Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.
Prior to tonight’s TakeOver event, NXT taped next week’s TV episode at the Barclays Center. Here’s a rundown of what happened:
– The crowd was awaiting Adam Cole’s debut all night. There were many scattered “Adam Cole Bay-Bay!” chants from the moment I got into the arena until the action started.
While she and Becky Lynch were being interviewed by Renee Young on the video screen for the pre-show, Bayley got some pretty solid boos when she spoke.
– No Way Jose vs. Lars Sullivan ended in a no contest
No Way Jose came out to a strong reaction and did the conga line with some people from the crowd, but he was attacked by Sullivan during it. Sullivan threw Jose into the boards and laid him out with a slam before leaving. Jose was helped up by referees.
– Peyton Royce (w/ Billie Kay) defeated Sarah Logan
Logan shined while making a comeback until Royce eventually got the win with a fisherman’s suplex.
– WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne & Wolfgang defeated Tyler Bate & Trent Seven
This was Dunne’s first match since he was pulled from PROGRESS Wrestling’s shows in the US last weekend after being busted open in an indie match. He got a really good reaction, with Bate and Seven getting one as well. There was a “This is PROGRESS” chant at one point.
They had a good tag match. Bate hit the Tyler Driver ’97 on Dunne and appeared to have it won, but Dunne had made a tag and Wolfgang came off the top with a swanton for the pin.
Another match has been added to the SummerSlam pre-show.
It was announced in a video today that The Hardys would again team up with Jason Jordan against The Miz, Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas on Sunday. The New Day defending their SmackDown tag titles against The Usos is currently listed for the pre-show as well, along with Neville getting his rematch against Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship.
The Hardys & Jordan vs. The Miztourage is also a rematch from this week’s episode of Raw. The faces won that first meeting after it was turned into a six-man tag when The Miz got disqualified in a singles match against Jordan due to Axel and Dallas’ interference.
The addition of the six-man tag brings the SummerSlam lineup up to 13 matches. Here’s the updated card:
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman in a fatal four-way match (Lesnar and Paul Heyman have vowed to leave WWE if Lesnar loses)
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
United States Champion AJ Styles defending against Kevin Owens (with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee)
John Cena vs. Baron Corbin
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Sasha Banks
SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi defending against Natalya
Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
Randy Orton vs. Rusev
Big Cass vs. Big Show (with Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a shark cage)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defending against The Usos (kickoff show)
The Hardys & Jason Jordan vs. The Miz, Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (kickoff show)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Akira Tozawa defending against Neville (kickoff show)
While appearing on the “From the Top Rope” podcast alongside her sister, Brie Bella gave one of the strongest indications yet that Daniel Bryan will eventually end up wrestling again — whether it’s in a WWE ring or somewhere else.
Brie said about Bryan possibly coming back: “I told Bryan, ‘You do have a daughter, so always remember that. But if the doctors finally give you the green light,’ I say, ‘Go. Like this is your dream and passion. You have one life to live and I will never hold you back — because I love to wrestle, and I would hate if someone told me you can’t do it.”
“And if WWE doesn’t allow it, then I said, ‘Go somewhere else. It’s all on you,'” She added. “Obviously he would love to be able to get back in that WWE ring, but I know for a fact my husband is going to find his way back to the ring. Like, he honestly is.”
Brie also noted that Bryan has been going to doctors and undergoing testing since retiring. She said that he found Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and has undergone about 40 treatments across the country. Dave Meltzer wrote in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Bryan would have likely first looked into those around WrestleMania week.
Regardless of being cleared by outside doctors, Bryan would need WWE’s Dr. Joseph Maroon to reverse his decision if he is to wrestle for the company again. He hasn’t wrestled since April of 2015, with him having suffered a concussion in a match shortly before that.
A history of concussions and issues related to them contributed to Bryan not being cleared by Maroon. Bryan announced his retirement in February of last year and later transitioned into a role as the on-screen general manager of SmackDown.
As he does before every NXT TakeOver special, Paul “Triple H” Levesque met with the pro wrestling media on a conference call this afternoon. Here’s a rundown of some of the topics that were discussed:
– TakeOver: Brooklyn feeling a little bit like NXT’s WrestleMania and the brand starting to fire on all cylinders again.
– Triple H sending his thoughts and prayers to Ric Flair as he battles health issues.
– Working with other promoters like Gabe Sapolsky, the PROGRESS co-owners, and Dave Prazak. Triple H clarified that promoters that they work with aren’t officially employed with WWE but there’s an opportunity to be around each other and learn.
– Being blown away by the Mae Young Classic tapings and a lot of people who worked on it thinking it was better than the Cruiserweight Classic.
– Experimenting with binge-watching and on-demand programming with the Mae Young Classic release schedule.
– Success stories from the Performance Center and being thrilled with the process while never being totally satisfied with the results.
– The potential for wrestlers to move from the main roster to NXT.
– A rundown of the TakeOver card and NXT becoming a hotbed.
As usually happens during SummerSlam season, the promotion for this year’s WWE video game has entered into full swing.
In a video that was posted on IGN today, Corey Graves and Renee Young revealed the first 47 wrestlers who will be playable characters in WWE 2K18. Graves will also be part of the game’s commentary team with Michael Cole and Byron Saxton.
The video of the initial round of the roster reveal is available to watch below and another will be released next week:
Seth Rollins was previously confirmed as the cover star of WWE 2K18 and Kurt Angle is its pre-order bonus character. Here’s the full list of names that were announced for the game today:
Bray Wyatt
Dolph Ziggler
Sami Zayn
Dean Ambrose
Baron Corbin
Kalisto
Akira Tozawa
Sin Cara
Hideo Itami
Eric Young
Jinder Mahal
The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke)
The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)
Cesaro
Sheamus
Karl Anderson
Luke Gallows
Nikki Cross
Alundra Blayze
Emma
Lita
Summer Rae
Paige
Brie Bella
Nikki Bella
The British Bulldog
Buddy Roberts
Diamond Dallas Page
The Big Boss Man
Mark Henry
Bam Bam Bigelow
Bret Hart
Dusty Rhodes
The Undertaker
Big Show
Andre the Giant
Kane
Kevin Nash (and Diesel)
Luke Harper
Erick Rowan
Sawyer Fulton
Alexander Wolfe
Killian Dain
Braun Strowman
Goldust
WWE 2K18 will be released on October 17th. In addition to the roster announcements, IGN uploaded video of what SAnitY’s entrance will look like in the game:
Providence, Rhode Island hosted SmackDown’s go-home show for SummerSlam last night.
Jinder Mahal and John Cena faced off in a non-title match, with Baron Corbin interfering and then cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. The attempt ended up being unsuccessful as Mahal pinned Corbin with a schoolboy after he was briefly distracted by punching Cena off of the apron.
More build to SummerSlam rounded out the episode. Mahal started things off with a celebration of Indian Independence Day before being interrupted by Shinsuke Nakamura, The New Day took on The Usos in a non-title match, and AJ Styles tried to make sure Shane McMahon will call things evenly on Sunday.
Baron Corbin’s Money in the Bank briefcase won’t be in play at SummerSlam after all.
Corbin closed tonight’s episode of SmackDown by unsuccessfully cashing in his title shot against Jinder Mahal. The failed cash-in came after Mahal faced John Cena in the main event, with Corbin causing a disqualification as Cena had the match won following an Attitude Adjustment off the second rope.
He hit Cena with the briefcase and began to walk away before turning his attention to a prone Mahal. He cashed in the contract, but Mahal pinned him with a schoolboy to retain after Corbin was briefly distracted by punching Cena off of the apron.
Mahal will defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam on Sunday, with Corbin also set to face Cena at the pay-per-view.
Cena and Damien Sandow are the only other wrestlers to have cashed in a Money in the Bank briefcase and not won the title.
Corbin won the title shot in the main event of June’s Money in the Bank PPV. Though he lost to Mahal tonight, another storyline of a looming cash-in heading into SummerSlam remains as Carmella still holds her briefcase.
Before SmackDown has its go-home show tonight, Raw’s final build to SummerSlam took place on Monday.
A face-to-face-to-face-to-face confrontation between Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, and Roman Reigns closed the episode. And as expected, things broke down into a brawl before security and some of the locker room came out to stop it.
There was also a title change as Akira Tozawa defeated Neville to become the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax faced off to decide who will challenge Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam, and Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose reunited ahead of a tag title match on Sunday.
UPDATE: Ric Flair is now out of surgery but the situation is still extremely serious.
After being hospitalized on Saturday, Ric Flair is in a medically induced coma and set to undergo a procedure.
A representative for WWE confirmed that news to TMZ, though they did not specify what the procedure is. After initially downplaying the hospital visit, Flair’s management team wrote a message late last night asking for fans and friends to pray for Flair as he is dealing with “tough medical issues.”
Not much more is clear other than the situation is serious. Flair was to undergo surgery this week, but we’re not clear whether this was the original surgery scheduled or a new surgery. There is believed to be a heart issue involved and another issue.
WWE posted an article about Flair’s hospitalization on their website and many within the company have sent along their prayers for him on Twitter. Michael Hayes wrote that he had visited Flair yesterday and assured everyone that Flair needs their prayers and positive vibes.
PROGRESS Wrestling capped off its weekend in the United States with an intimate show (only 300 tickets were sold and they sold out right after being put on sale) in the Boston area last night. Here’s a rundown of the event:
– PROGRESS co-owner Jim Smallman opened the show discussing the stress of the promotion’s last couple of days, including injuries to Pete Dunne and TK Cooper, the building in New York being absurdly hot, and the travel issues they had getting to Boston. He mentioned the positivity of the fans in New York despite the issues and did his usual welcome.
– Jeff Cobb defeated Mark Andrews
This was about what you’d expect from them in the opener. Cobb used his power and Andrews tried to fight back. Andrews showed his own strength by hitting a powerbomb at one point, with Cobb also utilizing his athleticism with a standing moonsault. Cobb ended up hitting the Tour of the Islands to win.
– Dakota Kai defeated Deonna Purrazzo and Jinny
it wasn’t surprising given that a lot of the crowd seemed to be hardcore fans, but their familiarity with PROGRESS showed with how much heat Jinny got when she made her entrance. Purrazzo and Kai both got good babyface reactions. Purrazzo seems to always be improving in the ring.
Two people were in the ring while the other was on the floor for most of the match. There was a great spot at the finish where Purrazzo gave Jinny a German suplex and was bridging for the pin until Kai hit a double stomp off the top for the victory.
– Jack Gallagher defeated Travis Banks
The crowd was pretty split for this. They were having a really good match until Pete Dunne walked out to the stage and distracted Banks at the finish. Gallagher then connected with the running corner dropkick to win.
Gallagher cut a promo after the match thanking WWE for letting him work the show and praising Banks. He mentioned Banks’ losing streak heading into his PROGRESS title match against Dunne at Alexandra Palace in September, telling Banks that he wants him to be the fighter he was in New York when he took on British Strong Style by himself after Cooper’s injury.
Dunne came back out to attack them both. He gave Banks a pedigree after knocking both down, but Gallagher recovered and Dunne backed down after that.
– Matt Riddle defeated Martin Stone
This was great. It was the total hard-hitting sprint that everyone wanted. They started off with striking exchanges, with Stone doing a toe-breaking spot and Riddle then gaining the advantage. Stone invited him to keep striking and made a comeback.
There was a moment where Stone kicked out of a tombstone at one, but he tapped out when Riddle applied the Bromission while striking him with his free hand.
Riddle got on the mic and thanked Stone after. He mentioned beating WALTER for the Atlas Division Championship in New York, saying that he only got to win back the title because WALTER gave him a rematch. Riddle said he’ll give WALTER his rematch at the Alexandra Palace show.
– Jimmy Havoc defeated Zack Gibson
Havoc came out wielding chairs before Gibson entered. Being part of Gibson’s pre-match introduction was surreal, with (as usual) him being booed so loudly that you couldn’t hear him. That went on for several minutes before the match started.
Gibson went to use one of the chairs. The referee tried to stop him, but Havoc said that he’d kill the ref if he disqualified Gibson. They both ended up using the chairs and Havoc won with the Acid Rainmaker.
– PROGRESS Tag Team Champions British Strong Style (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) to retain their titles
British Strong Style entered wearing NXT jackets and played up being under contract with WWE, including Seven disparaging Boston and saying that he was going to fly on a private jet to Connecticut after the show. Seven was playing heel and got into a confrontation with a younger fan at ringside as the match started.
The match itself was really good. WALTER came off like a total star. The audience wasn’t particularly familiar with him at first, but his power spots won everyone over. Him and Bate especially worked well playing off of the size difference. Bate hitting a German suplex on him may have been the spot of the night.
WALTER had Seven in a sleeper, but Seven was able to counter it and pin him to retain. That happened while Thatcher had Bate in an armbar, which led to some teased dissension between Ringkampf. WALTER offered to make the Atlas title match at Alexandra Palace a triple threat with Thatcher added. They were then back on the same page to close the show.
WWE Raw is in Augusta, ME, Smackdown is in Tampa (a loaded show with Brock Lesnar vs Samoa Joe added to the Smackdown crew), NXT is in Sacramento, CA and Venice, FL and Progress Wrestling is in Queens, NY (Walter vs. Matt Riddle for the Progress Atlas title, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate vs. Travis Banks & TK Cooper, Donovan Dijak vs. Timothy Thatcher, Jimmy Havoc vs. Joey Janela, Jinny & Deonna Purrazzo vs. Dahlia Black & Dakota Kai, Mark Andrews vs. Zack Gibson vs. Mark Haskins). We’re looking for reports on all of those shows to [email protected].
Chris Dickinson & Jake vs. Travis Banks & TK Cooper
Matt Riddle vs. Keith Lee vs. Tracy Williams vs. Walter for the WWN title
NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX FINALS AT 2 A.M. EASTERN (11 P.M. PACIFIC) LATE SATURDAY NIGHT/EARLY SUNDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi for IWGP jr. tag titles
War Machine vs. Cody & Hangman Page for IWGP tag tilts
G-1 Climax finals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega
Sunday has WWE Raw in Worcester, MA and Smackdown in Miami, FL and a Progress Wrestling show in Boston.
Monday has WWE Raw TV tapings in Boston, with Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman appearing, plus Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax with the winner getting a shot at Alexa Bliss’ women’s title at SummerSlam. There is also a Smackdown brand house show in Springfield, MA on Monday night.
Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday in Providence, RI.
As this summer’s G1 Climax begins to wind down for New Japan Pro Wrestling, so does a stretch of matches that has further reminded everyone that Kota Ibushi is one of the absolute best professional wrestlers in the world. While that isn’t a surprising development, it was a necessary one after Ibushi’s relatively quiet last two years in pro wrestling.
It’s a double issue this week, with extensive coverage of the WWE business, breaking it down in every category, the sad story about the paralysis of Yoshihiro Takayama, G-1 coverage, SummerSlam weekend notes, and even Hall of Fame news.
Our lead story looks at the injury and the new life of Yoshihiro Takayama, going back to the May spot where he became paralyzed, his most famous matches, his career, the Don Frye fight and his big matches during the heyday of Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Our WWE business report looks in more detail than anywhere about the quarterly numbers. Look at how the network did so far this year compared to the past few years and how the different gimmicks played out, the difference in profitability of the network vs. PPV, the exact numbers of cancellations this year as compared to the past, the remaining WWE PPV business, real attendance figures for WrestleMania, social media numbers, sponsorship numbers, where the revenue comes from, and breaking down every single revenue stream.
Look at WrestleMania business, what parts of the business are up or down, the costs and revenues per episode of Total Divas, the reality vs. fantasy of the decline in television ratings, the house show business for WWE and NXT, comparing the last two WrestleManias as well as the movie studio numbers.
There is in-depth coverage of G-1, looking at this year’s booking, the updated standings, star ratings and business notes for every show this past week, thoughts on how to change G-1 for the better next year, the Sumo Hall cards, future fall title matches, the injury to Evil and the best matches of the tournament so far.
Inside is an update on SummerSlam and NXT, as well as the ticket situation for SummerSlam weekend, WWE injuries and show length.
Check out Brock Lesnar’s post-SummerSlam schedule, the Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen angle, WWE TV deal in South Africa, Rey Mysterio’s next contract, SummerSlam viewing parties, Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly updates, and a Bruno Sammartino update.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
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.
It all started in late 1995 at the coffee table of the strength coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, Kim Wood’s house. Brian Pillman was 33 years old. His body was breaking down from the years of football and high flying wrestling. His contract was due the next summer. His future was stable in that there was little doubt he’d be able to renew his deal, probably for at about the $250,000 per year on a three-year deal at the level he was at.
Sami Zayn’s fundraising campaign to establish a mobile medical unit in Syria reached its $48,000 goal.
Triple H said that he thinks Ronda Rousey is “unsure” about doing a pro wrestling match and noted that she’s at a transition period in her life and is in a great place.
Newsweek interviewed Asuka about approaching 500 days as NXT Women’s Champion, wrestling in America, and working with Triple H. She also said that she wants to go to the main roster but that it will happen at the appropriate time.
Breezango appeared on Friday’s episode of Talk is Jericho.
WWE uploaded a short video profile of Candice LeRae ahead of the Mae Young Classic.
This week’s WWE top 10 list on YouTube is an expanded edition that looks at the 30 best moments in SummerSlam history.
Lee England Jr. and CFO$ played Shinsuke Nakamura’s theme on the streets of New York.
The Brooklyn Cyclones are hosting “SummerSlam Night” on August 17th. Carmella, Charlotte, Apollo Crews, and Mark Henry are scheduled to appear.
Pro Wrestling
It will be Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega in this year’s G1 Climax finals as NJPW returns to Sumo Hall overnight. Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the B Block this morning in another classic match. Though it went nearly 25 minutes, it was a sprint from the moment it started. The match played off of their previous two bouts and the fact that Okada could advance with a draw, with Omega showing a sense of urgency to put him away within the 30-minute time limit.
Omega vs. Naito is a rematch from maybe the best match of last year’s tournament, which Omega won to advance to the finals and ultimately win the G1. The show will start at 2 a.m. ET. War Machine defending their IWGP tag titles against Cody Rhodes & Hangman Page and The Young Bucks putting their Junior Heavyweight tag belts on the line against Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi are also scheduled.
The injury that forced Pete Dunne off of PROGRESS’ shows in New York and Boston this weekend was caused by either a belt shot or a botched pedigree. Darius Carter, who Dunne was facing when he got hurt, has received criticism from some other wrestlers for allegedly having a history of being reckless. Carter tweeted an apology to Dunne and said that he spoke to him after the match and checked on him in the hospital.
Dunne did a segment at today’s PROGRESS show in NYC saying that he wouldn’t wrestle for that crowd even if he was healthy.
Ratings for this week’s episode of Impact were essentially even with last week. The show was watched by 277,000 viewers, which was slightly up from the 276,000 it did the week prior.
Angelina Love tweeted that she asked for and was granted her release from GFW.
UFC/MMA
After the controversy over Paulie Malignaggi’s time sparring with Conor McGregor for the Floyd Mayweather fight, Dana White released two short videos of their sparring session. The first shows McGregor landing a big punch on Malignaggi and the second shows the controversial knockdown.
Malignaggi responded to the videos, insisting that he was pushed down and saying that Dana White was “kissing his ass” after he sparred with McGregor.
Ariel Helwani interviewed McGregor about Malignaggi, his pay for the Mayweather fight, and becoming a father.
McGregor claimed that he will compete in both boxing and MMA going forward.
Continuing a trend of big money coming in on Mayweather, someone bet $880,000 on him at the South Point Casino.
Leonard Ellerbe disputed reports of relatively slow ticket sales for Mayweather vs. McGregor.
Thursday: Meet at the High Roller for Bowling at the Link; Party at Carnival Court at Hurrah’s
Friday: Kiss Mini Golf tournament at the Rio; Dinner at Texas de Brazil; Suite party (location TBA)
Saturday: Future Stars of Wrestling show featuring Disco Inferno, Stephan Bonnar, Phil Baron, Shotzi Blackheart, and co-main events: 3-way match with Leva Bates vs. Mia Yim vs. Hudson Envy, and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Thomas Santell (f.k.a. Antonio “The Promise” Thomas); NXT viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
Sunday: SUPER CHINA BUFFET DAY at the Wicked Spoon Buffet at 1pm; SummerSlam viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
Monday: Goodbye lunch at Chen Chen at NY NY
All website members will also receive a 15% discount on any purchases from the Las Vegas Fight Shop for the entirety of the convention
Texas de Brazil, Wicked Spoon, NXT and Summer Slam will all be sign up and pre-paid events, prices and collection begin in mid July~!
After suffering an injury last night, Pete Dunne won’t be able to wrestle at PROGRESS Wrestling’s events in the United States this weekend.
PROGRESS co-owner Jim Smallman announced the news in a video that the company tweeted this morning, saying that Dunne received 11 stitches to his head following a match last night and isn’t medically cleared to compete this weekend.
Dunne faced Darius Carter in the main event for Battle Club Pro in Brooklyn on Friday night. The match ended abruptly after Dunne got busted open, with him putting on a submission to win before quickly leaving and not being able to make it back out for an advertised in-ring meet and greet.
Smallman said that this weekend’s shows will remain mostly as advertised and promised that they will still deliver. Dunne had been scheduled to defend his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Jack Gallagher in Corona, New York today before the injury.
Dunne will still be appearing at the shows despite not being able to wrestle.
PROGRESS has yet to announce a new opponent for Gallagher or any other changes to the New York show’s lineup. Matches for tomorrow’s event in Somerville, Massachusetts won’t be revealed until after the stop in NYC.
GLOW is officially returning to Netflix for a second season.
Netflix announced that the show had been renewed last night, with another 10 episodes set to be produced. The first season’s run was also 10 episodes, and the renewal comes after the comedy-drama series received overwhelming praise from television critics upon its release in June.
GLOW was created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch and is based on the 1980s women’s wrestling promotion of the same name. It stars Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, and Marc Maron in key roles, with Kia Stevens (who was known as Awesome Kong and Kharma in pro wrestling) also part of the series as a cast member.
There was more involvement from others in wrestling as well, with Chavo Guerrero Jr. working as the show’s fight coordinator and several wrestlers making cameo appearances. Our Chris Aiken detailed those in his review of the first season.
As this summer’s G1 Climax begins to wind down for New Japan Pro Wrestling, so does a stretch of matches that has further reminded everyone that Kota Ibushi is one of the absolute best professional wrestlers in the world. While that isn’t a surprising development, it was a necessary one after Ibushi’s relatively quiet last two years in pro wrestling.
A look at the WWE business notes for quarter two is among the top stories of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also look at the deja vu of Jon Jones, in-depth on G-1, Io Shirai, the negotiations for Broken Hardys and much more.
Look at what aspects of WWE business right now are the most valuable and how they compare to last year, the state of the company, the future of TV or streaming rights fees, Facebook and Netflix heads talk about content like WWE, the drop in U.K. ratings, the WWE network numbers and what it says, the recent WWE cost cutting measures, as well as the state of live show attendance and real WrestleMania number.
Go in depth as UFC tries to remake Jon Jones as a big star, the Daniel Cormier fight, the story behind it, the potential of a Brock Lesnar fight and where it stands and when it can happen, the similarities between this Jon Jones and the other one, a look at UFC 214, Tyron Woodley’s complaints, Dana White buries him, the realities of being a pro athlete in a sport where fans decide the stars, Cris Cyborg gets a title, all the business notes as well as match-by-match coverage and how much everyone made in their fights.
An update on the G-1 Climax tournament with the MVP race, the standings, the schedule, business notes and coverage of all the tournament matches of the past week, is in this issue.
Also there is an update on the SummerSlam card, who was being groomed for a top spot at the end of the year, the ticket demand for SummerSlam and NXT Takeover, the Bayley injury, a match that won’t be happening at SummerSlam, and much more regarding the show.
Look at Royal Rumble tickets, John Cena getting his biggest Hollywood break, update on Cena’s pro wrestling appearances including his first PPV after SummerSlam, everything you want to know about the fight over the Broken Universe gimmick, Chris Jericho in TMZ, Jericho in WWE, and Jericho’s music.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
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.
It all started in late 1995 at the coffee table of the strength coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, Kim Wood’s house. Brian Pillman was 33 years old. His body was breaking down from the years of football and high flying wrestling. His contract was due the next summer. His future was stable in that there was little doubt he’d be able to renew his deal, probably for at about the $250,000 per year on a three-year deal at the level he was at.
Less than two weeks before TakeOver: Brooklyn, tonight’s episode of NXT TV has a face-to-face segment with Bobby Roode and Drew McIntyre, Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. No Way Jose, and the debut of The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford).
Jon Jones continued to tease a future fight with Brock Lesnar, writing on Twitter last night that he’s thought about showing up in the front row at SummerSlam.
Shinsuke Nakamura & AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin & Kevin Owens in a street fight was the dark match after SmackDown last night. Nakamura pretended to steal a fan’s phone while taking pictures after the match.
Arn Anderson made an appearance on the edition of “Fashion Peaks” that aired on SmackDown.
James Ellsworth returned to TV last night after his “30-day suspension” came to an end.
Braun Strowman pretty hilariously read a scene from the movie “Juno” in a video produced by The Ringer.
Cathy Kelley tweeted that her NXT Insider YouTube show that debuted recently is no more.
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss turned 26 years old today. Chris Jericho also made his WWE debut on this day 18 years ago.
ESPN has an article on Asuka’s NXT Women’s Championship reign nearing 500 days.
Fox 5 in Atlanta ran a story on Heath Slater opening a wrestling school in the area.
Pro Wrestling
In an interview with RealSport101.com, Low Ki explained why he wears a suit in the ring and claimed that he left NJPW after being threatened with a suspension due to not wanting to wrestle in Fukushima after its nuclear disaster.
Katsuyori Shibata posted a bittersweet update on his condition.
Mark Haskins vs. Silas Young has been added to the card for ROH’s iPPV in Liverpool on August 19th.
WCPW announced KUSHIDA vs. Travis Banks, Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mike Bailey, and War Machine vs. The Briscoes for their iPPV in Leeds on August 22nd.
The Metro has an article on criticism that Lio Rush received for a spot where he no sold a powerbomb off of a ladder and through a table in a match against Joey Janela for CZW last weekend.
Ted DiBiase made an appearance at Evangel Temple in Meridian, Mississippi last night.
UFC/MMA
Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre appears to finally be becoming official for the UFC’s show at Madison Square Garden on November 4th after GSP posted a picture of himself signing his bout agreement.
Bisping detailed being robbed and almost drowning on a recent vacation in Hawaii.
Johny Hendricks will face Paulo Borrachinha at the MSG show.
Jon Jones wants to make peace with Daniel Cormier.
Floyd Mayweather said that his fight against Conor McGregor is for “all the blacks around the world” after McGregor generated controversy for racial remarks that he had made.
Andre Berto, Mayweather’s last opponent, discussed Mayweather vs. McGregor and said that McGregor has a chance if he catches him early.
Bob Arum said that Mayweather doesn’t deserve his 50-0 record if he beats McGregor because he’s not fighting a real boxer.
Thursday: Meet at the High Roller for Bowling at the Link; Party at Carnival Court at Hurrah’s
Friday: Kiss Mini Golf tournament at the Rio; Dinner at Texas de Brazil; Suite party (location TBA)
Saturday: Future Stars of Wrestling show featuring Disco Inferno, Stephan Bonnar, Phil Baron, Shotzi Blackheart, and co-main events: 3-way match with Leva Bates vs. Mia Yim vs. Hudson Envy, and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Thomas Santell (f.k.a. Antonio “The Promise” Thomas); NXT viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
Sunday: SUPER CHINA BUFFET DAY at the Wicked Spoon Buffet at 1pm; SummerSlam viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
Monday: Goodbye lunch at Chen Chen at NY NY
All website members will also receive a 15% discount on any purchases from the Las Vegas Fight Shop for the entirety of the convention
Texas de Brazil, Wicked Spoon, NXT and Summer Slam will all be sign up and pre-paid events, prices and collection begin in mid July~!
Though she suffered a concussion at the Mae Young Classic tapings last month, Kairi Sane (formerly Kairi Hojo) is set to make her NXT house show debut this week.
WWE advertised today that Sane will be in action at NXT’s show in St. Petersburg, Florida this Thursday. Most of the television roster will be on the road while that event is going on, with a tour beginning in Los Angeles, California tonight before stops in Bakersfield, San Jose, and Sacramento.
Pro Wrestling Sheet first reported that Sane suffered a concussion at the Mae Young Classic tapings and was dealing with some neck pain, though it was noted that she was expected to be cleared to return in early August. Her working the show in St. Petersburg would mean that has happened.
Sane’s first WWE match will be made available on the Network when the first four episodes of the Mae Young Classic are released on August 28th. The next batch will be uploaded on September 4th, then the final match will air live on the Network at 10 p.m. ET on September 12th.
