I bring to you, the first ever Fight Game Blog Awards. Since our website is unique in that we cover boxing, pro wrestling, and MMA, we have three different categories for awards.

In addition to our FGB brothers, Stevie J from Angry Marks is also giving his picks.

Pro Wrestling

Wrestler Of The Year
Big D - Edge
Alan - Shingo Takagi

Was given the ball in Dragon Gate due to top star CIMA being on the sidelines, and the company had it’s best business year ever. He was also outstanding in the ring and is full of charisma.

Duan - Jeff Hardy

This may not be a popular choice, but Jeff has really delivered main event quality matches this year, and he has now finally been given the chance to carry a world title. His ascension has helped freshen up a tired WWE main event scene, and the title change was executed perfectly.

I might’ve given up on WWE this summer if it weren’t for Chris Jericho. He and Shawn Michaels were the sole reason I bought any B shows this year.

Match Of The Year Continue Reading »

President Okamura announced at today’s Korakuen show that on March 22nd 2009, Dragon Gate will run their biggest show ever. It will emanate for the first time in company history, from Sumo Hall in Tokyo!!!

This is HUGE for them and shows just how far they’ve come in the last year and a half.

It is also a massive testament to Shingo Takagi. The company’s top star (CIMA) went down and Shingo was given the ball. The company was put on the back of an unproven guy and he’s helped take it to new heights. For me this solidifies his case for being the 2008 Wrestler Of The Year in the Observer awards.

The most important one Dragon Gate has ever travelled…

There have been name changes, ownership changes, roster changes, retirements and expulsions for the promotion that has evolved from Toryumon Japan to it’s current manifestation, Dragon Gate. However since the doors of the Ultimo Dragon Gym gym opened back in the mid-late 90’s, there has been one constant – CIMA. The prize student of the original class, became the ace of Toryumon Japan and then not only the ace of Dragon Gate, but the man who pretty much does everything behind the scenes as well. He’s been the top heel, the top face, the champion, you name it.

Some may say that in the last year or so CIMA has become somewhat stale, but this has not been reflected in the business the company has done. Dragon Gate has been on fire in terms of both popularity and product. The top star is still beloved by the home fans and is clearly a big drawing card. This is a fact that CIMA is clearly well aware of because for the last 9 months, he has wrestled through a neck injury which is very very serious. This obviously shows that CIMA feels that it is absolutely necessary for him to be on every show if the company is to keep up its current momentum. Just as importantly, it shows that he may not have the trust in possible successors to be comfortable handing the company off to them.

Continue Reading »

News and notes from around the MMA world …

Two sad notes before we get to the rest of the news.

- Young Canadian fighter Rene Ayangma died after a light sparring session Tuesday evening.

- Ryan Gracie’s toxicology report reads that he died because of a lethal mixing of drugs according to Sherdog.

And to the rest of the news …

- Mike Coughlin writes about Bob Sapp and Strikeforce, who run live tomorrow in Seattle at the Tacoma Dome.

- Dave Meltzer has more on Sapp.

- The UFC and Yahoo! are working together now that Yahoo! is their online PPV distributor.

- Chuck Liddell’s autobiography is on the New York Times Best Seller’s list for the second week in a row.

- Mirko Cro Cop says he will return to the UFC after he has 3 fights with Dream.

- Fabricio Werdum won’t get the next title shot and will instead face Brandon Vera at UFC 85.

- IGN interviews IFL Middleweight Champ, Matt Horwich.

Talking Points

After last week’s slobberknocker of a fight between Kimbo Slice and Tank Abbott, Strikeforce comes back this week with Bob Sapp’s first fight in the US. Sapp is a huge star in Japan I’ve read that he even had his own merchandise store at one point. You’re talking Michael Jordan level status. While I don’t think Strikeforce is depending on Bob Sapp in the same ways that EXC depends on Kimbo Slice, with their business model, they don’t need to. Their big market is in San Jose, California with local headliners Frank Shamrock and Cung Le. Seattle has been a good market for minor league MMA and Strikeforce is using Sapp and his local ties to the area to try to sell tickets. The fight is on HDNet, which very few people receive (something like 6 million people in all), but for those who do get it, it should be an interesting spectacle. There aren’t many big name fighters, though former UFC fighter Joe Riggs and former UFC champion, Maurice Smith are on the card. Interestingly, Smith beat Tank Abbot in a fight over 10 years ago. We’ll see if he can do better against kickboxer Rick Roufus than Abbott did against Slice.