00.520 so essentially one person didn't vote for Mystico and he 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:06.080 did not make it into the Hall of Fame. Hey, look, 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:09.960 everyone everyville counts, bros. It's while we're going into what 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:14.400 seventeen eighteen years now since Mystico was at his peak. 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.040 But I mean, and I know, look, there are some 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.199 people listening to us right now. They weren't even born 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.120 yet when Mystica was at his peak. But it was 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:26.520 appointment television, any of the CMLL shows, especially what was 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:28.600 the next of a couple of days later out Channel 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.680 fifty two where where it would come on, And I 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:35.200 mean it was appointment television, Friday night appointment television because 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:38.600 of Mystico. That's he was that big, He was that good, 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:40.480 he was that big of a star. I mean, it 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:44.000 was amazing how big Mystico wasn't how much he crossed over. 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.079 So I don't know if he ever makes it in 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:51.320 I think he ultimately he will. But that damage of 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:53.800 going to w w E, I mean that absolutely hurt him. 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:55.880 It hurt him big time. Now also to back to 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:58.680 Jim Crockett Jr. The you know, the big boost that 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:01.000 he got. Granted I am a little bit biased, you 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.840 know with the mid Atlantic stuff, but to me, he 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.160 was always unnaturally low. To be frank with you. I mean, 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.000 Jim Crockett Jr. And his father, you could argue you 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.240 could have went in in the initial class. Obviously they didn't, 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:15.240 but I think both of them, being in the cadillac 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.959 of wrestling territories, what he was able to oversee. At 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.600 the end of the day, everybody died, every promoter died 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:25.160 at the hands of Vince mcmahn, every single last one 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.920 of them, every booker as we see now with Vince McMahon, 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:29.480 who at the end of the day, no matter what 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.079 he wants to call himself, that's how everybody who was 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:34.760 ever involved in wrestling. Look at him, he's the final say, 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.600 he's the booker. You see what he's turning into right now. 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.360 What a mess with an embarrassment that is with his 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:43.880 vision right now. Frankly, so, I think sometimes we hold 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:46.480 that against some of these older promoters, like like Jim 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:50.080 Crockett Jr. Who had the Cadillac of wrestling territories. Literally 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:53.040 he was the best wrestling territory and his biggest cities 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:57.480 were Charlotte, Greensboro, Norfolk, and Roanoke, for heaven's sake. So 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.080 you know, I always thought he was way low. But 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:01.920 you know what, bottom line, at the end of the day, 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.680 he's in. And I think there are some people that 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.280 may never get in that deserve to be in, but 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:11.599 everybody that is in absolutely deserves her place. So congratulations 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:38.800 with everybody back in the moment, Observer Live, Back in 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.959 the show. Bran elbur is here Wrestling Observer Alive and 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:45.680 Mike's umber Viv also Wrestling Observer dot Com. Hey, listen, 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:47.560 we have a guy here who's all up in. Uh. 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.400 He's all up in old Uh. Mr COO's grill about 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:54.040 botching spots. Yeah, and listen he did batch a lot 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:59.480 of spots, you know what, before he lost his mind 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.960 and murdered his family. I was friends with Crispin Wa 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:06.400 for many years in the early two thousands, and he 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:10.319 had gone to Mexico, and he had gone to Japan, 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:12.959 and he had gone to He had wrestled all over 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:17.800 America and North America, and one day I said, how, like, 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:20.640 how are you able to like work all of these 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:24.920 different styles like lucca and and everything. And you know 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:27.320 what he told me, He goes, I didn't do any Lucca. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.360 I just went to Mexico and I just wrestled basically 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:32.640 all the lucadors did Luca around him, and he just 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:34.439 wrestled like Chris Ben while he wasn't in there trying 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.720 to do like whatever. So the point of this story 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:43.800 is Mystico is his massive, massive, massive superstar in Mexico. 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:49.880 W w E wants a new Ray Mysterio. So instead 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:56.040 of taking the guy Mystico and bringing him to w 0:13:56.040 --> 0:14:02.080 W E is Mystico and having him work Mystico matches 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:06.200 with like other people that can do Lucca, they took 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.320 the guy. They changed his name. They wanted him to 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:12.760 work American style versus Americans with a little bit of 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.520 high flying in there. Well, of course it didn't work. 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:21.320 That's the point. Now, granted, Mystico had some issues of 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.920 his own. He uh, he didn't want to learn any English, 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:28.440 he had some behavioral issues. But the point of this 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.720 is if you would have taken Ric Flair in his 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.160 absolute prime, when he was the best wrestler in the world, 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.960 arguably mid eighties and uh, and he got signed by 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:43.280 CMLL and they brought in Rick Flair and they said, Okay, 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:45.640 we're gonna first off, we're gonna change your name. You're 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:51.560 gonna be uh Blanco whatever, and uh, you're you can't 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.720 work the Ric Flair style. We want you to uh 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:58.040 you know, do headlocks on the other side and uh 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.680 flips and rolls, and let me tell you about Rick Flair. 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.440 Guy don't roll very well. So and then they go 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:05.280 in there, they want me to work Luca style with 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:07.920 a different name, and it toldly doesn't work. He doesn't 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.080 get over. I mean, are you gonna go, oh that 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:14.040 Rick Flair? He actually sucked. No. And you know what, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:15.720 no one in the right mind would have done that 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.880 with Rick Flair. There's exactly one company who would want 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:22.520 to take the biggest superstar in Mexico, bring him in, 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.720 change everything about him, and then not figure out why 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.720 the guy didn't get over. So anyway, I don't want 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:31.040 to hear it. Obviously the guy had a lot of problems. 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.640 He wasn't perfect, but man, that guy got screwed in 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:38.000 w w E. You know, I remember there being a 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:41.000 time where wrestling was so down in Japan, and wrestling 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.240 was especially so down in New Japan that people were wondering, 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:47.320 would we ever see somebody get elected to the Hall 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:49.840 of Fame, what would the fates of the Eugene Agadas 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:53.280 and the Minorah Suzuki's be. And then we have obviously 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:57.040 seen the ascension of New Japan and the entrances of 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:01.680 Hiroshi Tonahashin Ski Nakamura's well as people like Minora's Suzuki 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.240 and Eugene Nagata. And now when you look at the landscape, 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.720 Roman Reigns is going to be added next year on 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.080 the ballot. Thanky Lynch is going to be on the 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:14.200 ballot for the first time next year. It is going 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.720 to be very interesting now to see where w W 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:21.120 E and where today's stars end up. You know, see 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:23.720 him Punk did not get a large bump. Even though 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:25.960 he doubled his total, he had such a low total 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.000 last year that you know, it's not really up that high. 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:30.800 But when you look at the w w E side, 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:36.000 you ask yourself, Man Edge, Randy Orton, Uh, these types 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:38.640 of people, will they ever have really a shot to 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:40.960 get in Well what they do in w w E, Well, 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.800 how they are are handled, you know, and they're booking, 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:45.880 and how they're presented on television. How much will be 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.720 held against them not being able to to evade what 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.360 happens to them at the control of w w will 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:54.440 be interesting to see, you know, how people react to 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.920 them as the years go on. So next year, a 0:16:56.920 --> 0:16:59.160 lot of tag teams are going to be added to 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:00.680 the ballot, and that's going to be interesting for me, 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:02.640 somebody who's a big fan of tag team, somebody who 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.760 was very influenced by tag teams, by the Tolly Blanchards 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.680 and arn Anderson's, by the Steiner's. You know, we're going 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:10.720 to have Ricky Steve Bowton, j Young Blood to cure 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:15.040 Tauwai and Toshiaki Kawada Taae. The one pillar that has 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:18.720 not been voted into the Wresting Observer Newsletter Hall of 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:21.200 Fame as a singles. As a tag team, I mean, 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:25.240 to me is almost undeniable. Antonio Rocca and Argentina Rocca 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:28.400 and Miguel Perez, same way, they're the biggest drawing tag 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:30.320 team in the history of pro wrestling other than the 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.320 Road Warriors. I mean, you know, to me, they're a 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:35.320 no brainers. So it will be very interesting to see 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:38.520 tag teams and how they're looked at as we continue on, 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:41.159 because here's the one thing that seems to be pretty consistent. 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:42.880 Even though we have a lot of great tag teams 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:45.160 now we'd like to talk about, they are still never 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.359 going to be in there and not at the forefront 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:49.320 in the way that I think a lot of people 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:51.280 would like them to be, and I think is as 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.520 much as they could be. So tag teams always getting 0:17:54.520 --> 0:18:00.639 the short end of the stick. Tonight on SmackDown, former 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.720 Shields stablemates Roman Reigns and Seth Walls will take part 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:08.040 in a face to face segment tonight. That's exciting. They're 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:11.919 wrestling at the Royal Rumble. Leta will make her return 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:16.439 to SmackDown tonight. Aliyah and Natty are two of the 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.119 other restaurant who have been confirmed for the Women's Rumble. 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:21.679 They will face off in a singles match tonight. It 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.760 will be Eliah's first singles match on SmackDown since being 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:26.880 called up from n x T, and the first time 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.479 that she has wrestled since she vomited all over herself 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:33.800 after a match in November. She was excited. Sammy Zane 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:41.360 has promised to out jackass Johnny Knoxville. Yeah, I'm sure 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.679 it's a fun segment to film for Sammy So and 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:50.439 that's tonight. Sammy is a new stunt show called Insane. 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:58.480 It's wacky, It's insane, insane. Sure, why not? Announced for 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:02.639 this Rampage Tonight, Jungle Boy in Lucas Source versus Alex 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:07.480 Reynolds and John Silver Trent will face Adam Cole, Layla 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.360 hirsh Red Velvet and Chris stat Lander faced Nyla Rose, 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:14.720 Penelope Ford and the Bunny. Sean Spears faces Andrew Everett 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:20.200 and a look at Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez. That's 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:25.080 tonight on on Rampage much Pan. Zavier Woods currently into 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.000 action due to injury. He was on G four's Attack 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.320 of the Show on Thursday. He says he's out of 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:34.879 action dure just suffering a torn plan taurus, which doesn't 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:38.439 sound good. He is out of action four to six weeks. 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:42.440 The plant tauris is a muscle located underneath the calf. 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:45.120 If he is unable to return to the ring before 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:47.600 the four to six week timetable, he would miss the 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:50.440 Royal Rumble. The injury happened when he was jumping into 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:54.440 the ring to hit a d d T. Because eight 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.639 times out of ten, when you get hurt, it's something dumb, 0:19:57.359 --> 0:19:59.320 you never should have got hurt doing it just happens. 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:01.879 Then the other two times where you're doing something crazy 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:08.679 and you actually get hurt. He says. It was jimming 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:10.159 to the ring to do a d d T. I 0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:12.399 spring off the bottom rope and grab the guy and 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.359 then run his head into the ground, hopefully shattering all 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:17.639 the bones in his body so I can pin him 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:20.120 and win the match and make more money. I didn't 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:23.000 know that a d d T is about shattering every 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:26.080 bone in a man's body, he said. I did that 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:29.000 part still, but in the process just jumping off the ropes, 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.119 So nothing like a shark attack. A steel chair hit, 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:35.040 not a machine gun, not a machete. I just jumped 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:38.720 That's what I said. So what happened was he tried 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:40.680 to do the move where he was gonna break every 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.000 bone in the other guy's body, and he hit the move, 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:46.719 but the only one hurt was his own leg. This 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:51.880 man seems to be uh hyperbole here, but I mean 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:54.040 that should be the move or the goal of any 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:57.280 wrestling move was to shatter and destroy your opponent, right, 0:20:57.560 --> 0:21:00.639 I mean it should be what are we doing? Erope Otherwise, 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:05.200 But of New Japan's top stars has renewed their contract 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:07.960 with the promotion, Tanahashi announced he has signed a new 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:11.240 deal with New Japan. He's a current i w g 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.680 P United States Heavyweight champion, won the title from Kenta 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:17.680 after almost killing the Poor Guy and a nod Q 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:21.440 match at Russell Kingdom sixteen Night Too earlier this month, 0:21:21.680 --> 0:21:24.320 Kenta came out with a dislocated left hip, a broken 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:27.840 nose tendant, damage to his finger, severe lacerations to his back, 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:30.320 and had to miss the n j P W versus 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:34.080 Noah show. Teach him to mess with Ace now, teaches 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:38.520 both of them not do those stupid matches at their age. Whatever. 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:42.120 I'm not missing with the Ace at all. I'm trying 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:45.040 to protect the Ace by having him do wrestling matches 0:21:45.359 --> 0:21:49.119 and not stunt shows. Bro, you know what, Mike is 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:51.720 funny if if they would have announced it as a 0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:56.440 result of that hardcore match, Hiroshi Tanahashi had a dislocated 0:21:56.480 --> 0:21:59.160 left hip, a broken nose tendant, damage to his finger, 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:01.920 severe trace to his back and we have to miss 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:05.440 night three of Wrestle Kingdom sixteen. You would be railing 0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:09.800 on that man because it's Kenta, who's not as big 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:13.560 a deal as the Ace. Everything's all right, Oh, it's 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:18.439 only Kenta. Don't mess with the aces hardcore match. What 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:20.359 if he was doing a high fly flow and just 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:22.199 on a basic move and you know, blow out his 0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:24.720 knee or something like that, like well, you know what, 0:22:24.920 --> 0:22:27.560 like Jake Atlas is somebody like that, right, I guess 0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:30.000 he didn't have to match. I get it that you 0:22:30.040 --> 0:22:32.639 didn't like the match, and I was not a huge 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:34.000 fan of the match. I wouldn't have went in that 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:37.919 direction either. But like this whole arguing about, well, this 0:22:37.960 --> 0:22:41.280 whole hand was I need to be proven correct, you 0:22:41.320 --> 0:22:42.960 need to be yelled at, and you need some sort 0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:47.520 of verification and some sort of like you know, uh, 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:52.520 you know whatever. No, I mean, because all you're doing 0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:55.639 is you're making a mountain out of mole hill and 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:59.840 handwringing over the fact that this was so horrible and 0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:03.040 I'm so sad for these people and all this stuff. 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:05.240 It's like, Okay, cool, you didn't like the match, but 0:23:05.359 --> 0:23:08.800 like you've you've beaten this to death on how tragic 0:23:08.840 --> 0:23:11.120 and how ridiculous and all this other stuff, like they've 0:23:11.200 --> 0:23:13.840 killed their careers and it's just it's really way over 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:19.919 the Okay, hold on a second, Hold on second. I 0:23:19.960 --> 0:23:22.439 just want to read this one more time. Okay, A 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:26.639 guy got a dislocated hip, a broken nose, tending damage 0:23:26.680 --> 0:23:29.760 to his finger, and severe laceration to his back, and 0:23:29.800 --> 0:23:32.000 you're telling me I'm making a mountain out of a 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:36.639 mole hill. No, I think you're beating something to death 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:39.600 and you're taking this and you've really I mean, you've 0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:41.600 obviously you want I know, it's one of those things 0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:43.600 you want to you know, a hill you want to 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:45.399 die on and what you want to plant your flag on. 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:47.560 And that's fine. It's just I don't know. I think 0:23:47.560 --> 0:23:51.439 it's silly to me. So I'm gonna get Kenta on 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:55.200 this show. I'm gonna rattle off a list of his injuries, 0:23:55.359 --> 0:23:58.520 and I want you to say it's silly. Can know? 0:23:58.640 --> 0:24:01.640 I think you're so silly these man, I think you're Yeah, 0:24:01.800 --> 0:24:05.360 I think your crusade here has been silly. So I'm 0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:07.719 gonna punish you for this. You know how. I'm opening 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:10.680