Table of contents for October 2015 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

THERE IS NOT much that can be said about Dusty Rhodes that wasn't tweeted by those who knew him best on the day when he shockingly left us on June 11 at age 69. Everybody, from Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter (whom he worked for) to Matt Bloom and Adam Pearce (whom he worked with) to Enzo Amore and Becky Lynch (whom he worked hard) expressed their love in one way or another for a teacher, a sounding board, a problem-solver, an encourager, a friend. Dusty Rhodes was the grandfather many twentysomethings at the WWE Performance Center no longer had in their lives. He held his pupils to a standard he had years ago established, his specialty being public speaking. He worked them hard, to the point where some might…

ROH'S COUP Diehard fans have always enthusiastically supported Ring of Honor, a strength of support that just hasn’t been there for TNA. Maybe it’s because ROH adhered to the original vision it espoused in 2002, to be a wrestling-first, grassroots, traditional promotion. TNA has always been more interested in having a successful TV show. Fans have been part of the movement in ROH, and that hasn’t always been the case in TNA. MERCURY RISING I first saw Joey Mercury (Joey Matthews) at an IPWA show in Chincoteague, Virginia, and, based on his interactions with the few hundred fans in attendance, I knew he could be a major star. And anyone who witnessed the grisly facial injuries he suffered at a WWE pay-per-view in 2006 would agree he deserves all the…

WE EXPECTED TO receive plenty of mail after Publisher Stu Saks announced that PWI would recognize the WWE championship as the sport’s only world heavyweight title. Of course, that recognition came at the expense of the TNA championship, which is now viewed on roughly the same level as the Ring of Honor and New Japan IWGP championships. While Stu was careful to point out this decision was not meant solely as an indictment of TNA (although there is some question over whether or not Destination America will air Impact Wrestling in the upcoming fall season), it was simply a recognition of the WWE title’s 50-year heritage and the unparalleled global reach of WWE as a company. It was done for all the right reasons. But we still expected an onslaught…

FOR ALL THE unexpected success of the traveling NXT road show, WWE isn’t fooling itself into believing that the immediate bottom line of its developmental program will appear in black ink. The goal of WWE’s Orlando-based state-of-the-art Performance Center is to create a pipeline for talent that will keep the company at the forefront of this business for many years to come. On that basis, so far, so good. The talent flow from NXT to the main WWE roster is happening faster than even company executives could have dreamed possible. On top of that, there is a wealth of men and women perfecting their craft in Orlando that most fans aren’t even aware of at this point. But there are also wrestlers in Ring of Honor, TNA, and the companies…

For Adam Pearce, gratitude isn’t a fleeting emotion reserved for special occasions and holidays; it’s an omnipresent state of being. After nearly two decades as an indy stalwart, Pearce recently landed a dream gig with the biggest of the industry’s big leagues. Now employed as a coach and producer for WWE, Pearce’s journey to professional wrestling Nirvana was an uncanny path of twists and turns. Much to his credit, Pearce doesn’t regret a single step along the way. From an early age, Pearce had athletic aspirations. He played football in high school, but his time on the gridiron was cut short by a debilitating medical condition known as Acute Muscular Compartment Syndrome. During his convalescence from surgery, pro wrestling gave him a new lease on life. “I never intended to…

EXPERT RECRUITERS OFFERING advice on how to land a dream job will often reference the “Three P's” of winning over a prospective employer—personality, presentation, and professionalism. Kevin Owens somehow landed his dream job boasting three very different P’s: a pot belly, a pale complexion, and a very politically incorrect attitude. In fact, there was almost nothing about the former Kevin Steen that would have appeared to make him a good fit for the highly polished, highly corporate atmosphere of WWE. Nothing, that is, except for the fact that, for several years, he had been widely regarded as one of the very best performers in the wrestling business. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla fans came to realize that fact when the Quebec native won the first of three heavyweight titles in the California-based…

DREW GALLOWAY QUICKLY uploaded his latest video message on Instagram and contemplated the reporter’s question: What makes The Rising— and the movement it purports to represent—unique from all the other factions in wrestling? “This right here,” Galloway said, picking up his iPhone and tapping it with his finger. “Since the beginning of time in wrestling, every popular wrestler has claimed to do what he does for the sake of the fans. ‘I’m going to win this title for you, the fans. I’m going to beat this bad guy, and I’m doing it all for you, the fans.’ For over a hundred years, wrestlers have heard the chants, the boos, signed autographs, maybe they had the occasional fan club, but it’s not until recently that wrestlers have been truly interactive with…

WHO IS destined for Destination America? … While the recent TNAROH-Destination America controversy seems to be a big victory for Ring of Honor, TNA President Dixie Carter must be holding out hope that she can reach a deal with Destination America to continue Impact Wrestling on the network, with Ring Of Honor Wrestling being a sister program of sorts. Will that be the likely scenario this fall? Odds are against it. But would it be a good idea? Absolutely. As the relationship now exists, Destination America— with ROH Wrestling at 8 p.m. Eastern, Impact at 9 p.m., and ROH Wrestling repeated at 11 p.m.—now hosts the secondmost powerful block of wrestling programming on television, next to WWE Monday Night Raw on USA. Wouldn’t this be the ideal scenario this fall?…

IN A SELFLESS act of reallife heroism, lady grappler Allie Parker has put her promising wrestling career on hold to help a family member overcome a life-threatening condition. Parker recently donated a kidney to her brother, Ryan, who has suffered from juvenile diabetes for over two decades, enduring kidney failure and dialysis treatments for the past four years. Via her personal blog, Allie thanked fans and well-wishers for their concern, expressing a little trepidation about the future. ¶ “In these days, I’ve seen a lot of love and caring from those I never expected it from, and have also seen some [people who] I thought would be what got me through this pretty much abandon me. I’m so grateful for those that are here for me right now because although…

We encourage promoters and readers to e-mail results to: PWIResults@yahoo.com Please try to utilize the exact format you see in the “Arena Reports.” Also, please distinguish between handicap matches and three- or four-way matches. And, when reporting the result of a handicap match, indicate the number of competitors and who was the last man eliminated. Finally, please note pinfall finishes. Following these guidelines will help us greatly and make it more likely that your report will be used. SPOTLIGHT CARD OF THE MONTH PENNSYLVANIA PHILADELPHIA—ROH War of the Worlds, Night 2, at 2300 Arena: Romantic Touch pinned J. Diesel … Adam Page pinned Watanabe … Michael Elgin pinned KUSHIDA … Tetsuya Naito pinned Kyle O’Reilly … Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Jushin Liger, Mark Briscoe, & Jay Lethal in a four-way ……

“Dixie Carter gave me exactly what I wanted and it wasn't a hard decision. I wasn't upset. I was excited about signing another year with TNA. I think they did an incredible job this year. They had to refocus, they had to regroup, they had some issues in the past, and I think they’ve done an incredible job of making their way back. Are they back to what they were? No. But they’re on their way and they’re doing so many good things right now that it makes me excited about being part of the company.” – Kurt Angle, discussing his decision to re-sign with TNA, from an interview with The Mirror “I hope that the promotion is keeping their talents and the talents’ families informed as to what is…

FOR THE PAST two years, Ring of Honor has maintained a fruitful relationship with the top wrestling company in Japan, New Japan Pro Wrestling. Frequently, stars from the two promotions travel to the other side of the globe, and the response from both U.S. and Japanese fans has been overwhelmingly favorable. The latest installments of the ROH/New Japan collaboration took place on May 12-13, with “War Of The Worlds” in Philadelphia, and May 15-16, when the wrestlers traveled 500 miles north to present “Global Wars” in Toronto. All four cards were sellouts and the fans went home completely satisfied. With more co-promotions planned, PWI has a simple idea that we think would not only put this great talent on display, but also add significance to the cards as a whole.…

IT WAS HARDLY the picture of wrestling achievement: Dolph Ziggler lying on the mat, writhing in pain, having just been forced to kiss his opponent’s backside. And yet, Extreme Rules represented one of the most successful nights so far of 2015 for Ziggler, who beat Sheamus on the show to pick up his first pay-per-view win of the year, despite being brutally attacked and humiliated after his victory. For WWE’s resident “Show Off” and his fans, the victory over the recently repackaged Sheamus offered new promise for a push to the top of the cards. But, after a decade of starts and stops in Ziggler’s path to main-event success, nobody could blame fans for not getting their hopes up. “How many times have we seen WWE get behind Dolph for…

60-DAY HIGH: 15.44 on April 30 60-DAY LOW: 9.82 on April 6 52-WEEK HIGH: 30.39 on March 3, 2015 52-WEEK LOW: 9.82 on February 2, 2015 The release of WWE’s first quarter report created a volatile day for company stock on April 30, with shares fluctuating between a high of 15.44 and a low of 13.26. An initial positive reaction to WWE’s unexpectedly high revenue eventually fell prey to nagging doubts about the WWE Network’s business model and overall strategy. In addition to WrestleMania 31’s extraordinary success in the first quarter, WWE’s renegotiations of television rights fees with NBC Universal and several international entities resulted in a 43 percent increase in that sector, bringing TV revenue to $58.2-million. Compared to the same quarter last year, the increases in WWE Network…

SEND LETTERS TO: BETWEEN FALLS BOX 96 Ft. Washington, PA 19034 Or you can e-mail your commonts to prowrestlingillustrated@yahoo.com PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED welcome readers’ comments on any of our stories or columns. REAL DEAL Clearly, the big winner at Wrestle-Mania 31 was Seth Rollins. You don’t need Pro Wrestling Illustrated to tell you that. But the year’s biggest event had winners who never had their arms raised and losers whose shoulders were never pinned to the mat. “I look forward to your ‘Real Winners & Losers’ analysis in the issue following WrestleMania (August 2015),” wrote Greg Salant. “It never would have occurred to me that title-winners Daniel Bryan and John Cena were actually losers because they were now saddled with meaningless titles. Good insight.” “I’d have listed Stephanie McMahon as…