THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• The Young Bucks sign new two-year contracts with Ring of Honor
• The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale live results: Demetrious Johnson vs. Tim Elliott
• Shinsuke Nakamura recaptures the NXT Championship in Japan
• Chuck Liddell & Matt Hughes among latest laid off by UFC
• Matt Hardy appears at ROH’s Final Battle to challenge The Young Bucks
• ROH Final Battle live results: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
• Tickets for the post-Mania edition of Raw sell out quickly

AUDIO

Okamoto joins Nason for a Punch-Out party…

• Josh Nason’s Punch-Out: ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on DJ, Conor & Bjorn 12/3
• WOR: ROH Final Battle, news on John Cena, UFC releases, more! 12/3
• F4D: Colt Cabana talks Wrestling Road Diaries 3 and more! 12/2
• WOL: Lucha Underground fan feedback, Dr. Lucha and more! 12/2

UFC FROM THE PALMS HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS

Hey DJ, your shoe’s untied…

Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

• Devin Clark vs. Josh Stansbury
• Elvis Mutapcic vs. Anthony Smith

FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

• Kailin Curran vs. Jamie Moyle
• Brandon O’Reilly vs. Dong Hyun Kim II
• Rob Font vs. Matt Schnell
• Ryan Hall vs. Gray Maynard
• Ryan Benoit vs. Brandon Moreno
• Alexis Davis vs. Sara McMann
• Jared Cannonier vs. Ion Cutelaba
• Jake Ellenberger vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Joseph Benavidez vs. Henry Cejudo
• Demetrious Johnson vs. Tim Elliott for UFC flyweight title

We’re looking for reports on the following shows to: [email protected]

• ROH Final Battle PPV
• WWE Raw in Albuquerque, NM (Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns)
• NXT in Crystal River, FL
• NXT in Osaka, Japan with Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT title and Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the women’s title
• WWE Raw in Mexico City, Mexico (Brock Lesnar vs. Rusev; Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns) at Arena Ciudad
• WWE Smackdown in Oklahoma City, OK
• NXT in Largo, FL.  

BELLATOR ON SATURDAY NIGHT FROM THACKERVILLE, OKLAHOMA AT 9 PM. EASTERN ON SPIKE TV

• Andre Fialho vs. Chidi Njokuani
• Emily Ducote vs. Ilima MacFarlane
• Justin Lawrence vs. John Teixeira
• Darion Caldwell vs. Joe Taimanglo

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE SUNDAY IN KOBE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

• Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Rush
• War Machine vs. Brian Breaker & Leland Race
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa

We’re looking for reports on Sunday from WWE Raw in Monterrey, Mexico and from the ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena (First round of Decade of Excellence tournament for an ROH title shot in March with Christopher Daniels vs. Mark Briscoe, Alex Shelley vs. Colt Cabana, Jushin Liger vs. Jay Lethal and B.J. Whitmer vs. Jay Briscoe).

WWE TLC PPV SUNDAY FROM DALLAS AT 7:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON WWE NETWORK 

• A.J. Styles vs. Dean Ambrose in a TLC match for WWE title
• The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler in ladder match for IC title
• Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss in a tables match for the women’s title
• Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt for tag titles
• Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto in a chairs mach
• Nikki Bella vs Carmella in a no DQ match

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE MONDAY IN KYOTO ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale & Bone Soldier
• Seiya Sanada & Evil vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens
• Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn
• Yuji Nagata & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii

Raw will be Monday in Austin, TX. Nothing has been announced for the show. There will also be a Smackdown house show on Monday night in Tyler, TX.

Smackdown and 205 Live take place on Tuesday night in Houston at the Toyota Center.

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE WEDNESDAY IN MITO ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Henare
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Brian Breaker & Leland Race
• War Machine vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/28/2016: Buddy Rose investigated by CSAC for getting too much heat

What is traditionally the most talked about issue of the year, the 2016 Hall of Fame Observer issue is now out with the full balloting, stories on both the people now in as well as notes on many not in, plus how candidates did when broken down by reports, historians, active wrestler and former wrestlers. Also, look at who is on next year’s ballot who is being dropped from next year’s ballot and others in danger of being dropped.

Take a look at what UFC is expecting with its next television deal, notes on the timing of the deal, why the deal is so important, the landscape of television in general, how cutting the cord affects revenues and what stations can afford, and who has expressed interest in UFC.

There are some very interesting things going on behind the scenes in wrestling regarding contract offers, moves being made by television and streaming services. Find out how this will affect the pro wrestling business over the next year and for time to come.

Read about the announcement of the new Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association, what they are looking for, what is and isn’t accurate, and how they are looking to get the concessions from UFC.

This issue has updates on the WWE women’s division, upcoming PPV plans, notes on PPVs in 2017, Tyson Kidd’s status, a TV show that was dropped and why, John Cena about to take another hiatus, new WWF signings, Hogan/WWE update, Big Show talks current situation, Dwayne Johnson movie box office, twitter hilarity, Jericho talks his current run, most-watched shows on the network, WWE gets new tape library as well as notes from all the WWE arena events from the past week with business notes and show highlights.

Finally, get an update on the situation with Daniel Cormier and how his injury led to Conor McGregor being stripped of the featherweight title, updates on UFC 206 and predictions on it, plus the injuries at AKA.

All of this and more in the giant new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter! 

Subscribers click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:November 8, 1999: Life and Death of Owen Hart documentary, RINGS tournament, plus more – The most publicized story ever in North American pro wrestling, the tragic death of Owen Hart on 5/23, is brought vividly back to life with the documentary “The life and death of Owen Hart.” The one-hour piece, debuted in Ontario on TVO on 11/3, in the rest of Canada on 11/6 on the A Channel and will be part of A&E’s bio week on pro wrestling, with an 11/16 showing… click here to continue.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

• Shinsuke Nakamura recaptured the NXT Championship from Samoa Joe at today’s live event in Osaka, Japan. The match will air in full on next week’s episode of NXT. The show also featured Asuka facing Nia Jax and DIY taking on Akira Tozawa and Tajiri.
• Nakamura did an interview after the title win. WWE also uploaded a clip from the match.
• Joe will challenge Nakamura for the title in a steel cage match on December 8th in Melbourne. That show is also being taped to air on the Network in some fashion.
• Sophia Grace, who gained notoriety after appearing on the Ellen show, is coming to SmackDown next week after being invited by Nikki Bella.

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

• Dave Meltzer noted on last night’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that The Young Bucks vs. Hardys is scheduled for ROH’s show in Lakeland, Florida over WrestleMania weekend after Matt Hardy challenged the Bucks in a video at Final Battle. Meltzer said that it came down to the wire whether TNA would send clearance in enough time for Hardy’s video to appear on the show.
• Matt Hardy uploaded video of him issuing the challenge to The Young Bucks.
• Bobby Fish missed Final Battle last night due to the death of his mother. Our best wishes to him and his family.
• Matt Riddle will face Katsuyori Shibata for Revolution Pro Wrestling on January 21st at York Hall in London. It was announced previously that the show would also feature Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Marty Scurll after Scurll turned on Sabre.

UFC

• Conor McGregor said that he’s still a two-weight champion and the UFC isn’t fooling anyone by stripping him of the featherweight title. He also explained why he got his boxing license.
• Tito Ortiz claimed that his fight against Chael Sonnen will be his last.
• Due to injury, Wandelei Silva will no longer compete in his previously scheduled fight against Mirko Cro Cop in RIZIN’s openweight tournament on December 29th.
• After Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes were laid off by the UFC, Ariel Helwani tweeted that Forrest Griffin and Big Nog are still employed in their roles.
• Ronda Rousey is scheduled to appear on the Conan show with Conan O’Brien this Wednesday on TBS.

VARIETY

• Former NWA World Heavyweight, and TNA TV, X Division, and Tag Team Champion Abyss was the recent guest of the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. He had much to share about AJ Styles being the favorite person he’s wrestled, learning so much from Sting, being a general backstage, being a member of Decay, and much more.
• This story is about a wounded vet who is now trying to make his way into pro wrestling.
• STRANGLEHOLD PRO WRESTLING makes it’s return to the wrestling scene with one of the most anticipated events of 2017. Saturday, February 18, 2017 at 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM, 15 Harmony Rd N, Oshawa, ON L1G 6K8 – Street Fights, Midgets and Half Dressed Women!!! PARENTAL ADVISORY ADVISED!
• Kravitz talks to Brother Love.
• Dalton Castle, Colt Cabana and ROH Champion Adam Cole joined THE JAKE BROWN SHOW on CBS’ Play.it this week to promote Final Battle and talk about their careers. (Interview begins around the 45 minute mark.)
• EVOLVE 75 – Dec. 11th – Melrose, MA – 7pm EST – Tickets & Info – Broadcast At FloSlam.tv
• It’s the Superkick’d Year End Bash! On Friday December 16, The Great Hall’s Longboat Hall goes ALL THE WAY UP  in Toronto!
• Cross Body Pro Wrestling January 7th, 2017 Championship Match (C) Alessandro Del Bruno vs Tyler Thomas!
• ECCW: CHAMPION VS CHAMPION Vancouver, B.C. December 10 2016
• All Star Wrestling presents Girls Gone Wrestling: Friday, December 9 at 7:30 PM PST. Cloverdale Fair Grounds. 6000 184th St, Surrey, British Columbia V3S 4E7
• Lucha Xtreme TV from the Saturday morning telecast in Fresno called “Holiday Highlights”. 1. Hunter Freeman & Mike Camdin defeated Dirty Doug & Chris Myra by pin, 2. Kaos defeated Robby Phoenix by pin, 3. El Spirito defeated Dark Usagi & So Cal Crazy by pin in a triple threat match.

Today in Professional Wrestling History (12/3): ECW December to Dismember

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• UFC’s Conor McGregor gets California boxing license, more states to come?
• UFC postpones January PPV, Bellator makes Twitter jab
• Lucha Underground results: Pentagon battles the Black Lotus Triad
• NXT TV taping spoilers: A new number one contender is crowned
• WWE NXT results: Samoa Joe takes on the Perfect 10

AUDIO

• WOL: Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame, MMA association, Lucha Underground, more! 12/1
• WOR: Hall of Fame 2016 discussion, WWE and UFC news, more! 12/1
• F4D: Filthy Tom Lawlor on Smackdown, Impact, 205 Live, MMA announcement, more! 11/30
• FREE WOR! Billy Corgan talks his history with TNA Impact Wrestling! 11/30

TNA IMPACT AIRS TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON POP TV

• Jade vs. Rosemary cage match for vacant TNA Knockouts championship 

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE TOMORROW MORNING FROM YAMAGUCHI ON NEW JAPAN WORLD  (tournament matches will be up some time tomorrow)

• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata vs. Bad Luck Fale & Bone Soldier
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil

Our polls this weekend will be for the ROH show on Friday night and the TLC show on Sunday.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/28/2016: Buddy Rose investigated by CSAC for getting too much heat

What is traditionally the most talked about issue of the year, the 2016 Hall of Fame Observer issue is now out with the full balloting, stories on both the people now in as well as notes on many not in, plus how candidates did when broken down by reports, historians, active wrestler and former wrestlers. Also, look at who is on next year’s ballot who is being dropped from next year’s ballot and others in danger of being dropped.

Take a look at what UFC is expecting with its next television deal, notes on the timing of the deal, why the deal is so important, the landscape of television in general, how cutting the cord affects revenues and what stations can afford, and who has expressed interest in UFC.

There are some very interesting things going on behind the scenes in wrestling regarding contract offers, moves being made by television and streaming services. Find out how this will affect the pro wrestling business over the next year and for time to come.

Read about the announcement of the new Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association, what they are looking for, what is and isn’t accurate, and how they are looking to get the concessions from UFC.

This issue has updates on the WWE women’s division, upcoming PPV plans, notes on PPVs in 2017, Tyson Kidd’s status, a TV show that was dropped and why, John Cena about to take another hiatus, new WWF signings, Hogan/WWE update, Big Show talks current situation, Dwayne Johnson movie box office, twitter hilarity, Jericho talks his current run, most-watched shows on the network, WWE gets new tape library as well as notes from all the WWE arena events from the past week with business notes and show highlights.

Finally, get an update on the situation with Daniel Cormier and how his injury led to Conor McGregor being stripped of the featherweight title, updates on UFC 206 and predictions on it, plus the injuries at AKA.

All of this and more in the giant new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter! 

Subscribers click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:November 8, 1999: Life and Death of Owen Hart documentary, RINGS tournament, plus more – The most publicized story ever in North American pro wrestling, the tragic death of Owen Hart on 5/23, is brought vividly back to life with the documentary “The life and death of Owen Hart.” The one-hour piece, debuted in Ontario on TVO on 11/3, in the rest of Canada on 11/6 on the A Channel and will be part of A&E’s bio week on pro wrestling, with an 11/16 showing… click here to continue.

THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

We have a Hall of Fame discussion on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio with historian Matt Farmer up on the site today to go along with the Hall of Fame issue of the Observer now up.

There’s a ton of stuff going on this weekend with one of NOAH’s biggest matches of the year, the Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Minoru Suzuki loser leaves town battle for the GHC title tomorrow at Korakuen Hall; Bellator shows on Friday & Saturday night on Spike; UFC on Saturday night with Demetrious Johnson defending the flyweight title against Tim Elliott, the winner of the Ultimate Fighter reality show; the NXT show in Osaka, Japan on Saturday with Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the title plus Asuka vs. Nia Jax, All Japan & New Japan tag team tournaments, ROH Final Battle tomorrow night as well as WWE’s TLC PPV on Sunday.

WWE also has a major house show on Saturday night with the Raw brand at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Rusev.

NXT starts its Australia tour on Monday.

The item in the new Observer about Ryback and Combate Americas is incorrect. While the subject has come up in some form, it has not been anything serious and saying there have been preliminary negotiations between Ryback and Combate Americas is incorrect.

While all the upcoming New Japan tag team tournament matches are scheduled for New Japan World, they will be broadcast via delay. The next live event will be the tournament finals on 12/10.

• New Japan’s tag tourney matches today in Beppu saw:
• Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa (4-1) beat Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page (2-3)
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush (3-2) beat War Machine (3-2)

        Tonga & Roa moved into a first place tie with Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima in the A block.  

WWE

• While not official at this moment, plans have changed regarding early 2017 WWE PPV shows. Elimination Chamber on 2/12 in Phoenix was to be a Raw show and is now tentatively scheduled as a Smackdown show. Fast Lane on 3/5 from Milwaukee was to be a Smackdown show and now is tentatively to be a Raw show.
• Ric Flair appears this weekend in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center for the Spooky Empire Rock N Roll, Horror, Halloween and Tattoo convention.
• The Philadelphia Flyers want their fans to stop imitating Ric Flair and going “Whoo” during the games.
• Carmella was bruised up from the brawl on Tuesday with Nikki Bella where Nikki potatoed her a few times.
• There is a presale for the 1/18 NXT Takeover show in San Antonio going on today with the code: NXTLIVE 
• The Riverside Municipal Auditorium, which hosts an NXT show on 12/15, is alerting ticket holders that due to the Riverside Festival of Lights, traffic may be heavy and parking may be limited so they suggest leaving early to allow enough time for traveling and parking.
• The company has a 5/13 show in Rotterdam, Netherlands at the Ahoy Arena, the same building UFC ran earlier this year. They are also looking at doing shows in Copenhagen, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden. WWE has no regular television in any of those three countries. (thanks to Hank Mulder)
• An interview with Stephanie McMahon is here.

UFC

• Conor McGregor has applied for and received a boxing license in California, but he was denied a boxing license in Nevada. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN that McGregor can do what he wants but he’s under contract to the UFC and he’ll never fight Floyd Mayweather because UFC won’t allow the fight. “The brass who recently purchased UFC are very smart people and they would never, and put this in bold caps, let him step into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather because everyone knows what the outcome would be. He would get his ass beat from pillar to post.”
• Dana White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo: “Conor’s Conor. He does his thing. But he’s under contract to me. Who knows with this guy? Who knows what he is up to. I just let Conor be Conor. And the other thing is, it’s fun to talk about this fight and what might happen, but what commission would let that fight happen? Really, think about that?” 
• White claimed it was Conor McGregor’s decision regarding the vacating of the featherweight title. When asked about John Kavanagh’s comments complaining about the decision, White said, “He’s misinformed. Yeah, he doesn’t know all that has gone on, I guess. Do you think I just did this? This was Conor’s decision.”
• GSP talks about fighters being afraid to stand up.
• Daniel Cormier will be undergoing surgery today for his adductor tear and hopes to be able to fight in about four months to defend his title against Anthony Rumble Johnson.   
• Hopefully this doesn’t become accepted history that Donald Trump saved the UFC from extinction. Because he did not. 
• For the first time in a long time, the UFC announced tickets going on sale (they went on sale yesterday to Fight Club members, tomorrow to the public) for a show without announcing any matches. The show is 1/28 from Denver, which will be the first FOX show of the new year.  
• Tickets for the 1/15 Fight Night in Phoenix at the Talking Stick Resort Arena headlined by B.J. Penn vs. Yair Rodriguez are on sale right now with the password DTL until 10 PM. local time. They go on sale to the public tomorrow.    
• There will be no weigh-in for the public prior to the 12/9 show in Albany, NY. The weigh-in is now ceremonial since the real weigh-ins are done in the morning privately.  

MISCELLANEOUS

• For Evolve, Chris Hero vs Dustin has been added to the 12/11 show in Melrose, MA, while Dustin vs. Chris Dickinson was added to 12/10 in Queens, NY.
• A story on one of the most famous matches in pro wrestling history is here.
• TNA will be taping 1/4 to 1/10 at Universal Studios in Orlando, for three months worth of tapings.
• Jay Lethal talks his ROH Final Battle match with Cody Rhodes.
• Cody Rhodes talks leaving WWE and wrestling for ROH.
• Another Cody Rhodes interview with Brian Fritz is here.
• The Missouri Office of Athletics agreed with the complaint by Tonya Evinger regarding her loss on 11/18 to Yana Kunitskaya for the Invicta bantamweight championship. MMA Fighting today reported the result, which Kunitskaya won via armbar in the first round, has been changed to a no contest and Evinger has gotten her title back.  The story reported that Shannon Knapp of Invicta said she will make an immediate rematch. The ruling was based on referee Mike England telling Evinger that she could not step on the face of Kunitskaya when she was in the armbar, when that was a legal move as long as he didn’t stomp her. Evinger said that the referee forcing her to move from a legal position got her in a worse position and led to her tapping.
• Two movies starring pro wrestlers will be premiering on Saturday in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival’s Emerging Artists Series. “Sickness” is a horror thriller movie starring former WWE & TNA wrestler Katarina Leigh Waters (Katie Lea Burchill/Winter) as a woman thrust into insanity by a deadly sickness which causes her to go from happy-go-lucky to a bloodthirsty monster. “A Man Possessed,” stars Tommy Dreamer who loses his grip on reality after a series of traumatic events involving the life of his life, and goes on a vengeful rampage.
• MCW on 12/3 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena features Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards and Jim Duggan, as well as Lio Rush. Edwards & Richards face The Appalachian Outlaws.
• Teddy Hart appears for Canadian Wrestling Elite on 1/15 in Calgary.
• The first LFA show on 1/13 in Dallas at the Bomb Factory on AXS TV is headlined by Legacy FC bantamweight champion Steven Peterson (14-4) vs. Resurrection Fighting Alliance bantamweight champion Leandro Higo (16-2) to create the first LFA bantamweight champion. The LFA is a merger of Legacy FC and Resurrection.
• AIW from Friday night in Cleveland before 450 fans: Mike Tolar b Hot Young Briley (Tolar was a high school teammate of both Dolph Ziggler and Gray Maynard, Briley is the younger brother of Ziggler), Louis Lyndon won four-way over Eric Ryan, PB Smooth and Eddie Kingston, Matt Cross b Colt Cabana, Colin Delaney & Cheech won over Facade & Flip Kendrick and Daniel C. Rockingham & Brian Carson, Shayna Baszler b Heidi Lovelace to retain the AIW womens’ title, Space Monkey b Karlee Perez (Catrina in Lucha Underground), Ethan Page b Brian Cage, Gringo Loco & Steve Pain b The Jollyville, Zack Sabre Jr. b Dominic Garrini, Alex Daniels b Laredo Kid, Josh Prohibition b Tim  Donst in a fans bring the weapons match. Next show is 12/30.
• Bellator announced Goiti Yamauchi (20-3) vs. Valeriu Mircea (12-3) and Phillipe Lins (10-1) vs. Kieber Raimundo Silva (12-7) for the show on 12/10 in Florence, Italy on Spike. The show is headlined by Rafael Carvalho (13-1) vs. Melvin Manhoef (30-13-1, 2 no contests) for the middleweight title. It will be both an MMA show and a kickboxing combined card. 
• House of Hardcore on Saturday night on FloSlam from Waukesha, WI at the Expo Center has Al Snow & Dave Herro vs. Abyss & Dameon Nelson, Bob Holly vs. Sami Callihan, Matt Cross vs. Tony Nese, Bull James vs. Kevin Thorn plus Tommy Dreamer, Ryback, Colt Cabana and Mickie James.
• We had a question regarding Australian Wrestling recently and there is a three disc DVD called “Ruff Tuff & Real,” a documentary on pro wrestling in Australia with interviews with Ron Miller, Mario Milano, Steve Rackman, George Barnes, Jack Claybourne, announcer Mike Cleary, Larry O’Dea, King Curtis Iaukea, Harley Race, Nick Bockwinkel, Red Bastien, J.J. Dillon and Gary Hart among others. (thanks to Jacob Anwyl) 
• The NWL will be opening a 10,000 square foot training center and wrestling school in February with Derek Stone overseeing the facility. Their first two shows will be 1/7 in Kansas City at the Scottish Rite Temple and 1/12 in St. Louis at the Casa Loma Ballroom.
• Trina Michaels comedy yoga workout is here.

Today in Professional Wrestling History (12/1): Crusher vs. Mad Dog Vachon in a saloon match

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• WWE, UFC ratings delayed until Wednesday
• WWE Raw live results: Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks
• Former wrestler, Pro Wrestling NOAH executive director Haruka Eigen passes away

REPORTS

• The Week In British Wrestling: ICW draws the biggest UK crowd in 35 years
• Drew Galloway on ICW’s success and his future in TNA
• Marty Scurll defeats Will Ospreay to win the ROH TV title

AUDIO

• WOR: RAW report, Smackdown, 205 Live, Billy Corgan settlement, MMA notes, more! 11/29
• FREE WOL: Raw, WWE Network, Conor McGregor, tons more! 11/28
• B&V: NWA World Championship Wrestling from 30 years ago this week! 11/27

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT WEDNESDAY FROM BEPPU (will air on tape delay Wedensday no New Japan World)

• Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/17/2016: More on Buddy Rose

During his time splitting time between the Portland and San Francisco territories, Buddy Rose continued to make trouble with the California State Athletic Commission throughout 1978 and 1979. For some reason, all of the incidents appear to have taken place in San Jose, like the one discussed last week where he was being penalized for a ref bump…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 28, 2016: WWE Survivor Series, Goldberg agrees to more matches

The story behind Bill Goldberg suddenly becoming the biggest pro wrestling star in 2016 is the lead story in this week’s new double issue of the Observer.  The story looks at the decision-making involved in having Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar so quickly at Survivor Series.  We look at what went wrong in Goldberg’s first WWE run, why things are different now, and why so much of this is timing.  We look at why Goldberg works so much better now and in many ways how it exposes what the company is doing for television.  We look at other options, the business behind Survivor Series, as well as full coverage of the show with poll results, match-by-match coverage and star ratings.

We also look at NXT Takeover Toronto, WWE’s decision on major PPV weekends regarding scheduling, more people suing WWE, the NXT tour of Australia, cutting the cord, the ECW special on WWE Network, notes on top athletes who were trying out at the Performance Center this past week off the Olympic team, and more.

We’ve got a huge feature on Ed Francis and the story of 50th State pro wrestling, the promotion that ran in Hawaii during the 60s and 70s.  We look at the popularity of the product, the masterminds behind it, the biggest stars, and the different phases of the company.  We look at his biggest angles, the closing of the territory the reopening of the territory, how Francis got the territory and how he made it work.  We look at the promotional war with Roy Shire, the mending of the fences, the famous angles, the high and low points, and why the building situation ultimately spelled the end of the territory.

We also have a look at the WWE Network vs. the old PPV methodology and how it affected profits over the past three years.  We look at why most people when examining this issue don’t see the full picture.  We look at why profits from the network are down this year even with more subscribers, and also look at UFC profits during the same last three years.

We also look at the two UFC shows over the weekend, as well as full details of the television head-to-head battle between UFC and Bellator.

All of this and more in a huge double-issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter available only for subscribers.

click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:December 6, 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The history of wrestling on Thanksgiving – Thanksgiving in most of the 80s meant some of the biggest wrestling shows of the year. The tradition was at its peak from 1983 to 1987, with the early Starrcades in Greensboro and later Atlanta as well, Star Wars at Reunion Arena in Dallas, the AWA at the St. Paul Civic Center, Mid South Wrestling at the Superdome in Louisiana and the early Survivor Series events… click here to continue.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

• Kevin Owens defending the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns was officially announced for Roadblock on last night’s edition of Raw. The match was previously announced in local advertising but hadn’t been mentioned on TV.
• Daniel Bryan responded on Twitter to last night’s segment with Sami Zayn and Mick Foley.
• Tonight’s SmackDown features Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt facing American Alpha. The winners will challenge Heath Slater and Rhyno for the tag titles at TLC.
• 205 Live debuts on the WWE Network tonight after SmackDown. Brian Kendrick will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Rich Swann on the show.
• With the addition of 205 Live, Superstars will no longer air. Main Event will now be taped prior to Raw on Mondays with 205 Live airing on Tuesday from the SmackDown taping.
• Sasha Banks won the Women’s Championship for the third time after defeating Charlotte Flair in last night’s falls count anywhere main event on Raw. Charlotte tweeted after the match: “You need a good opponent to see how far your limits go…to test yourself. Iron sharpens iron. I’m coming back for my crown. #Raw”
• It was announced on last night’s Raw that Brock Lesnar will enter the 2017 Royal Rumble. Goldberg and Lesnar are the first two participants officially announced for the match.
• NXT will be taped on Wednesday at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
• Tyson Kidd on why he was removed the from the cast of Total Divas.
• Chad Gable talks wrestling on the main roster and being an Olympian.
• Jack Gallagher discusses his WWE debut.
• Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, and John Cena are set to star in Kay Cannon’s directorial debut, “The Pact.”

VARIETY

• Last week’s Thanksgiving edition of TNA Impact was watched by 165,000 viewers.
• Anthony “Rumble” Johnson explained why he turned down a fight with Gegard Mousasi at UFC 206.
• In the collectibles department, Jeff Cobb is getting his own action figure after signing with Figures Toy Company. Cobb joins their Rising Stars line while Shane Douglas and Jerry Lynn also recently inked deals for action figures as part of the Legends series.
• A New York court determined that a wrestling school could not be held liable for a planned bump, even though the bump in question resulted in paralysis for one student
• Kitchener, Ontario PWA Live Pro Wrestling – December 3rd.
• Crossfire Wrestling returns to the Merritton Community Centre 7 Park Avenue St. Catharines ON for “JINGLE BELL BRAWL V” Saturday December 3rd, 2016 5pm. General Admission tickets are $20 individually or 2 for $30. Call the Hotline 905-329-2693 for General Admission tickets.
• Any given Saturday 5, January 28. Tickets for this event go on sale Friday Dec. 2 at 6pm. For your best chances to score VIP tickets, sign up or log in to your account at smash-wrestling.com.
• TV results of Best Of The West TV from this past Sunday night broadcast: 1. Virgil Flynn defeated Mike Rayne by pin. 2. Brandon Pinion defeated D. Bunny by pin. 3. Super Beast & Nathan Graves defeated Hayward Heat by pin to retain the Best/West tag team titles.
• Today WrestleRumble co-presents today’s Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling featuring wrestling legend, “Outlaw” Ron Bass. Ron Bass, a true old school tough guy and former “brass-knuckle” champion wrestled in all of the major territories including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, New York and also internationally for Giant Baba’s All Japan Pro Wrestling.
• Chaotic Wrestling presents our RETURN to Hudson this Friday, December 2nd at the Hudson-Concord Elks Hall at 99 Park Street in Hudson, MA. A huge night of action is planned with a STEEL CAGE MATCH for the Chaotic Wrestling Title!

Today in Professional Wrestling History (11/29): Rock & Roll Express win SMW gold

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• AJPW Sumo Hall results: Miyahara vs. Suwama for the Triple Crown
• Fedor Emelianenko signs deal with Bellator, will fight Matt Mitrione in February
• UFC Fight Night 101 live results: Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson
• CM Punk: I’m pretty confident that my next fight will be in the UFC
• Goldberg agrees to Royal Rumble appearance, future dates with WWE
• Marty Scurll defeats Will Ospreay to win the ROH TV title

REPORTS

• WWE Superstars results: The Social Outcasts explode
• TNA Impact Wrestling results: Matt Hardy is once again broken
• Lucha Underground results: Sexy Star vs. Johnny Mundo

AUDIO

• WOR: Tons of weekend news from WWE, UFC, New Japan and more! 11/27
• FREE WOL: Lucha Underground, Sexy Star, Big Show, NXT, more! 11/25
• Wrestling Weekly: Goldberg, TakeOver: Toronto, mailbag 11/25

We’re looking for reports on the WWE show last night in Kansas City, as well as today’s WWE shows North Charleston, SC (Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens for U.S. title, Seth Rollins vs. Rusev) and Smackdown crew in Fayetteville, NC (A.J. Styles vs. Dean Ambrose) to [email protected].

Raw will be Monday night in Charlotte, NC. Announced for the show are New Day vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows for the tag titles and Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title. There will also be a Smackdown brand house show Monday night in Florence, SC.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT TUESDAY FROM SASEBO (will air on tape delay Tuesday on New Japan World)

• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Henare
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Leland Race & Brian Breaker

Smackdown will be live, Main Event will be taped, and 205 Live will debut Tuesday night in Columbia, SC. The 205 Live main event will be Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann for the cruiserweight title.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT WEDNESDAY FROM BEPPU (will air on tape delay Wedensday no New Japan World)

• Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson

NXT will be taped on Wednesday at Full Sail Univesity in Winter Park, FL.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/17/2016: More on Buddy Rose

During his time splitting time between the Portland and San Francisco territories, Buddy Rose continued to make trouble with the California State Athletic Commission throughout 1978 and 1979. For some reason, all of the incidents appear to have taken place in San Jose, like the one discussed last week where he was being penalized for a ref bump…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 28, 2016: WWE Survivor Series, Goldberg agrees to more matches

The story behind Bill Goldberg suddenly becoming the biggest pro wrestling star in 2016 is the lead story in this week’s new double issue of the Observer.  The story looks at the decision-making involved in having Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar so quickly at Survivor Series.  We look at what went wrong in Goldberg’s first WWE run, why things are different now, and why so much of this is timing.  We look at why Goldberg works so much better now and in many ways how it exposes what the company is doing for television.  We look at other options, the business behind Survivor Series, as well as full coverage of the show with poll results, match-by-match coverage and star ratings.

We also look at NXT Takeover Toronto, WWE’s decision on major PPV weekends regarding scheduling, more people suing WWE, the NXT tour of Australia, cutting the cord, the ECW special on WWE Network, notes on top athletes who were trying out at the Performance Center this past week off the Olympic team, and more.

We’ve got a huge feature on Ed Francis and the story of 50th State pro wrestling, the promotion that ran in Hawaii during the 60s and 70s.  We look at the popularity of the product, the masterminds behind it, the biggest stars, and the different phases of the company.  We look at his biggest angles, the closing of the territory the reopening of the territory, how Francis got the territory and how he made it work.  We look at the promotional war with Roy Shire, the mending of the fences, the famous angles, the high and low points, and why the building situation ultimately spelled the end of the territory.

We also have a look at the WWE Network vs. the old PPV methodology and how it affected profits over the past three years.  We look at why most people when examining this issue don’t see the full picture.  We look at why profits from the network are down this year even with more subscribers, and also look at UFC profits during the same last three years.

We also look at the two UFC shows over the weekend, as well as full details of the television head-to-head battle between UFC and Bellator.

All of this and more in a huge double-issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter available only for subscribers.

click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:December 6, 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The history of wrestling on Thanksgiving  – Thanksgiving in most of the 80s meant some of the biggest wrestling shows of the year. The tradition was at its peak from 1983 to 1987, with the early Starrcades in Greensboro and later Atlanta as well, Star Wars at Reunion Arena in Dallas, the AWA at the St. Paul Civic Center, Mid South Wrestling at the Superdome in Louisiana and the early Survivor Series events… click here to continue.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

We’ve got a special deal today for Black Friday as you can get a one-month subscription to the site for $3.99, which includes this week’s double issue which has a major business look at WWE network vs. old method with a startling conclusion, plus the new Hall of Fame issue will be out on Wednesday, plus back issues, and archived issues and radio shows. Our weekend radio show covering UFC is up now.

Guess which character was voiced by The Rock…

Moana, starring Dwayne Johnson, is projected to do $81.1 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It was the second largest five-day Thanksgiving weekend movie open in history. It’s three-day weekend number is projected at $55.5 million. 72% of the audience was families and 34% were 12 or under.

UFC announced last night that UFC 206 will be headlined by Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis for the interim featherweight title, with Conor McGregor stripped of the featherweight title and Jose Aldo now champion. It’s a desperation move to have a title match on a PPV card, which is a good show, but lacks a PPV caliber main event so the idea is they’ll make up an interim title to save it. This just dilutes the value of the title. It’s one thing if the champion is injured and unable to defend for whatever reason, but Aldo is either in or he’s out, without an injury. Either he’s champion and should face the winner, or he’s out as the Holloway vs. Pettis fight should be for the title. 

Anthony Rumble Johnson was offered Gegard Mousasi, but he decided against it, as Daniel Cormier won’t be out that long and there’s no point in him fighting now and risking an injury that would cost him a title shot he’s already earned and will be coming as soon as Cormier is ready to fight.

TNA may have a default judgment against them in the American Express lawsuit in a story by Dave Bixenspan.

New Japan tag team tournament results from today in Imabari:

• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata (2-2) beat Billy Gunn & Yoshitatsu (2-2)
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (2-2) beat Kenny Omega & Chase Owns (1-3)
• Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (3-1) beat Bad Luck Fale & Bone Soldier (0-4)
• Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii (3-1) beat Seiya Sanada & Evil (3-1)

WWE

• Chris Jericho says this run is his second favorite run of his career, behind only the Shawn Michaels feud.
• Sasha Banks talks Eddy Guerrero.

UFC

• Kyle Noke joins Miesha Tate and Manny Gamburyan as the third UFC veteran to retire in as many weeks after a disappointing loss.
• Fighters talking Daniel Cormier’s injury and dropping out of UFC 206 here.

More UFC interviews from our friends at Submission Radio:

• Alex Volkanovski
• Tyson Pedro
• Derek Brunson
• Robert Whittaker

MISCELLANEOUS

• Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in St. Louis: C.J. Shine b The Jackal, Keon Option b Rocket Mapache, Outtkast b Makaze, Brandon Espinosa b Matt Kenway, Ricky Cruz b Jake Dirden, Brandon Aarons b Mike Outlaw. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
• Joe Doering was at the All Japan Sumo Hall show earlier today and said that he hopes to come back in January after battling brain cancer.
• With the Gabi Garcia vs. Shinobu Kandori fight just being announced, this is the famous Kandori vs. Akita Hokuto match from 1993 at the Yokohama Arena.
• Over the Top Wrestling in Dublin, Ireland announced Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay on 12/17 at the Tivoli Theater. Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll will take place the next day in Belfast.  
• Timothy Thatcher, after suffering a serious concussion two weeks ago, is going to be out until January.
• Drew Galloway’s promo for a grudge match with Joe Hendry, who injured him legit a few months back is here.
• Superkick’d Pro Wrestling Rock Show on 12/16 in Toronto at the Great Hall.
• Best of the West has a student show today at 6 p.m. in Fresno, CA at 5494 E. Lamona Ave Suite #150 in Fresno. Tickets are $5. They have a TV taping on 12/10 in Fresno at the VFW Hall #8900 at 6 p.m. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
• Cody Rhodes beat Sonjay Dutt to win the GFW Nex-Gen title on Friday night in Winston-Salem, NC.
• Rycklon Stephens, who was Big Ryck and Ezekiel Jackson, promoted a show on Saturday night in Redwood City, CA called Monsters Inc.
• Big Time Wrestling on 12/3 in Livingston, CA at the Livingston High School in a benefit show for the athletic program featuring Torito from WWE, Teddy Hart and more. They also run on 12/2 in Newark, CA at the Newark Pavilion with Teddy Hart vs. Shannon Ballard, Felinitis vs. Torito and Shane Kody vs Guerrero vs. Will Cuevas.
• The ECWA has a Super 8 finals rematch on 12/3 in Woodbury Heights, NJ with Karen Q vs. Deonna Purrazzo at the Woodbury Heights Community Center. There will also be a toy drive at the show, as they are collecting new unwrapped toys for a U.S. Marines toy drive throughout the night.
• Pro Wrestling Eve from last night in London: Jetta b Jinny, Kay Lee Ray & Nixon Newell both beat Alex Winter, Laura diMatteo b Shanna, Rhia O’Reilly b Emi Sakura, Manami Toyota b Blue Nikita. (thanks to Josh Woodcock)
• CSW from last night in Niagara Falls, NY: Oliver Street Express b Rochester Wrecking Crew-DQ, Steve Gage b Frankie Feathers, Cloudy DCOR Anthony Gaines, Mark & Xavier Jones b Kevin Blackwood & Wes Adams, Vince Valor b Matt Milan, Hate Brigade b Gregory Iron & Johnny Adams, Bob Holly b Big Cat Lemmer, RJ City won over Ricky Reyes, Cheech, Kevin Bennett, Brandon Thurston and Braxton Sutter for the Ilio DiPaolo Cup, Bill Collier b Asylum to retain the ESW title. (thanks to Todd Brantley)
• Preston City Wrestling from yesterday in Preston, England had two shows:
• The first show before 200 fans saw open weight tournament semifinals with Jurn Simmons over T-Bone and Dave Mastiff over Chris Dickinson. The cruiserweight tournament semifinals were Bubblegum over Tracy Williams and AR Fox over Da Mack. Also: Axel Deiter Jr. b Danny Hope, Dave Crist & Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wents & Joey Janela b Sha Samuels & Lionheart & Martin Kirby & Joey Hayes, Keith Lee b Iestyn Rees.
• Second show before 250 fans: Da Mack b Axel Dieter Jr., Dave Crist b Danny Hope, Chris Dickinson b Tracy Williams, Iestyn Rees b T-Bone, Joey Hayes & Martin Kirby b Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wents to retain the PCW tag titles, Jurn Simmons b Dave Mastiff to win the Open weight tournament, Keith Lee b Joey Janela, Sha Samuels & Lionheart b Zak & Roy Knight, AR Fox b Bubblegum to win the cruiserweight tournament. Hope hurt his knee on the afternoon show but did a short match with Crist on the evening show. (thanks to Jan Buxton)

Today in Professional Wrestling History (11/27): Night of the Skywalkers at Starrcade 1986

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• UFC Fight Night 101 live results: Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson
• Conor McGregor expected to be stripped of UFC featherweight title
• Rizin books Gabi Garcia vs. Shinobu Kandori for New Year’s Eve

OPINION

• UFC Fight Night 101 DFS Playbook: Who to target & who to avoid
• The Week In British Wrestling: ICW draws the biggest UK crowd in 35 years
• If Goldberg needed to win at Survivor Series, Brock Lesnar didn’t need to lose

REPORTS

• WWE Superstars results: The Social Outcasts explode
• TNA Impact Wrestling results: Matt Hardy is once again broken
• WWE NXT results: TakeOver fallout with matches taped in Toronto

AUDIO

• FREE WOL: Lucha Underground, Sexy Star, Big Show, NXT, more! 11/25
• Wrestling Weekly: Goldberg, TakeOver: Toronto, mailbag 11/25
• B&V&G: Lucha Underground, NXT, Granny Thanksgiving Wrestling Report, more! 11/25

UFC (SUNDAY LOCAL TIME) FROM THE ROD LAVER ARENA IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA AT 6:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME

• Yao Zhukui vs. Jerel Lausa
• Marlon Vera vs. Ning Guangyou
• Dan Hooker vs. Jason Knight
• Ben Nguyen vs. Geane Herrera
• Richard Walsh vs. Jonathan Meunier
• Damien Brown vs. Jon Tuck
• Dan Kelly vs. Chris Camozzi
• Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor
• Khalil Rountree vs. Tyson Pedro
• Yusuke Kasuya vs. Alex Volkanovski
• Kyle Noke vs. Omari Akhmedov
• Jake Matthews vs. Andrew Holbook
• Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FROM KOCHI (will air on tape delay Saturday on New Japan World)

• Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson
• Brian Breaker & Leland Race vs. Tetsuya Naito & Rush
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page

Sunday has the Raw crew in North Charleston, SC and Smackdown crew in Fayetteville, VA.  We’re looking for reports on those shows to [email protected].

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SUNDAY FROM IMABARI (will air on tape delay Sunday on New Japan World)

• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens
• Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Bone Soldier
• Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil

ALL JAPAN HAS ITS BIGGEST SHOW OF THE YEAR SUNDAY AT SUMO HALL IN TOKYO

• Naoya Nomura vs. Takuya Nomura
• Sushi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Masao Inoue vs. Kaji Tomato & Kazuhiro Tamura & Naoshi Sano
• Super Tiger & Ryuji Hijikata & Rey Paloma & Dial vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Takeshi Minamino & Black Tiger VII
• Dory Funk Jr. & Chavo Guerrero Sr. & Ultimo Dragon & Tajiri vs. Great Kabuki & Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie & Isami Kodaka
• Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi & Koji Iwamoto vs. Ryoji Sai & Kengo Mashimo & Konosuke Takeshita
• Yohei Nakajima vs. Jiro Kuroshio for TV title
• Soma Takao vs. Keisuke Ishii for World jr. title
• Atsushi Aoki & Hikaru Sato vs. Masa Fuchi & Atsushi Onita for All-Asia tag titles
• Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabyaashi vs. Zeus & The Bodyguard for world tag team title
• Kento Miyahara vs. Suwama for Triple Crown

Raw will be Monday night in Charlotte, NC. Announced for the show are New Day vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows for the tag titles and Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title. There will also be a Smackdown brand house show Monday night in Florence, SC.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT TUESDAY FROM SASEBO (will air on tape delay Tuesday on New Japan World)

• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Henare
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Leland Race & Brian Breaker

Smackdown will be live, Main Event will be taped, and 205 Live will debut Tuesday night in Columbia, SC. The 205 Live main event will be Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann for the cruiserweight title.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT WEDNESDAY FROM BEPPU (will air on tape delay Wedensday no New Japan World)

• Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson

NXT will be taped on Wednesday at Full Sail Univesity in Winter Park, FL.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/17/2016: More on Buddy Rose

During his time splitting time between the Portland and San Francisco territories, Buddy Rose continued to make trouble with the California State Athletic Commission throughout 1978 and 1979. For some reason, all of the incidents appear to have taken place in San Jose, like the one discussed last week where he was being penalized for a ref bump…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 28, 2016: WWE Survivor Series, Goldberg agrees to more matches

The improbable story of Bill Goldberg, weeks before his 50th birthday, coming back for what was supposed to be a one-time appearance to help promote the WWE’s video game, and emerging as the biggest star in pro wrestling just tells you that the axiom that it’s all about timing is true.

Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in 1:26 after agreeing to come back for at least a few more dates. Unlike with Sting, who lost to HHH in his first match back because of the idea that at his age, he was only going to do one match with the company, but that was kept hidden, in Goldberg’s case, he came out on interview No. 1 and said about Lesnar, that not only was he next, but he was last… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:December 6, 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The history of wrestling on Thanksgiving  – Thanksgiving in most of the 80s meant some of the biggest wrestling shows of the year. The tradition was at its peak from 1983 to 1987, with the early Starrcades in Greensboro and later Atlanta as well, Star Wars at Reunion Arena in Dallas, the AWA at the St. Paul Civic Center, Mid South Wrestling at the Superdome in Louisiana and the early Survivor Series events… click here to continue.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

• Daniel Bryan responded to Cesaro’s complaints about not being on the poster for WWE’s shows in Switzerland: “If you were on #TeamBlue you’d be on every poster… just saying #BlueIsBetter”.
• Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that Kenny Dykstra was fired from his day job for missing work. The Spirit Squad hasn’t been signed to WWE contracts.
• Tales of Andre the Giant were spoken of by Ric Flair, specifically Andre needing to drink 106 beers to get drunk.
• WWE uploaded Team Hell No & Ryback vs. The Shield from TLC 2012 for free on their YouTube account.
• WWE looks at the top 10 times wrestlers have been smashed through ladders.

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

• Cody Rhodes won Global Force Wrestling’s Nex*Gen Championship at WrestleCade in Winston-Salem, North Carolina last night.
• PROGRESS Wrestling will crown a new champion tomorrow at their show at the Electric Ballroom in London. Mark Haskins was previously forced to vacate the title due to injury, and the show will feature matches with the winners advancing to a multi-man main event to determine the new champion. Will Ospreay vs. the debuting Matt Riddle and Marty Scurll vs. Jimmy Havoc highlight the announced matches for the show.

UFC

• After Daniel Cormier was forced out of UFC 206 due to injury, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson tweeted, “I wish nothing but the best for DC and I hope you have a full recovery champ…” And Cormier replied, “left a message for you on ur phone. I apologize. We Will get to rock and roll bruh. Once again my apologies. DC”.
• Tim Kennedy tweeted that he offered to step in and fight Johnson.
• Here are the UFC Melbourne weigh-ins.
• Tate talks Cyborg.
• UFC fighters react to DC pulling out of 206.

VARIETY

• Ric Flair had a message for Ohio State on behalf of Michigan in advance of their rivalry game today.
• Superkick’d Goes ALL THE WAY UP! Friday, December 16th 2016, 7:30pm Doors 8:00pm Action. The Great Hall’s Longboat Hall, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, On.
• Happy Thanksgiving weekend from The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling. Today’s episode features ring veteran “Mean” Mike Masters AKA Rocky Jones and is available for download at this link. Masters started his wrestling career being mentored by Bruno Sammartino and competed in the New York territory for many years but also had stops along the way in Georgia, Hawaii, California, Portland, Puerto Rico and Japan where he faced a long list of Hall of Fame opponents.
• ROH Sale: From Friday, November 25th all the way through Sunday, November 27th, you can save 35% on all ROH compilation DVDs. And the savings are even bigger for our Ringside Members: 50% off.
• Former WCW star “The Rapmaster” P.N. News was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. During the interview, he discussed starting his wrestling career at a young age, why Dusty Rhodes gave him the “P.N. News” name, his WCW release, and more. He also shared a very interesting story of Flair once only requesting 50 dollars from a promotion while World Champion due to the attendance being low.
• Best Of The West Student showcase this Sunday on Nov 27th at 6pm. Another live student showcase show at the Best/West training center located at 5494 E Lamona Ave, Stuite #150 here in Fresno. Bell time of 6pm and tickets are only $5.00 but with limited seating. Next TV taping is scheduled for Saturday Dec 10th at the VFW Hall #8900 here in Fresno. Bell time of 6pm as well.
• This article talks about how young people are not watching sports anymore.

Today in Professional Wrestling History (11/26): The first Survivor Series

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

The biggest news of today is Daniel Cormier being off UFC 206, where he was scheduled to headline, due to needing hernia surgery. The injury he got is the same injury Dwayne Johnson got in his second match with John Cena. Joe Silva has one last rabbit to pull out of his hat to save a show before leaving UFC as there is no logical opponent for Anthony Rumble Johnson considering he’s already knocked out Ryan Bader, Glover Teixeira and Alexander Gustafsson, the next three contenders.

NEWS

• Daniel Cormier out of UFC 206 main event due to injury
• TNA Impact Wrestling results: Matt Hardy is once again broken
• Lucha Underground results: Sexy Star vs. Johnny Mundo

OPINION

• UFC Fight Night 101 DFS Playbook: Who to target & who to avoid
• The Week In British Wrestling: ICW draws the biggest UK crowd in 35 years
• Drew Galloway on ICW’s success and his future in TNA

REPORTS

• TNA Impact Wrestling results: Matt Hardy is once again broken
• Lucha Underground results: Sexy Star vs. Johnny Mundo
• WWE NXT results: TakeOver fallout with matches taped in Toronto

AUDIO

• FREE WOL: Lucha Underground, Sexy Star, Big Show, NXT, more! 11/25
• Wrestling Weekly: Goldberg, TakeOver: Toronto, mailbag 11/25
• B&V&G: Lucha Underground, NXT, Granny Thanksgiving Wrestling Report, more! 11/25

No WWE events tonight.

Saturday has the Raw crew in Providence, RI and the Smackdown crew in Kansas City. We’re looking for reports on both of these shows to [email protected]

CMLL LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME

• Astral & Electrico vs. Demus 3:16 & Mercurio
• Drone & Fuego & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Misterioso Jr. & Ripper & Sagrado
• Lluvia & Princesa Sugei & Sanely vs. Amapola & Dallys & Zeuxis
• La Mascara vs. Hechicero
• Four-man family trios tournament:
• Dragon Lee & Mistico & Pierroth
• Mascara Ano 2000 & Sanson & Cuatrero
• Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther
• Negro Casas & Puma & Tiger
• Volador Jr. & Caristico & Valiente vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Niebla Roja & Euforia

UFC ON SATURDAY (SUNDAY LOCAL TIME) FROM THE ROD LAVER ARENA IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME

• Ning Guanyou vs. Marlon Vera
• Khalil Rountree vs. Tyson Pedro
• Danielle Taylor vs. Seo Hee Ham
• Yao Zhukui vs. Jerel Lausa
• Jason Knight vs. Dan Hooker
• Ben Nguyen vs. Geane Herrera
• Richard Walsh vs. Jonathan Meunier
• Jon Tuck vs. Damien Brown
• Daniel Kelly vs. Chris Camozzi
• Alex Volkanovski vs. Yusuke Kasuya
• Kyle Noke vs. Omari Akhmedov
• Jake Matthews vs. Andrew Holbook
• Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SATURDAY FROM KOCHI (will air on tape delay Saturday on New Japan World)

• Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson
• Brian Breaker & Leland Race vs. Tetsuya Naito & Rush
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page

Sunday has the Raw crew in North Charleston, SC and Smackdown crew in Fayetteville, VA.  We’re looking for reports on those shows to [email protected].

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SUNDAY FROM IMABARI (will air on tape delay Sunday on New Japan World)

• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens
• Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Bone Soldier
• Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil

ALL JAPAN HAS ITS BIGGEST SHOW OF THE YEAR SUNDAY AT SUMO HALL IN TOKYO

• Naoya Nomura vs. Takuya Nomura
• Sushi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Masao Inoue vs. Kaji Tomato & Kazuhiro Tamura & Naoshi Sano
• Super Tiger & Ryuji Hijikata & Rey Paloma & Dial vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Takeshi Minamino & Black Tiger VII
• Dory Funk Jr. & Chavo Guerrero Sr. & Ultimo Dragon & Tajiri vs. Great Kabuki & Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie & Isami Kodaka
• Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi & Koji Iwamoto vs. Ryoji Sai & Kengo Mashimo & Konosuke Takeshita
• Yohei Nakajima vs. Jiro Kuroshio for TV title
• Soma Takao vs. Keisuke Ishii for World jr. title
• Atsushi Aoki & Hikaru Sato vs. Masa Fuchi & Atsushi Onita for All-Asia tag titles
• Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabyaashi vs. Zeus & The Bodyguard for world tag team title
• Kento Miyahara vs. Suwama for Triple Crown

Raw will be Monday night in Charlotte, NC. Announced for the show are New Day vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows for the tag titles and Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title. There will also be a Smackdown brand house show Monday night in Florence, SC.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT TUESDAY FROM SASEBO (will air on tape delay Tuesday on New Japan World)

• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Henare
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Leland Race & Brian Breaker

Smackdown will be live, Main Event will be taped, and 205 Live will debut Tuesday night in Columbia, SC. The 205 Live main event will be Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann for the cruiserweight title.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT WEDNESDAY FROM BEPPU (will air on tape delay Wedensday no New Japan World)

• Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson

NXT will be taped on Wednesday at Full Sail Univesity in Winter Park, FL.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/17/2016: More on Buddy Rose

During his time splitting time between the Portland and San Francisco territories, Buddy Rose continued to make trouble with the California State Athletic Commission throughout 1978 and 1979. For some reason, all of the incidents appear to have taken place in San Jose, like the one discussed last week where he was being penalized for a ref bump…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 28, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE Survivor Series, Goldberg agrees to more matches

The improbable story of Bill Goldberg, weeks before his 50th birthday, coming back for what was supposed to be a one-time appearance to help promote the WWE’s video game, and emerging as the biggest star in pro wrestling just tells you that the axiom that it’s all about timing is true.

Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in 1:26 after agreeing to come back for at least a few more dates. Unlike with Sting, who lost to HHH in his first match back because of the idea that at his age, he was only going to do one match with the company, but that was kept hidden, in Goldberg’s case, he came out on interview No. 1 and said about Lesnar, that not only was he next, but he was last… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:December 6, 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The history of wrestling on Thanksgiving  – Thanksgiving in most of the 80s meant some of the biggest wrestling shows of the year. The tradition was at its peak from 1983 to 1987, with the early Starrcades in Greensboro and later Atlanta as well, Star Wars at Reunion Arena in Dallas, the AWA at the St. Paul Civic Center, Mid South Wrestling at the Superdome in Louisiana and the early Survivor Series events… click here to continue.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

We’ve got a special deal today for Black Friday as you can get a one-month subscription to the site for $3.99, which includes this week’s issue, back issues, and archived issues and raido shows.

Our weekend show will be up Saturday night after the UFC show. If you’ve got questions you can send to [email protected].

The first Jeff Cobb vs. Matt Riddle match in Evolve and Cobb debut was announced for 12/10 in Queens, NY.  Also announced is Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi defending against Peter Kaasa & Ricochet. 

Yesterday’s Dallas vs. Washington game drew the largest television audience, 35.1 million, of any NFL regular season game in 21 years.

Timothy Thatcher defending the Evovle title against Dick Togo on 12/11 in Melrose, MA, which also as has Drew Gulak vs. Tracy Williams and Riddle vs. Ricochet.

In today’s unwise tweet category, Cesaro complained about not even being on the poster for May shows in Zurich, Switzerland, his home country. He failed to make the cut behind Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, New Day, Finn Balor, Charlotte, Sheamus, Sasha Banks and Roman Reigns. Also notable is no Chris Jericho. 

Volador Jr. defending the NWA welterweight title against Mephisto from Tuesday night at Arena Mexico.

WWE

• Chris Jericho and Randy Orton are both not advertised for the weekend house shows. Orton has off until Tuesday and Jericho is due back on Monday.
• WWE debuts another episode of “Story Time” on Monday night after Raw on the WWE Network.
• WWE Network also has a show called “The True Story of the Royal Rumble” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Hopefully there is at least a mention of the San Francisco Cow Palace annual Battle Royal, or if even better, the Honolulu version.  

UFC

Our buddy Denis Shkuratov has a ton of videos from Australia regarding tomorrow night’s UFC show:

• Miesha Tate talks her retirement and UFC 205 as well as Ronda Rousey.
• Ross Pearson talks his fight from Saturday.
• Chris Camozzi talks his fight tomorrow night.
• Kyle Noke thinks his job is on the line tomorow.
• Jake Matthews is looking for a knockout in front of his home fans.
• Derek Brunson is hoping for a title shot with a good showing in the main event.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Due to college basketball, no New Japan tonight on AXS TV.
• Bellator also lost a main event today, as the Patricky Pitbull Freire vs. Derek Campos headliner for the 12/3 show in Thackerville, OK is out  The Darrion Caldwell vs. Joe Taimanglo fight that was No. 2 that night, has been moved into the main event position.  Bellator next weekend has both a Friday night (Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren for the bantamweight title) and a Saturday night show in the same arena in Thackerville, OK.  No Bellator shows this weekend.
• CWE tonight in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar has Adam Knight vs. Rookie Sensation Roy for the CWE title.
• NWA New South Wrestling from last night in Franklin, KY:  Shawn Hurley b Shane Andrews-DQ, John Irons b Shiner Sutton, Shane Andrews b Mr. USA, Damien Wayne b Chase Stevens, Arrick Andrews & Vic the Bruiser b Christian James & Chris Michaels  (thanks to Lekisha Oliver)
• NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 12/10 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium with Jason Kincaid vs. Michael Elgin for Southeastern title.

The joint show today with Preston City Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, CZW and wXw in Preston, England drew a disappointing crowd of 200 fans today:

Cruiserweight tournament first round:

• Da Mack b Zachary Wentz
• Tracy Williams b Martin Kirby
• Bubblegum b Axel Deiter Jr.
• AR Fox b Dezmond Xavier

Open weight tournament first round:

• Jurn Simmons b Dave Crist
• Chris Dickinson b Joey Janela
• Dave Mastiff b Keith Lee
• T-Bone b David Starr

Iestyn Rees & Sha Samuels & Lionheart b Danny Hope & Zak Knight & Ryo Knight.  Dickinson vs. Janela said to be very good, as was Lee vs. Mastiff.

Today in Professional Wrestling History (11/25): Survivor Series 1992

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler booked for WWE TLC
• Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss set for WWE TLC
• WWE SmackDown video highlights: James Ellsworth earns his contract
• The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler booked for WWE TLC
• Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss set for WWE TLC
• WWE SmackDown live results: Survivor Series fallout and the build to TLC
• Interest in the finish to Survivor Series helps boost Raw ratings

AUDIO

• B&V&C: Retro Raw and Nitro from 19 years ago this week! 11/23
• FREE WOL! Brock Lesnar in Royal Rumble, Raw, WrestleMania card, more! 11/22
• WOR: Survivor Series fallout, RAW report, Goldberg upcoming matches, more! 11/22

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/16/2016: Buddy Rose and the California State Athletic Commission

Buddy Rose was always a troublemaker wherever he went, and northern California was no exception. Brought in as the new top heel while still headlining in the Portland territory, it wasn’t long before he started getting in trouble with the California State Athletic Commission. His first infraction was brought up at the commission’s August 13, 1978 meeting, stemming from a show a couple weeks earlier…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: November 21, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 205 reviewed, Vader given 2 years to live, more

Conor McGregor and the records set on Saturday night is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We have a full report live from UFC 205, including the unique situation McGregor is in regarding his power from his box office, from the realities of the UFC sale, and his demands of getting a stake in the company.  We look at the profit margin of McGregor’s three fights as well as the total revenue he generates.  We look at what he means compared to a normal headliner.  We look at the situation with him holding two titles, a look at the contenders in three weight classes on hold until McGregor makes his next pick for a fight.  We look at the biggest live gates in combat sports history and where Saturday ranks, the retirement of Miesha Tate, and how UFC’s biggest enemy ended up leading to its most successful live gate ever.  We also have early PPV buyrate trends and full match coverage.

We have a story on the life of Leon “Vader” White, the creation of Big Van Vader and how it got over, his WCW and UWFI runs, his brawl with Paul Orndorff, why he never won WWF title, and his recent serious health issues.

We look at Bill Goldberg and his first match in 12 years, and the business of WWE in Toronto this week.

Also in this issue, Paul Levesque talks Conor McGregor, new WWE signings, WWE WrestleMania weekend business comparisons, Sin Cara punishments, Hulk Hogan talks rumors of a return, Shawn Michaels at the Performance Center and the basic idea for who will do what, latest WWE injuries, a new WWE network show that was taped, Rhyno talks about his failed election, LeBron James/Undertaker story, XFL documentary, Paige update, and the McMahons/Foley/Bryan network special, Linda McMahon being considered for a major position in the Trump administration and even Dwayne Johnson talking about running for president in the future and his positives and negatives.

We have a WWE Network feature examining the different gimmicks the company is using to try to get new subscribers and maintain existing ones.  We look at why they are done, the timing, the battle plan, why it could work, where they may be sacrificing money and how UFC is doing something similar.

This is just a taste of what is in the new 35,000 word weekly Wrestling Observer Newsletter for subscribers… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:November 1, 1999: Mick Foley’s autobiography becomes best seller, WCW Halloween Havoc review, more – The autobiography of Mankind wasn’t supposed to be anything special. The idea was that Regan Books would take advantage of the WWF’s popularity to mass market quickie autobiographies on the company three most popular wrestlers. Mankind barely made the cut, but they probably figured because his more than dozens… click here to continue.

WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

James Ellsworth officially joined the SmackDown roster on last night’s show. He was offered a contract in storyline by Shane McMahon, but put it on the line in the main event against AJ Styles in a ladder match. Ellsworth won with the help of Dean Ambrose, and will get a future title shot as a stipulation of the match.

Four matches were added to the TLC card last night with The Miz defending the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match, Becky Lynch defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss, Nikki Bella facing Carmella in a no DQ match, and Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto in a chairs match.

American Alpha will face Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton next week with the winners getting a shot at Heath Slater and Rhyno’s tag titles at TLC. American Alpha won a six-team tag turmoil match to seemingly earn a shot at the titles, but were interrupted by The Wyatt Family after.

• In a match taped in Toronto before TakeOver, Ember Moon, Liv Morgan, and Aliyah vs. Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, and Daria Berenato will air on tonight’s episode of NXT.
• Kevin Owens took a shot at David Otunga on Twitter.
• In this article, NXT wrestler Buddy Murphy talks about what it was like to return home to Australia.
• James Ellsworth and Dean Ambrose will appear on WWE’s weekly SportsCenter segment with Jonathan Coachman tonight.
• Goldberg spoke to ESPN about his Survivor Series match and his upcoming Royal Rumble appearance.
• Cedric Alexander talks being from Charlotte and the new WWE Cruiserweight division.
• We have a correction from the Raw ratings article from yesterday. The actual average for Raw was 2.99 million, not 3.04 million.

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

• The World Wrestling Network is creating a WWN Championship that will span their roster of promotions (including EVOLVE, FIP, SHINE, and the recently announced Style Battle). The winner will be crowned at this year’s WWN Supershow during WrestleMania weekend and the company will reveal details of a tournament to crown the first champion soon.
• Marty Scurll will face Zack Sabre Jr. on January 21st at York Hall in London for Revolution Pro Wrestling.
• ROH Television Champion Marty Scurll defending against Will Ospreay, Dragon Lee, and Bobby Fish in a four corner survival match is now official for Final Battle at the Hammerstein Ballroom on December 2nd. The show will also feature Cody Rhodes vs. Jay Lethal, Jushin Liger vs. Silas Young, and Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle in addition to the two top title matches with Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly and The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes.
• Keep indie wrestling weird!

UFC / MMA

Alves gets a slap on the abs for missing weight…

• Thiago Alves was suspended for three months by the New York State Athletic Commission for missing weight at UFC 205. Yoel Romero was also suspended for 60 days by the commission for leaving the cage after his win against Chris Weidman.
• Tim Kennedy tweeted that he wants to face Anderson Silva at UFC 206.

VARIETY

“That’s my painting, man!“

• Professional wrestler and singer/songwriter Jeff Hardy is set to release his new EP, entitled “Spawn of Me,” on Black Friday (11/25). The EP will be Hardy’s debut as a solo artist and will be sold exclusively on his newly launched webstore, JeffHardyBrand.com.
• NWX presents Holiday Havoc on December 10, 2016 at CWF Studios on 20 Hartzel in St. Catharines, ON. Doors Open at 6:30 pm, Bell Time at 7:00 pm.
• BCW ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas! Sunday, December 18 at 3 PM – 6 PM, Royal Canadian Legion Col. Paul Poisson Branch 261, 12326 Lanoue Street, Tecumseh, Ontario N8N 1N3. An afternoon of professional wrestling action for charity.
• C*4 presents “Shock Waves” – 9th Anniversary Event! Saturday November 26th, 2016 C*4: Capital City Championship Combat. Vanier Columbus Club, 260 McArthur Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Stay up to date with all of C*4’s recent news, and event info by visiting www.c4wrestling.com
• RESULTS: Smash Wrestling (11.11.2016) Smash This Is Smash 4th Anniversary Tour 2016 – Tag 1 @ Isaac’s Bar & Grill in St-Catherines, Ontario, Canada. TARIK defeats Jaxon Jarvis. Smash Wrestling Title Tournament First Round: Brent Banks defeats Kevin Bennett. Jimmy Havoc defeats Joe Hendry. Rosemary defeats Kaitlin Diemond. The Well Oiled Machines (Mike Rollins & Pepper Parks) defeat Jeremy Elliott & Zakk Atticus. Smash Wrestling Title Tournament First Round: Tyson Dux defeats Matt Cross.
• If you’re interested in IWF Wrestling School, Youth Clinics, or having a Party, we host OPEN HOUSE TOUR this Fri 4 pm, Sat 2 pm, and Sun 1 pm. Independent Wrestling Federation LLC, 75 Franklin Avenue, Nutley, NJ 07110.
• NWA Smoky Mountain’s 2016 FINALE takes on Saturday, December 10 in Kingsport, TN! Tickets.
• AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined and Reckless Records present The Windy City Classic XII: AAW Heavyweight Championship Match:  Sami Callihan vs. Chris Hero. Video: Sami Callihan vs. Chris Hero Official Preview – Windy City Classic XII. Video: Chris Hero Confronts Sami Callihan after Never Say Die
• The Razor Ramones have a new album called Rocket to Rusev.
• The Black Friday Sales in the DGUSA.tv Store are in effect. All EVOLVE Blu-rays/DVDs are up to 50% off and $10 each. All SHINE Blu-rays/DVDs are up to 50% off and $10 each. All DGUSA DVDs are 50% off and $10 each. Everything in the Gear section is 50% off, including all EVOLVE shirts.
• Tickets are now on sale at TicketFly.com for the following EVOLVE events: Dec. 10th in Queens, NY (Cody vs. Ethan Page), Dec. 11th in Melrose, MA (Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle), Jan. 27th in San Antonio, TX, Jan. 28th in San Antonio, TX, Feb. 24th in Joppa, MD.

Today in Professional Wrestling History (11/23): Sting makes his WWE debut at Survivor Series

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• WWE Raw video highlights: Goldberg makes an announcement
• Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann set for next week’s 205 Live premiere
• Two title matches booked for next week’s Raw
• Goldberg: I’m entering the 2017 Royal Rumble match
• WWE Raw live results: What’s next for Goldberg?

AUDIO

• WOR: Survivor Series fallout, RAW report, Goldberg upcoming matches, more! 11/22
• WOL: Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg fallout, Survivor Series, more! 11/21
• WOR: Why Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar, Survivor Series PPV recap, more! 11/21

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/16/2016: Buddy Rose and the California State Athletic Commission

Buddy Rose was always a troublemaker wherever he went, and northern California was no exception. Brought in as the new top heel while still headlining in the Portland territory, it wasn’t long before he started getting in trouble with the California State Athletic Commission. His first infraction was brought up at the commission’s August 13, 1978 meeting, stemming from a show a couple weeks earlier…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: November 21, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 205 reviewed, Vader given 2 years to live, more

Conor McGregor and the records set on Saturday night is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We have a full report live from UFC 205, including the unique situation McGregor is in regarding his power from his box office, from the realities of the UFC sale, and his demands of getting a stake in the company.  We look at the profit margin of McGregor’s three fights as well as the total revenue he generates.  We look at what he means compared to a normal headliner.  We look at the situation with him holding two titles, a look at the contenders in three weight classes on hold until McGregor makes his next pick for a fight.  We look at the biggest live gates in combat sports history and where Saturday ranks, the retirement of Miesha Tate, and how UFC’s biggest enemy ended up leading to its most successful live gate ever.  We also have early PPV buyrate trends and full match coverage.

We have a story on the life of Leon “Vader” White, the creation of Big Van Vader and how it got over, his WCW and UWFI runs, his brawl with Paul Orndorff, why he never won WWF title, and his recent serious health issues.

We look at Bill Goldberg and his first match in 12 years, and the business of WWE in Toronto this week.

Also in this issue, Paul Levesque talks Conor McGregor, new WWE signings, WWE WrestleMania weekend business comparisons, Sin Cara punishments, Hulk Hogan talks rumors of a return, Shawn Michaels at the Performance Center and the basic idea for who will do what, latest WWE injuries, a new WWE network show that was taped, Rhyno talks about his failed election, LeBron James/Undertaker story, XFL documentary, Paige update, and the McMahons/Foley/Bryan network special, Linda McMahon being considered for a major position in the Trump administration and even Dwayne Johnson talking about running for president in the future and his positives and negatives.

We have a WWE Network feature examining the different gimmicks the company is using to try to get new subscribers and maintain existing ones.  We look at why they are done, the timing, the battle plan, why it could work, where they may be sacrificing money and how UFC is doing something similar.

This is just a taste of what is in the new 35,000 word weekly Wrestling Observer Newsletter for subscribers… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:November 1, 1999: Mick Foley’s autobiography becomes best seller, WCW Halloween Havoc review, more – The autobiography of Mankind wasn’t supposed to be anything special. The idea was that Regan Books would take advantage of the WWF’s popularity to mass market quickie autobiographies on the company three most popular wrestlers. Mankind barely made the cut, but they probably figured because his more than dozens… click here to continue.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

Congrautul….RKO out of nowwhere….ations!

• They will be taping one hour of NXT before SmackDown in Ottawa tonight.
• Randy Orton and his wife Kim welcomed their new daughter into the world on Tuesday.
• American Alpha, The Usos, The Hype Bros, Breezango, The Ascension, and The Vaudevillains will face off in a six-team number one contenders match on tonight’s SmackDown with the winners getting a shot at Heath Slater and Rhyno’s tag team titles.
• After Chris Jericho got involved in last night’s no DQ Universal Championship match between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins while wearing a Sin Cara mask, Lance Storm and Big E tweeted about the irony of it given Jericho and Sin Cara’s altercation earlier this month.
• There will be three title matches on TV next week with Charlotte Flair defending the Raw Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks and The New Day defending their tag titles against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on next week’s Raw. The premiere of 205 Live will also have a Cruiserweight Championship match between Brian Kendrick and Rich Swann.
• Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch detailed ESPN’s upcoming 30 for 30 documentary on Ric Flair and spoke to the project’s director Rory Karpf. In addition to Flair and his three children, Sting, Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, Jim Ross, Eric Bischoff, and Flair’s first wife, Leslie were all interviewed for the documentary.
• Alexa Bliss says what she’s thinking, and isn’t afraid to say it on the microphone.

PRO WRESTLING

• Kota Ibushi talked about wanting to return to New Japan Pro Wrestling and challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, wanting to wrestle Shinsuke Nakamura in NXT, and being interested in what Kenny Omega is doing.
• Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion will broadcast three live events on FloSlam in December.
• Michael Elgin posted a video about the launch of his Glory Pro Wrestling promotion next year.
• Jake the Snake found his WWE Hall of Fame ring. He tweeted about it: “#thankYOU #Grateful #bestfansintheworld #trustme.”
• Jim Ross will be doing a show on January 29 in San Antonio.

UFC / MMA

• BJ Penn will face Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Phoenix, AZ on January 15th.
• Tim Kennedy was asked if he would’ve fought Cowboy Cerrone in New York if given the chance: “No. 1st he is a friend. 2nd I weigh 40 lbs more than him. 3rd I do not want another loss on my record.”
• The New York State Athletic Commission administratively suspended Kelvin Gastelum for six months after he failed to appear at the UFC 205 weigh-ins. It isn’t known yet if it will affect his status for UFC 206 if he’s chosen to face Tim Kennedy.
• After a classic fight with Tyron Woodley at UFC 205, Stephen Thompson returned to Submission Radio. With discussion about a possible fight between McGregor/Woodley, Stephen explained to Submission Radio why 170 wasn’t the right weight class for Conor: “To be honest with you, I think the UFC knows that I deserve that title shot, that I deserve that rematch. And you know what, I think that Conor McGregor’s gotta defend the 145 and the 155 title and I just think he’s too small for the 170 division. I mean, he’s walking around right at 170, maybe a little bit less. I don’t think it would be a good division for him to step up to.”

VARIETY

• 2K today announced the WWE 2K17 Legends Pack is now available as downloadable content on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 systems, as well as Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft for Xbox One and Xbox 360, enabling access to playable WWE Legends Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Eddie Guerrero, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Sycho Sid and Tatanka. The Legends Pack is available for $8.99.
• Today The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling welcome to podcast episode #219 former WCW and WWF Ring Announcer, Gary Michael Cappetta. GMC’s backstory is something that every wrestling fan needs to hear. From his early days in the WWWF and working for Vince McMahon Sr. all the way through being the voice of WCW in the early 90s, GMC made a name for himself as being a true “pitchman” for the business of professional wrestling.
• On the most special edition of Mat Madness Unsanctioned yet, the ultimate Ultimate Warrior fan, Paul Carboni, tells of his quarter-century fascination of Warrior, from his first exposure as a child to the impact Warrior continues to have on his adulthood. Hear an incredible story that culminates with Paul’s trip to see his childhood hero for the first time at WrestleMania XXX weekend, including sneaking backstage (and onto the red carpet) at the Hall of Fame ceremony, hearing Warrior’s speech live the night of Mania XXX. Hear which WWE Hall of Famer almost spoiled the moment when Warrior was introduced to the crowd at the Superdome. Finally, Paul discusses how Warrior’s message lives on in the annals of pro wrestling and in public education, as the impact of Warrior’s sudden passing inspired a three-wall mural inside his high school classroom, assuredly the coolest classroom in America. Links for youtube and iTunes.  

Today in Professional Wrestling History (11/21): Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes at Starrcade 1984

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
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THE ROUND-UP

The latest from the F4W Staff

And new ROH TV Champion…

NEWS

• Will Ospreay captures the ROH TV title in his debut
• UFC Fight Night 100 DFS Playbook: Who to target & who to avoid
• The Week In British Wrestling: NJPW comes to London
• UFC Fight Night 99 DFS Playbook: Who to target & who to avoid
• The Man In Japan: Kenny Omega’s Road To The Tokyo Dome, pt. 3
• NJPW World Tag League 2016 results: Tetsuya Naito’s mystery partner revealed
• TNA Impact Wrestling results: Jeff Hardy & Eddie Edwards vs. The DCC

AUDIO 

• B&V&G: Lucha Underground, NXT, Raw, Granny Wrestling Report, more! 11/18
• FREE WOL! Survivor Series, Lucha Underground, NXT Takeover, WrestleMania, more! 11/17
• DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: A longform history of pro wrestling, pt. 6 11/17
• WOR: Goldberg hurt, Survivor Series weekend, Lucha Underground, UFC, tons more! 11/17
• F4D: Smackdown 900, Filthy Tom’s new baby, B-Sample update, OVERWEIGHT CLASSIC TURMOIL 11/16

Please send reports to [email protected] for the following shows:

• NXT in Boston at the Agannis Arena
• ROH show in Liverpool
• NXT show tonight in Tampa.

For the weekend, we’ll be doing polls for both NXT Takeover and Survivor Series, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].

This is one of the biggest weekends of the year with Survivor Series, NXT Takeover, two UFC shows, Bellator and the ROH tour of the U.K. as the highlights.

INVICTA AT 8 P.M. TONIGHT ON FIGHT PASS FROM KANSAS CITY’S SCOTTISH RITE TEMPLE

• Samantha Diaz (115.9) vs. Miranda Maverick (118) – Diaz cut her hair to make weight, Maverick will be fined for missing weight
• Stephanie Egger (135.7) vs. Alexa Conners (135.9) 
• Lynn Alvarez (115.5) vs. J.J. Aldrich (115.9)
• Jessica-Rose Clark (136) vs. Pam Sorenson (140.6) – Sorenson will be fined for missing weight
• Amber Brown (114.8) vs. Ashley Yoder (117) – Yoder will be fined for missing weight
• Herica Tiburcio (105.9) vs. Simona Soukupova (106)
• Angela Hill (114.8) vs. Kaline Medeiros (114.1) for the strawweight title
• Tonya Evinger (134.7) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (134.1) for the bantamweight title

NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME (one hour earlier than usual)

• 2016 New Japan Cup semifinals and finals
• Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
• Michael Elgin vs. Hirooki Goto
• Winners meet in finals

CMLL LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME  HERE

• Fuego & Pegasso vs. Tiger & Virus
• Drone & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Rey Cometa vs. Dragon Rojo Jr. & Polvora & Bobby Z
• Angel de Oro & Dragon Lee & Volador Jr. vs. Cavernario & Felino & Negro Casas
• Elimination match for Copa Leyenda Azul (Blue Demon Cup):  Atlantis, Blue Panther, El Terrible, Diamante Azul, Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Kraneo, Marco Corleone, La Mascara, Mascara Ano 2000, Maximo Sexy, Rey Bucanero, Hechicero and Ultimo Guerrero
• We’re looking for reports Saturday from the ROH show in Leicester, England (Adam Cole vs. Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley vs. Jay Lethal, Jay White vs. Joe Hendry, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Dalton Castle & Delirious, Dijak vs. Lio Rush.

UFC ON SATURDAY FROM BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND AT 12:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON FIGHT PASS

• Abdul Razak Al-Hassan (170) vs. Charlie Ward (169)
• Brett Johns (136) vs. Kwan Ho Kwak (136)
• Marion Reneau (135) vs. Milena Dudieva (135)
• Zak Cummings (172.8) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (171) – Cummings forfeits 20% of his purse for missing weight 
• Mark Godbeer (238) vs. Justin Ledet (240)
• Amanda Cooper (116) vs. Anna Elmose (116)
• Kevin Lee (155) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (156)
• Ali Bagautinov (126) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (125)
• Magnus Cedenblad (185) vs. Jack Marshman (184)
• Teruto Ishihara (146) vs. Artem Lobov (144)
• Timothy Johnson (264) vs. Alexander Volkov (249)
• Ross Pearson (156) vs. Stevie Ray (155)
• Uriah Hall (185) vs. Gegard Mousasi (184)

UFC ON SATURDAY NIGHT FROM SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

Fight Pass at 6 p.m. Eastern

• Francimar Barroso vs. Darren Stewart
• Pedro Munhoz vs. Justin Scoggins

FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern

• Christian Colombo vs. Luis Henrique
• Johnny Eduardo vs. Manny Gamburyan
• Gadzhimt Antigulov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
• Cezar Ferreira vs. Jack Hermansson
• Sergio Moraes vs. Zak Ottow
• Warlley Alves vs. Kamaru Usman
• Krzysztof Jotko vs. Thales Leites
• Claudia Gadelha vs. Cortney Casey
• Thomas Almeida vs. Albert Morales
• Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

NXT TAKEOVER IN TORONTO ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON WWE NETWORK

• Shinsuke Nakamura vs Samoa Joe for NXT title
• Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano 2/3 falls for tag titles 
• Asuka vs. Mickie James for women’s title
• Bobby Roode vs. Tye Dillinger
• TM 61 vs. Authors of Pain in finals of Dusty Rhodes tag team classic

They will also tape matches for NXT television live starting at 7:30 p.m.

BELLATOR ON SATURDAY NIGHT FROM SAN JOSE, CA AT THE SAP CENTER AT 9 P.M. EASTERN ON SPIKE TV

• Keri Melendez vs. Sheila Padilla
• Brandon Girtz vs. Adam Piccolotti
• Linton Vassell vs. Francis Carmont
• Michael Venom Page vs. Fernando Gonzalez
• Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson for lightweight title

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE IN GUNMA AT 2 A.M. EASTERN TIME LATE SATURDAY NIGHT

• Teruaki Kanemitsu vs. Hirai Kawato
• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn & Kushida & David Finlay
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
• Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Bone Soldier
• Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Brian Breaker & Leland Race vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga  Roa
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tetsuya Naito & Rush

We’re looking for reports Sunday from the ROH show in London at York Hall (Adam  Cole vs. Jay Lethal for ROH title, Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson vs. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe vs. Nick Jackson, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Bobby Fish & ?, Jay White vs. Donovan Dijak, Lio Rush vs. Dalton Castle).

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES SUNDAY AT 6:30 P.M. ON WWE NETWORK FROM TORONTO

• Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
• Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns & Chris Jericho & Braun Strowman vs. A.J. Styles & Dean Ambrose & Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt & Shane McMahon in elimination match
• New Day & Enzo Amore & Big Cass & Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson & Shining Stars & Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno & Usos & Jason Jordan & Chad Gable & Tyler Breeze & Fandango & Mojo  Rawley & Zack Ryder in tag team elimination match
• Charlotte & Sasha Banks & Alicia Fox & Bayley & Nia Jax vs. Becky Lynch & Nikki Bella & Naomi & Carmella & Alexa Bliss in elimination match
• The Miz vs. Sami Zayn for IC title
• Brian Kendrick vs. Kalisto for cruiserweight title, if Kalisto wins then cruiserweight move to Smackdown

Raw will be Monday night in Toronto. There will also be a Smackdown house show on Monday night in Kingston, Ontario.

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE IN ISHIKAWA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD (will be up on Tuesday at some point)

• Seiya Sanada & Evil vs. Bad Luck Fale & Bone Soldier
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn
• Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega & Chase Owens
• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi
• Smackdown will be on Tuesday night from Ottawa.

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE IN NAGOYA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD LIVE AT 2 A.M. LAST TUESDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

• Teruaki Kanemitsu vs. Hirai Kawato
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn & Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay
• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata & Kushida vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
• Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Bone Soldier
• Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Brian Breaker & Leland Race
• Ray Rowe & Hanson vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
• Tetsuya Naito & Rush vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/16/2016: Buddy Rose and the California State Athletic Commission

Buddy Rose was always a troublemaker wherever he went, and northern California was no exception. Brought in as the new top heel while still headlining in the Portland territory, it wasn’t long before he started getting in trouble with the California State Athletic Commission. His first infraction was brought up at the commission’s August 13, 1978 meeting, stemming from a show a couple weeks earlier…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: November 21, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 205 reviewed, Vader given 2 years to live, more

Conor McGregor and the records set on Saturday night is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We have a full report live from UFC 205, including the unique situation McGregor is in regarding his power from his box office, from the realities of the UFC sale, and his demands of getting a stake in the company.  We look at the profit margin of McGregor’s three fights as well as the total revenue he generates.  We look at what he means compared to a normal headliner.  We look at the situation with him holding two titles, a look at the contenders in three weight classes on hold until McGregor makes his next pick for a fight.  We look at the biggest live gates in combat sports history and where Saturday ranks, the retirement of Miesha Tate, and how UFC’s biggest enemy ended up leading to its most successful live gate ever.  We also have early PPV buyrate trends and full match coverage.

We have a story on the life of Leon “Vader” White, the creation of Big Van Vader and how it got over, his WCW and UWFI runs, his brawl with Paul Orndorff, why he never won WWF title, and his recent serious health issues.

We look at Bill Goldberg and his first match in 12 years, and the business of WWE in Toronto this week.

Also in this issue, Paul Levesque talks Conor McGregor, new WWE signings, WWE WrestleMania weekend business comparisons, Sin Cara punishments, Hulk Hogan talks rumors of a return, Shawn Michaels at the Performance Center and the basic idea for who will do what, latest WWE injuries, a new WWE network show that was taped, Rhyno talks about his failed election, LeBron James/Undertaker story, XFL documentary, Paige update, and the McMahons/Foley/Bryan network special, Linda McMahon being considered for a major position in the Trump administration and even Dwayne Johnson talking about running for president in the future and his positives and negatives.

We have a WWE Network feature examining the different gimmicks the company is using to try to get new subscribers and maintain existing ones.  We look at why they are done, the timing, the battle plan, why it could work, where they may be sacrificing money and how UFC is doing something similar.

This is just a taste of what is in the new 35,000 word weekly Wrestling Observer Newsletter for subscribers… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:October 25, 1999: WWF No Mercy review, first Nitro with Vince Russo, more – The new era of WCW television began on 10/18 in Philadelphia, with Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara’s first Nitro. There was no mistaking the fingerprints even if viewers didn’t have that fact drummed into their heads from early in the show. Far more detailed work was done in scripting the show then at any Nitro in recent memory and possibly ever… click here to continue.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

WrestleMania tickets are available right now for the public. A lot of sections are already sold out between fans and the secondary market. They are running at Camping World Stadium which will have a Mania capacity of around 65,000.

Dana White did an interview with the Los Angeles Times where he said that Conor McGregor would not be fighting until May. He also talked about working with Ari Emanuel, that Michael Bisping’s knee injury won’t allow him to headline the 1/21 show in Anaheim and that right now they don’t have main events for that show, or the February and March PPVs. The story is here.

As reported in the Observer, Rush ended up being Tetsuya Naito’s mystery partner in the New Japan tag team tournament which started this morning. They beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson in today’s main event at Korakuen Hall on the first day. Today’s show is up for free on New Japan World. Subscribers will also get every match of the tag team tournament as well as the complete cards on both late Saturday/early Sunday and late Tuesday/early Wednesday that were just added to the schedule.

New Japan on AXS tonight will start at 8 p.m., which is one hour earlier than usual due to Lion Fights starting at 9 p.m.  

Here is a really cool Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldbergvideo building up Sunday’s main event.

WWE

• Charlotte talks this coming year’s WrestleMania in Orlando.
• There are still great seats available for tomorrow night’s NXT show in Toronto without going to the secondary market, but there are probably some bargains on the secondary market since supply exceeds demand. That isn’t the case at all for Survivor Series on Sunday.
• Tony Nese, who has signed with WWE, will be doing some indie dates through 12/16 that he’s committed to but nothing after that.
• USA Today has an interview with Paul Heyman about the Lesnar vs. Goldberg match.
• A.J. Styles talks working for WWE and the breakup of The Club is here.
• The Irish Times has an article on Becky Lynch.

UFC

• Ryan Bader noted that his contract expires with his fight tomorrow in Sao Paulo, Brazil against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
• Ian McCall continues his unreal streak of fourth straight fights not taking place. The first three times, it was due to issues with his opponent. This time, regarding tomorrow’s show in Belfast, he took ill and was ruled unable to fight. Neil Seery, his opponent, weighed in and will get his show money. Seery had announced this would be his retirement fight, but since it isn’t taking place, he said he would still like to fight again.  

VARIETY

• Tonight’s CMLL from Arena Mexico features the annual Blue Demon Cibernetico (elimination match).
• Volador Jr. defends the NWA Historic welterweight title against Mephisto on Tuesday night at Arena Mexico, which airs on the CMLL YouTube channel live.
• Jim Ross is doing a talk show in Toronto on Sunday and here are some of the details of that in a Toronto Sun article. 
• Barrie Wrestling on 12/3 at the Ferris Lane Community Church in Barrie, ONT.
• Pro Wrestling Phoenix from last night in Omaha:  Zac James b Devin Carter, Robert Storm b Ajax Adams, Purple & Con Aritest b Dalton Lee Roth & Cuco Santiago, Rory Fox b Mad Dog McDowell, Darren Russell & Duke Cornell b Paul Daniels & Joey Daniels, Pat Powers b Branden Juarez.  Next show in 12/14 at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha.
• Tammy Sytch’s sentencing based on her probation violation that was scheduled for today was moved back to February. 

These independent shows this weekend are doing holiday-themed charity events. (Thanks to Bob Magee for the notes.)

• Pro Wrestling King returns to Century Center, 120 S. Saint Joseph St, South Bend, IN on November 18. Non perishable items are being collected for the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. For your non perishable donation, receive $2 off the price of an adult admission ticket. 
• Dynamo Pro Wrestling will hold shows on both Saturday, November 19th at the Douglas Club in Wood River, IL and on November 26th at the Ready Room in St. Louis, MO, collecting Toys for Tots. The company will also be collecting toys for the Tots for Tots from Monday, November 7th through Wednesday, December 7 at our November events as well as several additional locations throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. 
• Reno Wrestle Factory presents Headlock on Hunger on Saturday, November 19 with a 7:00 pm bell time at the Edward C. Reed High School, 1350 Baring Blvd, Sparks, NV to benefit The Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Admission is five cans of food. 
• NCW and Henderson County Toys for Tots presents “A Night To Give” on Saturday, November 19 at 7 PM at the Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206, 900 N Main St, Hendersonville, NC. Seven big matches and four title matches. Doors open at 7 pm 
• and belltime is 8 pm. Proceeds from this event go to provide toys for local children. Henderson County Toys for Tots will have a special concession stand that night with all proceeds going to the Toys for Tots. Tickets prices are $10 for Adults or $5 plus an unwrapped new toy of equal or more value. Children ages 6-14 are $5. Children 5 and under are free with an accompanying adult. 
• Cross Roads Wrestling returns on November 19 to Riverside, NJ at 300 Rancocas Avenue, for “Fastlane to Pain”, which will serve as a fundraiser for Ben Miller and a canned food drive for the Bread of Life Food Pantry. Ben is a local boy from Riverside NJ who has multiple disabilities, and recently competed in the Special Olympics at Rowan University. 
• Primal Conflict Wrestling presents “A Night To Remember X” on November 19 in Harpers Ferry, WV featuring Tommy Dreamer with their annual non-perishable food drive for Jefferson County Community Ministries Food Pantry. 

TODAY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HISTORY 11/18: Team WWF vs. The Alliance

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• WWE bringing Survivor Series weekend to Houston, TX in 2017
• November 21, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 205 reviewed, Vader given 2 years to live, more
• Lucha Underground results: Aztec Warfare III
• SmackDown ratings way up for loaded 900th episode
• WWE SmackDown video highlights: The Undertaker is back
• WWE SmackDown live results: Undertaker & Edge return on episode 900

AUDIO 

• WOR: Goldberg hurt, Survivor Series weekend, Lucha Underground, UFC, tons more! 11/17
• F4D: Smackdown 900, Filthy Tom’s new baby, B-Sample update, OVERWEIGHT CLASSIC TURMOIL 11/16
• WOL: Smackdown 900 and how it leads into Survivor Series, more! 11/16
• B&V&C: The famous WHY BRET WHY episode of Raw, plus NWO runs in on Nitro! 11/15

We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT show in Boston at the Agannis Arena and the ROH show in Liverpool, UK (Adam Cole & Young Bucks vs. Briscoes & ?, Bobby Fish vs. Will Ospreay for TV title, Jay Lethal vs. Chris Sabin, Dalton Castle vs. Marty Scurll, Christopher Daniels vs. ?, Lio Rush vs. Frankie Kazarian, Joe Hendry vs. Donovan Dijak) to [email protected].

TNA IMPACT AT 8 P.M. TONIGHT ON POP TV

NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2016 OPENS TONIGHT AT KORAKUEN HALL AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

• Teruaki Kanemitsu vs. Hirai Kawato
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Jushin Liger & David Finlay vs. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn & Kushida & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
• Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Bone Soldier
• Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson
• Brian Breaker & Leland Race vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman age
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito & ?

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/7/16; California wrestling regulation in 1978

In 1977, Roy Shire’s northern California territory was doing its best business of the entire decade, but it wasn’t offering the usual Roy Shire style of booking with Roy Shire style workers (smaller big bumping blond heel on top) on top. Needing a break and new ideas, he brought in Bob Roop as the booker, who brought in Kevin Sullivan with him…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: November 21, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 205 reviewed, Vader given 2 years to live, more

Pro wrestling, celebrities, politics, divisiveness and the election are the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.

Also, look at UFC 205 in depth, with a look at records, ticket demand, and all of the fights.

A look at the key things to watch at Survivor Series, ticket demand for Survivor Series vs. NXT vs. Raw next week, the stipulations and the update on the matches.

Have an in-depth look at the Jon Jones case from all angles and why the arbitrators ruled against Jones. Plus, look at the drug he claimed he used, his defense, why it wasn’t accepted, questions regarding his defense, how the arbitrators viewed things, how this affects the potential penalties for Brock Lesnar, why the punishment isn’t completed yet and what’s next for the light heavyweight division. Finally, a look at what’s next for Jon Jones including the match he is having soon and the Jones reaction to everything.        

An update on WrestleMania weekend, why changes were made by WWE and how the independent situation is, as well as WWE making a decision for 2017 regarding PPV and why, Hulk Hogan return, NXT changes, more on Royal Rumble weekend, new WWE Network show ideas and plans, WWE top star of the past gets married to another former WWE performer, injury updates, John Cena update and when he’s back, plans for December hour shows and December PPV shows.

In this issue, take a look at the Smackdown announcing crew decision, the reaction to Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and the finish, more on international stars that WWE has come after, how the WWE video game is doing, department changes, names at the most recent WWE tryouts, why WWE’s value dropped $330 million in five weeks and what it means, most-viewed shows on the WWE Network, what wrestler dominates the list, Raw vs. Smackdown and Mascara Dorada talks his WWE signing… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:October 25, 1999: WWF No Mercy review, first Nitro with Vince Russo, more – The new era of WCW television began on 10/18 in Philadelphia, with Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara’s first Nitro. There was no mistaking the fingerprints even if viewers didn’t have that fact drummed into their heads from early in the show. Far more detailed work was done in scripting the show then at any Nitro in recent memory and possibly ever… click here to continue.

THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

ROH begins its three-show U.K. tour tomorrow in Liverpool, with shows on Saturday in Leicester and Sunday in London at York Hall.

Timothy Thatcher has gotten clearance and has flown home to California. He suffered a severe concussion on Saturday’s Evolve show against Drew Gulak, and had to stay in New York because he was unable to fly. Evolve has also announced these new matches:

*12/10 in Queens, NY

• Chris Hero vs. Dick Togo
• Cody Rhodes vs. Ethan Page
• 12/11 in Melrose, MA
• Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle
• Darby Allin & Peter Kaasa vs. Jaka & Chris Dickinson

WWE

• Regarding the story on the WWE Network and marketing plans in the new Observer, WWE has said that not everyone who cancels will be offered a free month. The policy is that if you cancel the subscription and never have received a free month in the past, that you will be offered a free month. We’re told the policy is that if you have in the past received a free month, that offer will not be given. 
• This is a really great article on the WWE Network.
• The names of the other new plaintiffs in the concussion lawsuit against WWE that were not listed in the new Observer are David Silva (Sylvano Sousa), John Jeter, Charles Scaggs (Too Cold Scorpio/Flash Funk) and Charles Wicks (Chad Wicks). 
• James Ellsworth has contacted indie promoters that he’s taking no new dates which means he’s either signed or about to sign a WWE contract.
• They will be taping one episode of NXT at the Smackdown tapings this coming Tuesday in Ottawa.
• Kane and Dolph Ziggler on the Fox Business Channel can be seen here.

UFC

• A story on UFC owner Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell and future plans is here.
• Here is a note on Miesha Tate telling her corner she doesn’t want to fight anymore.
• Bruce Buffer explains the announcement after the Woodley vs. Thompson fight.

VARIETY

• E! announced a third season of WAGS. Barbie Blank, the former WWE Kelly Kelly, is a cast member of that show. 
• There’s been a lot of photos showing Samantha Diaz, who fights on tomorrow’s Invicta show on Fight Pass, who cut off a lot of her hair today to make weight.
• There is a Lucha libre show on 1/27 in Memphis at En El Marcdaito with Drago & Aerostar vs Mini Laredo & Blue Angel as the main event.
• CZW on Saturday at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ has a 4 p.m. women’s show with Leva Bates vs. Su Yung for the Spirit title as the main event, plus Jade, Taeler Hendrix, Britt Baker, Renee Michelle, Lufisto and Mercedes Martinez appearing. At 8 p.m. they have a men’s show headlined by Matt Tremont & Jeff Cannonball vs. Josh Crane & Dale Patricks, plus Jonathan Gresham vs. Danny Havoc for the CZW title, and Sami Callihan, Homicide and more.
• ACH will appear for 12 dates with CWE in January.
• The annual CMLL bodybuilding contest takes place on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern time and it’ll be streamed live on the CMLL YouTube channel.
• Bolt Brady from Austin, TX has signed with NWL Kansas City and will use the name Blaine Meeks.
• Carnaval de Lucha on 1/29 in Scarborough, ONT at the Variety Village Gym.
• Rock Solid Wrestling on 11/26 in Lively, ONT at the Lively District Secondary School
• Evolve and the FTW Wrestling Academy in College Point, NY will be hosting a Dick Togo seminar, teaching training, getting booked in Japan, how to call a match in Japan and differences in Styles on 12/9.
• Ten athletes, mostly wrestlers and weightlifters from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, have been stripped of medals based on retesting of urine samples using more modern methods. There were 98 old samples from 2008 and 2012 that came back as failed tests using new methods. Among those stripped were silver medalists Khasan Baroev of Russia in men’s 264 pounds Greco-Roman, and Vitaliy Rahimov of Azerbaijan in Men’s 132 pound Greco-Roman.
• Konnan’s podcast with Diego Sanchez, Shane Helms and Juventud Guerrera is here.

TODAY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HISTORY 11/17: Shawn Michaels wins the World Heavyweight title

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The latest from the F4W Staff

Already crossing the streams…

NEWS

• Several Raw wrestlers scheduled to appear on tonight’s SmackDown
• Raw ratings up for Survivor Series go-home show
• UFC 205 prelim ratings fall short of viewership record
• WWE Raw video highlights: SmackDown invades Raw
• WWE Raw live results: Goldberg & Brock Lesnar meet face-to-face
• Tony Nese signs with WWE; Drew Gulak update
• Joey Styles addresses being fired by EVOLVE Wrestling

AUDIO

• WOL: Survivor Series, Raw, State of WWE, Conor McGregor, more! 11/15
• WOR: Survivor Series go-home, State of WWE Address, Raw, tons more! 11/15
• WOL: RAW with Brock and Goldberg, Joey Styles update, tons more! 11/14

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/7/16; California wrestling regulation in 1978

In 1977, Roy Shire’s northern California territory was doing its best business of the entire decade, but it wasn’t offering the usual Roy Shire style of booking with Roy Shire style workers (smaller big bumping blond heel on top) on top. Needing a break and new ideas, he brought in Bob Roop as the booker, who brought in Kevin Sullivan with him…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 14, 2016; Donald Trump elected President, massive UFC 205 preview

Pro wrestling, celebrities, politics, divisiveness and the election are the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.

Also, look at UFC 205 in depth, with a look at records, ticket demand, and all of the fights.

A look at the key things to watch at Survivor Series, ticket demand for Survivor Series vs. NXT vs. Raw next week, the stipulations and the update on the matches.

Have an in-depth look at the Jon Jones case from all angles and why the arbitrators ruled against Jones. Plus, look at the drug he claimed he used, his defense, why it wasn’t accepted, questions regarding his defense, how the arbitrators viewed things, how this affects the potential penalties for Brock Lesnar, why the punishment isn’t completed yet and what’s next for the light heavyweight division. Finally, a look at what’s next for Jon Jones including the match he is having soon and the Jones reaction to everything.        

An update on WrestleMania weekend, why changes were made by WWE and how the independent situation is, as well as WWE making a decision for 2017 regarding PPV and why, Hulk Hogan return, NXT changes, more on Royal Rumble weekend, new WWE Network show ideas and plans, WWE top star of the past gets married to another former WWE performer, injury updates, John Cena update and when he’s back, plans for December hour shows and December PPV shows.

In this issue, take a look at the Smackdown announcing crew decision, the reaction to Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and the finish, more on international stars that WWE has come after, how the WWE video game is doing, department changes, names at the most recent WWE tryouts, why WWE’s value dropped $330 million in five weeks and what it means, most-viewed shows on the WWE Network, what wrestler dominates the list, Raw vs. Smackdown and Mascara Dorada talks his WWE signing… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:October 25, 1999: WWF No Mercy review, first Nitro with Vince Russo, more – The new era of WCW television began on 10/18 in Philadelphia, with Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara’s first Nitro. There was no mistaking the fingerprints even if viewers didn’t have that fact drummed into their heads from early in the show. Far more detailed work was done in scripting the show then at any Nitro in recent memory and possibly ever… click here to continue.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

• Jim Ross interviewed Bill Goldberg recently about his upcoming match with Brock Lenar at Survivor Series.
• Smackdown will be on Tuesday from Wilkes-Barre, PA, for the 900th episode of the show, which will include the return of The Undertaker and the Cutting Edge interview segment with Edge interviewing AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz for the IC title is also on the show.
• NXT runs Wednesday night at The Theater in Madison Square Garden with Shinsuke Nakamura & Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs. Samoa Joe & Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder as the main event.
• During last night’s Raw, Orlando local TV ran an ad for ticket sales for WrestleMania beginning this Friday at 10am ET. While it was verbally announced, the graphic showed you can purchase tickets through TicketMaster and the site location of the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl was formally renamed Camping World Stadium back in April.
• Seth Rollins wore a blue wrist band last night on Raw to remember Jonah Snyder, a student who died at his school a few months ago.
• Brandon Thurston posted a study using Google interest to predict what WWE PPV buys would have been had the WWE Network never launched and PPVs were still exclusive to traditional pay-per-view. He found PPV buys likely would still be strong, and stronger than recent years in some cases.

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

• Vader posted a sad health update on Twitter, noting that doctors have told him that he may only have two years to live: “Told by 2.heart Drs at this time that my heart is wore out from footbal&wrestling I have 2 yrs to live , conjestive hesrt failure reality”
• Mick Foley responded to the news in a Facebook post that urged WWE to induct Vader into the Hall of Fame: “IT’S TIME…TO PUT VADER IN THE HALL OF FAME. I have been talking with Leon White the past few weeks, so I knew the news might be coming. But seeing it in print this morning was a shock nonetheless. Leon is dying. He has been told by doctors that he may have less than two years left to live. His legacy is so important to him, and he has told me that being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame would mean so much on both a personal and professional level. On a global level, Vader was one of the greatest attractions the pro wrestling business has ever seen. I have talked with people at the highest levels at WWE, and hope and pray that Leon’s name will be included in the class of 2017 Hall of Fame inductees.”
• In advance of her upcoming appearance at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, Mickie James posted a message of support to Joey Styles on Facebook.

UFC / MMA

• Eddie Alvarez congratulated Conor McGregor on his win.
• UFC is offering two free months of fight pass if you attended UFC 205. Go to UFCFightPass.com for more information.

VARIETY

• In an interesting note about cable TV, all of pay TV has lost 1.3 million subscribers, in 2016, according to SNL Kagan.
• 2K announced the WWE 2K17 “NXT Enhancement Pack” is now available as downloadable content exclusively for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, enabling access to playable NXT Superstars Apollo Crews, Nia Jax and Shinsuke Nakamura, as well as a 50 percent boost in points while competing at NXT in the game’s MyCareer Mode. Download assets for the WWE 2K17 “NXT Enhancement Pack” here.
• Students at the University of Buffalo are doing a mock trial based on the fake death of a mysterious wrestler named Kane.
• Saturday, November 19, Combat Zone Wrestling presents “Night of Infamy” at Flyers Skate Zone, 601 Laurel Oak RD in Voorhees, NJ with an 8 pm bell time – part of a DEADLY DOUBLE HEADER with Women’s Superstars Uncensored at 4 pm!
• Ontario SUPER Series Professional Wrestling Showcase Nov 18 at 7 PM – 10 PM. Battle Arts Academy 4880 Tomken Road, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 1J8.
• Former WWE and current Lucha Underground Referee Marty Elias was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. He has much to share about he 20 year career as a referee, what it takes to be a good referee, working differently with faces and heels, favorite match he refereed, and more. Misperceptions of a referee: “I think most people perceive a referee as some guy that puts on a stripe shirt and counts 1,2,3. It’s a lot more detailed than that. That’s the stigma, unfortunately, that referees have. [They think], ‘He’s just a referee.’ We’re not [just] referees. We’re more than that.

TODAY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HISTORY 11/15: Flair vs. Funk in an I Quit Match

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The latest from the F4W Staff

Tony Nese is headed to WWE, officially…

NEWS

• Tony Nese signs with WWE; Drew Gulak update
• Joey Styles addresses being fired by EVOLVE Wrestling
• Linda McMahon reportedly under consideration for Secretary of Commerce
• Ashley Massaro joins lawsuit against WWE
• Miesha Tate announces her retirement following UFC 205 loss

RECAPS

• EVOLVE 73 recap: Chris Hero vs. Matt Riddle III
• WWE Superstars results: A hot crowd in Glasgow enhances the action
• TNA Impact Wrestling results: Eddie Edwards vs. Eli Drake; DCC revealed
• Lucha Underground results: Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma in Grave Consequences

OPINION

• UFC 205 Observer panel picks: Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez
• Japanese Maple Leaf: Kenny Omega’s Road To The Tokyo Dome, pt. 2
• The Week In British Wrestling: ATTACK! line up a Survivor Series finale
• UFC 205 DFS Playbook: Who to target & who to avoid

LAST WEEK

• 5 cruiserweight division strengths WWE is missing out on
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn set for WWE Survivor Series
• Jon Jones suspended for one year, signs on for grappling match vs. Dan Henderson
• Chris Jericho & Sin Cara get into altercation after WWE event

HOUSE SHOWS

• WWE Strasbourg, France, results (Sat); Kevin Owens battles Seth Rollins in a street fight
• WWE Madrid, Spain, live results: AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose
• NXT Cocoa, FL, live results: Shinsuke Nakamura leads his team in the main event

TONIGHT

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, as well as more on the Ashley Massaro story, Conor McGregor, Joey Styles and more.  You can send questions for the show tonight to [email protected].

We’re looking for reports on the WWE Raw show tonight in Buffalo with Superstars matches and dark matches and anything else not evident on the live show to [email protected]. 

We’re also looking for your thoughts on UFC 205, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].

Raw is in Buffalo. It’s the gome-home Raw for Survivor Series, featuring guest appearances by Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Bill Goldberg for a face-to-face confrontation, as well as appearances by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to build the Raw vs. Smackdown series of events. In addition, there will be a great debate with Mick Foley & Stephanie McMahon vs. Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon on the WWE Network for those who think three hours isn’t long enough for wrestling tonight. It’s being called “The State of the WWE Universe.” 

NEW JAPAN IN SINGAPORE AT 6 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD TOMORROW

• Juice Robinson vs. David Finlay
• Jushin Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Rocky Romero & Baretta
• Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
• Hirooki Goto vs. Tomoaki Honma
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Kushida vs Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Bushi
• Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi
• Evil vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the Never Open weight title

Smackdown will be on Tuesday from Wilkes-Barre, PA, for the 900th episode of the show, which will include the return of The Undertaker and the Cutting Edge interview segment with Edge interviewing  AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz for the IC title is also on the show.

NXT runs Wednesday night at The Theater in Madison Square Garden with Shinsuke Nakamura & Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs. Samoa Joe & Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder as the main event.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/7/16; California wrestling regulation in 1978

In 1977, Roy Shire’s northern California territory was doing its best business of the entire decade, but it wasn’t offering the usual Roy Shire style of booking with Roy Shire style workers (smaller big bumping blond heel on top) on top. Needing a break and new ideas, he brought in Bob Roop as the booker, who brought in Kevin Sullivan with him…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 14, 2016; Donald Trump elected President, massive UFC 205 preview

Pro wrestling, celebrities, politics, divisiveness and the election are the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.

Also, look at UFC 205 in depth, with a look at records, ticket demand, and all of the fights.

A look at the key things to watch at Survivor Series, ticket demand for Survivor Series vs. NXT vs. Raw next week, the stipulations and the update on the matches.

Have an in-depth look at the Jon Jones case from all angles and why the arbitrators ruled against Jones. Plus, look at the drug he claimed he used, his defense, why it wasn’t accepted, questions regarding his defense, how the arbitrators viewed things, how this affects the potential penalties for Brock Lesnar, why the punishment isn’t completed yet and what’s next for the light heavyweight division. Finally, a look at what’s next for Jon Jones including the match he is having soon and the Jones reaction to everything.        

An update on WrestleMania weekend, why changes were made by WWE and how the independent situation is, as well as WWE making a decision for 2017 regarding PPV and why, Hulk Hogan return, NXT changes, more on Royal Rumble weekend, new WWE Network show ideas and plans, WWE top star of the past gets married to another former WWE performer, injury updates, John Cena update and when he’s back, plans for December hour shows and December PPV shows.

In this issue, take a look at the Smackdown announcing crew decision, the reaction to Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and the finish, more on international stars that WWE has come after, how the WWE video game is doing, department changes, names at the most recent WWE tryouts, why WWE’s value dropped $330 million in five weeks and what it means, most-viewed shows on the WWE Network, what wrestler dominates the list, Raw vs. Smackdown and Mascara Dorada talks his WWE signing… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:October 18, 1999; Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Gorilla Monsoon, Droz paralyzed, more – Bob “Gino” Marella, who under the classic ring name Gorilla Monsoon was a fixture in the pro wrestling world for four decades, passed away officially at about 6:15 a.m. on 10/6 at his home in Mooresville, NJ at the age of 62… click here to continue.

Monday News Update​​​​​

The backlash to Joey Styles got bigger today as both CHIKARA and Beyond Wrestling dropped his as an announcer.

The WWE Network as an experiment sent out a ton of e-mails to former network subscribers offering them free from now until 1/31, meaning Survivor Series through Royal Rumble. We’ll have more on this in the next Observer. 

HHH, who was at MSG on Saturday night, pushed that Conor McGregor would be great for WWE.  “He could come over. He’s got it all, man, he’s got the personality, the skills, the talk. He’s an entertainer for sure.” He said he’s got smaller guys than McGregor who are stars. He compared it to Floyd Mayweather working with Big Show.

For the 11th anniversary of the death of Eddy Guerrero, Konnan did a podcast with Vickie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio Jr. and others.

For Raw tonight, the advance is much stronger than in the last several weeks likely due to Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar being advertised, as well as Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. For the State of the WWE Universe segment which will be on the WWE Network after Raw, with Bryan & Shane vs. Stephanie & Mick Foley, Renee Young will host. 

WWE

• WrestleMania tickets go on sale Friday, but there will be a presale that starts Wednesday at 10 a.m. One code is TWEETS. There will be lots of codes available over the next few days.
• WWE is advertising tomorrow’s show as “The Undertaker’s first time back in a WWE ring since he defeated Smackdown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon.”  
• The WWE Network has added about 100 new episodes of Smackdown from the 00s.
• Dwayne Johnson will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel tonight on ABC.  He’s likely there to promote Moana. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
• The WWE has been heavily pushing that Steve Corino came in as a guest instructor to the Performance Center this past week.  Corino is under contract to ROH until 12/31 and has agreed to do the Wrestle Kingdom and New Year’s Dash broadcast the first week of January in Tokyo.
• Also new on the network will be a show called Top 15 Memorable Survivor Series moments and a Randy Savage collection.
• NXT on Wednesday will be a one hour hype show for Takeover since they have no new shows in the can. They’ll be taping one or two shows in Toronto on Saturday before Takeover for airing in upcoming weeks.
• John McHale from The Soup did a book signing on Sunday in Naperville, IL. He was asked about WWE and said that while hosting The Soup, the wrestlers would come on and kill it in one take and that some of the biggest stars in Hollywood would need multiple takes. He noted he especially loved working with Jerry Lawler. 
• The new season of Total Divas starts on Wednesday night on E!
• HHH announced an NXT house show on 12/15 in Riverside, CA. Tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. 

UFC

• Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz ended up in the same spot in New York after the show Saturday night. The short version is nothing happened and they never interacted.
• UFC 205 got two million searches on Google on Tuesday. That’s a big number, but not anywhere near the record of more than 11 million for the Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm fight. 

Predictions for UFC 205:

• Josh Nason won the night going 6-2 (Nason’s “A” sample has been colleced and is being tested…)
• Mike Sawyer, John Pollock and Steve Juon were 5-3
• Mike Sempervive, myself, Ryan Frederick, David Bixenspan and Frontrow Brian were 4-4
• Paul Fontaine was 2-6 

VARIETY

• All Pro Wrestling from Friday night in Pacifica, CA before 600 fans: Jacob Fatu b Levi Shapiro, Synn & Papo Esco b Johnny Dynamo & Derek Slade, Karl Fredricks b Matt Carlos, JR Kratos b Vinny Massaro, Will Hobbs & Marcus Lewis b Luster the Legend & Bison Braddock to win the APW tag titles, Boyce LeGrande b Colt Cabana, Will Cuevas b Rik Luxury to win the Internet title in a no DQ match, Cody Rhodes b Joey Ryan, MVP b Jeff Cobb to keep the APW title. The crowd went nuts for everything in the Rhodes vs. Ryan match.
• WrestleMerica from Friday night in Barnesville, GA before 250 fans: Scotty Beach b Ox Haney, Zane Stevens b Isaish Raines, Cameron Jackson b Iceberg, Fry Daddy b Stunt Marshall, Adam Rose & Tyson Dean b Matt Gilbert & Bailey Mannix with help from The Bunny. Colt Cabana comes in for a 12/10 show. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
• On 12/3, Pacific Northwest wrestlers are doing a benefit show for Colten Howell, who was bullied in school due to being born with severe birth defects.  All proceeds are going to the Seattle Children’s Hospital and Colten. The show will be at Evolve Fitness in Seattle.
• Bushwhacker Luke Williams will be at the IWF show at the IWF Center in Nutley, NJ on Saturday night.
• Davey Richards appears for Tier 1 Wrestling against Rude Boy Riley for their world title on 12/11 at Noon in Queens, NY at Club LaBoom.
• All Star Wrestling November Nightmare on 11/25 in Surrey, BC at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds with Nick Rogers (former WWE developmental wrestler) vs. Alexander Hammerstone and Jeff Cobb vs. Kenny Lush.
• Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 12/10 at the SPK Dom Polski in Ottawa, ONT.

Shimmer results from yesterday in Berwyn, IL:

Volume 89

• Sonya Strong b Heather Monroe
• Angie Skye b Kate Carney
• Cherry Bomb (Allie) b Solo Darling
• Thunderkitty b Taeler Hendrix
• Nixon Newell b LuFisto
• Mia Yim (Jade) b Kennadi Brink
• Kimber Lee b Samantha Heights
• KC Spinelli & Xandra Bale b Christian Von Ererie & Hudson Envy
• Jessicka Havok b Allysin Kay (Sienna)
• Nicole Matthews won four-way over Candice LeRae, Kay Lee Ray and Rhia O’Reilly
• Shazza McKenzie b Shayna Baszler in a no DQ mach
• Tessa Blanchard & Vanessa Kraven b Evie & Heidi Lovelace to win tag team titles
• Kellie Skater b Cat Power to win tag titles

        McKenzie needed nine stitches for a cut in the back of her head in the match with Baszler and couldn’t do her scheduled match later.

Volume 90

• Marti Belle b Sonya Strong
• Samantha Heights b Nevaeh
• Melanie Cruise b Keira Hogan
• Cherry Bomb b Leva Bates (Blue Pants)
• LuFisto b Solo Darling
• Kay Lee Ray b Nixon Newell
• Tessa Blanchard & Vanessa Kraven b KC Spinelli & Xandra Bale to retain tag titles
• Mia Yim won four-way over Allisyn Kay, Evie and Kimber Lee
• Shayna Baszler b Heidi Lovelace
• Saraya Knight b Nicole Matthews in a bunkhouse brawl
• Mercedes Martinez b Kellie Skater to regain the title

Told best matches of the weekend with Evie & Lovelace vs. Ray & Yim, Martinez vs. Skater, Mickie James & O’Reilly & Knight vs. Matthews & Kimber Bombs, McKenzie vs. Baszler and Ray vs. Newell. (thanks to Martin Bentley)

• CMLL from Saturday night at Arena Coliseo in Mexico City before 2,000 fans:  Leono & Sensei b Camorra & Cholo, Comandante & Dallys & Marcela b Jarochita & Sanely & Skadi, Blue Panther Jr. & Fuego & The Panther b Cuatrero & Okumura & Sanson, Angel de Oro & Blue Panther & Drone b Sam Adonis (brother of Corey Graves) & Vangellys & Bobby Z, Dragon Lee & Valiente & Volador Jr. b Euforia & Niebla Roja & Rey Bucanero-DQ, Ultimo Guerrero b Caristico via low blow. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
• Friday night in Tijuana at Auditorio Municipal has a cage match where the loser gets their head shaved or loses their mask with Bestia 666, Damian 666, Dr. Wagner III, El Hijo de L.a. Park, Histeria, Nicho and Rey Mysterio Heredero.
• Beer City Bruiser will headline a CWE tour from 1/16 to 1/21 with shows in Regina, Moosomin, Virden, Gladstone, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay.
• NWA Mid South from Saturday night in Dyresburg, TN:  Rosko b Jeremy Moore, Rob Conway b Jakob Edwinn, Josh Lewis b Austin Tyler Morris, Heidi Katrina b Amazing Maria, Greg Anthony b Jordan Cage, Tim Storm NC Matt Riviera for NWA title. Gary Michael Cappetta came in as a special guest ring announcer for the main event.
• Absolute Intense Wrestling on 11/25 in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt Carmel has Shayna Baszler vs. Hideo Lovelace for the women’s title, Karlee Perez (Catrina) vs. Space Monkey as well as Zack Sabre Jr. appears.
• Best in the West TV from last night in Fresno: Marcus Ericks b Toxic Trent, Diablo Azteca b Big B to keep West Coast title, Wiseguy b Ricky Vendetta to retain Best in the West title. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
• Rob Van Dam has a comedy / Survivor Series party on Sunday at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood presented by MCW. The show starts at 5 p.m.with Van Dam performing and meeting and doing photos and autographs. After the show, they will be airing Survivor Series. Tickets are at missiontx.com with GA $25 and $60 for VIP tickets which includes premium seating, early admission, a photo with RVD, an autographed 8×10 and an event T-shirt.
• Northeast Wrestling made Fox News.

HOLIDAY CHARITY EVENTS

We always like to list different Toys for Tots events that pro wrestling promotions around the country are doing. 37 events are scheduled or been held so far: 

• Pro Wrestling King returns to Century Center, 120 S. Saint Joseph St, South Bend, IN on November 18. Non perishable item are being collected for the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. For your non perishable donation, receive $2 off the price of an adult admission ticket. 
• Reno Wrestle Factory presents Headlock on Hunger on Saturday, November 19 with a 7:00 pm bell time at the Edward C. Reed High School, 1350 Baring Blvd, Sparks, NV to benefit The Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Admission is five cans of food. 
• NCW and Henderson County Toys for Tots presents “A Night To Give” on Saturday, November 19 at 7 PM at the Hedrick- Rhodes VFW Post 5206, 900 N Main St, Hendersonville, NC. Seven big matches and four title matches. Doors open at 7 pm and bell time is 8 pm. Proceeds from this event go to provide toys for local children. Henderson County Toys for Tots will have a special concession stand that night with all proceeds going to the Toys for Tots. 
• Tickets prices are $10 for Adults or $5 plus an unwrapped new toy of equal or more value. Children ages 6-14 are $5. Children 5 and under are free with an accompanying adult. 
• Cross Roads Wrestling returns on November 19 to Riverside, NJ at 300 Rancocas Avenue, for “Fastlane to Pain”, which will serve as a fundraiser for Ben Miller and a canned food drive for the Bread of Life Food Pantry. Ben is a local boy from Riverside NJ who has multiple disabilities, and recently competed in the Special Olympics at Rowan University. 
• Primal Conflict Wrestling will be doing its annual food drive at “A Night To Remember X” on November 19 in Harpers Ferry, WV featuring Tommy Dreamer.
• Appalachian Mountain Wrestling comes to the Sherman Neace Athletic Center in Hazard, KY on November 24 (Thanksgiving night) for a show, and will be collecting toys for needy kids. 
• All Star Wrestling/West Virginia returns to Madison, WV on Black Friday (November 25th) at ASW Black Friday Holiday Havoc. Santa will be taking donations for Toys for Tots. 
• NOVA Pro Wrestling presents “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, 8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, VA with a 8:00 pm bell time, to benefit FACETS Toy Drive, serving northern Virginia. The show features CZW World Champion Jonathan Gresham, Ring of Honor’s Donovan Dijak, and Chris Hero. 
• Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling presents “Headlocks for Hunger” on November 26 at the Departure Bay Activity Center in Nanaimo, BC, VIPW will be collecting for the local Loaves and Fishes food bank. With each 3 pieces of non perishable food items you will receive a ticket for the draw of our basket put together by our local partners! Including 2 tickets to every VIPW event for 1 year. 
• On Point Wrestling returns on December 3 at the Masters of the Mat 2 event in Williamstown, NJ. #OnPointWrestling is once again honored and proud to team with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation for a Toys For Tots drive! They ask all fans in attendance to bring at least 1 brand new, unwrapped toy with you to the show. They hope all will do our part to help give back, and make sure children less fortunate have a gift on Christmas this year. 
• MCW Pro Wrestling will hold “Seasons Beatings” on Saturday December 3 (moved from the usual post-Christmas week to tie in with Toys for Tots) as a Toys for Tots show. 
• Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling presents the annual Hardcore With A Heart on Sunday, December 4 (5:30 pm bell time) at The Imperial House, Clinton, MI benefiting the homeless in metro Detroit. Already signed is a 6 man tag team war featuring “The Purge” vs The Monroes and “GQ” Gavin Quinn. Plus much more to be announced soon. Please assist by donating canned goods at the event. 
• Dynamo Pro Wrestling will hold shows on both Saturday, November 19th at the Douglas Club in Wood River, IL and on November 26th at the Ready Room in St. Louis, MO, collecting Toys for Tots. The company will also be collecting toys for the Tots for Tots from Monday, November 7th through Wednesday, December 7 at our November events as well as several additional locations throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. 
• Crossfire Wrestling returns to the Merritton Community Centre 7 Park Avenue St. Catharines, ON for “JINGLE BELL BRAWL V” Saturday December 3, 2016 5pm Bell Time with a special Double Main Event. Partial Proceeds will go to The Niagara Peninsula Children’s Foundation. 
• NWA Texoma presents a benefit show for House of Hope- Blossom on December 3 at the Blossom Elementary School in Blossom, TX. 
• American Premier Wrestling in Statesboro, GA presents BRAWL 25, a Toys for Tots show at the Statesboro STEAM Academy, Statesboro, GA on December 3. 
• Pure Wrestling Association presents “Spirit of the Season” on December 3 at the Alpine Club in Kitchener, Ontario. Please bring a new, unwrapped toy and PWA will give you two colour posters. 
• The Delaware/South Jersey based East Coast Wrestling Alliance has Toys for Tots V scheduled for December 3 at the Woodbury Heights Community Center, Woodbury, NJ. 
• Brew City Wrestling will run its annual Headlock for Hunger on December 9 at the Columbus Club of West Allis – 1800 S. 92nd St. in West Allis, WI . The show features a food drive for the Hunger Task Force of Greater Milwaukee. Fans are asked to bring two nonperishable food items. 
• Live Pro Wrestling comes to the Knights of Columbus, 222 Queenston Road, Hamilton, ON on Friday, December 9 to benefit Caleb Davies, a local boy with Schwartz-Jampel syndrome. 
• The originator of Toys for Tots in the Delaware Valley area, United Wrestling Coalition, presents its annual Toys for Tots show on December 10 in Wrightstown, NJ. In the nearly 20 years they have held these shows, UWC has collected well over 18,000 toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign. 
• Northeast Wrestling returns to the NEW Arena (40 Peck Road) in Bethany, CT on Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 pm. Northeast Wrestling will again have a Toys for Tots collection in cooperation with the Marine Corps Reserve. 
• Dynamite Championship Wrestling presents Chairs, Ladders, & Toys for Tots on December 10 at the Milford Community Center, 105 NE Front St, Milford, DE . 
• DJ Hyde has agreed again to do the annual Toys for Tots collection (in conjunction with the Marine Corps Reserve) for the twelfth year in a row at Combat Zone Wrestling’s 18th annual Cage of Death on December 10 at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. Details to come. Announced thus far is Danny Havoc vs. Rickey Shane Page.
• Ring Wars Carolina will hold a benefit for North Carolina Baptist Men’s Association Disaster Relief on December 10, which rebuilt local areas destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. 
• Chinlock Wrestling comes to Kingston Gospel Temple, 2295 Princess Street, Kingston, ON on Saturday, December 17 (7;00 pm bell time) with a night of professional wrestling in support of Kingston Youth Diversion, other local charities. 
• Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling presents its annual Wrestling For Hunger show in Port Coquitlam, BC on December 17 at the Elks Hall #49, 2272 Leigh Square, Port Coquitlam, BC. 7:30 pm bell time (doors open at 7:00 pm). 
• Insane Wrestling Alliance presents Santa Slam II on December 17th at The American Legion Post 250 Middleburg, FL. The promotion seeks to surpass its total of 135 toys collected in 2015. 
• Wrestling for a Cause has a December 17 show scheduled. Charity to be benefitted to come. 
• Great Canadian Wrestling returns to Oshawa, ON on December 27 to support Harmony Creek Community Food Bank. 

TODAY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HISTORY 11/14: Big Show wins the WWF title

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The latest from the F4W Staff

McGregor makes history at two weight classes!

NEWS

• UFC 205 live results: Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor
• UFC 205 Observer panel picks: Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez
• Miesha Tate announces her retirement following UFC 205 loss
• Ashley Massaro joins lawsuit against WWE
• EVOLVE Wrestling fires Joey Styles for on-air remark

AUDIO

• DragonKing Dark: Witchcraft 11/13
• WOR: Recap of UFC 205, the biggest show in company history 11/13
• WOL: UFC at MSG preview, Billy Corgan and TNA, Overweight Classic, Dr. Lucha, more! 11/11
• Wrestling Weekly: Les & Vic open the mailbag and answer your questions 11/11
• JNPO: Josh Gross on top UFC 205 storylines, Jon Jones & the U.S. election 11/11

TONIGHT

EVOLVE FROM JOPPA, MD

• Tommy End vs. Tracy Williams (dark match)
• Ethan Page vs. Chris Dickinson
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Thatcher/Gulak loser from Saturday
• Chris Hero vs. Matt Riddle
• Thatcher/Gulak winner defends Evolve title against Tony Nese

NEXT WEEK

Monday’s Raw in Buffalo will be the go-home Raw for Survivor Series, eaturing guest appearances by Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Bill Goldberg as well as appearances by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to build the Raw vs. Smackdown series of events.

Smackdown will be on Tuesday from Wilkes-Barre, PA, for the 900th episode of the show, which will include the return of The Undertaker and the Cutting Edge interview segment with Edge.

SHOW REPORTS

Please send poll opinions for UFC 205 along with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle, and a best and worst match to [email protected]. 

Please send reports on the following shows to [email protected]:

• WWE in Vienna, Austria
• WWE in Cardiff, Wales
• Revolution Pro in London, England
• Raw in Lyon, France
• Smackdown in Barcelona
• NXT in St. Augustine, Florida
• Raw in Strasbourg, France
• Smackdown in Madrid, Spain
• Smackdown in Bilbao, Spain

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/7/16; California wrestling regulation in 1978

In 1977, Roy Shire’s northern California territory was doing its best business of the entire decade, but it wasn’t offering the usual Roy Shire style of booking with Roy Shire style workers (smaller big bumping blond heel on top) on top. Needing a break and new ideas, he brought in Bob Roop as the booker, who brought in Kevin Sullivan with him…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 14, 2016; Donald Trump elected President, massive UFC 205 preview

Pro wrestling, celebrities, politics, divisiveness and the election are the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.

Also, look at UFC 205 in depth, with a look at records, ticket demand, and all of the fights.

A look at the key things to watch at Survivor Series, ticket demand for Survivor Series vs. NXT vs. Raw next week, the stipulations and the update on the matches.

Have an in-depth look at the Jon Jones case from all angles and why the arbitrators ruled against Jones. Plus, look at the drug he claimed he used, his defense, why it wasn’t accepted, questions regarding his defense, how the arbitrators viewed things, how this affects the potential penalties for Brock Lesnar, why the punishment isn’t completed yet and what’s next for the light heavyweight division. Finally, a look at what’s next for Jon Jones including the match he is having soon and the Jones reaction to everything.        

An update on WrestleMania weekend, why changes were made by WWE and how the independent situation is, as well as WWE making a decision for 2017 regarding PPV and why, Hulk Hogan return, NXT changes, more on Royal Rumble weekend, new WWE Network show ideas and plans, WWE top star of the past gets married to another former WWE performer, injury updates, John Cena update and when he’s back, plans for December hour shows and December PPV shows.

In this issue, take a look at the Smackdown announcing crew decision, the reaction to Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and the finish, more on international stars that WWE has come after, how the WWE video game is doing, department changes, names at the most recent WWE tryouts, why WWE’s value dropped $330 million in five weeks and what it means, most-viewed shows on the WWE Network, what wrestler dominates the list, Raw vs. Smackdown and Mascara Dorada talks his WWE signing… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:October 18, 1999; Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Gorilla Monsoon, Droz paralyzed, more – Bob “Gino” Marella, who under the classic ring name Gorilla Monsoon was a fixture in the pro wrestling world for four decades, passed away officially at about 6:15 a.m. on 10/6 at his home in Mooresville, NJ at the age of 62… click here to continue.

Sunday News Update​​​​​

WWE

• Summer Rae posted an update about the injury that has kept her out of action recently.
• Triple H was present at Madison Square Garden last night for UFC 205.
• Today marks 11 years since the death of Eddie Guerrero.
• Titus O’Neil (under his real name) was featured on Steve Spurrier stories during his days at Florida.
• ROH announcer Steve Corino recently spent some time at the WWE Performance Center.

PRO WRESTLING

• After firing Joey Styles for misogynistic and tasteless comments made at EVOLVE 72 last night, Gabe Sapolsky confirmed that there was a mandate not to get political on the show.
• Timothy Thatcher suffered a concussion at EVOLVE 72 last night and will be out of action. No replacement has been named. Instead, Tony Nese has an open contract for a match. Sapolsky tweeted that Thatcher’s condition is improving.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi turned 40 years old today.

UFC/MMA

• Conor McGregor brought up wanting an ownership stake in the UFC at last night’s press conference. McGregor became the first person to hold championships in two weight divisions simultaneously by defeating Eddie Alvarez. He also announced that him and his significant other are expecting a baby next year.
• Dana White said that UFC 205 broke every record in company history.
• Full video of last night’s post-UFC 205 press conference featuring Dana White, Conor McGregor, and more.
• After defeating Chris Weidman last night, Yoel Romero said that Michael Bisping is afraid to fight him.

VARIETY

• Acclaim Pro Wrestling presents: The Fightmare Before Christmas, Saturday, December 10th, 2016, SPK Dom Polski – Polish Combatants Centre, 379 Waverley St. K2P 0W4 – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
• All-star Wrestling November Nightmare – Friday, November 25 at 7:30 PM – 10 PM PST, Cloverdale Fair Grounds, Surrey, British Columbia.
• RESULTS: UPW’s November 2 Dismember at the Eagles Club in Rochester, New York 11/12: 1. “American Villain” Marc Hauss defeated “Extremely Cute Wrestler” Colin Delaney (making his UPW return after a 10-month absence) 2. UPW Tag Team Champions The Eh Team & Wrecking U defeated The Interstate Educational System & The Wet Bandits in an eight-man elimination match. The Eh Team were the surviving members for their team. After the match. Wrecking U turned on The Eh Team. 3. “The Rain On Your Parade” Cloudy (w/Bin Hamin & Coleman Jackson) defeated Young Myles 4. “Your Captain” Nick Ando defeated “The King of the North” Carter Mason 5. UPW No Limits Champion “Supercop” Dick Justice defeated “The New Wave” Cheech by countout 6. “The Cuban Crippler” Ricky Reyes defeated “The Amazing Canadian” Lionel Knight 7. LaDiva defeated Rae Rae The Ram  8. Space Monkey defeated Shane Sabre 9. Jeremy Jensen won the Rochester Rumble to become the #1 contender for the KDW Heavyweight Championship. The final six of the Rumble became a scramble match with Jensen defeating Victor Lord, Coleman Jackson, Anarchy Ash Aubrey, Icon Ace, & Jordan Falco 10. UPW Heavyweight Champion “The Young Lion of the West” Mattick & Abyss defeated Defiance (KDW Heavyweight Champion Chris Cayden & “The Rican Sensation” Maximo Suave). Mattick’s title was on the line in the match.
• RESULTS: ECCW’s War Games in front of a Sold Out crowd at the RCC Nov. 5 in Vancouver, B C. Nicole Matthews & The Good Bros defeated the team of Tony Baroni, Xavier Galaxy (subbing for the very ill Billy Suede) and Alex Plexis when Nicole made Xavier tap to the Lion Tamer. Mike Santiago pinned the very entertaining “Supernatural” Nelson Creed to retain his Canadian Championship. The Cunninghams beat The Voros Twins. Since the team The Voros were on beat the team The Cunninghams were on at Halloween Hell, the rubber match has been set for New West on November 12th. It will be in a 2 out of 3 Falls match! Scotty Mac had FILES owner Rob on Smacdown. He lured Rob into the ring with what looked to be a sincere apology. But it was all a ruse, as once Rob turned his back to shake Christina Von Erie’s hand, Scotty Superkicked him and knocked him out! El Phantasmo successfully retained his ECCW Championship by pinning Lucha Underground’s “Killshot” Shane Strickland. In the War Games Steel Cage Main Event, Team Bird (Bird, Ethan HD, Shreddz and Bishop) defeated Team Smac (Scotty, Slammer, Diaz and Powers) when Bishop and Andy Bird finally eliminated Scotty Mac.

TODAY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HISTORY 11/13: Edge & Randy Orton win tag team gold

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Poll opinions: [email protected]
• ​Feedback: [email protected]
• Show results and news tips: [email protected]
• Wrestling Observer Radio questions: [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

• UFC 205 Observer panel picks: Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez
• Update on availability of New Japan New Zealand iPPV
• Bellator 164 live results: Andrey Koreshkov vs. Douglas Lima
• UFC 205 ceremonial weigh-ins: Watch Conor, Eddie, Joanna & more
• Will Ospreay & Marty Scurll officially sign ROH contracts
• Billy Corgan, TNA & Anthem settle their financial differences
• AUDIO: HHH on NXT TakeOver, Mickie James & Shawn Michaels’ status

AUDIO

• WOL: UFC at MSG preview, Billy Corgan and TNA, Overweight Classic, Dr. Lucha, more! 11/11
• Wrestling Weekly: Les & Vic open the mailbag and answer your questions 11/11
• JNPO: Josh Gross on top UFC 205 storylines, Jon Jones & the U.S. election 11/11
• B&V: NXT, LU, Raw, Granny’s Wrestling Report, Overweight Classic new finalist, more! 11/11

TONIGHT

UFC 205 FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NEW YORK

The Biggest UFC Show of All-Time…

Fight Pass at 7 PM

• Liz Carmouche vs. Kaitlyn Chookagian
• Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller

FS1 at 8 PM

• Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal
• Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
• Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Johnson
• Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens

PPV at 10 PM

• Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington
• Donald Cerrone vs Kelvin Gastelum
• Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero
• Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz for strawweight title
• Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson for welterweight title
• Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor for lightweight title

EVOLVE FROM QUEENS, NY AT 7 PM

• Tommy End vs. Tony Nese (dark match)
• Darby Allin vs. Chris Dickinson
• Fred Yehi vs. Jason Kincaid
• Chris Hero vs. Tracy Williams
• Dustin vs. Matt Riddle
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ethan Page
• Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak for Evolve title

NEW JAPAN ON iPPV FROM AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

• Henare vs. Hiku Le’o (pro debut for the 6-foot-9, 280 pound son of Haku)
• Hirooki Goto vs. Paul Sayres
• King Haku & Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Nasty Nate & Juice Robinson & Hooligan Marcus Kool
• Bobby Fish vs. David Finlay vs. Kushida for ROH TV title
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Dalton Castle
• Jay White vs R.J. Brewer
• Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. Kenny Omega & Young Bucks

SUNDAY

EVOLVE FROM JOPPA, MD

• Tommy End vs. Tracy Williams (dark match)
• Ethan Page vs. Chris Dickinson
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Thatcher/Gulak loser from Saturday
• Chris Hero vs. Matt Riddle
• Thatcher/Gulak winner defends Evolve title against Tony Nese

NEXT WEEK

Monday’s Raw in Buffalo will be the go-home Raw for Survivor Series, eaturing guest appearances by Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Bill Goldberg as well as appearances by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to build the Raw vs. Smackdown series of events.

Smackdown will be on Tuesday from Wilkes-Barre, PA, for the 900th episode of the show, which will include the return of The Undertaker and the Cutting Edge interview segment with Edge.

SHOW REPORTS

Please send poll opinions for UFC 205 along with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle, and a best and worst match to [email protected]. 

Please send reports on the following shows to [email protected]:

• WWE in Vienna, Austria
• WWE in Cardiff, Wales
• Revolution Pro in London, England
• Raw in Lyon, France
• Smackdown in Barcelona
• NXT in St. Augustine, Florida
• Raw in Strasbourg, France
• Smackdown in Madrid, Spain
• Smackdown in Bilbao, Spain

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 11/7/16; California wrestling regulation in 1978

In 1977, Roy Shire’s northern California territory was doing its best business of the entire decade, but it wasn’t offering the usual Roy Shire style of booking with Roy Shire style workers (smaller big bumping blond heel on top) on top. Needing a break and new ideas, he brought in Bob Roop as the booker, who brought in Kevin Sullivan with him…click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: Nov 14, 2016; Donald Trump elected President, massive UFC 205 preview

Pro wrestling, celebrities, politics, divisiveness and the election are the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.

Also, look at UFC 205 in depth, with a look at records, ticket demand, and all of the fights.

A look at the key things to watch at Survivor Series, ticket demand for Survivor Series vs. NXT vs. Raw next week, the stipulations and the update on the matches.

Have an in-depth look at the Jon Jones case from all angles and why the arbitrators ruled against Jones. Plus, look at the drug he claimed he used, his defense, why it wasn’t accepted, questions regarding his defense, how the arbitrators viewed things, how this affects the potential penalties for Brock Lesnar, why the punishment isn’t completed yet and what’s next for the light heavyweight division. Finally, a look at what’s next for Jon Jones including the match he is having soon and the Jones reaction to everything.        

An update on WrestleMania weekend, why changes were made by WWE and how the independent situation is, as well as WWE making a decision for 2017 regarding PPV and why, Hulk Hogan return, NXT changes, more on Royal Rumble weekend, new WWE Network show ideas and plans, WWE top star of the past gets married to another former WWE performer, injury updates, John Cena update and when he’s back, plans for December hour shows and December PPV shows.

In this issue, take a look at the Smackdown announcing crew decision, the reaction to Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and the finish, more on international stars that WWE has come after, how the WWE video game is doing, department changes, names at the most recent WWE tryouts, why WWE’s value dropped $330 million in five weeks and what it means, most-viewed shows on the WWE Network, what wrestler dominates the list, Raw vs. Smackdown and Mascara Dorada talks his WWE signing… click here to continue.

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.

WON BACK ISSUE:October 18, 1999; Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Gorilla Monsoon, Droz paralyzed, more – Bob “Gino” Marella, who under the classic ring name Gorilla Monsoon was a fixture in the pro wrestling world for four decades, passed away officially at about 6:15 a.m. on 10/6 at his home in Mooresville, NJ at the age of 62… click here to continue.

Saturday News Update​​​​​

WWE

• Mascara Dorada (now Gran Metalik) had his final match for CMLL last night at Arena Mexico and bid farewell to the promotion as he heads to WWE. Though not technically the main event, the trios match in the semi-main with Dorada overshadowed anything else on the show being his final match in Arena Mexico for now. In that match, Dorada teamed with Atlantis and Diamante Azul in facing Negros Casas, Felino and Cavernario. His farewell was even the focus of mainstream news coverage of the card. Fellow luchadors hoisted Dorada on their shoulders and paraded him around the ring after his match. He also spoke with reporters afterwards. Dorada had similar farewells this past week in places like Guadalajara.
• Kane did an interview with Top Rope Press discussing why the Raw brand is at a disadvantage with a three-hour show.
• WWE.com has an article on Wesley Blake and former Tough Enough winner Sara Lee revealing that they’re having a girl.
• WWE’s YouTube channel looks at the 10 greatest Survivor Series debuts.
• Playmates Toys has released a line combining WWE and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, available only at Walmart. John Cena is Leonardo, Sting is Raphael, Undertaker is Donatello, and Randy Savage is Michelangelo.
• All 13 Tribute To The Troops shows are now available on WWE Network. The Network also added a Randy Savage collection, a Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon collection, and a classic Smackdown collection. As of yet, there are no plans to add an Arachnaman collection.

Pro Wrestling

• Jim Ross’ autobiography will be called Slobberknocker, set to be released in the fall of 2017 through Skyhorse Publishing. Friend of the site Paul O’Brien worked with Ross extensively on the book.
• Michael Elgin posted an update on his eye injury: “Home from the hospital. Looks like the area wasn’t cleaned out properly during the original surgery. Which allowed the incision to stay irritated and swollen. This stopped it from closing fully and bacteria got into the wound. I am basically on 4 weeks of rest and antibiotics. The doctors said the bone was fine, but the bacteria was at risk of reaching the bone. So the next 4 weeks are crucial to be cleared.”
• Ratings were down for this week’s edition of Impact with 317k viewers watching the show compared to last week’s 359k.
• WWE.com looks at this weekend’s EVOLVE title matches.

UFC/MMA

• Dana White discussed Ronda Rousey squaring off with Amanda Nunes.
• The final episode of Embedded for UFC 205 has been released.
• Tonight’s UFC 205 will be made available in 4K for the first time for Sony TV users. If you’re interested, look in the Google Play store for the purchasing options.

Variety

• The co-author of a new book about Donald Trump has a column from The Washington Post where he argues the “most important lessons Donald Trump ever learned were in a pro wrestling ring.”
• A student publication  in Massachusetts has an interview with several indie wrestlers.
• Episode 81 of Creative Control features former WWF, WCW, and TNA Creative Team member and current Full Sail University Professor, Ed Ferrara. It is Ed’s second go round on CC, as he was a guest way back on episode 12.
• Ring Rust Radio had Lucha Underground star Ivelisse on the show this week.

TODAY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HISTORY 11/12: Mad Dog Vachon defeats The Crusher for AWA gold

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