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.
A jam-packed news issue of the Observer up right now on the web site. The story behind the Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match, their first match in 2004 and why the finish changed, why the match is taking place now instead of WrestleMania and Goldberg’s comments.
The plans for the rest of the Survivor Series, the short-term plans involving John Cena and why the No Mercy finish went the way it did, updates on the Hell in a Cell show, plus a complete rundown of No Mercy with match-by-match coverage, business notes, poll results and star ratings.
An in-depth look at different options being debated on for the future of the WWE Network, including different price structures, different things offered, changes in what is being offered and other ideas. We look at the market research being done for different ideas they’ve come up with.
The business of UFC, including why the company has to become exceptionally profitable and why this is so bad for the fighters. We look at the sale and the different investment money needed to hit $4 billion in the price tag.
The return of Ronda Rousey and the questions about the date and her return.
Update on Vince McMahon, this year’s Tribute to the Troops show, Ryback talks WWE drug testing and what he likes and thinks is bullshit about it, notes on the upcoming NXT overseas tour, update on the Hideo Itami injury, more on the Chris Benoit case after the fact, issues with Bret Hart and Michael Hayes over the WWE Hall of Fame, trivia about Bobby Roode’s great entrance music, more on Royal rumble weekend, More notes from the last WWE tryouts, more on James Ellsworth, Eva Marie update more injury notes as well as highlights from all the WWE and NXT arena events over the past week with business notes and highlights.
Complete coverage of King of Pro Wrestling, with match-by-match coverage of one of the year’s best shows, star ratings and poll results as well as notes on where New Japan is going with the booking, identity of the masked men, Michael Elgin notes, and notes on the upcoming jr. tag team tournament.
The situation with Alberto Del Rio and Paige and all the different news stories they’ve been involved with and claims, counter claims, and questionable claims. We look at Paige’s issues with WWE that have come out and others that haven’t come out yet, the Combate Americas talks, the kind of money Alberto was offered to fight and why he didn’t, and all the weirdness of the different stabbing stories.
UFC 204 coverage with a look at the career of Dan Henderson, unique records of Michael Bisping, looking at the decision round-by-round, media scores and match stats, plus all the business notes of the fight and match-by-match coverage.
Maria Kanellis-Bennett ended up making national news from her involvement with Donald Trump on “Celebrity Apprentice” years ago and her comments on the different news stories and what she knows from her own interactions.
Also in this issue:
CMLL’s annual tournament of champions notes including comedy about forgetting who a champion was
A look at the tremendous Arena Mexico show last week
NOAH nearly doubles Korakuen Hall attendance using Okada
Notes on NOAH’s next major show
Notes on the last trios tile bout in New Japan
Notes on this coming weekend’s New Japan World live event
Beginnings of what could be major plans for a big television pilot worked on by a major overseas network and its goals to bring back the glory days of wrestling
Update on situation with Perry Saturn
Notes on WWE Hall of Famer expecting a child
Notes on Sterling Brewer, a Southeastern wrestling television announcer who just passed away
Notes on Wrestle Culture Pro Wrestling
More on the Chris Benoit movie being worked on
Big AAW tournament including some comments that are getting play in different places
Notes on Lucha Underground’s planned first batch of house shows coming up very soon and who is listed as on them
Lots of future plans of Lucha Underground
Eric Van Wagenen talks about taking the show into house shows
Who was the original person to play Matanza Cueto
Ivelisse talks intergender matches
Rey Mysterio talks working for Lucha Underground
ROH shows this weekend and notes
Update on all the behind the scenes with TNA and all the problems with Dixie Carter, Billy Corgan and John Gaburick
Update on what happened regarding talks of WWE buying the tape library
Notes on the reaction to Dixie Carter by talent
Notes from talent over what they hope will happen
How costs ended up being more than expected for the last tapings
Plans for all the TV’s between now and the end of the year
Notes from all the TV taped through 12/8 with angles and title changes
More on the Conor McGregor fine
Commission talk regarding Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar
Jose Aldo talks wanting to leave UFC
Why there is so much fear right now in the UFC office since the sale
Michael Bisping could get into trouble with comments on Brock Lesnar
More notes on UFC 205 on PPV and it being possibly the longest PPV ever
Update on GSP fighting this week and why the deal hasn’t happened yet and whether it’s worth it
Why Al Iaquinta retired
Nate Diaz punishment notes
B.J. Penn injury and Philippines show cancellation notes and why
How crazy UFC schedule will be getting
What UFC star is dating a famous celebrity, who apparently also wants to fight
C.M. Punk update
Why Anderson Silva has been negative on UFC
Lots of new UFC fights
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The Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar match for the 11/20 Survivor Series in Toronto will be made official shortly as Goldberg will appear on WWE television for the first time in nearly 13 years on the 10/17 Raw in Denver. Lesnar will then appear on the 10/24 Raw in Minneapolis.
The deal was put together over the past few weeks and finalized just over one week ago.
Goldberg did not come across as strong as I had expected in his ESPN interview with Jonathan Coachman on 10/5, but on Raw on 10/10, they edited his appearance to focus on his comments regarding Lesnar.
Paul Heyman then did an interview on Raw from Oakland putting it over as a dream match, and really giving it the feel of the biggest special attraction match in WWE aside from Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon in years. He got the crowd chanting for Goldberg and then in the promo put him over as the equal of Brock Lesnar, saying their careers were running parallel and pointing out that in their only match, Goldberg won.
Raw ratings were once again good when you look at everything, as going against both Major League playoffs and the NFL, Raw did 2.75 million viewers, down only slightly from the 2.79 million viewers last week.
The show seemed to flow better than most weeks, and did feature the return of Paul Heyman and a lot of build for a Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match. It will be interesting to see what Goldberg’s return, which will be hyped for a week, does on Monday from Denver.
Baseball seemed to take a big bite out of football, as the NFL game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers only did 9.06 million viewers, which is very low for the series. The two baseball games in prime time saw the early game on TBS with the Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox did 4.02 million viewers and the late game with the San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs on FS1 did 4.10 million viewers, the latter being one of the highest rated shows in the history of the station.
The three hours of Raw were:
8 p.m. 2.79 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.88 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.61 million viewers
The WWE announced that the 14th annual Tribute to the Troops show would be taped as part of the SmackDown tapings on December 13th at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.
The show, which previously was taped overseas at military bases, in recent years had been taped in cities with large amounts of servicemen. This will be the first time it’s been taped in DC.
During the week, WWE stars will be meeting with members of all five branches of the military with Be a Star anti-bullying rallies and hospital visits. All servicemen and women in the area who apply will be able to get complimentary tickets to the tapings for both them and their family members.
Tickets to next year’s Royal Rumble at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX, also went on presale today. The code to buy tickets is “network” and the presale runs through Thursday at 11 p.m. ET.
New Japan tonight announced the Power Struggle lineup, which is the final major show of the year on November 5th at the Edion Arena in Osaka.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Michael Elgin for the IC title is the main event, although Elgin suffered a broken eye socket in his left eye at yesterday’s King of Pro Wrestling show in Sumo Hall from a low dropkick by Naito. As of right now, there is no word on whether he’ll need surgery, which could force a change in the main event.
Three more title matches are on the show, as Katsuyori Shibata defends the NEVER title against EVIL, BUSHI defends the IWGP jr. title against KUSHIDA and the tag team titles are on the line with Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa defending against YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii.
In addition, there will be a Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Seiya Sanada singles match, as well as the finals of the junior heavyweight tag team tournament which starts on October 21st.
The first round matches of that tournament are Young Bucks vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori, David Finlay & Ricochet vs. Gedo & Will Ospreay, Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Fuego and Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. Angel de Oro & Titan.
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.
Bischoff was replaced for a number of reasons, a combination of numerous bad deals and falling ratings, house shows and buy rates. The company temporarily is in the hands of Bill Busch, whose title has been changed from Vice President of Strategic Planning to Executive Vice President. The creative control at this point is in the hands of television producer Craig Leathers, who has the final say, and the same booking committee headed by Kevin Nash, Dusty Rhodes and Kevin Sullivan that got the company into this mess, although everyone seems to be jockeying for position to garner power and get creative input
Some notes from Sunday night’s TNA Impact TV tapings in Orlando. This will air in December and it is the final show as things stand for 2016. They will end the year with a show taped at Matt Hardy’s estate and perhaps do some recap shows.
Going into the final shows, Moose has beaten Aron Rex to win the Grand Championship and the Knockouts title is vacant after Rosemary and Decay took out Gail Kim.
– Cage match for the vacant title: Rosemary beat Jade to become the new champion.
– DCC, which is James Storm, Bram & Eddie Kingston dressed as Los Ingobernables, attacked Jeff Hardy. Matt made the save.
– Mahabali Shera & Al Snow beat Basille Baraka & Baron Dax in a double Indian strap match. Baraka & Dax turned on Snow earlier in the week.
– Allie and Maria finally had their falling out and Allie slapped Maria. All the heel girls beat down Allie and Maria fired her.
– TNA tag champs The Hardys beat Bram & Kingston to retain their titles.
– Billy Corgan announced Allie vs. Laurel Van Ness. If Allie wins, she gets a TNA contract, if she loses, she’s gone.
– Allie beat Laurel Van Ness.
– Drew Galloway did an interview for an upcoming match with Moose for the Grand Championship. Aron Rex came out and said he gets the first shot because he deserves a rematch.
– Grand Champion Moose beat Aron Rex to retain his title.
– Mandrews beat Aiden O’Shea.
– Eddie Edwards vs. Ethan Carter III ended in a no contest. Carter had Edwards in a submission put he had his back on the mat. The ref counted three on EC3 at the same time Edwards tapped.
The WWE has just acknowledged that Becky Lynch will not be appearing on tonight’s No Mercy pay-per-view in Sacramento.
During the pregame show they had Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan tell Alexa Bliss that due to a medical situation that has nothing to do with the ring (as noted earlier today, this was not an injury), that Lynch won’t be on the show. They announced that Bliss would be wrestling on the card but didn’t say who the opponent would be.
As noted, the three most likely opponents would be Nikki Bella, although that would pull her out of an advertised match with Carmella, so it’s likely not her, or Naomi or Eva Marie, unless they bring someone up from NXT or have heel Natalya face Bliss.
They also announced that the Lynch vs. Bliss title match will take place on 11/8 in Glasgow, Scotland, so most likely that is the timetable for Lynch’s return.
*A.J. Styles vs Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena for WWE title – For the first time, because of the Clinton/Trump debate, they are putting the main event of a show that is the clear cut main event in the opening segment at 8 p.m. This in many ways is a one match show. Styles has never failed to deliver in big matches for a long time, and Cena always works hard. In a lot of ways you can watch the first match and there isn’t much else of major importance past the Miz vs. Ziggler match due to the angle. Right now Styles is a 17-to-1 favorite but it should be noted that no smart money has come in on tonight’s show as of this writing, so the odds mean little.
*The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler IC title vs. career – Cable companies have been given a preview of Tuesday’s show which we’ll have later in the update that would seem to indicate Ziggler losing. We do also know that if he does, it’d be an angle in some form since he’s being advertised on shows next month, although I suppose the right hand and left hand in that company aren’t always in synch. Miz is listed as a -160 favorite but that number only indicates people don’t know.
*Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt – Match should be fine. The angle was kind of silly. Orton is listed as a -185 favorite right now.
*Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Usos for tag titles – The Usos are -300. Slater & Rhyno are pretty much a gimmick team that they have no long-term plans for, and the big feud was always to be Usos vs. American Alpha.
*Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss for women’s title – This match is not expected to be taking place even though still advertised.
*Nikki Bella vs. Carmella – It is also possible this won’t take place. If Lynch isn’t on the show and they need a title match, Nikki Bella is the most likely new opponent for Bliss. The only other options are Eva Marie and Naomi in the title match.
*Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin – Since Swagger won the TV match as a surprise, that would favor Corbin and he is listed at -975. Corbin is winning at all the house shows, and the company’s usual directive is not to put heels over at the house shows unless they see the heel as a much bigger star, or the heel has a title.
Honestly, this looks like the weakest on paper WWE PPV in a long time. The main event will almost surely be good to great. Miz vs. Ziggler was a good match last month and with the stakes higher, should be a bigger match this month. With Styles in the opener, Miz and Ziggler are most likely to close the show.
NEW JAPAN KING OF PRO WRESTLING FROM SUMO HALL IN TOKYO AT 2:45 A.M. EASTERN TIME LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND11:45 P.M. LATE SUNDAY NIGHT PACIFIC TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Tiger Mask vs. Red Mask
Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay vs. Adam Cole & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi & Bobby Fish vs. Toru Yano & Jado & Rocky Romero & Baretta
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Go Shiozaki & Maybach Taniguchi & Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya
Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & David Finlay for IWGP jr. tag titles
Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa for IWGP tag titles
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Kushida & Jay Lethal vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kyle O’Reilly for Never open weight title
Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto for 1/4 IWGP title match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji for IWGP heavyweight title
On paper from the Bucks match on, with the exception of the Briscoes match, this looks great. Okada vs. Marufuji was one of the best matches of G-1. Omega vs. Goto is a G-1 final rematch and that was tremendous. O’Reilly vs. Shibata is a rematch of a great ROH match. The eight-man is likely to set up a few matches on the November PPV in Osaka. New Japan Sumo Hall shows are almost always good and this is a deep lineup.
Raw will be Monday night from the Oracle Arena in Oakland. There will also be a Smackdown brand house show on Monday night in Reno, NV.
Smackdown will be Tuesday night in San Jose at the SAP Center.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s No Mercy, tonight’s King of Pro Wrestling and last night’s UFC 204, with thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
We’re also looking for reports on yesterday’s WWE show in Quito, Ecuador.
Figure Four Weekly 10/4/2016: Comparing ECW to TNA – With its constant scrambling for money, TNA is starting to resemble a much more beloved promotion: ECW. While ECW was not entirely solvent going back to at least 1999, when stories of bounced checks were hitting the wrestling newsletters, the situation got especially dire in the last year or so of the company’s existence. After shutting down in January 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 4th… 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.
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WON Back Issue, September 13, 1999: Best wrestlers of each decade, plus tons of news – The television season of wrestling overexposure began this past week with both good and bad news. But when the numbers came in, virtually all the good news was limited to the World Wrestling Federation. Subscribers click here to continue reading.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering No Mercy and taking your quesetions for the show at [email protected]. We have a show up right not that previews tonight’s PPVs, both WWE & NJPW and looks at last night’s UFC show.
Dan Henderson reiterated after his loss to Michael Bisping that he’s retiring. As far as the media scores went, this tells you that the fight could have been fairly judged either way with the key rounds being two and five. Of media scores, 56 percent had it for Bisping, 24 percent had it even and 20 percent had it for Henderson. It wasn’t a robbery in the slightest. It was a close fight.
Becky Lynch missed last night’s show and is expected off the road for a short period of time due to a perosnal health issue that is not serious. The stories going around of a neck injury have been denied to us. She may be hurt in the sense everyone is hurt, but that’s not the issue. Like last month with Randy Orton, WWE has not responded to questions and is still advertising her match. They seem to be the only company left that still operates like that as even AAA when finding out about Alberto at the last minute sent word out immediately of exactly how the card would be changed. Admittedly, New Japan wasn’t exactly forthcoming on Matt Sydal right away but did announce before the show about him not being there and announced the card changes as well. With WWE, we don’t know the new card for certain, although the options are pretty limited, or if they are keeping the title on Lynch or putting the title up in a new match. For what it’s worth, the only women on last night’s show in Portland, OR that aren’t in matches announced for tonight are Natalya and Naomi.
The new Golden 1 Center is expecting 12,000 fans for tonight’s WWE NO Mercy show, which just opened this past week. The opening of the new arena really helped draw the card tonight. The building was also told the show would end at 7:30 p.m. local time, which is much earlier than Raw shows have been ending.
UFC 204 had 500,000 searches which is the normal number. We had less feedback than usual and it felt like less of a buzz to me than any show so far this year, but that number indicates there was a lot of interest. For the weekend, it was behind only Trump, ESPN, Hurricane Matthew and The Girl on the Train as the most searched for items in the U.S.
WWE
Regarding Miz vs. Ziggler, the preview for Tuesday’s Smackdown that was sent to cable companies is, “From San Jose, including the three-way battle for world championship; and a look at Dolph Ziggler’s exit from WWE.”
Another company cable guide’s listing for Tuesday is, just “A look at Dolph’s career as he exits WWE.” (thanks to Jon Southerland)
Noam Dar starts full-time this week with WWE and is at least scheduled to be backstage at Raw.
4-1 Mike Sempervive, Ryan Frederick, Paul Fontaine
3-2 Josh Nason, Mike Sawyer, Steve Juon, John Pollock, David Bixenspan, Frontrow Brian
MISCELLANEOUS
Eric Van Wagenen, the executive producer of Lucha Underground, is at the New York Comic Con and talked about touring and merchandise coming up for the product. Talent was given some October touring dates a month ago, but not as definite, and we’re here in October and obviously they aren’t happening.
Lucha Ilimitado takes place on Wednesday night in Yakima, WA at the Sun Dome with Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Jeff Hardy, plus the American debut of Santo Jr., the son of El Hijo del Santo, teaming with his father against Juventud Guerrera & Psicosis, and MVP vs. Sami Callihan as the top matches. For a preview you can go here.
AAA from last night in Berwyn, IL in the finals of the Jim Lynam Memorial tournaemtn: Chris Hero b Mat Fitchett, Prince Ali b Rey Fenix, Zack Sabre Jr. b Jeff Cobb, ACH b Chuck taylor, AR Fox won three-way over Brian Caeg and Drew gulak to keep the Heritage title, Chris Hero b Prince Ali, Zack Sabre Jr. b ACH, Silas Young & Davey Vega b Kongo Kong & Marcus Crane, Jake Crist & Sami Callihan b Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix (Callihan pinned Pentagon and the AAW singles title was at stake in this match), Chris Hero b Zack Sabre Jr. to win the tournament. (thanks to Michael Blanton)
If you remember the movie “Warrior” from 2011 where, among other things, Kurt Angle played the role of Fedor Emelianenko, director Gavin O’Connor is talking about doing a sequel. Even though the movie was a box office flop to the tune of only doing $14 million, and was a big money loser, O’Connor said he thought the movie came too early beause MMA is more popular now than five years ago, and that he felt there were rabid fans of the first movie more than anything he’s ever done.
I Believe in Wrestling on 10/15 at 5 p.m. Eastern at the Dr. Smith Neighborhood Center at www.WWNLive.com will feature Raquel of TNA, appearances by Mister Saint Laurent and Larry Zbyszko, wrestling by Thea Trinidad and the pro wrestling debut of Seth Petruzelli, a former UFC fighter who once headlined CBS against Kimbo.
C.M. Punk was at the New York Comic Con as a moderator in the Marvel Comics panel. He said he had put on 30 pounds since his UFC fight. Sting was also there unadvertised promoting the new WWE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. Also there were Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Road Warrior Animal, Jim Duggan, Jimmy Hart, Ted DiBiase and Jerry Lawler among many others. DiBiase has lost some weight according to reports. (thanks to Paul Paster and others)
The debut of the Sabotage promotion on Friday night in Covina, CA featuring two stars from Stardom in Japan: Raze & Shotzi Blackheat b Christi Jaynes & Safari Reign, Delilah Doom b Desi De Rata, Sage Sin over Ray Lyn and Keneisha Moon, Holidead & Thunder Rosa b Mariachi Loco & Lil Cholo to keep the Western States tag titles, Andy Brown & Maritza Janett b Tommy Wilson & Ashley Grace, Diosa Athena b Heather Monroe, Yoko Bito & Kairi Hojo b Kat Von Heez & Kaitlin Diemond, Taya b Thunder Rosa to keep the AAA Reina de Reinas title. (thanks to Scott Bryant)
Alpha 1 Wrestling on 10/23 in Oshawa, ONT at 219 Olive Road.
Braxton Sutter of TNA headlines for Empire State Wrestling on 10/22 in Olean, NY at Good Times of Olean.
Hogtown Pro Wrestling on 11/11 in Toronto at 876 Bloor St. West headlined by Mike Bailey.
Lucha Xtreme TV from yesterday in Fresno: The show now airs at 11 a.m. instead of late Saturday night: Anthony Idol b Chris Nail, Donny Suarez b Shadow James, Homicide b Brandon Groom. Next live show is 10/16 at the Big Fresno Fair at 7 PM. at the Pavilion Stage headlined by Homicide vs. Groom for the championship. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
Mid Missouri Wrestling Alliance from last night in St. Louis: Barackus b Big Jim Hoffarth, Matt Kenway & Jason Roberts b Brandon Espinosa & Ace Hawkins to win tag titles, Everett Connors b J-Ma Swagg, Danny Adams b Brian James to win TV title, Da’Marius Jones b Kevin Lee Davidson, Moondog Rover & Damion Cortese b Jimmy D & BT Daramola, A.J. Williams b Gary Jackson. Lacey & Hollie Von Erich, the daughters of Kerry Von Erich, were there to accept his St. Louis Hall of Fame induction. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Wrestlemerica from last night in Barnesville, GA before 225 fans: Clang & Bang b Damian Bennett & Stunt Marshall, Jay Romero b Logan Stevens, Iceberg NC Scotty Beach, Iceberg & X-Pac b C.J. Awesome & Scotty Beach, Fry Daddy b David Tita, Tyson Dean b Zane Stevens. They announced Adam Rose on the 11/12 show. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
Kenta Kobashi made a surprise appearance at today’s All Japan show at Korakuen Hall. (thanks to John Carey)
CZW from last night before a larger than expected crowd in Voorhees, NJ. A few guys driving in from Kentucky missed the show because their car broke down. Alexander James b Nathan Cruz, Frankie Pickard b Jimmy Lloyd and Dan O’Hare, Da Hit Squad b Rick Cataldo & Eddy McQueen (they do a drag parody of the Bella Twins as The Fella Twins), Joe Gacy b BLK Jeez, Josh Crane & Dale Patricks b Devon Moore & Conor Claxton, Chris Dickinson & Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz b Dave Crist & Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, Joey Janela b Lucky 13, Jonathan Gresham b Homicide to retain CZW title in a great match. Homicide won and was declared new champion but Gresham’s leg was on the ropes and it was restarted and Gresham won after a low blow. Danny Havoc won four-way high stake tangled web match over Ricky Shane Page, Tim Donst and Alex Colon after a superplex through carpet strips a bed of nails and a bared wire spider web. Next show is 11/19 for Night of Infamy with Matt Tremont & Jeff Cannonball vs. Young Dragons, and 12/10 for the annual Cage of Death show. (thanks to Bob Magee)
Mecca Pro Wrestling on 10/22 in Cornwall, ONT at 1950 rue Montreal Rd.
Hoosier Pro Wrestling’s 18th anniversary show on 11/5 in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Fairgrounds.
Here is a story on Short Sleeve Sampson of Syracuse, NY working an indie show in Wichita Falls, TX in front of some of his cousins that he only last month found out about.
We’ll be doing three polls this weekend, for Saturday’s UFC 204, Sunday’s WWE No Mercy and Monday’s New Japan King of Pro Wrestling show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 9 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON AXS TV
Mark & Jay Briscoe & Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi for the Never trios titles
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma for the IWGP tag titles
Both of these matches were part of Wrestle Kingdom 10 from the Tokyo Dome on 1/4.
Yoshitatsu & Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Adam Cole & Yujiro Takahashi & Bone Soldier
Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly
Mark & Jay Briscoe & Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
Satoshi Kojima & Ricochet & David Finlay vs. Will Ospreay & Rocky Romero & Baretta for the Never trios championships
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Kushida & Jay Lethal vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
UFC 205 FROM THE MANCHESTER ARENA IN MANCHESTER, UK
Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern
Adriano Martins vs. Leonardo Santos
Mike Perry vs. Danny Roberts
FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Marc Diakiese vs. Lukasz Sajewski
Leon Edwards vs. Albert Tumenov
Davey Grant vs. Damien Stasiak
Iuri Alcantara vs. Brad Pickett
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Mirsad Bektic vs. Russell Doane
Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Stefan Struve
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Jimi Manuwa
Gegard Mousasi vs. Vitor Belfort
Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson for the middleweight title
We’re looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE shows in Quito, Ecuador (Raw brand), Portland, OR (Smackdown brand) and NXT in Baltimore. John Cena is on the show.
WWE NO MERCY PPV ON SUNDAY FROM SACRAMENTO ON THE WWE NETWORK
A.J. Styles vs Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena for WWE title
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler IC title vs. career
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Usos for tag titles
Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss for women’s title
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella
Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin
NEW JAPAN KING OF PRO WRESTLING FROM SUMO HALL IN TOKYO AT 2:45 A.M. EASTERN TIME LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND11:45 P.M. LATE SUNDAY NIGHT PACIFIC TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Tiger Mask vs. Red Mask
Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay vs. Adam Cole & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi & Bobby Fish vs. Toru Yano & Jado & Rocky Romero & Baretta
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Go Shiozaki & Maybach Taniguchi & Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya
Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & David Finlay for IWGP jr. tag titles
Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa for IWGP tag titles
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Kushida & Jay Lethal vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kyle O’Reilly for Never open weight title
Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto for 1/4 IWGP title match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji for IWGP heavyweight title
Raw will be Monday night from the Oracle Arena in Oakland. There will also be a Smackdown brand house show on Monday night in Reno, NV.
Smackdown will be Tuesday night in San Jose at the SAP Center.
Figure Four Weekly 10/4/2016: Comparing ECW to TNA – With its constant scrambling for money, TNA is starting to resemble a much more beloved promotion: ECW. While ECW was not entirely solvent going back to at least 1999, when stories of bounced checks were hitting the wrestling newsletters, the situation got especially dire in the last year or so of the company’s existence. After shutting down in January 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 4th… 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, September 13, 1999: Best wrestlers of each decade, plus tons of news – The television season of wrestling overexposure began this past week with both good and bad news. But when the numbers came in, virtually all the good news was limited to the World Wrestling Federation. Subscribers click here to continue reading.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Tonight’s Arena Mexico show features Volador Jr. vs. Cavernario for the NWA welterweight title. It’s a rematch from the great match the two had on Friday. This is why Friday nights at Arena Mexico right now have the best wrestling atmosphere anywhere in the world, with last week’s main event between the two here.
For this weekend, Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino will be covering the King of Pro Wrestling event in English for New Japan World. The press conference will be on late Saturday night at 1 a.m. Eastern (right after UFC) with the show itself live at 3 a.m. Eastern on late Sunday night.
The PWG Battle of Los Angeles DVDs are out and ready to be shipped. For more info, go to www.highspots.com All three days are very good, but day two, which featured Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal & Will Ospreay, was easily the best U.S. show of the year as far as just bell to bell action.
Tonight’s Justin Gaethje vs. Ozzy Dugulubgov main event on the World Series of Fighting show in Kansas City has been pulled from the show as Dugulubgov was suffering from bad headaches and also had low blood pressure and has been hospitalized. Gaethje will be paid. David Branch vs. Vinny Magalhaes for the light heavyweight title is the new main event. The show airs at 11 p.m. tonight on NBC Sports Network.
The Ian Entwistle vs. Rob Font fight scheduled for tomorrow’s UFC show is off. Entwistle fell ill and never came to weigh-ins, and thus was disqualified from being on the show.
WWE
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and WWE have joined forces for a Ninja Superstars action figure line. They will be marketed by Playmates Toys and available exclusively at Walmart starting in early November. Leonardo will be John Cena, Raphael will be Sting, Donatello will be Undertaker and Michelangelo will be Randy Savage.
Tim Wiese, the former German star goalkeeper, makes his pro wrestling debut on the 11/3 show in Munich, teaming with Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Carlito & Primo & Bo Dallas.
An interview with Bobby Roode where he said his career highlight was the recent show in Brooklyn is here.
Bret Hart talks WWE Hall of Fame and more.
Bret Hart on being embarrassed about WWE Hall of Fame
“I’m never going to take anything away from any of the inductees that they’ve had. But to me, the HOF this year I have a voice of protest as sort of a legendary figure of the industry. I am embarrassed that there’s so many great wrestlers out there that have never been given their credit. Never got their due.”
Hart went on to identify Ric Rude, the Fabulous Rougeaus, the Demolition and the Hart Foundation as deserving potential inductees. He was also critical of recent inductees the Freebirds:
“Why have they been overlooked when you can induct the Freebirds who never did squat in WWE? Ever. Never drew any money, never did anything. When I remember the Freebirds, they were all drunk and passed out at the gate at one of the airports in my first day in WWF. None of them even made the show that day, they were too drunk to make their plane.”
Bret Hart on Andre the Giant “firing” The Freebirds, Owen Hart in the Hall of Fame:
“A few weeks later—when I was wrestling, I was just starting in WWF—they showed up at the building at about 9:30 in Providence, Rhode Island. And I remember Andre the Giant said ‘you guys are fired,’ and I remember Michael Hayes cutting a promo on Andre telling him ‘you can’t fire me,’ and ‘who do you think you are?’ and ‘we’ll see who’s fired tomorrow!’ And I remember Andre saying ‘we’ll see who’s fired tomorrow.’ They were fired, they were gone the next day.”
“I’ve always gotten along with [Michael Hayes], but as far as their contribution to wrestling, gimme a break. They were all pill heads and, for lack of a better word, they were all screw-ups.
“They’re not picking the cream of the crop, they’re picking whoever the first person they see on the list and they go ‘he would be easy to fly in.'”
“If you’re going to have a Hall of Fame, you’ve got to have Owen Hart in the Hall of Fame.”
Hart has a petition online to get Owen Hart into the Hall of Fame which you can visit at OwenHartForHallofFame.com.
UFC
Nikita Krylov vs. Misha Cirkunov was addled to the 12/10 show in Toronto.
MISCELLANEOUS
This made news all over the world regarding the young sons of the leader of Chechnya doing MMA fights including kicks to the head of downed opponents on national television. (thanks to Dennis Gorman and many others)
Some new concussion research is here. (thanks to Peter Morgan)
Today is the 15th anniversary of the death of Chris Adams.
Today is Malia Hosaka’s 47th birthday. (thanks to Matt Schreiner)
Sterling Brewer, a former wrestling announcer from the territorial era out of Birmingham, passed away on 9/30 at the age of 90. We was a local TV and radio news reporter and sports director who was best known as the local announcer for live Saturday night matches.
AAW’s Jim Lyman Memorial tournament starts tonight at 8 p.m. at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL with a loaded lineup:
Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan for AAW title in a death match
Drew Gulak vs. Jeff Cobb
Chris Hero vs. Kongo Kong
Prince Ali vs. Kamaitachi
Josh Alexander vs. Brian Cage
Silas Young vs. Mat Fichett
Chuck Taylor vs. Davey Vega
AR Fox vs. ?
Colt Cabana vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Jessicka Havok vs. Heidi Lovelace (not in tournament)
The winners advance to tomorrow night’s show in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club for the final eight.
Bellator announced a 12/10 show in Florence, Italy with both kickboxing and MMA. Rafael Carvalho will defend his middleweight title in a rematch with Melvin Manhoef. Carvalho won their first match via split decision. The kickboxing show is headlined by Giorgrio Petrosyan (82-2-1, 1 no contest) vs. British champion Jordan Watson (48-11-2). Another rematch has Gloria Peritore (11-1-1) defending her women’s flyweight kickboxing title against Denise Keilhotz (45-3).
Combate Americas announced its first show in New York on 10/14 in Verona. NY at the Turning Stone Resort Casino headlined by Victor Reyna (8-2) vs. Marc Stevens (20-10) and John Castaneda (11-2) vs. Gustavo Lopez (6-1) for the bantamweight championship. The show will air live on UFC Fight Pass.
Alberto El Patron is scheduled as the top star at the Jersey All Pro Wrestling 20th anniversary show on 11/12 in Rahway, NJ.
Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 10/29 in Ottawa at the Dom Polski Hall.
ECCW Halloween Hell on 10/15 in New Westminster, BC at the Sapperton Pensioners Hall featuring Dr. Luther and Shayna Baszler.
IWA 20th anniversary show from last night in Clarksville, IN: Jonathan Wolf b Jake Parnell, Jake Crist b Nathan Cruz, Bull Pain NC Frank Isaac Anderson, Randi West won Battle Royal, 2 Tuff Tony b Mance Warner, Brotherwood won over Bomb Shelter, NVD & Sage Phillips and Corey Storm, Ram Jam b Zach Gowen, Reed Bentley & John Wayne Murdoch & Nick Depp & Mark Wolf b Mitch Ryder & Derek Neal & The Hangman, Tracy Smothers b J.J. Garrett to win IWA Mid South title, Sami Callihan b Cole Radrick, Chris Hero won three-way over Shigehiro Irie and Kongo Kong. (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Smash Wrestling on 10/22 in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Centre headlined by Rosemary vs. Allie in a cage match for an all-womens’ show that includes Jennifer Blake, Jade, Leva Bates, Veda Scott, Vanessa Kraven, Mercedes Martinez, KC Spinelli, Heidi Lovelace and Leah Vaughan.
Smash Wrestling has a men’s show on 10/23 in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center with Scotty O’Shea vs. Brent Banks in a cage mach plus Cody Rhodes vs. Tyson Dux.
DJZ & Mandrews & Braxton Sutter vs. Marshe Rockett & Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett
Gail Kim vs. Sienna for TNA title
Aron Rex vs. Baron Dax for the Grand Championship
Bobby Lashley vs. Eddie Edwards for the TNA championship
Figure Four Weekly 10/4/2016:Comparing ECW to TNA – With its constant scrambling for money, TNA is starting to resemble a much more beloved promotion: ECW. While ECW was not entirely solvent going back to at least 1999, when stories of bounced checks were hitting the wrestling newsletters, the situation got especially dire in the last year or so of the company’s existence. After shutting down in January 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 4th… 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, September 13, 1999: Best wrestlers of each decade, plus tons of news – The television season of wrestling overexposure began this past week with both good and bad news. But when the numbers came in, virtually all the good news was limited to the World Wrestling Federation. Subscribers click here to continue reading.
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be doing weekend shows on Saturday night after the UFC show and Sunday after the WWE PPV, as well as Monday night after Raw this week.
Nate Diaz vapes CBD after his match with Conor McGregor.
USADA announced today that Nate Diaz will not face any disciplinary action regarding his usage of a vape pen at the press conference after his match with Conor McGregor on 8/20. USADA sent out a release saying that since Diaz’s test was negative for Cannabinoids, they are not taking action against him, but they have given him a public warning not to do it again. Diaz may still be disciplined by the Nevada commission since it was within their jurisdiction as well.
There was a bad scene at a Seth Rollins autograph signing today in Santiago, Chile, at the Costanero Center. A huge crowd showed up and fans started skipping in line and it led to shoving and fights. One fan tried to steal Rollins’ hat. It got so bad the entire session was canceled, which led to more fights and fans looting at the center.
Alberto Del Rio worked his scheduled What Culture Pro Wrestling show in Newcastle today. He flew in last night. He wrestled in a T-shirt and the arm that was stabbed was all taped up, but he was out there taking bumps. I watched some of it but not enough to tell what kind of a match it was. Jim Ross & Jim Cornette, at least early on, were fun to listen to and had their old chemistry back immediately even if neither knew who Desperado was when he kept interfering in the Minoru Suzuki vs. Joe Coffey match. They very much knew Suzuki. Suzuki blew off a Jim Ross handshake in playing heel after his match after Ross had been putting him over like crazy on the commentary. Bret Hart made a surprise appearance and really put over Ross as an announcer, as well as put over Cody Rhodes and Kurt Angle.
The San Antonio police have yet to confirm any records of a Del Rio stabbing. They have asked for an address and those close to Del Rio have not been able to provide an address. Plus, there are some different stories that are out there. Paige was there when the incident took place but has not said anything publicly about it.
The MMAFA has called for adding weight classs in MMA due to too large a gap meaning athletes are cutting too much weight. They are advocating men’s weight divisions at 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 225 and heavyweight. They are advocating women’s divisions at 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 185 and heavyweight.
WWE
Total Bellas on E! debuted to a dissapointingly low number of viewers.
Total Bellas last night debuted with 632,000 viewers, which given the level of the promotion of the show, has to be considered a major disappointment.
WWE has a pre-sale through 10 p.m. tonight for the 12/27 house show in St. Louis at the Scottrade Center with the Raw brand, with the password WWELIVE
Pre-sale code for the NXT show at the Theater in Madison Square Garden on 11/16 is NXTLIVE. You can also use the code TICKETS for that show. The pre-sale for both New York and Boston ends tomorrow at 11 a.m.
You can also use the NXTLIVE code for presale tickets today for the show on 11/17 at Boston’s Agannis Arena.
WWE sent out an e-mail today to some former WWE Network subscribers offering them a free month and pushing you can get No Mercy free.
The Australian promoters of the NXT tour are offering tickets in different price ranges being upgraded to the next session called the Glorious Offer. (thanks to James Stanios)
Colt & Ariel Toombs promoting the Roddy Piper book that they wrote about their father is here.
UFC / MMA
A three-hour special called “Michael Bisping: Road to Redemption” airs atnoon on Saturday as a lead in for the Saturday night PPV on The Fight Network.
Mickey Gall vs. Sage Northcutt is official for 12/17 in Sacramento. Gall has challenged Northcutt to a hair vs. hair match, which would be quite the attraction, but Northcutt has not responded to that challenge.
Kyle Noke vs. Dominique Steele has been added to the 11/27 UFC show in Melbourne, Australia at the Rod Laver Arena.
Tatiana Suarez (a name to watch) vs. Julianna Lima and Tiago Trator vs. Zubaira Tukhugov has been added to the 12/9 UFC show in Albany, NY.
Three-time NCAA champion Ed Ruth will make his MMA debut on the 11/4 Bellator show in Uncasville, CT, facing Mark Mangiaridi. Mangiardi is also making his pro debut after four amateur fights. Also debuting on that show is Tyrell Fortune, another amateur star, who debuts against Cody Miskell, also making his pro debut after seven amateur fights. Both fights will be on the streaming prelims and not on Spike.
Six fights have been announced for the 12/10 UFC 206 show at the Air Canada Centre:
*Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Rumble Johnson for the light heavyweight title
*Lando Vannata vs. John Makdessi
*Valerie Letourneau vs. Poliana Botelho
*Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober
*Rustam Khabilov vs. Jason Saggo
*Zach Makovsky vs. John Moraga
MISCELLANEOUS
ROH Trios Tournament 2016 set to begin.
ROH announced a trios tournament match for the 10/29 TV tapings in Baltimore will have Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian & Kamaitachi vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Okumura & Hechicero.
ROH also announced this card for 11/20 in Leicester, England:
*Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay & Marty Scurll
*Adam Cole vs. Chris Sabin
*Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley
*Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish
One of those stories on the greatest tag teams of all-time which doesn’t include Stevens & Patterson, Bockwinkel & Stevens, Misawa & Kobashi, Brody & Hansen, The Kangaroos, Von Brauners but does include Earthquake & Typhoon here.
Irv Muchnick has a story on his experience getting an unidentified source envelope regarding a settled income tax dispute regarding the McMahons, and how that relates to the current Donald Trump story here.
Journeyman pro wrestler Tom Hankins has written an autobiography called “The Mat, The Mob & Music” with Scott Teal. For info you can go here.
New Jack returns to pro wrestling and an interview with him is here.
New England Championship Wrestling on 10/15 in Wakefield, MA at the Americal Civic Center
I’ve been asked a question about the identity of the late 60s Texas wrestler Spoiler #3. Spoiler #1 was Don Jardine and #2 was Smasher Sloan.
Cross Bones Pro Wrestling on 11/12 at the Cross Bones Wrestling Academy in Kitchener, ONT headlined by Alessando Del Bruno vs. Jake O’Reilly.
CWF on 10/30 at 2:30 p.m. at the CWF Studios in St Catharines, ONT featuring Rene Dupree.
NWX on 10/23 in St Catharines, ONT at the CWF Studios.
Rockstar Pro Wrestling tomorrow night has an iPPV on Facebook from Dayton, OH at the Rockstar Pro Arena headlined by Dave Crist vs. Eric Rayn, plus a ladder match, a eight room brawl, a Zombie lumberjack match, a guitar match, a women’s Halloween costume match and a dog collar match.
MCW on 10/14 in Boonsboro, MD and 10/15 in Galena, MD headlined by Billy Gunn. The 101/4 show will be at the Boonsboro Events Center and the 10/15 show will be at the Galena Volunteer Fire Department.
Big Time Wrestling’s 20th anniversary show is 10/28 in Newark, CA at the Newark Pavilion featuring Honky Tonk Man, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Paul London and Shane Kody.
The IWF is offering two wrestling training scholarships to Veterans at its school in Nutley, NJ. The winners will also get a meet and greet with Darren Young.
Premier Championship Wrestling from Saturday night in Winnipeg: Trent Nash & Shao Ming b James Beaver & Jay Walker and Jeremy Joseph & Dragneel, Zack Mercury b Antonio Scorpio, Jay Walker b A.J. Sanchez, Chad Tatum b Jay Walker, Michael Clark & Gisele Shaw b Brett Morgan & Ace Riviera, Moses Luke b Bull Bodnar, London Dynasty NC Billy Blayze & Dick Blood, Jackie Lee won three-way over Scott Justice and Alix Vanna. Jimmy Hart was the special guest commissioner. The next show is 11/5 at Doubles Bar in Winnipeg.
NWL STL announced the signing of Kevin Lee Davidson to a multi-year deal. Davidson, who is from South St. Louis County, will use the name Todd Letterman as a former high school sports star (which he was).
The Fight Network airs ONE Championship: State of Warriors live tomorrowmorning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time from Yangon, Myanmar. After that they will air the UFC 204 weigh-ins at 1 p.m. Eastern from Manchester and then air WSOF live at 11 p.m. from Kansas City.
IWA East Coast on Saturday night in Nitro, WV at the Kingsway Outreach Center with all proceeds going to the Elkview Middle School Athletic Department.
CZW on 10/8 in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone with a free TV taping at 2 p.m. and then the main show at 8 p.m. The main show has Tim Donst vs. Alex Colon vs Danny Havoc vs. Rickey Shane Page plus Jonathan Gresham vs. Homicide for the CZW world title. .
Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 10/8 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium is headlined by Jason Kincaid vs. Chase Owens.
Evolve announced Drew Galloway vs. Matt Riddle for 11/12 in Queens, NY.
Evolve on 10/15 in Orlando, FL at the Dr. Smith Neighborhood Center has Timothy Thatcher vs. Ethan Page for the Evolve title, Chris Hero vs. Drew Gulak, Matt Riddle vs. ?, Dustin vs. Fred Yehi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tracy Williams. Drew Galloway will be at the show but he won’t be able to wrestle.
Evolve on 10/16 in Ybor City, FL at The Orpheum has Thatcher vs. Gulak for the Evolve title, Hero vs. Riddle, Sabre vs. Yehi, Page vs. Sami Callihan, Dustin vs. Darby Allin and Williams vs. Jason Kincaid. William Regal and Galloway will both be on that show.
Glory on 10/21 in Broomfield, CO at the 1st Bank Center has Nieky Holzken vs. Murthel Groenhart and Robin van Roosmalen vs. Gabriel Varga.
Cutting through a lot of major rumors regarding what is going on with TNA, and the Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg talks, are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It’s a double issue week including a major story on the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot and candidates.
The lead story regards when the funding came in for Bound for Glory and the television tapings, notes on the meeting Dixie Carter had with talent and where things stand going forward with the company, the tape library, ownership, and more issues going forward.
There is also a look at the story behind the Lesnar vs. Goldberg match, how it came to happen, why it is happening in November, as well as a look at Goldberg’s prior WWE run. Also see how this story is similar to many others in recent years, and more things that led to this match happening now.
Inside has updated plans for the next two WWE PPV shows including a match not yet announced that will be a first ever in WWE history.
Also look at the Royal Rumble coming to the Alamodome, a look back to the 1997 Rumble in the same location, and how big an undertaking running the stadium right now really is.
There is an article on the death of Josh Samman, a UFC fighter who passed away this week and how struggles to make it to UFC, and his outside the cage struggles in life.
Plus examine the strange situation with Alberto Del Rio and examine the different stories, as well as the about face of AAA, and full coverage of the Heroes Inmortales show.
Also inside, a complete rundown of the ROH All-Star Extravaganza show, with background on the show, notes on the Final Battle show and future direction coming from the show, poll results, match-by-match coverage and star ratings, as well as a look at the crazy main event.
Order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or use Paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
RATES: For the United States, it is $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. Get $1 off in every price range if ordering by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228).
SPECIAL: Get one free classic issue of your choice if you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, or get two free classic issues with a 40 issue subscription!
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
WON Back Issue, September 13, 1999: Best wrestlers of each decade, plus tons of news – A look at the best wrestlers decade by decade, plus tons of news… Publications around the world have been coming up with All-century teams or best of the century performers in all forms of sports and entertainment. Many lists will probably be coming out for pro wrestlers as well. The biggest problem with such lists is comparing entirely different performers who are doing entirely different businesses… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues must let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. There is coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obituary issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Also in this issue:
A look at the Volador Jr. vs. Cavernario Reyes del Aire final and the crowd reaction
Update on the Elite promotion
What Jack Evans said about AAA that can’t do wonders for him
Latest Dragon Gate angle leading to the departure of Akira Tozawa
A look at Dragon Gate’s big shows over the past week
NOAH looks to be drawing its biggest Korakuen Hall crowd in some time this week and what main event is doing it
Notes from the King of Pro Wrestling show
Who to expect new pushes from in New Japan
Notes on the new Tiger Mask cartoon
Notes on a benefit show for Masa Saito
A title belt from 1975 being defended next month in Japan
Japanese promoting closing up at the end of the year
Notes from the Stardom promotion in Japan
Notes on the debut of the Diamond Star promotion and what Americans are involved
Update on Tammy Sytch’s legal situation
How pro wrestling will be affected in new commission legislation that comes from adding MMA to the commission auspices
A look at how this will change things for the smaller promoters in the state
Update on the WWC Aniversario weekend
A look at the wXw tag team tournament week
Lots of notes regarding the career of Magnum T.A.
Lots of notes regarding the planned movie on Chris Benoit
More notes on the career of Moose Morowski
Cody Rhodes talks about a wrestler he thinks should be in WWE
Former ECW, WWE and TNA star doing an MMA fight soon
Ricochet vs. Tessa Blanchard match notes as more from Beyond Wrestling
Lots of notes form last week’s Crash show
Promoter talks about issues dealing with Alberto De Rio
Update on Marc Mero after heart surgery
Former WWE & TNA star has first match in years this past weekend
Popular reality show star resurfaces, keeping his pro wrestling dream live
Lucha Underground star suffers serious injury
Lucha Underground signs new wrestler
Two of the best wresters in the world start with ROH as regulars imminently an more on that
Notes from ROH TV that will air through the first week of November
Crazy Eric Bischoff legal threat and what he was mad about
Notes on the next several weeks of TNA television
More on the new celebrity owners of the UFC
Tons of new UFC matches signed
Jose Aldo talks more about why he wants to leave UFC
More UFC departures
Story behind Michael Graves domestic violence allegation and being pulled from his next fight
Why Michael Bisping refuses to defend his title against one of the “big four”
Another UFC star threatens to leave the company if he doesn’t get the title shot he feels he deserves
Longtime UFC stars announce retirement
Tito Ortiz talks a timetable for fighting Chael Sonnen
Scott Coker talks about the possibilities of Ryback in Bellator
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The original plan was to do an afternoon taping today as they would be unable to run a show tonight due to expected weather issues. They plan was then to cancel Friday and return for two Saturday tapings.
However, based on the weather, the tapings tonight, Friday, and Saturday afternoon are off. They will now run at 6 pm Saturday night, and two Sunday shows set for 1 pm and 6 pm.
In related news, NXT rescheduled two Florida house shows becasue of Matthew. Friday’s show in Crystal River has been rescheduled to October 29th, while Saturday’s show in Fort Pierce, FL, will now take place on October 14th.
Florida’s governor is urging up to 1.5 million people to evacuate as the storm hits land. It’s currently a Category 4 and is gaining steam as it heads toward the U.S. east coast.
The saga of TNA continued this past week with the big question left unanswered.
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, although pushed the idea that he expected they would. He said he was hoping to purchase the company, and without giving more details, said the process was complicated.
The funds to do the PPV live came in three days before the show, as that is when the people who needed the money up front for the satellite uplink to go live were contacted. PPV providers, knowing the issues, in some cases weren’t taking orders for the show until that point in time. But they were not sold the source of the funding. Talent was expecting to be addressed at Bound for Glory on 10/2, but that came and went without a word.
At this point, a Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match is all but confirmed for WWE Survivor Series on November 20 in Toronto.
There had been rumors from inside WWE that a deal for such a match had been completed over the weekend and two WWE sources over the last two days also indicated such a match was either finalized or at least in heavy negotiations.
Numerous sources have stated this is the battle plan for the show.
Goldberg will be on ESPN SportsCenter Wednesday night to promote WWE 2K17, and is expected to at least tease the idea of the match. During Raw Monday, they teased that the announcement that Goldberg’s current situation with WWE would be addressed.
It would be Goldberg’s first WWE match since his WrestleMania XX match with Lesnar more than 12 years ago. Goldberg, 49, remains in great shape and has trained hard in muay thai on a regular basis for years. He was WCW’s top attraction and is best remembered from that era.
He did work for one year with WWE in 2003 and early 2004 with both sides wanting out at the end of the contract which left both sides with ill will.
Since making a deal with 2K Sports, Goldberg said that he considers those issues water under the bridge and was open to working with WWE.
This would be the third time in a row that a 2K Sports signee ended up with a WWE deal following Ultimate Warrior and Sting.
