NXT live coverage, Dark Side of the Ring note, NXT Gold Rush night two poll results, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, Adrian Adonis, Shinya Hashimoto, Joey Marella, Mike DiBiase

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

-It’s Independence Day in the United States. I will be taking most of the holiday off today. Things should get back to normal tonight with John Moore’s NXT coverage unless he hits the sauce too hard during a backyard BBQ today.

-The NXT television show was taped last Tuesday in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. The show includes Julius Creed and Brutus Creed vs. Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid in a Loser Leaves NXT match. Join John Moore for his weekly live review as the show airs tonight at 7CT/8ET on USA Network. John’s same night audio reviews are available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).

-Dark Side of the Ring has the week off due to the Independence Day holiday in the United States. The show returns next Tuesday with an episode on WCW Bash at the Beach 2000, which airs in the usual time slot of 9CT/10ET on Vice.

-Last week’s NXT Gold Rush night two finished with a majority B grade from 39 percent of the voters in our weekly post show poll. A finished second with 29 percent of the vote. C finished a close third with 26 percent. I gave the show a B grade.

Birthdays and Notables

-Sid Vicious (a/k/a Sid Eudy) is 57.

-Barry Windham is 57.

-Adrian Adonis (a/k/a Keith Franke) died at age 33 on July 4, 1988. He was traveling in a van with independent wrestlers when the driver swerved to avoid a moose and drove the van off a bridge. William Arko, who wrestled as Mike Kelly, was driving the van and was the soul survivor of an accident that also took the lives of Victor “Pat Kelly” Arko and Dave McKigney.

-Longtime WWE referee Joey Marella died at age 31 on July 4, 1994 when he fell asleep behind the wheel. “Downtown” Bruno Lauer, who worked in WWE as Harvey Whippleman, suffered major injuries in the crash. Marella is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Gorilla Monsoon.

-The late Shinya Hashimoto was born on July 3, 1965. He died at age 40 on July 11, 2005 of a brain aneurysm.

-The late Mike DiBiase died in the ring on July 2, 1969. DiBiase was 45 when he suffered a heart attack during a match against Man Mountain Mike. He is the adoptive father of WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase.