Category: Other Wrestling

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Marigold holds debut show, WWE wrestlers send flowers

Posted on by Ian Carey

Marigold ran its debut event at Korakuen Hall on Monday.

The show’s main event saw Sareee and Bozilla defeat Giulia and Utami Hayashishita in a tag team match that went just under the 30-minute time limit. Saree pinned Giulia to pick up the win for her team. The finish saw Giulia take a moonsault from Bozilla before Saree hit her with a big suplex and got the pin.

After the match, Giulia told Saree it’s up to the two of them to bring the Joshi world into the future. She challenged her to a singles match and Sareee accepted. The vacant Marigold World and National title belts were brought into the ring as well during this post-show segment, with Hayashishita putting the red belt over her shoulder at one point.

Before the show came to a close, Marigold announced Summer Destiny will take place on July 13 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Marigold also posted photos of a flower arrangement sent to the organization by WWE’s IYO Sky, Akira Tozawa, and KAIRI Sane for their debut show.

Marigold Fields Forever quick results —

  • Nanae Takahashi defeated Victoria Yuzuki
  • Miku Aono defeated Nao Ishikawa
  • MIRAI defeated CHIAKI
  • Mai Sakurai & Zayda Steel vs. Myla Grace & Nagisa Nozaki ended in a time-limit draw
  • Chika Goto & Kouki Amarei defeated Misa Matsui & Natsumi Showzuki 
  • Bozilla & Sareee defeated Giulia & Utami Hayashishita

Other Marigold Fields Forever notes —

45-year-old Nanae Takahashi became the first wrestler ever to pick up a win in the promotion when she defeated 19-year-old Victoria Yuzuki in the opening contest with The Refrigerator Bomb. The commentary team referred to Takahashi as the last remnant of All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling but said Yuzuki represents the future of Marigold. Takahashi offered her hand to Yuzuki after the match but she slapped it away.

The story of the second match was that Ishikawa is one of the seven founding members of Marigold while Aono is one of the ActWres wrestlers who joined at the first press conference. Ishikawa is upset that Aono has been put on Marigold’s posters and promotional materials. However, Aono would pick up the win, defeating her opponent with a Styles Clash.

The third match of the show saw former Stardom wrestler MIRAI against former ActWres wrestler CHIAKI. This match was built up as a contest between two power-based wrestlers. MIRAI picked up the win with a big lariat. After the match, MIRAI was gifted a giant bag of caramel corn, which is, evidently, a favorite snack of hers.

The fourth match was labeled the “World Beauty Showdown” and featured Nagisa Nozaki & Myla Grace against Zayda Steel & Mai Sakurai. Grace is from Northern Island and previously wrestled for NXT UK. Steel wrestles with MLW as part of the WTF stable. The match ended up going to a 15-minute time-limit draw. The two teams got into a bit of a shoving and hair-pulling contest after the bell and the commentary team played up that there was unfinished business between the two teams. Sakurai cut a promo after the match, ripping the fans for having to start their work week.

The semi-main event of the show saw Chika Goto and Kouki Amarei defeat Misa Matsui and Natsumi Showzuki in tag team action. Amarei pinned Matsui with a splash from the top and then cut a promo after the match. She said both she and Goto are only going to get better as the commentary team played up that the organization will be crowning Twinstar tag team champions at some point.

The show streamed live on the Wrestle Universe streaming service.

January 15, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Triple H, WWE Raw

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The injury to HHH, who suffered a torn tendon in his right quadriceps while performing a spinebuster to Randy Orton on the 1/7 New Year’s Revolution PPV, has changed all future plans.

With John Cena vs. HHH the front-runner as the Mania main event, the entire card was thrown out the window and during this week they are going to be brainstorming to put together a new show. The tentative (never finalized) plan of Bobby Lashley vs. Great Khali for the ECW title at Mania was thrown out and Khali was moved to Raw as one of the first moves made.

No matches are official for Wrestlemania. The only match left from the original plans still on the books is the Batista vs. Undertaker title vs. streak match. And that could be off the books by the end of the week as well. Hulk Hogan vs. Khali was talked about, and Khali’s move to Raw was based partly on the idea of making a monster opponent for Hogan if Big Show doesn’t heal up in time or come to terms.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

Actor Paul Walter Hauser hoping to play Mick Foley in future project

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Award-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser is hoping to portray Mick Foley in a future project.

In an interview with The Wrap, Hauser revealed that he’s become friends with Foley and has been talking with the Hardcore Legend about potentially playing him in either a movie or mini-series. Hauser is a big wrestling fan who has also become an occasional in-ring competitor.

“I’m literally talking to Mick Foley right now about the potential of playing him in a movie or limited series,” Hauser said. “I don’t know which and I don’t know how, but he and I have become friendly. And I think he knows that that could be a really great stroke of genius in casting me to play him.”

Hauser is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice Award winner. All three awards were for Hauser’s work on the Apple TV+ series “Black Bird.” His other roles have included starring in the movie “Richard Jewell.”

With him being such a fan, Hauser has been approached before about wrestling-related acting projects. Hauser said he wants to make sure there’s a real story there and he’s not just doing it because of his fandom.

“A couple of people have approached me to potentially play different wrestlers in different projects, and for me, I just have to make sure that there’s a real story there and I’m not just doing it because I’m a fan,” Hauser said.

“I’ve got to look enough like the guy. So, I don’t think I’ll be playing Steve Austin, but I could maybe play a Mick Foley or a Jim Neidhart.”

Hauser has made appearances for AEW, ROH, and was a guest on a 2019 episode of WWE Backstage. In November of last year, Hauser made his in-ring debut at a show for Wrestling Revolver. He’s worked four indie matches in total.

It was announced this week that Hauser will debut for MLW as an entrant in Battle Riot VI in Atlanta on Saturday, June 1. The show is airing live for free on YouTube.

The 58-year-old Foley had recently been considering coming out of retirement for one final match in an effort to lose weight and in celebration of his 60th birthday. But after suffering a concussion, Foley decided to call off those plans. He gave an update last month saying that his concussion symptoms have subsided and his condition has improved greatly.

Tammy ‘Sunny’ Sytch says she’s dealing with ‘horrible’ blood clot in prison

Posted on by Ian Carey

Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is dealing with a medical issue while in prison.

The 51-year-old told TMZ that she recently began experiencing severe swelling in her leg and immediately sought medical attention. However, Sytch is not happy with how prison officials at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Marion County have handled her situation.

Sytch, who was sentenced to 17 years on DUI and manslaughter charges last year, alleges she wasn’t able to get testing done on her leg for days despite expressing her concern to prison officials. She was finally diagnosed with a blood clot and prescribed medication but says she’s worried about the quality of care she’ll receive in prison.

Sytch says she’s worried about dying in a similar manner to her ex-husband, Chris Candido.

“All that’s been going through my mind for the past three weeks is, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to follow in [my ex-husband’s] footsteps and die of a blood clot just like he did because I can’t get medical treatment at this prison,'” Sytch said to TMZ.

“It’s pretty bad,” she added.

Sytch reportedly told TMZ that she may insist on being treated at an off-site hospital.

Marigold unveils championship belts ahead of debut show

Posted on by Ian Carey

Marigold Dream Star Fighting has unveiled its championship belts.

On Wednesday, the promotion revealed images of its United National Championship belt and the Marigold World Championship belt. Similar to the Wonder of Stardom and World of Stardom title belts, the National title will have a white strap and the World title will have a red strap.

“For a long time, when we think of women’s pro wrestling belts, we have images of red and white. We will carry on the history of women’s pro wrestling from the Showa era,” said Rossy Ogawa.

“The United National championship is an homage to the title first worn by Antonio Inoki, and held by greats such as Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu and so many more,” the promotion wrote on X.

Marigold will also have the Twinstar Championships for tag teams and the Super Fly Championship for wrestlers under 55kg (121 lbs).

Marigold Fields Forever lineup for Monday, May 20, 2024 —

  • Giulia & Utami Hayashishita vs. Saree & Bozilla
  • Mai Sakurai & Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki & Myla Grace
  • Natsumi Showzuki & Misa Matsui vs. Amarei Kouki & Chika Goto
  • Mirai vs. Chiaki
  • Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa
  • Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki

Actor Paul Walter Hauser to make MLW debut in Battle Riot VI

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Battle Riot VI will include the MLW debut of an Emmy award-winning actor.

Paul Walter Hauser, a wrestling fan and occasional in-ring competitor, will debut for MLW as an entrant in the Battle Riot match on Saturday, June 1. It’s a 40-man battle royal where the winner receives a future shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship. The title is currently held by Satoshi Kojima.

For his role in the 2022 Apple TV+ mini-series “Black Bird,” Hauser won awards at the Emmys, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice Awards. His Emmys victory speech included multiple wrestling references, including mentioning Matt Cardona and Kota Ibushi.

Hauser made his in-ring debut last November and has wrestled in four indie matches. He’s competed for Wrestling Revolver, at the 2024 WrestleCon Supershow, and for Southern Honor Wrestling. Hauser has also made appearances for AEW and ROH.

Battle Riot VI is taking place from Center Stage in Atlanta on June 1. MLW has announced that the event will stream live for free on YouTube

“The ‘content is king’ era is over. The creator economy is here and it’s powered by YouTube,” MLW’s Court Bauer said in a press release. “Direct to consumer is the future for sports leagues. We are going right to the fans that watch us and giving them MLW’s biggest signature event of the year for free.”

Matt Riddle, Mistico, Bobby Fish, Sami Callihan, Ernest “The Cat” Miller, Matthew Justice, Timothy Thatcher, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Mads Krugger, Alex Kane, and AJ Francis will be among the other entrants in Battle Riot VI.

The Battle Riot match made its debut in 2018. Tom Lawlor, LA Park, Alex Hammerstone, Jacob Fatu, and Alex Kane are past winners of the match.

Billy Corgan says NWA has signed another TV deal

Posted on by Ian Carey

The NWA appears to have landed another TV contract.

Billy Corgan told TV Insider that he recently signed another deal but it has yet to be officially announced.

“I just signed another TV deal, which I haven’t announced yet. I saw someone in wrestling media wave off the NWA’s success, but I don’t know a lot of companies out there that have three television deals as an independent solely funded by me,” Corgan said.

Episodes of NWA Power currently air on the CW App. A reality series focused on Corgan’s running of the promotion titled “Adventures in Carnyland” premiered on the app today as well.

“We’re really fighting a lot of wars here not only to create a wrestling product that fans will like but also to beat the world’s perception that it can’t be done. That unless you have a billion dollars in your pocket you can’t manifest enough energy,” Corgan continued. “But what people don’t understand is I’m one of the only people in the world who understands how to take something literally from nothing and take it to the top of the mountain multiple times. I know it can be done with faith, dedication, and hard work. It will be interesting to see the behind-the-scenes stuff going on, which by the way is not work, but true and honest stuff that is happening. I insisted on real and organic storylines. It will be interesting to see if people perceive that as integrity or weakness on the part of the company. I think it’s a strength because we have nothing to hide.”

During a separate interview with Fightful, Corgan also addressed the controversial “cocaine spot” at NWA Samhain last October and The CW’s reaction to it. A report from Haus of Wrestling came out shortly after stating CW officials were not happy with what took place and it could negatively impact the NWA’s deal with the company.

“After the ‘cocaine spot’ where Sinister Minister and his hot minions were snorting sugar off a table in Cleveland, that story took a life of its own, ‘NWA is going to lose its CW deal, they’ve lost their CW deal..'” Corgan said. “About four days after the event, CW, I don’t want to say who but certainly one of the top people in CW called me and said, ‘What is this all about?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know because no one from your world has reached out to me.’ He says, ‘There’s no problem over here. We’re reading all these articles and we don’t understand what the issue is.’ And I said, ‘Okay, so just to be official about it, there’s no issue with what we did?’ They go, ‘No, we think it’s funny.’ So there’s no issue. It was a completely invented story by either a troll inside the company or a leaker or something.”

Our own Dave Meltzer addressed the issue later that week on Wrestling Observer Radio stating he’d had an email exchange with Corgan, who denied reports that the CW was upset with what happened at NWA Samhain.

The NWA is gearing up for the 2024 Crockett Cup on May 18 at The O.C Theater in Forney, Texas. Teams announced for the tournament include: Knox and Murdoch (Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch), Blunt Force Trauma (Damage and Carnage) w/Aron Stevens, The Immortals (Kratos and Odinson), The Southern 6 (“Thrillbilly” Silas Mason, Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor) w/Ricky Morton, The Fixers (Wrecking Ball Legurski and Jay Bradley), Tim Storm and Jax Dane, The Country Gentlemen (AJ and KC Cazana) w/ Joe Cazana, and Daisy Kill and Talos. EC3 is also scheduled to defend his NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Sam Adonis on the show.

January 8, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Vince McMahon & Donald Trump, UFC 66

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

WWE officials have either finalized or are in the process of putting the finishing touches on a deal that will get them back, at least temporarily, into mainstream America.

The Vince McMahon interview on the 1/1 Raw show, which mentioned Donald Trump’s feud with Rosie O’Donnell (who McMahon called Yokozuna), and his telling Rob Conway, “You’re fired” with the gargling with razor blades voice was scripted to be the start of an angle.

I don’t have any other details other than there will be something along the lines of a McMahon vs. Trump “Battle of the Billionaires” angle building to something, most likely the Royal Rumble on 1/28 in San Antonio. The vague word is Vince in one corner managing a wrestler against a wrestler Trump would manage. This is the perfect opportunity to get two wrestlers into the mainstream, since whomever Trump is aligned with will get a major rub. It’s not only great for mainstream publicity since Trump is such a major name in our culture, but it’s also great for Vince from an ego standpoint because he’ll be mentioned in the same breath and perhaps even on equal footing as Trump in all the stories.

Subscribers can click here to read this post.

Ric Flair says he ‘was wrong for getting mad’ during restaurant incident

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ric Flair has addressed an incident that took place at a Gainseville Piesanos location over the weekend. 

Update:

On Wednesday, Flair was a guest on “The MJ Morning Show on Q105,” and stated he was wrong to lose his temper during the altercation. He also denied alcohol played a role in what happened. 

“It just escalated and I was wrong for getting mad, but I kind of felt like I was defending my position,” Flair said on the radio show (via TMZ).

Flair continued:

I was wrong for losing my temper. When I feel like I’m put in that area where I’m uncomfortable and all of a sudden everything just fell apart, I got upset.

I was wrong for getting upset. I probably just should have just walked out the door, but it caught me so off-guard because we were having a wonderful time. Then all of a sudden … someone in their kitchen said I did something wrong in the bathroom and there’s no one there except me and him.

Flair also stated he only drank Michelob Ultras and had “probably” two mixed drinks. He denies having been inebriated at the restaurant. It was also noted that Flair has already ordered Piesanos through Uber Eats since the incident took place. 

Original:

Ric Flair was involved in an incident with the staff of a Piesanos in Gainesville, Florida over the weekend. 

On Sunday, Flair posted to social media that he had been asked to leave the restaurant following an altercation with the kitchen manager in the bathroom.

Footage of Flair berating the restaurant’s manager leaked online yesterday but does not show the altercation between him and the kitchen manager. Flair says the kitchen manager approached him in the bathroom.

“I’m like, I don’t shake hands or take photos in bathrooms,” Flair said to the Gainesville Sun on Tuesday.

After this, Flair says the kitchen manager went into a restroom stall and was “texting away” minutes later. In Flair’s social media post about the incident on Sunday, he said he took issue with “The Kitchen Manager Taking Too Long In The Bathroom.”

“Any man that goes into a bathroom knows you can see into the stall,” Flair continued. “I said, ‘Get your a– off there, I need to use the restroom.’ “

Flair says another staff employee approached him after he left the washroom and called him a “creep” and a “peeping Tom.”

“I’m not going to tolerate that and you wouldn’t either,” Flair said. “… That’s a pretty offensive remark.”

Flair then spoke with the restaurant manager about the situation, which was captured on the footage that leaked yesterday. 

“I’ll be quite honest with you, I was pissed because I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s my word against the kitchen employee and it makes no sense,” Flair said. “I admit to everything I said. I have no problem with it because I was mad.”

Flair says he tipped $1000 on a tab of around $200 to two bartenders. In the video, he can be heard offering a server a $1000 tip if they told the restaurant manager he could “kiss my ass.”

Piesanos co-owner Jerry Roberts also spoke with the Sun on Tuesday. He said that no matter how much Flair tipped the staff or spent in the restaurant, they could not tolerate how he was treating others.

“It was really a matter of principle on how our team was treated and no matter how much money someone’s willing to spend, if they’re not going to treat our team with respect, we just felt like that was the right thing to do,” Roberts said.

“The video that has now been leaked by somebody else speaks for itself,” he added.

Flair said that he is considering legal action against the restaurant, or perhaps purchasing it outright.

“I have the money to buy the restaurant,” he said. “It’ll be called Ric Flair’s Italian Bistro.”

Footage of Ric Flair restaurant incident emerges

Posted on by Ian Carey

Footage of an incident between Ric Flair and the staff of a pizza restaurant has surfaced. 

Flair was asked to leave a Piesanos location in Gainesville, Florida over the weekend after taking issue with an employee who Flair believes was “taking too long in the bathroom.” 

Flair later posted to social media on Sunday writing, “Anyone Who Wants To Enjoy A Relaxing Time In Gainesville At A Nice Restaurant To Never Visit This Place! WOOOOO!”

The restaurant’s co-owner Jerry Roberts told the Gainesville Sun that he reviewed footage of the incident and is pleased with how his staff handled the situation. 

On Tuesday, footage of Flair at what appears to be the same Piesanos location was published on TikTok by an anonymous account that has never posted before. In the video, someone who appears to be a restaurant employee accuses Flair of having accosted the restaurant’s kitchen manager. Flair can be heard insulting the person, referring to them at one point as “Nicholas Dickhead.” 

Ric Flair asked to leave restaurant following incident with kitchen manager

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ric Flair is not happy with how his recent trip to a stone-fired pizza restaurant went. 

Flair posted to social media over the weekend that he was asked to leave a Piesanos location in Gainesville, Florida after taking issue with “The kitchen manager taking too long in the bathroom.”

Flair wrote:

I Spent $1500 At @piesanosstonefiredpizza To Be Disrespected More Than I Ever Have In My Entire Life. After Taking 20 Pictures With Customers And Staff, I Was Asked To Leave Because Of An Issue I Had With The Kitchen Manager Taking Too Long In The Bathroom. I Would Highly Recommend That Anyone Who Wants To Enjoy A Relaxing Time In Gainesville At A Nice Restaurant To Never Visit This Place! WOOOOO!

Piesanos co-owner Jerry Roberts spoke to the Gainesville Sun and said he is proud of how the restaurant staff responded to the incident. However, he declined to mention what specifically led to Flair being asked to leave.

“We have reviewed video of the incident that took place recently at our restaurant. It is clear, our team worked in a professional manner to ensure the safety of guests and staff. We have thanked our team for their professionalism. We are proud of how they responded to this situation using and displaying our team values,” Roberts said. 

Flair posted a photo from the restaurant on Sunday, captioned with:

In Gainesville At Graduation! The Family That Continues To Grow! Congratulations Paris And Summer! WOOOOO!

Earlier today, clips from Flair’s recent appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast made headlines as he revealed doctors have told him he had a heart attack at some point within the last two years. Flair believes he suffered it during his last match in 2022. 

Today is also the anniversary of Flair dropping the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Kerry Von Erich at Texas Stadium.

“40 years ago today was the Kerry Von Erich NWA title win over Ric Flair at Texas Stadium. This was the culmination of an 18 year chase dating back to Fritz failing to beat Kiniski, Dory Jr., Race and Terry Funk. One of my favorite wrestling memories live. The day was brutally hot,” our own Dave Meltzer wrote on X. 

Ric Flair believes he suffered heart attack during last match

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ric Flair believes he suffered a heart attack during his last match. 

During an appearance on The Jaxxon Podcast last month, Flair said that doctors informed him in late 2023 that he’d had a heart attack sometime within the last two years. Flair believes it occurred at Ric Flair’s Last Match on July 31, 2022.

Flair said:

I went to get what’s called a calcium scan, which I’d never had before, because a couple of guys died in our business of heart issues so it kind of scared me.

They give you the nuclear stress test, shoot you with the dye, put you on the treadmill, everything. It’s two days of three hours of tests. This is six months ago. The guy takes me in, and if you look at your heart like a round pie, there’s a piece of my heart right here this big, it’s black, it’s gone. The guy said, ‘You’ve had a heart attack in the last two years.’ 

He said, ‘Have you passed out in the last two years?’ And during my last match, I passed out three times. And I thought it was because I was dehydrated. So I went in the locker room with Kid Rock and Taker, I just drank two bottles of gatorade and went back out to Kid Rock’s place all night long. But I had a heart attack.

A couple of weeks after the match, Flair mentioned on his podcast that he had passed out twice during the match and again noted that he believed this was due to dehydration. He also mentioned The Undertaker insisted he drink Gatorade rather than beer when he got back to the locker room. 

“I swear to god twice during the match, I went completely black,” Flair said in August 2022. “My hand started trembling, yeah, but it was all dehydration. I had two doctors in there right away with me and everything. The Undertaker came running in and said – I had six beers there – he took them out of my hand and said, ‘You’re drinking two Gatorades first,’ I said, ‘Gatorade?’ So, I drank two and that was all it was.”

Earlier this year, it was reported that The Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions is developing a film on Flair’s life. However, Flair recently publicly criticized another Seven Bucks project, the upcoming Who Killed WCW? docuseries produced by Seven Bucks and Vice TV. Flair is upset at not having been interviewed for the series and posted to X, “As Usual More Bullshit, No Interview With Ric Flair Who Was WCW, And Who Made Everyone There For 20 Years. Run By The The Same People Who Killed The Company. How Embarrassing!! A Documentary About WCW Without Me!”

Cameron Grimes announced for first post-WWE appearance

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cameron Grimes is returning to the ring.

Elevation Pro Wrestling announced that Grimes, reverting to his Trevor Lee name, will appear for their Homecoming event that will take place on July 27.

Grimes was part of a wave of releases that took place at the end of April, before the WWE Draft. As part of last year’s Draft, Grimes was part of the SmackDown brand but only appeared a few times on the main roster. His last match in WWE was on the April 12 edition of SmackDown when he lost quickly to Bron Breakker.

In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Grimes said a “high executive” told him just days before his release that he’d always have a job in WWE.

“So I was told by a high executive last week on Friday that I would always have a job here. I would never have to worry about losing my job here, after expressing my concerns like that to him. And then five days later, they called me and told that I do lose the job. So I don’t know.”

Other main roster stars that were released that week include Jinder Mahal, Veer, Sanga, Xyon Quinn, and Von Wagner. NXT releases took place this past week, with Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson being the biggest name.

Marigold releases lineup for debut event

Posted on by Ian Carey

The lineup for Marigold Fields Forever has been released.

Rossy Ogawa’s new promotion held a fan event on Sunday and officially confirmed six matches for its debut show on May 20 at Korakuen Hall. 

The show will be headlined by Giulia teaming with Utami Hayashishita against Saree and Bozilla. 

Tokyo Sports reports about 80 fans were in attendance for today’s event in Tokyo. 

“We will stir up the women’s professional wrestling world, aim to be a more and brighter women’s professional wrestling, and an organization that reaches the world,” reads a translation of Giulia’s comments from today’s fan event.

The future of the new promotion was also addressed recently on Pacific Rim with our own Jim Valley and Fumi Saito. The full episode is available for subscribers here. 

Marigold Fields Forever lineup for Monday, May 20, 2024 —

  • Giulia & Utami Hayashishita vs. Saree & Bozilla
  • Mai Sakurai & Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki & Myla Grace
  • Natsumi Showzuki & Misa Matsui vs. Amarei Kouki & Chika Goto
  • Mirai vs. Chiaki
  • Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa
  • Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki

January 1, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Konnan, UFC 66 preview

Posted on by Dave Meltzer
The in-ring career of Konnan, already in jeopardy since he was scheduled for hip replacement surgery this past week, may be over as doctors in Monterrey, Mexico were unable to operate on him on 12/20, as planned, due to severe kidney problems that will soon require a transplant.
When Konnan was being checked out before surgery, the doctors found his kidneys weren’t functioning properly due to an internal infection, and his system being low in antibodies to fight the infection. Doctors deemed the hip replacement surgery as too risky. He was ordered to undergo painful kidney dialysis three times a week and they were hoping it would help him enough to where they could replace his hip without risking his life with the surgery, now scheduled for late next week.
Konnan, real name Charles Ashenoff, turns 43 next week. When informed of his kidney problems, he immediately felt it was due to his long-term steroid use, but his doctors in Mexico said the kind of kidney failure he is suffering from is inconsistent with the kidney damage associated with steroids.

Subscribers can click here to read this issue.