Author: Bryan Rose

Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.

Daily Update: CM Punk, UFC, WWE notes

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DAILY UPDATE

The Latest News

The Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Standout performances highlight Survivor Series week

With standout performances from Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, Brock Lesnar, and Daniel Bryan, Survivor Series and the days leading into the pay-per-view were as strong of a stretch as the WWE main roster has had all year. An injury that took Lynch out of what was going to be the biggest moment of her career thus far ended up having plenty of silver linings.

WON NEWSLETTER: November 26, 2018 Observer Newsletter: Survivor Series review, tons more

Look at what came out of Survivor Series as the lead story in the new issue of the Observer. The issue runs down more plans for the Royal Rumble and another planned main event and angle for WrestleMania, and look at the strange booking and what makes sense and doesn’t.

Also look at the trademarks of All Elite Wrestling, who is behind the promotion, what they need, and the important questions on how this relates to pro wrestling in 2019.

Read an update on New Japan on AXS TV, with the announcing change and early year schedule including Tokyo Dome coverage.

Examine the plans by WWE to open up territories around the world, including places earmarked first, the announcement expected to be made imminently and the philosophy behind these expansions. 

Read why the XFL in 2020 is different from 2001 and how the media differences make this a new ball game, plus one of the leading television executives in the country talks about being willing to get into bed with the XFL

In addition, there are rundowns from all the WWE arena events from the past week with results, highlights and business.

There is a rundown of NXT Takeover War Games, with notes on the show, story behind the lineup, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.

Also look at the domestic violence case involving UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich and her husband, what each side is claiming and more.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Silas Young was at last night’s Raw show, according to PWInsider. His contract with Ring of Honor is up at the end of the year.
  • There’s a bit of confusion going on regarding a match for SmackDown. WWE already announced that The Bar would be taking on The Usos  in a non-title match. However, both Sheamus and Cesaro have put out tweets issuing an openchallenge.
  • Pete Dunne on the recent reports concerning NXT UK: “British wrestling is safe. Will continue to grow, the talent pool is deep. Your favourite wrestlers are achieving goals and taking steps in their career. Don’t believe everything you read. Britwres is alive and well.”
  • Lio Rush had his own thoughts on Raw last night.
  • Jan Murphy of Postmedia talked to Tyson Kidd, who discussed his career, meeting the Hart family and his career-ending injury.
  • Speaking of that injury, Samoa Joe talked to City Pages and didn’t rule out using the muscle buster again in the future. It was Kidd landing wrong on impact from Joe’s muscle buster that ended his career.
  • Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins will team together for a toy drive for Toys for Tots. You can send in brand-new WWE toys to Hawkins’ Create a Pro Wrestling Academy at 95 Engineers Drive Hicksville, N.Y. 11801. This starts now and will end on December 11.
  • Ronda Rousey, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley & Ember Moon defeated Nia Jax, Tamina & The Riott Squad in a post-Raw dark match last night.
  • The fan who asked a question during the open forum segment of Raw was Minnesota indy wrestler Kara Noia.

Pro Wrestling

  • Several charges against Joey Mercury were dropped today in Orange County Court in Florida. Mercury had been charged with Identity Theft, Conspiracy to commit credit card fraud over $300, Use or Possession of Personal Identification Information and Petit Theft. He was arrested over All In weekend back in September after police ran a background check.
  • The NWA has uploaded the NWA World’s Heavyweight title match between Nick Aldis and Cody from their anniversary show on their YouTube page.
  • CZW has announced Atsushi Onita & Matt Tremont vs. DJ Hyde & Masada for their Cage of Death XX show in Philadelphia on December 9.
  • The Athletes Hub spoke to Yuji Tsuruta, who talked about his father Jumbo’s career.
  • PWG released the preview for the DVD of last month’s Smokey and the Bandido show.

UFC/MMA

  • CM Punk did an interview with MMA Fighting about joining the commentary team for Cage Fury Fighting Championships and was asked about The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes potentially being involved in starting a new promotion:
    “I think at this point that whatever those guys decide to do will be great for them and their families. If I was asked what I would do or what I would say to them — because they could obviously go to WWE whenever they want — it’s just a matter of is this what’s best for your family? And I think we live in a time now where WWE is not the end-all, be-all. I don’t think it has been for quite some time. I think the stigma that it is is still there and probably will persist for many, many years. But enough people have been there and left that can, I guess, extoll the knowledge of, ‘Hey, you know what, the place ain’t all that.’ And I’m in a spot now where I’ve been gone what, five years? Maybe the place has changed. I’ve got people who text me and say otherwise, but there’s ways to make money and support your family outside of that. With also being able to satisfy the side of your brain that’s creative, the side of your brain that loves professional wrestling, the reason you bought a pair of boots in the first place. And I think those guys can definitely do that. I think they can command their price if they want there. But if they did go there, then they’d just be another guy — just like everybody else on that show. It’s amazing, the more time the show gets, the less time it really seems they develop new characters.”
  • Punk was also asked if he’d have any interest in joining the promotion. He said that “pro wrestling is not on my radar,” but mentioned that he’d be willing to listen if they made an offer:
    “I would always listen. I would listen to them, because just like Dave [Sholler], I like the Young Bucks. I text with Matt on and off. But business is business. I know Cody was out there in the media saying that an offer was made [for the All In event Sept. 1]. An offer was not made. Calling me up or texting me saying, ‘Hey, if you want to come to the show and do something, we would love that’ is not an offer. That’s not an offer. There’s other things. There’s a couple more loose ends that I’m still trying to tie up to fully absolve me from the world of pro wrestling. I feel like I’ve still been attached to it since the day that I left it and that’s mostly because of fugazi lawyers and such. But we’re wrapping all that up and that’ll come to an end. And once I’m truly free, we can explore the world and just float and hang out. And I can walk my dog and drink coffee and do commentary for Dave Sholler and continue to train at Roufusport. And do all kinds of stuff. I’ve earned it, I’ve paid my dues.”
  • Paige VanZant vs. Rachael Ostovich is back on for the UFC’s Fight Night show on January 19. Ostovich has been cleared to remain in the fight despite suffering a fractured orbital bone during an alleged attack by her husband earlier this month.
  • Dana White claimed on the latest episode of UFC Unfiltered that the UFC let Sage Northcutt (who is a free agent now that his contract is up) go: “We let Sage go. Sage is young and Sage needs some work. So let him get some work in one of these other organizations and we’ll see where this kid ends up in a couple of years and maybe we’ll pick him back up again.”
  • White commented on Chuck Liddell being allowed to fight for Golden Boy Promotions: ““I love Chuck Liddell and I don’t ever want to bad mouth Chuck Liddell,” White said. “People even think I’m remotely bad mouthing Chuck Liddell, but the reality is — first of all, I heard last week the cokehead ‘Oscar De La Weirdo’ is talking sh*t that I don’t have any place to tell guys when to retire. First of all, it’s called ‘friendship’ you f*cking cokehead. I’ve been friends with Chuck Liddell for 20 years and the reality is that Chuck Liddell retired when he should have retired. Eight, nine years ago, however long it was. And Chuck Liddell’s almost 50 years old and has no business fighting anymore. The fact that the state of California even let that fight happen is disgusting. Disgusting. Chuck Liddell has an incredible legacy. He’s a huge superstar in this sport, so of course as a friend, anybody who claims to be a friend of Chuck Liddell and was anywhere near this fight is full of shit. They’re not a friend of Chuck Liddell. To let him go in and fight this fight is terrible.”
  • It was made official yesterday that Henry Cejudo will defend the flyweight title against bantamweight TJ Dillashaw at UFC 233 on January 26.
  • Chad Mendes vs. Alexander Volkanovski is set for UFC 232 on December 29.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Starrcade 1986: Night of the Skywalkers

CONTACT INFORMATION

Alexa Bliss given on-screen authority figure role

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Alexa Bliss has a new role on television, overseeing the Raw women’s division.

Baron Corbin, who is now calling himself the General Manager-Elect of Raw, ran into Bliss backstage. After she put him over and asked if she could do anything for him, Corbin offered her a chance to oversee the entire Raw women’s division.

She accepted the role, later hosting a open forum with Sasha Banks and Bayley. That ended when Mickie James, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke jumped them. Banks and Bayley managed to dispatch them, standing all.

Bliss has been out of action since 10/20 with a concussion. In the most recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that Bliss has suffered multiple concussions recently, which is a cause for concern. She has also reportedly been unable to pass Impact testing, which would allow her to return to the ring.

Corbin named himself the General Manager-Elect in the first segment of the show after saying that while the match between him and Braun Strowman for TLC is still on, Strowman won’t be able to compete due to elbow surgery. It was also mentioned in last week’s Observer Newsletter that there had been discussion of Bliss in the General Manager spot if Corbin was removed.

Restrictions reportedly increased in new NXT UK contracts

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A new report indicates that WWE is looking to substantially restrict the number of promotions that their United Kingdom talent will be allowed to wrestle in.

A WrestleTalk report out today said that following this weekend’s tapings in Liverpool, a number of talent were given new contracts. These new contracts come with a pay raise, but also with new caveats: for one, they can only wrestle under WWE and WWE’s partner groups, which include PROGRESS, ICW, Fight Club Pro, Attack! Pro Wrestling, Futureshock, Over the Top Wrestling and wXw. They will be allowed to take the rest of their advertised booking through the end of the year.

Additionally, PWInsider reported that these promotions won’t be able to film WWE contracted talent, leaving them in dark matches.

NXT UK talent under these new deals reportedly won’t be able to wrestle against talent contracted to promotions such as Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, World of Sport or any other promotion that WWE considers major. They also won’t be able to perform for a promotion if there isn’t a paramedic there.

More local, lesser known promotions in the UK will likely be hit hardest. Pro Wrestling Chaos announced this morning that Flash Morgan Webster, El Ligero and James Drake, all under WWE contract, would no longer be able to perform at their events. Tidal Wrestling also announced that El Ligero would no longer appear after their final show of 2018.

Before the new contracts, UK talent were only banned from promotions that had a significant streaming or television presence, like RevPro or Defiant. The report stresses that these new restrictions don’t apply to everyone on the UK roster, but does apply to the majority.

This news comes as WWE is looking to ramp up their presence in the UK. With the establishment of the NXT UK brand, they look to regularly tape television there going forward. NXT UK will hold their first TakeOver event in Blackpool on January 12.

VIDEO: ROH The Pinnacle: ‘Honor is Real’

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Ring of Honor has put out the first episode of their new webseries, The Pinnacle, on their YouTube page. You can see the episode below.

The video, produced by Lightning One (who are also behind the NWA’s Ten Pounds of Gold series) mainly focuses on what Ring of Honor is and how it differentiates itself from other promotions. Founded in 2002, ROH initially focused on in-ring wrestling, with stars such as Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, CM Punk and others becoming stars in the WWE. The video continued to push this, emphasizing in the in-ring wrestling as well as the Code of Honor.

Notable stars such as Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, The Briscoes, Jay Lethal, and Flip Goron among others talked about their Ring of Honor experience and why they feel ROH stands out from others. 

It also plugged the upcoming Final Battle card which will take place on December 14. Cody will challenge Jay Lethal for the ROH title in the main event.

Bray Wyatt returns to the ring at WWE Starrcade

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After a brief hiatus, Bray Wyatt made his return to in-ring action tonight at WWE Starrcade.

He made a surprise appearance, subbing for Braun Strowman in a match against Baron Corbin, who issued an open challenge. Wyatt accepted and eventually won the match. Both Finn Balor and Elias came out to beat up Corbin after the bout.

Wyatt hasn’t been seen on WWE television since September, when he and Matt Hardy lost to the Revival. He was teaming with Matt Hardy until Hardy decided to take time off due to a back injury, effectively breaking up the team. After teaming together on a September 15 Raw house show, Wyatt vanished from the road.

It isn’t known if Wyatt’s return will air on the WWE Network tomorrow, where a hour-long version of Starrcade will be shown. Announced for the telecast is AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a steel cage match, an eight woman tag tag match, a segment where Elias will perform with Ric Flair and a Miz TV segment with WWE United States champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Mysterio.

NXT UK TV taping spoilers: Tag Team title tournament begins

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Results: WrestleTalk

NXT UK were at the Olympia in Liverpool, England today for television tapings.

In a dark match, Xia Brookside defeated Nina Samuels

– Sid Scala came out and introduced NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint. He introduces Triple H, who is live via video. He announces NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool in January.

Toni Storm came out and said that because she won the Mae Young Classic, she gets to choose a title shot of her choosing. She picks the NXT UK Women’s title, held by Rhea Ripley. Saint confirms the match for TakeOver.

Jordan Devlin defeated Kenny Williams.

Eddie Dennis defeated Dan Moloney by DQ.

Dave Mastiff ran in for the DQ. He then attacked Moloney, leveling him with the cannonball.

Tyson T-Bone and Saxon Huxley defeated Tucker and Jack Starz

– T-Bone pinned Starz following a double team.

Joe Coffey defeated Ligero.

Marcel Barthel defeated Mark Andrews

– Barthel beat Andrews thanks to interference from Fabian Aichner. The two shook hands afterwards, seemingly forming a team.

Zack Gibson and James Drake defeated Wild Boar and Primate

– Gibson pinned Boar. He cut a promo after the match and mentioned the NXT UK tag team titles.

– Dave Mastiff and Josh Morell never started. Eddie Dennis came in and took out Morrell.

Rhea Ripley defeated Deonna Purrazzo to retain the NXT Women’s title.

– Ripley attacked Purrazzo after the match. Storm ran in for the save.

Travis Banks defeated Jamie Ahmed

– Jordan Devlin came out after the match and berated Banks, saying that he was the wrestling journeyman who abandoned his home. 

Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner defeated Kenny Williams and Amir Jordan.

Jinny defeated Candy Floss.

NXT UK Tag Team title tournament semi-final: Moustache Mountain defeated Mark Coffey and Wolfgang

– Trent Seven pinned Mark Coffey to advance to the finals. It seems likely the other semi-final will be taped on tomorrow’s show. The finals will be at TakeOver on January 12.

– All three of Gallus attacked British Strong Style, but they made a comeback and cleared the ring. Gallus vs. British Strong Style is set for tomorrow’s taping. 

Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey for the NXT UK title was also confirmed for TakeOver: Blackpool.

Naomichi Marufuji, Fenix out of action due to injury

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Both Naomichi Marufuji and Fenix are dealing with injuries that has put them out of action.

It was reported on Yahoo Japan this morning that Naomichi Marufuji would miss the rest of NOAH’s Global League due to what is being described as a left shoulder contusion. It isn’t known how long he will be out for.

As a result, the Global League tournament is in a bit of a mess as Marufuji was leading the A Block ahead of the finals on November 25. NOAH announced that there will now be a triple threat match between Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kohei Sato that will determine the A Block winner. They will face B Block winner Kaito Kiyomiya in the finals.

As for Fenix, he wrote on Instagram this morning that he suffered a groin strain in a match against Barbaro Cavernario during CMLL’s usual Friday night event. He said that he has informed promoters that he won’t be able to make any of his December dates, effectively putting him out of action for the rest of the year. He also said to not to blame Cavernario on the injury and congratulated him on his win.

Strowman, Styles out of WWE Mixed Match Challenge

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More changes have been made to the second season of the Mixed Match Challenge.

It was announced during tonight’s show that the team of Jeff Hardy and Charlotte Flair would continue teaming as the tournament starts to wind down, effectively putting AJ Styles out of the tournament for reasons that were not made clear. Hardy replaced Styles last week after he lost the WWE title to Daniel Bryan.

Braun Strowman is also out of the tournament, as he’s getting elbow surgery and will be out for a while, perhaps up to the Royal Rumble. Ember Moon’s new partner will be revealed next week as her team will take on Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox.

These two changes add to the other changes that have taken place since the tournament first started on 9/18. Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens and Sasha Banks were all in the tournament at one point, but were taken out of action due to injury.

The finals of the Mixed Match Challenge will take place at WWE TLC on December 16. The winners of the match will win the #30 spot in their respective Royal Rumble bouts.

Daily Update: ACH, UFC in Shanghai, Mexico cinder block incident

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DAILY UPDATE

The Latest News

The Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at the WWE-EVOLVE relationship

The evolution of WWE’s relationships with promotions they’re friendly with continued to take shape this past weekend. Five WWE-contracted wrestlers were in action for EVOLVE last Friday and Saturday: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford), Fabian Aichner, Kassius Ohno, and Mustafa Ali. Killian Dain made a surprise appearance for ICW in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday, defeating Mikey Whiplash after it had been advertised that Whiplash would be facing a wrestler from WWE.

WON NEWSLETTER: November 19, 2018 Observer Newsletter: Survivor Series shake up, more

One week ago, the Survivor Series was to be headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. A.J. Styles and Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch in battles of the Raw and Smackdown brand champions.

But just days before the show, two unrelated incidents saw both main events that were heavily-looked forward to change.

And in doing so, one of the key matches at WrestleMania, possibly the main event, was also established.

Right now the plan is for Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch to headline WrestleMania. After the injury to Lynch on 11/12, a fractured nose and a concussion from a punch by Nia Jax during an in-ring Raw vs. Smackdown women’s brawl, she was out of the match that, due to the promos on both sides, was the most looked-forward to match on the show.

The next day, both Vince McMahon and Rousey decided that the best course of action was to do the match at WrestleMania. Rousey and Lynch immediately went at it hard on social media, even though Rousey’s new opponent on the PPV is Charlotte Flair.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)

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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

Pro Wrestling

  • There was a scary incident last night at a PALL event outside Mexico City. It was a match between Angel o Demonio and Cuervo, from Puerto Rico. There was a spot in the match where after Cuervo hit Demonio with multiple chairshots, Demonio went to the back, grabbed a cinder block and threw it right in the back of Cuervo’s head. Cuervo went unconscious and the match was stopped. Last word is that Cuervo will be undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot.
  • Angel o Demonio has since been suspended from wrestling in Mexico State.
  • The Mid-South Coliseum, home to Memphis wrestling for decades, has been saved after over a decade of being in limbo. A new tourism development zone plan that was passed yesterday by the state will pave the way to restore and renovate the building, which was closed down in 2006.
  • A new documentary on the life of Owen Hart, simply called Owen, is being worked on by Curate Films. It will be done in cooperation with Martha Hart and the Owen Hart Foundation.
  • PAC (Neville) will face “Speedball” Mike Bailey at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s show at the Portsmouth Guildhall this Thursday.
  • Lucha Brothers vs. The Hart Foundation will headline MLW’s Never Say Never event on December 13. It will be a TV taping.
  • ROH is asking for Final Battle attendees to bring in an unwrapped toy to donate for Toys For Tots.

UFC/MMA

  • Ahead of their show this coming weekend in Beijing, UFC announced yesterday that they will be opening a giant 93,000 square foot facility in Shanghai similar to their performance center in Las Vegas. Dana White told ESPN in an interview that the goal of the facility is not only to find and recruit Chinese and other Asian athletes, but also find a future world champion.
  • The Honolulu Police Department has launched a second degree assault investigation following an incident involving Rachael Ostovich that left her hospitalized with what is being reported as a broken orbital bone. MMA Fighting is reporting that the male suspect is allegedly her husband Arnold Berdon, also a MMA fighter. Ostovich was scheduled to face Paige VanZant on January 19 on the first UFC ESPN+ card, but she is now out of that fight. Ostovich has also filed a restraining order against Berdon.
  • UFC on FS1 this past Saturday scored 630,000 viewers, finishing 14th for the night.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: CM Punk wins WWE title at Survivor Series 2011

CONTACT INFORMATION

Daniel Bryan, Thanksgiving Feast Fight set for WWE SmackDown

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A segment and a match have been set for tomorrow’s edition of SmackDown.

Daniel Bryan, according to the commercial hyping tomorrow’s SmackDown, will explain his actions from last week. He beat AJ Styles for the WWE title on last week’s SmackDown after turning on Styles at the end of the match, low blowing him then pinning him with the knee strike. He’s said nothing since then, but did face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in a losing effort.

A Thanksgiving Feast Fight has also been set for SmackDown. All three members of the New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods)  What exactly that entails is anyone’s guess. The two teams have been feuding off and on for a while, as Cesaro and Sheamus defeated the New Day for the tag team titles last month.

SmackDown will be the fourth and final consecutive night that WWE runs the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California

David Arquette issues statement following LA Confidential

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David Arquette has issued a statement following a death match that left him injured during last week’s Joey Janela’s LA Confidential.

Arquette wrote a post on Twitter talking about what happened. He said that he got injured during the match because of his lack of experience.

“I knew it was violent and potentially bloody, but I truly did not know the extent of what I was participating in,” he wrote. “However, I take the responsibility for putting myself in that situation.”

He went on to say that he has been wrestling for the last six months as it is a passion of his.

“I also want to apologize to the professional wrestling world for any negative attention this might have brought forth over the weekend, and I have zero plans to be involved in a match like this again,” he continued. “I am looking forward to getting back to the ring, under much different circumstances – in the near future.”

Arquette was a replacement for Joey Ryan, who was scheduled to face Nick Gage for the GCW title. By the end of the match, Arquette was bloodied up, bleeding from his neck. The match ended awkwardly with Gage retaining the title as Arquette left the ring immediately after, holding his neck which later required stitches.

Another injury took place on the show as Marko Stunt broke his leg after banging it against a door that was propped up while taking a Canadian destroyer. He underwent successful surgery for the injury Sunday morning.

NEVER Openweight title match set for NJPW World Tag League finals

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A new NEVER title match has been added to the World Tag League finals.

New Japan announced this evening that Hirooki Goto will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Kota Ibushi. This stems from a challenge made on this morning’s World Tag League event at Korakuen Hall. Goto issued the challenge after a six man tag team bout featuring the both of them. Ibushi originally seemed uninterested in the offer, but then took him up after Goto pulled the offer.

Goto regained the title earlier this month at Power Struggle, defeating then champion Taichi. He wasn’t originally supposed to get a championship shot, however. Will Ospreay was originally supposed to face Taichi, but a rib injury put him out of the match. Ospreay and Ibushi have run into each other several times in recent months.

The World Tag League finals will take place on December 9 at the Iwate Industrial Cultural Center.

Enzo Amore ejected from crowd during WWE Survivor Series

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Enzo Amore made a scene in the crowd during WWE Survivor Series tonight which led security to escort him out of the arena.

The situation started during the AOP vs. The Bar tag team match. Amore, who was in disguise, could be seen in the second row, even making it on camera. Sometime during the match, Enzo removed the disguise, stood up on his chair and started to cut a promo using his old catch phrases. In this video, you can see security grabbing him and taking him to the ground. In another, you can see Enzo being led away.

Dave Meltzer later mentioned in tonight’s live show post that there were unconfirmed reports that Amore has been banned from the Staples Center.

This isn’t the first time this week that Amore, real name Eric Arndt, has caused controversy. He was kicked off a Delta Airlines flight on 11/15 for vaping while on board. 

Amore was released from WWE in January after it was revealed that he was under investigation for sexual assault. WWE suspended, then fired him the day after the investigation was made public. The Phoenix Police Department later ceased the investigation due to lack of evidence.

Lars Sullivan coming to WWE main roster soon

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Lars Sullivan looks to be making his way to the main roster very soon.

Right at the start of the second hour of the Survivor Series pre-show, a vignette for Sullivan aired. It showed him destroying a number of people during his tenure in NXT, with the vignette ending with the words “coming soon”. It wasn’t made clear what brand Sullivan would be appearing on. After the vignette aired, Coach mentioned that there would be exciting things in the WWE for the rest of 2018.

Sullivan, real name Dylan Miley, signed with WWE around 2014. For the first few years of his career, he mostly wrestled at NXT live events, making his television debut in April of last year. Since then, he’s feuded with the likes of EC3 and Aleister Black. He was also a part of the six man ladder match to determine the first North American champion, which Adam Cole won.

Jim Ross hurts face in fall, still attending OU game

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Jim Ross is recovering following a bad fall at a friends house. However, it won’t stop him from attending tonight’s Oklahoma University game.

Ross posted a graphic picture on Twitter, sporting a huge black eye and numerous cuts and bruises on his face.

“Took a bad bump last night.  The concrete went over,” Ross wrote on Twitter this morning. “Still going to @OU_Football tonight.  #BoomerSooner.”

Dave Meltzer went into further details on Twitter, saying that Ross had suffered a bad fall at a friend’s house after taking a missed step.

Jim Ross finished the rest of his voiceover work for AXS TV’s New Japan Pro Wrestling television show this week with Josh Barnett that will take the show through the end of the year. His contract ends around that time. According to last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he won’t be able to do any other commitments until his WWE contract expires in March.

The Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Kansas Jayhawks tonight at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.