Search Results: "vader"

NEWS

Antonio Inoki Passes Away At Age 79

October 1, 2022

We have some sad news to report as WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend Antonio Inoki has passed away at age 79. From WWE.com: One of the key figures in the history of Japanese wrestling, Antonio Inoki was among the most respected men in sports entertainment and a bona fide legend in his homeland. Born in Yokohama, Japan in 1943, Inoki grew into a natural in-ring competitor. The incredible squared circle figure found his greatest success in New Japan Pro Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972. Over the course of the next two decades, Inoki built NJPW into the most successful wrestling company in Asia. Utilizing talented Japanese competitors like Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu, innovative high-flyers like Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid, and American Superstars like Bob Backlund and Vader, the young promoter created a product that was unique, influential, and far ahead of its time. In addition to running the company, Inoki himself was one of the top stars in NJPW, carrying the cha..

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International Team Makes Surprise Debut On AEW Dynamite, Lays Out Champions

May 26, 2022

Meet your invaders. One of the most interesting parts of AEW has been the amount of international promotions that have worked with the company. AEW has brought in several wrestlers from around the world and it can offer more than a few cool moments. That was the case again this week, as two international stars appeared for a preview of something coming next month. This week on AEW Dynamite, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Great O’Khan and Jeff Cobb interfered in a match between FTR and Roppongi Vice for FTR’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. Following the match, O’Khan and Cobb attacked both teams and held up the title belts. This comes just over a month before the New Japan/AEW co-promoted Forbidden Door event, though no matches have been announced. The interference marked O’Khan’s AEW debut and Cobb’s first appearance in AEW since February 2020. Opinion: This is the kind of story that can get my interest, as Cobb and O’Khan are part of the United Empire in New Japan and not just two people..

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WrestleMania 38 Night One Preview, Predictions And Thoughts

April 2, 2022

In the words of new WWE Hall of Famer Vader, it’s time. It is time for Wrestlemania XXXVIII and that means the card has finally (and I do mean finally) been set. We now know what to expect on each night and the card is…well it certainly exists. There are some interesting matches on both nights, though I’m not sure what to expect from the show. That can make it fun though so let’s get to it. Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. Rick Boogs/Shinsuke Nakamura Since the New Day is busy, the Usos actually need someone else to fight for once. That opens the door for Boogs and Nakamura, who at least seem like a team. How can you not be ready for a title match after doing Toyota commercials together? This should be good enough as Nakamura knows how to work well with anyone and Boogs is basically an ox with a guitar. I’ll go with new champions here, on the grounds of “well, someone has to beat the Usos.” They feel like they have held the titles forever, so let the new team get the belts off..

NEWS

Uh…..About That: NIkki Bella Is Looking Forward To Vader’s WWE Hall Of Fame Speech

March 30, 2022

Oh dear. This weekend, WWE will induct the latest class into the company’s Hall of Fame. That is one of the more nights of the year as WWE gets to honor their legends and allows them to speak about their careers. The audience is a who’s who of WWE wrestlers, but there are going to be some generation gaps here and there. It seems that is the case again between two Hall of Famers. In a since deleted video from the Bella Twins YouTube channel, Nikki Bella said she was looking forward to Vader taking the stage and giving his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech. However, Vader passed away in 2018 and is being inducted posthumously. There is no word on who will be accepting the induction on Vader’s behalf. The Bella Twins were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020. Opinion: While I don’t think Bella meant anything malicious by what she said, this doesn’t exactly make for the best visual. At the end of the day, Vader passing away is something that she probably should..

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WWE Announces Surprising New Name For Hall Of Fame Class Of 2022

March 14, 2022

Welcome to the club. There are very few career honors for wrestlers, as the main prizes to be won are eventually lost to someone else. That does not leave many options available for career honors, though the WWE Hall of Fame is one of them. The WWE Hall of Fame has seen quite a few top level inductees and now another name has officially been announced to join its ranks. WWE has announced that Sharmell will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022. Over the course of her career, Sharmell primarily served as Booker T.’s manager and was billed as Queen Sharmell during Booker’s time as King Booker. Sharmell joins the Undertaker and Vader as the three names announced for the class so far, with more likely to be added. The induction ceremony will take place on April 1 after SmackDown. Opinion: Above all else, this makes me miss managers. You can make various criticisms about Sharmell’s career, but she was perfect in her role as King Booker’s manager and did exactly wh..

NEWS

WWE Might Not Show All Of This Year’s Hall Of Fame Inductions

March 9, 2022

There is more to it than that. WrestleMania 38 is less than a month away and that means WWE is probably ready to announce just about everything they have scheduled for the weekend. That makes for some exciting times and announcements, including some things that have nothing to do with WrestleMania itself. However, there are going to be a few things announced that you might not be seeing. This year’s WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be taking place after the April 1 SmackDown. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, some of the inductions into the WWE Hall of Fame will only take place digitally, meaning they will not all appear on the Peacock broadcast. The omissions will be due to WWE wanting Undertaker’s induction to be a huge event and the broadcast only lasting ninety minutes. So far, only Undertaker and Vader have been confirmed for this year’s class, though a third name has been rumored. Opinion: I’m not surprised that this is the case, but it does make the Hall of Fame s..

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WRESTLING RUMORS: Another Former WWE Champion Joining Hall Of Fame

March 8, 2022

It keeps getting bigger. We are rapidly approaching WrestleMania 38 and that means things are starting to get more interesting in WWE. There are a lot of plans that need to be made before we get to the show, but some of those changes have nothing to do with WrestleMania itself. Some other things take place over the course of the weekend and now we might know something else about one of them. According to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast, Sycho Sid will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Sid wrestled for WWE in multiple stints and is a two time WWE Champion, last wrestling for the company in 2012. Should he be inducted, Sid would join Vader and Undertaker, the latter of whom Sid faced for the WWE Title in the main event of WrestleMania 13. Opinion: Sid is another name that might not have had the biggest demand to get in, but once you hear his name added, it makes sense. He has a certain level of charisma to him that makes you want to see what he is going to do ne..

NEWS

WWE Announces New Hall Of Fame Inductee

March 7, 2022

He has earned it. There are very few honors in wrestling that last forever. While titles and championships are the most well known prizes, at some point, a wrestler is going to lose their belt and it will go on to someone else. That does not leave many options for recognition that continues forever, but now one legend is receiving such an honor that is long overdue. WWE has announced that Vader will be posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Vader wrestled for WWE from 1996-1998 and is a former three time WCW World Champion while also winning World Titles internationally. There is no word on who will be inducting Vader into the Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony takes place on April 1 after SmackDown, with the Undertaker being the only other inductee. Opinion: I’m not sure how Vader was never inducted before this as he is someone who could have given an interesting speech. Vader was one of the best monsters that you will ever see and it is great that he is fi..

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Impact Wrestling Results – February 3, 2022

February 11, 2022

Impact Wrestling Date: February 3, 2022 Location: Charles Dodge Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan We are on the way to No Surrender and things are starting to pick up. The main event is already set with W. Morrissey getting his World Title shot against Moose, but there is another major match on the card in a different way. The other major match will see a team of Impact wrestlers facing off with Honor No More, which should boost the story that much more. Other than that, the Bullet Club seems to be here again. Let’s get to it. Opening recap. Opening sequence. Digital Media Title: Matt Cardona vs. Jordynne Grace Cardona is challenging and shoves Grace around a few times to start, which has Grace a bit surprised. Grace’s running shoulders don’t do much good so she trips Cardona down instead. Cardona misses a neckbreaker but Grace misses a Vader bomb, allowing Cardona to suplex her into the corner. A regular suplex drops Grace again and ther..

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REVIEW: Clash Of The Champions 25: Title Night!

December 1, 2021

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Clash of the Champions XXV Date: November 10, 1993 Location: Bayfront Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida Attendance: 6,000 Commentators: Jesse Ventura, Tony Schiavone This is a big night for WCW as there are seven matches with five different titles on the line. Vader is still World Champion and dominating the company, but the fans are behind Flair as he tries to take the title. Other than that we have Sting/British Bulldog teaming up to go after the World Tag Team Titles (no longer Unified and just WCW now) and Dustin..

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Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2021 Results

October 25, 2021

Bound For Glory 2021 Date: October 23, 2021 Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown It’s the biggest night of the year for Impact Wrestling and we have a pretty stacked card. The main event is the battle of Canada as Impact Wrestling World Champion Christian Cage is defending against Josh Alexander. The second biggest match on the card is probably Deonna Purrazzo defending the Knockouts Title against Mickie James in a grudge match. Let’s get to it. Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne vs. John Skyler vs. Chelsea Green vs. Crazzy Steve vs. Fallah Bahh One fall to a finish for the inaugural title, which will be defended on online shows and Rayne is replacing Tenille Dashwood for reasons that are not clear. Skyler poses in the middle of the ring to start and is promptly beaten down by everyone else. Bahh clears the ring save for Grace, who actually drops him with a running shoulder. A running Vader Bomb gives Grace t..

NEWS

205 Live Results – September 25, 2020

October 1, 2020

205 Live Date: September 25, 2020 Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida Commentators: Byron Saxton, Nigel McGuinness Last week saw 205 Live turn into the Ariya Daivari Show and I’m not sure why anyone thought that was going to be their best idea. Thankfully this show has a tendency to change things up almost weekly so there is a good chance that it will be something different this week. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Mansoor vs. Ashante Adonis Adonis takes him down in a hurry to start and throws in an early taunt. That earns Adonis an armbar and you can see the frustration/surprise setting in. Adonis fights up and spins out so Mansoor takes him down with a reverse DDT. Back up and Adonis snaps Mansoor’s throat across the top to put him outside and a neckbreaker gets two. We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by a flapjack to give Adams two more. Mansoor jawbreaks his way to freedom from another chinlock and something close to a Vader Bomb gives him a breather. The middle r..

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REVIEW: Clash Of The Champion #22: Clash Gets All Thundercagey

September 26, 2020

Clash of the Champions XXII Date: January 13, 1993 Location: The Mecca, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 4,000 Commentators: Jim Ross, Jesse Ventura The main event tonight sees Sting/Ron Simmons/Dustin Rhodes/Van Hammer vs. Vader/Barbarian/Barry Windham/Paul Orndorff (substitute for an injured Rick Rude) inside the Thunder Cage. We’re nearing the end of an era here in WCW as Bill Watts’ job is already on the brink and would be ended soon thereafter. In other words, most of the matches tonight don’t mean much, especially with a few changes coming soon. Let’s get to it. Bill Watts welcomes us to the show and talks about his history wrestling in Milwaukee. Also Van Hammer is injured and out of the main event tonight. There will be a replacement in his arm wrestling match later. No mention of the main event. Also, Erik Watts has been arrested (kayfabe) and is out of his match tonight. It’s another new set with the entrance being under a metal frame like last time, but no long curtain be..

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Watch: Sting’s WCW World Championship Victories

March 21, 2019

The Icon has that name for a reason. WWE has posted a new video to their YouTube channel in which they show all of the televised WCW World Heavyweight Championship victories by Hall of Famer, Sting. You can see the video in its entirety below: [This post contains video, click to play] The world title victories are as follows: Ric Flair, Great American Bash, 1990 Lex Luger, Superbrawl II, 1992 Ravishing Rick Rude, Spring Stampede, 1994 Vader, Slamboree, 1994 Hollywood Hogan, Starrcade 1997 Hollywood Hogan, Superbrawl VIII, 1998 Diamond Dallas Page, Monday Nitro, 1999 Hulk Hogan, Fall Brawl, 1999 Editor’s Opinion: Watching this video brought back a lot of memories. I remember hearing Jim Ross call matches for WCW back when I was growing up, and understanding what I do now about professional wrestling, it still brings back a great deal of nostalgia. Sting was always one of my favorite WCW superstars, and it’s cool to see WWE acknowledging his accomplishments and I hope that they do ..

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Video: Top Ten Hell In A Cell Invaders

September 15, 2018

That Cell is really bad at its job. The Hell in a Cell cage isn’t exactly the best method of keeping wrestlers inside and others outside. It seems that it’s rare to see a match where people don’t either get in or go out at will, which defeats the purpose of the Cell entirely. That’s such a reality that WWE is taking a look back at all the times the Cell hasn’t worked, and it turns out that there are quite a few. That’s gotta be #1. [This post contains video, click to play] WWE has posted a list of the Top Ten Hell in a Cell Invaders, meaning people who have broken into the Hell in a Cell cage over the years. The list is pretty inclusive, with entries from the first Cell match all the way up through last year’s show. Some of these entries were complete surprises while others were people already involved with the match, standing outside. Opinion: I mean, was there really any doubt? Numbers ten through two aren’t exactly memorable entries while the first was a game changer for the co..

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Fight Size Update: Austin Aries Loses One Of His Titles, Vader's Health, Jack Hager Calls Out A Wrestling Promotion, More

April 30, 2018

Here's your Fight Size wrestling Update for the morning of April 30th, 2018. - The "Belt Collector" Austin Aries has lost one of his championships. Yesterday at 'Defiant Wrestling's 'No Regrets' show Austin Aries was defeated by Rampage Brown and lost the Defiant Championship. Aries still is the holder of the DEFY, IPW:UK World, IMPACT World, IMPACT Grand, and WSW Heavyweight Championships. #AndNew DEFIANT Wrestling World Champion #NoRegrets #WeAreDefiant#NoRegretsRumble is NOW https://t.co/N0ECLTk6Te pic.twitter.com/KiK237yNX4 — FITE (@FiteTV) April 28, 2018 - The following is video from NJPW's YouTube channel that features a post-match highlight from the tranquilo Tetsuya Naito. - NJPW announced via Twitter that will begin broadcasting live in France. - During a recent edition of the 'Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast' Sam Roberts & Peter Rosenberg discussed and analyzed the 'Greatest Royal Rumble' event that took place this past Fr..

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Fight Size Update: Vader Back In Hospital, Brian Kendrick, Bruno Sammartino Documentary

April 21, 2018

This is the Fight Size Update for the evening of April 20th. -In the video above Pro Wrestling Unlimited uploaded footage of Roman Reigns giving a speech in South Africa after Samoa Joe cut open Reigns' head. - WWE is premiering a new Bruno Sammartino documentary on Monday after Raw on WWE Network. This Monday, celebrate the life of Bruno Sammartino with a special documentary about the legendary @WWE Hall of Famer after #RAW on @WWENetwork. https://t.co/4Wy7LUXoAR — WWE (@WWE) April 20, 2018 - WWE held three days of tryouts in Saudi Arabia and here is a video of a tug of war which happened during the try outs. - There's also videos of the other activities the participants did during the Saudi Arabia try outs. - Former American Ninja Warrior contestant Kacy Catanzaro made her debut on a NXT Live event. #NXTSanford The #WWENXT Debut Of @KacyCatanzaro ! pic.twitter.com/AN6ifqvFQj — JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) April 20, 2018 - On 205 Live, Brian Kendrick had his ..

NEWS

Update on Vader’s Medical Condition; How Did Open Heart Surgery Go?

March 27, 2018

It had been previously reported that WWE legend Vader recently underwent open heart surgery in Dallas, TX. He has always been known as a monster in the ring, making a huge statement during his debut on “Raw” in 1996, when he attacked then WWE president, Gorilla Monsoon. You can see that clip below: [This post contains video, click to play] His son tweeted the following message from his dad’s Twitter account, indicating that the surgery was a success, but the recovery will be a long one: This is his son Jesse. I wanted to let everybody know that I just spoke to the Surgeon. The surgery was a success but it was worse than we had expected. Long road for recovery. Will keep you posted. Thank you for the prayers. — Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) March 26, 2018 Vader was last seen on WWE programming in 2012, when he defeated Heath Slater in a singles match on “Raw.” During the 1000th episode of the show, Vader and a number of other legends dismantled Slater. In 2016, he inducted Stan ..

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Video: Austin Aries Appears at Ring of Honor PPV

March 11, 2018

The greatest invader that ever lived? Austin Aries has a large collection of titles at the moment. Capped off by the Impact Wrestling World Title, Aries has been recently dubbed himself the Belt Collector and boasts four current championships. Now though, it seems that he has his eye on another. It’s a big deal. [This post contains video, click to play] Friday night, Aries invaded Ring of Honor’s “16th Anniversary Show”, appearing after the Television Title match. Kenny King retained the title and Aries appeared, saying that he wanted the title for his collection. Aries spent several years in Ring of Honor, including becoming the first ever two time Ring of Honor World Champion. His last match with the promotion was in 2015 in a one off appearance. Aries had a big time title defense this week on “Impact Wrestling”. Check out the results here. Opinion: Works for me. Aries has been on a roll as of late and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him challenging for the title in New Orleans..

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Vader’s “Two Years to Live” Diagnosis Inaccurate?

December 17, 2017

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