Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.
The WWE is promoting three items for SmackDown on Tuesday in Green Bay.
The main event is a non-title match with WWE Champion A.J. Styles vs. Dean Ambrose. If Ambrose wins the match he becomes the number one contender for Styles’ championship, and one would think he has to win since Styles vs. Ambrose is going to be the featured title match on upcoming SmackDown house shows as well as the next individual branded PPV.
There will also be a Kane vs. Bray Wyatt no DQ match.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, who starts back Saturday night in Sioux City, IA, a few weeks earlier than expected after her undisclosed health issue, has been officially announced as returning for Tuesday’s SmackDown.
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Hammond, IN, live results | Friday
– Sami Zayn & Cesaro & Darren Young (w/ Bob Backlund) & Golden Truth def. Titus O’Neil & Curtis Axel & Jinder Mahal & The Shining Stars after Zayn pinned Mahal following the Helluva Kick.
– Neville def. Bo Dallas with the Red Arrow
– Braun Strowman def. Sin Cara
– WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks submitted Charlotte to retain
– WWE US Champion Roman Reigns def. Rusev (w/Lana) to retain
– Bayley & Alicia Fox def. Dana Brooke & Nia Jax when Bayley rolled up Dana for a pin.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E) w/Kofi Kingston def. Gallows & Anderson and Enzo & Big Cass in a three-way to retain
– Seth Rollins def. WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens via DQ
Several documents regarding Billy Corgan’s lawsuit against Impact Ventures LLC, Dixie Carter Salinas, Serg Salinas and CFO Dean Broadhead were unsealed today in Davidson County Chancery Court.
A new version of the actual lawsuit is expected to be unsealed on Tuesday.
The key note is that Corgan was granted a restraining order last week, key because that means Chancellor Ellen Hobbes Lyle believed his case against TNA is likely to prevail as that would be the reason to grant such an order. The retraining order means TNA is not allowed to take any action regarding selling, assigning assets such as the tape library until the court allows them.
This prevents either a sale of the tape library to The Fight Network or WWE, as well as a sale of the company, or any stock in the company. That explains why The Fight Network had to loan TNA the money to keep going as opposed to putting money in exchange for points in the company in the unusual announcement this past week.
The money appears to be put in to make the company solvent for now, as Corgan claimed they were not solvent, and based on his agreement with Carter if the company was not solvent, then he would be able to make all the key decisions. Carter Salinas was barred from what they had done before which is sell points in the company in exchange for cash, or sell more of the tape library in exchange for cash.
The Fight Network and Carter Salinas are attempting to buy Corgan’s stock in the company back, thus refund his money, in exchange for him going away and dropping what would be an embarrassing lawsuit.
Corgan would also be banned right now from selling his points in the company to an outsider, but if he drops the case he could sell his points back to them.
The fact the suit is continuing means Corgan has not as yet agreed to take the money and go away.
Corgan claimed TNA was insolvent, which means that their debt is greater than their assets. The debt is probably in the $5 million or more range. Of what we do know, the debut would be $4 million but there are likely other creditors unknown at this time.
Based on the agreement when Corgan put money in, if the company was insolvent he would be able to take over and fire and hire people. The company and Carter, claimed they were not insolvent but produced no documentation to support that.
However, TNA has handed over 17,000 pages of documentation to Corgan and his attorneys, basically to bog him down, and TNA is hopeful the deal to buy Corgan out gets completed before the lawsuit gets unsealed.
Bruce Prichard, who worked for NWA for several years, claimed he had financial issues because TNA withheld tax money from his checks but never paid the government the withholding, and thus the government came after him for not paying his taxes. He said the figure was about $10,000 but all ended up being straightened out.
Jean Gagne, best known as Frenchy Martin amid a number of other wrestling names, passed away Friday morning at the age of 69.
He had been battling bladder cancer for more than a year, and was moved to hospice care in early September.
Martin’s greatest success came as a major star in Puerto Rico where he wrested as Pierre Martel, teaming with Michel Martel as The Mercenaries to win the WWC North American tag team titles — one of four times Martin held that gold (Rick Martel twice, Mr. Fuji).
Before the creation of the Universal title when the WWC North American title was the main belt and the promotion was doing huge business, Martin (as Martel) was a three-time North American champion and had many major matches with Carlos Colon.
He also held the North American title twice for Stampede Wrestling, using the ring name Don Gagne with his main rival being Leo Burke.
Later, he worked for the WWF as the manager of Dino Bravo until Jimmy Hart replaced him in the spring of 1989.
Former Bellator fighter Jordan Parsons and 90s ECW stars Brian Knighton (Axl Rotten) and John Rechner (Balls Mahoney) were diagnosed with CTE based on brain examinations by Dr. Julia K. Kofler at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian, who was in conjunction with Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist whose work was highlighted in the movie “Concussion.”
Omalu released the information to the Boston Globe on Thursday. He also reviewed Kofler’s diagnosis and endorsed her findings.
Konstantine Kyros, the lawyer involved with a class action lawsuit against WWE regarding concussions, was interviewed for the story saying he has no plans to sue Bellator. Parsons’ mother contacted Kyros about an examination of her son, who claimed that he got the brain examined to explore whether athletes in sports other than football, hockey, boxing, and wrestling were at risk of CTE.
“Out of the tragedy of Mr. Parsons’ death, I hope the results serve to warn and educate other athletes and their doctors about the hidden risks involved,” said Kyros.
Brian Flinn of WWE said the organization would not comment until it has reviewed the search on the diagnoses of Rechner and Knighton. The family of Knighton is involved in a Kyros-led lawsuit.
Flinn claimed Kyros was pushing the CTE story to counter negative publicity about WWE court motions to sanction him from improper conduct that were filed earlier this week.
Omalu said that it was impossible for the CTE in Parsons to have been caused when he was hit by a car in an accident that ended up being fatal as he crossed a street.
Knighton and Rechner were frequent tag team partners known for their willingness to both give and take hard chair shots to the head, and nicknamed The Chair Swinging Freaks. Both took ridiculous amounts of punishment in being stars of hardcore wrestling.
Both had severe health problems for years before their deaths, each at 44, Knighton from an accidental heroin overdose and Rechner from a heart attack.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
David Finlay vs. Will Ospreay
Angel de Oro & Titan vs. Rocky Romero & Baretta in the first round of the jr. tag tournament
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Fuego in the first round of the jr. tag tournament
Young Bucks vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori in the first round of the jr. tag tournament
Figure Four Weekly 10/17/2016: More on the deregulation of pro wrestling in California – To pick up where we left off last week, in 1989 deregulation of pro wrestling was put before the State Assembly and passed. Here’s how it was discussed in the minutes for the October 20, 1989 meeting of the California State Athletic Commission (emphasis ours): “Assembly Bill 1040 was signed by Governor Deukmejian and, except for the 5% tax on the amount paid for admission, will completely deregulate professional wrestling January 1, 1990… Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Oct 24, 2016: Pinpointing the day that lead to TNA’s current predicament, UFC layoffs, more – What has been the long-time inevitable but several times delayed financial implosion of TNA can really be traced back to one afternoon. Largely based on a contract with Spike TV, TNA was taking in more revenue than any pro wrestling company in the world aside from WWE through 2014. If a company like ECW would have gotten that type of a deal, they would probably still be flourishing today… Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
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.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
WON BACK ISSUE:,WON September 20, 1999: Eric Bischoff fired from WCW, Beyond the Mat review, more – Although wrestlers were singing “Ding, Dong, the Witch is dead,” Friday night in Baltimore, when the word of Eric Bischoff’s re-assignment within Turner (read that as a nice way of saying firing) reached the wrestlers, once the initial happiness wore off and reality set in, the reality is little has changed… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
Thursday News Update
We have a long discussion on last night’s audio show regarding TNA and a lot more in the current newsletter regarding all the different things regarding the promotion that have gone down this past week, including the real blow-by-blow of when the real problems started.
Paige underwent neck surgery, having three screws put in her neck yesterday in Florida. The surgeon was the same one who did Nikki Bella’s recent neck surgery.
This is the last somewhat quiet weekend probably until Christmas. UFC has shows every weekend starting on 11/5 and 11/12 is the biggest UFC show in history, and 11/19 and 11/20 is one of the biggest weekends of the year for major shows. This weekend’s biggest events are Bellator tomorrow night which includes Bobby Lashley fighting Josh Appelt, Arena Mexico with block B of the Universal title tournament, and New Japan opens its junior heavyweight tag team tournament tomorrow (early morning U.S. time).
Lucha Underground finally announced some matches for Sunday’s show in Phoenix at the Arizona State Fair. Johnny Mundo faces Brian Cage in a falls count anywhere match to headline the Noon show. A 3 p.m. show will be headlined by Pentagon Dark vs. Mil Muertes with Vampiro at ringside. Others announced for the shows are Drago, Jack Evans, Ivelisse, Taya, Mariposa, Son of Havoc and Aerostar.
ROH announced today that The Panther (son of Blue Panther) and Misterioso Jr. (son of Misterioso) will be appearing on shows on 11/3 in Arlington, TX and 11/4 in San Antonio as part of the Survival of the Fittest tournament.
Another CMLL star, Dragon Lee, will face Bobby Fish for the ROH TV title on the 12/2 Final Battle show in New York at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
WWE
Ringside Collectibles on 10/29 at Caroline’s on Broadway in Times Square, NY will have appearances of Daniel Bryan and Bayley from 9 a.m. to Noon, and Finn Balor and Sasha Banks from 1-4 p.m.
Bill Goldberg training with Jimmy Pedro, the Olympic judo bronze medalist here.
A documentary on Eric Bischoff will air after Raw on Monday night on the WWE Network.
UFC
New fights added to December UFC shows: Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum on 12/30 in Las Vegas (this has been known for some time and already reported but UFC made it official today), Paul Craig (8-0) vs. Luis Henrique de Silva (12-0) has been added to the 12/17 show in Sacramento, Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith has been added to the 12/9 show in Albany, NY, and Jared Cannonier vs. Ian Cutelaba has been added to the 12/3 show in Las Vegas.
VARIETY
Newly announced Evolve matches: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ethan Page on 11/12 in Queens, NY, Chris Hero vs Tracy Williams on 11/12 in Queens, NY, Drew Gulak vs. Dustin on 11/12 in Queens, NY, Drew Galloway & Dustin vs. Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi for the tag titles on 11/13 in Joppa, MD, Hero vs. Matt Riddle eon 11/13 in Joppa, MD, Gulak vs. Sabre Jr. on 11/13 in Joppa, MD, Galloway & Dustin vs. Dick Togo & Ricochet for tag titles on 12/11 in Melrose, MA.
Why this is a story on the declining football ratings, a lot of this applies to WWE. Check out this article from USA TODAY.
The scheduled debut of Baby Slice, the son of Kimbo Slice, on tomorrow night’s Bellator show in Memphis, is off as opponent Rick Bing went for the all-time record as he showed up 25 pounds above weight.
Pacific Coast Wrestling on 11/12 in Torrance, CA at the Oak Street Gym features Rob Van Dam vs. Pentagon Jr., plus Mr. 450 Hammet, Scorpio Sky, Jeff Cobb, Fatu, Willie Mack and The Sheik.
Ryback, Bully Ray, Boogeyman, Velvet Sky and Melina have been added to the 11/5 MCW show in Joppa, MD. Ryback will face 6-foot-8 Sean Studd, the son of John Studd. They also have an 11/11 show in Waldorf, MD at the Unique Sports Academy with Kevin Nash, and 11/12 in Frederick, MD at the Indoor Sports Center with Kevin Nash.
Tito Ortiz did a TMZ Sports interview to promote his 1/21 fight with Chael Sonnen at the Forum in Los Angeles saying it’s revenge because Sonnen pinned him when both were college wrestlers about 20 years ago.
Brandon Vera will defend his One heavyweight championship on 12/2 in Pasay, Philippines at the Mall of Asia Arena. Sekine has a 7-0 record and is making his debut in One after competing in Deep in Japan.
Resurrection Fighting Alliance on 12/9 on AXS TV from Branson, MO at the Convention Center features former Iowa Hawkeye wrestler Jordan Johnson (5-0) vs. LeMarcus Tucker (5-1) in a light heavyweight fight as the main event. This is the final RFA show before the merger with Legacy goes through and the two groups form the new LFA.
Bobby Lashley, Cryme Tyme and Boogeyman headline Rumble II on 11/12 at Alameda High School in Alameda, CA.
CWE Adrenaline was gotten a TV clearance on Shaw TV Ch. 11 in Thompson, Manitoba.
All Pro Wrestling on 11/11 in Pacifica, CA at Ingrid B. Lacy PTO is headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. Joey Ryan, MVP vs. Jeff Cobb, plus Reno Scum, Colt Cabana, Brian Cage and Jacob Fatu.
CCW on 10/29 in Chatham, ONT at the Wish Centre featuring a Battle Royal.
Georgi Kharakanyan vs. Kirill Medvedovsky an Lena Ovchynnikova vs. Karla Benitez have been added to the 11/10 Bellator show in Tel Aviv, Israel. Karakhanyan replaces James Gallagher, who was moved to the 12/16 show in Dublin. The Israel show is headlined by Andrey Koreshkov defending the welterweight title against Douglas Lima.
559 Fights tomorrow night in Fresno at the Tower Theater headlined by Bryce Gonzales defending his bantamweight title against Daniel Campagna.
Tom Prichard and Bushwhacker Luke appear for IWF on 10/22 at the IWF Centre in Nutley, NJ.
CMLL Sunday in Guadalajara: Avispon Negro Jr. & Micro b Destello & Guerrero de la Muerte, Black Sugar & Capitan Cobra b Mr. Apolo & Gitano, Freezer d Magico, Evola & Exterminador b El Hijo del Javier Cruz & Acqui, Flash & Kempo Dragon & Star Black b Jocker & Principe Kisho & Terremento King Jr.
CMLL Monday in Puebla: Fuerza Chicana & Guerrero Especial & Inquisidor b Astro & Paris & Vega, Astral & Asturiano & Electrico b Mini Jocker & Pequeno Violencia & Sauron, Guerrero Maya Jr. & Stigma & Stuka Jr. b Kraneo & Olimpico & Ripper, Atlantis & Johnny Idol & Maximo Sexy b Sam Adonis & Negro Casas & Shocker-DQ, Euforia & Gran Guerrero & La Mascara b Mascara Dorada & Mistico & Valiente. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
Wise Pro Wrestling on Saturday night at the Rickshaw Theater in East Vancouver, BC with Joey Ryan and Jeff Cobb appearing.
All Star Wrestling on 11/4 in Cloverdale, BC at the Alice McKay building on the Fairground with Sinn Bodhi.
Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con on 10/29 at 10:30 a.m. at the Los Angeles Convention Center will have a panel on the old GLOW promotion. Among those appearing are MTV, Lightning (Cheryl Rusa) and Roxy Astor. Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria/Tara) will be at the convention and Rob Van Dam appears on Geek Speak TV live in a panel on 10/29 at 1 p.m.
Jersey All Pro Wrestling on 11/19 in Rahway, NJ at the Rec Center has an afternoon convention and a live show headlined by Low Ki & Homicide vs. Da Hit Squad in a cage match. It’s the company’s 20th anniversary show. Alberto El Patron, Drago, Aerostar, Deonna Purrazzo, Sumie Sakai and JT Dunn are also on the show. They will also be raising money for the family of Frank Iadeviam, the former promoter who passed away.
AAW on 11/4 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street with Prince Ali vs. Zack Sabre Jr., plus Sami Callihan, AR Fox, Matt Hardy, Davey Vega, Matt Fitchett, Chris Hero, Dave & Jake Crist, Andrew Everett, Trevor Lee, Chuck Taylor, Rey Fenix, Eddie Kingston, Homicide, Kongo Kong, Jessicka Havok, Jeff Cobb, Heidi Lovelace, Kimber Lee and Dezmond Xavier.
An interview with Muhammad Hassan about his WWE career is here.
Kevin Eck on his Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame ballot here.
A story on the JBL interview with Bruno Sammartino is here.
A great story on a conflict of interest in promoting and managing here.
What has been the long-time inevitable but several times delayed financial implosion of TNA can really be traced back to one afternoon.
Largely based on a contract with Spike TV, TNA was taking in more revenue than any pro wrestling company in the world aside from WWE through 2014. If a company like ECW would have gotten that type of a deal, they would probably still be flourishing today. With the exception of WCW at the end, almost no wrestling company in history wouldn’t have been able to be profitable, and most would have been able to put out a killer product, with a two-hour prime time slot and that level of television revenue. Just five years ago, TNA’s total revenue, largely due to Spike, was multiples of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since then, each company went in opposite directions, one based on creating stars and putting on great shows even with a major television handicap of a horrible time slot. The other squandered talent and did angles that nobody bought thinking it was the only way, and made no stars. New Japan is now multiple times ahead of TNA, and what can argue, even in the United States, where New Japan’s audience when you factor in the homes available is roughly identical to that of TNA even on a far worse television night and airing matches ten months old.
It was expected that Bill Goldberg’s return, with a full week of hype behind it, would lead Raw to its biggest numbers of this year’s football season.
Going against both the NFL and baseball playoffs, Raw did 3.13 million viewers, up 14 percent from last week. It will be interesting if there is staying power and in particular, the ratings on November 14th when Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will appear on the same show.
The promotion did a good job in heavily pushing next week’s show, with the Lesnar appearance, the Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins match and New Day vs. Sheamus & Cesaro, both non-title matches, for next week while having the larger than usual audience.
Raw was fourth for the night on cable, trailing the New York Jets vs. Arizona Cardinals game (8,398,000 viewers, a very bad number), the Cleveland vs. Toronto playoff game (4,287,000 viewers) and The O’Reilly Factor (3,154,000 viewers).
In addition, for the first time in recent memory, there was an increase from hour two to hour three, although hour one was the most watched. It was clear the audience came right at the start to see Goldberg, and stayed through all three hours. By hours, the show did:
8 p.m. 3.17 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.11 million viewers
10 p.m. 3.12 million viewers
Another lawsuit for unpaid bills against TNA Entertainment, filed over the summer, was by American Express Travel Related Services Company for unpaid bills.
American Express filed suit in the Supreme Court in the state of New York on July 20th claiming nonpayment of $269,049.50 in travel related expenses. The claim is the company used their American Express Corporate account to charge various items and American Express was not paid.
The claim is that the company agreed to payments on the receipt of monthly billing statements as well as to pay court costs if the case went to court. It claimed the agreement included that the defendants were to pay all reasonable costs when it came to American Express collecting the money owed, including finance charges and delinquency frees.
The lawsuit asked for payment of the $269,049.50 as well all legal costs for having to go to court and rectify the bill.
Whomever winds up in charge of WCW is facing an uphill battle. Largely, of trying to get a snowball gathering momentum as it has picked up speed for more than a year rolling down a hill, to reverse its position and almost magically roll upwards.
To understand that analogy is to understand just how deep the problems are. This is not just a situation where a business had a great year, set an expense budget based on that year, and suddenly business was way down and the budget is starting to bleed red ink. This is an entertainment business that is hot as hell when it’s the in thing, and when it isn’t….well, it can survive at a certain level, but since expenses are way above that level, short-term, things don’t look good. And if things continue unchanged in the same basic direction without improvements, six months from now, they won’t be able to give those tickets away. More important, it is one thing for wrestling go down because the peak has hit, for overexposure reasons, etc.
Cricket Wireless announced Friday that they will be sponsoring the first Lucha Underground house show tour with events scheduled for October 23rd in Phoenix, AZ, October 30th in Houston, TX, and November 5th in San Diego, CA.
To me, it’s kind of crazy to announce the Phoenix show at this late of a date. Additionally, no venues nor lineups have been announced for the shows.
As of today, the only thing we know is that Rey Mysterio Jr. and Prince Puma (Ricochet) were being pushed as the top stars in the original plans, but Puma will be in Japan for all three dates. Coincidentally, Mysterio is booked for Japan next week as well but that’s just on October 26th, so he should be able to work the LU dates.
We’re told different talents will be at different shows as opposed to having the same card done all three nights.
Alberto Rodriguez and girlfriend Saraya Jade-Bevis are in the news one more time as they have just gotten engaged.
It was Bevis, better known as Paige, who popped the question earlier tonight while inside the ring in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Rodriguez, also known as Alberto El Patron, Alberto Del Rio and now El Presidente, was working the WWC Aniversario weekend when in the ring she pulled out a ring and popped the question and he accepted.
Photos of Bevis on her knees with the ring, with tons of people shooting pictures, are going through social media.
Rodriguez’s wife had filed for divorce earlier this year after photos of Rodriguez and Bevis together had reached social media.
Bevis is currently under contract to WWE but it seems like there are issues with that on a regular basis. Right now she is on a 60-day suspension for failing a drug test.
Rodriguez is now the public face of Combate Americas, an MMA organization run by Campbell McLaren, with the idea of being the Hispanic version of Dana White. He is also continuing to wrestle on the independent scene.
Raw will be Monday night in Denver featuring the return of Bill Goldberg after 12 years. There will also be a SmackDown house show in Laramie, WY on Monday night.
SmackDown be Tuesday, also in Denver, featuring A.J. Styles vs. James Ellsworth for the WWE title and Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi.
Figure Four Weekly 10/10/2016: New details emerge in WWE concussion lawsuit filing – On Friday (October 7th), WWE filed a reply in support of their motion to dismiss Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton’s concussion-focused lawsuit. In terms of new information, the most newsworthy passages concern the deposition of Vince McMahon, which has otherwise been sealed from public view… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
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.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
WON BACK ISSUE:,WON September 20, 1999: Eric Bischoff fired from WCW, Beyond the Mat review, more – Although wrestlers were singing “Ding, Dong, the Witch is dead,” Friday night in Baltimore, when the word of Eric Bischoff’s re-assignment within Turner (read that as a nice way of saying firing) reached the wrestlers, once the initial happiness wore off and reality set in, the reality is little has changed… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
Sunday News Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Observer radio. We’ll be covering the weekend news as well as taking your e-mail questions. This will be a very mailbag heavy show hopefully so you can send stuff to [email protected].
Regarding the Observer Hall of Fame, please get ballots in as soon as possible, if you have one (reporters, historians, executives or active and former competitors). Technically the deadline was last night but if you get it in within the next few days it’ll be counted. But don’t delay because once I finish this week’s issue, the first thing I’m doing is the ballots.
The October 10 Observer lists the full ballot. Everyone on the ballot has a case to be in, but only a few can get in this year, which is going to make this a very interesting year to say the least.
There’s been some mainstream press this weekend regarding Linda McMahon having donated $6 million to a super PAC that supported Donald Trump, with donations in August and September. The donations were noted because when Trump was going through primaries, she was critical of his remarks about women, and this goes back months before all the latest news stories came in. “He’s not helping, certainly to put women in the best light,” said McMahon a few months ago. “Maybe he regrets them, maybe he doesn’t. I realize he punches hard when he punches back, but that’s just over the top.” But she since publicly stated she was a strong Trump supporter. For those thinking Trump’s comments should kick him out of the WWE Hall of Fame, it would appear that isn’t about to happen.
Conor McGregor was fined $75,000, not $150,000, as had been reported all over the place over the past week. In quite the weird story, Nevada Athletic commission Executive Director Bob Bennett told MMA Fighting yesterday that McGregor and Dana White both implied that McGregor wouldn’t fight again in Nevada due to the size of the fine and McGregor said he wasn’t paying it. Bennett claimed the fine was $75,000 and the reason they said $150,000 is they valued his community service work at $75,000.
A number of WWE stars missed the Friday night house show in Edmonton due to a snowstorm in the city that made getting in difficult. They had more than enough guys to run a full show and the main events, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho and Cesaro were all there, but New Day, Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel missed the show. The full crew was in Calgary last night.
The return of Bill Goldberg to Raw tomorrow night after some 12 years is the big story. To answer questions, Goldberg’s appearances on Raw at this point are not scheduled for a match, although him doing the old time Goldberg 30 second spear and jackhammer match shouldn’t be impossible and would probably get over at least once as nostalgia. Paul Heyman is not booked on Raw on Monday, nor is Brock Lesnar. Everything is subject to change but Lesnar in particular has all of his stuff laid out well in advance. Even a few years ago a Goldberg return would have been good for a 3.6 rating. Now, if they do a 2.4, people will be doing cartwheels, or at least they’ll want to being doing them.
WWE
For those of you who have enjoyed Bruno Sammartino interviews on our show, the JBL legends show that airs after Raw tomorrow night will feature Sammartino as a guest. That’s one I’ll be going out of my way to see.
Emma, even though listed on Raw, is working for the Smackdown brand this weekend as a replacement for Becky Lynch.
We have an unheard of two straight weekends without a major U.S PPV type show with the UFC three weeks break and WWE’s next big show on 11/30. It gets crazy from there as November is loaded, particularly Survivor Series weekend which will be one of the biggest weekends of the year. Thus, with no major events, there was nothing pro wrestling or MMA related on the Google search list the past several days. However, if you want to watch a great match, this is the best match from Arena Mexico on Friday night and it features both Mascara Dorada & Dragon Lee.
The other big thing on Friday night was the submission work by Mackenzie Dern, who has the potential to be a major MMA star. Her ground game as far as pure Jiu Jitsu is already as good as any woman in the sport.
I Believe in Wrestling did an iPPV last night with the debut of former UFC fighter Seth Petruzelli in Orlando, before the Evolve show: CT Brown b JD Amazing, Thea Trinidad b Amber Nova, Michael Patrick & Leo Brien b Rex Bacchus & Li Bryan, Leo O’Farrell b Chico Adams, Courtney Stewart & Kaci Lennox b Raegan Fire & Mila Naniki, Seth Petruzeleli b Braydon Knight, Jonny Vandal & Tyranus b Mike Reed & Josh Hess. Next show is 11/5. The show is available for replay. (thanks to Al Haft)
Wrestlecircus presents its debut show toady at 5 p.m. in Austin, TX at the Ironwood Hall with Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Raymond Rowe vs. Colt Cabana & Ethan Carter III, Willie Mack vs. Hangman Page, Tony Nese vs. Sammy Guevara, DJZ vs. Scorpio Sky, Keith Lee vs Donovan Dijak, plus Dick Justice Lance Hoyt and Lince Dorado appearing. So you’ve got NOAH, ROH, WWE, Lucha Underground, New Japan and TNA all represented on the same show.
Appalachian Mountain Wrestling from Saturday night in Happy, KY: Kyle Maggard b Brandon Taggart, Super Destroyer b Matty B, Justin Tyler Morris b Stevie Phillips, Jordan Krage b Jalen Russell, Eddie Browning DDQ Beau James.
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL before 275 fans: Moondog Rover b Purple Passion, Superstar Steve Fender NC Curt Gannon, Gary Jackson & Big Jim Hoffarth b Waco & Daniel Gunner, Marc Houston b Johnny Blade, Curtis Wylde & Dave Vaughn b Jimmy & Bobby D, Mike Sydal b Keita Yano, Vic the Bruiser b Sean Vincent, Ron Powers b Ken Kasa. Upcoming shows are 11/5 in Swansea, IL with Ron Powers & Gary Jackson vs. Brandon Espinosa & Attila Khan 2/3 falls in a cage, 11/19 with a Flash Flanagan meet and greet in East Carondelet and 12/10 with Jimmy Hart as the special guest. Larry Matysik also noted that their 10/1 gross was $9,700 in a benefit show for the Swansea Volunteer Fire Department two weeks ago.
There is alive MA show on 10/21 in Fresno, CA at the Tower Theater called 559 Fights. That’s the promotion that regularly runs the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, CA.
Yesterday morning’s Lucha Xtreme TV show in Fresno: Skitzo b Shadow James, Big Dogg b Brandon Groom-DQ, Homicide b Donny Suarez. Next show is today at 7 p.m. in Fresno at the Fair on the Pavilion Stage which is a free with a fair admission with Homicide vs. Groom for the vacant Lucha Xtreme title.
James Storm and Joey Ryan appear tonight at a show in Corinth, MS which also features Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Cross
*ROH in Chicago Ridge, IL (Adam Cole & Adam Page vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly, Jay Briscoe vs. Dalton Castle, Mark Briscoe vs. Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal vs. Matt Jackson, Kamaitachi vs. Angel de Oro vs. Nick Jackson, vs. ACH, Punisher Martinez vs. Donovan Dijak vs. Beer City Bruiser, Jay White & Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King & Caprice Coleman, Will Ferrara & Cheeseburger vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu and more).
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS ON AXS TV TONIGHT AT 9 P.M. EASTERN
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the Never Openweight title
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Rocky Romero & Baretta for IWGP jr. tag titles.
Dragon Lee & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Mascara Dorada vs. Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Niebla Roja
Atlantis & Marco Corleone & Stuka Jr. vs. Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 & Universo 2000
Universal title A block tournament with Maximo Sexy, Mistico, Rey Cometa, Valiente, Mephisto, Negro Casas, Shocker and Ultimo Guerrero
LEGACY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS AT 10 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON AXS TV
Takayuki Iijima (9-6, 145.75) vs. Rob Butler (0-0, 145.75)
Bilal Williams (7-2, 168.25) vs. Melvin Jordan (4-2, 169.5)
Rashad Coulter (6-1, 236.5) vs. Jeremy Hardy (4-2, 246.5)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (5-0, 179.75) vs. Joe Eichelberger (18-10, 179.25)
Mackenzie Dern (1-0, 118.75) vs. Montana Stewart (5-2, 115.5)
Damon Jackson (9-1-1, 1 NC, 145) vs. Levi Mowles (4-1, 1 NC, 145)
Steven Peterson (14-4, 135) vs. Mark DeLaRosa (7-0, 135)
NEW JAPAN FROM TAIWAN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD (this show will be put up on the site most likely on Saturday at some point, it is not airing live)
David Finlay & Henare vs. Rocky Romero & Baretta
Yoshitatsu vs. Bone Soldier
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi & Jado vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
Tomoaki Honma & Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Toru Yano & Will Ospreay
Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo in a non-title match
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kushida & Satoshi Kojima & ? vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada & Bushi
Saturday we’re looking for reports on these shows:
*WWE Raw in Calgary
*WWE SmackDown in Phoenix
*NXT in Winter Haven, FL
*ROH in Dearborn, MI (Champions vs. All-Stars show with Adam Cole & Bobby Fish & Young Bucks vs. Dalton Castle & Colt Cabana & Mark & Jay Briscoe, Jay Lethal vs Frankie Kazarian, Adam Page vs. ACH, Kamaitachi vs. Angel de Oro, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser, Jay White vs. Donovan Dijak, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King).
EVOLVE 70 ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN IN ORLANDO AT www.WWNlive.com
Timothy Thatcher vs. Ethan Page for the Evolve title
Chris Hero vs. Drew Gulak
Matt Riddle vs. AR Fox
Dustin vs. Fred Yehi
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tracy Williams
Victor Cruz vs. Jason Kincaid
Sunday we’re looking for reports on these shows:
*WWE Raw in Colorado Springs, CO
*WWE SmackDown in Nampa, ID
EVOLVE 71 ON SUNDAY NIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME IN YBOR CITY, FL AT www.WWNlive.com
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak
Chris Hero vs. Matt Riddle
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Fred Yehi
Ethan Page vs. Sami Callihan
Dustin vs. Darby Allin
Tracy Williams vs. Jason Kincaid
Raw will be Monday night in Denver featuring the return of Bill Goldberg after 12 year. There will also be a SmackDown house show in Laramie, WY on Monday night.
SmackDown be Tuesday, also in Denver, featuring A.J. Styles vs. James Ellsworth for the WWE title and Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi.
Figure Four Weekly 10/10/2016: New details emerge in WWE concussion lawsuit filing – On Friday (October 7th), WWE filed a reply in support of their motion to dismiss Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton’s concussion-focused lawsuit. In terms of new information, the most newsworthy passages concern the deposition of Vince McMahon, which has otherwise been sealed from public view… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
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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WON BACK ISSUE:,WON September 20, 1999: Eric Bischoff fired from WCW, Beyond the Mat review, more – Although wrestlers were singing “Ding, Dong, the Witch is dead,” Friday night in Baltimore, when the word of Eric Bischoff’s re-assignment within Turner (read that as a nice way of saying firing) reached the wrestlers, once the initial happiness wore off and reality set in, the reality is little has changed… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
Thursday News Update
The situation with TNA continues to get worse. We had an update last night covering the lawsuit filed by Billy Corgan as well as more on who the dots are connecting as far as who paid for the most recent Bound for Glory and TV tapings and what the status the company is in, some notes on what is believed to be in the sealed lawsuit and even how for a period of time yesterday it was possible that the TV show wouldn’t have even aired and why.
A correction from last night’s show is that MCC Acquisitions Corporation was listed as being owed money as of 9/30. Keep in mind that 9/29 was when the money came in to allow them to tape. MCC Acquisitions shares the same physical address as Anthem Sports and Entertainment, which is the parent company of The Fight Network. On last night’s show, we said it was Anthem Sports that was just owed more money based on filings on 9/30. Anthem Sports is owed money as well. David Bixenspan and Kris Zellner have the story.
The total debt owed by TNA to Aroluxe, Anthem and MCC Acquisitions is listed at $3.4 million. TNA has already sold some of its tape library to Anthem.
The latest is a story by David Bixenspan who found out that the Davidson County Register of Deeds and the State of Tennessee had issued a tax lien against TNA Entertainment, LLC on 9/8. The company owes back taxes in an amount unspecified and got so far behind in paying it that the state has the right to seize company property if the debt isn’t repaid. While the company is no longer TNA Entertainment, LLC, now called Impact Ventures LLC, Tennessee law allows the government to go after successor companies. It’s a financial disaster, between this, getting evicted from their offices due to being unable to pay rent several months ago, and Corgan’s attempt to buy the company falling apart.
Want to make a comment regarding the situation with Matt Sydal, who was arrested for attempting to bring synthetic marijuana into Japan. While I believe marijuana laws as they are now in many places make no sense at all, everyone with any knowledge of Japan knows how strict they are there and have been forever.
Everyone knows the story there. Steve Williams nearly lost his entire career in Japan over it and Sydal isn’t close to the level of star Williams is, nor is there anyone in New Japan who has the kind of power that Giant Baba had in the 90s when it came to getting people out of trouble. This could easily end his career in Japan and it was unfortunate because he and Ricochet were an incredible tag team, maybe the best in the world and if not right with the best in the world.
There is a WWE/Bellator connection coming up as on 10/19, two days before the Bellator show in Memphis, Bellator will kick off their promotions locally with public workouts at King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar & Grille at Beale Street in Memphis. Those appearing will be Lawler, Bobby Lashley and Baby Slice, the son of Kimbo Slice. Lashley and Slice will be fighting on the show a week from tonight, which is headlined by Alexander Shlemenko vs. Kendall Grove and Lashley vs. Josh Appelt.
If you’ve been following Friday night CMLL, which on my Twitter feed this past Friday I got so many people thinking me for alerting them to the shows, well, this week is one to watch a movie instead. The third match should be good, but the Dinamitas in the semi could be quite bad and while he tournament of champions as an idea looks great, the matches are usually 3 to 6 minutes this week and next. The final match for the tile on 10/28 is usually great, however. Also, CMLL did figure out that Rey Cometa beat Cavernario for the Mexican national welterweight title.
When this week’s lineup was announced, they had Cavernario in the tournament and people quickly pointed out he wasn’t a champion. Instead of going with the lineup and saying his Reyes de Aire win was a title, they realized they forgot about their own title change in June and Cometa replaced Cavernario in the tournament. Nothing says you’ve got too many titles and nobody cares about them more than the entire office forgetting about a June title change. Luckily they’re on a run with a half-dozen super talented guys who are excellent every week, because the people on top making the matches clearly aren’t paying close attention.
WWE
Royal Rumble tickets went on sale at the Alamodome for the 1/29 show, and it’s kind of weird. Even though the lowest ticket price is listed at $25, all seats priced at $125 or less were held back to make sure the ardent fans who bought on day one and were going no matter what bought tickets of $125 or more. When I checked a few hours ago, all the $125 tickets were gone and the cheapest price to get in was $175.
For this coming weekend, at least based on the local advertising which isn’t always accurate, Chris Jericho is working Edmonton and Calgary on the Raw tour, but not the Sunday show in Colorado Springs, but obviously will be on Raw in Denver. John Cena is booked for Phoenix tomorrow night, but for no other shows this weekend including not being advertised for the Tuesday tapings in Denver.
The company announced shows on 5/5 in Dublin and 5/6 in Belfast which will be Raw brand shows. For whatever this is worth, Chris Jericho is not advertised.
Alexa Bliss did an interview to promote the WWE house show on Sunday in Nampa, Idaho.
UFC/MMA
Conor McGregor told Rolling Stone “I don’t see Nevada in my future. for the foreseeable future is how I see it. I’m free to d what I want…I’m good. I’m good. New York, New York.,,that’s what I think.” “Are they going to come and arrest me or what the f*** is that? I wanted to give them the respect and I felt they would have respected that but they didn’t. So, whatever. It is what it is. Good luck trying to get it.”
Dana White said again on UFC Tonight that Conor McGregor, if he beats Eddie Alvarez on 11/12 in New York, will then have to choose which championship he wants to keep and which one he will vacate. He can be the first two-division champion for a night, but he can’t remain one.
The Ultimate Fighter will not be airing on 10/19 or 10/26 due to FS 1 airing major league baseball. It will return on 11/2 with a quarterfinal fight with Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France.
Li Jingliang vs. Chad Laprise has been added to the 12/10 UFC show in Toronto. Laprise is a former TUF winner.
Something to pay attention to is Mackenzie Dern on tonight’s AXS Legacy Fighting show. She’s only had one fight but because of her success in grappling, people are looking at her like she could be the next Ronda Rousey level submission expert. She’s called by some the best female grappler in the world and holds a win in grappling over Gabi Garcia, who is like three times her size. She missed weight by nearly three pounds for tonight’s fight, however. MMA Fighting has a great story on her. Joe Eichelberger on tonight’s show just fought last Friday night.
MISCELLANEOUS
Pro wrestlers Kevin Nash and Mike Bennett are lead cast members of a movie called “Anders Manor.” It’s a horror movie. Nash will play a Reverend of all things. Bennett will play an unruly redneck character named Drasaw.
Highspots.com has released a DVD called “I Never Quit: The Story of Magnum T.A.” to commemorate today as the 30th anniversary of the automobile accident that changed the life of Terry Allen, going from the heir apparent to the NWA world heavyweight title and really, perhaps the role, mantle and career that Sting ended up getting (perhaps, because so many things were in play you never know what would have happened, but he was only 27 years old and was one of the biggest stars in wrestling when this happened). But Terry went on to live a very productive life outside of wrestling, raised a family (including one current pro wrestler, Tessa Blanchard) and is really one of the most inspirational characters this business has produced.
Tommy Dreamer has a House of Hardcore show tonight in Cleveland at the Odeon with Rhino vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Ethan Carter III as the main event, Bob Holly vs. Sami Callihan, Matt Cross vs. Tony Nese, Candice LeRae vs. Jessicak Havoc and more.
Battlarts on 11/6 at the Battlarts Academy in Mississauaga, ONT featuring Damien Sandow, plus Brian Cage vs. Moose.
Daniel Weichel vs. Paul Redmond was announced for the Ballator show on 12/16 in Dublin, Ireland. Remond is a fighter from Dublin while Weichel is one of the company’s best featherweights.
The Big Guy formerly known as Ryback will have his first matches since leaving WWE for WrestlePro tonight in Cresskill, NJ at the Community Center and tomorow night in Brooklyn at the St. Pat’s CYO. Santino Marella will be in as General Manager both nights. Ryback & manager Pat Buck take on The Heavenly Bodies for their tag team titles tonight. Also on the show include Sonjay Dutt, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, DJZ, Deonna Purrazzo and Katarina Leigh (who was Winter and Katie Burchill). Tomorrow night Ryback faces Dan Maff. Also on that show is X-Pac, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, Leigh and Purrazzo.
Val Venis vs. Travis Cole was announced for an 11/4 CWE show in Russell, Manitoba.
AR Fox will be the mystery opponent facing Matt Riddle on tomorrow night’s Evolve show in Orlando. Drew Galloway will be in Fox’s corner to build for an eventual Galloway vs. Riddle match.
Even though there were music edits on Pop TV of the Mike Bennett and DJZ entrances, they aired as they were taped in Canada on The Fight Network.
An old school, and actually completely lame looking angle done by Great Khali in India that got mainstream press like it was a real fight when foreigners tried to vandalize Khali’s school.
Both Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will be appearing together, likely for an angle, on the November 14th Raw episode from Buffalo, NY.
As is WWE’s usual custom, the Raw before a major PPV is considered an “all hands on deck” show so the key part-timers are generally scheduled for the show.
As things stand right now, this will be the only Raw where both Lesnar and Goldberg appear.
Both will be on alternate Raws over the next few weeks, while neither are scheduled for the November 7th show in Glasgow, Scotland.
Goldberg makes his first appearance on Raw since 2004 this coming Monday from Denver. Lesnar & Paul Heyman are both scheduled for the show on October 24th in Minneapolis.
Goldberg and Lesnar will headline the Survivor Series on November 20th in Toronto. It’s not certain whether that match will be announced on Monday or not. Tickets for the show in Toronto are sold out.
Figure Four Weekly 10/4/2016: New details emerge in WWE concussion lawsuit filing – On Friday (October 7th), WWE filed a reply in support of their motion to dismiss Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton’s concussion-focused lawsuit. In terms of new information, the most newsworthy passages concern the deposition of Vince McMahon, which has otherwise been sealed from public view… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Oct 10, 2016: The saga of TNA continues, Goldberg rumors, more – Exactly who funded the Bound for Glory PPV and tapings this week? TNA President Billy Corgan did media interviews during the week and couldn’t give a direct answer as to whether the tapings would take place… Bill Goldberg will be appearing on 10/5 on ESPN SportsCenter and clips were shown during Raw of Goldberg battling Brock Lesnar in ads for the WWE 2K 17 game. This is not coincidental because as things stand right now, Goldberg will face Brock Lesnar in a singles match as the big match at the 2016 Survivor Series on 11/20 in Toronto… Sasha Banks’ WWE Raw women’s title win over Charlotte, positioned as the main event and focal point of the 10/3 Raw in Los Angeles, was done to set the two up in the WWE’s first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match. The show will take place on 10/30 at the TD Garden in Boston, on a show that will have two Cell matches… Subscribers click hereto continue reading.
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.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
WON BACK ISSUE:,WON September 20, 1999: Eric Bischoff fired from WCW, Beyond the Mat review, more – Although wrestlers were singing “Ding, Dong, the Witch is dead,” Friday night in Baltimore, when the word of Eric Bischoff’s re-assignment within Turner (read that as a nice way of saying firing) reached the wrestlers, once the initial happiness wore off and reality set in, the reality is little has changed… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
Thursday News Update
Billy Corgan has filed suit against Impact Ventures (TNA), Dixie Carter, Serg Salinas (Carter’s husband) and COO Dean Broadhead in court today. The documents are sealed but the gist is that things between Corgan and Carter fell apart over the past week or so, where Corgan was expecting to buy the company and for whatever reason, that was not going to happen. Corgan then wanted them to pay him back the money he had put into the company in funding the recent tapings and obviously they couldn’t do it. Corgan was asking for an injunction and will have a hearing on it this coming Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Corgan is requesting a jury trial. There are also issues with music rights for the show that airs tonight to the point at one point there was a question if Pop would air the show but the show is airing. The lawsuit being filed was not a surprise but everyone involved has gone silent since the suit was filed. There are also claims that in negotiations that key financial information was withheld.
There is a second lawsuit that was filed two weeks ago by Audience of One Productions, LLC against Impact Ventures (TNA), Aroluxe LLC, Ron Harris of Aroluxe and Dean Broadhead as well. This suit, filed in Richmond, VA, was for Audience of One doing production for TNA TV tapings in June and July 2015, as well as for last year’s Bound for Glory show. On October 23, 2015, Audience of One sent an invoice for $288,039.04 for the production of those events. On November 9, Broadhead of TNA sent them a letter saying TNA was working hard at closing a new television deal and to please hung in there with us. They sent another invoice of November 17, 2015. Broadhead continued to stall them from collecting. Broadhead on January 29, 2016, paid some of the workers a total of $29,001.57. Broadhead then proposed a payment plan for six payments from March through August. TNA made the first payment but haven’t paid anything since, according to the complaint. They are asking for the remaining owed $222,123.43 plus interest.
One of the most expensive pro wrestling shows of 2017 will be an April show in Qatar for Qatar Pro Wrestling. Among the names listed as coming are Booker T, Eddie Edwards Kurt Angle, Road Warrior Animal, Johnny Mundo, Rey Mysterio, Sting, Bob Holly, Bobby Lashley, Alberto El Patron, Ryback, Great Khali, Sonjay Dutt, Chris Masters, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Carlito.
WWE
Roderick Strong debuts at tonight’s NXT tapings as the tag team partner of Austin Aries in the Dusty Rhodes tournament.
Paige has said that she will be undergoing surgery this coming Wednesday. As reported in the new Observer, that has been a contentious situation.
While everyone already knew this, WWE did make it official that the main event of the next Takeover show on 11/19 in Toronto is Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT title. The angles building that up and the rest of the card should be promoted at tonight’s tapings.
Bret Hart on Facebook wrote an apology to Michael Hayes, HHH and Seth Rollins regarding things he’s said about all three in the past. He said it was unfair what he wrote about The Freebirds because they did great business in Texas with the Von Erichs and that Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts and Ronnie (he meant Jimmy) Garvin always treated him with respect. But he did say that he believes Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Davey Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid, Jimmy Hart, The Rougeau Brothers,The Killer Bees, Demolition, Rick Rude, King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang should all be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Not sure if Hayes cut a promo on Hart on Ric Flair’s podcast because I don’t know if it has been taped yet. But Hayes was planning to do so as he wasn’t happy with what Hart said about The Freebirds not belonging in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson will headline the 12/17 FOX show from the new Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the site WWE ran No Mercy in this past week. We talked heavily last night on why this is a very interesting experiment.
Want to make a note regarding the departure of Dave Sholler, the longtime VP of Communications of UFC, who is leaving for an executive role with the Philadelphia 76ers. I had worked with Sholler dating back to the WEC days where he was the head, and he was a great guy to work with in what wasn’t always the easiest of jobs and with him the best in his new role. Sholler will be leaving the company after the Madison Square Garden show.
Bovada has opened odds for the Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes fight with Rousey as a -200 favorite.
Doo Ho Choi vs. Cub Swanson was announced today for the 12/30 UFC 206 show in Las Vegas. That is a very interesting fight as both guys have real firepower. This is the biggest test of Choi’s career.
Frank Mir, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Paige VanZant were on a segment of the new Chris Angel show “Trick’d Up” last night. It was a tribute to Harry Houdini, with all of them punching Liddell in the stomach as hard as they could and for him to absorb the blow
MISCELLANEOUS
NWA Mid South from Saturday night in Dyresburg, TN: Johnny Morton b EMT #1, Jakob Edwinn b Garrett Shanks, Matt Taylor b Brandon Aarons, Greg Anthony b Josh Lewis, Matt Riviera & Rob Conway b Love Connection
Primal Conflict Wrestling on 11/19 in Harpers Ferry, WV at the Harpers Ferry KOA featuring Tommy Dreamer & Doug Delicious vs. Logan Laroux & The Bruiser.
Zombie Wrestling on 10/21 in Toronto at the Great Hall with Zombies vs. Human vs. Luchadoers
CMLL from Monday night in Puebla: Fuerza Chicana & Malayo b Arkalis & Paris, King Jaguar & Policeman b Millennium & Tigre Rojo Jr., Estrellita & Princesa Sugei b Amapola & Tiffany, Stigma & Stuka Jr. & Titan b Escandalo & Misterioso Jr. & Sagrado, Sam Adonis & Kraneo & Ripper b Johnny Idol & Maximo Sexy & Valiente, Mascara Dorada & Mistico & Volador Jr. b Ephesto & Felino & Mephisto (thanks to Kris Zellner)
NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 10/22 in Rogersville, TN at the National Guard Armory.
NWL KC signed former NXT wrestler Sammy Six Guns Jr. from NXT, who will use the name Dak Draper. A former college wreslre, he’s a student of watching heels like Gino Hernandez, Rick Rude and Austin Idol.
CWE is bringing in Demolition, Bill Eadie & Barry Darsow, for Demolition Day on 10/28 at Rookie’s Sports Bar in Winnipeg.
Texas All-Star Wrestling on Saturday night in Humble, TX for Rage in a Cage.
AIW on 10/15 at Tequila Jaxx in Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH features Jeff Cobb vs. Ray Rowe in the main event plus Gringo Loko vs. Triton (CMLL) vs. Laredo Kid.
New England Championship Wrestling on Saturday night in Wakefield, MA at the Americal Civic Center.
MCW tomorrow night in Boonsboro, MD at the Boonsboro Event Center is headlined by Billy Gunn vs. Dante Cabaellero. They also run 10/15 in Galena, MD at the Volunteer Fire Department headlined by Billy Gunn.
