Tag: main story

RAW RATINGS STRUGGLE CONTINUES

The last 10 weeks of RAW compared to previous years.

Coming off of last week’s historically low RAW rating, this week had a virtually identical average viewership number but with a slightly different pattern.

The show opened lower, at 2.734 million for Hour 1 and only had slight drops in the 2nd and 3rd hours, to 2.686 and 2.633 million respectively, with an average of 2.681 million for the 3hr 14 minute broadcast.

It’s notable that the first hour trailed only the July 4th episode as the lowest viewed first hour since 1997.

While RAW is often the most watched show on cable, behind football, even when it does a poor number, this week the show was 7th in viewership on the night. The three individual hours did finish 4th, 5th and 6th in the 18-49 demo on the night with 0.93, 0.91 and 0.9 ratings in that demo.

This may not even be rock bottom as next week the show will air opposite the presidential debates as well as Monday Night Football 

[Ace Fontaine]

The Round-Up

The Latest from the F4W Staff

WWE Raw live results: Clash of Champions go-home show – Read about the always interesting Monday night RAW vs. NFL Football match-up from our expert Raw watcher Jeff Hamlin.

UFC Fight Night Hidalgo main card pulls in 826,000 viewers – Nobody has time to do the research. Let Ace “Gramps” Fontaine enlighten you.

WWE Raw video highlights: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a cage – After reading about Raw, only watch what you want in highlights!

Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins set for WWE Clash of Champions – The first WWE cruiserweight match will take place at the first Raw branded Pay-Per-View / Network Event. Our man Joe Currier tells you how it happened.

Roman Reigns vs. Rusev set for WWE Clash of Champions – It will be interesting to see people booing Roman Reigns as he takes on the Bulgarian Brute. USA BOO USA BOO!

Charlotte to defend against Sasha Banks and Bayley at WWE Clash of Champions – Now, a three-way! 

Cesaro vs. Sheamus best-of-7 series to conclude at WWE Clash of Champions – Can Cesaro do the impossible and come back from a 3-0 defecit to win the series, that isn’t even for a belt? Find out this Sunday at Clash of Champions.  

Figure Four Weekly, 9/19/2016: The Unlikely Story of TJ Perkins (Part I)  – T.J. Perkins being the winner of WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic and first champion of the new version of the cruiserweight division was something of a surprise. It was clear that Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi were booked as the stars, but neither signed with the company. Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) and Perkins, who both signed… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 19, 2016:CM Punk loses UFC debut, TJ Perkins wins Cruiserweight Classic, Backlash review, tons more – The two-year odyssey, odd being the key part of the word, of C.M. Punk to the UFC octagon saw the door shut and the clock strike midnight, not Eastern time, but Cinderella time.

In the end it was simple reality. Starting out at 36 with very limited training past some Jiu Jitsu classes from Rener Gracie, no great athletic gifts and a body beaten up by 15 years of pro wrestling was not going to be able to train for two years and be able to compete in the UFC.

Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.

WON Back Issue, August 30, 1999: WWF Summerslam, Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart first match, more – Jesse Ventura’s return to pro wrestling drew the mainstream attention which probably led to a lot of curiosity buys, and WWF made the most of it putting on one of the better PPV shows of 1999. Subscribers click here to continue reading.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

ROH World Champion Adam Cole BAY BAY stopped by ESPN headquarters on Monday and participated in a Facebook live Q&A session.

Smackdown and Main Event are tonight from Birmingham, AL. It is John Cena’s only show of the week.

Read Dave Meltzer’s take on how the continual and steady decline of the Raw ratings again this week may effect WWE.

Don’t forget to support the world famous Granny~! If you were ever interested in reading about the life of Bryan Alvarez, as seen through the eyes of a doting grandmother, now is your chance. The third edition is running out, so get to Facebook and find Gladys Gibson before it’s too late. 

The Death of WCW by Bryan Alvarez and RD Reynolds is now available as an audiobook through Amazon.com and Audible. Bryan did the narration for the book and it runs almost fifteen hours, so grab yours today!

WWE

• John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose and The Miz defending his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler are being advertised for tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
• Emma tweeted that she’s been cleared to return to the ring for six weeks.
• WWE posted entrance themes for Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, and Cedric Alexander on YouTube after the three men debuted alongside Brian Kendrick as part of Raw’s cruiserweight division on Monday night.
• ESPN posted a critical recap (written by Brian Campbell) of last night’s Raw. “As far as go-home episodes are concerned, this week did almost nothing to build excitement ahead of Raw’s first exclusive PPV since the July brand extension and draft. If anything, the majority of Sunday’s compelling storylines were set back.” Campbell wrote.
• This article with Luke Gallows talks about his previous release and why he did not view it as a negative.

EVOLVE

• Evolve 70, October 15th – 8pm EDT, Dr. Smith Neighborhood Center, 1723 Bruton Blvd, Orlando, FL 32805. Tickets on sale in the DGUSA.tv Store for EVOLVE on 10/15 in Orlando, 10/16 in Ybor City, 11/12 in Queens, 11/13 in Joppa and 12/11 in Melrose, MA.
• The war pitting Drew Galloway and his crew against Catch Point will come to a conclusion at EVOLVE 70 in Orlando. One side will be decimated. It will be an EVOLVE Tag Team Title Match. The losing duo can never team again. The Last Battle Of Orlando will have EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Drew Galloway & DUSTIN vs. Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams.
• Drew Galloway vs. Matt Riddle is set for EVOLVE 71 on October 16th in Ybor City, FL. This is as big as it gets after the end of EVOLVE 69.
• Also signed for EVOLVE 70 and EVOLVE 71 in addition to Drew Galloway, DUSTIN, Matt Riddle, Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams are EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher, Chris Hero, Zack Sabre Jr. and more.
• Congrats to Darby Allin on earning a WWN contract at EVOLVE 69. Allin will now be on every upcoming EVOLVE event. Allin was discovered at the WWN Seminar/Tryout on Wrestlemania weekend. He impressed and got more opportunities until finally becoming the first WWN contracted wrestler to come from a WWN Seminar/Tryout. The next WWN Seminar/Tryout isOctober 16th in Ybor City before EVOLVE 71 with special guest William Regal. This will be a rare opportunity.
• The first talent roster for EVOLVE 72 on November 12th in Queens, NY and EVOLVE 73 on November 13th in Joppa, MD has been released. Go to the DGUSA.tv Events section for more info.
• FIP returns to Orlando, FL at Gods & Monsters on September 30th with a huge title match. It will be FIP World Heavyweight Champion Fred Yehi defending against the former champ, Caleb Konley. Yehi defeated Konley in a controversial match to win title, now Konley will get his rematch. Go to www.FullImpactPro.com for more info.
• EVOLVE would like to thank TJ Perkins for all his contributions to EVOLVE in the last 18 months. We are beyond ecstatic to see his success in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. We are celebrating his victory by releasing his final match in EVOLVE on the last EVOLVE event for free. Watch it now.

UFC & MMA

• In a video blog, Cris Cyborg argues with her nutritionist about her weight cut. Ariel Helwani tweeted that Cyborg weighs 160 lbs as of this morning and needs to get down to 141 lbs for her catchweight fight against Lina Lansberg at UFC Fight Night this Saturday.
• Jeremy Botter of FloSports tweeted that he’s hearing CM Punk’s next fight is likely to be in the UFC, but no final decision has been made.
• Floyd Mayweather says he’s moving on from the idea of a potential superfight against Conor McGregor
• Dominick Cruz will step into a full-time analyst role for Saturday’s Fight Night card, with Daniel Cormier doing the same for a Fight Night show on October 1st.
• AXS TV’s “Inside MMA” is coming to an end with the final episode of the show set for September 30th.
• Bellator announced today two new fights for their next show in Memphis. Ryan Couture faces Goiti Yamauchi, moving up from featherweight, in a 155 lb bout. At welterweight, Ricky Rainey squares off with Gilbert Smith.
• After having his last two fights cancelled on the week of the fights, Ian McCall has been scheduled yet again for his first UFC fight in almost 2 years. McCall is now set to take on Neil Seery in a flyweight bout on the Belfast show on November 19th.
• Also on November 19th, there will be a UFC show later in the day in Brazil and that show now has a main event as Alexander Gustaffson squares off with “Little Nog” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a light heavyweight fight
• Dana White claims that there’s a good chance Ronda Rousey will fight again before the end of this year and for the title.

PODCASTS & VARIETY

• Here is the full one hour interview video of two Time WWE World Champion and “WWE Hall of Famer” Mr. Bob Backlund and former WWE Champion and “WWE Hall of Famer” The Iron Sheik on the live Wade Keller podcast. Backlund goes nuts at the end of the interview.
• Finn Bálor is one of the most talked about wrestlers in the WWE. Having won the Universal Championship after 16 years in the business he was forced to relinquish the title the very next day. This week he rejoined Jarlath to discuss this recent roller coaster ride.
• Pat Laprade is looking for anyone with pictures of women wrestlers from Japan and Mexico for his upcoming book on the history of women’s wrestling. The pictures need to be high resolution (250-300 dpi or better) and either free of rights or not too expensive. You can contact him at [email protected] for a list of what he needs.
• Tommy Dreamer talks Terry Funk’s situation and recent health scare with Wrestledelphia Radio.
• FIST Combat’s next show is Friday 9/30 at the VFW in Santa Cruz. For more information go to Comedysulplex.com.
• Don Frye returned to Submission Radio to share his thoughts on the latest MMA news.

While Ronda Rousey seem’s to be coming back at UFC 207, Frye doesn’t believe we’ll ever see her return to the UFC. “No, she’s not coming back. She’ll never fight again.” If Rousey does come at the end of this year Don doesn’t believe she deserves a title shot “She used to be able to draw fans, now she can’t. Everybody’s seen through her. If she wants to come back, she should do her rematch against Holly Holm. And then if you beat Holly, then you can have a title match. But if you get your ass kicked like that, you don’t deserve a title match.”

A previous heavyweight fighter himself Don also discussed his disappointed in Mark Hunt’s reaction after finding out Lesnar failed his drug test after UFC 200.“I’m disappointed in Mark Hunt. I mean, he knew all this. He knew what the game was when he signed his name to fight Lesnar. He knew what was up. So for him to complain about it afterwards, it’s just… that’s just disappointing.”

• Luke Rockhold, Tom Wright and Dan Kelly joined Submission Radio for a media scrum about UFC Melbourne November 27th at Rod Laver Arena.

If Luke is concerned about Dan Henderson possibly beating Bisping and retiring as middleweight champion, “I’d be happy for Dan if he won the title and fulfilled his career. We’ll see what happens. Dan’s a great friend of mine and I wish him the best – and I don’t wish anything for Bisping.

Dan Kelly on fighting Chris Camozzi, “There’s a guy talking a little bit of trash on Twitter named Chris Camozzi, who I wouldn’t mind having, but we’ll have to wait and see. I’ve asked for that and we’ll wait and see. He’s ranked a few spots ahead of me on a few different rankings, and yeah, that would be a good step up for me”

Tom Wright on if he has any fight announcements for UFC Melbourne, “Not right now, but before I leave for home on Thursday we’ll have some more fight announcements – but Dan (Kelly) definitely is fighting on this card, Jake (Matthews) is going to be on this card as well, and there’s a pretty good chance that Robert Whittaker will be as well. So we’re really going to have an opportunity to see a collection of the top ten middleweight fighters led by this guy (Luke Rockhold), the number-one-ranked contender.”

• UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic returned to Submission Radio this week to discuss his UFC 203 victory, proving doubters wrong, Jon Jones, going on holiday and lots more!

Thoughts on CM Punk’s debut and if he said anything to him backstage, “Yeah, I just told him to keep your head up, man. It’s not how hard you get knocked down, it’s how you get up. He’s a great dude, he’s a real good dude. I give him all the credit in the world for training like that and going in there and doing his first fight in the UFC just like that against a tough dude like that.”

If Stipe thinks CM Punk deserved the big payday, “This is the world we live in. People want to see him fight. I mean, He should get compensated, it’s just like anything you do. Listen man, he brought a lot of pay-per-view sales, helped me out a lot (laughs). So listen, I give him a lot of credit for going out there and doing what he did, man. I praise him for that, man. It wasn’t his night, but listen, he trained and he gave it all he’s got. Unfortunately, (he lost) but he still went out there.”

• Bill Goldberg returned to Submission Radio to celebrate episode 100, and to discuss some of the hot topics in the world of MMA.

While discussing his thoughts on the cross-promotion between the WWE/UFC, Bill shared his thoughts on McGregor trashing the WWE Roster. “I thought the funniest thing I’ve ever seen was (Randy) Orton calling him ‘Conor McDonald’. I think that is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Hey man, you have to embrace it. It’s the same crowd. One grows up and feeds into the other. You can’t tell me, and I said this before, that 75 percent of the guys wouldn’t die to be professional wrestlers that are fighting, and vice versa. We have a lot respect for each other, a lot of us train in martial arts and a lot of them walk around and act like they’re us. So the cross-promotion – Dana White is Vince McMahon in training. “

With his previous WWE opponent Brock Lesnar failing drug tests after his return at UFC 200, Goldberg explained why he’d still like to see him return for another fight to the UFC. “Absolutely, man (I want to see Brock fight in the UFC again). And I don’t even know what that thing is he took. I never broached anything along those subject matters with Brock. That’s his business. And like I said, what you just said is the second time I’ve ever heard of whatever that was, and the first time is when I read it. I don’t even know what the hell it does. But obviously, you know, if you’re cheating, then you should be reprimanded. Period. End of story. And do I think that he deserves an opportunity to go back? Absolutely.”

EVENTS CALENDAR

Thursday 9/22 – Sunday 9/25

Thursday 9/22

• All-Star Wrestling: 7:30 PM, Abbotsford Arts Center, 2329 Crescent Way, Abbotsford, BC V2S 3M2, Canada. Tickets.
• Big Time Wrestling in Morganton, NC at the Collette Rec Center features a meet & greet at 6:00 PM before the live show. Appearing are Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Cody Rhodes, Magnum T.A. and Trevor Lee.

Friday 9/23

• MCW Pro Wrestling presents “Ringside with Jim Ross & Jim Cornette at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood in Baltimore. Showtime 8:00PM, 6526 Holabird Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224. Tickets.
• Big Time Wrestling in Raleigh, NC at Dorton Arena features Flair and Steamboat together at Dorton Arena for the first time in 28 years, plus Jeff & Matt Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Nasty Boys, Sabu, Magnum T.A., Ivan Koloff, Jimmy Valiant, Gangrel and Shane Helms with the meet & greet at 6 and show at 8.
• Invicta FC: Live from Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Mo. Interim Flyweight Champion Jennifer Maia Defends Against Roxanne Modafferi
• Absolute Intense Wrestling: A Farewell to Johnny Gargano – 1355 West 70th St. Cleveland, OH – Tickets.
• Pure Wrestling Association: Parksville, British Columbia
• Pro Wrestling Eclipse takes a short trip to downtown Oshawa and visits the Oshawa Mason Temple. All tickets purchased on July 24 that list the venue as the Oshawa Legion will be honoured.

Saturday 9/24

• ROH: Reloaded Tour; Duluth (Atlanta), GA 7:00 pm. Tickets.
• East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), 49 ANNIVERSARY SHOW, Woodbury Heights Community Center, 741 Helen Ave, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097. Tickets.
• EWA Evolution: World War Z at Tall Cedars Hall (2501 Putty Hill Ave.) in Parkville, MD. See the double ring, 5 vs. 5 Ladder War! Bell time is 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 front row and $12 general.
• IWA Midsouth Wrestling presents the Hybrid Cup, at PRIDE Bar in New Albany, IN.
• Ignite Wrestling in Vero Beach, FL at the IG Center features Dave Crist.
• UCW, 7:30 PM Bay City, MI UCW Champion Hakim Zane vs MVP, plus appearances by Ron Simmons and Fred Ottman
• Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, SC at the Memorial Auditorium with the meet and greet at 5:30 and show at 7:30 with Flair, Steamboat, Hardys, Rhodes, Nasty Boys, Sabu, Magnum T.A., Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Gangrel and Trevor Lee.
• MCW Legends Convention at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD at 10 a.m. featuring Bret Hart, Jimmy Hart, Howard Finkel, Honky Tonk Man, Hillbilly Jim, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, Jim Ross, Bill Apter, Brutus Beefcake, Bob Orton, Tito Santana, Jim Neidhart, Tammy Sytch, Magnum T.A. and even Dennis Stamp.
• Rock Solid: Anarchy in Angus 14: A Nightmare on Mill Street, 7pm – 10pm, Angus Recreation Centre, 8527 County Rd. 10, Angus, Ontario. Tickets.
• Pure Wrestling Association: Campbell River, British Columbia
• NXT in Kitchener, Ontario at The Air
• Elite Canada Championship Wrestling: New Westminster, Sapperton Pensioners Hall
• Main Event Pro Wrestling in Longview, TX at Pine Tree High School, 5pm, Big Daddy Yum Yum and others. Tickets $10

Sunday 9/25

• Join NECW & Meet The Stars and Celebrate The Grand Opening of Nick’s Comically Speaking! Meet Swoggle and JTG from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. For more info call (978) 304-0396.
• Canadian Wrestling’s Elite: Nick “Magnus” Aldis defends the GFW title against Matt Hart of the Hart Family in Calgary.
• Rizin: Former K-1 kickboxer Minoru Kimura will make his MMA debut against former Pride fighter Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (29-30-2)

Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/20): AJ Styles wins TNA World Title

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

Recent Articles

• Terry Funk alive and well in Texas after an exhausting weekend – Good news for fans of the Funker: Terry Funk is at home and doing well.
• Brandi Rhodes signs with TNA as an active wrestler – The wife of Cody Rhodes/Runnels has signed on to wrestle for the TNA Knockouts division. 
• The Week In British Wrestling: ICW says goodbye to Noam Dar – One of the six men signed from the CWC, Noam Dar leaves for greener pastures.
• WWE Superstars results: Braun Strowman vs. Sin Cara; Neville teams with Darren Young – A fun look at WWE’s tertiary product from James Cox.
• Could Katsuyori Shibata be 2016’s Wrestler Of The Year? – Our own Alan4L tells you why you should be looking out for Shibata on your Observer ballot.

Weekend Audio Shows

• FREE Bryan & Vinny! Ring of Honor on Sinclair, NWA World Championship Wrestling from 1986, more! 9/18
• Wrestling Observer Live: Raw preview, Randy Orton, Cruiserweights coming to Raw, UFC pay, more! 9/18
• After Dark: The Great Phantom Clown Flap of 2016 9/18
• Josh Nason’s Punch Out: Mike Sempervive’s origin story & Twitter debate with Tom Lawlor 9/18
• DragonKing Dark: Creepy clown hysteria 9/18
• DR. KEITH PRESENTS: Two falls, two submissions or a knockout! 9/18

Weekend Show Reports

• ROH Reloaded Lockport, NY live results: Surprise entrant at Honor Rumble; Chris Daniels vs. Chris Sabin vs. Matt Jackson
• UFC Fight Night 94 Hidalgo live results: Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Johnson
• WWE Springfield, MO, live results: Orton vs. Wyatt; Styles vs. Ambrose
• WWE Evansville, IN, live results: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins
• WWE Little Rock, AR, & Huntsville, AL, live results: Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Sasha, Roman Reigns
• NXT St. Paul, MN, live results: No Way Shinsuke vs. Joe & Riddick Moss
• NXT Omaha, NE, live results: Nakamura & TM61 vs. Joe & The Revival

Television & Shows

Please send thoughts on the following shows with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match: [email protected]

• New Japan Destruction in Tokyo

MONDAY

Raw is in Memphis tonight — the go-home show for Clash of Champions. Cesaro vs Sheamus in match number six of their best-of-seven series will be on the show, along with Seth Rollins vs Rusev, as well as the debut of the cruiserweight division which will likely set up something for Sunday’s PPV show. 

Smackdown will have a Monday night house show in Tupelo, MS, with A.J. Styles, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Becky Lynch and Natalya.

We’re taking your news and notes from dark matches, Superstars, and anything off camera to [email protected].

TUESDAY

Smackdown and Main Event will be on Tuesday night from Birmingham, AL. John Cena is scheduled for his only show of the week on Tuesday.

We’re taking your news and notes from dark matches, Main Event, and anything off camera to [email protected].

Figure Four Weekly, 9/12/2016: More on the Last Battle of Atlanta, wrestling Holy grails, and WWE’s video library – The release of the Last Battle of Atlanta on WWE Network, discussed here last week in advance of it dropping, was met with mixed reaction online. The namesake match itself, Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer in a cage (with a roof on top for the first time in wrestling history) had become legendary more due to magazine hype and the lack of available footage than anything else… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 19, 2016:CM Punk loses UFC debut, TJ Perkins wins Cruiserweight Classic, Backlash review, tons more – The two-year odyssey, odd being the key part of the word, of C.M. Punk to the UFC octagon saw the door shut and the clock strike midnight, not Eastern time, but Cinderella time.

In the end it was simple reality. Starting out at 36 with very limited training past some Jiu Jitsu classes from Rener Gracie, no great athletic gifts and a body beaten up by 15 years of pro wrestling was not going to be able to train for two years and be able to compete in the UFC.

Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates for 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, August 23, 1999: WCW Road Wild review, NJPW G1 Climax results, plus tons more – Steve Austin has become the subject of a lot of talk in the past week, with his various injuries, his probable, maybe almost assured dropping of the WWF title at SummerSlam and stories regarding him becoming harder to deal with… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Raw looks to rebound off its lowest non-holiday number since 1996 last week going against football. Tonight’s game is the Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles, which are two of the top five markets in the country. Next week would be the one that Raw will really take it on the chin unless they do a hot angle coming off Clash of Champions.

Katsuyori Shibata will be out of action for the next few weeks. He did a match Saturday with Bobby Fish and after doing so, it was announced he’s out the rest of the tour due to a spine injury. However, they didn’t take the NEVER title from him as he beat Fish. They set up a Shibata vs. Kyle O’Reilly match with New Japan’s next major show after this tour is the 10/10 show at Sumo Hall.     

Two of the top developmental programs in MMA, the Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Legacy Fighting Championships, which both air on AXS TV, announced a merger today on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. The new promotion, which will run 30 Friday night shows on AXS per year with New Japan as its lead-in, will be called the Legacy Fighting Alliance. The two companies combined have placed more than 100 fighters in either UFC or Bellator.

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, as well as more on the TNA sale with some exclusive notes, Terry Funk and talking your questions to [email protected].

WWE

• Brandon Howard has some great research on how the first brand split affected the WWE PPV business.
• Tickets for the 11/19 NXT Takeover show at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto are on sale for American Express members right now. Other presales will start on Wednesday.
• Among those backstage in Memphis at Raw include Luke Harper, Emma, Paige, T.J. Perkins, Brian Kendrick, Jack Gallagher (who was in Toronto over the weekend) and Rich Swann. Emma worked the Raw weekend house shows as a referee. Harper is just about ready to return if he’s not ready right now.

UFC

• Bill Goldberg feels CM Punk should not fight again in UFC. “There’s no question he should not fight in the UFC,” Goldberg said on the 100th episode of Submission Radio. “That would be blasphemy. It would be a slap in the face to all the guys who worked their asses off to make it to prelims on Fox, on undercards and on the main event card. At the end of the day, from a promoter’s standpoint, from a competitor’s standpoint, from his standpoint, there’s no logic in him stepping in that octagon agsin. If he still has the passion for it and wants to train and compete, then yeah, lower-level shows are where he needs to be.” 
  He said he’s still interested in fighting for Glory. He also said he’d be doing Eric Bischoff’s podcast soon in Indianapolis this weekend, the same city Clash of Champions is in, but said right now he’s got nothing going regarding WWE but said he also has no more issues with them.
• Bellator kickboxing has a show airing on Friday night from Budapest, Hungary:

*Karim Ghaji (96-12) defends the welterweight title against Zoltan Laszak (10-2)

*Raymond Daniels (11-3) vs. Zsoplt Benedek (15-3)

*Denise Kielhotz (44-3) vs. Renta Lantos (5-4)

*Alexandru Negrea (9-3) vs. Ali El Ameri (42-10-2)

VARIETY

• Dynamo Pro Wrestling from Saturday night in Glen Carbon, IL: CJ Shine b Matt Kenway, Jackal b Ric Maverick, Keon Option & Justin D’Air b Billy McNeil & Jayson Kahos, Elvis Aliaga b Ricky Cruz, Outkkast b Shorty Bigggs, Makaze b Ozzie Gallagher, Mike Outlaw won three-way over Brandon Espinosa and Jon Webb (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
• Smash vs. Progress from last night in Toronto: Face & Marc Hauss b Fuerza & Vertigo, Frankie the Mobster b El Ligero, Super Smash Brothers b James Davis & Rob Lynch and  Braxton Sutter (TNA) & Mike Rollins, Jack Gallagher b John Greed Tyson Dux b Zack Sabre Jr., Mark Andrews b Kevin Bennett, Mark Haskins b Speedball Mike Bailey, Scott O’Shea b Brent  Banks in a fans bring the keyboard match. There were fans who traveled from London to Toronto to see the Progress guys and all the fans knew all the Progress guys and their moves. Gallagher was said to be the star performer of the weekend (thanks to Dave Musgrave)
• Wildkat Sports, the Louisiana-based promotion of Luke Hawx, debuts on Saturday night on the WUPL, Ch. 54 in New Orleans, at 9 p.m. That’s the MyNetwork affiliate.
• TCW Cuore Ribelle 2016 benefit show for victims of the Central Italy earthquake: Scandalo b Rocco Gioiello, Violent Joe b Kevin Dopa, Darkness b Mefist, Frenic Rossa b Carlo Birra, Carlo  Birra & Claudio Campari b Il Merchese & Death Mask to keep TCW tag titles, Darkness II b Scandalo, Violent Joe b Fenice Rossa, Kombat Komedian b Blackslash, Violent Joe b Darknmess II to win the Cuore Ribelle Trophy. (thanks to  Alessio Garbini)
• Capital City Championship Combat announced today they are canceling their show on Saturday due to a death to someone close to the promotion. The death was not specified in the release sent out.
• Al Snow has a seminar for experienced and aspiring wrestlers on 10/1 in Omaha and will be headlining the Pro Wrestling Phoenix show that night. For those interested in the seminar, send to [email protected].
• Maryland Championship Wrestling has big events this weekend. Friday night at 8 p.m. at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood in Baltimore, there will be a Jim Ross and Jim Cornette talk show. There will be a convention on Saturday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. with Bret Hart, Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, Bob Orton Jr., Jimmy Hart, Howard Finkel, Paul Orndorff and Cornette which will include a Cornette live podcast. There will be a live show at 7:30 p.m. headlined by King McBride defending his MCW title against Drolix. Koko Ware, Tito Santana and Honky Tonk Man will wrestle and Cornette will manage on the live show.
• NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 10/8 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium with Jason Kincaid defending the Southeastern title against Chase Owens.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/19): AJ Styles wins the TNA World Championship

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

ROH: Reloaded Tour; Lockport (Buffalo), NY

ROH Reloaded Pittsburgh, PA, live results: National sports controversy spoofed by The Cabinet – Last night was a wild six way main event when Colt Cabana, Dalton Castle, and Jay Lethal teamed up to take on the Bullet Club. Night two of the ROH Reloaded tour features a traditional tag team main event as Castle and Cabana take on the Briscoes. If WWE were writing this, Castle and Cabana would be called Team Cabastle. Also featured tonight is the grappling cooperative of Mandy Leon and Deonna Purrazzo to take on Taeler Hendrix and Jessicka Havok. 

WWE confirms six more cruiserweights headed to Raw – Which six of the 32 made the cut? Joe Currier will fill you in.

NJPW Destruction in Tokyo results: Shibata vs. Bobby Fish; KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI – Check out the results from Japan as covered by our Staff. We sent one staffer ahead in time to report back from Japan. 

Bellator 161 live results: Kongo vs Johnson; Warren vs Kakai – If you missed it, don’t worry, Gramps Fontaine has you covered.

UFC Fight Night 94 DFS Playbook: Who to target & who to avoid – Check out what RFred, Gramps Fontaine, and Peach plan to do with their winnings.

WWE Main Event results: Jason Jordan vs. Aiden English; Kane vs. Fandango – As always, Kevin Timothy makes reading about Kane matches awesome! 

Don Bass loses battle with cancer – We are sad to report the passing of the Don Bass. Dave Meltzer has the details.

NXT Cocoa, FL, live results: Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas – Do you remember your numbers from Spanish class? JJ Williams knows what ‘cien’ means without even having to use Google translate. 

WEEKEND SHOWS & TELEVISION SCHEDULE

TONIGHT

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: POIRIER VS. JOHNSON, FROM HIDALGO, TX

UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

• Albert Morales (135) vs. Alejandro Perez (135)
• Randy Brown (171) vs. Erick Montano (171)

Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

• Joey Gomez (135) vs. Jose Quinonez (134.5)
• Antonio Carlos Jr. (185) vs. Leonardo Guimaraes (186)
• Augusto Montano (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.5)
• Gabriel Benitez (145.5) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)
• Maximo Blanco (145.5) vs. Chas Skelly (146)
• Chris Wade (156) vs. Islam Makhachev (155.5)
• Kenny Robertson (170.5) vs. Roan Carneiro (171)
• Evan Dunham (156) vs. Rick Glenn (154.5)
• Derek Brunson (186) vs. Uriah Hall (185.5)
• Dustin Poirier (156) vs. Michael Johnson (154.5)

Please send reports on these shows: [email protected]

• WWE Raw in Evansville (all the main stars of the brand headlined by Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Rusev, New Day, Gallows & Anderson, Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Bayley)
• WWE Smackdown in Springfield, MO (all the main stars of the brand but no John Cena, with A.J. Styles, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, The Miz, Becky Lynch, Natalya, and Dean Ambrose as headliners)
• NXT in Omaha (headlined by Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Asuka)
• NXT in Tampa (headlined by Andrade Cien Almas, Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake)
• ROH in Lockport, NY (Honor Rumble, winner gets a title shot on 10/22 in Lakeland, FL, plus Colt Cabana & Dalton Castle vs.  Mark & Jay Briscoe, Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Sabin vs. Matt Jackson, Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelly vs. Nick Jackson, Kenny King & Rhett Titus & Caprice Coleman vs. ACH & Jay White & Lio Rush, Kamaitachi vs. Jonathan Gresham, Deonna Purrazzo & Mandy Leon vs. Taeler Hendrix & Jessicka Havok)
• House of Hardcore in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena (Tommy Dreamer with Terry Funk in his corner vs. Matt Hardy with Senor Benjamin in his corner, Ricochet vs. Sami Callihan, Chris Hero vs. Tony Nese plus Brian Myers and more).

SUNDAY

We’ll be looking for reports on these shows tomorrow: [email protected]

• WWE Raw in Huntsville, AL (all the main stars of the brand headlined by Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Rusev, New Day, Gallows & Anderson, Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Bayley)
• WWE Smackdown in North Little Rock, AR (headlined by A.J. Styles, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, The Miz, Becky Lynch and Natalya)
• NXT in Minneapolis (headlined by Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Asuka)

MONDAY

Raw will be Monday night in Memphis. It will be the go-home show for Clash of Champions. Chris Jericho is added to the roster with the other stars on the tour. Cesaro vs Sheamus in match number six of their best-of-seven series will be on the show.

Smackdown will have a Monday night house show in Tupelo, MS, with A.J. Styles, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Becky Lynch and Natalya.

TUESDAY

Smackdown and Main Event will be on Tuesday night from Birmingham, AL. John Cena is scheduled for his only show of the week on Tuesday.

Figure Four Weekly, 9/12/2016: More on the Last Battle of Atlanta, wrestling Holy grails, and WWE’s video library – The release of the Last Battle of Atlanta on WWE Network, discussed here last week in advance of it dropping, was met with mixed reaction online. The namesake match itself, Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer in a cage (with a roof on top for the first time in wrestling history) had become legendary more due to magazine hype and the lack of available footage than anything else… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 19, 2016:CM Punk loses UFC debut, TJ Perkins wins Cruiserweight Classic, Backlash review, tons more – The two-year odyssey, odd being the key part of the word, of C.M. Punk to the UFC octagon saw the door shut and the clock strike midnight, not Eastern time, but Cinderella time.

In the end it was simple reality. Starting out at 36 with very limited training past some Jiu Jitsu classes from Rener Gracie, no great athletic gifts and a body beaten up by 15 years of pro wrestling was not going to be able to train for two years and be able to compete in the UFC.

Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates for 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, August 23, 1999: WCW Road Wild review, NJPW G1 Climax results, plus tons more – Steve Austin has become the subject of a lot of talk in the past week, with his various injuries, his probable, maybe almost assured dropping of the WWF title at SummerSlam and stories regarding him becoming harder to deal with… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

The Death of WCW by Bryan Alvarez and RD Reynolds is now available as an audiobook through Amazon.com and Audible. Bryan did the narration for the book and it runs almost fifteen hours, so grab yours today!

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT

• After Daniel Bryantweeted that he was in storyline contract negotiations with The Miz, WWE issued an update saying the negotiations have broken down and Miz tweeted that he won’t sign unless he’s paid what he’s worth. Bryan called Miz’s terms utterly delusional.
• WWE is advertising Seth Rollins vs. Rusev for next Monday’s Raw. The show will also feature the debut of Raw’s cruiserweight division and the sixth match in the best-of-seven series between Cesaro and Sheamus.
• At last night’s Raw house show in Louisville, Emma returned as a special guest referee for a six-woman tag pitting Sasha Banks, Bayley and Alicia Fox against Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Nia Jax.
• Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae had their wedding yesterday. Gargano’s tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa was in his wedding party, along with fellow wrestlers Chuck Taylor (DUSTIN), Matt Cross (Son of Havoc), and Gregory Iron. There was a lip sync battle at the reception.
• Former college football player Mike Rallis, renamed Riddick Moss in WWE, talks his time playing NCAA football for University of Minnesota before signing with WWE.

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

• After missing house shows this week with a spinal injury, Katsuyori Shibata returned on NJPW’s Destruction in Tokyo to defend his title against Bobby Fish.
• The NY Post has an article about Billy Corgan’s attempt to buy TNA Wrestling. Dave Meltzer disputed the valuation of the company that is mentioned in the article.
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. Pete Dunne has been announced for NJPW/Rev Pro’s Global Wars UK night two.
• Ring Rust Radio had Ring of Honor World Champion Adam Cole on the show this week, and it was a great episode with plenty of exclusive content. Here is the Blog Talk Radio episode. Below is an excerpt:

Ring Rust Radio: At Death Before Dishonor, you were able to capture the ROH world title for the second time. When we spoke to you last time, you were just coming off an injury that left you sidelined for months. What was the journey from injury to champion like mentally, and now that you have the gold, was all the pain and sacrifice worth it?

Adam Cole: Well, to answer the second part of your question first, I say absolutely everything was worth it. I know this is a cliché answer, but I eat, sleep, and breathe wrestling. When I am not around wrestling, I don’t know what to do with myself. I love the entire environment, the travel, the crowd, the performance and everything. I couldn’t wait when I was injured to come back and push myself to the point of becoming the world champion again. It certainly was a mentally and physically hard road coming back from the three surgeries on my left arm and even recently when I had a bout with pneumonia and lost 17.5 pounds. It was tough, but being able to stand in that ring in Las Vegas and say that I have become the Ring of Honor world champion for a second time and getting a second chance to be with in my opinion the most prestigious title in pro wrestling is really cool.

UFC/MMA

• In advance of her first headlining fight at next weekend’s UFC show from Brazil, The Fight Network is airing a three-hour special on Cristiane Justino called “Rise of a Cyborg.” The show airs every day this week at various times.
• Legacy FC results from last night on AXS TV – Trevin Giles (8-0) 3rd round sub over Ike Villanueva (11-8) in the main event; Justin Reiswerg (10-6) 2nd round sub over Jason Langellier (4-1); Domingo Pilarte (6-1) 38 second KO over Chris Pham (5-6)

VARIETY

• “Kickboxer Vengeance” movie director Dimitri Logothetis discusses working multiple time WWE World Champion Batista and UFC such as GSP and Cain Valesquez in the first movie of the news series and if we can expect more UFC champion in future sequels.
• “The HANNIBAL TV” was at the Kickboxer Vengeance Canadian premier last night and interviewed the movie’s star Alain Moussi who plays Kurt Sloane in the film.  The interview can be seen here.
• “WWE Hall of Famer” Gerald Brisco 30 minute interview video clip where he discusses a variety of topics including his multiple Hall of Fame awards, WWE scouting, fan attacks, Bob Backlund and more. Here is the link.
• Great North Wrestling’s full 40 minute shoot interview with Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer is now posted at this link.
• Tommy Dreamer stopped by Wrestledelphia Radio ahead of House of Hardcore 18 in Philly. As always, Dreamer held nothing back on why he turned down WWE, the Dudleys leaving, Joey Styles’ firing, and much more.
• WWE wrestlers are more recognizable to children than England captain Alastair Cook, according to research by the ECB.
• RESULTS: FIST Combat (@fistcombatsc) Watsonville CA: Jheri Giggalo defeated Moondog Madman, Moo Moo Mauler d. Nicky Savage w/roll up and held the tights, Dave Wasted d El Guererro with a roll up, NC 17 d. Mascara Infernal & El Sancho, Seabass d Alexander G Bernard in a NO DQ match, Anarkya won a 4 way match with Big Baby Powder, Mantiz Lee, and Chino Gambino, Kaka Meng & Desi De Rata d. “Jackpot” Scotty Wringer & Sledge w/Samara & AGB when Sledge got fed up and left Wringer. 
• FIST Combat’s next show is Friday 9/30 at the VFW in Santa Cruz.
• RESULTS: Championship Wrestling Entertainment held an event in Orlando, FL at the Team Vision Dojo. It featured their Vixen’s division. Thea Trinidad b Raegan Fire, Ivory Robyn b Layne Rosario, Santana Garrett b Kaci Lennox to retain the CWE Vixen’s title (Lennox challenged Santana to an impromptu match), Mila Naniki b Rex Bacchus (intergender match), Tyranus b Chico Adams to retain the CWE Heavyweight title, Santana Garrett beat Queen Raquel to retain her title and win Raquel’s Queen title, Tyranus b Chico Adams to retain the CWE Heavyweight title, Thea Trinidad won a #1 contender’s over the top rope women’s battle royal (girls kept going through the ropes & told that’s not the rule).
• I Believe in Wrestling holds an event tonight at the Team Vision Dojo. 7 matches featuring a no DQ match for the SCW Florida Heavyweight title with Rhett Giddins defending against Brandon Scherer plus a three-way with Santana Garrett vs. Raquel vs. Thea Trinidad. Tickets are $10 & $15.
• Former WCW Tag Team Champion Buff Bagwell was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. He has some controversial things to say about CM Punk fighting at UFC 203, as well as details about his current lawsuit with WWE. Here are some highlights.

On not believing Samoa Joe is a big draw: “Samoa Joe, to me, I’ve never got that,” Bagwell expressed. “I know he’s very popular. I know he’s very good in the ring, I think he’s a great wrestler, I like to watch him. But when you’ve got a chance to do a storyline, to the world of wrestling fans, who’s going to be Sting’s tag team partner, and the options are Lex Luger, Marcus Bagwell, and Samoa Joe. I mean, who in the heck is Samoa Joe? And Luger wasn’t fit enough, so I fit the part perfectly.” He added, “I really don’t know where [TNA] were going with that, except maybe a push for Samoa Joe? Me and Samoa Joe haven’t spoke 10 words together. He was on one independent show with in in Cleveland, and he got mad because I was in the main event and he wasn’t. To me, Samoa Joe is a fat, out of shape guy who looks like he should not be in a wrestling ring, and I’ve not heard or seen anybody ever draw a dollar with him.”

On CM Punk not passing the “Walmart Test”: “Here’s how I look at it. If I was a promoter like Vince McMahon or Ted Turner, if I was trying to make money in the wrestling industry, I would judge it by having a person walk through Walmart. If CM Punk walked through Walmart even as popular as he is, he’s not going to get noticed as much as Hulk Hogan walking through Walmart. The reason why I say Walmart, is [because] that is our fanbase.”

Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/17): Ric Flair captures his first NWA World Title

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

“it was merely due to a procedural issue”

Paige: ‘Rumors that I’m leaving the WWE are completely false’ – Paige says she is staying in WWE and also attempts to explain her wellness failure.

7 Days In Punk: CM Punk’s unforgettable ride to UFC controversy – Relive #PunkWeek in this summary of the craziness that was CM Punk’s first and possibly only fight in the octagon. Josh Nason recaps the week.

Daniel Bryan: ‘I honestly do’ hope to wrestle again – Bryan speaks candidly. Joe Currier tells you about it.

WOL: Raw fallout, Heath Slater to sign, Randy Orton issues, more! 9/13 – Find out if Slater achieved his dream of signing with Smackdown and being able to purchase his above ground pool, from Bryan Alvarez, host of Wrestling Observer Live.

WWE SmackDown live results: The AJ Styles era begins – Styles achieved another milestone by winning a WWE singles title. See where he goes from here. Bryan Rose has the action for you.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose set for WWE No Mercy – Can John Cena achieve his dream of tying Ric Flair’s record of 16 world title reigns? He’ll get his chance at WWE No Mercy. Joe Currier gives you the details.

UFC 203 prelims ratings solid, but not at UFC 202 levels – Usually a strong predictor of the buyrate, UFC 203 could do more buys than expected. Ace Fontaine breaks it down.

B&V&C: Shawn Michaels stuffs his shorts, Bret Hart has worst match of his career, more! 9/13 – Craig joins the gang as the trio discuss HBK and Bret “Hitman” Hart in this retro edition of the show.

Figure Four Weekly, 9/12/2016: More on the Last Battle of Atlanta, wrestling Holy grails, and WWE’s video library – The release of the Last Battle of Atlanta on WWE Network, discussed here last week in advance of it dropping, was met with mixed reaction online. The namesake match itself, Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer in a cage (with a roof on top for the first time in wrestling history) had become legendary more due to magazine hype and the lack of available footage than anything else… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 12, 2016: CM Punk making UFC debut, PWG Battle of Los Angeles review, more – A 19-month journey will come to an end, or to a new beginning on 9/10 when Phil Brooks, better known as C.M. Punk, steps into the cage in one of the biggest matches on the UFC 203 PPV card. While many people have tried to make analogies, using names like Brock Lesnar or James Toney, there is really nothing in UFC history really comparable to this. It was a weird experiment that many had written off as a failure six months into the story… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates for 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, August 23, 1999: WCW Road Wild review, NJPW G1 Climax results, plus tons more – Steve Austin has become the subject of a lot of talk in the past week, with his various injuries, his probable, maybe almost assured dropping of the WWF title at SummerSlam and stories regarding him becoming harder to deal with… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

And your first ever CWC champion is…

WWE

A solid guess…

• The Cruiserweight Classic concludes live on the WWE Network tonight at 9 p.m. ET with both the tournament semifinals and finals. Zack Sabre Jr. faces Gran Metalik in one semifinal, and TJP battles Kota Ibushi in the other. Also scheduled for the show, Johnny Gargano will team with Tommaso Ciampa against opponents that have yet to be announced.
• In a video update about his progress after undergoing shoulder surgery, Finn Balor said he hopes to be back in time for WrestleMania.
• As was announced on SmackDown last night, Jack Swagger is now a member of the show’s roster. Swagger is the first talent to change brands since the WWE Draft.
• Becky Lynch talks about her journey to the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
• WWE uploaded a previously unreleased match from the most recent Cruiserweight Classic tapings between The Bollywood Boyz and Sean Maluta & Ariya Daivari.
• Daniel Bryan was on FOX29 chat show “The Q“. 
• CNN has an article on WWE’s foray into china focusing on newest Chinese signee Wang Bin.
• Here is another article on the passing of Lord Littlebrook.

PRO WRESTLING

ROH Champion Adam Cole… BAY BAY!

• ROH World Champion Adam Cole will appear on the ROSS REPORT hosted by the legendary Jim Ross this coming Tuesday, September 20th, 2016 at 9pm Eastern and it will be available on iTunes and PodcastOne.com.
• Katsuyori Shibata is reportedly off this weekend’s house shows for NJPW after suffering an undisclosed spinal injury.
• #WatchROH this weekend on your local Sinclair station featuring KAZUCHIKA OKADA & RPG VICE vs KAMAITACHI & the ADDICTION plus the Guerrillas of Destiny take on the Cabinet!
• Ring of Honor returns to Live Pay Per View on Friday, September 30th with ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA 8! Available on all major providers, Fite TV, rohwrestling.com & the Playstation Network!
• A student at Seth Rollins wrestling school died recently. The autopsy was inconclusive but no foul play is suspected. The student began feeling ill during practice and was told by instructors to sit out. His condition worsened and he was taken to the emergency room where he died shortly after.
• Our friends at the FightGameBlog.com have a two part article recapping the CWC tournament and previewing the finale. Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.

UFC

Kelvin Gastelum replaces Robbie Lawler at UFC 205

• ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that he’s confirmed with Dana White that Cowboy Cerrone will face Kelvin Gastelum on November 12th at Madison Square Garden. Cerrone appeared set to face Robbie Lawler at the show before Lawler had to pull out of the event.

VARIETY

• Yankee stadium will be hosting a double header of a different sort come this November 4. The stadium will be hosting a Rutgers wrestling meet followed by a Rutgers football game. Let’s hope the weather plays nice or that could be one freezing wrestling meet.

EVENTS CALENDAR: Friday 9/16 – Sunday 9/18

Friday 9/16 – Ring of Honor: Reloaded Tour; Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE, 7:30 pm. Tickets.

Friday 9/16

• All Star Wrestling; Squamish, BC, Totem Hall, Stawamus Rd, Garibaldi Highlands, BC V0N 1T0, Canada. Tickets.
• AAW: 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL). Tickets.
• Pure Wrestling Association: Lake Cowichan, British Columbia
• Smash vs Progress: Uncensored; Oshawa Music Hall, Oshawa, Ontario. Must be 19+ to attend.
• Pure Wrestling Association: Private Event in Ontario
• SuperKickd’d Pro Wrestling at 7:30 PM – 10 PM, The Great Hall Toronto, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1H3
• All Pro Wrestling on 9/16 in Daly City, CA at the Bayshore Community Center features Sabu vs. The Almighty Sheik, Willie Mack & B-Boy vs Reno Scrum, plus Jody Kristofferson, JR Kratos, Marcus Lewis and Dylan Drake in a four way for the Universal title.

Saturday 9/17

• UFC Fight Night, Poirier vs. Johnson: Hidalgo, Texas, State Farm Arena
• ROH: Reloaded Tour; Lockport (Buffalo), NY, 7:00 pm. Tickets.
• NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium
• Pure Wrestling Association: Alpine Club, Kitchener, Ontario
• Pure Wrestling Association: Courtenay, British Columbia
• SMASH VS PROGRESS: Smash Wrestling welcomes our friends from Progress Wrestling. Mark Haskins and Jack Gallagher (Cruiserweight Classic), Zack Sabre Jr. Mark Andrews and more will be part of the Progress Wrestling team in a Smash vs. Progress Canada vs. UK show in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center.

Sunday 9/18

• Pure Wrestling Association: Gold River, British Columbia
• Alpha-1 Wrestling presents #‎Matrats2
• NWX presents School’s Back In Session at the CWF Wrestling School on 20 Hartzel Rd in St Catharines, ON. Holden Albright vs. Joey Paradice (c) for the NWX Heavyweight Championship. Get your tickets by calling 289-687-5610.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/14): TNA No Surrender 2008

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

​​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

Vince McMahon undergoes surgery after suffering an injury – Let this be a lesson. When you’re squatting at age 71, go ahead and do a few warm-up sets first.

WOR: Vince McMahon injury, Randy Orton update, RAW report, tons more! 9/13 – Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer bring you all the latest in the world of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts on this edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

WWE Raw live results: Will Roman Reigns join the Clash of Champions main event? – Everyone is clamoring for more Roman Reigns. The new era with Triple H handing Owens a title is off to great start. Read about all the action you missed while watching football.

WWE Raw video highlights: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens – Watch RAW in 2 minute clips. This way you can make it last 8 hours instead of merely 3. 

Luke Rockhold vs. Jacare Souza II headlines UFC Fight Night 101 – There’s been an additional 101 UFC fight nights to go with the 203 PPVs. It’s going to be difficult to continue to have stellar main events with so many shows. Luckily, we got one here.

Ryback: I’m legally changing my name to Ryback Allen Reeves – At least it’s not Ryback Allen Ryback.

Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho set for WWE Clash of Champions – Doesn’t everyone just want to see Jericho fight Lesnar for real? Book that match.

NJPW Road to Destruction results: Ingobernables vs. Tanahashi, Elgin & KUSHIDA – Sometimes Japanese wrestlers use all CAPITAL LETTERS to write our their names. I’m going to steal that. From now on, you can call me, RYBACK ALLEN RYBACK.

WWE Backlash preview & predictions: Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles; Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt – See how the F4W Staff did predicting Backlash. 

#PunkWeek: Even in defeat, CM Punk is a role model – Kids, don’t abuse your bodies with foreign chemicals. Wait until you’re 37 and have someone punch you instead.

Figure Four Weekly, 9/12/2016: More on the Last Battle of Atlanta, wrestling Holy grails, and WWE’s video library – The release of the Last Battle of Atlanta on WWE Network, discussed here last week in advance of it dropping, was met with mixed reaction online. The namesake match itself, Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer in a cage (with a roof on top for the first time in wrestling history) had become legendary more due to magazine hype and the lack of available footage than anything else… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 12, 2016: CM Punk making UFC debut, PWG Battle of Los Angeles review, more – A 19-month journey will come to an end, or to a new beginning on 9/10 when Phil Brooks, better known as C.M. Punk, steps into the cage in one of the biggest matches on the UFC 203 PPV card. While many people have tried to make analogies, using names like Brock Lesnar or James Toney, there is really nothing in UFC history really comparable to this. It was a weird experiment that many had written off as a failure six months into the story… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates for 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, August 23, 1999: WCW Road Wild review, NJPW G1 Climax results, plus tons more – Steve Austin has become the subject of a lot of talk in the past week, with his various injuries, his probable, maybe almost assured dropping of the WWF title at SummerSlam and stories regarding him becoming harder to deal with… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

• Potentially concluding the storyline of his journey to the WWE main roster, Heath Slater signing his SmackDown contract on air is being advertised for SmackDown tonight.
• John Cena teased challenging for AJ Styles’ WWE World Championship, and breaking Ric Flair’s World title record in the process, on Twitter.
• In reply to a fan asking if he would ever fight in UFC, Randy Orton tweeted, “I like making $. Over and over. Not once every 6 months… plus I’d prob fake punch the guy and get choked out. #lol”
• Ryback was interviewed by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated about his departure from WWE and life after leaving the company.
• WWE uploaded video of Lana speaking without her Russian accent in the upcoming film “Interrogation,” but kept kayfabe with interviews of Lana claiming she was putting on an American accent.
• AJ Styles and Becky Lynch receive the customized plates for their championships.
• Highlights from Bin Wang’s WWE debut.

PRO WRESTLING

• After Decay “kidnapped” Senor Benjamin at the end of last week’s “Delete or Decay” edition of Impact, Matt Hardy tweeted a photo saying that they found Benjamin and the footage of the rescue will air on Impact this Thursday.
• In his last independent wrestling match before heading to WWE/NXT on a full-time basis, Johnny Gargano will face his wife-to-be Candice Lerae at AIW in Cleveland on Friday, September 23rd.

UFC

• On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Mickey Gall said that he felt a strong obligation to make an example out of CM Punk in their fight. “I felt indebted to my sport, to the veterans of my sport — everyone in my sport — to go in there and dominate every second of this fight.” Gall said.
• Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman appears to be set for UFC 205.

VARIETY

• Huge wrestling fan Glenn Danzig was on Chris Jericho’s podcast recently and discussed wanting to become a professional wrestler, but always believed he was too small.
• Former Stampede Wrestling wrestler and booker, head dungeon trainer and New Japan Prow Wrestling Competitor Bruce Hart did a full shoot interview with Great North Wrestling that can be seen at this link.
• Second generation wrestler Carl Leduc talks about his father Paul Leduc and uncle Joe Leduc and why Joe’s WWE run in the late 80’s was short lived despite his friendship with Hulk Hogan at this link.
• Original “La Resistance” members Rene Dupre and Sly Grenier do a promo for the Great North Wrestling “Star Stampede” event Nov. 5th in Hawkesbury ON at this link. They will be taking on Jeremy Prophet & Paul Rosenberg.  Grenier was temporarily knocked out in what he described as a “stinger” in a match for CWA Quebec in Montreal this past Sunday due to a sloppy suplex type move performed by the local Quebec wrestler he was in the ring with on the show.
• Antonio Inoki is in the news saying that North Korea’s nuclear test is aimed at the US, not Japan.
• Friend of the site Missy Hyatt was the guest on the Stone Cold Steve Austin podcast.
• Dr. Omalu, the doctor who is credited with discovering CTE, is claiming that Hillary Clinton may have been poisoned.
• Kevin Nash is the subject of a new Guest Booker DVD from Kayfabe Commentaries, where he takes the book in WWE after he and Scott decide NOT to make the jump.
• RESULTS: September 10 Back to School 3: The Barrie Wrestling Annual Back to School show! The D Man defeated Rip Impact, Lucha Freddie Mercurio beat The Professional Jaxon Jarvis, Gabriel Fuerza beat Anthony Fiasco in their I QUIT match, Carter Mason pinned Textbook Tyson Dux, Patient 705 beat Nick Wildley, Justin Sane retained the Three Pistols title beating Jim Nye and Rage, John Greed defeated Playboy John Atlas.

EVENTS CALENDAR: Friday 9/16 – Sunday 9/18

Friday 9/16 – Ring of Honor: Reloaded Tour; Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE, 7:30 pm. Tickets.

Friday 9/16

• All Star Wrestling; Squamish, BC, Totem Hall, Stawamus Rd, Garibaldi Highlands, BC V0N 1T0, Canada, tickets.
• AAW: 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL). Tickets.
• Pure Wrestling Association: Lake Cowichan, British Columbia
• Smash vs Progress: Uncensored; Oshawa Music Hall, Oshawa, Ontario. Must be 19+ to attend.
• Pure Wrestling Association: Private Event in Ontario
• SuperKickd’d Pro Wrestling at 7:30 PM – 10 PM, The Great Hall Toronto, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1H3
• All Pro Wrestling on 9/16 in Daly City, CA at the Bayshore Community Center features Sabu vs. The Almighty Sheik, Willie Mack & B-Boy vs Reno Scrum, plus Jody Kristofferson, JR Kratos, Marcus Lewis and Dylan Drake in a four way for the Universal title.

Saturday 9/17

• UFC Fight Night, Poirier vs. Johnson: Hidalgo, Texas, State Farm Arena
• ROH: Reloaded Tour; Lockport (Buffalo), NY, 7:00 pm. Tickets.
• NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium
• Pure Wrestling Association: Alpine Club, Kitchener, Ontario
• Pure Wrestling Association: Courtenay, British Columbia
• SMASH VS PROGRESS: Smash Wrestling welcomes our friends from Progress Wrestling. Mark Haskins and Jack Gallagher (Cruiserweight Classic), Zack Sabre Jr. Mark Andrews and more will be part of the Progress Wrestling team in a Smash vs. Progress Canada vs. UK show in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center.

Sunday 9/18

• Pure Wrestling Association: Gold River, British Columbia
• Alpha-1 Wrestling presents #‎Matrats2
• NWX presents School’s Back In Session at the CWF Wrestling School on 20 Hartzel Rd in St Catharines, ON. Holden Albright vs. Joey Paradice (c) for the NWX Heavyweight Championship. Get your tickets by calling 289-687-5610.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/13): John Cena wins the WWE title by making Randy Orton quit

• ​Please send feedback to F[email protected]
• Please send show results and news tips to N[email protected]
• Please send Wrestling Observer Radio questions to [email protected]

​

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

AJ Styles wins WWE World title at Backlash – It’s been a long time coming. The Phenomenal AJ Styles achieves another milestone, this time in WWE. 

WOR: WWE Backlash PPV, UFC in Madison Square Garden, more! 9/12 – New champions galore! Bryan and Dave break down the action from the first Smackdown only branded PPV of the new era. Find out if it actually is the new era, or just more of the same.

#PunkWeek: Even in defeat, CM Punk is a role model – What’s next for Punk? Let him tell you. 

WWE Backlash live results: Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles – Save yourself three hours. Just read the results and watch the main event on the network. 

B&V&F: WWE Backlash post-PPV recap! AJ Styles, Becky Lynch, Slater and Rhino, more! 9/11 – Filthy Tom joins the guys for an all Backlash edition of the Bryan and Vinny show. 

#PunkWeek: The timeline of CM Punk’s long & complicated road to UFC 203 – On Monday, it seems much less complicated.

EVOLVE 69 recap: Johnny Gargano says farewell, Matt Riddle picks up the torch – Gargano continues his goodbyes en route to WWE. 

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Raw in Baltimore will be headlined by Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns. If Reigns wins, the main event at Clash of the Champions will become a three-way Universal title match with Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Reigns. If Reigns loses, the main event stays as Owens vs. Rollins. Expect most of the Clash card to be set up on tonight’s show. Also, it’s match five with Cesaro vs. Sheamus with Sheamus up 3-1, with Cesaro getting a win in London on Wednesday night. 

This is first week Raw goes against the NFL with a doubleheader with the Washington Redskins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at 7:10 p.m. Eastern followed by the Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers at 10:20 p.m.

The semifinals and finals of the cruiserweight classic will be part of a two-hour show live from Full Sail University at 8 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday with semifinals of Kota Ibushi vs. T.J. Perkins and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Gran Metalik as the semifinals.

We’re looking for reports from the WWE Smackdown brand house show tonight in Fairfax, VA (A.J. Styles vs. John Cena for WWE title, Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler) as well as from Raw in Baltimore with dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else that wouldn’t be evident from the live show to [email protected].

For this weekend we’re doing polls on UFC 203 and the Smackdown brand PPV from Richmond, VA, with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].

Figure Four Weekly: Figure Four Weekly 9/5/2016: WWE finally releases the “Last Battle of Atlanta” – WWE is getting ready to check another box off the wrestling video collectors’ holy grail list. WWE Network news reported over the weekend that Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer in “The Last Battle of Atlanta” will be added to the service on Tuesday, September 6th as part of a “Hidden Gems” playlist… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter: September 12, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: CM Punk making UFC debut, PWG Battle of Los Angeles review, more – A 19-month journey will come to an end, or to a new beginning on 9/10 when Phil Brooks, better known as C.M. Punk, steps into the cage in one of the biggest matches on the UFC 203 PPV card. While many people have tried to make analogies, using names like Brock Lesnar or James Toney, there is really nothing in UFC history really comparable to this. It was a weird experiment that many had written off as a failure six months into the story… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 

Rates for 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: August 16, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Jim Ross, Jushin Liger, Keiji Mutoh, Lioness Asuka enter Hall of Fame – Details on the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame voting results… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Vince McMahon was injured recently. WWE has confirmed that McMahon did get injured and in fact had surgery, but the nature of the injury and surgery are still unknown. The story going around in the company is Vince suffered a torn quad while squatting. 

Alberto Del Rio did an interview with Mas Luchas claiming that he failed the WWE drug test because he was using legally prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. It’s not exactly a secret that WWE had banned all TRT usage years ago but may have amended that, but even when amended, even if prescribed by a doctor it has to be approved by the WWE’s own medical staff.  He also said that Andrade Cien Almas wasn’t happy and wants to return to Mexico. He said the problem is that when you go from Mexico to WWE you have to learn English and also start from scratch and forget everything you know. He said Almas asked him if things get better when you make the main roster, and he said he told him that things get worse.     

Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. was announced today for the debut of the Lucha Ilimitado promotion on 10/12 in Yakima, WA at the Sun Dome. The promotion has said they would announce Mysterio’s opponent today. Tickets are available eat TicketWest outlets.

Sad to report the death of 70s star Stan Mykietowich, better known as Moose Morowski. He toured all over North America, being big in places like Canada and West Texas. Morowski was 81 years old. 

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw and all the latest pro wrestling news. We’ll also be taking your e-mail questions that you can send to [email protected]. 

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT

• Not sure if this will be announced for Smackdown tomorrow, but they were discussing a Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler cage match today. It also could be for the PPV on 10/9 in Sacramento.
• The WWE is now changing the names of the WWE women’s title and the WWE tag titles to the Raw women’s title and Raw tag titles, since the Smackdown women and tag titles are known by the TV show name.
• For the first time I can ever recall, a WWE PPV failed to crack the No. 20 searches on its day in Google, so last night’s show in other words had the least amount of general public interest of any WWE PPV in years.  
• Miz and Ziggler’s opening spot last night was meant as a spoof of the C.M. Punk vs. Mickey Gall fight.
• The first Raw of 2017 will be on 1/2 in Tampa at the Amlie Arena.
• Madison Square Garden has made it official that the show on 12/26, a Monday night, head-to-head with Raw, will be a Smackdown brand event advertising John Cena, Dean Ambrose, A.J. Styles, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Becky Lynch and Naomi (thanks to Mike Omansky)
• WWE announced a deal with Playmates Toys for racing toys called WWE Nitro Sprints and Nitro Machines with motorized figures with wrestlers in ring gear and a vehicle with John Cena, The Rock, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker and Nitro Machine with Cena, Rock, Undertaker and Dean Ambrose.

UFC

• Demetrious Johnson did an interview with Submission Radio and said it was mind boggling when he found out that Sage Northcutt was making more money than TJ Dillashaw, a former world champion. He said that he’s been champion for four years and can’t afford to retire, and he said that if he had won four Super Bowls he could retire. He said he wants to break the record for most title defenses in his weight division next before facing Dominick Cruz and again said he wants $2 million for a Cruz fight.
• Rolling Stone talks what is next for C.M. Punk.

Panel picks for UFC 203:

• Dave Meltzer and David Bixenspan went 5-0
• Josh Nason, Mike Sawyer, Steve Juon and John Pollock went 4-1
• Mike Sempervive went 3-2
• Ryan Frederick, Ace Fontaine and Front Row Brian went 2-3

VARIETY

• Billy Corgan and David Lagana showed up at yesterday’s Evolve show in Queens. It’s good they are looking for new talent. Also at that show, Cody Rhodes purchased 20 boxes of pizza for fans in attendance. He said it was to celebrate the farewell in Evolve of Johnny Gargano, who will be WWE exclusive going forward with his new contract.
• Sabotage Wrestling on 10/7 in Covina, CA has a women’s show at 4315 N. Vincent Ave.
• NWA Top of Texas Wrestling on Saturday night in Amarillo headlined by Greg Anthony vs. Jake Logan for the NWA National title and Matt Riviera vs Chad Thomas. Riviera and Anthony will also be hosting a seminar for $20 from 1-3 p.m. in the afternoon. For info on the seminar you can email [email protected].
• NWA Mid South results from Saturday night in Dyresburg, TN: Dos Amigos Locos #1 b Van Van Horn, Josh Lewis b Keon Option, Dale Wylde b Dos Amigos Locos #2, Greg Anthony b Jakob Edwinn-DQ, Iron Empire b Heatseekers to win NWA tag titles. Heatseekers had beaten the Iron Empire (Rob Conway & Matt Riviera) to win the titles the night before in Ripley, TN at the NWA Mid South show.
• Paul Birchill is now taking pro wrestling bookings through Bill Behrens at [email protected]. 
• CMLL on Saturday night at Arena Coliseo in Mexico City: Artillero & Espanto Jr. b Coyote & Drako, Akuma & Canelo Casas & Nitro b Bengala & Leono & Sensei, Flyer & Oro Jr. & Star Jr. b Cuatrero & Forastero & Sanson, Angel de Oro & Blue Panther & Rey Cometa b Dragon Rojo & Gran Guerrero & Pierroth, Shocker & Matt Taven & Ultimo Guerrero b Atlantis & Diamante Azul & Valiente.
• Puebla tonight is headlined by Caristico & Mistico & Volador Jr. vs. Negro Casas & Mr. Niebla & Shocker.
• Premier Championship Wrestling of Winnipeg and New Xperience Wrestling announced a co-branded Manitoba tour headlined by Jimmy Hart. The shows will be 9/29 in Dauphin, at the Rotary Arena, 9/30 in Swan River at the Curling Club, 10/1 in Winnipeg at Doubles Fun Club and 10/2 at Notre Dame de Lourdes at the Community Centre.
• MCW has events on 9/23 and 9/24. On 9/23, they have a Jim Ross & Jim Cornette talk show at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood at 8 p.m. There will be a convention from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 9/24 in Joppa, MD, with Bret Hart, Jimmy Hart, Howard Finkel, Honky Tonk Man, Hillbilly Jim, Greg Valentine, Jim Ross, Paul Orndorff, Koko B.Ware, Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, Jim Cornette, Jim Neidhart, Bob Orton, Nikolai Volkoff, Dennis Stamp, Tammy Sytch, Typhoon, Magnun T.A., Terri Runnels and Angelina Love. There will also be a live event at 7:30 p.m. that night. Cornette will also be doing a podcast that weekend.
• James Gallagher vs. Kirill Medvedovsky has been added to Bellator’s 11/10 show in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/12): WCW Fall Brawl

• ​Please send feedback to F[email protected]
• Please send show results and news tips to N[email protected]
• Please send Wrestling Observer Radio questions to [email protected]

​